by Juniper Hart
“I was six years old!” Jo screamed back, her face red. She didn’t add that it had been her full intention to kill Lily.
“No harm done,” Klein said, rising from the mahogany table. “Did she feed?”
“No,” Draven said, looking uncomfortable. “She got caught before she had a chance.”
“Keep an eye on her today. She needs to eat.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Lily snapped, also standing.
The family gazed at her.
“Why don’t you shut your stupid mouth and do what you’re told,” Jo hissed. “You almost got your brothers killed.”
Without warning, Lily’s hand was around Jo’s throat, and the older girl felt a shockwave of panic fly down her spine.
“Why don’t you mind your own damn business?” Lily spat, elevating her sister.
There was a look in Lily’s eyes which Jo had never seen, and she hated to admit that it scared her.
What the hell happened to her? How did she become this way suddenly?
“Put her down!” Klein cried, reaching to intercept the altercation.
Lily shrugged and dropped her sister into a pile on the floor.
“I’m going to bed,” Lily said lazily as if nothing had happened.
The family stared after her silently.
“I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing,” Ryland muttered. “What the hell happened to our sweet kid sister?”
“It’s a good thing,” Klein assured his children. “Everyone adjusts differently. Give her time. Our Lily will be back. In the meantime, keep an eye on her.”
“She needs to be put in her place!” Jo grumbled.
“Jo, she is very powerful right now and doesn’t know the limits of her own strength. Lycans are extremely strong when they first shift. Most of us shift as children for the first time, so our parents can still control us. However, your sister is an adult, so she can likely outpower all of you right now! Do not push her. Watch her carefully, but stay out of her way.”
“I have no interest in watching her or getting anywhere near her,” Jo snarled. “Make sure she stays out of mine.”
Jo spun to storm from the house.
She was furious at the turn of events. She had been so close to getting Lily to leave Pierre, but now, even if she could somehow convince her sister to move on, there was no way their father or pack would let her go without a fight.
Josephine had waited for too long, and now it was going to be more difficult than ever.
So my little sister is all grown up now, huh? I wonder what it will take to get rid of her once and for all?
Jo had an obvious answer, but she didn’t know how to see through the death of a pack member without being caught.
It would be too risky to do it myself, she thought mournfully as she walked down Island View Drive, away from their house overlooking the Missouri River.
Setting Lily up to be caught would be the next best thing, but with Ryland and Draven watching her, Lily would be protected until she was surefooted enough on her own.
That could take months, she realized, and Jo knew she certainly did not want to wait until Lily had full understanding of her powers before attacking.
She’s dangerous now; what will she be like in a year? She won’t go down without a fight.
Frustration was mounting inside Josephine. There had to be a way to get rid of Lily once and for all. But how?
The answer came to Jo later that night when she wandered into a Lycan-only establishment on West Sioux Avenue.
Of course, it was not advertised as such. but mortals were kept at bay by the bar’s reputation for trouble. The unfortunate few who wandered through the doors of the Epact Sports Bar usually found themselves hospitalized or missing. Law enforcement steered clear of the seedy building and warned the locals to do the same.
Despite their resolve to stay under the radar, the Lycan presence was known in Pierre by some locals. It was not discussed, and while a pitchfork and torch-wielding crowd materialized now and again, the mortals tended to leave the Lycans alone, provided their activities were kept under wraps.
Epact Sports Bar was not a place where Jo often found herself, but it was close to home, and that night she felt like drowning herself in cheap booze and loud company.
She had been going out more frequently since finishing her degree, and unlike her perfect sister, Jo had to work very hard for decent grades. She was not naturally bright, and while her friends were out partying and dating, she had been stuck struggling to get passing grades.
It was just one more reason to hate Lily.
The stupid girl doesn’t even have to try, and she still refuses to be social. She’s wasting her youth for no good reason.
She pushed open the doors to the hole in the wall and sauntered up to the bar, barely looking around as she sat at an unoccupied barstool.
“Hey Jo,” the bartender, Vern said eyeing her as he wiped down a glass. “What’ll it be?”
“Just get me a Bud,” she muttered, turning to regard the crowd.
It was not overly busy that night, and she recognized a few familiar faces.
Well, well, well, she thought, her eyes brightening considerably as she saw Cruz Aube slumped in a booth in the corner of the bar.
“How long has he been here?” Jo asked, pointing at the pack leader’s son.
Vern snorted. “Long enough for him to forget where he is,” he replied.
Jo nodded and picked up her drink, sliding off the seat.
“He’s in a bad mood, Jo!” Vern called after her, but she pretended not to hear him.
Cruz was alone, which was unusual for the charismatic playboy. It was obvious something had occurred before she’d arrived, the others casting him furtive glances from time to time but no one dared approach him.
“You look like I feel,” Jo commented, sitting down, uninvited.
Cruz raised his head and bared his teeth, ready to snap, but he seemed to reconsider when he saw who sat before him.
“What do you have to feel shitty about?” he growled, his words garbled with booze. He took another slug of his drink, downing the remaining liquid, and stared at her with bloodshot hazel eyes.
