Chapter 225
Frustration and anxiety buzzed along my skin. “I hear what you’re saying, but I’m telling you I feel nothing, which means they’re going to kick me out, and I’ll have no choice but to accept my humiliating fate.”
“Keep practicing,” Danielle ordered. “Even if you can’t shift now, you’ll shift in the ceremony when thousands of shifters all change shapes. Your wolf will want to come out then. Trust me.”
I did trust her, but I sure as hell didn’t trust my pussified dormant wolf. It’s too bad I couldn't because I would kick her ass for being stubborn and making me look stupid.
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A fleet of buses traveled along the highway, escorted by armored vehicles, as we headed north.
I sat with my fellow first year students in a white and blue bus, separated from Danielle, Paris, and Summer. Some of Viviane’s minions shared the bus with me and glared at the back of my head the whole time, but no one spoke to me. Somehow, my crazy reputation had preceded me, and no one wanted to lose an ear, I guess.
Speaking of which, I hadn’t seen BJ since I had been released. I really wanted to see how her ear looked, like had it been re-attached properly? Could she wear earrings without one being lopsided? One didn’t just forget things like that.
The bus rolled on for hours with a low rumbling sound until we reached the famous Humboldt Forest. They parked in neat lines, then students filed out with excited, nervous voices. Our instructors herded us toward a large cobblestoned square and stopped in front of a three-story dome at the edge of the forest.
Central Nevada, which I’d passed through in Shade’s jeep last time, was a vast landscape of sagebrush, hard dirt, and colorful rocky hills, but here, it was all lush greenery.
Armed shifter sentinels patrolled the perimeter. Anticipation and tension were high in the air.
My heart pounded erratically as I realized I’d indeed come to a hunting event. A sudden memory flashed—me running for my life from hunters in a dark forest. Cold sweat broke out in a line down my spine.
It was impossible to sneak away now.
The crowd had all gathered in front of the dome, gazing up at the royals on the terrace: Shade, Viviane, Danielle, and a few new faces I’d never seen before. But I bet they were shifter royalty as well. Standing behind them were high-ranking officers.
The small royal crowd parted, and Sideburns stepped in front of them. My heart stuttered. I couldn’t control my body’s reaction at the sight of him. Heat pooled low in my abdomen until I literally felt like panting.
As if there was an unseen mystic line connecting us, the Alpha Heir’s gaze found me right away amid thousands of shifters. They paused briefly before he tore his gray eyes away.
The lines on his handsome face hardened. Fucker must think that was my fault too. I sighed, letting go of the petty bitterness. He’d helped me, saved me even. If he hadn’t, the king would have had me hanged.