Misfit Pack (The Misfit Series)

by Stephanie Foxe

  Shane managed to pull his eyes away from Amber to acknowledge her for a moment. “Not everyone shares that view, but I won’t lie, most do.”

  “Is there a chance for me to pass the Trials, or will the powers that be not allow it?” Amber asked bluntly.

  The smile returned to Shane’s face. “You have the same chance as every other alpha that has gone through them. A born wolf doesn’t have any advantage, other than an experienced sponsor perhaps.”

  “I don’t suppose you can tell us what the Trials will entail?” Genevieve asked.

  He shook his head. “I can’t help or hinder you in any way. As Jameson’s beta, I have to be completely neutral.”

  It sounded like he was telling the truth, but it was still total crap. Whoever made those rules wanted to maintain the status quo. It was ten times harder for a bitten wolf, despite Shane’s claim that the Trials didn’t give preference to anyone.

  Amber pursed her lips and nodded. “Alright. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  “Trust yourself, and trust your pack. You’ll need them.” He patted Amber on the shoulder, his hand lingering a touch too long. Definitely flirting at this point.

  Genevieve smiled to herself. Amber looked so awkward, like she wanted to flirt back but didn’t know how.

  “I guess we’ll see you again soon,” Amber said.

  He nodded at the two of them. “Until then.”

  Amber shut the door behind him and Genevieve grinned at her. “He was totally into you.”

  “He can still hear you,” Amber hissed, the blush returning to her cheeks. “And no he was not.”

  “Yes to both actually,” Shane shouted from the driveway. They wouldn’t have been able to hear him without the enhanced senses. Being a werewolf had some pros at least.

  Amber stiffened, glaring at Genevieve.

  She reached around Amber and pulled the door open. “I have to go to work.”

  “I’m going to murder you,” Amber grumbled.

  Shane’s car started and he backed out of his spot, heading down the driveway.

  “You have to wait until after the Trials,” Genevieve said with a wink. “You should skip murdering me and just get his number.”

  She pulled the door shut before Amber could argue further and hurried to her car. Everything had been tragic and miserable since they were changed. It was nice to poke fun at Amber like they were still just people.

  The warning Shane had given them made the feeling a little bittersweet. She didn’t like the sound of being taken by surprise. Especially not with everything that had happened with the coven and with Donovan Lockhart.

  Chapter 33

  AMBER

  Panting, Amber braced her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. She’d run flat out for two miles, but the wolf still didn’t want to cooperate.

  “How am I supposed to train if you keep hiding?” she asked the wolf out loud. There was no one around to hear and think she was crazy. Shockingly, the wolf did not reply. Sometimes the wolf seemed downright moody, which was odd for something that only existed in her head. It was annoying, too.

  Huffing in annoyance, she jogged toward the house. If she couldn’t shift, then all that was left to do was read.

  Even though it was cool outside, stepping into the air conditioning was a relief. She opened the fridge and stood there, enjoying the cold air on her sweaty skin for a moment. Grabbing a bottle of water, she twisted off the cap and kicked the refrigerator door shut behind her.

  Genevieve had left colorful notes sticking out of the books she was supposed to read. She eyed them as she quenched her thirst, not looking forward to an afternoon of study. Picking up the thickest one up, she tested the weight in her hand. It must have been five pounds. With a sigh, she resigned herself to getting the worst one over with first. Honoring the Wolf sounded about as dry as it got.

  A squeak from upstairs, barely loud enough to hear, made her pause. She held her breath as her senses rushed to high alert. A footstep. A heartbeat. There was someone, maybe two people, in the house.

  Taking a slow step back, she glanced out of the kitchen window. The driveway was empty. Whoever was in the house had taken a different route.

  Glass shattered as a canister was thrown through the living room window. Amber ran toward the back door, but a tall, muscled man wearing a baklava that hid his features blocked her exit. She threw the book at him as hard as she could. It caught him square in the face as she rushed him and drove her shoulder into his diaphragm. The blow lifted him off his feet and they crashed through the door together.

