Tarryn

“You can do this, Tarryn,” I whisper to myself. “All you need to do is guard this part of the forest and shout if you see an enemy werewolf. It’s not rocket science, and you don’t need to shape-shift. Just be cool as a cucumber, and breathe. You got this.”

Despite my words of courage, I still shudder every time I hear rustling in the bushes. I’m all alone, and even though it’s morning, I’m still scared out of my damned mind.

Lydia said this would be an easy job, that the enemy wouldn’t attack this time of the day. But despite telling myself that, I can’t seem to rest my mind. Instead, I’m pacing the ground, counting the seconds until my shift is over—just three hours left!

I keep walking back and forth, stopping once I hear voices. It sounds like young people, and when I sniff the air, the scent of Asher and his scumbag friends hits my nose.

“What if Alpha Misha replaces out about this?”

“Nah, Tarryn wouldn’t tell him. That girl is too nice, and our Alpha has bigger problems to focus on. Tarryn knows that, so she wouldn’t bother him with her issues.”

“I hope you’re right because guarding duty is boring. I don’t know why Lydia sent us to join Tarryn out of all people.”

“Yeah, she is such a nerd… but at least we have booze!”

“Hell yeah!”

A gang of six werewolves parades out of the bushes, and I stare when they all grin at me with six packs in their arms. Did they all come out here to party, or what?! Why is there so much beer?

“Tarryn! My favorite nerd!” Asher shoots me a fake smile, and two of his favorite mean girls snicker once they see me.

“Asher…” I hiss his name. “What are you doing here?”

His friends are already busy setting up camp, and Asher scratches his ugly beard. “Lydia put us out here on guarding duty, but we will be making hotdogs. No enemy will come for us at this time. You want a beer?”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You guys left your positions?! We aren’t all supposed to be in the same place!”

“Take it easy, Tarryn!” Asher says. “The Howler pack will attack us, but not during the daytime. They have too many vampire members to be assaulting us now. So chill.”

“I can’t believe this!” I growl. I might usually be quiet and shy, but I take everything regarding the pack seriously. I’m responsible and brave when it matters; not even Asher can scare me. “Are you guys actual idiots?! You shouldn’t be partying right now!”

The gang falls silent for a bit, exchanging glances and falling into crazy laughter. One of the mean girls is laughing so hard that she can barely stand, and anger pulsates in my chest.

“You know what?!” I throw my hands up in the air. “Fine, stay here and party, but if we all die today because no one reported that the Howler pack was ambushing us, that’s on you!”

The group falls into laughter, and I storm into the woods. These idiots might not help me stand guard, but I can at least jog around the area and try to do my job AND some of their jobs.

Gah!

I’m so mad, fuming, and burning with such rage that I don’t even notice I’m being followed before I hear a voice behind me.

“Hey, Tarryn! Wait up!”

More irritation hits me when Alex, Asher’s youngest brother, catches up with me.

Seriously? Why did he follow me?

I scowl up at the tall bastard. Seventeen, young and dumb—Alex is gorgeous, just like his brother, and looks like a walking, well-cut ad for a sports magazine. I bet he could make even straight guys swoon with his bedroom eyes, dark hair, and flirtatious smile.

The only reason I’m not drowning in his eyes is that Alex is Asher’s brother. That reminder is like a bucket of cold water because they are all terrible in that family.

“Alex…” I say and meet his eyes, blushing because, despite hating the man, he is cute. Total jailbait. “Why did you follow me?”

His eyes widen into saucers, then his lips twitch before a full laugh leaves his mouth. “First, you say you need our help patrolling, and now when I’m here and willing, you’re suspicious? Give me a break, Tarryn.”

Did he just… tease me? I stare at Alex, and he gently pokes my shoulder as if we are friends, not total strangers. My mouth falls open then, and he laughs at my reaction, amused.

“Didn’t expect my help did you?” He winks at me. “Well, newsflash: we aren’t all assholes. I’m more than willing to help,” his nostrils flare, and he looks around, scanning the area. “Where do we start, general Tarryn?”

“General Tarryn?” I question while jogging. Alex, however, only needs to walk to keep up with me.

