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We started out at an easy pace, jogging beside each other and enjoying the morning weather. It wasn’t until we hit the first four hundred meters that I asked my first question.
“So I should call myself a shifter now, right? That’s what you and Rick called yourselves last night.”
“Mostly,” he said. “Shifters, or just wolves. Either one works. Sort of interchangeable, to be honest.”
“Okay,” I said hesitantly.
Other questions popped into my mind. Questions I would have found crazy even a day ago that I now needed answers to.
“Do we live longer than people? I mean, uh,humans?”
“Same life span. We aren’t immortal like vampires or anything.”
I skidded to a stop and gaped at him. “Are you saying?—”
“No,” he said with a laugh as he stopped. “Vampires aren’t real. I was making a comparison.”
“Thank God,” I said as we resumed the jog. “There’s only so much shit I can handle at once.”
“What other questions do you have?”
“Do we have any superpowers or anything?”
“You meanbeyondtransforming into wolves on command?”
“Don’t be a smartass,” I said, shoving him playfully. “You know what I mean.”
“We’re just like regular humans, but with enhanced senses and the ability to shift. We aren’t invulnerable or anything. If I get hit by a bus, I’m dead as a doornail.”
“Interesting.”
“Actually,” Nate said, tilting his head a bit as he ran. “There is a little more you can do.”
“What’s that?” I asked, a thread of excitement winding its way through my chest.
“Do you run a lot?”
“Pretty often. Why?”
He gave me a sideways glance. “Is this your normal pace?”
“Yeah. Typically.”
“Open it up, see what you can do. I bet your body is already adapting.”
“What?”
“We don’t just keep the senses of a wolf, but we get their stamina and strength. Some additional speed, too.”
I remembered how fast Nate had been the first time I’d met him. His hand snapping out and catching me before I fell down the stairs.
I smiled. “For real?”
“Do it. Find out.”
I picked up my pace, arms pumping at my sides. Nate matched my speed. By the time the wooded trail reached the river, I was going at a speed that would have been an all-out sprint for me before. I was getting a little tired and out of breath, but by now, I normally would have been doubled over and gasping for breath.
I wasn’t. In fact, it was invigorating. I’d never moved this fast without getting tired in my life. It was amazing. As strange and traumatic as the last twenty-four hours had been, I was loving it.
