EXposed, page 18
She sounds young. I can tell she’s a happy kind of person, based on her excitement and the quick way she hugged me so quickly after meeting me, which I find oddly comforting.
“Lucy, this is Sadie,” Logan does the introduction. “The most stubborn, annoying and lovable member of the pack.”
“Sadie, I said be gentle!” Dylan’s reproachful voice objects vehemently before I could say anything in return. “We don’t want to scare the poor girl.”
If possible, I’m even happier now that I know Dylan is here.
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I don’t mind.”
I’m a hugging kind of person, and this Sadie is a nice hugger, despite her grip. I’m enjoying this. It kind of reminds me of Mark’s hugs.
“Relax,” another girl’s voice says, a laughing edge to it. “That’s the warmest welcome you can give someone.”
“Well I guess if she can stand Sadie, then there’s nothing more to worry about,” Dylan snickers. “She’ll fit right in.”
“You know, you should stop talking about me in the third person,” I jokingly say. “That might put me off.”
That’s when Sadie releases me and I finally see what she looks like. She’s really pretty, her features soft and almost baby-like. I think she must be Dylan’s age. Then I lift myself up to get a good look of the others. Dylan is as pretty as I remember finding her last night. The other girl is older than the two of them, probably closer to Logan’s age. She’s gorgeous, with striking European features. Judging by her accent, I’d guess she’s French. I wonder how she fits into the pack’s equation.
Dylan notices me trying to make sense of who the other girl is and helpfully steps in to introduce the girl. “Lucy, this is Marianna.”
There’s a proud look on her face and in her tone of voice. Whoever Marianna is, she means a great deal to Dylan. It shows even further in her next statement.
“She’s my future sister-in-law and my best friend,” she finishes.
“Hey!” Sadie is quick to protest. The others seem to ignore her.
“Nice to meet you,” Marianna says kindly.
“Likewise,” I reply, taken in by her gentler nature.
“You know, I really don’t appreciate being demoted,” Sadie goes on objecting.
Dylan rolls her eyes. “Fine, one of my best friends,” she amends.
“Thank you!”
“Can you blame her?” Logan interjects. “Most of the time, you’re a pain in the ass.”
Dylan and Marianna laugh when Sadie sticks her tongue out at him. Watching them interact, I can’t keep the smile off my face. It’s not hard to detect the friendship and family bonds between them. From what little I’ve seen of the pack so far, it’s obvious that one of the most important things to them is their sense of community, and that’s a type of love that I didn’t even know I was craving until right now.
This is my place, I think, right among these people. I’m going to be happy here, I know it.
“So I guess your brother is here, too?” I ask Dylan.
“Yeah, they all are,” she tells me. “I have four of them, the little a**holes.”
My eyes widen. I’ve never heard anyone call their siblings a profanity, yet still say it with affection. A part of me is curious and wants to see for myself what these brothers are like. What made them warrant being called such a name?
“Can I meet them?” I ask aloud.
“They went for a run with some of the guys,” Marianna informs me.
“They’re... jogging?” I ask, confused.
“That’s what we call shifting in my family,” Dylan explains.
Suddenly, an idea strikes me. I could begin doing Logan’s favor right now. “Oh,” I say with a tone of interest. “What’s that like? I still haven’t been able to do that.”
Sadie and Marianna seem marginally surprised by the admission. However, this isn’t news to Dylan.
“I figured,” she confirms. “You smell human.”
“But why?” Sadie wants to know.
I shrug, a little dejected. “No idea. I’ve tried a lot. Cade even coached me a few times. But nothing ever happens.” I turn to Dylan. “Could you help me? I mean, Cade was great, but maybe it’s different for girls.”
Her face brightens. “Sure,” she fervently agrees. “Maybe we could do it in here. I’m sure you don’t want to run into my brothers if we go in the forest.”
Before I can agree, I remember Logan’s request to keep Dylan out of the pack house. It occurs to me that even though the forest is not an option, I still have to convince Dylan to go someplace else.
“I don’t know,” I say, stalling to figure out where we can go. “I don’t want to stay cooped up in this room. I’d like to get out of the house, no matter where we go.”
Thankfully, Logan figures out what I’m trying to do and comes to my rescue. “Why don’t you take Lucy to your old house?” he suggests to Dylan. “It still technically belongs to your family, for now.”
Dylan seems a bit surprised by the ‘for now’ comment. It seems to have been a slip of some sort on Logan’s part, but neither I nor Dylan understand its meaning. Nevertheless, she doesn’t ask about it and just lets it go.
“All right, I guess that could work,” she agrees.
“Can I come?” Sadie suddenly cries, fidgeting with barely contained enthusiasm.
Dylan’s about to refuse, but I don’t want her to. It might be nice to have Sadie around. I like her. Her funny personality puts me at ease in a way no one else does.
“I don’t mind,” I quickly interject.
With a heavy sigh, Dylan relents. “Alright, if it’s okay with Lucy, then I guess it’s okay with me, too.”
“Yes!” Sadie yells. “You’re going to love me, Luce. I’m great at giving support.”
