by Sara Dailey
***
I made it to second period before Shari arrived. When she came in, she sat down at the desk next to mine and immediately said, “Hey Alli, we are going to grab a pizza after school if you want to come.”
Completely shocked by the invite, I found myself scrambling for an excuse not to go. Before I even realized, a reply a bit too close to the truth slipped out. “Really? I don’t know. I’m not sure that Kendall likes me very much.”
Not that it should have surprised me, but she acted stunned that I didn’t think of myself as Kendall’s favorite person. “What? Well, no worries. Kendall’s not coming. I think she has plans with Cade.”
Just hearing his name pissed me off all over again, and I almost told Shari thanks but no thanks, but I didn’t want to turn down my first invite to go out with the girls from the pack. I was having a hard enough time fitting in without giving them a reason to like me less, and I just would have gone home anyways, and obsessed over Kendall and Cade’s revived relationship. I definitely needed something to take my mind off them and whatever it was they were doing after school.
“Okay, sure. How are we getting there?”
Shari smiled, and said, “Oh, I drove to school today. It’s just going to be me, you, and Becca. Meet us after school out front.”
Of course, I brooded over Cade the rest of the day and tried to unsuccessfully convince myself that it wasn’t a big deal, to get over it, and that I should have seen it coming, but that wasn’t working, so I just ended up feeling worse. I was an idiot to think that our relationship would work out. He dated me in secret, for God’s sake. He was too ashamed to admit to anyone that he liked me, if he ever really did. I pretty much spent the majority of the day beating myself up for being so naïve.
Even though I sat with Teagan at lunch, I noticed that both Kendall and Cade were missing from the pack’s table. Nothing could have diffused the anger burning inside me. I couldn’t stop thinking about why they weren’t at lunch. A private rendezvous at the library stacks? Or maybe outside under the bleachers?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I wished the images in my mind would take a hike, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, so I sat there in silence, letting it drive me crazy. I’m sure Teagan could tell, but she was nice enough not to say anything. Everyone else I encountered that day asked me what was wrong and if I was okay. Obviously, I was doing a sucky job of hiding my emotions.
After school, on my way out front, my nerves were getting the best of me. I couldn’t believe I was going out for a pizza with Kendall’s friends. How bizarre was that? I caught up with Aiden on my way out and let him know of my plans. He seemed… I don’t know, pleased?
I saw Shari from across the way, and she waved me over.
“Hey Alli. You ready, girl?” Becca called, as if we had actually been friends since we first met. In reality, I think those five words were the most she ever bothered to say to me.
WTF! This was too weird. Why were they being all nice to me? My instincts were screaming that something fishy was going on, but I convinced myself that this was completely normal, and they were just trying to be friendly. This is what you do when you have friends, right?
We headed over to Gesseppi’s pizza parlor, which was only a few miles from school.
The girls gabbed the whole way there. Though I wasn’t exactly included in the conversation, I gave an occasional nod and giggle, so they knew I was listening. Once there, Shari ordered a large pepperoni pizza and drinks for all of us.
We got settled at a table, and as we waited for our pizza, Becca asked, “So Alli, how do you like being a werewolf?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I guess it’s better now that I know what’s going on with me. For a while there, I thought I was either really sick or really crazy, you know?” I replied.
Shari smiled and said, “I bet. You probably thought you were running a fever, huh?”
“Yeah, I kept having hot flashes. That sucked, but the worst part of it all was all the smells in the air. Every time I turned around, something else was making me nauseous,” I added.
As we all laughed, I couldn’t believe how cool these girls were being, especially since neither of them had really talked to me much since the first night we arrived. I couldn’t help but wonder what Kendall would think if she knew I was having pizza with her best friends.
“Aiden seems to be adjusting. I mean, he just kind of fits right in with a group of guys, who generally don’t like newcomers. Plus, he is so hot,” Shari said.
Just as I was about to tell them that Aiden didn’t seem fazed by any of it, I heard the bells over the door ring, and turned to see who was walking in. Oh shit! I thought she wasn’t coming.
Chapter 26
Kendall
“Hey chicas! And Alli. I guess I made it after all,” I announced as I waltzed through the door.
The look on Allison’s face was priceless. If only I had my iPhone ready to snap a photo. My day couldn’t get much better. First, Cade decided to drop the little home-wrecker on her poor, pitiful ass, and now I get to rub it in her pretty, little face, and all in the same day. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was my birthday.
After Alli wiped the shock off her face, she pushed her chair back from the table and said, “I’ll be right back.” She hurried toward the bathroom. Probably to go throw-up. Poor thing, doesn’t seem to handle stress well. She walked around all day looking like her favorite cat got ran over.
“Okay honey! Hurry back, we have so much to talk about,” I responded as sweetly as I could stomach.
As soon as the bathroom door closed, I turned to my girls and said, “Hurry, grab her stuff. Let’s get out of here.”
“We can’t just leave her here with nothing, Kendall. How will she get home?” Shari asked.
“I don’t care. The little ho-bag is lucky I didn’t rip out her throat. Now grab her purse and backpack, Shari!”
