(Isla)
Walking beside Caius felt different.
Maybe it was because neither of us was in a hurry. Maybe it was because I'd chosen to stay in my human form. Either way, I was glad we hadn't shifted.
I looked over at him.
His eyes were on the path ahead, but his hand never left mine. There had been a time when I thought simple things like this belonged to other people.
"You've gone quiet," he said.
"I was thinking."
"About?"
"How different everything feels."
He glanced at me.
"In a good way?"
"The best way."
He smiled, and we kept walking.
For a while neither of us said anything.
I didn't mind the silence. It wasn't the uncomfortable kind I'd grown up with, where silence meant someone was angry or waiting for me to make a mistake. This silence was easy. It gave me room to think.
