“I don’t know why you waste your time with her,” Tenny, a tall blonde who was a few months older than me said.
Every female at school wanted Tyler. He was going to be the next alpha, after all. Even without the promise of power, his looks would buy him a lot of attention. He was over six feet of solid muscle. With wavy black hair, piercing amber eyes, and a strong masculine jaw, he was like a walking wet dream. Thankfully, his good looks were wasted on me. He’d been an awkward kid and by the time he resembled a fucking Greek God, I knew what kind of person he was.“Ditch the loser, Ty,” Tenny said in what was probably supposed to be a seductive tone. “We haven’t had a tumble in my back seat in a while.”“I said,out,” Tyler repeated.“She probably doesn’t even know what you like,” Tenny whined.“What exactly do you think he’s doing with me?” I asked. “Because I promise you if he put his dick anywhere near me, I’d bite it off.”Tyler’s hand made contact with my face, slapping me so hard it nearly knocked me on my ass. The sting made my eyes water and I forced myself to clench my jaw and hold my breath rather than cry out. I’d learned long ago that when I reacted, it made things worse.Tenny giggled. “Well, since she’s not meeting your needs, you know where to find me if you want a real wolf.”“Out,” Tyler repeated.The girls left the bathroom and I pulled free of Tyler’s grip. “What do you want, Tyler?”“You shouldn’t be here,” he said. “My father should have kicked you and your whore of a mother out the day your grandfather crossed that witch. Better yet, he should have let you starve in the caves.”I swallowed hard. The worst punishment in our pack was being locked in the caves on the south end of town, right near the border. Locked in without food or water with other criminals meant that wolves often went feral and fed on each other. It was gruesome and had only been used once in my lifetime, but the threat was always there. Only, this was the first time Tyler mentioned it. He’d told me I shouldn’t be here in previous encounters, but he’d never talked about the caves. Ever since his first shift, he’d been more emotional and less stable. I was grateful he wasn’t the alpha yet.“Don’t worry, I’ll be out of here soon and you’ll never have to look at me again.” I glared at him.Before I saw it coming, his hand was around my throat and he pushed me back, slamming me against the wall. I heard the cracking of my head as it made contact and hoped it didn’t mean I had another concussion. Pain blurred my vision and I winced despite myself.He was faster and stronger than he was before his first shift. When we were younger, I had a chance against him. As we got older, he got stronger, feeding off the energy of his wolf. I didn’t have that advantage. It was hard to tell if the beatings had gotten worse or if he’d gotten stronger.When we were in elementary school, he teased me but by middle school, things turned physical. In the last year, I had learned I didn’t stand a chance fighting back anymore. What I wouldn’t give for some of the strength and power that came along with a shift.Tyler scowled at me. His expression reflecting pure hatred. I never knew what I did to make him so mad, but it had gotten worse recently. Beating me up had always seemed to be a sport, something he did with a laugh to show off to his friends.That’s when it hit me that we were totally alone. My heart pounded faster. In all the years of dealing with Tyler, he’d always had others with him. There were always witnesses. He liked the audience and there was always someone to pull him back if he took things too far. We’d never actually been alone before. For the first time during one of our little torture sessions, I was worried. This wasn’t just a game anymore.“Let me go,” I demanded.“Like I said, you shouldn’t even be here, little wolf.” He squeezed harder, making me gasp for air. My vision blurred, growing darker around the edges. For a moment, I wondered if this was it. If he took me out, I would be free of this place, done with the pain. I considered it for a heartbeat. A flicker of anger urged me forward, I wasn’t ready yet.Risking retaliation, I kicked Tyler right in the nuts. He let go, groaning, as he grabbed his manhood. I sidestepped him then bolted for the door, sucking in air as I fled. The hallway was empty. His friends nowhere in sight. Whatever Tyler had been after, he didn’t want any witnesses. If he hadn’t already had his mind set on murdering me, he probably did now. I might have just signed my own death warrant.Fuck.Surviving for the next six days was going to be harder than I thought.Kicking Tyler in the nuts was probably a really bad idea but in all the years of abuse, he’d never come at me alone like that. And he’d never put his hand around my throat. I wasn’t sure what snapped to cause him to up the ante, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Maybe it was the thought of losing his favorite victim that was pushing him to the edge. Maybe he didn’t want me to be happy and figured he’d kill me before I could leave. Worse, what if his shift had unlocked some kind of violent streak? I mean, he’d always been violent, but this was insane. I had no desire to see what he would be like with power. The whole pack was fucked when he took over as alpha.Whatever the reason, Tyler had crossed a line I didn’t even know existed. I couldn’t let him get me alone again.“Lola, those boxes aren’t going to unpack themselves,” Jud, my manager called.I shook myself out of my reflection and got to work pulling cans of beans out and putting them on the shelf. I’d managed to a
Of course I saw Tyler everywhere. In the halls, at the store, even walking down the fucking street. As asked, I faded into the background, hiding behind other people and even once ducking behind a tree. It wasn’t like I was being stealthy, he saw me, but to his credit, he did his part to look away. And unless I was imagining things, he even distracted his friends a few times to keep them from seeing me.None of it made sense. Years of being slammed into lockers in the hallway or being elbowed in the stomach for no reason left a mark. The broken noses, black eyes, and cracked ribs left behind were strong enough memories for me to take his warning seriously. Every time I hid, I felt like a failure. I’d made it this far on little more than mother-fucking-moxie and fleeing from a literal big bad wolf was shit on my self-esteem.But it was almost over.The only thing keeping me going was that nobody knew I planned to attend a human college. I was on my way out of here and going to make som