“If you mean you don’t stop talking until someone tells you to shut up, then yeah, you’re delightful,” Dylan comments.
Marianna opts out of tagging along, even though I try to tell her I’d be happy if she comes. She says she has some wedding arrangements to make. I almost buy it, except that she winks at me behind Dylan’s back as she’s leaving. I’m guessing Logan asked for her help as well.
The girls and Logan then give me some privacy so that I can get ready. I take longer than I usually do, but only because I sit there for a full ten minutes just contemplating how unbelievable it is to finally be here. I’m starting to think I’ve lucked out with Logan for a brother. His choice of friends alone is a great sign, no matter what he teasingly says about them.
I pass by my parents’ room when I’m done. Dad is video conferencing with one of his clients while Mom gives Mark a shower. Paul is downstairs with Dylan, –who I see for the first time dressed like a boy– Sadie, and two guys I don’t know. Introductions are quickly made, and I meet Dylan’s roommates.
We don’t linger too long at the pack house and quickly leave in the Connollies’ car. Dylan’s old house is only a few minutes’ drive away, but it’s amazing how she and Sadie manage to make it feel like a road trip. Dylan is a great singer, but Sadie isn’t, though she can hit a few notes. It’s hilarious listening to them mess up Bruno Mars’ Treasure on purpose.
“Welcome to the old Casa de los Connolly,” she says in a grandiose-like voice when we get there.
She shows me around quickly. The furniture and everything else haven’t been removed from any of the rooms. The Connollies are apparently on the fence about what to do with the house. They moved their possessions to the pack house, but they kept all of their furniture at this house, even though they don’t live here anymore. Dylan says they might be keeping it for one of her brothers, but she’s not really sure.
Walking up to her old room, I find myself wondering what it must have been like for Dylan, growing up here. Before I know it, I am imagining myself in her place with my family. There are four bedrooms upstairs and one guest room downstairs which Dylan’s parents were using. Paul and Mark could have shared a room, while two of the others would have been mine and our parents’. The fourth could have been a play room for the boys.
I shake my head to quickly dispel the thought. I can’t believe I’m envious of a house.
All my ‘what if’ scenarios are forgotten when we enter Dylan’s old room. She gets down to business immediately.
“What’s Cade been doing to help you out?” she asks.
Briefly, I explain to her the channeled relaxation and visualization method he’s been using to guide me through the process.
“But the second it starts happening, I always get a splitting headache, and I lose my focus,” I tell her my dilemma. “My parents and Cade think I’m fighting the shift subconsciously because I associate it with bad memories.”
“You think being a werewolf is a horrible thing,” she quickly deduces. Her tone does not imply a question. She is simply stating a fact.
“What?” Sadie screams, shocked. “But it’s the coolest thing in the world!”
Dylan grits her teeth and rolls her eyes. “See, this is why I didn’t want you to come, Sadie,” Dylan objects. “You can’t keep quiet.”
Sadie throws her hands up in surrender and mimes zipping her lips and throwing away the key. I’m getting the sense that Sadie is passionate. She is easily excitable about simple things. The girl is three years older than me, yet she’s more of a child than I ever was. I don’t know whether to envy that or find it amusing.
“What you need to do,” Dylan goes on, a mischievous smile splitting across her face, “in my humble opinion, is see for yourself just how awesome it can be.”
Without a single warning, she starts stripping. I am completely caught off guard. I don’t know what to do other than turn my back on her.
“God, you are so Logan’s sister,” Sadie giggles.
Dylan coughs twice meaningfully to shut her up. “You can turn around now,” she tells me a moment later.
Hesitantly, I do as she says. She’s crouched down on all fours with her clothes in a pile next to her. In this position, I only see her back, her arms, the side of her legs and her head.
Thank God, I think with relief.
Then she starts changing, her skin morphing like ripples passing over it and leaving elongating hair in their wake. It’s the most intense at her spine first, but it extends towards her limbs and then the rest of her body. Her back arches. Arms and legs change into the same size. Fingers and toes change shape and become almost identical.
The final part of the shift takes place in her face. Her hair shortens, and she grows a muzzle when her nose and chin combine. Her eye color brightens into an icy blue. Her ears dissolve and elongate into pointy triangles.
And just like that, she’s gone, and a white wolf stands in her place. The whole transformation took no more than ten seconds.
I’ve never seen a wolf in the flesh before but I know they can be dangerous, so my initial reaction is to cringe. However, I quickly remind myself that this particular wolf is friendly and won’t hurt me. Some instinctual part of me buried deep inside incites me to crouch down next to the animal and extend my hand for it to recognize that I’m not a threat, either. I go with that instinct, but all it gets me is a wet lick to the side of my face.
Sadie laughs at me, and I don’t waste time joining in. Pretty soon, she and I are running around in the house while Dylan chases us and tries to grab us by the ankles. A few times, her teeth clamp down on us, but it’s too gentle to tear the skin or even hurt. Sometimes, we hide from her, and wait for her to catch our scent and startle us. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.
An hour goes by before we get tired. Dylan shifts back and we rest in the living room for a bit. Then we go back to her room for my turn. Though I’m still worried that it’s not going to work, I’m more excited than I’ve been in any of the other times I tried to shift.
