Something Secret This Way Comes: Secret McQueen, Book 1 by Sierra Dean Page A

About forty years ago they discovered it was a genetic anomaly that determined whether or not a recipient, once bitten, would inherit the gift.”
    “Wait. So you’re saying genetics determines whether or not someone becomes a werewolf rather than carrion?”
    He cringed. “These days werewolf attacks on humans are almost nonexistent. Almost all new wolves are either turned in accidents or as part of the cycle.”
    “The what ?”
    Lucas let his head fall back and looked up at the ceiling, his teeth grinding together while he regrouped his patience. “You understand that I am King?”
    “Yes. I understand that about a quarter of the werewolf population in this country considers you to be their unelected leader.”
    “Good. Then this should be easy to follow. The genetic trait that allows our kind to carry the gift is hereditary, so over the years, before we knew the scientific reason for it, entire families contracted lycanthropy. Across the country many of the families that carried the virus generation after generation became acknowledged leaders. The knowledge they had of the ways and rules of the generations before them was invaluable. First they were alphas—pack rulers—but as more people contracted lycanthropy the need for regulation and laws grew as well. Four families in particular rose to almost mythic positions. They came to be considered royalty among the wolves because of their wisdom, fairness and long histories.”
    This was a lot to take in. I had never known werewolf society to be so structured.
    “Within those families and almost all families that carry the gift, it has become a rite of passage to initiate the new young into the pack. It is very rare indeed for a child to be born with active lycanthropy, even if both her parents are wolves. If you were never bitten, as you claim, then something very traumatic must have occurred during your mother’s pregnancy. Something that caused her circulatory system to share the virus with you rather than block it out as is normally the case. Because of that, you caught the virus years before you were meant to. It makes you very special.”
    “You have no idea.” Sarcasm seeped from every word.
    “Oh, but I do. You are special for many reasons, more than you can imagine yourself. You see, among our kind there is a tradition known as The Awakening. When a child reaches the cusp of adulthood, they are presented with a choice—continue to live a normal human life or accept the inheritance of our forefathers and join the pack.”
    “I don’t understa—” Then it clicked. “You mean you wait until they’re old enough to weigh the options, and then you bite them if they say yes?”
    “If they accept, then they are initiated, yes. This is how the old families have done it for centuries. It’s how we carry on our legacy. It’s also how we’ve stayed so well hidden from the public. Keeping ourselves a secret is the most important rule we live by.”
    “If this is all so secret, why share it with me? I was never ‘Awakened’.” I made little air quotes around the word. “Never initiated. I’m a freak by your standards, aren’t I?”
    “Far from it. A born wolf is the thing of legend among our people. You would not be shunned, but revered. That is not, however, the reason I’ve brought you here.”
    “It’s not?” Why the hell was I here, then? I was gaining new respect for the werewolves, but the whole situation had me missing the political simplicity of the vampire world.
    “I didn’t know until you told me you’d never been bitten that you were more special than I had first thought. I brought you here because of what happened on the street, and when you told me your name downstairs it confirmed something I suspected from the first moment we met.”
    Ah, here was my chance for some enlightenment about their earlier discussion. “You and Desmond said something about my last name being interesting. How it made sense. The last time I told a