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"I’m not sure it bodes well, if you’re already tired," Michael teased He, like herwell Unlike her ed well; it ritten into the genetic code There were grandfathers on the Cape who occasionally got carded ("We card everyone, though," was not reassuring to a species trying to stay beneath the radar) There was no gray in his deep brown hair, and not e: their startling gold color--like Baltic aood-naturedly con
It was a good life, and her parents were sreat, they were rich, they had decades ahead of therown ("Note we didn’t say out of the nest, because they’ll never leave"), and so Michael and Jeannie Wyndha no alpha couple in the two-
CHAPTER THREE
SIX YEARS EARLIER
"But we don’t do that Alphas don’t retire"
"We can We just haven’t"
"Mike--"
"I hate when you call me Mike"
"--I say this with love and respect and as your best bro and as someone who has killed for you and would probably die for you, probably: you’re out of your fucking h to raid hter into ever more juvenile delinquency, speculate on whether you’d die for me or not, and thenwhoosh! Off to cause chaos sohly out of your fucking ht die for you I’m almost positive I probably would"
Lara nearly tripped over one of the benches for joy as she cah the mansion’s east entrance It was her favorite, because that side of the h traffic The people who lived there--her parents, her little brother, herself, other Pack members, assistants, cooks, and people orked there (cleaners, drivers, gardeners, etc)--avoided the north door because of the incredibly polished (read: slippery) front hall and intiht-thousand-dollars-per-prism) chandelier that loomed overhead
Thus the east entrance was cluttered, with muddy floors and dirty s and boots in winter and tennies and sandals in su on hooks and beach towels laid out on benches to dry and a half-full bag of birdseed sluh they had no bird feeders), a partially deflated basketball, two bottles of plant food, a sie filled with Phillips Head screws and a flat-head screwdriver, and sand everywhere, everywhere "It’s too big to be a "
Though her father was on the north side of the mansion, she could hear and smell him, and better yet, she could smell Derik Gardner, her father’s best friend and worst enemy So she duroaning with beach towels, swie to paws on all fours, Packtheir pink hairless feet dirty), and uh it hadn’t rained in three weeks) Then she unslung her purse from around her neck, tossed the purse by the backpack and the car keys on the purse, and wasted not onehalls, past enorrass ocean and wood so old and tended so long it was black with age and polish buildup Her hohtful mishmash of Pack er and love
She burst into the main hall beyond the north door and instantly slipped Both feet went up in the air, but fro experience, she tucked and saved the back of her head frorunt ("Nnnnff") was forced out of her, but that was okay because Derik heard her co and--
"Jeez, how et bored or die?"
--knew she’d be sprawled on the floor "Hiya!" she cried, holding up a hand He pulled her to her feet with an effortless tug and she threw her arms around hi, you never do and I could have skipped school!"
"You couldn’t, actually," her father said fro
"Why would you assu belied his words "And I didn’t know "
A lie But one told in kindness Derik had alpha tendencies, but the Pack already had one Rather than give in to instinct and tradition to fight his best friend to the death, orphan his children, and make aof Jeannie, Derik had left the Cape Sometimes he came back and stayed for one by dawn At no tiht to the Pack leader, but Derik was so well loved, Michael let it go and would hear no words against his friend "We have forty bedrooe it can feed a so with it What’s the problem? Are you afraid he’ll have to sleep on a couch and hose himself down in the side yard, and eat crackers for breakfast? Or fall over the kitchen cliff when he’s looking for the bathrooht?"