by Juniper Hart
Chapter Two
“You have got to be kidding me,” Sol snarled, whipping the page onto the kitchen table.
“What the hell am I paying for, Cruz?”
His son grinned disarmingly.
“My social education?” he volunteered.
Sol bared his teeth furiously, but Cruz did not balk. Instead, he peered at his nail as if examining them for chips.
“You aren’t passing one course!” Sol growled. “How is that even possible?”
“Talent?”
Sol pounced on his son, knocking Cruz to the ground. He straddled him, grasping his shirt collar.
“You will do better, Cruz.”
“Or what?” Cruz barked back. “Or you’ll find someone else to take over the family business?”
Sol’s jaw locked, and his own hazel eyes seemed to glow amber in his fury.
“Do you think this is a joke? The future of the pack is on you, and you’re a… a…”
“Disappointment? Failure? Idiot?” Cruz supplied, his mouth curling into a sneer. “Were those the words you were grasping for?”
Sol jumped off Cruz in a quick, graceful motion. He towered over his son, shaking his head.
“What’s wrong with you?” he demanded. “Why are you so stubborn? You’re in line to head one of the most powerful packs in the—”
“Blah blah blah,” Cruz snorted. “Are we done here? I have a party to attend, and I need to get ready.”
Sol stared at him in disbelief.
“If you think you’re going anywhere, you’ve lost your mind. You’re signing up for summer courses.”
Cruz laughed. “What?” he choked. “Have you lost your mind? I just went to school all year!”
“Did you? Because your grades sure don’t reflect that. If you don’t rectify the mess you’ve made with your academics, Cruz…”
“Then what?” he challenged.
Sol shook his head sadly. He was silent for a long minute, studying his son’s face as if he had just realized something important.
He nodded almost imperceivably as if reaching a decision.
“I’m passing you over. You’re not ready. I thought that you would outgrow this childish willfulness, but I can see I was mistaken. I give up, Cruz. Just because you’re next in line doesn’t mean you have what it takes to lead the pack.”
Shock filled Cruz’s face.
“What?” he cried. “You can’t do that! You don’t have the right…”
But as the words left his lips, he realized that his father could choose anyone he deemed fit to run the pack as his successor. There was no hard rule carved in stone which determined who was to be successor.
“Dad, you wouldn’t…” Cruz said, his face turning waxen.
“I have no choice, Cruz. You’ve finally done what you wanted; you’ve pushed me beyond my limit. Congratulations. Have fun at your party.”
Sol spun and disappeared in a stealthy move, leaving Cruz to stare after him in stunned amazement.
No way, he thought, his heart hammering. There’s no way he would do that.
He picked himself off the floor and wracked his mind.
There is no one else, he thought with confidence. Who else could he call upon? He grinned as he realized it was just another one of his father’s bluffs. If he thinks I am going to summer school, he’s insane.
When Cruz arrived at the bush party, it was going full swing. It was mostly young pack members, but the odd mortal had fashioned an invite somehow. The members knew to keep themselves hidden properly, but inevitably a Lycan would drink too much and show his true colors, making for a terrifying ghost story among the locals. The Lycans would downplay the event as a drunken hallucination.
Everyone called out to Cruz when he arrived, patting him on the back as if he was best friends with them all. He was known and revered to all, and he greeted them as if he had not just seen them on the street.
It seemed that people radiated to Cruz. He had a quality in which everyone wanted a piece, an aura which all wanted to bask within.
In reality, Cruz had only a small handful of friends. He didn’t trust many of his counterparts, despite their group mentality.
I was born into this, and we are designed to watch out for one another, but it isn’t something I chose, he often thought and he didn’t know why that filled him with so much disdain. He wondered if it wasn’t the reason he gave his father so much grief.
Nobody asked me if I wanted to be pack leader. It was just assumed I would do it. How is that fair?
Yet when his father had threatened to take it away, Cruz had been anxious.
Maybe I just don’t know what I want yet.
He would be damned if he let anyone else know that. To his circle of friends, he was the life of the party, a man without cares or troubles. His confidence knew no bounds.
Yes, he was failing miserably in college, but that was more by design than lack of intelligence. He knew that failing in school would only serve to incense his father, and that was something Cruz did best.
As he wandered through the crowd, he considered that his father was right; maybe it was time to settle down and stop rebelling.
“There he is!” Amber sighed, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him fully on the lips. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”
“And miss spending time with you?” he asked coyly. “How could you even think such a thing?”
Their mouths met, and Amber snaked her hands into his thick mane of hair.
“Come on,” she breathed, pulling back to guide him away from the prying eyes of the others. “I found the perfect spot for us.”
“Already?” he teased.
“I’ve been here for hours,” Amber pouted. “I had lots of time.”
He grinned and followed her, watching her full rear as she walked into the brush into the dark.
Amber was only one of his many admirers, but currently his favorite. She was a full-figured girl and an alpha female if there could have been one.
Maybe dad will consider Amber for pack leader, he thought caustically.
He allowed her to lead the way into the tree line, but before she could turn to face him, he pinned her up against a leaning pine, his breath hot on her neck.
