Claimed by Her Alpha (3 page)

Chapter 4

The next day at school Saki entered her homeroom and immediately took her seat behind Gully. She had no more questions about where others expected her to be. To everyone’s eyes, she was a part of Dax‘s pack now. For now, that is what she wanted.

Saki didn’t bother to look over at Lane and his pack. The less attention she drew to their connection, the better it was for everyone. During homeroom, during lunch, and gym class, she didn’t dare look at him once.

She could certainly smell him, though. His rich, seductive aroma trailed him across campus as clearly as a painted crosswalk to his path. But smelling was okay; looking was the problem. Her young body came alive at his smell. She wasn’t sure how much she could hide if she allowed herself to look at him.

Saki’s classes seemed to drag on forever. She paid attention when she could, but for the most part, it was all just a blur. She had a feeling she would have to face a backlash for her inattention at some point, but right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Do you wanna hang out tonight?” Gully asked enthusiastically.

“Sure, but I have to be home by 8:00. My mom’s been freaking out about me coming home late for dinner.”

“That’s cool. My dad’s been complaining about everyone hanging out so late anyway. So, should I pick you up from your place?”

“No, the Fish Fry is fine.”

“Okay. See you then.”

As Saki waited at her usual spot for her mother, she could still smell Lane everywhere. It was like he was circling her, and his scent was intoxicating. At times, she felt like she was transforming, but she knew the full moon was still two weeks away. Instead, she decided that what Lane made her feel was simply lust, not something supernatural. It was just good, old-fashioned hormones. But knowing it didn’t stop her from feeling crazy.

Gully drove up to the Fish Fry at the same time he did the day before. Saki got in the car, pushing Frank to the middle. At Gully‘s house, they ate tuna sandwiches. To avoid what happened the day before with Geraldine, she made sure to pour herself a glass of apple juice.

Saki felt too restless to sit at the island like she had the day before. Joining the boys on the couch, she watched as their ax-wielding knights destroyed fire-breathing dragons. She didn’t understand their obsession with the game, but she had to admit that the whole thing was pretty interesting. She was starting to feel pretty comfortable until Mark twisted his hips and farted.

“Gross man, come on,” Gully objected.

“What? You know you do it,” Mark retaliated.

“Ahhh, gross,” Frank protested.

“What did you eat?” Patrick said, taking one hand off the controller to cover his nose.

“It’s natural,” Mark retorted.

“Ain’t nothing about that smell is natural,” Frank replied.

Mark sucked his teeth in angry defeat.

Saki had never really hung out with boys before. After all, until moving back to the island, boys seem to think she was invisible. It turned out that when they weren’t trying to impress you, boys were pretty gross. She couldn’t imagine Lane acting this way. For that matter, she couldn’t imagine Dax acting this way, either.

Saki got up with her glass of apple juice in hand. Her intention was to refill her glass, but instead, she took the opportunity to explore the house.

The family room’s large red Spanish tiles ended at the three stairs that descended to the main living room. The room had no TV, and it seemed to be an adult space. Outside the wall of sliding glass doors was a huge balcony that drew her across the room.

She slid open one of the doors and then closed it behind her. Crossing to the railing, she looked down at the pool two floors below. It was surrounded by a white stone patio that led to a small grassy area. Farther out, trees framed the aqua and blue water at the beach.

The view was breathtaking. It didn’t look like the postcard views of the Bahamas. They could never capture the true beauty that Bahamians saw on a regular basis. The green leaves of blowing trees, the jagged reef rocks, and the glistening water that shifted from dark to light with pools of white sand in between had to be one of the most exquisite sights imaginable.

Saki wasn’t outside long before she heard the screen door open behind her. Turning around, she saw Frank. Frank was a small boy, shorter than she was. His tanned skin and light brown hair made him cute, though. He could never be an alpha with his small hands and round cheeks, but he wasn’t a passive follower, either.

“Hey,” Frank said, planting himself next to her at the railing.

“Hi.”

“Sorry about that. Mark ain’t used to girls.”

“I have little sisters. You don’t know how bad they can get.”

“I have a little sister, too. But she acts like little miss princess.”

“Well, you can have one of mine if you want to know what little sisters are really like. I have twins, and I don’t need two of them.”

Frank smiled and stared out at the view.

“What do Gully‘s parents do?” Saki asked, unable to hold in the question any longer.

“His parents are separated, but he lives with his dad who owns the Toyota dealership.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool. Sometimes he pays for us to go out for dinner and stuff.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“So does Dax come with you when you guys go?”

“He used to. But he doesn’t come by much anymore. Ever since…” Frank looked at her, frozen in the middle of his thought.

“Ever since what?” she asked, anxiously.

“Ever since he met you.”

“Me?”

“Well, you know. Ever since he became a true alpha.”

It was the first time any of them had made a reference to their wolf status. She was starting to wonder whether they were wolves at all.

“Do you mean, since he could shift whenever he wanted to?”

“Yeah. And since he got the island.”

She wanted to hear more about the island. Whatever plans she had, they revolved around it. She had to know as much as possible. She figured she’d be able to get information from Lane, but Frank had to know things that Lane didn’t.

“Does Dax live there?”

“Sometimes, I guess. I know that he goes there to prepare it.”

“Preparing it for what?”

Frank stared at her again. His blank expression reminded her of a beagle puppy. He was definitely cute but certainly unthreatening.

