My addiction to Bailey just got a hundred times worse.
Chapter 14
Bailey
“So am I literally the only human in Wolf Ridge?” I ask Rayne Thursday evening while sitting outside Dairy Queen. I picked her up after my visit to Planned Parenthood to get on birth control.
“Shh.” She lowers her head and voice even though there’s no one else around. “Shifters have acute hearing. Always assume someone’s listening.”
I duck my head, too.
I tried to keep it a secret from Rayne that I knew. Cole said I shouldn’t tell her, or she could be in trouble with their alpha, too, and he said that burden should be his alone. But I have too many questions and my time alone with Cole… well, it hasn’t been spent talking.
He wasn’t kidding about sneaking in my window. Two out of the last four nights he’s visited me after midnight. Just like he promised, he figures out all kinds of ways to hook up without making noise.
And yes, they usually involve his hand over my mouth, which is hot for more than one reason. I like when he restrains me, when he manhandles me. Especially now that I know what he is. That he’s fifty times as strong as I am and really could do anything he wanted to me. I also love the taboo of screwing in my bedroom with my mom just down the hall. I’ve always been a good girl, so being bad with Cole is the most thrilling thing I’ve done.
“No. It’s like twenty percent human.”
“And none of the other humans know?”
Rayne shakes her head. “It’s forbidden. The old pack law says any human who finds out has to be killed. Obviously that hasn’t been enforced in over a hundred years. At least, not that I’ve heard.”
“Okay, so how long has this pack been here?”
“Since before Arizona became a state, but after it was a territory. Back when this was all the Wild West. The original pack settlers were cowboys and ranchers.”
“Like gun-slinging cowboys?”
“Nah. We don’t need guns. Plus we maintain a low profile.”
“So what happens to a human now, if they find out. Like what would happen to me?”
Rayne’s face clouds with worry. “I don’t know. Sometimes a leech is brought in to wipe a human’s memories of us.”
I cock my head. “A leech?”
“A vampire.”
A violent shudder runs through my body. “Vampires are real, too?”
Rayne nods.
“What else?”
She blinks at me. “Other shifters. Different species.”
“Like what?”
“You name it. Fox, bear, lion, panther. Even some rare ones like owl. And supposedly there used to be dragon shifters, but I guess you only believe that if you believe in dragons.”
“Mind. Blown.”
“Okay, I spilled. Your turn. Are you and Cole…” She raises her eyebrows up and down as a finish to the sentence.
I nod, blushing. “Yeah. I got birth control today.” I show her the packet of pills they gave me to start.
“Was it good?”
I blush some more. “So good. I had no idea how good it could be.”
“Jealous. I mean, not of Cole. Just of having sex.” Rayne blushes, too. “Well, one thing they probably didn’t tell you at the doctor’s office is that shifters don’t carry STDs. So you don’t have to use a condom once you’re on the pill.”
“Well, that’s a relief, I guess.” Although the thought of Cole having sex with girls in the past makes my gut burn with jealousy. I open my mouth to ask who his past girlfriends have been, but think better of it.
It’s hard enough to navigate this new thing between Cole and me. I don’t need to bring his past lovers into the mix, too.
Chapter 15
Cole
Pack meetings fall on the Sunday before the new moon.
Since I turned eighteen in September, they are required for me, which sucks, because I’d much rather be figuring out how to get alone with Bailey again.
My dad’s presence is also required, even though he’s a lemming these days. He managed to stay semi-sober today and the two of us drive over together in my truck.
As soon as I get there, though, shit blows up.
Alpha Green and Sam Drake, Adriana’s dad, are huddled together near the front, and both turn to look at us when we walk in. “There they are,” I hear Mr. Drake say. His face and neck are red with anger.
He marches over to us and Alpha Green follows. Mr. Drake points a finger at my chest. “I’m going to rip your dick off, Cole.”
My dad snarls, his eyes changing. He lunges for Drake.
“Enough!” Alpha Green puts so much alpha command into the word that the entire congress goes still in submission. He lowers his voice. “We’ll take this to a private room.” When Mr. Drake starts to protest, he says, “For the sake of your daughter.”
What the fuck?
My brain is combusting. I was worried about being called out for being with Bailey. What the fuck does Adriana have to do with anything?