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I nod instead of typing out a long reply of the various feelings running through me right now. After that, the story game we were playing is replaced by staring out the black car’s windows as we search for anything familiar. The closer we get to the center of town, the more the feeling of rightness sinks into me. A sense of place. A sense that I belong here.
My wolf stands from that little piece inside and comes to life with a howl. I reach up, placing my hand on my heart, wishing I could let her out to play. She’s bursting at the seams to run with her people again. She’s happy she gets Nathan, and sometimes the other Daybreak students, but running with the whole pack would be a dream. The oneness. The community. It would be like fitting the last piece of a puzzle into place.
I blow out a breath. It’s a lot to take in all at once.
I flick my gaze toward Nathan to see how he’s holding up, and he’s already staring at me with a perplexed expression. His eyes shutter and open as if in slow motion. Immediately, when my mind starts a course for what we did together, my stomach roils in acid. It feels more wrong here than it ever did when we were at Greystone.
A part of me is kind of happy about that. If it keeps up, I won’t have to wrestle with whatever the hell is going on between me and Nathan. I can just focus on Sean—the one person who can keep me alive.
Eventually, the sleek, black car in front of us pulls up to a gate. The driver punches in a code, and the metal slats swing in. I’ve been to the alpha’s house before, but only for parties.
I lean over the seat. “Do you know if we’ll get to see our parents?”
The driver has the decency to focus his gaze on me, but he doesn’t answer. He just moves his attention back to the road as he follows the other car.
Instead of taking the driveway toward the main house, he keeps on a path that is less taken care of. We bounce around the backseat with every rut and root along the trail until we hit a fork in the road. We turn down a dirt path that traverses in and out of the forest, ending up far away from the huge mansion Alpha Richard lives in. I’m about to ask the driver how much further we have to travel yet when the car in front of us suddenly stops.
I sit up in my seat and peer just beyond the vehicle in the way. It’s a cabin. My whole body deflates. A rustic, worn building in the dense forest. Even though it’s broad daylight, it’s dark in here under the canopy of trees, casting a shadow over the structure. “Are you serious?”
The driver’s face pinches when he looks at me, and I want to ask him what his damn problem is. But then I remember that we’re the ones at Greystone. To everyone outside that place, we’re the ones who did something wrong. We’re the ones who need to be punished because our fated pairs rejected us.
I share a look with Nathan, and then we both swing open our doors to find similar faces on the other Daybreak Pack members.
Wonderful. Outcasts again.
9
I slam the car door closed, and a second later, the squeak of a much lighter door closes with a whack. Everyone turns their attention toward the screened-in porch where Alpha Richard is making his way down the stairs. He’s a huge shifter who shaves his head bald. It’s kind of odd to see him in his wolf form because he has a gorgeous, thick dark mane that rivals every other shifter in show factor.
We all stand still as he walks down the short stone pathway toward us. The drivers plunk our luggage next to us as the alpha approaches. “Welcome back to Daybreak,” he says with a hint of a smile. Other than that, he’s not overly friendly or welcoming. He’s staccato and relaying information like he’s on a mission. “This cabin is for my hunting accommodations. Due to the Winter Solstice festivities, all the rooms in the big house are taken with other pack visitors, so I hope you don’t take this as an offense.”
I swallow. I had taken it as an offense, but I suppose he’s right. However, he’s not addressing the fact that we could’ve just stayed with our parents. If I’d felt like arguing with my mother, I already would’ve texted her.
“Thank you, Alpha,” Alice says.
“You’re welcome. Every day, an announcement will be left in your cabin about the day’s Winter Solstice festivities, which, as you know, ends with the winter ball. I hope you’ll all be attending with your fated pairs.”
“So, are we free to come and go from this house?” Nathan asks. I peer around the place, searching for something that would get us out of here since it’s a long trek back to the alpha’s mansion and an even longer one to get to our family homes. We’ll have to wolf it everywhere.
“Of course,” he says. “You’re still a member of Daybreak Pack, and I have high hopes that I’ll welcome all of you back for good soon.”
The four other Greystone students nod, and I find myself nodding along with them. There’s something about his voice that makes you want to agree with him. It’s the pack bond talking, for sure. I haven’t felt it in a very long time.
“Thank you, Alpha,” we all say as the lead driver opens up the rear door for him. He gets in, and the alpha’s vehicles pull away, our pieces of luggage standing on either side of the rutted roadway.
“Some welcoming,” I mutter.
Now that the alpha is gone, my thoughts are my own again.
Nathan grabs my bag, even though I protest, and we walk behind the other three into the cabin. On second inspection, it’s not like he put us up in a shitty house made for animals. The cabin, though rustic, is beautiful. The screened-in front porch is equipped with a dining and seating area. A fireplace splits the two, and you can see right through to the table on the other side. Robbie pushes the door to the cabin open, and we walk into the interior.
The space is on the smaller side, but it has all we need. At this point, anything would look small to me compared to Greystone. To our right, a cozy living room sits with a sectional sofa and a few recliners. Further in, we brush past an island lined with barstools. The kitchen itself boasts dark green cabinets with black marble countertops and appliances that appear to have never been used before.
I should’ve realized the alpha wouldn’t live in squalor, even if this is only a hunting lodge.
“Let’s pick rooms,” Nathan offers.
We trudge our luggage upstairs. The rooms are tiny except for one. Alice calls it first, running straight in and making herself comfortable. I want to tell her to calm her tits, but I don’t want to seem too over the top, so I let her enthusiasm slide. The other girl asks if she can room there, too, as there aren’t enough bedrooms to go around, and Alice reluctantly agrees. While Robbie takes the room down the same hallway, Nathan and I turn to our left where we find two more doors. He shrugs as he opens one, and I skirt past him, grabbing my luggage and moving to the door at the farthest end of this hallway.