Brand of the Pack - Tera Shanley Page 0,8
the month before and I didn’t have any control, and when we moved the next time, I just let it go. My wolf had been begging for me to set her free for days. She convinced me she could protect us but I knew how submissive she was. Raul was as dominant and psychotic as they came so I thought she wouldn’t stand a chance.”
A tear slid from under her sunglasses and hung from her jaw. “Turns out she did. He didn’t have time to Change and I ripped him apart. Didn’t even bury him, just left him on the side of the road for the buzzards to get him like he deserved. I grabbed a change of clothes from Raul’s car and ran until my legs gave out. I hitched a ride from some trucker on a highway, and he dropped me off in this tiny town called Wylie. Didn’t have any family left and I couldn’t go back to my old school, not like I was. I still didn’t have much control so I found an old hunting cabin away from town and tried to live on small game. I didn’t know how to hunt though because Raul wasn’t exactly a great teacher, and just when I thought I’d starve, Rachel showed up. Her eyes were glowing gray and I knew she was like me. Dean stood near the truck with his arms crossed, but Rachel hugged me up tight, and I went to pieces. Told her everything on the spot.”
No words could take away the pain that Marissa, at such a young age, had endured. That monster’s actions would resonate through the rest of her life. Morgan wanted to kill him all over again. Reaching across the space that separated their chairs, she grabbed Marissa’s hand and squeezed. She wished she could tell her she was safe and didn’t have to worry about violence for as long as she lived. But the cold, hard fact was, she was a werewolf, and female to boot. There wasn’t any way to avoid the danger that clung to their species. All they could do was try to survive it.
“Morgan?”
“Yeah?”
“Rachel told me what happened to your sister. That you and Lana saw Grey’s maker kill her. I’m sorry.”
Morgan smiled sadly. “Me, too. She was amazing.”
“It seems Grey got the short end of the stick with us, huh? Two broken werewolves to fill out his pack.”
“Nah,” she said, staring at the woodshop. “Grey has been through hell and back, too. We got lucky to all find each other.”
Now it made sense that Marissa didn’t like being around other dominant males. How she could stomach spending time with Grey, who filled every molecule of space around him with raw power, Morgan hadn’t a guess. But it was a very good thing she did. Strong little werewolf. Marissa was burrowing deeper in Morgan’s heart by the moment.
Lana’s giggles drew her out of her sadness and she stood to see what the little girl had found. A shiny green beetle plowed through the weeds and Lana tried to poke it with a thin stick. She was missing every time but tickled at her own effort. Fine, dark hair had come from its binding at the nape of Lana’s neck. Morgan stepped off the porch, and pulling the hair band, she freed the waves. Her hair was getting longer. She’d requested they didn’t cut it so she could look like Rapunzel.
“Do you hear that?” Marissa asked. She’d frozen at the top of the porch stairs and looked out into the woods.
At her look of fear, Morgan stood straight and strained her ears. There, just below the music of birds and cicadas, was a low humming sound. “What is that?”
“It’s a car.”
She was right. The louder it got, the more it sounded like a car engine. Narrowing her eyes, she peered as far as she could see to where the dirt road met the forest. Dread filled every vein until only adrenaline-laced blood flowed through her.
They weren’t expecting anyone today and Dallas pack members always called first to give Grey a chance to prepare Wolf for others in his territory.
Frowning, Morgan lifted Lana into her arms and watched the gravel drive. Grey barreled from the outbuilding, eyes blazing as the door blasted against the wall. He jogged over and plucked Lana from Morgan’s grasp, then took her up the porch stairs. She clung to his neck with a curious smile, and he kissed her gently on the