Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 62782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Rey signs back, though I can hear her words too. Pot roast. Cy thinks it’ll help them stay sharp on ASL if they use it as much as I do. I sniff the air and flash her a brief smile that lights up her brown eyes. As much as I hate being here most days, Rey, like the sun’s rays, keeps me warm and as happy as I can be. She defends me when she thinks Cy’s too hard on me, educates me on everything I should be learning at my age in real school, and comforts me as best as she can. Besides her, Ewan is my favorite. Judd sides with Cy more than I like, and Finnick is a bratty man-child.
Cyrus is the unbearable one.
Just thinking his name has the anger surging forward again. Rey clears her throat, cocking her head to the side as she studies me in that keen way she does. At nearly six feet tall, Rey is a slender Black woman with short black hair that she always keeps tied tight at the base of her skull. With her hair out of the way, it makes her brown eyes seem unnaturally large, like that of the size of her wolf when she’s changed.
I remember that first full moon like it was yesterday.
They’d tried to prepare me, but nothing prepares an eight-year-old kid for five adults who are still essentially strangers to shapeshift into wolves. It terrified me to the point I wet my pants. Five wolves seemed to rip through the skins of my saviors. Claws split flesh and grew where fingers once were. Fur unfolded where smooth skin had been before. Clothes were ripped to shreds as their bodies morphed from human to animal.
Cy was the first to approach me, sniffling loudly as though the pee soaking through my pajama bottoms was a mystery to him.
He was the tallest of the pack in this new form. Dark gray fur peppered with black and white. The bluest eyes I’d ever seen. They were nothing like the make-believe stories and movies I’d seen. Each wolf was no bigger than their human form, just moved and transformed into something new.
I’d felt his strong, dominating presence inside my mind, assuring me he’d protect me. It was the first time I realized that the voices inside my head came from them and not my imagination. I was able to connect the voice to an actual person.
Rey approached next, a whimper escaping her. Her tail thumped in hesitation as she slowly tried to reach me with her head bowed. It wasn’t until I’d seen her wide brown eyes that something settled inside my chest. They weren’t going to bite me like the monster had done. They were safe.
Are you okay?
Rey’s hands moving in front of me have me blinking away the past and nodding. She swipes a thumb over my cheek in an affectionate gesture before signaling for me to follow her to the kitchen. Loud male voices can be heard as we enter the space that smells heavenly. Rey is a phenomenal cook. My guard falls momentarily as I appreciate the savory scents, but then I’m assaulted by everyone in my head at once.
Look what the cat dragged in. Finnick.
He could use to put a little meat on his bones. Judd.
Why is there ink on his hand? Ewan.
I hope everyone behaves. Rey
Must. Keep. Him. Safe. Cy.
I close my eyes and clench my jaw. My hands curl into fists. It takes an effort, but I body slam them all out of my mental headspace until it’s quiet again and I’m left with only my own thoughts and inner voice.
Once I’m calm again, I ignore their chattering and hand gestures, settling at the table between Rey and Ewan. My position puts me directly across from Cy, much to my irritation. Normally, I pick at my food. I’ve never had much of an appetite, but lately, I’m always starving. I inhale my entire bowl and go back for seconds, not paying attention to the conversation at the table until I feel everyone’s eyes on me. I drop the serving spoon into the pot and glower at Cy.
What?
His brow lifts at my angrily signed demand. Slowly, he says while signing, “Hungry?”
Obviously. My nostrils flare and I pick the spoon back up to continue to dump giant hunks of roast meat into my bowl. Rey butters me another roll and sets it near my plate. I flash her a thankful smile before digging into my bowl.
Rey clears her throat, and I dart my gaze over to her. My heart rate speeds up because I can tell by the determined look in her eyes she’s about to go against Cy. Usually, the only time she challenges her Alpha is when it pertains to me. I tense up, wondering what it is this time she wants to fight on my behalf for.