“He has plans for it that he hasn’t told us about.”

“Does it bother you that he doesn’t tell you everything?”

“No.”

Frank turned back toward the horizon. Saki could tell his brief reply didn’t cover all the thoughts flooding his mind. She wondered if there was any friction between Dax and his pack. Certainly, she couldn’t ask without raising suspicion, but the answer would shape her plan.

After a few more minutes in silence, both returned to the others. Gully picked an easier game to play so that Saki could join in. She was reluctant but figured that she had to give it a go.

The object of the game was for her cowboy to fulfill missions. With the screen split into five, she walked her gunslinger toward a small town and attempted to take out the local sheriff. She died pretty quickly, but she began to understand why the boys liked it so much.

Since she had a new game character, the boys encouraged her to travel the empty desert to join their mission. It took the rest of the night.

When the night was over and they were packed into the car, she allowed herself to think about her meeting with Lane. She felt her body react, the light heat growing between her legs. The musk in the car changed. The boys suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

Frank and Mark were both staring blankly forward, but from the periphery of her vision, she could see both of them hiding their arousal. She wondered what Frank would look like naked. She wondered how big he would be. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him with his small tongue and to be held by his stubby fingers. If she wasn’t about to be ravished by one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever met, she would have considered finding out.

“Hey, do you all want to go somewhere?” Patrick offered from the front seat.

“No, I can’t. My mother is gonna freak out if I’m late.”

Mark added, “Even if you’re just a little late?”

“Yeah, she already gave me a speech about it.”

“The same place as yesterday?” Gully asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Gully pulled onto her street, and Saki was glad to be out. The heat in the car was building, and she had no interest in finding out how much self-control she or the boys had.

Walking toward her house, she noticed the car didn’t leave. She could feel their eyes staring at her. It didn’t bother her, but it would be a problem if they were still there when she left for Lane’s. Between their glances and Dax, wherever he might be, her rendezvous with Lane was going to be difficult.

Saki walked in as Marnie was setting the table. Looking up, Marnie gave her a relieved look. Saki immediately walked to the bathroom to gather herself.

The person staring back at her from the mirror was becoming unfamiliar to her. She had always felt like she knew who she was. She was smart most of all, and she was cute. Maybe the boys didn’t think so, but her girlfriends had always said she was. She would never win a beauty contest, but she was okay.

Now, she might still be smart, but she no longer got good grades. Instead, she had a sexual allure she couldn’t explain. She had a boyfriend who really liked her. In fact, all of the boys really liked her. She looked the same to her own eyes, but somehow she had changed in everyone else’s, especially the wolves.

“Food’s ready,” Marnie shouted.

“Don’t scream. The house is not that big,” her mother chastised.

“I’m coming,” Saki replied.

Saki splashed her face with water. She was still a little heated. She couldn’t wait to see Lane, but she had to contain her excitement. All she had to do was get through the meal, wait for her mother to go to bed, and then sneak out. If she could pretend everything was normal, her mother wouldn’t suspect anything.

Saki took her place the table, doing her best not to look at her mother. Her mother had always been very good at telling when something was up. Saki didn’t want a confrontation tonight. She wanted to eat her dinner and then do what she had to do. Dishing up her food, she gave Maddie a hard time about hogging the pork chops. Saki really didn’t care, but it is what she would have done before all this happened.

When dinner was done, she retreated to her room. She wanted to wait for everyone to settle down before she made her move. Once Maddie had cleared the table and settled in front of the TV, Saki went to take a shower. She lingered under the droplets as long as she could, hoping her mother would be in bed when she got out. Her mother had her own TV in her bedroom and preferred to watch the courtroom dramas no one else liked. That routine would allow at least one cover for her escape.

The other problem, however, was Maddie. With things returning to normal in their household, Maddie had again began to watch TV until late. Of course, Marnie knew about Saki’s plan to escape, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to use one twin to manipulate the other. They were too good at reading each other. Saki decided that she had to be content with the fact that Marnie had kept her secret from Maddie.

Saki left the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Seeing Maddie in front of the television, she paused and sucked her teeth.

“Are you going to be watching TV all night?” Saki asked, not having to feign annoyance.

“I just wanted to watch this show,” Maddie replied with surprising defensiveness.

Saki had to choose her next words carefully. She needed Maddie to go to bed, and if she complained about the volume or choice of program, Maddie would simply adjust them.

“This ain’t just your house, you know,” Saki said, headed for her bedroom.

“Did you want to watch something?” Maddie asked softly.

Saki knew that she couldn’t reply. She had to make her sister feel uncomfortable. She had to make her feel so uncomfortable that she would lock herself in her room. It wasn’t very nice, but her sisters had done far worse to her.

With the towel still around her, she entered her bedroom and sat on her bed. She couldn’t change quite yet. She had to wait for the living room to be cleared. She retrieved her best pair of clean underwear from a drawer and put them on. With the towel removed she saw that the hairs on her legs were beginning to grow back. She considered shaving them but decided that she didn’t have the time. Besides, they weren’t that bad.

She was standing in nothing but her panties when her bedroom door to the living room opened. Throwing her hand over her bare breasts, she turned toward Maddie.

“What, you can’t knock? How would you like it if I just busted into your room?” She yelled.

“Why don’t you leave me alone,” Maddie protested.

“Go where you’re going.”