Pack of Lies

by Sara Dailey

  The single fact that I changed into a freakin’ wolf completely blew my mind. It was easy, natural, not at all like I imagined it would be. Well, it wasn’t exactly easy and natural. Maybe that’s not the best way to explain it, but even though painful at first, after it happened, I actually felt whole for the first time in years, maybe ever.

  ***

  When I finally made my appearance downstairs, we all spent the morning unpacking, Aiden and I focusing first on our winter clothes, being that tomorrow would be our first day of school. We quickly discovered that we were in desperate need of something to wear so that we didn’t get frostbite. Surviving in the Rockies during the winter would be quite a bit different than the winters in Houston that we were used to. In fact, different isn’t really a strong enough word. In Houston, we would live in jeans and hoodies—not to mention the occasional shorts and flip-flops when a warm-front blew through—all winter, but here, I needed a damn parka if I had any hope of staying warm. No lie, a parka… maybe even with fur. How appropriate.

  After an hour of searching through box after box of clothing and coming up with nothing, Aiden and I decided to make lists of all the stuff we needed from town, grabbed Mom and her credit card, and headed out in search of new wardrobes. We had some serious work to do before showing up at our new high school.

  ***

  I was seriously hating life standing on our front porch freezing my butt off as Aiden and I waited for our ride to school. Our first day of school! And yes, we had to carpool. Carpool? Apparently, that’s how they do things on the estate. We were being forced to carpool with the others because, and I’m quoting my mother here, “there’s no reason to waste all that gas taking separate cars,” which in my humble opinion is kind of sucky.

  Seriously, I’m all for saving the earth, going green, and all that, but I’m seventeen. I want my own car! Who wouldn’t? I wouldn’t even mind sharing one with Aiden. So we all were going to have to sit down and have a nice Wright-family talk if our parents expect us to live here without our own car.

  Watching Sammy’s Suburban approach, I said a quick prayer that I wouldn’t look too out of place in my new winter coat and boots. Never in my life did I imagine owning my own pair of boots like this. I wasn’t even sure what to call them, but they were warm and you were supposed to wear them when it snowed, apparently. Aiden assured me that we wouldn’t look stupid, but I knew my nerves would only die down after I saw what everyone else was wearing.

  “Chill out, Al. Everything is going to be fine. You look great.”

  “Sure Aiden. Easy for you to say. Everyone already loves you. Like always,” I said with a huff.

  “It’s different here, Al. I can feel it. You’ll see.”

  I wanted to believe Aiden, but past experience was telling me to be cautious. We walked around the SUV, and Aiden opened the back door. There were only two seats left, one in the middle row and one in the back.

  “I’ll climb in the back,” Aiden offered.

  I looked up and saw the guy I would be sitting next to and froze. I mean literally froze. Forgot to breathe, forgot how to move my arms and legs, forgot everything except the color of his brilliant green eyes.

  It wasn’t just his eyes that had me hypnotized; he was smokin’-hot, absolutely-heart stoppingly-breathtakingly-beyond-gorgeous hot. Mr. Dream Wolf. With his shaggy dark hair and to-die-for olive-toned body, he could stop traffic in Houston. He made my wolfie-side want to sit up, pant, and lick his face.

  “Hurry up, Allison. It’s freezing. God, were you raised in a barn?” Kendall said from her seat next to my mystery wolf.

  It was him. The wolf. Who was now human, obviously.

  Does he know who I am? Of course he does. He saw me from the window. Shit, shit, shit.

  Kendall’s death-to-the-new-girl glare shook me out of my momentary state of shock, and thankfully my legs began to move again. Trying not to knock anyone in the head with my bag, I made my way over to my seat.

  Aiden, who had already made himself comfortable, tapped the drool-worthy guy on his shoulder and said, “Hey man, we haven’t met yet. I’m Aiden.”

  “Hey, I’m Cade,” he said with a wave, and then he turned his attention to me.

