what he would think about me. Not every pack drove out its nulls, but Heinrich had apparently been influenced by Nazi racial purity doctrine: If you couldn’t shift, you had to go. Thankfully, future generations were a little more lenient. Cal, our current pack alpha, had let me stay as long as he could. If not for his leniency, I would’ve been long gone before Jackson ever came to town.
We kept Huntsville tiny on purpose. Humans weren’t welcome and we stayed off their radar by looking too small to bother with. Anything that couldn’t be found in town, we ordered online. Or, if absolutely necessary, we could drive the thirty minutes into Hudson which boasted a small mall. Nashville was just a couple hours away as well and we sometimes shopped there.
I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I waited in line and watched Jana Schwartz, the post mistress, beckoned people forward. Fine lines criss-crossed her weathered face and she had a stout, grandmotherly figure. I didn’t know her well, but appreciated her prompt efficiency in dispatching customers at a rapid pace. Jana wasn’t wasting any time and it seemed she didn’t like having a line as much as no one wanted to be in one.
Behind me , I heard the squeak of rusty hinges and the jangle of bells as the door opened, ushering in multiple footsteps. I turned to see Vicki Richter along with her usual entourage of cronies join the line. The tall brunette and I weren’t friends, but we’d never been enemies either. When my wolf came, though, I somehow became her mortal enemy overnight.
Of all the women Jackson slept with, she’d taken their fling the most seriously. She’d been harassing me every chance she got and I doubted today would be any different.
W ithin seconds, the whispering started, quickly filling the cramped quarters of the post office. The building dated back to the thirties and felt tight with three people. At the moment, almost a dozen of us were squeezed inside, the gossip filling what little space there was between us. It was impossible not to overhear.
I kept my eyes forward, but I knew the voices badmouthing me well. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized I was trapped.
“She was a null, ” said Alan, a gangly beta wolf with an overbite. He’d been mooning after Vicki for years. Did he not realize he was the means to an end named Jackson? Vicki would never take up with him, not in a million years.
“Somehow he got her to change,” Tony said, the low bass tenor of his voice was unmistakable. I didn’t know him well, but he liked to wear leather with metal spikes and hang around Vicki, which pretty much told me everything I needed to know.
“She looks like a null. Are you sure she’s shifted?” came a high, sweet voice I didn’t recognize. I peeked over my shoulder to see a young girl--no doubt , newly changed--standing with them, her narrow face full of disgust. Great, Vicki was spreading her hate of me, infecting everyone she could find. Including small children who’d barely sprouted their first fur.
“And now she’s mated to Jackson, can you believe it? ” This was Vicki, her disapproval emanating from her in waves of sour scent. She smelled like bad meat, like something you would never put in your mouth. It was hard to believe she was a gorgeous dark haired blue-eyed beauty. Maybe if Jackson had let his nose lead, he would’ve steered clear of her in the first place. As my mom always used to say, ‘you’re only as pretty as you smell.’
“She don’t look like much.” John’s voice carried so much disgust, I winced.
The scent of werewolf now mixed with a foulness that accompanied negative emotions. Anger surged through me, thundering in my ears like a war drum. I whirled around and met Vicki’s stormy blue eyes, staring her down. When she boldly held my gaze, refusing to look away, my wolf’s power bristled over my skin. She remained unimpressed and looked just as pissed as I was. Her lips curled, baring her
We kept Huntsville tiny on purpose. Humans weren’t welcome and we stayed off their radar by looking too small to bother with. Anything that couldn’t be found in town, we ordered online. Or, if absolutely necessary, we could drive the thirty minutes into Hudson which boasted a small mall. Nashville was just a couple hours away as well and we sometimes shopped there.
I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I waited in line and watched Jana Schwartz, the post mistress, beckoned people forward. Fine lines criss-crossed her weathered face and she had a stout, grandmotherly figure. I didn’t know her well, but appreciated her prompt efficiency in dispatching customers at a rapid pace. Jana wasn’t wasting any time and it seemed she didn’t like having a line as much as no one wanted to be in one.
Behind me , I heard the squeak of rusty hinges and the jangle of bells as the door opened, ushering in multiple footsteps. I turned to see Vicki Richter along with her usual entourage of cronies join the line. The tall brunette and I weren’t friends, but we’d never been enemies either. When my wolf came, though, I somehow became her mortal enemy overnight.
Of all the women Jackson slept with, she’d taken their fling the most seriously. She’d been harassing me every chance she got and I doubted today would be any different.
W ithin seconds, the whispering started, quickly filling the cramped quarters of the post office. The building dated back to the thirties and felt tight with three people. At the moment, almost a dozen of us were squeezed inside, the gossip filling what little space there was between us. It was impossible not to overhear.
I kept my eyes forward, but I knew the voices badmouthing me well. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized I was trapped.
“She was a null, ” said Alan, a gangly beta wolf with an overbite. He’d been mooning after Vicki for years. Did he not realize he was the means to an end named Jackson? Vicki would never take up with him, not in a million years.
“Somehow he got her to change,” Tony said, the low bass tenor of his voice was unmistakable. I didn’t know him well, but he liked to wear leather with metal spikes and hang around Vicki, which pretty much told me everything I needed to know.
“She looks like a null. Are you sure she’s shifted?” came a high, sweet voice I didn’t recognize. I peeked over my shoulder to see a young girl--no doubt , newly changed--standing with them, her narrow face full of disgust. Great, Vicki was spreading her hate of me, infecting everyone she could find. Including small children who’d barely sprouted their first fur.
“And now she’s mated to Jackson, can you believe it? ” This was Vicki, her disapproval emanating from her in waves of sour scent. She smelled like bad meat, like something you would never put in your mouth. It was hard to believe she was a gorgeous dark haired blue-eyed beauty. Maybe if Jackson had let his nose lead, he would’ve steered clear of her in the first place. As my mom always used to say, ‘you’re only as pretty as you smell.’
“She don’t look like much.” John’s voice carried so much disgust, I winced.
The scent of werewolf now mixed with a foulness that accompanied negative emotions. Anger surged through me, thundering in my ears like a war drum. I whirled around and met Vicki’s stormy blue eyes, staring her down. When she boldly held my gaze, refusing to look away, my wolf’s power bristled over my skin. She remained unimpressed and looked just as pissed as I was. Her lips curled, baring her
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