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healed when in wolf form, but I wasn’t sure that shifting would heal a broken heart—either his or mine.

THREE
    As I hurried back to the main house, I realized that I now had something I hadn’t had before: a chance with Connor.
    And just as quickly reality slapped me hard in the face. That chance was only available if I could figure out what had happened to me, why I hadn’t shifted. I mean, really, what guy wanted a Static girlfriend?
    When I arrived at the house, I located my backpack, started for the front door, and stopped. It was late. Only a few lights were on, but I wasn’t ready to run into anyone else and continue with my cover-up. Besides, I had something I wanted to check.
    We were an ancient civilization. Some believed we’d been around since the dawn of time. Others thought we’d come into existence with King Arthur and the magic of Merlin that had surrounded him. The elders never really confirmed our origins. They simply protected the secrets of our history. Those secrets were housed within ancient texts that the passage of time had made so fragile that only the elders were allowed to read and study them.
    While I walked in the shadows along the side of the house, heading toward the back, my mind drifted to the ancient texts that were stored in a room that only the elders were allowed into alone. They’d shown the room to the Dark Guardians, reverently removed the ancient book from a glass box, and allowed us to touch the worn leather so we’d have more regard for our past. But the book was never opened in front of us. The words were never read to us. Surely something so carefully guarded contained secrets—and answers.
    I didn’t bother sneaking. No point when the night guards had a keen sense of smell. I was surprised that I hadn’t spotted anyone yet, but I figured they were probably on the far perimeter. Their job was to stop anyone who shouldn’t be here from getting this close. They weren’t here to stop us from doing anything we shouldn’t. After all, we’d all sworn an oath to be honorable. An oath I was about to break.
    When I reached the back door, I turned the knob—not surprised to find it locked. I swiped the keycard and watched the red blinking light turn green. Taking a deep breath, I slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind me.
    Now was the time for stealth. I was in an area we were discouraged from hanging out in. The hallway was unlit. Closing my eyes, I envisioned what everything had looked like when the elders brought us to this area of the residence. The hall was wide. Tables decorated with antiques and statuettes honoring wolves lined the walls. If I simply walked down the center, I should be okay.
    I crept slowly and carefully, until my eyes adjusted to the gloom and the shadows began to take shape. I realized that a few of the doors were open. Pale moonlight spilled through the windows into the rooms and whispered into the hallway. But it wasn’t an open door that interested me.
    My heart thundering, I came to a stop in front of a closed door. I knew if I was discovered I’d be stripped of my Dark Guardian status—but that was going to happen anyway if I didn’t get some answers. I put my hand on the knob and a chill went through me. I wasn’t certain if it was the knob or my hand that was cold. It was as though the ghosts from the past were breathing down my neck.“Enough already,” I muttered. Squeezing my eyes shut, I twisted the knob.
    It opened.
    I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from gasping out loud with surprise. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Or what I thought I was going to do if it hadn’t opened. Was someone in there? Was one of the elders working late? Or did they trust us to respect that we weren’t supposed to enter this room? Or maybe someone had just forgotten to lock it.
    Pushing on the door, I cringed when the hinges gave a creak. I glanced around quickly, then decided the hell with it. I shoved open the door and stepped