Reese (Pack of Misfits #2) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,20

as a punishment when shifters are forced into exile. It’s not often that one alpha will let a shifter go freely.

The thing is, now that it’s done, I’m grateful. I’m so damn grateful that my bond with Sid is severed. It’s like a tumor has been cut from my body. Where Sid’s bond always felt like a barb stuck into my side, Hugo’s just feels like a ladder—like with his help, I can climb out of the hole I dug myself in.

And this...I look around at the others. I’ve observed them for weeks, and I’ve never seen any sort of violence or vindictiveness or even a fight. This pack is different. It would be nice to be in a pack like this. To be part of something like they have. But I can’t stay here. I can’t lead Sid here to these people.

“What year is it?” I ask, my throat tight and my voice scratchy.

They share a look and then Hugo clears his throat and tells me. As soon as I hear the number, the blood drains from my face. Five years? I’ve been stuck in my animal form for five years?

“Holy smokes, it’s been five years?” Addie asks with wide eyes, since I unintentionally whispered it aloud.

Lug Nut and Hugo share a look, but my mind is reeling. When I let my rat take the reins back then, I lost track of the days. Time passes differently as an animal. I had a feeling it was a long time, but I didn’t realize I’d lost five whole years of my life. I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Alpha Hugo switches topics. “Can you tell us what happened?”

I shake my head immediately. It’s a knee-jerk reaction to keep the truth to myself.

“I understand your hesitation, but I also need to keep the rest of the pack safe,” he tells me. “We want to help you, but we can’t do that if you don’t tell us everything. I have a rule: baggage is welcome as long as it’s labelled.”

I frown. “What?”

“He means that this pack is a family, and we don’t turn family away for having fucked up pasts. But you have to tell us what’s up so that we know what we’re dealing with,” Addie explains. “And then we’ll deal with it together.”

My heart rate kicks back up a notch as I look around at the faces watching me expectantly. They’ve already done so much for me. This alpha even broke my bond with Sid. Something I never even hoped could happen. I’ve put their pack in danger just by being here. I owe it to them to tell them the truth.

“Would you like to try and stand?” Lug Nut asks me.

“Yeah.” I would like that. Even though my muscles feel stretched and strange, I feel too small sitting down—too vulnerable. I want to stand on two feet again. To prove that I’m able.

But...I’m actually not sure that I can. He must see the worry on my face, because his tanned arm comes out, his hand outstretched for me. I take it gratefully, and then he helps pull me to my feet. I shake and tilt, but he lets me lean on him, and Addie slips her shoulders beneath my arm, helping me stay in place.

“Thanks.”

I’m wobbly, and being upright is weird, but it also feels...good. Like my spine is breathing for the first time in years, my limbs like wings that have been tucked away for far too long. I stretch and flex the muscles in my legs, enjoying the pleasurable burn that travels down them.

When I’m surer on my feet, I nod at them. Lug Nut’s hand falls away, and Addie backs up, and they both let me stand on my own.

I immediately fall on my ass.

Or I would’ve, if Lug Nut hadn’t caught me. My face burns with embarrassment. “Thanks. Again.”

He gives me a wink, and it’s the sexiest thing I think I’ve ever seen. Was I blushing before? Well, now my cheeks feel so hot I could cook on them.

All around me, the other shifters in the cafeteria are staring quietly, watching. I just showed a weakness in the middle of a strange pack. I’ll be lucky if I don’t have a dozen challenges thrown at me by dawn. I’ll have to fight or flee. But let’s be real, I can’t win in a fight against anyone. Anxiety churns within me.

Lug Nut’s nostrils flare, and I see him exchange a look with Hugo. Great.