“You’re losing your touch,” he whispered, his tongue reaching out eagerly for her lobes. “You should have sensed me coming a mile away.”
“Maybe I did and didn’t care,” she replied, gasping as his hand snaked its way up her thigh and swept around the front underneath her too-tight skirt.
He pressed himself against her firmly, his fingers working skillfully at her center. She was ready for him, and he smiled to himself. His fingertips worked in a frenzied motion. Amber’s legs began to tremble, but he held her firm, one hand cupping her wet crotch.
He felt himself grow harder against her full rear, and he could not wait any longer to take her.
His free hand unbuttoned his pants, and his mouth worked its way down her neck, relishing Amber’s short gasps.
Hiking her skirt higher, he spread her legs apart, his fangs extending in the heat of passion. He entered her swiftly and smoothly, feeling her push against him.
Cruz grabbed her waist, propping her against the bark, his feet planted firmly against the ground and started driving himself inside her full and hard.
Amber cried out with the force, but she bucked back more, encouraging him to move faster.
He pounded at her, a hand pressing at the small of her back, and suddenly he realized that his lovemaking was inspired by anger and not driven by the firm, perfect ass of the girl bent over before him.
He jolted abruptly and felt a surge of hot juice spurt into Amber, watching as her hands curled around the trunk of the tree in front of them.
“Woah,” Amber laughed as he pulled out. “That was intense.”
“You good?”
“Not as good as you,” she laughed, and he stared at her, his head half-cocked.<
br />
“I think you did just fine,” he replied, winking.
He leaned in to kiss her, and she responded with fervor. Cruz wondered if she was trying to get him to go another round, but he was feeling too preoccupied.
They collected themselves and together went to rejoin the party which had picked up pace and tempo in their absence.
He looked around at the familiar faces and unbidden, an image of his father popped into his head again.
Cruz wondered which one of those men could possibly be good enough to take his place if it came to it.
I have to stop thinking about Dad tonight, he thought, exasperated with himself. It’s just ruining my mood, and it’s a stupid point. No one is taking my place, and he knows it.
“My man,” Austin cried, patting his buddy on the back. “Glad you made it. It isn’t a party without you stealing the attention of all the ladies.”
“Well if you weren’t so ugly, you wouldn’t have to worry…”
They laughed and gave one another a manly hug before turning to stare at the crowd. Pierre was a small town, and yet there never seemed to be a shortage of pack females.
“Are they getting hotter or are we getting drunker?” Austin asked.
“I haven’t even started drinking yet,” Cruz confessed. “And this is a good-looking bunch of ladies, I agree.”
“Let’s get you a beer.”
They shuffled toward the cooler, and Cruz glanced up in surprise when he saw a face he hadn’t seen in a long while.
“Is that Jo Benz?” Cruz asked, pointing at the slender brunette.
Austin nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t seen her out much since she graduated. I heard she works afternoons at some credit card call center in town. She’s looking pretty good.”
“Her sister is cute too,” Cruz commented. “I ran into her earlier today.”
“Lily?” Aiden asked dubiously. “She’s a mouse. She’d rather get off on books than go to a party.”
“I know intelligence is terrifying to someone without a brain, Austin but you have to admit something about her is sweet.”
“Sweet little Lily,” Austin chuckled. “Would I say no to plucking her lily? Probably not.”
An unexpected rage flew through Cruz, and before he could stop himself, he had half shifted, tossing Aiden ten feet back with a paw swipe. He changed back as fast as it had happened, leaving Aiden staring at him dumbfounded.
Other members of the party stopped to watch the transaction in surprise.
“What the hell was that?” Austin screeched, jumping to his feet. “You have a thing for a loser?”
“I just don’t like the way you talk about women,” Cruz replied, popping open his beer as if nothing had happened. “You’re kind of a pig.”
Austin scowled, brushing himself off, and the party-goers returned to their business, realizing nothing major was occurring.
“At least I don’t bang them and forget about them,” he growled sullenly.
“I never forget,” Cruz corrected, taking a long swig of his drink. He was just as surprised by the action as anyone else had been. “I remember them long after our one-night stands.”
I barely know Lily Benz. There is no reason to stand up for her honor.
He admitted that she was still a member of his pack and deserved respect, and it was true; Austin was chauvinistic. It had felt good to hit him although his reaction was probably exaggerated.
He felt a pair of eyes on him, and he glanced up.
Josephine Benz was smiling at him alluringly, her bright green eyes alight with interest. He raised his beer in silent toast to her, and she winked back at him.
Josephine Benz is someone I have not had the pleasure of entertaining yet, he thought, but he could not help but notice how much the older Benz sister looked like the younger.
Despite Lily’s lack of attention to her appearance, Cruz would still consider her the more attractive girl.
He had noticed Lily years earlier, likely because she never paid him any mind. He found her resistance to his charm irresistible.
I wonder if Lily would ever come to one of our parties.
It suddenly occurred to him how out of character he was acting.
I have my father and Lily Benz on the brain while women are making eyes at me. I am attacking my friend. I need to start drinking and stop letting my mind work.