  “And you must be Allison?” Cade said as he held out his hand.

  The second our hands met my insides turned to mush. It was as if electric currents were flowing through our finger tips, like static electricity.

  “Yeah, I’m Alli,” I said as I reluctantly pulled my hand away from his, which left me suddenly feeling empty.

  As the car left our driveway, everyone began taking turns giving Aiden and I the run-down on our new school: what to do, where to go, who to talk to, and who not to. It didn’t matter that we were all crammed in the car together with only inches separating each of us. It was impossible to hear, to pay attention to anyone, but him, and I hoped that no one was asking me questions that I wasn’t hearing.

  Needless to say, my concentration was shot. I couldn’t focus on anything except the familiar scent radiating off the body next to mine. Each time Cade moved, even the slightest shift, his spicy scent consumed me. I have dreamed of that smell for two nights in a row and having him near me now was teetering on being too much to handle.

  How could I possibly feel this way? We only just met. I didn’t even know his name up until a few minutes ago, but something inside me was telling me that none of that mattered.

  The need to touch him, just to have some kind of contact with him, was almost painful. I wanted to cry, wanted to laugh, wanted his arms wrapped around me. I wanted him to nuzzle up against me again.

  What the hell was wrong with me? Surely, he was feeling this too, right? Oh God! What if he wasn’t?

  I kept my eyes focused on the winding road ahead of us fearing that if I looked his way, he might sense what I was feeling, what I was thinking. No, I couldn’t let that happen. I forced myself to keep at least an inch or so between our arms so that they wouldn’t touch.

  That is until Aiden opened his big mouth to ask how much further the school was. Cade turned his body toward me to answer him, and not only did his arm brush against mine, but I felt his warm breath brush across my face as he answered. He smelled of honeysuckle and brown sugar, and I had to fight the urge to grab his neck and pull his lips to mine. Lost in his scent and the closeness of his body, I wanted so badly to reach out to him just to feel that spark once more. The need was so strong I almost couldn’t stop myself.

  Just as I thought all control was lost, we pulled into the parking lot, and finally I was able to breathe again. I opened the car door, all but stumbled out, and sucked in the fresh air, hoping to ease the pain in my chest.

  Cade followed me out, and as Kendall followed him she threw herself into his arms and whispered something in his ear. Kendall took Cade’s hand and started toward the front entrance, leaving me walking behind the group.

  Just as we reached the school’s entrance, Cade looked over his shoulder at me. We just looked at each other. There was no smile, no frown, no expression at all. There were so many emotions running through me that I didn’t know how to feel. Was I hurt? Disappointed? Angry? No, just lost.

  Chapter 12

  Kendall

  I saw it. It was there. I would have to be blind, completely oblivious, not to notice the connection between Cade and Allison. If that little tramp thinks she is going to go and screw everything up, she’s got another thing coming! It’s not going to happen. Cade is mine. He has always been mine. I’ll be damned if anything comes between me and that ring, or my position in this pack.

  He will be the alpha male, and I will be the alpha female. Not some little half-breed whore. My mom would completely freak if she found out about this, and I guarantee Marcus and the elders would have a major problem if Cade up and fell for Lillian Wright’s daughter, of all people. It’s no secret that Lillian ran off with that human when she was promised to Marcus, which, in my opinion, should have been unforgivable. It
was only because her parents are high-ranking elders that she was even allowed back after all these years.

  At this point, there wasn’t much I could do. I could alert Marcus, but I need to play my cards just right. So for now, I will have to pretend that I don’t see it. Pretend it isn’t there. But I will make it go away, one way or another.

  When the bell for first period rang, I told Cade to walk me to my class. He gave me a half-hearted smile and followed me toward the west wing. I could tell that he didn’t want to, but I also knew that he would do it regardless. Cade doesn’t have the nerve to embarrass me in public. He knows better. When the halls were finally clear, I pulled him aside.

  “Are we good?” I asked.