“Never come back. Stay away forever.” His tone was dark and I could hear the warning in it.Swallowing hard, I nodded. It was good advice, honestly. I’d seen this place destroy my own mother. She’d been a decent mom when I was young. Then something inside her snapped. I always wondered if it was the whole denying the inner wolf the ability to shift. They said my grandfather went crazy and killed himself because not shifting was too much. I never let myself put too much stock in those rumors because I didn’t want to believe it could happen to me. Maybe staying away would help slow it down or prevent me from following the same path.“Get out of here,” he said.I stuffed the envelope into the waistband of my jeans and covered it with my shirt. Damn girl jean pockets were too fucking small to actually fit anything. “Thanks, again.”He grunted as he picked up a broom and started sweeping. Our conversation was officially over. My throat was a little tight as I walked to the front door. Jud
The coffee pot gurgled and sputtered as it percolated. I tore my eyes away from the appliance to look at my mom. She was a mess and it hurt a little to see her like this. I’d gotten good at blocking it out and reminding myself about how badly she treated me the last few years. But there was something about knowing it was time to say goodbye that made you view things differently. I felt sorry for her. She’d been handed this life without choice. She wasn’t the one who fucked up, but I couldn’t stay here. Not even for her. There was nothing I could do.“I’ll leave as soon as the magic lets me out,” I said.“Good,” she said.“Will you be okay?” It was a question I’d wondered about a few times but always stopped myself from asking. She wouldn’t be okay and we both knew it. She’d have to start taking better care of herself and I wasn’t sure she could.“Don’t worry about me,” she said.“I’m not going to come back after I go.” I wasn’t sure why I told her that, but it seemed like she should k
“My dad says everyone has to be at the ceremony or it’ll displease the gods. I'm here to make sure you attend.” Tyler, to his credit, looked like he would rather be anywhere else but standing here playing errand boy for his dad. I wished the same could be said about his friends, but their grins and tense body language told me they were hoping I wasn't going to go down without a fight.I had two choices. Try to fight all three of them and lose badly, or agree to go along with it. There was a possibility I could still run if they didn’t stick around to babysit me.“Fine.” I took a step back, giving some distance between the three of them.“I'm supposed to bring you tonight. You're the only one that might ruin it.” Tyler moved closer to me, his expression serious.“After a week of warning me to stay away from you, you want to spend more time with me? What is it, Tyler?” I probably should have kept my mouth shut but in my defense, I was already out of this place in my head.“What is she t
In my lifetime, I’d never seen that mark. I was fairly certain Tyler’s dad didn’t have it either. I used to wish someone would challenge him so Tyler’s status would drop, but I gave up on that long ago. It wasn’t my problem. By the time someone did challenge him, I’d be long gone.“What’s it going to be?” Julian said, moving closer to the door. “How wide can you open your mouth?”“You’re disgusting,” I said.“Why else would Tyler ask you to stick around if you’re not putting out?” Julian asked.“I’m not fucking Tyler.” I wasn’t fucking anyone. Like there was anyone in this pack I was willing to get into bed with. Sure, I had desires just like everyone else, but they were mellow compared to shifter libidos. I’d walked in on classmates in the library more than once. While I might get myself off on occasion, I could wait until I was home and my door was locked.At least that was one good thing about this curse. I couldn’t imagine having sex with any of the assholes around here. We didn’t
My skin felt itchy and I had to fight against the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in the shitty trailer I grew up in. Restlessness seeped into every inch of me, making me feel like I needed to claw my way out of this place. The minutes seemed to crawl by. I’d waited so long for this day and I had a plan. I wanted out the second the moon rose high enough to break the wards that kept me prisoner here. Instead, I was faced with showing my face at the stupid First Moon Ceremony.I stood, my ancient bed creaking and groaning as I rose. Running my hand through my hair, I paced in the tiny space. Waiting was a hiccup, but it didn’t change my plan. I was still getting out of here as soon as I could. It just delayed me a few minutes. A few hours at most. As soon as the others shifted, I felt confident I could leave without issue.I’d never attended a First Moon Ceremony but I had some information about what to expect. Only those who were making the first shift or already shifted pack m
Ace Grant, Tyler’s dad, and our pack’s alpha, was standing outside the barn with a small group of other shifters when we arrived. I quickly found Tyler, Julian, and Marion Reed, my classmate who shared the same birth month. In addition to them, I recognized Marion’s parents and the other shifters present. It was a small town after all, and even if I was an outcast, I still knew everyone’s name.Jenny Ortega, the high priestess, was the only person in the gathered group smiling at me. She’d always been pleasant with me, but never kind. Of all the adults in town, she was the only one who might have been able to speak up on my behalf and go against the alpha. She never did. To make matters worse, everything I knew about the moon goddess and general shifter religion came from what I read in books. I wasn’t allowed to attend other ceremonies since I wasn’t considered a full wolf. Not that I fought hard against that. Most of my classmates complained about how boring they were. But, it was a