Read The Choosing for Free Online Page A

approaching and hunting is scarce, and they’re very careful not to overfish.
    The nets are kept in a small wooden building set about ten feet back from the water. It’s never locked and Jerath pushes it open, gagging slightly at the strong fishy smell that wafts out at him. It’s almost as bad as the barn.
    He locates the nets and chooses one of the smaller ones from near the bottom. Since there’s only him and Serim, they won’t be able to carry that many fish back. He hoists the bundle of ropes onto his shoulder—hoping the awful smell will wash out because, unlike Serim, he’s not wearing his old clothes—and heads back to see if she’s shifted yet.
    “Hey.” Serim smiles as she walks over to help Jerath with the net.
    “Nice to have you back.”
    “Yeah, sorry about that.” She looks a little sheepish. Jerath knows that, as a rule, Mahli and Serim try not to shift too much in front of him. He’s told them it’s okay and he doesn’t mind, but they still don’t do it as much as they could.
    “It’s fine, Serim.” He smiles at her, and she grins in return. “Let’s get these in the water.”
    Serim takes one side, Jerath the other, and they walk backward away from each other until the net is spread open between them. On the count of three, they throw it out into the lake and watch as it lands, perfect and untangled, then sinks down to the bottom.
    There are four ropes attached to the net, each one long enough so when the net sinks, there’s plenty of rope left on the surface to pull the ends together and haul in the catch. Serim and Jerath carefully lay the ends down and secure them around several of the trees. Then they wait.
    The fish will all have scattered as soon as the net hit the water. Jerath has been on fishing duty a couple of times before and he knows from experience it’ll be at least half an hour before they start to return. Serim throws a handful of bait into the water to encourage them, and Jerath climbs back onto the rock. He pulls his knees up to his chest and sighs.
    “Jerath?” Serim clambers up next to him, not half as agile in her human form but still more graceful than Jerath. “Is everything okay?”
    “Yeah.” He scrubs a hand over his eyes. “It’s just….” Jerath pauses. “You know….” He’s tired of all this—being envious of his friends and feeling left behind as more and more of the boys his age get their fangs. He doesn’t want Serim and Mahli to have to censor themselves around him, and he doesn’t want to keep going on about it all the time either, even though he knows they don’t mind.
    Serim doesn’t say anything; she just nudges him and places her head on his shoulder. It’s exactly what he needs right now and he turns his head to place a barely there kiss on her forehead.
    “Thank you,” he whispers.
     
     
    “H ERE you go.” Serim grins as she wipes off Jerath’s hunting knife and hands it back to him. “All done.”
    “Finally.” Jerath jumps off the rock and helps Serim put the wrapped and gutted fish in the carrying sacks they’d brought with them.
    “It would have gone a lot quicker if you’d helped instead of watching.” Serim huffs as she pulls her sack tightly closed, and Jerath laughs.
    “Hey, I did my fair share of smelly, disgusting work at the barn this morning. Besides….” Jerath brandishes his knife before hooking it into the sheath behind his back. “There was only one knife.”
    “Yes, well….”
    Jerath laughs again because there’s nothing she can say to that. It was Serim who forgot her knife, after all. He hoists one of the sacks onto his shoulder and starts to walk off. “Last one back to the village has to pack them in the ice hut.”
    “Hey!” Serim calls as Jerath strides into the trees. “That’s not fair!”
    Jerath smiles to himself as he hears Serim hurry to catch up.
    They’re about ten minutes into the forest when they hear it. Serim tenses next to him, and there’s something off in her