“Sometimes.” I shrugged. “She isn’t doing it to be cruel or anything. I have to learn from my mistakes so I don’t repeat them. My training master always encouraged swift and severe reprimands.”
“Well, he was wrong,” she huffed. “You shouldn’t slap or degrade anyone, no matter what they did or what their rank is. Even an omega deserves to be treated with respect.”
“But I’m beneath Sunny, Taffy. It’s my duty to serve her and my pack in whatever way they need,” I argued.
“Maybe, but you don’t have to be her doormat, Shade,” she asserted. “You can’t be serving Sunny while you’re here. You’re both equal participants in the choosing. Your status as an omega doesn’t count.”
“But Alpha Butch—”
“Shade, let’s not get into this right now,” she sighed in frustration. “Like I said, your alpha’s rules don’t apply while you’re at Harvest Moon. As a final candidate, you’re technically considered a temporary member of this pack. Can you just agree to that for now? Please?”
“Okay,” I answered.
“Great, so no more serving Sunny?”
“I’ll try,” I conceded, not certain how I would manage to protect my sister if I wasn’t allowed to serve her.
At the very least, we can keep any further punishments private, not that I want there to be any more. There’s a whole different set of rules to follow here, and countless ways to screw this up. I can’t afford to let Sunny down.
“Perfect,” she cheered, flipping back to her perky personality in the blink of an eye. “Now finish your breakfast so you can try on one of your new bikinis.”
I groaned. I wasn’t excited about this. The bikinis Taffy had chosen were far too revealing for my taste, but then again, I’d never felt comfortable showing that much skin.
“Okay, so today is a group outing to the waterfalls,” she said as she set aside her plate.
“The waterfalls?” I replied excitedly.
“Yes,” she chuckled. “I forget you didn’t go on the pack tour. There are two waterfalls on our territory. One has two really high falls, which are beautiful but a bit too loud for a casual hangout like this.”
I leaned forward, eager to hear more.
“The second set has a bunch of falls,” she continued. “But they’re much shorter and slant downward almost like a slide. We call them the Sloping Falls. We have inner tubes stored up there so we can go up on hot days and play in the water. It’s a blast, so hurry up and get changed.”
I ate my last piece of bacon and grabbed the black bikini off the bed and hurried into the bathroom.
“You’d better come out and show me what it looks like!” Taffy called as I shut the door.
I rolled my eyes. I knew she’d never forgive me if I didn’t, but once I had it on, I was suddenly nervous.
This is too much right? I guess I can keep on my T-shirt or something. Why couldn’t we have gotten a one piece?
I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door.
“Oh my Goddess, Shade!” she squealed as she glanced up. “You look killer in that!”
“You really think so?” I asked, walking over to check for myself in the mirror.
“Yes, girl! You have an amazing figure!” she exclaimed. “I don’t know why you’re so shy about showing it off.”
“What about my scars?” I asked, turning as I stared at my reflection.
A few of the more prominent ones were on full display, and I felt conscientious about them.
“What about then?” Taffy replied. “We’re wolves. Scars are sexy. It shows that you’re a strong, proud warrior. A defender of your pack.”
I smiled at her over my shoulder. I’d never been proud of being a warrior. It was just what I was. What I’d been trained to be.
“Where’d you get this one,” she asked, pointing at a jagged scarthat ran from my hip around to my back. “I bet you got it in a real badass way.”
