Page 4 of Luna Trials

I was like my papa who knew how to survive, keeping my head down when I had to and choosing my fights carefully. I stayed away from the pack, especially when they got like this. Though it had taken me a few years to figure that out.

I supposed I could thank Derek for thatlesson.

My wolf was pacing in my mind between the barrier that separated us from human and beast. I still had to keep a tight leash on her, but it was easier now since I wasn’t a teenager anymore.

There was too much posturing from the gathered shifters. The voices and laughter were too loud from the higher-ranking wolves who beat their fists against their chest much like they smacked batons against their legs as officers in the prison.

Derek, warden of Holton Penitentiary and Alpha of our pack, sat like a judge in front of the room by the jukebox with his boots propped up onthe table. His dirty blond hair was shaved short at the sides and braided on the top. The bigger males hovered around him, trying to win favor or exploit a weakness, and he gave them none.

To his right sat his only son Trenton.

Trenton had the same color hair as his father, but he wore it cropped at all the same length. Like his father, he stared out over the group with a stone face, seeing everything and saying nothing. Because that was Trenton. He was like that all through high school. I guess they call them the strong and silent type.

Silent.

Yep, he was good at that.

My wolf huffed her disapproval as I looked away, following my papa to the only empty chair. I hoped he’d take it and not make a big deal about standing the whole time. I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer to the Goddess that this meeting would go fast.

One month, three days, three hours until…

“Gross. It reeks like skunk,” Stefanie’s shrill voice had my eyes flying open. She sniffed my papa like he was covered in trash and shoved him back, making him stumble and almost lose his footing as he leaned on the cane.

Instinctually, I bared my fangs. The groupie bitch didn’t belong here in the back, not when her daddy, Beta Clark, sat up front. And neither did Trixie and Leah who hung on Stefanie’s sides like a flock of vultures ready to peck at her kill.

“It’s not skunk, it’s beaver,” I bit out through clenched teeth. The minute the words left my mouth, I realized how stupid they sounded.

Stef’s eyes narrowed and my papa continued walking, oblivious to the shit I stepped in.

We can take her.My wolf bowed up as Stef and her friends crowded in on me.

I was too old for this.

Muscle memory had me crouching, ready to fight back despite knowing it was a stupid idea.

“Whatever. It still smells like prey,” Stef finally said, a few beats too late to be considered quick-witted. Which was kind of sad considering she had some of the highest grades in our graduating class. And it wasn’t because of her daddy’s influence. There really was a brain up there… somewhere.

Like the predators they were, all the shifters in the room slowly turned our way. I could feel the collective adrenaline rising as they itched for a fight.

I should have lowered my eyes, bared my neck, showed a submissive side. That’s what they kept telling me to do.

Ha.My wolf chortled as I cracked my knuckles, eager to get a few hits in while the three of them cornered me like they did almost every week since we were in kindergarten.

Did I mention I wanted out of this pack?

“Everyone quiet down and find a seat,” Alpha Derek issued a command we had to obey.

I should’ve been grateful for the quick save, but the look in Stef’s eyes promised retribution. Sheturned with Trixie and Leah on her heels, marching back to her dad, and blew a kiss to Trenton across the room. The delay meant she’d have more time to put that brain of hers to use.

So… I was screwed.

Cursing my wolf silently, I hurried to the back of the bar and crouched down by my papa. He leaned on his cane, about to stand and offer me the seat. I put my hand on his knee.

“I’m trying to hide,”I mind-linked him, winking and hoping he would play along. He stayed seated without an argument. His leg must have been hurting him bad.

Sighing, I slid back against the wall.

There was no hiding in this small town. Everyone knew everyone. We all worked at the prison except for a few outliers like my papa. Every shifter my age went to school with me. We all went on pack runs at the Alpha’s command and suffered through mating season together. The older shifters all hoped their children’s wolves would settle down and pick a mate to live with in this shitty town and breed the next generation of pups.