He snorted. “The extra time I spend with you now, answering your questions and helping you morph? I would’ve done my homework.”
“Right,” I muttered, staring at the passing trees.
At home, Zack tossed the keys on the dining room table and located the blanket and pillow. “It’s late. We should get to bed, but first I’d like to test your strength.” He returned to the dining room table and propped an arm up on his elbow, his hand ready to grip mine.
“It’s kind of pointless, don’t you think? As a shape-shifter, I’m not going to be as strong as you.” I held my arm up opposite his on the table.
“It’ll still be challenging. Plus, if we practice, you’ll build strength and maybe next time, you won’t lose as quickly. We’ll have something to compare it with, so we can tell how fast you’re changing.”
“On three?” I asked and he nodded. “One, two, three.”
Slowly, my arm descended in the wrong direction. I fought it as hard as I could and Zack’s arm slowed. He put more power behind his push and I strained against him. Another thrust and the back of my hand lay flat against the table. I lost. Not exactly a big surprise.
He stared at me. “You’re unusually strong.”
“Not that strong. You beat me, remember?”
“But not as easily as I expected.” He studied me another moment. “You’re going to get stronger. I may not always be able to take you down.”
“What? Aren’t shape-shifters weaker than werewolves?
“Yeah. I don’t get why you’re different though.” He tapped a finger on the table, studying a knot in the wood grain of the table. “We’ll have to wait and see how tough you get.”
“When will I max out?”
“Never. We just keep getting more powerful as we get older. But at first, there’s a surge. From the moment I first noticed my body changing, my strength rapidly increased for a couple months before I leveled out. But that’s me. I don’t know what it will be like for you, since we’re different species.”
With his constant reminders, how could I forget? “So how else are you and I different?” I asked masochistically.
Zack toyed with the keys on the table. “Werewolves tend to be grumpier and shape-shifters tend to be more easygoing.” He glanced at me. “Although, apparently, that isn’t always the case.”
I pouted. “I’m not grumpy.”
“Whatever.” He snorted, twirling the keys around on the table.
I put my hand over Zack’s to stop the weird key frenzy.
Rising from the kitchen chair, he paced between my dad’s recliner and the dining area. “So what else did you want to know?”
“Hm.” I glanced at the box of his dad’s stuff. “Any idea why the king is so opposed to shape-shifters?”
“That’s in the book I’m reading now — the legend of Hannah and Eli.” Zack returned to lean a hip on the dining room table. “Even before them, you guys were slaves. When Hannah and Eli betrayed the king, more laws were made and penalties became harsher.”
“Who are Hannah and Eli?” Maybe it wasn’t important, but I couldn’t know what might help me and what wouldn’t. “They must’ve royally pissed off the king.”
“Oh, yeah. Hannah was a born werewolf betrothed to the king in the fourteenth century. Eli was a shape-shifter slave and the king’s top blacksmith. They fell in love and escaped. It’s believed though that they’re dead. They became so weak as mates, they ended up dying of old age as mere humans.”
The more I learned, the more impossible a relationship with Zack became. We had zero chance. Utterly depressing. “But no one knows for sure? For all we know, Hannah and Eli survived.”
“With the entire werewolf kingdom hunting them? Can you imagine the king’s rage when he discovered a slave stole his future wife?” Zack shook his head. “Besides, it’s too easy to detect a werewolf or shape-shifter. I can’t see them still alive after all this time.”
“Wait. To detect a shape-shifter?” I squinted, trying to think with that. It didn’t mesh with what had been happening to me. “If that’s the case, why don’t the scouts or Daniel already know about me?”
Zack stopped pacing and gazed at the floor. “Maybe because you’re still maturing and your scent is light. That’ll change.”
This was not good news. “How long do I have?”
“Weeks maybe? I’m guessing your scent will increase with your abilities.”
I didn’t have much time before I became a fugitive. If I stayed with my mom and dad, assuming they were humans, how much danger would they be in as a result? Werewolves had rules about not hurting humans, but rules were sometimes broken. And anything could happen with scouts around like the one who turned Daniel.