Summit of the Wolf by Tera Shanley

consecutive changes were uncomfortable. Like invisible fur all over her body had been rubbed the wrong way and there was no way to right it. She flexed her arms as she gripped the sink even tighter.
    “You okay?” Grey asked from the doorway.
    She jerked her head in a nod. “Sorry. The Change back took me a pretty long time.”
    “I know. It’s okay. Can I do anything?”
    “No. If you touch my skin, it will hurt.”
    He shut the door behind him and leaned against the wall as if he didn’t have anywhere in the world to be but there. She approached him slowly and ran her fingertips up the side of his cotton shirt.
    “Why are your Changes so different?” she asked quietly.
    “I don’t know. The pain is blinding but short-lived. If I could take the hurt from your Changes away, I would do it.” He reached up, and his hand hovered just above the still sensitive skin of her cheek. If I could take all of your hurt away,” he whispered, “I’d do it.”
    She sighed and leaned into his palm. The price of the pain was fair to gain the warmth of his touch. “I feel too far away from Lana.”
    Back at the table, with Lana snuggled tightly in her arms, introductions began and promised never to end. Most wolves she met were kind and curious. A few of the females from other packs even stayed longer to talk to Rachel and Marissa. A smaller number, however, weren’t kind at all. These wolves obviously didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of women and said the most inappropriate things she had ever heard. She hadn’t a guess if they said such things to shock her or to get a rise out of Grey, or if they were actually hoping she would like the filthy talk. By the last group, she tried not to cringe while waiting to hear what was going to come out of their mouths. Perhaps if there were more female werewolves, they would know how to talk to ladies better. She enjoyed a good dirty joke more often than most, but not when they were directed at her by complete strangers.
    The other females were quite interesting, and she found a bond with them she hadn’t expected. She was lucky to have Marissa in her pack and Rachel as a close friend in the pack next door, but other females weren’t so lucky, and Summit was their only chance to find camaraderie with others. Sure, some of the females were quick to make snide remarks, acting jealous about the boys paying attention to a new plaything, but Morgan waved them off. Even as a human, she had never had any inclination to make friends with women who acted like that. Others were perfectly friendly with a hint of desperation to connect. Rachel knew most of the females who sat around their table at the end of the night to talk. Lana had played thumb war with Grey until she relaxed and eventually fell asleep in his arms, and he smiled and left with her to give her time with the other females.
    “What happened to your arms?” a pretty blond wolf beside her asked.
    She pursed her lips, unsure of how to answer. How much detail did she go into? What if one of these females came from a pack they had fought? She didn’t want to bring tension into the group.
    Rachel spoke up. “Our packs were attacked last week, and Morgan avenged one of our fallen brothers in her human form. She was a warrior. I haven’t ever seen anything like her.”
    “You were there, too?” the woman asked.
    “Marissa and I both were. Our pack was greatly outnumbered, and we wanted to help.”
    “Has this happened before?” Another woman asked. “I mean, have you had to fight because you are Silver Wolf?”
    “We had several formal challenges made at our house before that.” Morgan looked down to hide the heat in her cheeks. “The last one wasn’t accepted because I had already been claimed.”
    “That big black wolf…you are his then? Officially?” the brown-haired girl to her left asked, disappointment tingeing her voice.
    Morgan laughed. “Sorry ladies, he’s spoken for.”
    Grey talked with a group of