Addie (Pack of Misfits #1) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,44

Was it Mario? I knew I shouldn’t have let you leave with him. I could just kick myself right now,” she curses.

I grab her purse that’s stuffed on the floorboard at my feet and root around for the package of tissues I know are there. Her purse is like a pit of buried treasure. You need it? She probably has it. Tampons, mints, sweet snacks, salty snacks, spicy snacks—because she argues that you have to have all three options—a wine opener, money in three different currencies, and is that...yep, that’s a dagger.

After shoving aside a paperback and a sample pod of laundry detergent, I finally find the packet I’m looking for. I pluck a tissue out and blow my nose before wiping my eyes.

“Not Mario,” I tell her. “It’s a long story, but I ended up going home with three coyote shifters and I accidentally mated myself to all three of them. It didn’t go well once they found out what my animal was, so I left, but then I was sort of attacked by Pack Rockhead.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah.”

I turn to look out the window when I hear the front door slam shut, and see Penn stalking toward us. My stomach flips uncomfortably. I can’t deal with him anymore.

Zoey hisses. “You want me to bite him? I have a lot of venom stored up right now,” Zoey offers seriously. “I don’t even have to fully shift. Just a partial and I can bring these babies out,” she says, pointing to her canines.

“That’s okay,” I say, sniffing.

“You sure? If I got him really good, I could even cause internal hemorrhaging,” she says proudly.

“You’re such a good friend,” I tell her. “Let’s go. I don’t want to talk to him.”

“You got it.”

She puts the car into drive and takes off, flipping Penn off as she goes. I watch him in the side mirror as he stops and watches us go with a glower on his face.

One second, he’s standing in the middle of the road, scowling at me, and the next, he’s shifted into his coyote and is racing toward the trees. It’s the first time I’ve seen his animal, and seeing it makes my stomach flip again, but for a totally different reason. He’s impressive, with the perfect amount of strength and speed. I wrench my eyes away, and lean back in the seat, and Zoey reaches over to squeeze my hand in silent comfort.

She races down the street, and neither of us say another word, because we don’t have to. This is what it’s like in the life of a misfit. We’ll always be the ones waiting at the curb like yesterday’s trash.

11

Addie

“Do I need to stage an intervention?”

I crack open one eye and see Zoey and Aspen standing over me, both of them wearing frowns and rubber rain boots. I open my other eye and look up, but there isn’t a cloud to be seen in the morning sky.

Wearily, I run a wet hand over my face and try to get my bearings. I see that I’m in the backyard of our warehouse, soaking in the pool I slept in all night. I was finally able to pass out after my fourth bottle of wine. All of the bottles are bobbing in the water next to me.

When colors catch my eye, I look over at the back warehouse wall where a new addition has appeared. Zoey and Aspen follow my gaze, and the three of us stare at the new graffiti that’s now decorating the metal wall.

“Looks like our resident tagger struck again,” Zoey says as she studies the pair of intricate wings painted on the building.

“It’s pretty,” Aspen comments.

I squint my eyes. “Is that...does that say don’t fuck with our duck?” I say with a croaky voice.

Zoey and Aspen both tilt their heads to the left so they can better read the scrawled font. “Huh. Guess our tagger doesn’t like that your three mates are being total assholes.”

Someone in our pack secretly graffitis our buildings. There are ongoing bets on which one of the misfits it is. My money is on the tortoise.

Settling back, I rub my aching temples. It’s harder for shifters to get drunk, but four bottles of homemade wine will do it. I look down at the pool and frown. “You took my hose.”

Aspen tightens her hold on the garden hose like she’s worried I’ll try to snag it from her. I like to have my water move, so I’d left