Chapter 11

11

N o one seemed to really care about eating after the run-in with Trace. We picked at our food, trying to make small talk before Rhodes eventually decided we should go back to the cabin for a binge watch of something yet to be determined. In the meantime, I had to go pick up my schedule and finish unpacking. Katy offered to come with us, and we cleaned up our trays while Remy and Rhodes talked quietly, saying they would meet us later.

I liked Katy, but I had been hoping to get Larkin alone to see what was going on. I made a mental note to ask her when we were alone in our room.

As we left the cafeteria, I caught Sierra sliding onto Trace’s lap and wondered if she knew she was as temporary as Trace made her out to seem. Or maybe he told her one thing and everyone something else.

Cassian used to do that all the time with Bella.

I’d lost track of how many corners I had turned to see him all over some other girl from our pack. I would see him with Bella almost immediately afterward, ever the doting boyfriend. He would make comments to me, touch me in some way that made me want to bathe in bleach, and then go right back to Bella. Hell, sometimes Bella would even walk in on him tormenting me and they would walk off together, hand in freaking hand.

Granted, Bella was younger than he was by almost two years, but still. It was disturbing how easily he could go from predator to prince.

I never understood how he could do that. Maybe because he didn’t have a soul.

The entire time at Long Mesa, I never had anyone to stand up for me. Mom would try to shield me as much as possible, but at the end of the day, she couldn’t protect me, especially when I was at school.

Rationally I knew Remy was the alpha here at school for my new pack, so if anyone was going to defend Larkin, it should be him. But I was tired of watching assholes like Cassian and Trace do whatever they wanted simply because they were born genetically superior.

Trace wasn’t touching Larkin again if I had any say in the matter.

“So, who exactly was that guy?” I asked as we made our way down the hall, forcing myself not to react when Larkin flinched. I knew what she probably wanted was for us to forget the whole thing happened, but I needed more info.

Katy snorted, her brown boots clicking down the polished marble tiles and echoing off a row of large, shiny blue lockers. “That was Trace Valois, heir apparent to the Norwood pack and overall dickhead extraordinaire.”

“The Norwood pack was the ones you guys mentioned this morning, right?” I asked, thinking back to when one of the twins had brought them up.

Katy nodded. “Yeah. Norwood and Blackwater don’t mix well.” She scoffed. “Well, unless you’re Sierra, then you mix well with everything and everyone.”

Something Trace said still wasn’t sitting right with me. “Trace mentioned something about Sierra and Remy?”

Katy stopped cold, and I worried for a second she might be ready to vomit. “No. No fucking way. Sierra chased Remy for years, ever since we were little. Bitch wouldn’t take no for an answer. She had the nerve to show up in Remy’s bed last year, naked, after the Spring Formal. Rem basically threatened to throw her out of the school and her family out of the pack if she tried anything like that again. The next week she was glued to Trace, saying how they were going to be mates, and she was done with Blackwater after she graduated.”

“So, in the meantime, she’s still part of our pack?” I frowned. That didn’t seem right.

Katy nudged me with her shoulder as we resumed walking. “Look at you calling it our pack,” she teased.

I tried to back pedal. “I didn’t mean—”

“No, no,” Katy cut me off, “I’m happy you see us as yours. You’re right—it is our pack, and unfortunately, until Sierra turns eighteen and reaches the age of majority, she’s in the pack unless her parents decide to leave.”

“Do you think they will?”

I had almost forgotten Larkin was walking with us until she spoke up. “No. I’ve met her parents. They’re really nice and love Blackwater.”

“They are amazing. They do a lot of work outside of Blackwater, working with other packs and helping keep the treaties in place. They’re basically Blackwater pack ambassadors,” Katy admitted. “Who knows how the hell they birthed a creature like Sierra.”

Katy paused in front of a door and waved an arm at it with a flourish. “Behold, the office!” She pushed open the door, introducing me to the woman at the front desk who printed out my schedule.

The whole process only took a few minutes. We started to head for the cabin when Larkin mentioned she left something in our room and we changed course for the dorm.

Katy reached over and plucked the schedule from my hands. “Let’s see what you’ve got. Precalc, English, social studies, earth science... Looks like you’re in most of my classes.” She squinted at the schedule. “You took an extra English lit elective? Intentionally?”

