Shadow Mate - Jen L. Grey Page 0,1

I had no clue why. Yeah, I was a rule follower to a fault, always had been. Despite that, this feeling didn't have anything to do with the party. It was as if my wolf sensed something coming that couldn't be put into words. A lot like a premonition that tonight something might happen to dramatically change my destiny.

"You're just jealous." He stepped up next to me and took the lead. "However, I'm still impressed that you were able to crash your car into a boat and on dry land. It does take some kind of awful driving talent to accomplish that kind of feat."

"It was rainy." I grabbed his arm, yanking him toward me, and arched my eyebrow. "So technically, it wasn't dry land."

"Aw, because that makes it better." He reached over like he was going to mess up my hair, so I side-stepped away from him.

"Don't mess up the hair." I loved him to death, but he sure knew how to push my buttons. Mom always laughed and said that's what siblings were for.

"Remember to act normal." All humor left his face as he took a step closer to me. "Remember, most of these people are humans since I didn't make it into Wolf Moon Academy … so don't go too crazy."

"You do realize I've been around humans before, right?" It was fucking insulting. I hated being talked down to, and lately, it seemed to be happening more and more every day. "Remember I go to high school with them."

"I know." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm still upset that I didn't make it into the university. I really thought I'd have been a shoo-in since Dad is one of the bigger alphas in the north."

When he graduated last year and realized he wasn't getting in there, it had crushed him. For us shifters, Wolf Moon Academy was the university every single shifter wanted to attend. It was an Ivy League school even though the one main requirement to get in was that you had to be a shifter. Of course, the humans didn’t know or meet that criterion. And the other one was that you had to show promise of being a strong alpha. That's why I didn't even bother applying. If my brother, who was expected to be the next alpha of our pack, couldn't get in, there was no chance at all for me. "I'm sorry, but you seem happy here." That wasn't a lie. "You've enjoyed the friends you've made."

"It's true." He grinned. "There are enough shifters and woods around to be comfortable. It's kind of nice having friends who aren't concerned with whether they are stronger than you or not."

We picked up our pace and crossed the street, heading to the one house that seemed to be where most everyone was going. "Let's go in there and have some fun."

The house was an older, all brick, one-story home. People were already in the backyard, standing around the fire pit, talking. At least twenty people were outside on the back porch in the middle of conversations as they sipped on some drinks. The air was filled with smells of lust and inebriation. Sometimes, I hated having wolf scenting for that reason alone.

"Let's go inside and get drinks." He grabbed my arm and pulled me through a large group of people that were smoking what had to be weed on the front porch.

My lungs burned, so I held my breath until we stepped inside the house.

"There you are." A guy that was a couple of inches taller than me greeted us. His brown eyes were warm, and his chestnut brown hair hung down in his eyes as well. When he got close, I picked up on the musky scent of a male wolf.

He patted my brother on his shoulder and turned to me. "So, this must be Mia, the sister that Max seems to adore."

"Really?" That didn't sound like my brother at all. "Are you bullshitting me?"

"You're right." The guy laughed as he smiled at me. "She's blunt and to the point."

"You always know where you stand with her." Max laughed as he shook his head. "She'll be around here next year, so you'll be seeing more of her."

"Ahh, so you're just a disappointment like all of us." He winked at me and smiled. "You didn't get invited to the prestigious Wolf Moon Academy, unlike my girl over there." He pointed at a girl with hair that was a little lighter than