When we entered the building, I was surprised to see Jada standing by a large fireplace, hands jerked towards the flames.

"Jada!" I wasn't going to resist running over to my friend. She turned and grinned, opening her arms for me as I ran to her and hugged her. "You're okay!"

"And you're a mutant," she said, making me pull back from her. "How–"

She smiled and jerked her thumb to a round table that was only feet from me. The people around the table were staring at me and Jada with kind, but serious expressions.

"They told you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. They couldn't get me to leave in secrecy. I told them I was staying as your epic sidekick."

"God I missed you."

"You have separation issues, then, obviously," Jada said playfully, her perfect eyebrows sculpting as she smirked. "It's only been a day." I gave her a look and she laughed, hugging me again. "I'm joking. I missed you too."

We pulled back and I crossed my arms, finally taking in my surroundings. The people around the table were looking at us again, and this time one of the men cleared his throat softly and said, "How are you dealing so far, McKenzie?"

I glanced at him and took a second to intake his features. He was older, my guess being he was around 45 or fifty years old at the most, his forehead was creased with years' worth of frown lines, and crows' feet surrounded the corners of his soft brown eyes. His hair was short, kept slicked back nicely.

I searched his face for any sign of hostility, but could only spot gentle kindness and a soft firmness to his eyes. He smiled gently again and I felt a little warm, calmer, but something about him made me restless and almost uneasy. It was like the calm before a storm, the sky was dark and ominous, but the atmosphere outside was calm and damp, promising fresh rain for the life around it.

"I'm dealing," I answered him in a quiet voice, my excitement of seeing Jada dimming to a bubbling caution. "It's all really confusing and hard to take in, but I guess I'm better than I thought I would be."

A couple of murmurs around the table sounded, and I looked to see who the whispers were coming from. My eyes landed on a woman who couldn't be older than thirty years old. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, held up by a dark magenta scrunchy.

Who the hell wears scrunchies anymore? I thought as I stared at the weird combination before moving on to the rest of her. She had startling blue eyes that had been mixed with an even creepier dark green, creating a chilling mix. Her face was sharp, her chin jutting downwards and meeting up with a hard, nicely built jawline.

She saw me staring and smirked, her eyes locking with mine. Forcing down the unease, I lifted my chin for a brief second to show that she didn't intimidate me. Even though she did, but she didn't need to be aware of that fact.

"It's rude to stare," she said, drawling out the statement with amusement and, to my frustration, smug satisfaction.

Shark and I both had one thing in common, and that thing was that we hated being talked down to and challenged, especially in front of other people.

I let my eyebrows raise at her, keeping my gaze firmly locked on hers. I refused to submit to her, and she refused to submit to me. She's a council member, which means her power was strong, but I was not a submissive creature. I won't be put to my knees willingly, not now and not ever.

"Funny," I responded, cocking my head at her and smiling sweetly but hiding a cold warning behind it, like a mental choke hold. "Because it's also rude to talk about someone in front of them, instead of saying what they desire to them." I showed my teeth in a grin. "So don't talk about me when I'm here. Haven't you ever heard of manners?"

Silence was met with my words, except for the sharp intake of breath by Tommy from where he stood by the large double doors.

I almost broke the staring contest with the woman to cast a glance at Tommy out of habit, but I refused. I only felt a tiny pinch of worry for talking to a high powered member like I did, but it was not big enough for me to step down and behave myself. Respect is not something people deserve off the bat, no matter their ranking of power. Respect was earned.

Eventually, the woman chuckled. "I suppose you have a point," she hummed, folding her hands over one another. Her eyes twinkled slightly, a sense of cold amusement radiating from her. "But you do know who you're speaking to, right?"

"Of course I do," I replied easily, shrugging. "You all—" I pointed my whole finger, dragging it over each person around the table, "—are some sort of power group here. You're a government, you control people with a firm hold but try to make it like you're lenient so you have him—" I jerked my thumb to Silo, "—be the 'leader' of this group, let him make some decisions, but you're the real guns and ammo. He's just the one who shoots the ammo out of the guns."

When I looked back at Tommy, he had gone two shades paler. He seemed to be having some sort of mini heart attack, as though my words sent him into some sort of episode.

I felt something brush against my right arm, and I turned my head slightly and noted that Jada was right next to me with a lifted chin of her own. Gratitude rushed through me and I sent her a soft nod of thanks, making a mental side note to thank her later for being at my side. I was holding my ground, yes, and yes I felt brave and confident, but it helps having someone at your side for you.

I waited for someone to speak, to order me to be exiled and chased out immediately. Instead one of the people cleared their throat. He had dark skin, a bald head, and a scar running down his face. When he spoke, he spoke in a smooth, Jamaican accent, "You're a very clever girl, McKenzie, truth runs in your words but there is also a false statement. We share our power with the Chieftain ... One man with all the power can turn into a dictatorship, no?"

"You have a valid point," I admitted, looking at the man, "but to me it feels like the government that did this to us in the first place, don't you think?"

It seems I struck a nerve, because the scrunchy woman slammed her hands on the table out of a random burst of anger. Her eyes were glowing at this point, and her teeth were bared like a rabid animal's. "You pathetic little girl," she snarled.

I didn't flinch, though inside me I was scared shitless as well as itching to return the challenge. "Pathetic ..." I echoed, smiling. "How hypocritical."

It all happened so fast. One moment she was an angry snarling woman, then she was replaced with an angry snarling cougar on top of the table. The reflection of the cougar growled viciously up at her from the wood. Her paws flexed and she stared at me.

"Audrey!" Silo stood up, his hand lashing out so it blocked her from lunging at me. "Control yourself! She's new to this, she's scared, angry." He flashed me a worried glance to my own surprise.