  “Yeah… we’re good,” he replied, but his eyes refused to meet mine.

  Just to be sure I had his attention, I ran my hand down his firm, flat stomach and whispered in his ear, “I really, really hope so.”

  He didn’t move away or look around. He even moved a little closer and kissed me on the cheek before he left for class.

  I know that things may not be normal between us, but at least I know that he’s not completely lost to me.

  If Allison knows what is good for her she will forget all about Cade Walker, and if she doesn’t, that little bitch better be ready for a war.

  Chapter 13

  Allison

  “Al, you okay?” Aiden asked as he turned around and waited for me to catch up.

  I nodded and added a small smile, but I didn’t really mean it. How in the world could I be okay? The guy that I was sure I was destined to be with just walked into the building with the supreme bitch of the universe on his arm.

  “Come on, Sammy said the office is this way,” Aiden said as he tugged lightly on my bag.

  As we walked toward the office to get our schedules, the familiar stares, giggles, and ooh-la-la’s followed in Aiden’s wake. I swear he can’t go anywhere without the crowd admiring his every step. Of course, Aiden was eating up the attention, giving little half-smiles and what’s-up nods to the giggling girls.

  “You totally suck.” I couldn’t help being irritated. Everything came so easily for him. I guess he could have said the same thing about me before everything fell apart a few months ago, but a little part of me secretly wished that he wasn’t so damn perfect. It’s just not fair.

  “What? Don’t be mad. I can’t help it if girls are a little more obvious than guys,” Aiden said in my ear, and as he did, I noticed three girls giving me dirty looks. That was all I needed; girls hating me because my own brother was talking to me. There was something totally wrong with this situation.

  After a trip by the attendance office, I left Aiden to his own devices and headed to my first period, hoping to find at least one friendly face among the throng. I wandered into room 302 and looked around, not sure what to do when the teacher lumbered over and snatched my schedule out of my hand and announced, “Ah, Allison Wright. Welcome. Well don’t just stand there. Go sit down.”

  Ms. Whoever ushered me over to an empty seat, and to my surprise, the girl sitting next to my new desk glanced my way and smiled. Stepping completely out of my comfort zone and hoping for the best, I held out my hand, and said as confidently as possible, “Hi. I’m Allison.”

  “I’m Teagan. It’s nice to meet you, Allison” she responded.

  Overjoyed to have someone acknowledge my existence, I smiled and said, “Nice to meet you too. I’m new… obviously.”

  “Well it sucks to be new. I should know. I just moved here last year.”

  I sat down at my desk, and after a few seconds of silence, I turned to Teagan to ask, “So, where did you move here from?”

  “San Antonio. It’s in Texas.”

  I could hardly contain my excitement. “Omigod! I’m from Houston, or League City, really. It’s right outside of Houston closer to Galveston. How funny.”

  Teagan smiled a genuine smile this time, and I found myself hoping that I had found a real friend here, in this strange place.

  “That is too weird. It’s freakin’ cold here, huh? I remember when we first got here, it took forever to get used to it. I bet you had to go buy those boots, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did actually. My brother and I had to go shopping yesterday. We had absolutely nothing to wear.”

  “I can relate. I had no idea what to expect when I got here. I was so worried about what everyone else would be wearing,” Teagan admitted.

  “Me too.” I sat back at my desk, relieved to have made a connection here.

  “Yeah well, I barely made it through the front door on my first day here when this horrible girl named Kendall made fun of my Wal-Mart snow boots.”

  “Kendall, huh? Maybe I should keep my distance from her,” I replied, not wanting her to know that I was already well-acquainted with the horrible girl.

  “So what else do I need to know about this place?” I asked.

  “Well, let’s see… this school is kind of crazy, but most people are really nice. I think you’ll really like it, but let me be the first to warn you, because nobody bothered to warn me. There is this group of students here who act like they run the school, and well, they kind of do. But anyways, they are all crazy-beautiful, and from what I can tell, complete jerks. They only hang around with each other. And as you may have already guessed, the aforementioned Kendall is their lead mean-girl. Seriously, stay away from her at all costs if you can. You’ll know who they are when you see them. I tried to be nice to one of them when I first got here, but she totally blew me off.”

