The deer is amazing.

Maybe it's because I haven't had a real meal in days, but the meat is so juicy and savoury, that I catch myself behaving most unlady-like and ripping the meat off the bones with my teeth as the juices run down my chin.

I can see the others watching me with silent curiosity. Clearly, I'm the entertainment for the night. Sitting next to me, Evan watches me in amusement as I lick the delectable nectar from my fingers before reaching for more venison on the spit.

Why haven't I eaten venison before? It's delicious. I definitely have to introduce it to my parents when I get back home.

Sufficiently stuffed, I lean back as the men continue to pick away at what's left on the bones, sometimes chewing on the bones as well. "That was so good. You have no idea how much that hit the spot," I say with a content sigh.

"We've all been there," Evan says with food in his mouth. "Starvation makes us all turn into wild animals. Especially this one."

He jabs his thumb at Keith next to him around the firepit, who's sucking marrow from a bone he snapped in half.

Keith shrugs. "Hey, gotta grab what you can before Rick eats all the good parts."

"Don't accuse me in that manner," Rick says in a gravelly voice. "It's my right to eat first."

"Yeah, well, it would be nice if you tossed me a bone once and a while."

"You know very well that Emily gets the scraps."

"And it's a good thing Ali gives her more than just scraps, otherwise she'll be like her," Keith shoots back, jutting his chin toward me. "No offence darlin', but damn!" he adds as I cringe.

"Hey," Evan barks, with a rumble in his throat. "Don't talk to her that way."

Keith rolls his eyes. "I said, no offence. Not my fault she's all skin and bone."

Feeling self-conscious, I pull my legs up to my chest. "Not my fault either."

Alicia scowls at Keith, but quickly says to me, "Now, now. That'll change. With proper exercise and diet you'll fill out. A few more years will help too. Some girls blossom later than others."

Keith rolls his eyes. "I know you didn't just compare her to a flower, Sis."

"Why not, Bro?" she says, her eyes taking on a dangerous look. "She's fragile enough right now as it is, is she not?"

I look from Keith to Alicia with worry before I catch Evan grinning and shaking his head slightly. Giving him a quizzical look, he leans over and whispers in my ear, "They always bicker. Just ignore them."

I suppress a shiver from his breath on my neck. "Over what?"

He shrugs. "Superiority, of course."

"I wouldn't know. I've never had any brothers or sisters."

"Really?"

I nod. "Do you? Have siblings, I mean."

There's a twinkle in his eye. "Oh yeah. I got an older sister and two younger sisters, about your age maybe. And a baby brother. He's ten now. You're... twenty-one?"

"Eighteen."

"Oh," he pauses, as if something has crossed his mind. "Okay. Four year age gap's not bad."

I furrow my brows. "You're twenty-two?"

"Yeah, I'm legal, not like you."

I squint at him. "Yes, I am."

Huffing, he says, "I mean, I can drink. You can't."

I purse my lips, thinking about my fake ID getting me into the club and buying drinks. I'm used to older guys hitting on me, but none of them have affected me the way he has. He makes my head swim and my body burn with fire with just a look. The meat I had just eaten could have been hot coals because my temperature starts to rise again just thinking about how he affects me.

"I don't want you buying her any alcohol, Evan," Alicia says, overhearing our conversation.

"Wasn't gonna."

"Good," she says sternly. "Until we figure out why she's so late in shifting, we ought to remove all questionable substances from her."

I don't understand anything she just said. "What do you mean, late in shifting? Questionable substances? I don't make a habit of drinking and doing drugs."

"I didn't say you did. But I am curious. There has to be a reason as to why you've only just started shifting and you're eighteen. Normally, our kind starts shifting when we're ten, or a year before we hit puberty at the latest. Our inner wolves start to become stronger then and begin challenging us for dominance."

"Alphas can start shifting earlier than that," Rick adds. "It's a sign of strength. My first shift was when I was seven."

His comment makes me shudder. I cannot begin to imagine my body going through such a traumatic change at such a young age. How does one cope with their body morphing into that of an animal?

I decide to change the subject and get images of turning into a half-human half-beast out of my mind. "So you have a big family then?"

"Yup."