  The gas from the canister burned her nose and made her eyes water, but there was no time to hesitate. She slammed her elbow down on his face twice. Something cracked and he went still beneath her.

  When in doubt, just pound their freaking face in, Dylan’s voice echoed in her mind. She gritted her teeth, shoving away the memories. This wasn’t the time.

  Confusion filtered through the adrenaline as she looked around herself. They weren’t outside. The living room was still behind her but…she was upstairs now. It smelled like Tommy’s room. What the hell was going on?

  “Where is she?” someone shouted downstairs.

  “I hear her upstairs!” a gruff voice replied.

  She shoved herself off the unconscious man and ran toward the door. The house was warded, but she’d never seen wards that could transport you around. She wasn’t sure it was all that helpful, either.

  A witch wearing a mask appeared at the top of the stairs. He lifted his hands and gestured as he began a chant. She turned and ran back to the room she’d come from when there was a loud thwack behind her.

  Looking over her shoulder she saw the witch laying on the ground and the closet door slowly shutting itself.

  “What the actual fuck,” she muttered as she jumped into the room next to her. Everything blurred for a split second and she found herself back downstairs in the kitchen.

  She dropped down behind the island, trying to catch her breath. Two of the attackers were headed away from her, but one of them was coming straight toward her. She sniffed the air and the scent of a werewolf filled her nose. It was familiar.

  The steps grew closer. The other werewolf paused, inhaling deeply. “I can smell you,” he whispered, as though he didn’t want to draw the attention of his comrades. “Come on, Amber, don’t you want to meet your maker?”

  Her lip curled into a silent snarl. It was him. She could feel it. Something stretched between them, a strange bond that tugged at her. He had no power over her, but the connection was undeniable. She watched his reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator.

  “You’re an alpha now. I thought it’d be you after you jumped in front of the girl and tried to fight me off.” He was full of nervous energy, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he picked at the seam of his pants. “Donovan knew I could pick the right three. He had no idea I could make such a strong wolf ,though. I impressed him.”

  A mix of joy, pride, and hate rushed through the connection. She wanted to recoil from his emotions, but she couldn’t. She was trapped with them. Her lip curled back in a silent growl. The wolf was angry for different reasons, but they both wanted to rip him apart.

  There was a scream upstairs, and she took advantage of it to dart out from behind the island and lunge at him. He didn’t even try to block it or dodge the attack. Her fist hit his jaw.

  Blood sprayed from his mouth as she knocked his tooth across the room. Her turned his bloodied, yellow smile on her. “So strong.”

  The kick came out of nowhere, catching her in the gut and driving all the air from her lungs. She growled at him and ran in swinging. This time he dodged, moving around each strike like she was moving in slow motion. He cackled as they danced around the room.

  “Quit playing with her and grab her!” a woman shouted angrily from behind them. She tried to step into the room, but vanished as soon as her foot hit the floor.

  The were
wolf growled in irritation and lunged forward, wrapping her in a bear hug. She threw an elbow as best she could but he barely grunted. His arms tightened around her until she couldn’t breathe.

  Spots danced in her vision. There was no way she was going to die like this, though. She shifted into her wolf form in his arms and twisted her head around. Her long canines sunk into the side of his face before he shoved her away.

  “You bitch,” he growled, drool and blood dripping from his chin. Black fur rolled over his body, and he lunged at her. He hit her side, his teeth sinking into the thick muscles of her shoulder. She yelped and twisted away, snapping at his neck.

  Anger and panic shot through the pack bonds. One of them was being attacked right now, and there was nothing she could do about it when she was struggling to stay alive herself.

  Rage filled her and her wolf. He charged her again, and she ducked down then lunged upward, catching his throat in her jaws. Her teeth hit bone and cartilage. His flesh tore as he struggled, his claws digging into her legs and torso.