“I thought it would suit you,” he teases, and a dimple pop on his left cheek when he half-smiles. It’s dizzying. “Come to think about it, I know nothing about you.”

I can’t help but snort. Then, just because I’m pissed off, I dare to speak my mind to this guy. It comes out as a mutter, but it counts. “Because your kind and my kind don’t mingle.”

“My kind?” He still isn’t getting it. His eyes are too curious to know that I hate everything about him—I’m pretty sure he was with Asher and helped him spraypaint Misha’s grave.

“The a*****e kind that paints graves…” I mumble, and although I mean the words, I don’t look up at Alex. I’m scared he will punch me. He could, but… I’m met with a deafening silence.

Looking up, I notice Alex has stopped in his tracks. His hands are in his pockets, and his lips are in a hard line. When he finally peers down at me, there is something resembling regret in his eyes.

“My big brother was always my hero growing up. I looked up to him as my role model, and whenever he included me in something, I said yes. Even if it was the wrong thing to do, I said yes, because I didn’t know any better. I suppose it’s not an excuse, but,” he shrugs. “I’m trying to be better.”

For some reason, my heart flutters, but I ignore it. “I see… well, let’s start by keeping an eye out for the enemy?”

He laughs. “Sure!”

We pick up our pace again and check every nook and corner of the forest for a sign of the Howler pack.

Time goes by pretty quickly with Alex by my side. He has an athlete and plays football(you’re not allowed to use werewolf strength, but he is pretty strong without it since he is big, I guess), and since I don’t want to show myself as weak, I push myself to keep up.

Once we are done patrolling and finally catching a breath by a lake, it happens. I only get to pick up some water and drink a little from my palms before I hear it: a snarl coming from behind me.

I look up at Alex. “What was that? One of ours?”

“No,” comes his reply as he glances down at me. “We are surrounded, and not by our own pack members.”

Right then, the bushes rustle, and plenty of ferocious enemy werewolves come out of them.

“Shit…” I whisper and stand up. “Where did they come from?”

“I don’t know…” Alex takes a step to stand in front of me. I’m not sure why he does it, but he does.

There are too many for us to fight, but they don’t lunge for us.

Instead, they form a circle around us. More than twenty werewolves snarling and growling like they want us dead. My heart pound in my chest and a warning bell tolls inside my head. These are werewolves looking to kill. These are—

“Excellent work.” A voice says, cutting off my thoughts. I turn around, and my eyes land on a grey-haired yet beautiful woman. She is weathered and aged, naked and covered in b***d like she recently killed someone.

Who did she kill? I sniff the air, realize her hands got Asher’s scent on them, and gasp. I look at Alex to gauge in reaction and replace him growling at the woman.

“Marissa Howler…” Alex says. “The luna of the Howler pack, mate of Tank Howler—that’s you, isn’t it?”

“That would be me,” Marissa smiles. “I see you’ve done your homework,” her evil, glowing eyes meet mine. “It looks to me as if we have found what we came for—that girl is the friend of the Luna. She will be worth more than a hostage than dead. Take her.”

Marissa looks to her right, and a few men come out of the bushes. Since trying to fight them would be stupid, Alex and I stand entirely still and let them seize us. It’s sickening to be so helpless.

My heart bangs against my ribcage, and the man holding me faces his luna, bowing before speaking. “What about the boy, Luna Marissa? What should we do with him?”

“Take him too,” Marissa grins. “He isn’t worth anything to me alive, but he has a pretty face and a huge, muscular body. And since my mate likes younger women…” she giggles and walks forward. She grabs Alex’s chin, tilting it downwards. “Then I might as well have fun with someone younger, beautiful.”

Alex growls, and her smile widens. “My, you’re so gorgeous. It will be an absolute pleasure to mate with you. You’re pureblooded, too, aren’t you? All werewolf, and not a single drop of dirty human b***d in your veins.”

I don’t know what to think or do. Is Marissa seriously going to r**e Alex?! s**t. I might dislike the guy, but I wouldn’t wish r**e upon even my biggest enemy! Marissa is sick!

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you replace any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report