"What's that like?"

He laughs. "For one thing, you never get a minute of privacy."

"Oh."

He puts an arm around my shoulder and nuzzles my neck. "Which is why I really enjoyed our time together over the last few days."

My breath hitches and butterflies burst forth in my stomach into a whirlwind of a dance. I close my eyes and try to calm the racing of my heart. "B-But you were a wolf and I was just... me."

Gosh, it's so hard to breathe right now. I feel my temperature beginning to spike higher, and he quickly pulls away with a groan.

He rubs his face with one hand as I tentatively turn my head to look at him. His face is all red and flustered, his nostrils flaring.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "Gotta control the beast until you're ready."

It's very hard to swallow, but I manage to push the lump down my throat. "Ready for what?"

I hate how my voice comes out like a squeak. Really, what is wrong with me?

His golden eyes fill with compassion as he reaches over and tucks a few dreadlocks behind my ear, causing the butterflies to stir once again. "Ready to accept who you are."

Oh, sweet Jesus.

Loud, guttural gagging sounds catch our attention. Looking over, I see Keith pretending to stick his index finger down his throat as he fakes vomiting.

Beside me, Emily giggles at him, while Alicia frowns disapprovingly. "Honestly, how is it that you are my brother?"

Keith flashes her a sly grin. "Come on, I'm just having a little fun with the lovebirds. You wouldn't let me tease you when you and Rick first met."

"And for good reason," she says, fire burning in her hazel-green eyes.

Giggles erupt from the petite girl again, causing Alicia to whirl around and clasp the teenager's cheeks in her hands. "If I didn't love you so much, I'd smack you right now."

Pulling away, Emily laughs louder as she runs into Keith's waiting arms. "That's my girl. You're safe here."

Alicia gets up and smacks him upside the head as Emily buries her face in his broad chest. Keith just takes the abuse with a devilish grin still plastered on his smug mug.

I think I'm going to like this gang.

Smiling at the hulking blond cradling the petite brunette as the stunning beauty glowers over his shoulder, I turn to Evan and ask, "So, are you all related somehow?"

My eyes trail along his scruffy jawline as he sighs.

"Well, that depends on how far back you want to go," he says, catching my dark brown eyes as I glance up at his. "Shifters share a common bloodline with our roots in an ancient tribe that used to roam North America. We came across the Bering Straight from Russia thousands of years ago, but from there, I can't tell you much more. But no, none of us here are closely related, except for Keith and Ali."

"So where is everyone's families? Are they all shifters too?"

"Yup. Alicia and Keith's parents have a pack up in Washington State. My parents joined them when my oldest sister met her mate in their pack. They gave us this territory to look after. My younger sisters might join our pack in a few years too. You know, be around others their own age." He leans back and takes a breath. "Rick's parents are down south somewhere. I never asked where. He doesn't like to talk about himself. And Emily," he says, glancing at the teen sitting in Keith's lap like a puppy as he pats her head, "She came to us from Colorado seven years ago."

I wait for him to say more, but he falls silent. "What about her parents?"

He purses his lips and I try not to stare at them. "Dead. All of them. Her entire pack was murdered."

My heart clenches and I lower my gaze to the ground. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her.

He continues, "Alicia and her parents took her in. She was late for her first shift too because of her grief, but only by a couple of years."

I close my eyes, thinking about my parents. I'd be devastated if I lost both of them. I almost did lose my father, and I can't bear the thought of him not being with me now. "That's terrible."

He speaks so confidently about each other as wolves; he really does believe that they can shift into them. Again, I remind myself, as I look up and study the golden irises of his eyes and the healing wounds on his upper lip, that the similarities are too great to be coincidental. I don't want to accept such a bizarre idea like wolf-shifters, but they all seem to really believe it.

And my body changed. I saw it. I wasn't hallucinating. Something happened that logically shouldn't.

I sigh and rest my head on Evan's shoulder, looking up at the sun touching the tip of a mountain in the west. I've had enough for one day.

----

Author's Note: Keith's picture is attached. I love him. There's so much more to him than just a source of comic relief. Of course, we don't get to really know him until the sequel, Shadows. Thanks for reading!