  She wrenched her head from side to side, dragging him backward, and clamped down even tighter. Blood seeped into her mouth, coating her tongue. The warm liquid sent a thrill through the wolf, exultant that its enemy bled.

  The other wolf’s struggles slowed. His body grew weak as the supply of both oxygen and blood were cut off from his brain. She shook him viciously again. He had to be stopped.

  Angel appeared in front of her and shouted, “Look out!”

  She jumped away as a gunshot cracked through the air, striking the floor where she had been. It left a hole the size of a softball in the wood.

  The witch held the gun with shaking hands. “Shift back, now!”

  She shifted and stood naked before the witch, covered in the blood of the werewolf that had changed her. He was twitching on the floor, not quite dead.

  Reaching behind her, the witch pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs. “Put these on,” she said, tossing them at Amber. The handcuffs hit her leg, burning her skin and weakening her whole body for the instant it was touching her.

  Someone stepped through the backdoor, but she couldn’t see them. The witch shifted the gun toward them, then back to Amber. “Don’t come any closer!”

  “Don’t worry, I don’t need to,” Thallan said, sounding bored. “Trespassers are not welcome. I’ll give you one chance to leave.”

  The witch looked sneered at him. “We can take the girl and leave, or we can kill you and still do that.”

  “You will do neither.” A smile spread across Thallan’s face, and Amber was reminded of the demon’s fiery-red grin.

  “This isn’t good,” Angel said, startling her. “Thallan has a tendency to…overreact when he feels insulted.”

  She glared at the demon. Had he come to make jokes while she fought for her life? He wasn’t even offering to help.

  Thallan took a deep breath, then blew. Fire poured from his mouth like a dragon. Amber dove into the next room as bullets hit the wall behind her. She ended up upstairs again, in Genevieve’s room this time. The witch’s screams echoed through the house.

  The werewolf was down. The witch was as good as dead. But there were still at least two more intruders in the house.

  “You need to work on your fighting skills,” Angel said, a hint of worry in his voice. “That was almost tragic. You know I lose out on my favor if you die, right?”

  “I really don’t care,” she said angrily. “And fuck off if all you’re going to do is mock me. My pack is in danger.”

  He lifted his hands in surrender and mimed zipping his lips. It was still a dick move, but at least he wasn’t talking anymore.

  She shifted back and crept toward the door. Her pack was headed toward her. She could feel it. The wolf urged her forward. The fight wasn’t over yet; they had to protect the pack.

  Chapter 34

  GENEVIEVE

  Genevieve dropped the file folder she was holding, scattering papers at her feet. Something was wrong. Very, very badly wrong.

  “Karen, I’ve gotta go! Family emergency!” she shouted as she raced toward the door.

  The need to shift and howl pumped through her veins. She barely heard the door slamming shut behind her. Her heels flew off her feet as she ran through the parking lot.

  Ten feet from her car, she slid to a halt on the asphalt. A growl escaped from her throat as the smell of another werewolf and nicotine drifted toward her with the shifting wind. A man she didn’t recognize stepped out from behind her car.

  He took one last puff of his cigarette and flicked it on the ground. He didn’t smile, just watched her, his hands hanging loosely by his side.

  “You look pretty menacing,” she said, sliding one foot back as she prepared for his attack. “I don’t suppose you’re standing next to my car by mistake?”

  “No mistake.” He grinned, all teeth. “You look small. This is going to be easier than I thought.”

  Donovan and his pack had ruined everything. They’d turned them, then tried to control and threaten them at every turn. She hadn’t expected them to try and kill her, but maybe she should have.

  Genevieve laughed, and it sounded hysterical even to her ears. She was scared, but she was also mad as hell. “For the last three weeks I’ve had to hold back. You’re about to be my anger management therapy.”

  He rolled his shoulders. “Big words for such a little girl.”

  She bared her teeth at him. “I’m a woman, not a little girl. Asshole.”

