The Pack (The Pack 1)

“Shanghaied? I do believe that would be considered a rescue mission,” Caleb interjected, a tiny pout on his full lips.

“You are ridiculously adorable, you know that?” I laughed, not in the least swayed by his pretty features.

“I’ve been told that numerous times,” came the dry reply from behind.

“What, that your face was going to get stuck like that?”

Caleb busted out laughing and a glance at Dominic revealed the tiniest crinkle by his eyes. It might have been a glimmer of a smile, or more likely the sun in his eyes. I was going to go with a smile though.

“You know I’m not really into hiking,” I told them, gesturing to my tired tennis shoes. I wanted to say I wasn’t really into walking either but didn’t want to come off as a whiner. Cabs were my preferred method of transportation but those seemed few and far between out here.

“Why don’t you have a car?” Caleb asked, hands looped through the straps on his backpack. The position highlighted his chest and shoulders and I realized Dominic wasn’t the only one who was built. Caleb was too, just on a smaller scale, and easily overlooked in comparison.

“Why don’t you?” I retorted right back.

“I do,” he answered and I heard a throat clear. “Well, Dom does,” he corrected with a sheepish glance over his shoulder and I hid my smile. “According to my dad, I’m not responsible enough for a car.” The note of bitterness I heard was surprising coming from Caleb and I glanced back at Dominic, who kept his face expressionless. “Not compared to my older brother at least.”

My eyes flickered between them and I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re not brothers, are you?”

This time it was Caleb looking at me like I was crazy and we both turned as a low rumble reached us.

“Is he laughing or choking?” I whispered in concern.

“Laughing. I think,” Caleb answered uncertainly. A moment later, we saw a flash of white teeth and I stepped back because it was the single most terrifying smile I’d ever seen. “Laughing, definitely,” Caleb confirmed with a nod.

“Remind me to never make him laugh again,” I replied faintly as Caleb caught my arm and tugged me back towards them.

“Really, he’s a teddy bear.”

“Sure,” I agreed, not believing him for a second.

“Did you really think we were brothers?” Dominic asked finally, his tone implying how stupid he thought I was.

“I wasn’t sure!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up.

“Maybe it’s the fact that we look nothing alike?”

“You could be half-brothers,” I argued, unwilling to concede defeat to Dominic over my assumption.

“Yes, of course,” he said silkily and I frowned as Caleb chuckled at his next question, knowing he was making fun of me. “Same mother or father?”

I growled and stomped forward. I would admit they looked nothing alike. Dominic had silky black hair and the strangest yellow eyes I’d ever seen while Caleb was blue-eyed with sandy brown hair. Not to mention the difference in size. Caleb was a few inches taller than me, probably 5’10 or 11 and muscular, but nothing remarkable. Dominic was a giant. There was no way to miss him in a crowd with his towering height and broad shoulders. His massive size should look abnormal – a result of the illegal use of steroids perhaps – but he was perfectly proportioned. An oversized version of the perfect masculine form.

“Hey,” Caleb’s low voice caught up to me a second before he did. “He didn’t mean anything by it. We’re just so used to everyone knowing us that it was strange to have someone mistake us for brothers.” He glanced back at Dominic and grinned. “Bonus points for making him laugh. I don’t think that’s happened since,” he stopped and I raised an eyebrow curiously, as Caleb’s face went serious. “Well, let’s just say it’s been awhile.”

I got the feeling he wasn’t going to talk about why Dominic didn’t laugh and I wasn’t about to admit my own insane curiosity about the formidable giant, so I let it go.

“So, why do you live in a motel?” Dominic had caught up by this time and heard the question.

“Yes, why don’t we talk about you now?” He agreed, my bag now dangling from his hand, but he was so tall it didn’t come close to the ground.

“I thought we had,” I retorted, pausing as the path we’d taken through the woods opened up to a wide cleared area. “What is this?”

“The path home,” Dominic answered, his sheer mass pushing me forward as I stood there staring. There was a real possibility of being plowed down if I stood in his way. “The electric company is kind enough to keep it maintained for us.”

“Ha,” I muttered, as I noticed the enormous power lines arching above us for the first time.