For the rest of the night, he made a conscious effort to do just that and succeeded.
He was half-drunk, but fully sated when he stumbled home that night. It was four a.m., and Cruz had all but forgotten his earlier fight with his father.
Amber had kept him entertained for most of the night, sneaking him off to their tree for some more pleasure, but when she finally called it a night, he found himself in Josephine Benz’s company.
He didn’t remember a lot of what they talked about, but he remembered the way she watched him, her emerald eyes trained on his lips as if every word he spoke was fascinating.
It’s hard to believe those two are from the same family; Jo is so sensual and confident while Lily is quiet and meek. Lily is like no one else in her family. She hasn’t even shifted yet. I wonder if she ever will.
It was a curious situation. No one had heard of a full-blooded Lycan not learning to morph as late as adulthood. It had created rumors among the community that Lily Benz was not truly the daughter of Klein and Kara.
Kara had disappeared one night, and no one ever heard from her again, causing a rampant speculation that perhaps Lily had been the product of an extramarital affair with a mortal.
Still, she was embraced as a pack member even though she refused to partake in meetings or prowl on the full moon with the others.
I can’t really blame her. Would I want to hang out with a bunch of people who talked about me behind my back and called my mom a whore? Probably not, Cruz reasoned.
He had wanted to mention to Jo that he had run into her sister, but with the excitement of the evening, he had eventually forgotten, just as he had intended. For all he knew, he might have mentioned their encounter to Jo but had been too drunk to recall.
“Cruz, come in here.”
He froze at the sound of his father’s voice as he slunk into the foyer of the house. He hadn’t realized that Sol was sitting in the front room, silently waiting for him in the dark.
“Hey Dad,” he called, his words slightly slurred. “I didn’t see you there.”
“That would make your observations skills lacking,” Sol shot back, his tone biting. “I have some news for you, and I didn’t want to wait until morning to tell you.”
A fission of apprehension slid through his spine as he stared at his father’s stoic expression. Something was not right, but Cruz was slightly too inebriated to decipher the clues properly.
“It’s almost morning now,” Cruz sighed. “But if it can’t wait, I guess it can’t wait.”
“Your cousin, Dex, is coming from Montana.”
Cruz peered at him expectantly, waiting for more information. When nothing else materialized, Cruz folded his arms over his broad chest and grunted.
“That is truly earth-shattering news, Dad. Thanks for staying awake to tell me that.”
“He will be your replacement.”
A slight whooshing sound sounded in Cruz’s ears, and his mouth fell agape.
“You can’t be serious. Dex? He’s not even your nephew! He’s Mom’s! The bloodline is all wrong!”
Sol rose laboriously to his feet.
“You have left me with no choice, Cruz. I am done fighting with you. You want to argue me on everything, and all it shows me is that you’ll never be ready to lead. Dex is a good man, and he will serve our pack well.”
“Dad! Don’t do this! The pack will reject him. He’s an outsider.”
“They will learn to adjust,” Sol replied. “Good night, son.”
“Dad! Wait! I can do it! I’m sorry, wait!”
Cruz hated the sound of his own voice. Begging was
not something he had ever had to do in his life.
“No, Cruz, I genuinely don’t believe you can,” Sol replied heavily. “He will be here in September after he gets his affairs in order in Montana.”
Sol vanished into the hall, and suddenly Cruz was sober.
His legacy had just been stolen out from underneath him by a distant relative.
He can’t do this to me! He wouldn’t! He’s bluffing!
But it seemed no matter how many rationales flew through Cruz’s mind, he had cooked his own goose. His father had spoken.
Cruz was out.
Dex was in.
Chapter Three
It was a surprisingly cool day, and Lily made her way toward the University of South Dakota campus, cursing herself for not having brought a sweater.
“Stupid cold day in June. What is this crap? In California, I won’t have to worry about this,” she grumbled silently.
She had set herself up for two summer courses, but she wanted to go in early to register for tutoring before her psychology and criminology classes began that day.
“You are such a nerd,” Draven sighed as he watched her grab her backpack, heading toward the front door. “Why don’t you enjoy your summer for once? I can’t remember the last time you didn’t go to school all year round.”
“Enjoy her summer?” Jo echoed, snorting. “Since when does Lily know the meaning of the word enjoy?”
Lily ignored her siblings, leaving them to nurse their hangovers with coffee. It took every fiber of her being not to slam the door to add to their pain.
It had been on the tip of her tongue to tell them that the reason she attended school year-round was because she had no interest in spending a minute more than necessary in their presence.
But of course, she said nothing.
I won’t give the satisfaction of a response, she thought haughtily, but the truth was she was simply too meek to speak her mind.
What would be the point? Lily thought. They would only team up on me anyway. Three full-blooded Lycans against a lowly bookworm who may be a bastard. It wouldn’t be much of a carcass left to feed upon.
Lily reminded herself that she had a plan.
I won’t have to deal with their abuse much longer. In another year, I will be long gone, and they can forget they ever had a black sheep sister. Black sheep. How appropriate since I will never be a wolf.