really hard time pulling back my strength and remaining accurate. It’s always been a struggle for me.” He smiled and shrugged, sitting back down next to his father. Landon was the one I barely knew, and I was always nervous to try to get to know him. Not because he was dangerous, but he was aloof, and compounded with my own need for independence and social anxiety…it just never happened.
I jumped up for my turn, grabbed my borrowed ball, and stepped up to the runway. I focused, taking a deep breath, settling into my stance. I had done this hundreds of times.
Just don’t throw it, Jacky. People are going to talk if you toss this ball down the lane like a freak.
I threw, putting minimum power into it, holding my breath. At the last moment, I put a spin on it, like it was second nature. It flew down the center of the lane and crashed into the pins.
Strike.
I let out all that air in my lungs before I started getting lightheaded. Carey was cheering behind me. I smiled as the fallen pins were cleared away, and another set was put down.
“Good job!” Carey screamed. “We’re totally going to win today!”
“You know how to bowl?” Heath asked as I turned to sit down as Carey started the next frame.
“Um…” To answer that, I knew I had to give him personal information. “I was part of a casual bowling league a long time ago.”
“Oh. Well, shit. You two might actually win,” he huffed, shaking his head. “Just what my daughter needs. A partner to help her win everything.”
I relaxed and took my seat again, glad he didn’t press or dig for more information. He had shown me the information he’d pulled on me. It was well-done but incomplete, and we both knew it. I had done well hiding some things about my life when I was Changed—not all of it, but some of it.
The first game, Carey and I did win. Heath begged for a team change, but we shut that down. Carey enjoyed winning too much to indulge her father, and I once again puffed up with pride that I was the chosen one.
3
Chapter Three
I was waiting for my turn quietly when my phone went off. Everyone around me stopped and turned my way. Two werewolves and a human girl was a crowd I didn’t really want for a phone call, so I held up a hand.
“Stop. Let me take this outside. I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll wait!” Carey grinned and laid back in the seat. “Dad, go buy us a pizza, please?”
“I can, but you will clean up the trash when we leave. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir!” It didn’t perturb her in the slightest. I smiled to myself as I pulled my buzzing phone out of my pocket and walked away. Checking my phone as I walked out the door, I groaned to see Jabari’s name on the screen, answering once I was outside.
“What do you need, Jabari?”
“You didn’t call me back last night.” His words were curt, a touch cold, but I didn’t let that hurt my feelings. He had once before, a long time ago, and I wouldn’t let him do it again. I wasn’t close to my siblings, and I used that as a shield from their attitude about me.
“No, I texted you like a normal person would when it’s very late at night or one is working. Like I was. I was working.” Did he forget that I owned a business I used to provide for myself? That I tried my best not to dip into the money Hasan gave me after I had everything up and running?
“Did you?” Now he was just confused. “Well, my apologies then. Anyway, there’s an update. Hasan has decided to send me out to Washington State to check out what happened and investigate. I just thought you should know.”
“Um…thanks?” I pulled the phone away and gave it a confused look. “Why did you need to call and tell me?” Jabari and I did not talk. We hadn’t spoken since before I left Hasan’s territory.
“Because…How do I put this?” He groaned softly on the other end. “We’ve all been talking about how we needed to try harder with you and let you know what the family is doing. That’s what I’m doing. Letting you know what is going on with us and how we’re stepping in, leading the rest of the werecats and being responsible. Since Father told Lani about you,