Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103681 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103681 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Zac glanced through the glass door of the shelter’s entrance. “Ryan said in the message that he’s coming alone today.”
That surprised Makenna. “You sound relieved.”
“I like the others. It’s just that, you know, there’s a lot of them, and . . .
And a group of strong personalities could be intimidating. “I get it.”
Zac licked his lips. “Why do you think they’re not coming with him?”
She could practically see his worry flashing in neon lights on his forehead. “It’s not because they don’t like you.”
Colton nodded. “It was obvious that they want you in their pack. Maybe Ryan doesn’t have enough tickets for the game.” He patted Zac’s shoulder. “Don’t worry so much.”
“Don’t worry so much,” the three-year-old little girl hanging from Colton’s neck repeated, which is why she earned the nickname “Parrot.” All kids loved Colton. Beneath that muscular build was a complete marshmallow.
Hearing his cell beep, Zac said, “That might be Ryan.” Swiping his thumb across the screen, Zac smiled devilishly. “It’s Dominic.”
Makenna arched a brow. “Do I want to know what it says?”
“Nope.”
Colton looked at her, eyes smiling. “You thought any more about Madisyn’s suggestion?”
She knew he was referring to the feline’s idea that Makenna should let Ryan “take that bite he seems to want.” Makenna personally wasn’t convinced he was attracted to her. Even if he was, and even if it didn’t matter to him that she was a loner . . . “I don’t have the time or ability to handle this particular individual.”
He snorted. “You handled me just fine. I pushed you too hard, too often. You pushed right back. Never took any crap from me.” He bumped her shoulder with his. “I just want you to be happy. There’s more to life than the shelter.”
“Hmm.” She peeked through the glass door just as a familiar Chevy pulled up. “Here’s Ryan.” Her stomach clenched and her wolf sat up, pleased. “Let’s go.” By the time she and Zac reached the bottom of the path, he was opening the front passenger door. “Hey, White Fang. No pack mates to protect you from me?”
Ryan grunted, taking a swift inhale of her scent. And he scowled. There was a slight whiff of Colton there. His wolf raked his claws at Ryan, demanding he challenge the male. It was tempting.
Body unnaturally stiff, Zac shyly tipped his chin at him in that way teenagers often did. “Sup?”
Ryan gave him a brief nod before his attention darted to the car lurking a short distance from the shelter. The two males inside the vehicle looked everywhere but at them, pointedly avoiding his gaze. They had done the same thing the previous day. It would seem that Remy was having the shelter watched.
“Zac, why don’t you ride shotgun?” suggested Makenna. “That way, you guys can talk.”
Once they were all in the Chevy, Ryan put the car in gear, pulled away from the curb, and scowled at Remy’s wolves as he passed. Then a silence fell. For the first time that Ryan could recall, he found silence uncomfortable. Knowing he had to talk to Zac, get to know him, was the kind of pressure that made him edgy. And the more minutes that passed, the edgier he became.
What did fourteen-year-old boys like to talk about? What interested them? His mind came up empty. Zac had seemed to hit it off with Dominic. What would Dominic ask him? Probably nothing suitable for a fourteen-year-old to talk about.
What Ryan wanted to know most of all was what had happened in Zac’s pack to make him run. He wanted to know who’d hurt him—or, more to the point, who needed to get their fucking throat ripped out for doing so. But until he’d earned Zac’s trust, he’d have to keep his questions casual or the kid might close down. He needed him to relax, but Ryan wasn’t exactly a relaxing person to be around.
Shit, he should have taken Zac somewhere else so his pack mates could have come along. It had been Jaime’s idea to take Zac to the game. She thought the only way Ryan and Zac could truly get to know each other would be if they didn’t have lots of company. Ryan would do what came naturally and say very little to Zac if his pack mates were there and asking questions he should be asking. Yeah, okay, she was right. But this was awkward as fuck.
“You know,” said Makenna, breaking into his thoughts, “I think I’d have a decent shot of surviving a zombie apocalypse. What about you guys?”
And just like that, the tension melted away.
“She does that a lot.” Zac chuckled. “Ask weird questions, I mean.” He twisted slightly in his seat to reply, “Um . . . yeah, I think I could.” Then he looked at Ryan. “You?”
Ryan opened and closed his mouth three times. “I don’t know how to involve myself in this conversation.” It was totally pointless. But if she’d been aiming to ease Zac’s nerves—though he had the feeling it was simply that her brain shot into weird directions—she’d succeeded. And yeah, okay, Ryan had also lost some of his edginess. Enough that he could think of a decent question. “Are you a big fan of football?”