Without another word, they grabbed Allison’s stuff, and we ran out of the pizza joint before anyone noticed or had a chance to say anything. Leaving her stranded was nothing, compared to what I wanted to do to her, but she would definitely get the hint. She might think that she “loves” Cade—ugh!—but he is mine. He was promised to me a long time ago, and I will not back down. This will teach her not to touch anything that belongs to me. If she wants to be a member of this pack, she needs to know her place. At the bottom!
Chapter 27
Allison
I was only in the restroom for like three minutes, but when I came out, everyone was gone. I ran to the window just in time to see Kendall and the rest of the girls peeling out of the parking lot. I could only imagine what they were saying to one another as they took off for the estate, leaving me stranded twenty minutes from home without my purse and my backpack.
Completely mortified, I explained to our waiter that I had been left behind without any money. He took pity on me and was kind enough to accept my promise to come back tomorrow and pay for the pizza and drinks, plus a hefty tip. He knew as well as I did that I was the victim of a cruel, cruel prank, and he was kind enough not to make me go in to detail about why they left me standing there. The waiter offered to let me use the phone, but I didn’t have any of the new numbers memorized, and to be honest, I was too embarrassed to admit to anyone what had happened.
I stood there at the edge of the parking lot, staring down at the long road home, contemplating my next move. I had no phone, no money, and no transportation. I did the only thing I could do; I started walking. I followed the road for what seemed like hours. I must have walked five miles, and with each step, I became more and more enraged. By the time I made it to the city limits sign, I was not only fuming, but freezing, tired, hungry, frustrated, and hurt. To make things even worse, I was wearing brand new shoes that were absolutely killing my feet. With my knuckles clenched and my jaw tight, I was ready to draw blood. Cade and these bitches have messed with the wrong damn girl. Were they not listening wh
en Aiden told them about me and my reputation at my old school? Were they stupid? Obviously they were.
I picked up my pace and tried to breathe slowly in and out. My chest was so tight that it hurt to breathe. Suddenly, I stopped in mid-step.
“Oh shit! Not now,” I said under my breath, recognizing the familiar pains shooting through my stomach. I doubled-over, gripping my gut. I needed to get off the main road fast. Even though it had already become dark, I could not risk changing into a wolf right here in the middle of the highway.
I walked as fast as I could, focusing on calming down, and slowing my breathing, trying to prolong the inevitable. This was so not good. I made it to the tree line that signaled the end of the city just in time. I doubled over in pain once again; then before I knew it, I was down on all fours.
In this form, with this body and all the speed I could gather, I ran. I dashed the entire way back to the estate. I didn’t slow down once. I didn’t take time to notice all the new scents. I couldn’t think of anything except ripping Kendall Stuart to shreds.
As I approached our house, I saw her. Kendall. My vision tunneled until all I could see was her. I finally slowed down, but not before I was only a few feet away. Acting on instinct, I hunched down, bared my teeth at her, and growled. I knew that she was frightened. I could smell it on her, and it only made me want to attack her even more.
It was only when I heard Kendall’s name shouted from nearby did I pause and take in my surroundings. I had been so focused on kicking Kendall’s ass that somehow I missed the crowd of people gathered on my front porch.
Holy shit! This wasn’t good!
Before I could figure out what to do next, Marcus and three others shifted in mid-air as they launched themselves toward me. The shock and fear of seeing four massive werewolves coming after me must have triggered my immediate change back because just as they reached me, I was human again. Human and completely, butt-ass naked.
***
Oh-my-God! This cannot be happening! Seriously!
I stood there literally dazed and confused, trying to cover myself with my hands, when Cade came rushing my way to throw his jacket over my bare shoulders. I quickly shrugged the jacket on over my naked body as I jerked away from him. Looking him straight in the eyes, I said, “Don’t touch me!”
Trying desperately to avoid all other eye contact, I hurried toward the front door as fast as my naked, human legs could carry me. Unable to believe that everyone, my mom, dad, brother, Cade, Kendall, and just about every other wolf in the pack was staring at me in horror, I sure as hell wasn’t about to hang around and explain myself. Thank God my grandparents weren’t there. Gram would have had a conniption fit.
I ignored the people calling my name. Really, what did they expect me to do? Stand around in only a jacket and chit-chat? I had just made it up to my room when I heard the front door open and close downstairs. I quickly threw on a t-shirt and jeans just as I heard a small knock on my door.
“Alli? Baby, can I come in?” my dad called from outside my door.
I considered not answering, but figured it wasn’t his fault that I shifted from wolf to human in front of everyone and ended up flashing my new pack.
“Yeah, you can come in.”
Dad slowly opened the door and peeked inside as if he was worried that I might actually still be naked.
“You okay, honey?”
I couldn’t hide my irritation. What a stupid question. “What do you think, Dad? The whole pack just saw me in my birthday suit.”
“We barely saw anything. Really. I think everyone was more shocked that you were a wolf than anything else.”
“Yeah right, Dad. I’m not a complete idiot.”
