The morning air felt cold against my bare arms. My eyelids drooped with the lack of caffeine. It was entirely too early to be awake. It might’ve been okay if I was headed to high school as I knew it. But this wasn’t Hunters Point High School in Portland. This was Paradise. And I was headed to my first day of home-schooling in the middle of the woods with a class full of werewolves.
Branches slid across my thighs, leaving scratches as I pushed through the thicket. I ignored them, still not fully awake enough to walk and brush them aside at the same time.
“Hey, Charlie.” Carter veered over and fell into step beside me.
A few steps ahead, some of the other kids walked in twos and threes, whispering—probably about me. That was fine. But one of them talking to me—I hadn’t expected that. In the wake of my disaster shopping trip yesterday, Carter’s friendliness only put me more on edge.
“Morning,” I mumbled, darting a worried glance.
Carter had his hands in his pockets, like he wasn’t sure what to do next.
“How are … things?” he asked.
“Um.” Things? What things? And why was he talking to me? So far, he’d kept his distance, other than that first trip we’d taken into town when he’d complained right in front of me that his beta role had been stolen from him by an undeserving newbie. I was pretty sure that meant we weren’t friends. “Good, I guess.”
Was he here because Regan had finally figured out my secret? I’d been up half the night worried that she’d put two and two together. After smelling a vamp yesterday while we shopped and Bevin’s accusations about Owen and me, I was positive she’d figure it all out given enough time. Regan was a lot of things, but she wasn’t stupid.
Carter cleared his throat and my stomach tightened. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you. There’s something that—”
“What is new girl doing here?” Bevin, Carter’s sister, appeared, along with Lane, the girl with the scar on her face. Neither one looked happy to see me.
“She’s in our class now, Bev,” Carter said.
“Can’t we get her a different teacher?” Lane asked. Her eyes were bloodshot as they roamed over me. “That’s what they do for special needs kids, right? They separate them?”
“Shut up, Lane,” Carter snapped. I blinked, unsure why he’d spoken up for me. Was he taking my side?
“Whatever,” Bevin mumbled, rolling her eyes.
The trail opened up into a small clearing. Everyone else was already gathered—including Regan. I didn’t meet her eyes.
At the head of the crowd gathered, Dad stood dressed in faded Dickies and a flannel shirt. Between that and his peppery five o’clock shadow he looked every bit the stereotypical mountain man. He looked from face to face and cleared his throat.
“Now that we’re all here,” he began. “Let’s get started. For those of you that used the break as time to forget everything we’ve learned, today will be review. For others,” he paused, his eyes flickering to me, “it might be more of a challenge.”
Some mutters went up, mostly under the cover of a cough or behind a hand. Still, Dad’s sharp eyes pierced the guilty parties before continuing.
“Today we are hunting. You’ll work in pairs, but I don’t want to hear that your hunting partner hindered your catch. Bring me the biggest game you can find. The winner is excused from PT.”
A few of the guys hooted and slapped a high-five with their neighbor. The girls didn’t seem as excited but they looked determined to win. No one wanted to PT, it seemed.
“What’s PT?” I whispered to Carter.
“Physical training,” he whispered back without looking over.
He was frowning and I followed his gaze, curious what had him so distracted. He stared at Regan like he was keeping a secret—from her or for her, I didn’t know.
Across the loose circle, Regan shifted her feet, completely unaware of whatever mental energy Carter was streaming at her. She stared at our dad with a mixture of determination and concentration. Her wolf seemed to shimmer at the edges of her skin, like she was anxious to shift.
“Pair up,” Dad instructed. Carter moved away, going to stand beside another boy around his age. Ronnie, someone had called him. Bevin and Lane took a small step toward each other. One by one, everyone claimed a partner. No one moved toward me.
I gulped and lifted a shaky arm. Dad’s eyes found my hand.
“Yes, Charlie, what is it?”
Everyone turned to me. Silence fell. I swallowed against the lump in my throat. I was mortified to be calling out like this in front of everyone, but I had to know. “Um, when you say ‘game’…?”
“You will be hunting live prey. And you will kill it and bring it to me,” he said.
I nodded, my worst fears confirmed. Someone snickered. I was pretty sure it was Bevin, but I didn’t look. I knew if I did, I’d lose it. I was shaking as it was. Live game? And they wanted me to kill it? My horror must’ve shown through. Dad regarded me with a hard look and then turned to Regan.
“Go with your sister,” Dad barked.
Regan’s face registered disappointment, resignation—but not surprise. “Yes, sir.”
“Get going. Bring your catch back here. You have one hour.” Dad waved everyone away.
Regan walked up to me, her shoulders missing the determined set they’d held before. “You ready?” she asked.
I nodded, trying to appear confident, unruffled. “Yeah, sure.”
Regan led me away from the clearing, back into the sunlight that shone on the hill below our house. She cut across the grass, heading for the road.
“Um, aren’t we supposed to be hunting? I think all of the animals are probably in the woods, back there.” I hooked a thumb behind us.
“The woods on this side are better for it,” she explained without looking back. I hurried to keep up. “I’ve been sniffing out a buck and his mate for weeks on my morning run.”
“Deer?” My voice came out a squeak.
She shot me a look that was a clear challenge to man up. “Dad said to bring the biggest. I can’t let anyone else beat me, uh, us. We’re the alphas.”
“Right.” I decided not to point out that technically only one of us could be alpha. It didn’t seem like the time, especially after our fight yesterday. For the hundredth time this morning, I wished I could skip school and just train with Owen. At least I’d be with someone who didn’t dismiss the very idea of me.
“Are you coming? The deer are this way,” Regan said, yanking me out of my daydreams. I hurried to catch up, forcing myself to focus.
“Deer,” I repeated, as if just saying the word would conquer my revulsion of the idea of killing one.
Regan didn’t answer.
We crossed the road and stepped into the canopy. “We should shift now. We’re quieter as wolves.”
“All right. Um, Regan, about this hunting thing …”
She softened. “The first time’s always the hardest.”
“You had a hard time, too?” I looked at her, hopeful, glad I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Maybe if I could just explain it, and Regan could back me up, Dad would change his mind.
“I was five, so it was a little different,” she explained.
“You made your first kill when you were five?” All I could do was gape at her.
She shrugged. “It was only a squirrel. Not a big deal. Anyway, if you don’t come back with something Dad will freak. And not just on you. I’m supposed to be teaching you. If I can’t do that, I don’t deserve to be alpha regardless of the contest. Charlie?” She waited until I met her gaze. “You can do this.” I nodded an agreement that I didn’t feel. “Just do what I do,” Regan added.
“Which is?”
“We’re going to follow their scent. When we find them, we’ll lay low until we’re close enough to make a quick kill. Go for the throat. If you can’t make the angle, go for the back leg joint. It will make running harder and they won’t get far even if they do try to bolt. If you can lock your jaw, do it. Then you won’t have to chase them at all.”
“All right,” I whispered. My hands curled and uncurled, pumping against the nerves I felt. I could do this. I had no choice.
“It’s best if you give in to your werewolf side, once you taste the blood.”
I remembered how Owen had said something about giving into my animal side. He’d never explained what that meant exactly. “Why’s that?” I asked.
“It’ll make it taste … good.”
I blanched. “Animal blood?”
“Yeah, don’t tell the vamps,” she muttered. “They think it sets them apart.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but Regan didn’t seem to need an answer. She squared her shoulders. “Ready?”
I swallowed hard. “Ready.”