"That does not excuse her relentless insults," another woman said, turning her nose up at me. The bitch couldn't have been any older than I was, so I narrowed my eyes. "This little girl," she continued, her sneer trying to get to me, "is arrogant, selfish, and reckless. A teenager's quality."

"Excuse me?" I hissed, turning to face her as I flexed my fingers. "Want to say that to my face, ass-face?" I demanded, locking gazes with her. I was sure Tommy was nearly pissing himself in a frenzy, seeing as I was doing the opposite of he wanted me to do in the first place. "You look like you're barely out of high school, bitch. Power or not, I do not grovel to anyone."

The cougar yowled and lunged towards me, completely knocking Silo's arm away. Just as she dug her claws into my chest, Shark was now in full control. I felt my surroundings slow and begin to fade around me. Faint whispers were heard, but in reality I was sure it was yells. My clothes ripped, the agonizing pain of my bones starting to break and re-adjust causes me to yell out, which slowly turned into that of a dog's howl.

I was now a fully grown husky dog, smaller than a cougar but still able to provide a bite deep enough to damage.

The cougar swiped at my face, and a white hot pain followed it in a rushing wave. I snarled, officially pissed off, and whipped my claws as hard as possible into it's murky light brown sides and getting a good grip. My teeth jerked up before she could realize it, as her focus was mainly on the claws in her flank. My sharp canines instantly buried themselves in her jugular. Blood filled my mouth, and the sudden desire to taste more drove my teeth to dig deeper.

The cougar let out a strangled wail that would send anyone into a sickening silence. Just like that, my teeth were ripped out of her throat and we were pulled away from each other. Silo held me down by his hands, but he was struggling. The kind man was holding the whimpering and snarling cougar back as she bared her teeth at me, blood coughing up out of her jaws every few seconds.

"Shift back!" Silo roared, "Both of you!"

I knew I was no longer in a place to protest, as I was the one being held down. If I wanted to, I probably could have bit him and ran off, but his hand was tightening around my throat. I let my body go limp to let him know that, this time, I was submitting with bitterness.

I was naked, but Jada rushed over and pulled her Jean jacket off and wrapped it around my shoulders tightly. She wrapped her arms around me and sent Silo a glare. He reluctantly backed away, deciding that Jada tending to me would be best.

As I leaned against Jada, I lifted my eyes shakily to the naked woman who was holding her throat while giving me a death glare.

The man with the Jamaican accent stared in concern at Audrey then turned his eyes to me in disgust. "This girl needs to be taught a lesson, Silo," he spat, his fist coming down to the table.

Silo turned his own eyes to the man and crossed his arms, shifting in front of me and Jada as though to defend us. "Excuse me, Damien, but I'm afraid that won't be happening."

"She attacked Audrey," he said angrily, pointing a meaty finger in my direction and curling his lip back. "She insulted the council and then dare attack one of it's members."

"Audrey, who I remind you only became a member of lowest council rank last week, attacked her first," Silo corrected him calmly, folding his hands behind his back. "Not only that, but since when does the Council punish anyone for voicing their opinion? That's a rule here, isn't it? No punishment for voicing their opinions unless they threaten the safety of the group?"

A familiar woman spoke up, and shocked me Silo both, as she said, "Silo is right. McKenzie only just got here, and she has every right to be in the state she is now." Giselle sent me a cautious glance, as if expecting a remark from me. She didn't receive one.

"We took her in for Gods' sake," Damien roared, getting to his feet and glaring down at me with burning eyes. Jada's grip tightened around me. "She should have been grateful."

Jada suddenly laughed, and Damien's attention then turned to her. He blinked at her and tilted his head, seemingly confused. "Is something funny, girl?"

Jada sobered up and cleared her throat, saying, "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I can feel your stupid from over there." She cocked her head back at him. "In fact, I'm sure anything past those mountains can feel it."

"Fuck you!" I snapped my head and saw Audrey's neck. It was stained with blood and had vicious red teeth marks from where I had bitten her, which had remained when she shifted back. "Both of you are not welcome here!"

"That's not your choice to make, Audrey," the kind man said, his eyes growing hard as he looked down at her. "Silo brought them here, I believe he should be responsible for them. Instead of forcing them out to defend themselves without knowledge, we can be humane here. It's a fair deal for them to stay, but under Silo's mentorship and control."

Silo's hands dropped and he stepped forward. "Gerard—"

"I realize you haven't had an apprentice since Angelica, Silo," Gerard said, placing his hand on the bearded man's shoulder with a sympathetic blink of his eyes, "but this girl needs to stay here, and I think we both know why. It seems she can be contained under your control, if anyone's, and it's a fair trade for her stay."

"So sorry I'm an inconvenience on you," I snapped, rubbing my wounded side where Audrey had attacked me. "If it pleases you, I can leave."

Audrey looked ecstatic with the idea. "Really? Good! Get out." She jerked her chin to the doors where Tommy was looking anywhere but me. "And take your pet with you. Two less mouths to feed."

Jada smirked. "Funny, coming from the girl who changes into a kitty cat."

"I could rip your throat out in two seconds flat," Audrey spat, baring her teeth.

"Again, coming from the girl who got her throat nearly ripped out by a husky."

"That's enough," Silo barked, sharply turning and glaring down at us both. I squinted at him. "For Gods' sake."

Giselle stepped forward and held her hand up. "Gerard, I volunteer to help Chieftain Silo with his apprenticing duties." She stared at him without any sort of expression.

The council members casted glances for a few moments before they came to an agreement. "Very well," Damien said hesitantly, having calmed down and taken a seat again.

Giselle turned to me, and she spoke without her eyes leaving me. "Thomas, take care of Jada will you? Get her cleaned up and take her to McKenzie's cabin." She paused. "Me and McKenzie need to have a little walk."