Shifting Hearts

Chapter 7 - Late Night Conversations

That night I managed to squirm my way out of Cooper's arms and tiptoed lightly to the door. Peaking around the hallway, I made sure it was clear of wolves before taking a deep breath and creeping outside. I felt bad for sneaking around like this, but I had a feeling that Cooper wouldn't exactly approve of me being a horse shifter, whether it was my choice or not.

And that was the reason why I was trying to sneak out— so that I could speak with Skipper and Rosie.

My penchant for not wearing shoes came in handy when trying to make less noise; as I ran quickly across to the paddock fence, my bare feet made not a sound. I jumped the fence and continued running even as I began to shift forms. I fell heavily onto my arms as my hands became hooves. As soon as the shift was complete, I shook out my short coat and broke into a canter that sped into a gallop.

I called out to my friends but stopped when I heard a sound behind me. Rearing and turning on my rear feet, I turned to face whatever was approaching me. I snarled with bared teeth as a lithe brown wolf broke through the grass in front of me. A surprised snort choked from my throat as I looked at the wolf.

He was obviously younger than any of the other wolves I'd met, marked by his smaller form and the gangly, adolescent look of a teenager. But he was an absolutely stunning creature.

His fur was a deep, chocolate brown that was thicker than the other wolves, giving him a fluffy, more approachable look. He looked like a giant puppy.

I knew who it was as soon as his big eyes locked with mine. There was only one person with that color eye.

Amber. A bright clear amber, like gold in the sunlight.

Dylan.

The wolf's form shimmered and suddenly the boy stood before me. He quickly grabbed a pair of shorts he had tied to his leg and pulled them on before looking up at me and smiling crookedly.

And the words that came out of his mouth absolutely amazed me.

"Well, Eli. I guess Cooper was right about you hiding something, now wasn't he?" He quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms expectantly.

I let out another surprised snort before sighing heavily, blowing Dylan's hair back.

But not a moment later I melted out of my horse form and stood before him. Not for the first or last time, I thanked God that I didn't shift nude.

"If you tell Cooper, I swear to God, I will kill you. I don't know if the myth about silver is true, but trust me, I am willing to test it."

This family must have lived to infuriate me because his only response was a short laugh as he looked at me.

"I won't tell him if he doesn't ask but if my alpha asks me a direct question, I need to answer it. It isn't even a choice."

I opened my mouth to respond but he cut me off.

"But I will not willingly tell him. If, and only if, you explain some things to me."

An exasperated groan ripped from my throat as I wiped my hands at my eyes tiredly. "Fine, fine. But you have to explain things to me, too. Like, how you knew when to follow me,"

I glanced around us suspiciously before looking back at Dylan. "Let's go somewhere more private," I said before shifting back to horse form.

Dylan rolled his eyes, "How dramatic," he commented dryly before melting into a fluffy brown patch in the dark.

Laughing softly, I turned my back on him and raced off towards the far end of the paddock. Of course, Dylan— being the competitive teenage boy he was—decided to take this as a challenge and sped past me, low to the ground as he swiftly pulled away from me.