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

Wyatt stood a ways back. He seemed to be waiting for something.

I glanced at him and then watched Oakus run up his mother’s arm, perching on one of her broad shoulders.

Get back to the Academy, he shouted into my mind. The others seemed to hear him too. I wasn’t sure if it was pack mentality or something else because I was no longer part of his pack. I was the enemy, the hunted while they were the hunters. It didn’t matter that the test was officially over. I still felt the difference between us.

Penelope took off.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

Wyatt was moving again. Growling and snapping. Spittle flinging from his mouth. His would could be really scary. Not to mention, he looked determined. Without a doubt, he intended to kill Kya.

I couldn’t let that happen. Lifting my head, I let out a howl and took off. As I went, a part of myself disentangled from my wolf. Yet a small part remained tethered like one of those helium balloons from the Thanksgiving parade I always watched on TV with my mom. Fallon said it was a monster, like those in the Shade, and I imagined something like Kya hovering over me. Could I control it? I wasn’t sure, but I had to make the fighting stop and hoped whatever was happening with me, it would end the battle.

Kya was winning, and that scared me. Leave them alone, Kya, I said, focusing on her and hoping the others couldn’t hear me.

You took my child, she returned. You aren’t worthy of the calling you’ve been given. She flung Billie away like the girl was stuffed with hay. None of you despicable humans deserve to live. I’ll kill you all.

I didn’t take him. Oakus found me. We are friends. I love him, and I care for you. Please don’t make me hurt you, I pleaded. At the same time, I thought my words sounded too arrogant. Could I hurt her? Something inside me said that I could kill her and all of them if given the proper motivation.

Moonlight is right. I’m sorry. I just wanted to help her finish her test, Oakus said into our minds. His voice was sad and scared.

Very well, Kya said. All of the fight went out of her.

That was good for my friends but bad for her.

Wyatt was still on the warpath, searching for her weakness, but I couldn’t let him hurt her any more than I could let her hurt him. I felt caught, unable to fully believe in either side—a painful place to be. But there was no time to internally debate, and I rushed between the monster and Wyatt. Lifting my head, I howled, pouring all of my anguish and worry and desperation into it. The sound was like nothing I’d ever heard before, and it lasted a long time.

When I stopped, I looked around. Kya, Oakus, and the others were gone, and I was alone. I’d scared all of them off. Was I more monster than even Kya?

At least no one was mortally wounded. I kept repeating that over and over. Oakus was with his mother, and they were both safe. Wyatt, Fallon, Penelope, and Billie were alive too.

Desperate to get out of the Shade, I took off running. I didn’t have a direction in mind, nor did I know whether I wanted to go home or back to the Academy. Everything inside my mind was jumbled, and I was afraid. Would the Academy accept me back after what I’d done? Twice I’d made sure a monster of the Shade wasn’t killed.

Things got worse when I sensed I was being hunted. They were spread out. Four of them, and I guessed it was probably the students. They’d regrouped and wanted to finish what they started and capture all of us.

I wouldn’t let that happen and picked up speed. Running felt amazing, like I could go on forever. As I went, I focused on those trying to get the best of me. The one directly behind me was gaining while the others were spreading out. I put my head down.

At some point, I heard the roaring of a nearby stream and slowed down in time to see that I was high above it. I glanced over the edge, admiring the sparkling of the water, and wondering if this enormous body of water connected to the one where I’d nearly drowned.

The scent of my sweat and dirt filtered along the air, and I debated what to do. With my back to the cliff, I listened. There were two to my right. One coming at me from behind, and the fourth was on my left. I was pinned down. The only way of escape was to jump.

I faced the edge and peered over.

Don’t jump! Wyatt’s voice reverberated along my spine. Just let us bring you into the Academy. It’s part of the test. But if you jump, you could get hurt. He whined.

I turned back. Can I hear you because you’re supposed to be the Alpha?

No, it’s our blood bond, he responded slowly. I heard you speak to that monster. What does that make you? His tone was accusatory yet soft. Like he wasn’t sure what to think of me.

I was freaking out. When he told the Academy what I did, what would they do to me? What would my father think? Fear ratcheted along my veins.

Death. They would kill me. I knew that was what would happen. Either that or imprisonment? Or worse, they would torture and use me like a lab rat. That wasn’t an option.

My only alternative? Escape and stay in the Shade. Live as a wolf. That would be better than my perceived options.

Diana? Wyatt interrupted my thoughts.

I don’t know, I said, answering his question.

Let’s find out together. He moved closer. Even in wolf form, he stood taller than me.

As I looked into his eyes, I wanted to comply. I knew that however we were bonded, the two of us together would be beyond beautiful. At the same time, there was a fire inside that burned in my bones,