Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Mom. It’s fine.”
My mom’s eyes fill with tears. “I still can’t believe I missed your birthday,” she chokes.
Now my vision grows wavy, too. Dammit. I drop my head and hold in a sob.
“Sweetheart.” My mom swerves the Subaru to the side of the road and pulls me into a hug. The two of us cry together for a minute.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I promise. “I love you.”
“I love you so much, baby. And this new pup will never take your pla–”
“Mom. I’m eighteen. I’ll be leaving next year. Hopefully. I’m not jealous of the pup.”
“Sweetie, I don’t know if we can afford to send you to college.”
“I know.” I pull away and swallow. “But I’m going to get scholarships. I’m going to figure it out.”
“Well, you don’t have to. I mean, I’ll need help with the pup. You could stay and–”
“No.” I interrupt before I realize how sharp I sound.
I may have told my mom I’m not jealous of the pup and that may be true, but I’m also not strong enough to hang out in a town where I’ve been ostracized my whole life and raise my mom’s perfect, non-defective pup. Because I’m sure this one will be special. Logan’s genes are perfect alpha stock.
Nope. No, thank you.
“I just mean–”
“It’s okay. I understand.” My mom’s disappointment hits me right in the gut. “It just would’ve been nice to have the pup looked after by family, you know? But it’s fine. We’ll find a sitter or something.”
“Don’t you think you could stay home with the baby? I mean, Logan makes enough money, right?”
My mom nibbles her lip. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it yet. I mean, we talked about you staying…”
Ugh. I flop my head back against the headrest. Fresh tears spear my eyes.
“Nevermind, sweetie. We’ll figure something else out. We just thought it might be a good fit.”
Of course, Logan would want me to be the one to stay home and watch his pup. That’s all a misfit like me is good for, right? No scholarships to Duke for me.
Of course, that particular scholarship was not a gift, but a curse to Wilde…
As if my mom guesses at my thoughts, she changes the subject. “What’s going on with you and Wilde?”
I hold my breath.
I can’t tell her what’s happening. I really can’t. Wilde is my stepbrother.
What we’ve done is inappropriate at best.
“Um…it’s a bit of a love-hate situation,” I admit. “He’s a dick, and then he’s nice, and I’m not really sure what to do with it.”
“Huh,” my mom says for the second time tonight.
“Well, he’s going through a lot right now. I almost wonder if the whole arrest was him acting out over Logan marrying me.”
That thought has a queasy note of truth to it. Wilde almost seemed like he’d come home to wage war.
With me.
I know hating school and taking one for the team was also a huge part of it, but my mom might be right.
Once again, my very existence rubs people the wrong way.
“Because of me, you mean,” I say.
“Not because of you,” my mom says firmly. “Because of his parents’ recent divorce. He might resent Logan moving on.”
My stomach rumbles audibly.
My mom sends me a sympathetic smile. “I’m starving, too. Let’s get the food.”
I agree, relieved to be off the topic of Wilde. Or Logan. Or me becoming their permanent nanny.
We pick up a dozen Wendy’s hamburgers and french fries and head back to the house.
“We’re home with dinner,” my mom calls when we come in, but the guys are nowhere to be found.
“Mom.” I point to two piles of clothes laying by the back door.
“Fates.” My mom frowns. “Let’s hope that means they’re bonding as wolves.”
“Versus what?”
“Versus Wilde deciding to challenge his dad for pack dominance.”
I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand.
“Fates. You don’t think…?”
Wilde
I wait until after ten and the music is on in the master suite, and then I creep into Rayne’s room.
I can’t believe she went to bat for me. Against my dad. Whom I’m quite certain she fears. I know the alpha-holes have my back, but there was something different about it coming from Rayne.
The pipsqueak I’ve been nothing but mean to.
The girl who owes me absolutely nothing but a few swift kicks to the balls.
The adorable little runt of a wolf I can’t wait to spend the night with.
She has one leg out from the covers like she’s having another one of her fever-fits.
“Hey, Rayne-bow.” I crawl in beside her, and she scoots toward the wall. “Where are you going?” I reach for her and pull her back against my front.
“Nowhere,” she says softly.
“Thanks for sticking up for me, jellybean.”
“I’m sorry, Wilde.” She turns to face me. With my night vision, I see her forehead is scrunched up in concern. “I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”