Liam’s lips were pressed so tight that when he said, “Leave her alone,” I thought it was Everest speaking.
Liam was defending me? Surely I’d heard him wrong. Or he had an ulterior motive. After being a bastard, the only reason he’d act kind would be to confuse me. “I can fight my own battles, Liam.”
“I’m sure you can, but we don’t talk down to each other. Other packs might, but not us.” He sounded so freaking noble. I understood why no one challenged him. He spoke like he was already an Alpha. But if he’d learned that from Heath, then I could only imagine the rest of what Liam had been taught.
Amanda pursed her glossy lips just as a large hand landed on her shoulder. She tipped her neck up and smiled up at Matt, who stood a full head and a half taller.
He extended one large paw. “Don’t know if you remember me-”
“I do.” I stared at his hand a long while before shaking it.
He didn’t crush my fingers like I imagined he would.
As though the contact with Matt’s hand had thawed the invisible ice encasing me, others approached. Introduced themselves, reintroducedthemselves. Six years changed teenage faces, yet I recognized most…remembered most.
A smile crooked Lucas’s lips. “We should bond.”
My spit went down the wrong hole, and I coughed. “Excuse me?”
“We should do a bonding exercise.” He tucked Taryn into his side, his hand almost on her breast. Classy.
His words combined with his sly smile had caused my mind to form indecent images full of leather fetters and iron chains. Why in the world was I thinking about bondage?
“Paintball,” a young boy with shoulder-length copper hair said.
“Exactly what I was thinking, little J. We should totally go paintballing tomorrow.” Lucas was still simpering at me. “Ever paintballed, doll?”
“Don’t call me doll.”
Lucas’s white scar writhed at my reproof.
“And no, I never paintballed.”
Amanda stroked Matt’s thick fingers, while Taryn whispered in Lucas’s ear. I looked for Sienna, found her speaking quietly with August. Unlike the other two couples, they weren’t touchy-feely. If anything, their rigid body language told me they were arguing.
There were other girls on the terrace, but they were chatting away, either oblivious or uninterested in participating in the conversation going on around me. I wondered if Liam’s girlfriend was among them. I assumed he had a girlfriend, considering the number of girls who’d come to the pack event.
I returned my gaze to Lucas. “Is everyonegoing?”
Lucas’s smile snuck back over his lips. “Just the pack and you. Feeling intimidated by so much testosterone, Clark?”
What I felt was hot. Probably from the wall of massive bodies encasing me. Or from the blood loss. I lifted the reddened napkin and noted the cut was shallower, the skin less puckered. The wound was closing. That was a good sign.
I retied the tissue, then pressed my palm against the nape of my neck, but my clammy hand did little to cool me down. “Not much intimidates me, Lucas. But thanks for your concern.”
That seemed to make Liam smile, or at least I thought amusement had contorted his lips, but I must’ve imagined it.
Man, it was hot. I needed air. And space. I backed up, bumping into a chest. Brackish sweat and floral perfumes assailed my senses.
I concentrated on breathing through my mouth. “You all have yourselves a good night.”
My stomach swished harder, and my head… My head felt as though my brain were being kicked around with cleats.
“Excuse me.” When no one moved, I elbowed my way through the throng of bodies.
My sneaker caught on a big foot, and I stumbled, knocking into Liam. His drink sloshed from the glass and spilled over his black t-shirt.
“S-sorry.”
He wrapped a hand around my arm to steady me.
Had someone slipped something into my coffee? I bristled and yanked my arm out of Liam’s grasp, then traipsed across the deck like a drunk. I made it into the living room without vomiting, and then I bolted to my room on legs that felt detached from my body.
What was going on with me?
Cold sweat slicked down my tingling spine. I jammed my key against the lock, but the metal slid uselessly against the wood. I tried again. Again I failed.
“Ness! Wait up.” Everest was barreling down the hallway.
There were two of him.
Three.
I didn’t want to be sick in the hallway. He grabbed the key from my fingers, opened my door, then helped me in. I scrambled to the bathroom and knelt in front of the toilet just as a jet of vomit spewed out of my mouth.
“Did you eat something bad?” Everest asked.
I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. I shook my head, but that angered the throbbing.
Another wave of sick spurted out of me.
My vision blurred and readjusted. Unfortunately, my sense of smell didn’t blur. The acrid stench of vomit was so acute it made my nostrils flare.
Everest took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. “Was it true what you said earlier? That you changed three days ago?”
“Are you really grilling me right now?” I hoisted myself from the floor, flushed the toilet, and turned on the tap.
“No, I’m not grilling you. I’m asking because I have a theory. Did you or didn’t you change yet?”
I splashed cold water over my face then squinted at my reflection. My eyes looked wrong. I blinked. My irises glowed like the neon sign over the ice-cream parlor August would take me to on hot afternoons when our dads needed to work.
I spun toward Everest. “It’s-It’s happening!”
He sighed. “I take it you didn’t change three days ago…”
I lifted my hands in front of my face and slowly turned them. My nails had lengthened and were curving.
I stared in horror at Everest. I couldn’t become a wolf here. Not in my bathroom. I would destroy it. In beast form, my muscles would grow and my movements would become choppy and rough. When I’d changed for the first time at eleven, I’d destroyed my bedroom and clawed through the living room couch. It took me weeks to master my wolf form.