“I have my reasons,” she replied. “But something tells me that yours are better.”
Cruz snorted derisively and signaled at Vern for another round at the table.
“Want to talk about it?” Jo asked sweetly, sliding closer to him. She put her hand on his leg and smiled beguilingly at him.
This is it! Cruz is my answer to Lily, she thought excitedly.
Like every other straight female in Pierre, Jo had been undeniably drawn to Cruz Aube. Not only was he handsome and charming, he was also first in line to be pack leader. The combination of heat and power made him irresistible, but to Jo, it was more than that.
As his mate, I could control who he allows in the pack. If I were to convince him that Lily was a danger to the pack, he would be forced to get rid of her. I would never have to lay eyes on her stupid guileless face again!
It was almost an insult that Cruz had not tried to sleep with her, although they had come close over the weekend when they had seen one another at the party. Too much booze had taken its toll on both of them, and by the time Amber finally left him alone, it was too late for anything to have happened, but Jo was nothing if not patient.
I have been patient long enough when it’s come to my sister, though.
“No,” Cruz snapped flatly. “The last person I talked to about it won’t answer my calls.”
A stab of annoyance flittered through her, but she forced a smile.
“Some people just can’t handle big boy problems,” she said, squeezing his thigh.
He pulled his leg back and stared at her through bleary eyes.
“That’s not true,” he growled. “She can handle a lot.”
Amber is an idiot, Jo thought caustically, but did not voice her opinion of the vapid blonde. Instead, she s
at back and researched his face.
“Well, if you need an ear, I’m offering.”
He peered at her.
“Where’s Lily?” he demanded, and she felt a spark of apprehension course through her veins.
“Lily?” she echoed.
It was the last name she expected to spring from Cruz’s full lips, and it angered her to the core. She realized that he had probably finally heard about her shift the previous night. Nothing could happen in Pierre without the pack leader finding out about it, and Cruz was Sol’s only child.
I can’t go anywhere without a reminder of that brat.
“Your sister?”
“Yes, I know who she is, I just don’t know why you care. She’s probably got her nose stuck in a book somewhere.”
“Oh.”
Jo was almost choking on fury, and her fists clenched beneath the table. She willed herself to remain calm.
“Why do you care where she is?”
Vern appeared, dropping another double vodka on the table for Cruz and beer for Jo.
“Hey, Cruz, maybe this should be your last. The night after a full moon… you should be regenerating, not—”
Vern did not finish his sentence, his back landing on the bar fifteen feet away.
Jo’s mouth pursed into a fine line, and Cruz jumped to his feet, spitting on the ground.
“Is there anyone else who wants to tell me how to live my life?” he yelled at the onlookers. “Anyone else who thinks they know better than me?”
Vern groaned and ambled to his feet, but he did not address Cruz again. Jo didn’t blame him; he was the pack leader’s son after all. Who was going to take him on?
Jo lowered her eyes, embarrassed by Cruz’s lack of control.
He did not bother to return to the table and stomped from Epact. Jo leapt to her feet and ran after him outside into the humid summer night.
“Go back inside,” he snarled, sensing her at his back. “Leave me alone.”
She watched him, her pulse quickening as he stumbled his way down West Sioux, muttering incoherently to himself.
I have to wait until he’s sober, but I’ll get to him. He is going to be the answer to my prayers. Cruz is going to be my mate.
She smiled and hurried back inside the bar to pay her tab.
“Did Cruz pay his bill?” she asked, knowing the answer.
Vern’s mouth became a scowl, and he shook his head.
“I’ll take care of his bill and whatever I owe you,” she told him.
Vern eyed her dubiously. “He’s had a lot,” he warned.
“He’s worth it,” she assured the owner, winking as she slapped a bunch of twenties on the bar.
When he finds out I paid it, he’ll have to come looking for me to thank me, and the rest will be history.
She was feeling very pleased with herself as she made her way back home.
As she neared the large, colonial-style house, she made out a figure ambling around.
What the hell?
A bright smile lit her face as she recognized the intruder.
“Are you looking for me?” she laughed, coming up on Cruz as he shuffled about the side of the house.
He stared at her as if he didn’t know who she was.
“Are you following me?” he demanded, scowling.
She lost her grin. “I live here, Cruz,” she snapped back. “What are you doing here?”
He blinked, and understanding came to his face.
“Of course you live here,” he sighed, shaking his head.
“Cruz what are you doing here?” she asked again, her voice rising an octave. Jo had a feeling she did not want to know the answer to her question.
He shook his head and turned away.
“Nothing. I made a mistake. Don’t tell anyone I was here,” he whispered, tripping back toward the road.
Jo watched him leave, her mouth agape as she realized what she had just witnessed.
Cruz had come looking for Lily.
Is he the reason that Lily has learned to shift? Does he have something to do with it?
The answer filled her with cold fury as she watched him vanish down the road.
I hate her. I hate her more than I’ve hated anyone in my life.
Her sister had stolen yet another thing from her, but Jo knew she was going to take back what was rightfully hers. All of it.