Sadly, nothing happens. I start out fine. Dylan even says that she can feel my body heat changing with the beginning phase of the shift. But I get the same splitting headache, and this one lasts longer than just a couple of seconds. I try it several times, but after a while, I get tired.
“Let’s take a break,” Sadie suggests. “I don’t like the color she’s turning into.”
This time, Dylan agrees with her. I’m dizzy and my skin is clammy. As the two of them start swapping theories to explain why this is happening, I tune them out and lie down on Dylan’s mattress. This is longer than I’ve ever lasted, trying to shift. The room is still spinning. I take deep breaths through my nose and let the air out of my mouth.
A few minutes later, I’m feeling a little better. I want to stand up. In fact, I want to open a window and get some fresh air. There’s something pulling me toward that direction. At the same moment that I decide to stand, Dylan speaks.
“Oh my God, how stupid are they?” she hisses.
Sadie takes the question right out of my mouth. “Who?”
“My brothers,” Dylan replies.
I pull myself up and find her standing at the window and looking down with an annoyed look on her face. There’s also an undertone of nervousness as she throws a quick glimpse at me.
“They must have torn their clothes,” she says in a tone of deduction, though I don’t get it.
However, Sadie does, and she runs to the window to stand next to Dylan. “They’re coming here in wolf form?! In broad daylight? What are they thinking?”
“They’re not,” Dylan scorns. “Wow, look at them trying to be stealthy. Just run over here already!”
Now I’m really intrigued. Plus, whatever piqued my curiosity to open the window is vastly increasing by the second. Swiftly, I jump up and join them.
My eyes somehow find him immediately. He’s the first thing I notice the second I look out the window. A big gray wolf with brown streaks all over his back. I don’t see any of the others. Even the two girls next to me are forgotten. Everything disappears until there’s only him left.
I don’t know who he is or what he is to me, but some part of me recognizes him. To that part, he is everything. Nothing else matters. Except that I have to know his name.
CHAPTER 17
Dylan
Thank God for siblings. They can be total idiots sometimes – okay, most of the time – but having my brothers in my life has made it a bit more bearable. They also got some practice out of it, and I like to think some of their good qualities are just a little bit thanks to me. For example, because they’ve had me as a sister, they’re probably some of the only people in the entire werewolf community who wouldn’t treat Lucy like a freak. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’re going to be very casual with her, as if she’s just another friend of the family that they’re meeting for the first time.
I remain confident up to the point where I see them sneaking toward the house in wolf form, with no sign that any of them are carrying any item of clothing, and realize that they are technically naked. Because while I’m sure Lucy would feel accepted as a supernatural being among my brothers, I did not consider the fact that she is still a teenage girl. I forget sometimes that to most of the population, my brothers would be considered physically attractive. It’s not that I’m worried Lucy would get crush or anything, it just seems like she’s the kind of shy girl who doesn’t get much interaction with boys, much less cute ones. I don’t want to overwhelm her. But then again, they are much older, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
At the same time, part of me is protective of my brothers, too. Lucy seems to have an air of moral goodness to her that suggests she might not think highly of good-looking guys actively flaunting their appearance, but since she’s important to Logan, I care what she thinks of my family.
I start walking downstairs to meet my brothers at the door and give them an earful. Two steps in, I remember the two girls in my room and turn around to face them. Sadie is frowning reproachfully at the newcomers, though I detect a trace of the glee she usually feels when she’s around shifted werewolves. As for Lucy, there’s an awestruck look on her face, and her eyes are almost bulging out of their sockets. The sight makes me grimace, because this is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.
“Stay here,” I tell them. “I’ll be right back.”
I grab some of the clothes my brothers left behind when we moved and haven’t gotten around to getting yet, then settle into the couch and wait for them. When they walk in, they take one look at me and halt. It’s not so much the surprise of seeing me there as much as it is my apparent anger at them.
“Change,” is all I say as I hand them the clothes.
I tactfully look away as they change. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I’m mostly directing the question to Mason, since he’s supposed to be the most responsible of us all.
“Relax,” he tells me. The shuffling of his movements makes him pause before replying to me. “Don’t you think we made sure there was no one around before coming back here? We were careful. Besides, Mom and Dad picked this place because it’s secluded, right?”
“Why didn’t you just shift back to human form?” I ask.
“We kind of accidentally started a brawl –” Nathan starts to say.
Daniel cuts him off. “You mean you started one with Con.”
Nate rolls his eyes. “Whatever. The point is, we lost control of the shift for a second and tore up our clothes.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I insist. “You should have thought about it before you started.”
“How were we supposed to know this would happen?” Connor defends.
“What, like fighting is new for you?”
Mason puts his arm around me to calm me down, also letting me know that they’re all fully dressed by now. “Whoa, there. Honestly, we were careful. We would never do anything dangerous unless we were sure it doesn’t hurt us.”
“You should have thought ahead and brought spare clothes, at least. That was really irresponsible!”
They all stare at me after that outburst, eyes wide in shock. I’ve never yelled at them before. Well, I’ve yelled plenty, just not like this.
