“Already spent all that hard-earned cash of yours, huh?” Lucasdrawled.
I jerked my narrowed gaze toward him. “I forgot my wallet. If someone has PayPal, I’ll wire them the cash rightaway.”
“Here.” Liam extended a green bill. “Get the guy out ofhere.”
I took it from him, mumbling, “Thanks.”
I ran back to the cabdriver and tossed the bill through his window, then waited for him to leave. Once his tires spun, spitting dirt and pebbles against my ankles, I made my way back to theothers.
“You look like hell,” Lucassaid.
God, if only I could bash his tiny skull in. Sensing he’d riled me up, his smile grew grotesquelywide.
“What’s your PayPal account, Liam?” Iasked.
“I don’t haveone.”
Why did no one freaking have a PayPal account? “I’ll pay you backlater.”
“Sure.” He shrugged without looking at me. He was entirely focused on Frank, who was traipsing back up the hill that led into the thick woods. “Should we getstarted?”
Frank nodded, slipping his phone into the holster hooked on his belt. “Get into your wolfforms.”
Matt ripped off his t-shirt then pulled down his pants. Soon, Lucas and Liam, too, stood there only in their boxer-briefs.
Lucas leered at me. “Planning on ogling us or joiningus?”
I went pale. Unless I wanted to tear my clothes apart, I would need to take them off also. My pride was dying a slow, agonizingdeath.
“Why don’t you go change behind the building?” Liam offered as my fingers rolled up the hem of my tank top. “No one’sinside.”
“Alphas change with their packs,” Mattsaid.
Liam glowered at him. “Ness isn’t anAlpha.”
I thought about turning around and going through the change with my back to them, but that had my stomach inknots.
As I hurried toward the back of the house, Liam’s voice rose. “Watch out for the grate. It’s puresilver.”
A silver grate? I turned the corner, stepping lightly, carefully. I caught the metallic tang of silver before I even saw what Liam had mentioned. There, flush against the squat building was a grate twice the size of a sewer cap. I peered through the sturdy metal netting, at the excavation that was as deep as awell.
“Ness? Are you ready?” Frank’s voice made me jerk away from thehole.
I put some distance between me and the silver grate, then chucked off my sneakers and clothes and concentratedhard.
Nothinghappened.
I triedharder.
Stillnothing.
After everything I’d gone through to get here. And now this!Traitorousbody.
“Please,” Ibegged.
But apparently beseeching my wolf was pointless. Minutes ticked by, and I remained pale flesh and taut humanlimbs.
Chapter Sixteen
