Initiation (Wolf Blood Academy Book 1) by RaShelle Workman (best book club books for discussion txt) 📕

can try to climb up in your wolf form. I’ll go after you in case you slip.”

He barked defiantly and nipped at my heels, but I refused to budge.

“At least try,” I said.

He nodded and jumped, his paws clinging to the jagged rocks. At first, it looked a little precarious, but soon enough, he was more than halfway up. He made it look easy, even in wolf form.

I swallowed down my nerves. There were no harnesses or ropes. If I lost my balance and fell, no one would catch me. I tried not to focus on that as I went. After a few minutes, I forgot about how high up I was or that I could fall to my death, and just focused on the next hand and foothold. Soon enough, I was right behind Wyatt. He lifted himself and dug his claw into the rock, but it broke, and he slipped, his back feet stepping on my arm.

Without thinking, I stuck my head under his butt and held him there until he had a hold and began climbing again. Then I continued on, reaching the top pretty quickly after.

“Good job, everyone,” I said, brushing my hands on my pants.

Beyond them were two poles with a sign that read FINISH LINE. We were close, but it surprised me. Before we started the whole thing, it had looked like we would be going deep into the Shade. Apparently not.

As we crossed the finish line, the holographic leaderboard appeared.

I was no longer in last.

A name I didn’t know had taken my spot. Instead, I was ten from the bottom, ahead of Holly, Vivian, and Cohen. The three of them stood off to the side with Logan. Their eyes were down. I glanced back at the leaderboard as the female voice announced where everyone stood. My new ranking was quite a jump from where it had been. Wyatt was in second. It surprised me he wasn’t first. Another name I didn’t know had taken the lead. Penelope was third, and Fallon was fourth. Billie Jean had the fifteenth spot.

My team congratulated each other as we made our way over to Logan.

“Good job, everyone,” Logan said, avoiding eye contact with me. I guessed he expected me to get eaten by vampire rats or worse. “Let’s get you to your rooms.” He led the way, and I expected him to take us back to the Academy. That was wishful thinking. He took us to the biggest tent I'd ever seen. “You’ll sleep here for the night,” he said and walked away before any of us couldn't think to respond.

“Hopefully, there’s some sort of shower in here,” Holly said and was about to go in, but I held her back.

“Let the guys go in first,” I said, feeling my wolf near the surface at Holly’s lack of compassion and just plain rudeness. “That way, Wyatt can shift.” I looked at Wyatt, thinking maybe I was overreacting, and he didn’t care.

In answer to my statement, he barked, and I knew he wanted to get back to his human form, if for no other reason than to chew out the rest of the team.

Holly glanced down. “Fine.”

I held open the tent flap, and Wyatt came forward. His yellow eyes bore into me. It felt like he had a whole lot to say, but couldn’t in his wolf form. “I know,” I said, scratching between his ears.

He leaned into me and licked my cheek.

Surprised, I gasped. Before I could comment, he disappeared inside. Cohen followed without looking at me.

When Fallon reached the opening, he made a face. “Don’t expect me to lick you, but I am grateful for your help today.” He gently punched me in the shoulder.

“It was definitely a team effort,” I said, feeling like a broken record, but mostly feeling silly. I just did what needed to be done.

Once the guys were safely behind the tent, I went over to Penelope.

“I think he likes you,” she whispered.

My heart pounded with excitement and then was immediately tempered. “Who, Fallon? He seems like a nice guy.”

“No, silly. Wyatt. The way he looks at you, even in his wolf form. I’d say there was a blood bond between the two of you.”

“What’s that?”

Her eyes got wide. “I forget you’re new to all of this.” She shook her head. “Basically, it’s when two wolves bond through blood. Usually through biting is how the bonds are accidentally forged. Although some of the old-timey families still go through the blood ceremony to find mates for their offspring.” She made a face. “No, thank you.” Then she looked at me. “Has he bitten you recently. Or vice versa?”

“That’s crazy,” I said, stalling. My heart was pounding erratically in my chest again.

She slapped my arm playfully. “You are bonded, aren’t you?”

“Well, there was a situation, and he did bite me.” I didn’t go into detail. That his wolf had saved me from drowning.

“I knew it. That explains so much.” She bent down and picked up a stick. “He really likes you,” she reiterated.

“I mean, no more than everyone else,” I said, trying to sound casual. Then went over to the other girls. Hanging out near Holly and Vivian was better than talking about blood bonds with Penelope. But her words kept repeating themselves in my mind. Were we bonded?

Penelope wasn’t to be deterred, though. Instead, she brought them into it. “Who here thinks Wyatt likes Diana?”

They all raised their hands.

I felt my face get hot and didn’t know what to say.

“See.” Penelope was about to tell them he bit me when Wyatt appeared. He’d shifted, of course. I thought he might yell at Holly and Vivian for their idiotic choices. He didn’t.

Wyatt wore gray sweats, and his hair was damp. Apparently, there was some sort of shower inside the tent. The idea of a magical shower sounded exciting. But my body was more focused on how hot freaking gorgeous he was, even in baggy clothes. And then there was the fruit he carried—purple grapes.

My