of my ears? That nasty little mutt could throw one hell of a punch. Maybe I had a concussion.
I rolled over, and at the same time so did my stomach. Groaning, I kept my eyes closed. Oh, God. Please don’t puke. I can’t be sick. I needed to get up and go home. Had to regroup, track her down.
It was then that the odor of forest and canine returned, only worse. Way worse. Maybe I’d knocked something loose in my brain after all, because Mya’s smell had been multiplied by five, six.
“Lume,” someone spoke to my left. “He’s waking.”
“What?” A feminine voice said. It sounded like Mya.
I forced my eyes open, braving all the fuzzy figures. The fog slowly cleared. I looked up through steel bars at Mya’s face. She stood beside a well-built, shirtless, black boy. He scowled at me.
Oh, no.
I hadn’t been kidnapped . . . had I?
No, no, no. Wincing, I turned my head. Coniferous trees towered around us, their tips waving back and forth in the grey sky. What time was it? What day was it? Trickling noises, like the sounds of running water, echoed in the distance. This was definitely not anywhere near the alley.
A mansion nestled against the woods off to my right. With its peeling paint and rusty gutters, it could’ve made the Guinness World Record for ugliest mansion in America. Duct tape covered a missing window. Moss thrived on the porch and railing.
On the porch steps more of them gathered, three other shirtless boys and a woman with hair like Mya’s dark rippling waves. They sat like mannequins, their blinking eyes the only evidence that they weren’t made of plastic.
A monster shiver went down my spine. Holy mother of pearl, I had been kidnapped! Oh, hell. I sat up, only to have the world spin out of control. The nausea returned. I hated feeling this sick—it was like a really bad hangover. Pressing my head between my legs, I prayed the acid would leave my throat.
“He doesn’t look that special, Ilume.” Black boy eyed me as he spoke. His scowl toned down to a frown as he observed me. He snorted before adding, “He looks like another mortal jock to me.”
“Don’t be so quick to judge, Aspen.” Mya approached my cage, looking down at me like I was a rat in an experiment.
I stared at her. She had stolen me. Knocked me out cold, then—instead of running off—lugged me out of the alleyway, dragged me from town, and brought me to her pack; and not a pack of fox maidens or skinwalkers. Oh no. I remembered what she’d said in the alley.
This was a pack of werewolves.
She smiled a little as I sneered. “I’ve never met a boy that could leave a nymph encounter unscathed. Nymphs will chow down on any human flesh that comes as close as he did. And he can track me. I think he follows scents just like we do.”
Aspen crossed his arms, bored. He glanced over his shoulder, into the woods. “You better be ready to defend your case when Rex gets here. The second he sees this kid he’s going to knock over a tree. I can’t believe you brought this here.”
Whoa, did he just call me this ? Like I was some sort of inanimate object?
“No, he won’t.” Something dark settled in Mya’s eyes. “Trust me, I know. What was I supposed to do? Let him run loose with all that knowledge? Little punk would’ve followed me here anyway.”
Aspen didn’t comment. Maybe because he knew she was right—I would’ve. He shook his head and started toward the porch, muttering something about how he didn’t want to be here when somebody called Rex showed up.
Rex must be the alpha, I thought. Just like regular wolf packs, werewolves are run by a head male and female. I slumped against my cage bars, letting the depression sink in. Could I have been any stupider? I should’ve called Peter or the twins, someone for backup. You don’t jump into a dark hole before at least estimating how far the fall is, right? Like an idiot, that’s exactly what I had done. I took off after an unknown, untagged
I rolled over, and at the same time so did my stomach. Groaning, I kept my eyes closed. Oh, God. Please don’t puke. I can’t be sick. I needed to get up and go home. Had to regroup, track her down.
It was then that the odor of forest and canine returned, only worse. Way worse. Maybe I’d knocked something loose in my brain after all, because Mya’s smell had been multiplied by five, six.
“Lume,” someone spoke to my left. “He’s waking.”
“What?” A feminine voice said. It sounded like Mya.
I forced my eyes open, braving all the fuzzy figures. The fog slowly cleared. I looked up through steel bars at Mya’s face. She stood beside a well-built, shirtless, black boy. He scowled at me.
Oh, no.
I hadn’t been kidnapped . . . had I?
No, no, no. Wincing, I turned my head. Coniferous trees towered around us, their tips waving back and forth in the grey sky. What time was it? What day was it? Trickling noises, like the sounds of running water, echoed in the distance. This was definitely not anywhere near the alley.
A mansion nestled against the woods off to my right. With its peeling paint and rusty gutters, it could’ve made the Guinness World Record for ugliest mansion in America. Duct tape covered a missing window. Moss thrived on the porch and railing.
On the porch steps more of them gathered, three other shirtless boys and a woman with hair like Mya’s dark rippling waves. They sat like mannequins, their blinking eyes the only evidence that they weren’t made of plastic.
A monster shiver went down my spine. Holy mother of pearl, I had been kidnapped! Oh, hell. I sat up, only to have the world spin out of control. The nausea returned. I hated feeling this sick—it was like a really bad hangover. Pressing my head between my legs, I prayed the acid would leave my throat.
“He doesn’t look that special, Ilume.” Black boy eyed me as he spoke. His scowl toned down to a frown as he observed me. He snorted before adding, “He looks like another mortal jock to me.”
“Don’t be so quick to judge, Aspen.” Mya approached my cage, looking down at me like I was a rat in an experiment.
I stared at her. She had stolen me. Knocked me out cold, then—instead of running off—lugged me out of the alleyway, dragged me from town, and brought me to her pack; and not a pack of fox maidens or skinwalkers. Oh no. I remembered what she’d said in the alley.
This was a pack of werewolves.
She smiled a little as I sneered. “I’ve never met a boy that could leave a nymph encounter unscathed. Nymphs will chow down on any human flesh that comes as close as he did. And he can track me. I think he follows scents just like we do.”
Aspen crossed his arms, bored. He glanced over his shoulder, into the woods. “You better be ready to defend your case when Rex gets here. The second he sees this kid he’s going to knock over a tree. I can’t believe you brought this here.”
Whoa, did he just call me this ? Like I was some sort of inanimate object?
“No, he won’t.” Something dark settled in Mya’s eyes. “Trust me, I know. What was I supposed to do? Let him run loose with all that knowledge? Little punk would’ve followed me here anyway.”
Aspen didn’t comment. Maybe because he knew she was right—I would’ve. He shook his head and started toward the porch, muttering something about how he didn’t want to be here when somebody called Rex showed up.
Rex must be the alpha, I thought. Just like regular wolf packs, werewolves are run by a head male and female. I slumped against my cage bars, letting the depression sink in. Could I have been any stupider? I should’ve called Peter or the twins, someone for backup. You don’t jump into a dark hole before at least estimating how far the fall is, right? Like an idiot, that’s exactly what I had done. I took off after an unknown, untagged
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