The True One

Chapter 12

Alek

During the time I'd spent with Verity, I'd been guided by a certainty that had now come completely undone. A Verity wolf did exist, yet her body itself remained untransformed. I had witnessed the beast in corporeal form, then merge with her seamlessly, two bodies becoming one. Norvin had never mentioned such a thing was possible. Did he know? Would he have been as shocked as I was, or could I add Verity's incredulous state to the growing list of things Norvin had kept from me.

We trudged back to camp with another half-truth to tell the others.

"I wandered off to pee," she said to them. "Yes, I did have a blackout. A short one. When I came to, I was disorientated and started walking, thinking I was headed back to camp when it was in the opposite direction. I got lost. Thank God, Alek found me before I accidentally walked off a cliff. What a hero!"

In their weariness and relief, they dismissed Verity's sarcasm and bought our concocted story. I pulled her aside after everyone else had gone back to bed. "We'll head to the car first thing in the morning. Tell everyone we think it's the best decision for your health."

"What?" Her human eyes flickered in the moonlight, and I imagined the barest glimpse of a wolf hiding behind them. "No, we're finishing this fucking treasure hunt. I'm getting my Gold Rush Revenge loot even if it kills me."

Or someone else. I clenched my jaw, ready for an inevitable fight.

"Be reasonable. Everything's changed now." I said, my voice lowered so only she would hear me. "We have to figure out what's happening to you."

"I already did that while we were walking back here. Turns out, I'm a psychic werewolf."

"Shh," I nudged her farther away from the tents. "Don't let them hear you say that word."

"Why not?" She scrunched up her face, but still obliged me with a whisper. "It's your idea to keep my status a secret from everyone else, not mine."

"That's for your safety, as well as for theirs."

"But you won't tell me why that is."

"I... I can't tell you. You need to trust me."

"I don't need to do anything regarding you. You're keeping secrets—secrets that involve me! But I should just look past that and pretend everything's okay?"

"I didn't say that. Everything is not okay."

"Look, Alek." She tapped me with an accusatory finger, then lay her hand flat against my chest, her gaze fierce and unforgiving. I hated how much I loved having her this close. She knew it too—that part burned the most.

"We're going to finish this treasure hunt," she continued. "We're heading back to LA at the previously arranged time and you will tell Janene that I've got my shit together, so there's no reason not to continue the tour."

My body tensed. Verity may be some sort of psychic werewolf, but she was a popstar first and foremost. "After all that has happened, the tour is what you're most worried about?"

"I'm worried about many things. The tour, my father's inability to handle his own finances. The fact that I'm a wolf-human, obviously."

"A werewolf."

"A psychic werewolf who can project myself as a wolf using only the power of my incredible mind."

"We don't know yet what exactly is happening."

"You mean you don't know. I'm living it, so my opinion holds the most weight. Mainly though..." She patted my chest like I was a dog that needed to be constantly acknowledged to prevent it from running into traffic. "What I'm most worried about is you."