“Olivia?” Dad was outside my door, and it swung inward when he knocked. His eyes landed on me where I was still pressed to the wall. He stepped inside and pushed it closed behind him. “Are you alright?”

“Who is he, dad? Why is he here?” I knew I sounded panicked, but I didn’t care.

Dad rested a hand on my shoulder and pursed his lips. “He’s a…friend. You met him the night of the fall, but you probably don’t remember.”

I scooted away from him and crossed my arms. “He was there. Why?” The handsome man who had confronted me at the bottom of the hill was in my house and I didn’t like it. My wolf growled faintly. Apparently She didn’t like it either.

“Look at me, Olivia.” He moved his head to keep in my line of sight. “Look at me, baby.” I met his eyes and froze. His brow was creased and the blue of his stare was like shattered glass. “She’s right behind me. But I need you to keep your eyes on mine, okay? Don’t look away. Promise me?”

Dread crept up my neck with icy fingers, but I nodded. He relaxed and gently inched me backwards. The moment I felt his hands loosen on my jaw, I jerked free and leaned past him to see what he was shielding me from. In one sick instant, I regretted my act of defiance and collapsed against him.

A scream shot from me with such intensity I felt my throat go raw and my lungs burned with the force of my wail.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I continued to stare at the gleaming pieces of silver, listening for the voice of the wolf who had gone silent within me. Tears welled in my eyes as the minutes dragged on and I heard nothing.

To my right, my mother began to growl. My vision blurred with tears, and I started to look away, unable to stomach the possibility I wouldn’t be able to choose.

Wait.

Hearing His voice a third time, I clenched my jaw and willed the tears to recede.

I trust you, Creator. Please. Speak to me!

Though my fingers had continued to hover over the talisman I had originally felt was the right choice, I gasped when the one all the way to the right winked out of sight, followed by the one next to it, and the next until only the one under my hand remained visible.

Choose.

“Olivia Arctos.” Lukas crossed his arms and all eyes landed on him. In the full light of the moon, the stones and beads woven into the ropes of his hair shimmered the light, while the rest of him seemed to absorb it. As the last rays of daylight faded, he became little more than a voice devoid of form. “Today you must choose. You must choose to listen to the Spirit inside and become a true daughter of the Creator, or forfeit your birthright. I am here not to help you choose, but simply to witness the choice as it is made.”

The shadowy form of him held a bound package of white leather and stone, and I watched in fascination as the thin strips unwound and the bundle unfurled without his hands ever moving. The whites of his eyes allowed me to see his gaze move to each of the others gathered before he spoke again. “Olivia must make this choice alone.”