I shrugged as we walked outside into the bright fall sunlight. “I like to read.”

“You and Remy have that in common,” she muttered. “Pack studies and intro to shifters.” She passed the paper back to me. “At least you’ll be with Larkin and I most of the day.”

I glanced at Larkin. “I thought you were a junior?”

“Larkin’s a genius,” Katy teased with a wink. “She’ll be graduating with us in the spring.”

Larkin ducked her head. “I like school.”

“She finished all the math courses here when she was a freshman,” Katy continued. “She’s had to take online college courses the last couple years. Statistics and shit like that.”

Larkin shrugged, a half smile on her lips. “Math makes sense. I like numbers.”

“Numbers I get,” I admitted, “but when they start throwing letters into the mix, it gets confusing.”

“Every letter has a numerical value. It’s a puzzle to figure out what it is,” Larkin replied firmly.

Katy linked her arm through Larkin’s and smiled at her. “You are such a nerd.”

The campus was coming alive as we walked. Groups of teens were hanging out on the lawn, enjoying the sun burning off the last of the cold morning air. Ten or so had a pickup game of soccer going. I recognized a couple faces from the meeting this morning. A few lone shifters were reading in different spots around the area.

We made it back to our room, and I stopped short when I came inside and saw three large boxes sitting on my bed that hadn’t been there before.

“Oooh!” Katy squealed, brushing past me to look at the boxes. “What’d you get?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, confused. I looked at Larkin, who had joined Katy.

Larkin held up the smallest of the three. “They all have your name on them.”

“Can we open them?” Katy asked.

“Sure,” I answered, watching as she ripped open the top of the cardboard box. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

Larkin picked it up. “There’s a note for you.” She passed me the paper.

I unfolded it, tears suddenly pricking the backs of my eyes as I read the feminine script.

Consider this our way of making up for all the Christmases and birthdays we missed.

-Zoe & Michael

“This is gorgeous!” Katy exclaimed. I looked up to see her lifting a crimson red dress with capped sleeves and a flared skirt. She held it against her front and smiled at me. “You realize I plan to borrow this, right?”

I laughed, tucking the paper into my pocket. “Whatever you want.”

The boxes were all filled with things I remembered looking at when Zoe and my mom took me shopping. Things I knew were too expensive or too silly to bother with trying on or buying. The trip had been strictly utilitarian—jeans, basic shirts, a coat, a pair of sneakers and some new underwear.

In the new boxes, Zoe had also included several sets of lacy, girly underwear that I actually kind of loved. They definitely weren’t the hand me downs from Long Mesa or even the new, plain cotton ones I had bought with her and my mother. The fact that Zoe footed the bill for both shopping trips still felt wrong to me, but Mom only had a little cash leftover from what Zara had given us. Mom finally made Zoe agree it was only a loan until she found a job and could pay her back.

Katy opened my closet door and started hanging things up. After a beat, she turned back to me. “You realize all of your clothes have tags on them, right?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. They’re all new. Mom and I left our old pack and we didn’t really have time to pack much.”

Katy frowned. “My mom gave me a few basics about you before you came here. She mentioned you and your mom left a really bad pack.”

I nodded again, glancing at Larkin, who offered an encouraging smile as she settled onto her own bed. She pulled her pillow onto her lap, hugging it to her chest.

Katy hung up the red dress. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I flinched.

No .

No way did I want to talk about it. Now or ever.

“You don’t have to, or anything,” Katy continued, her tone light as she kept putting my things away like a personal assistant. “I just want you to know that if you want to, or need to, talk, I’m here.”

“Me, too,” Larkin added.

Katy glanced back at me. “Zero judgment. Whatever you say stays here.”

I let out a shaky laugh. “Thanks. I’m not used to having friends or people to talk to.”

“You do now,” Katy announced, hanging up the last shirt. She closed the closet door and leaned against it, her red hair hanging in loose waves around her shoulders. “You’re part of our pack now. And besides, I like you. I think you’ll be good for the pack. Lord knows we could use some members who are actually loyal.”

Larkin sighed. “It’s only Sierra and Ainsley who want to leave.”