  He snorted in amusement. “You’re a waste of a bite.”

  The shift rolled over him, and his hands hit the ground as paws. His wolf was as tall as she was, with burning yellow eyes and massive canines. She’d frozen in the last attack, but she wouldn’t this time. This time she was going to fight.

  He dug his claws into the ground, leaping toward her. The shift ripped through her as she jumped, hitting him midair. His teeth dug into her shoulder. She dug her claws into his belly and twisted, snapping at everything she could reach.

  She may not know any technical fighting moves, but she knew fury. Finally, she didn’t have to hold back the violence that had been churning in her since the moment she was changed.

  The wolf inside her took over. Warm blood filled her mouth and she tore through the fur and flesh. She knew she was hurt too, but the pain never reached her. He’d come alone, and that had been a mistake. Everyone underestimated her.

  Someone was screaming in the distance. The sound was drowned out by their vicious growls. She jerked away and snapped at his face. Her canines drug across his eye.

  He howled in pain and stumbled. She took her opportunity and clamped her jaws around his throat. Her teeth sunk in until they hit bone.

  Wrenching her head side to side, she shook him like a rag doll. He fought back weakly, but he was half-dead already. She braced her feet on his body and ripped a chunk of flesh away.

  Blood pooled around her feet as she panted. The wolf tilted back its head and howled in victory.

  She could barely process what had happened. He’d tried to kill her. She knew she’d been justified, but the sticky warmth coating her paws made her want to vomit.

  The jolt of alarm through the pack bond startled her out of her panicking. Amber was still in trouble. She backed away from the dead wolf, then turned and ran.

  She didn’t bother trying to shift back. There was only one thought in her mind. She had to protect her pack—and her alpha.

  CERI

  Ceri slammed through the gate. A chunk of metal flew off and cracked the windshield of her car. Magic sparked at her fingertips. She could see what was happening in the house in her mind. Strange people. Their menace and the threat of strange spells being cast in the house tingled along her skin. They’d jumped in the car as soon as they’d both felt the threat, Tommy through his pack bond, and her through the blessing she had left on the house.

  Tommy opened his door and jumped out, shifting as he ran toward the fight
ing. She could feel the wards rising up all around them. Thallan must be helping. The doors and windows of the mansion were clanking in alarm. Screams were coming from the guest house, but it wasn’t Amber. She hoped.

  She slammed on the brakes, and the car slid to a halt right in front of the house. Without bothering to shut off the car, she leapt out and ran inside. As she stepped over the threshold, the house took her upstairs, to Amber, just like she wanted.

  Amber was stuck between two witches. Her foot was frozen to the floor, and her tail was singed. The witch closest to her was preparing a big spell.

  Ceri may not have liked her mother’s lessons, but she remembered them. Speaking the spell inside her mind, she snapped her fingers. A small flash of light as loud as a firecracker snapped right next to the face of the witch closest to her. He flinched and faltered in his casting.

  Before he had a chance to face her, she thrust both palms out. The wave of energy hit him in the back, launching him toward Amber. Distract, attack, keep them down. She refused to use the spells that would truly harm him, but she could incapacitate him without those.

  Amber lunged forward and clamped down on his hand. He screamed in pain, and Ceri turned her attention to the other witch.

  “Somnum!” she shouted, gesturing sharply. The blue spell raced through the air and hit the wall instead of the witch as he dodged it.

  From his crouched position, he thrust his palm toward her shouting, “Ardeo!”

  The spell rebounded on him, engulfing him in green flames. He fell to the ground rolling and shrieked in pain.

  She ran forward, leaping over Amber, and dropped to her knees in front of him. “Glacio!” She repeated it over and over as snow poured from her hands. It blanketed the witch, snuffing out the flames.

  The spell he had cast burned so hot. He was an idiot to cast something like that in a warded house. The more intense the spell, the more likely it was to rebound.