I brace myself asthey invade my home, bringing with them the scents of linseed oil, aniseed, wet hay, and something foul I can’t place. My father is a large man with meat on his bones, solid in a way an elderly dog gets. He’s got mean eyes that are blue like mine, but, other than that, he has a darker receding hair and a mean jaw. Raphael Foster always gets what he wants, one way or another.
“You’re coming to the gathering.”
No ‘hello,’ no ‘how are you.’ No ‘you look terrible.’ Nothing but a demand for my obedience.
But then, this is the reigning alpha; when he falls, Jonas will take over with Cindel, and I have no doubt my life will descend into hell. No, I’ll just be Jonas’ breeder, and when I’ve put out enough of his wolf pups, I will be disposed of.
They are cut from the same foul cloth.
My gaze goes to Cindel. They are a match made in hell. As he’s the strongest male, and she’s the strongest female, both of them alphas, they will be the lead pair, shoving the rest of the pack into line.
I refuse to be part of it.
“The gathering is in a couple of weeks; I didn’t realise I was required to make my presence known in advance.”
My father’s eyes blaze yellow, and he lashes out, hitting me hard across the back of the shoulders. “Watch your poisonous tongue!” he bellows.
I duck my head. Shit, his temper is bad today. “I’m sorry. I thought I had time to get ready.”
“I’m not here about the gathering.”
“Oh?” Well, this is worse.
“Who was the wolf?”
I still.
“What wolf?”
“The one you were seen with, the white runt who attacked James in the park the other night. The coward.”
I shrug. Angel? They saw Angel? “I didn’t stop to ask. I assumed you had new pack members, and I took off as soon as the freak left.”
My father rubs his chin. “I couldn’t find him; do you know who that human was?”
He says human like it’s the worst possible insult.
“No idea. I was meeting up with him to fuck, but then he pulled the wolf shit, and everyone here knows I’d rather slit my throat than fuck a wolf.”
I’m struck again, and, this time, my arm goes numb. Calculated move, and worth it, but the muscle is going to be sore for a while.
Pressure sits heavily on my chest, but I ignore it.
“Watch yourself.”
Yes, Alphais sneered in my head, but I haven’t called him alpha since I was seventeen.
I won’t ever address him as that because he’s not my alpha.
You call the wolves here alpha all the time,a voice in my head points out.
That’s something I should consider at some point.
My father paces and I thank god I had enough time to spray the menthol deodorizer down before they got here. My home stinks like wolves that don’t belong here.
If my father smelled them, he would probably try to beat the answer out of me.
“What are you wearing to the meet?”
