The Pack (The Pack 1)

I sat there for a second, stunned, and then shouted, “You licked me!”

Dominic bumped his nose against my cheek and smiled, his tongue lolling out as I stared at him in disbelief.

“For that you can sleep on the floor,” I informed him, trying to keep myself from laughing at his suddenly dejected face. “Let’s go back inside. I need to wash dog slobber off my face.”

Chapter Fifteen

I woke up sweating, my body situated awkwardly along the edge of the bed. I shifted, or attempted to shift to the middle only to be stopped by the massive wolf taking up my entire bed. I grunted, shoving at one of the paws tucked against my back, and when I couldn’t even move that, I gave up and tried to get out of the bed, catching myself as I fell.

The thump of my knee hitting the floor had Dominic’s eye cracking and I glared at him as I managed to stand up.

“You’re a bed hog!”

He gazed at me for one second before lazily closing his eye and I smacked his flank, not that it did much good covered in layers of fur. Which was probably the reason I was sweating in a room Dad liked to call a meat locker because I kept it so cold when I slept.

“I have school,” I reminded him as he stayed in the bed and was met with a snuffling snort as he snuggled in deeper. I paused on my way to my closet, letting out a laugh as I realized Dominic wasn’t a morning person. No wonder he was so grumpy picking me up in the mornings.

I shook my head and grabbed my clothes, figuring I’d change in the bathroom. He might have given me a show, but I wasn’t ready to return the favor. Dad met me in the kitchen, a bowl of cereal already poured for me. I eyed it and then him, and he gave me an exasperated glance.

“Think you can manage to stay at school all day today?” He asked, plopping the milk down in front of me.

“I should,” I answered casually, woofing down the cereal. “Do I need an excuse for yesterday?” I added carefully and he snorted.

“Lucky for you, I told them I’d forgotten to call and let them know you had to leave.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I said cheerfully, smiling at him. He only lifted his eyebrow meaningfully, so I added, “It won’t happen again.”

“Let’s hope not or I’m going to have to figure out some way to punish you.”

“Cleaning dirty motel rooms isn’t enough?” I asked dryly and he forced back an involuntary grin.

“Alright, let’s not have you turning this around on me,” he said defensively as I laughed. “Did anyone ever tell you, you’d make a damn good lawyer?”

“Only the man who spawned me, and he’s slightly biased.”

The click of paws on the floor ended our conversation as Dominic padded his way through the room.

“That is one damn big dog,” Dad muttered under his breath as Dominic went to the door and gazed at it expectantly. “You need to go out, boy?” Dad called, pitching his voice higher as I cringed internally. There was no way Dominic would ever forget this.

I went over and peeked out the window to see a familiar Jeep sitting in the parking spot.

“Actually, our ride is here,” I told Dad and he gave Dominic an impressed glance.

“Smart dog,” he said and I mumbled, “You have no idea.”

I slipped out the door before he could say anything else Dominic would hold against me and made my way to the Jeep. I yanked the door open and Dominic jumped right in.

“Way to make it look easy,” I grumbled, grabbing the seat to haul myself up. Dominic was already in the back seat, bare skin on display as he pulled on clothes. Anna kept her eyes politely averted, but Caleb was laughing as he eyed Dominic through the rearview mirror.

“How was your night as a dog?” Caleb snorted, ducking as Dominic reached around to slap the back of his head.

“Better than yours,” Dominic retorted, slipping a shirt over his chest. “I slept in a warm bed. You?”

Caleb flipped him the bird and I lifted my eyebrow questioningly to Anna.

“Caleb had night watch since Dominic was with you,” she explained, smiling at Caleb who also grinned.

“Anna kept me company,” he said and I widened my eyes at Anna.

“Yeah, cause last time you fell asleep,” Dominic interjected flatly and Caleb flushed.

“Have they decided if they’ll attack or not?” I asked uncertainly, knowing it wasn’t exactly my business. They all exchanged glances but it was Dominic who answered.

“No. No decision has been made.” His jaw worked as he spoke and I knew he was unsatisfied with the lack of a decision.

“You think they’ll attack soon, don’t you,” I stated.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Dominic said, but it was the look on Caleb’s face that caught my attention. He looked like he wanted to argue, and I remembered him disagreeing with Dominic about a coming war.