Chapter Seven
The hangover was real, probably the most acute feeling of pain he had experienced in all his years on earth.
Cruz wasn’t even sure what had happened.
It had started off innocently enough, meeting with Austin for a drink to take the sting of his father’s words from his ears.
One drink had become five, and those had led to a series of unanswered texts to Lily Benz. From the first bar, somehow he had ended up alone at Epact where the night had become an unexpected blur. As hard as he tried, he did not recall what happened after he walked into the bar.
How he had made it home and to his own bed was nothing short of a miracle, and as he struggled to open his eyes fully, a range of shame and anger flooded through him.
Dad tells me I am never going to be worthy of being pack leader, and I just go out and prove him right. And I have class today, which I am going to miss because I am most definitely going to puke when I stand up.
Cruz reasoned that there was no point in trying anyway.
Except that you aren’t going to live in your dad’s house for the rest of your life, are you?
His cell chimed, and a spark of hope bolted through him as he snatched it up.
It wasn’t Lily, only Amber. Where have you been? I miss you!
He groaned and tossed the cell aside.
What happened to her? Did she really regret what we did so much that she’s refusing to talk to me? That’s ridiculous. We’re bound to see each other again, even if she doesn’t come back for tutoring.
He gazed hazily at his alarm clock.
It was eight o’clock.
The phone vibrated again, and Cruz resisted the urge to hurl it against the wall.
Did you hear about Lily Benz? Amber texted.
Suddenly, his hangover subsided, and panic seized him as he sat up.
For a fleeting second, he saw himself in his mind’s eye, outside of the Benz house, talking to someone.
Was I there last night? Cruz wondered. Oh God, did I go to Lily’s house drunk and stupid? What did I do?
What happened to Lily? Cruz texted back, staring at the screen as he silently willed Amber to answer.
Amber replied. She finally shifted.
His brow knit together, the words not making immediate sense.
A feeling of elation swept through him, and he realized that Lily had finally become one of them.
Cruz thought, Did I have anything to do with that? Is that why she hasn’t been returning my texts? She’s adjusting?
Cruz had to find out.
***
There was the strangest fire burning in Lily. It had never been there before, and she attributed it to the new change in her life, but with it came a sense of mournful yearning. It was as if she wanted to taste and feel everything again, and all she looked at seemed brand new to her eyes.
The day after the full moon, she woke, a restless energy overtaking her body, and she prowled around the house aimlessly.
“You’re making me nervous,” Draven complained after she passed by the living room where he sat watching television. “Just sit down.”
“I can’t,” Lily replied. “I’m supposed to be doing something, going somewhere, but I don’t know where.”
Ryland laughed, his mouth full of sandwich.
“Remember that feeling, Dray?”
“Barely,” Draven sighed. “I kind of envy her going through this now. We were so young when it happened, we didn’t get to experience it properly.”
“Envy the nerd?” Jo asked cuttingly, entering the kitchen. “Why? Because she’s better at Jeopard
y?”
“Oh, come on,” Ryland interjected. “You have to admit that it’s exciting. Lily is finally one of us.”
“I don’t have to admit shit,” Josephine snapped, throwing open the fridge. “And I would hardly call her one of us.”
A wave of anger coursed through Lily. Like everything else, it seemed that she felt emotions more intensely than she once had.
Even now I’m not good enough for her? What will it take to wipe that smug expression off her face?
“What’s the matter, sis?” Lily mocked. “You mad because your baby sister kicked your ass?”
The siblings stared at her, stunned that Lily had sworn. The younger girl’s eyes flashed, and she waited for Jo’s response.
“Yeah, you’re tough, Lily, attacking me when my guard is down,” Jo snarled back, seeming unperturbed by her outburst.
Like lightening, Lily was on top of her sister, her face inches from hers. She felt her fangs elongate, and she had an insurmountable desire to sink her teeth into Jo’s neck.
“Maybe that’s because your guard is weak,” Lily hissed. “Maybe it’s you who has been weak all along.”
Jo struggled to get up, but Lily kept her pinned, a slow, cruel smirk touching her face.
“What? It’s not fun being put down all the time?” she mocked. “I thought you would like to do a little role playing for once.”
“Lily, get off her!” Klein roared, snatching his youngest from atop her sister. “What is wrong with you?”
Lily smiled disarmingly as Klein put her on the ground, shaking his head.
“We’re just playing, right Jo?”
Josephine’s mouth almost disappeared into a line of anger, but she didn’t respond.
“I’m going out,” Lily announced, whirling ballerina-like out of the kitchen.
“Go with her!” Klein barked at his sons, but by the time Ryland had stepped onto the veranda, Lily was nowhere in sight.
She had ducked behind the neighbor’s house, ensuring that her brothers were not on her trail before making her way up the street.
She hummed happily to herself, a tickle in her stomach.
Gone was the timid mouse who had withheld years of verbal abuse by her family. In its place was a woman deigning to set the world on fire.
But how?
The answer seemed to be on the tip of her tongue, yet she couldn’t reach it.