 by Renee Rose.jpg)
Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
It’s a wolf-eat-wolf school, and those on the top–like my stepbrother–rule all.
Those of us on the bottom? We try to fly under the radar.
But now that my name is attached to Wilde’s,
now that we’re “family,”
there’s no more hiding.
And the cocky baller is out to punish me
for the crime of dragging down his reputation.
He discovered my secret
and uses it against me.
I would rather die than have anyone find out.
So I give into his demands.
My bed.
My body.
My submission.
And the worst part? I don’t want it to stop.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Rayne
There are three things I hate about Wolf Ridge High School: the alpha-holes (the football players who rule our social lives), the volleyball players (think female version of alpha-holes), and the rest of the student body, with the exception of the humans.
So, yeah. That leaves me pretty much with no one.
Which, as the pack runt, is where I’ve been from the beginning, so it’s nothing new.
At the moment, it’s the volleyball players who I most despise. Mainly, Casey Muchmore.
“Runt!” she yells at my back as I try to fast-walk it around the school. “Runt! Don’t make me chase you.”
Casey is the alpha she-wolf of the school, nearly as mean as her brother Cole was when he ruled these hallways two years ago.
Crap.
I stop my fast-walking but don’t give her the satisfaction of turning around. She catches my shoulder to spin me to face her then plows me against the brick wall where I hit my head.
“I don’t heal like you,” I say quickly. It’s a warning for both our sakes. I might be the daughter of a shifter–maybe two, my mom would never say–but I’m not like the rest of them. My cells don’t regenerate as fast as theirs. Meaning, if she hurts me, it will leave marks. There will be evidence of her torture that I could use against her.
Not that I would. I’m not stupid.
“Then you’d better listen,” she growls.
“I don’t need to hear it.”
“Well, you’re going to.”
“Casey,” I interrupt. “I don’t care who you make out with. Or what you do. I don’t judge, and it’s not my business.”
“Damn straight.” She’s lost a little of her fire. I think she thought I would cower and squirm and promise to keep my mouth shut.
In my quest to find a place alone to eat lunch, I just stumbled across her kissing River, one of the cheerleaders. It shouldn’t be a big deal. In this day of inclusion, being gay isn’t a stigma for teenagers anymore. At least not at human high schools.
But this is Wolf Ridge. Shifters are nothing if not extremely gendered. It’s part of wolf culture. Considering how ostracized I am in this pack over being small and never hitting transition, I can’t imagine how they would shun a gay wolf.
“You know what I’d be asking myself, if I were you?”
“What?” She seems surprised to hear the confidence in my tone. Yeah, I may be small, but I’m not a coward. Plus, I’ve been kicked around by these kids since preschool, so I’ve developed quite a bit of resiliency.
“How River feels about you hiding your affection.”
Casey’s brows draw together.
“But like I said. Not my business. Your secret’s safe with me.” I don’t look her straight in the eye. I show my throat to offer my submission, but I also say, “I’m sorry you’re not comfortable being yourself at the school you practically run.”
I definitely went too far. Her eyes narrow, and she gets right up in my grill. “I’m sorry your mom fucked a mouse to get pregnant with you.”
“Nice one,” I say drily.
“But I guess her whole status finally changed, didn’t it? How’s your new step daddy? Did he take you into the family, too, or did he build you a doghouse out back? I mean a mouse-house?”
“Does it make you feel better?”
“What?”
“Being cruel to me? Does that help you feel better about your own inner trauma?”
Casey releases me as if my skin burns her. “Back off, Runt.”
I let out a dry chuckle. “I’m the one with her back smashed against the wall, here, Casey.” I dare to meet her eye for a moment, and I see the pain behind her gaze.
Apparently, getting real with Casey worked because she abruptly turns on her heel and stalks away, her long, thick ponytail swinging behind her.
I sag against the bricks in relief.
Looks like I get to live another day. Getting beat up at school would be just another point against me at home.
A reminder that when Logan Woodward, a member of Wolf Ridge pack royalty, married my mom three weeks ago, he took on the biggest loser in the pack as his new stepdaughter.
Something for which I’m quite certain his son, Wilde, former team captain of WRH, will never, ever forgive him.
Something for which I’m sure my new stepbrother will make me pay dearly.
Wilde
Our hotel room’s popping, party vibe on full blast.
The smell of humans is thick in here. I’m used to the stench, but I still hate it. It’s in the locker rooms, the hallways at school. In the frat house where I live with my so-called buddies from the team. It’s a dull, sickly scent.
Or maybe it’s just that my senses have dulled from living amongst humans.
All I know is, most days, I’m crawling out of my skin pretending to be one of them. At the moment, there are far too many packed in one place.