Claimed by the Pack

“So I’ll ask again,” she practically spat, “since none of you want to answer the real question.” The girl standing in our kitchen let out a long, heated breath. “Who were those men, and what did they want with me?”

Damien and I looked at each other. There was no going back.

“They want you because they know why you’re here,” I replied. “They know exactly what you’re after.”

Serena shifted uncomfortably. Almost like we knew more about her mission than she did.

“And they’re not men,” I added. “They’re wolves.”

8

BRODERICK

It was like stepping off a cliff.

I watched Serena’s reaction go through the full gamut of emotions. First confusion, like she hadn’t heard me correctly, then disdain, as she inwardly declared me crazy. The laughter came last. Some of it was meant to mock me, but it was mostly a defense mechanism against us mocking her.

“Wolves,” she spat, as if the word tasted terrible. “Yeah. Riiight.”

“I’m being serious,” I told her.

She looked to Damien for help. The asshole actually pointed at his ear and made slow circles, raising his eyebrows and making the ‘he’s crazy’ face. My hands balled into fists. I was ready to jump him, right then and there.

“Damien, what the actual fuck—”

“Okay,” he said, putting his hands up. “Okay, alright.” He stopped grinning. For once in his life he actually looked serious.

“Broderick’s telling it straight. They are wolves,” he said simply. Then, after a moment: “And we’re wolves too.”

The words hung out there heavily in the silence of our little kitchen. We waited for her to process them before going on.

“Wolves…” she said again, this time a little differently. “Like in a gang? Is that the name of your—”

“No,” I said, stopping her. “Actual wolves. Damien and I are… I mean, we were part of a pack. A pack that included Boone and Christophe and Lionel.”

And Karessa…

Serena was wholly confused. We were obviously sent there for her, but now we were acting crazy. Even so, there was no clearer way to put it. We didn’t need her to digest it right now, but she did have to swallow it.

“Wolves,” she said again.

“That’s how they found you,” I went on. “They sniffed you out. Followed your scent.”

She actually put her head in her hands.

“It’s how Damien found you too. When you left your hotel.”

“Sniffed me out,” she sighed. “Of course. That explains everything. I mean shit, now it all makes perfect sense.”

Ah, the asshole phase. She was being an asshole now.

“Don’t be an asshole,” I told her.

“No no, I get it now,” she said mockingly. “Wolves. Totally.”

Damien stepped forward and held his hands out apologetically. “Listen… we don’t expect you to believe everything right now but—”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?”