“Well, anyways… you want to tell me what happened?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it. It is just so humiliating.”
“Come on, Al. You’re going to have to tell us at some point.”
I so didn’t want to have this conversation right now. The entire incident was totally humiliating. Kendall must be in freakin’ heaven. First she embarrasses me; then I embarrass myself. How am I ever going to face those people again? And Omigod, Cade of all people.
Finally, I agreed to tell Dad the whole story. The invitation, my reservations, the pizza place, the angry walk home, my transformation, and well, he witnessed the rest. I could literally see his anger building as my story continued. First his face reddened, then he clinched his knuckles, but I knew he was really upset when he stood and began to pace. Yes, Dad was pissed! Really, really pissed. I couldn’t remember ever seeing my dad with that much rage in his eyes. Without looking at me, he turned toward my door and said through gritted teeth, “I’ll be right back, honey,” and he left my room.
I just sat there, my mind reeling. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I really could have killed Kendall. Surely, there can’t be a bigger bitch on the entire planet. How could anyone be so evil?
I lay back on my bed trying to convince myself to stay put. All I wanted to do was go sit by the window and peek out so I could see what was going on, but, for obvious reasons, I decided it was best to wait for someone to come tell me what happened after I fled the scene.
After thirty painfully long minutes, my mom showed up at my door with an oh-honey-I-feel-so-bad-for-you look on her face. My first instinct was to slam the door, but I didn’t. Keeping my temper in check, I asked her to sit down and tell me how much drama my little escapade caused.
She sort of half-way laughed before she said, “Of course, I’ll tell you what happened, but first I want to know about your transformation. Was that your first time?”
I’m not sure why I told her the truth, but I did.
“Actually, no. It happened one other time a few weeks ago.”
I left out the other night when Cade helped me change and we went running together.
“What! Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, not bothering to hide her disappointment in me.
“I don’t know Mom. I was so freaked out by the whole thing. I just decided to keep it to myself. Plus, it felt, I don’t know, kind of personal. I didn’t think about the fact that I might get so ticked off that I’d turn into a wolf and try to attack Kendall. It’s not like I could have known that could happen. Let’s face it Mom, I don’t know much more about being a werewolf than I do about rocket science.”
She may have looked at me incredulously, but she knew I was right. She hadn’t told me anything about the change: what to expect, how to control it, yada, yada, yada. But, I get it. I should have told someone. As I tried to assure her that I will be more open about my were-life, Mom droned on and on about needing to be honest, and how Aiden and I needed to learn how to control the transformation as soon as possible, blah, blah, blah. Doesn’t she realize that the only thing I really cared about at that moment was what the hell had happened outside?
After she finally paused to take a breath, I cut in, “So, are you going to tell me what happened out there, or not?”
“Well, okay long story short, all hell broke loose. Shari confessed about her part in the plan to ditch you. Marcus told the girls, including Kendall, that he was extremely disappointed in them, and their punishments would be announced at the pack meeting tomorrow night. Well, and then your dad came out yelling up a storm about how those girls are treating his baby girl.”
Oh freakin’ great. How embarrassing! I knew my dad meant well, but damn! Could he have made this anymore humiliating? And now we have to relive the entire ordeal again at a meeting. Just in case the whole pack didn’t see it first hand, they’ll be sure to get a play-by-play at the meeting.
“Can’t I skip this meeting, Mom? It’s just too embarrassing.” I asked, praying she would take pity on me.
“Afraid not, baby. Marcus wants everyone there, and he sounded serious.”
She put her hand on my shoulder and said, “It will pass, I promise. Do you want some dinner?”
I looked at her like she was nuts for
even asking. As if I could eat after practically streaking through the estate. Just the thought of food made me want to vomit.
With a deep sigh, she tilted her head to the side like she always did when she couldn’t make me feel better. “Well, if you’re not going to eat, why don’t you try to relax? Maybe a nap,” she said, and then kissed the top of my head.
***
The next morning, I refused to ride with the evil were-herd. Plus the thought of seeing Cade after… well, after him seeing me in all my naked glory, was horrifying. I begged Mom to drive me, but Dad stepped up and offered to take me.
Knowing how slow Dad drove, I pleaded to Mom with my eyes until she finally gave in and said, “I will take you and Aiden to school this morning. You shouldn’t have to ride with that awful girl, in fact, we might think about getting a second car.”
I couldn’t contain my smile. A second car would be absolutely perfect. Aiden and I wouldn’t have to car pool to school anymore, and I wouldn’t need to be around the bitch from hell. But… I wouldn’t get to see Cade either, not that I should want to. Maybe not seeing Cade was just what I needed.
All morning and on the way to school, Aiden wouldn’t even look at me. He avoided me at all costs last night and this morning. Then he didn’t say a word to me on the drive to school. I should have just asked him what was wrong, but I didn’t want to make things even more awkward. All I could figure was that he must have been embarrassed. It’s not every day that you see your sister butt-ass naked.
On our way into the building, I couldn’t take the silent treatment any longer and finally said, “So, are you like never speaking to me again or what?”
