At thirteen, he’d already been five foot seven; now, at twenty-three, he stood well over six foot five inches. His chest was solid and his arms thick. His hair had darkened to more black than brown, matching his eyes. He looked so much like his father. Turning more Alpha by the day.
“You still sleeping, kiddo?” Keith asked.
I shook my head. There was no way I wanted to return to dreams where men hit me and yelled at me to shift.
“Then, Griff, get the hell out of my daughter’s bed.”
Keith’s paternal protectiveness had me smirking as I crawled over Griffin to get out of bed.
“Keith, you used to let him sleep here when we were young.”
I didn’t mention that Griff had continued to sneak into my room even after we’d been told we were too old to share a bed. Because Griff was over all the time and his scent was so imbedded in our home. I don’t think Keith never knew.
“That was different,” Keith said. “What do you two have planned for today? Rose said you could stop by her place to help plan—”
“No, thanks.”
Rose wanted to plan my birthday party. Normally, I’d be fine with that. But not my twenty-first birthday. It was a big day for a werewolf... one who could shift anyway.
“We got pack stuff to do,” Griff muttered into my mattress, coming to my rescue.
“Going to the mall is not pack business, Griffin. Come on, Colette, I’ll get you some breakfast.”
I looked at the clock and winced. I’d finally managed to drift to sleep at 2:00AM. And now it was 5:00. No wonder Griff was still tired.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if I was apologizing for the nightmares or because I still hadn’t shifted.
“Hey, sweetie, it is not your fault,” Keith whispered, taking me under his arm and kissing the top of my head.
I nodded and ducked out from under his arm. Despite my hopes to grow taller, I remained short for a werewolf at five feet four inches. Well, I supposed technically three and half inches, but it was close enough to round up.
“I’m going to shower first.”
“Put on something other than sweats,” Griff said.
I rolled my eyes, closed myself in the bathroom, and turned on the shower to let the water warm. While I waited, I twisted my brown hair up to the top of my head. It hadn’t been cut since I moved in with Keith; Rose’s idea. I avoided washing it when I could. It was naturally wavy—no curls, just wavy, light ridges that cascaded down—and a bitch to dry. I was convinced that my hair was evil.
Stepping into the shower, I tested the water, then washed my face. My cheeks were a bit too round in my opinion. Griffin said I was more curvy than anything. Curvy and short with hair that had a mind of its own. I sighed. I continued to wash and finished turning the water off. I stepped out of the shower dried off.
The dream always brought my doubts to the surface. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my appearance, I did. It was just that I didn’t look like a typical werewolf. That and my inability to shift made me feel...not like a werewolf. I sighed again and dressed.
* * * *
“Why do we have to go to the mall?” I asked as Griff put the car in park. Instead of answering me, he flashed me a devilish smile.
“And, I don’t understand why I had to take my damn sweatpants off.”
“Because, lazy ass, you haven’t done anything for the past week,” Griffin’s deep voice was filled with humor.
“I’m not a lazy ass. I just don’t want to be around people.” I shuddered, remembering the dream I had and how it weighed heavily on my mind. I could feel the cold bars…Griffin grabbed my arm that I been absently rubbing. The one they had broken.
“Colette,” his voice dropped a couple octaves, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Using his pack bond, he lent me some of his calmness. I looked up at him and his expression reflected my own tortured look.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Griff nodded stiffly and turned away from me to look out his window. He was trying to control his breathing. My memories of that awful place upset him greatly.
“Alright, let’s just forget about it. Liam and Nick are waiting.”
I groaned. Of course he wouldn’t tell me that those two idiots were coming as well. Since coming to