Katy grimaced and sat down at the foot of Larkin’s bed. She leaned back against the wall, resting her hands on her stomach. “I don’t know. Sierra’s been talking to some of the younger girls. It’s like she’s playing some sort of matchmaking pimp for the Norwood pack.”

I sat on my own bed, curling my legs up. “What’s the deal with the Norwood pack?”

“It’s so stupid and so freaking misogynistic,” Katy muttered, rolling her brown eyes to the ceiling. “Basically, it goes back to when my parents were at school here. The now-Alpha of the Norwood pack decided that my mom should be his mate. When they all graduated, he challenged my dad for her.”

My eyes rounded. “But aren’t your parents true mates, or something?”

“They are now , but then they were teenagers and my mom’s parents had a lot of money. My grandfather handles investments for the majority of our pack. The Norwood pack was hoping that by challenging my dad for her, she would marry into their pack and bring all her family’s money with her.” Katy snorted. “Anyway, my dad kicked his ass and got the girl. It caused a big rift between the two packs.”

“Wow.” That was absolutely crazy. It was strange to think that anyone wouldn’t see how perfect Gabriel and Mallory were for each other.

“Exactly. It’s so stupid and so archaic that males can still challenge mate rights.” Katy made a face. “Like women are still property that can be traded around.”

Larkin hummed in agreement. “It’s always been that way.”

“Hopefully not for much longer,” Katy replied. “My dad is hoping to bring the issue to the Alphas at the Summit meeting next year.”

I loved the spring Summit meeting. It was an annual event that happened each spring where all the pack Alphas in North America came together to discuss shifter issues, treaties, and pack boundaries. Alphas and those expected to become Alphas one day were required to attend.

Which meant I got two weeks every year free from thinking about my grandfather, uncle, and Cassian.

Larkin leaned forward. “Do you think they’ll actually remove the law?”

Katy let out a long breath. “I hope so. Our pack and the Brooks Ridge pack have been pushing hard for it, and a lot of local packs seem on board. Between the challenge law and the fact that arranged matings are still technically legal, it’s like living in the dark ages. And girls are the ones getting the shit end of it.”

She didn’t have to tell me that.

“The Brooks Ridge pack?” I asked, unsure of who they were.

Katy grinned. “Yeah. They’re out on a pack run this weekend, so you’ll meet them later. The Blackwater and Brooks Ridge packs have been allies for almost a century. They’re based out of northern Alaska.”

Larkin nudged Katy with her toe. “And you’re particularly fond of them.”

Katy looked at me. “My girlfriend, Maren, is part of the Brooks Ridge pack.”

I blinked, somewhat shocked. “Girlfriend?”

In Long Mesa, and most surrounding packs, same sex female pairings were forbidden. With pack numbers dwindling, all females who weren’t omegas were expected to mate and breed. It was considered their duty to our race and sole purpose for existing.

Katy stiffened, her eyes flaring. She arched a brow with deadly elegance. “Yes, my girlfriend . Is that a problem?” She focused her eyes on me. Even Larkin looked bothered by my surprise.

I held up my hands slowly. “No problem at all. It’s just... my old pack, it was forbidden.”

Katy relaxed but huffed, still eyeing me. “So, you’re from a southern pack?”

I tensed, wondering if I had given too much away.

“Most northern packs don’t have an issue with gay shifters,” she explained. “It’s the southern packs that have made it a crime to be yourself and love who you love.”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. In my pack, being a lesbian shifter would get you killed. If you were lucky.”

“If you were lucky ?” Larkin repeated, horrified.

Jaw clenched, I looked out the window. “If the pack found out a female was with another female, the females were forced into a mating bond with a male of the Alpha’s choosing. They weren’t given a choice. Females are meant to breed, according to them.”

“Fuckers,” Katy swore, getting off the bed and starting to pace. “That’s disgusting. These women were raped by their mate so they would have a kid?”

Swallowing hard, I nodded. I only knew of two females who had ever been forced into mating bonds for being gay, probably because all the other women had been forced to hide who they truly were. Neither story ended well.

“Did you tell my dad this?” Katy demanded. “This is exactly the shit that everyone needs to hear about at the Summit.”

I hesitated for a second. “We told your dad everything that happened at our old pack.”

“Good.” Katy gave a firm nod. “Thank God you and your mom got out of there.”

You have no idea.