  She gave me a once over and then shyly said, more to herself than to me, “But who knows, from the looks of you, maybe they will make an exception. You look like you just stepped off the runway.”

  For whatever reason, it didn’t exactly sound like a compliment. I smiled, not sure how exactly to respond to that.

  So my group of were-friends aren’t so nice to the non-were people here at Carson High School. Interesting. Not that I was surprised that Kendall was a bitch, but I have to admit, I didn’t take the rest of them for being such asshats, to quote my beloved brother. Maybe I should have listened to their what-to-do and what-not-to-do lists in the car, instead of thinking of ways to “accidently” brush up against Cade.

  Looking at Teagan, she looks like she would fit right in with the pack. She’s definitely pretty enough to hang with them, though she’s shorter and curvier. But I guess the mere fact that she’s human immediately made her an outcast. It’s weird that they would only hang out with other weres. It made me wonder if they talk to any humans or if they strictly keep to themselves.

  “So, you have a brother? Older or younger?” Teagan asked, knocking me out of my dazed and confused state.

  “Oh… yeah I do. He’s a senior, Aiden. I’m sure you will see him around. The girls are already throwing themselves at his feet. It’s so annoying. So, what lunch do you have?”

  “Third lunch, which kind of sucks because it’s so late, and the group I was telling you about has that lunch. What about you?”

  “Same,” I replied, thrilled to hopefully have someone to eat with.

  “I’ll show you who I mean, even though I probably won’t need to. They aren’t hard to spot. I mean, if you want to sit with me at lunch, that is.”

  I smiled and gladly accepted her invitation. Entering the cafeteria was the part of the day that I was dreading most, and knowing Teagan would be there made the thought a little less terrifying.

  Not long after the bell rang, Ms. Whoever began shushing the class so that she could take attendance and make announcements. She didn’t bother to wait for everyone to get quiet before she began, but apparently, she had things under control being that it only took about five seconds for everyone to get seated, quiet, and attentive.

  The entire class worked silently and diligently until the dismissal bell rang, and I might be completely pathetic in admitting this, but I really didn’t want to leave Teagan’s side. I secretly wished that sh
e was in more of my classes, so I didn’t have to be the new girl with no one to talk to, and she was genuinely nice to me. It has been a seriously long time since a girl was nice to me, genuine or otherwise.

  On our way out of the classroom she told me to meet her in front of the cafeteria before lunch, and I silently thanked the good Lord above that I didn’t have to wander into the scariest place on earth for a new student alone.

  ***

  Before I knew it, it was almost time for lunch, and my morning classes weren’t so bad. Nothing too exciting. Ryder was in my second period. I walked in and found an empty seat near the back, and when he entered the room, he walked right up to me and sat down like it was the most natural thing in the world. We made some small talk before the teacher began class, and he was actually really nice, not a jerk at all, but maybe, that was only because I’m not human.

  Kendall’s friend, Shari, was in my third period, and even though she was not all that friendly last Saturday night, she still waved me over when I walked in the room, like she had saved a seat just for me next to her, but then she hardly said three words to me, which, by the way, was awkward. I mean, just don’t sit by me! All I could figure was that just because I’m part of the pack, she felt, I don’t know… obligated? Too weird. I wondered if Kendall would have sat by me. God, please don’t let me have her for any classes. Anyone but her.

  The bell for lunch rang, and I followed the masses into the hallway. I found myself looking around for Cade. I couldn’t help it. Obviously, he didn’t seem all that interested in seeing me this morning, but I hadn’t seen him all day, and for some stupid reason I felt like I needed to see him. Yes, I know. It’s almost as pathetic as missing Teagan, my only new friend.