Page 100 of Wicked Wolves and Tangled Truths
I blink back my tears and shake the memory away. Losing Afonso gutted our family. Mom needed to grieve. No way would she have been able to handle me acting out on top of everything else. So, I continued to be the good girl. The rule follower. I can count on one hand the number of times my parents have ever needed to scold me.
Less than a year after Afonso passed, Dad left. Mom wanted another baby and Dad…he couldn’t fathom trying to have another child knowing he or she could be supernatural. That the same thing that happened with Afonso could happen again. But mom was convinced a baby would mend our family, and the pressure...it made Dad snap and he left.
My family has been hit in the face with life again and again. There was never a good time to…I don’t know…be a kid. To make mistakes. To act impulsively. Guilt worms its way through my chest, reminding me now still isn’t a good time. But then, when will it ever be? I’m sixteen years old. I want to be young and dumb. Not forever, but for a night. Just this one time. I want to make mistakes I can look back on. I want to know that I was wild and free. That I spread my wings and lived.
Afonso’s been gone for three years now. Dad’s been gone for two. It’s been a whirlwind for Mom and I, but things have gotten better. Mom has a boyfriend. He’s kinda weird and having a vampire around has its creepy moments, but she smiles a lot, more than she has in years, and I think she really loves him. He makes her happy. And I want her to be happy.
She’s been through so much.
It’s why I’m not complaining about the move. Well, not out loud at least. And why I stuffed back my tears and smiled ear to ear when she told me thegood news. She deserves to be happy. I just…I want that for me, too.
“Okay. Let’s go before I lose my nerve.”
KeAnna’s smile widens. “Eeeeee! This is going to be so much fun!”
I don’t know if I share her enthusiasm, but I’m committed to this course nonetheless. For one night, I’m not going to be Joaninha Sousa—the good girl. I’m going to be the rebel. The wild child. A girl that goes with the flow, lets her hair down, and for once in her life, makes some freaking mistakes.
* * *
No one batsan eye as KeAnna and I stroll up to tonight’s party house. It’s surrounded by forest and there are bonfires and tents set up all over the place. The human kids I go to school with don’t throw ragers like this. Hell, I’ve already spotted a few people in their animal forms. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what they are, because no way would a lion and a hyena be strolling around the area if they were anything but shifters.
“Come on, let’s grab a drink.” KeAnna hauls me past a few groups of teenagers toward a keg I hadn’t spotted. There’s a table beside it with cups, mixers, and water bottles. Grabbing a red cup, she hands it to one of the guys manning the keg and he fills it for her, giving her an interested once-over.
“You here with anyone?” he asks, handing her the beer and tilting his head toward me in a silent question. I shake my head, and wave off the offered alcohol, grabbing a water bottle from the open coolers instead. KeAnna is a shifter with shifter metabolism so she can drink like a fish with little consequence. I, on the other hand, metabolise alcohol like a human and one or two drinks is enough to do me in. I know there are other people drinking who aren’t shifters but…I don’t know…coming to the party to hook up with a guy seems risqué enough for me for one night. Drinking when I’ve just barely turned sixteen feels like I would be pushing it.
“Nope. Just my girl,” KeAnna says, giving him a come-hither look as she takes a sip of her beer. Like me, KeAnna is kept in a sheltered little box, rarely let out to play. She goes to school at the Pack Compound where she can be carefully watched and protected and where her family and fellow Packmates can snarl at anyone who looks at her for more than a second too long. We might say tonight is my night, but it’s equally for her. We both need this escape from the constricting lives we lead, and KeAnna deserves to feel like the goddess she is.
He tugs her close and she squeaks, though secretly I know she’s thrilled by the attention.
“I’m gonna go mingle,” I tell her, giving her the out she needs to have fun and not worry about me. She makes a face, about to argue, and I shake my head. “Have fun. You can’t stick by my side all night, anyway. Remember?”
She rolls her eyes but smiles. “Fine. But find me if you need me, okay? And don’t go home with anyone. I know you’re not some weak hu—”
“Stop. I’ll be fine. And don’t worry, I won’t wander away without you.” I snicker and turn around, following the sound of music to a crowd that’s created their own dance floor between a small clearing of trees.
A DJ booth has been set up. I wonder how, until I see a small generator connecting it to power.Smart.People are drinking and dancing, having a good time. It’s invigorating. People my age letting loose without a care in the world. I envy them and the friendships they’ve so obviously created with others like them.
A group of shifter boys are to my left. A few in animal form curled up by the legs of others and some in human form having full-on conversations with their animal counterparts. The vampires are further back and on to my right. Girls fawn over them with clear puncture marks on their necks, displaying them as if they’re a badge of honor. The witches I’ve noticed definitely dress the part. Flowing skirts in black and purple and chunky jewelry adorn their bodies. There’s a small gathering of them dancing around one of the fires, heads tilted back to the sky and jubilant expressions on their faces.
I crack open my water bottle, taking a sip as I soak in the cool evening air, letting my gaze wander over the crowd. Everyone is clustered in these natural cliques and I have no idea how to insert myself into one of them.
I continue to scan the clusters when a guy on my far left grabs my attention. He’s cute. My age with light blonde hair and broad shoulders. He’s laughing at something his friend says when our gazes connect. He stares for a second, his eyes flashing silver, letting me know he’s a shifter of some sort, before lifting his cup as if to say hello. I smile. He smiles back. And then he goes back to talking. But every few seconds his eyes come back to me.
I linger where I stand for a moment, debating whether or not to head in his direction. It’s obvious he’s no longer listening to whatever his friends are saying. And he’s not being shy about staring either. His perusal of my body lets me know he’s interested but—
No.
Come on, Jo. You can do this.
I take a deep breath. Be a rebel, I tell myself. I’m not going to just stand here like an idiot hoping he’ll approach me. I’m going to be bold. I can do this.
I take a step forward when a voice behind me stops me in my tracks. “I wouldn’t waste my time on Cameron Bailey if I were you.”
I whirl around, a scowl on my face as my eyes land on a boy hovering close behind me. “He’s a lynx. Small cat. Small dick,” he says, a savage grin on his face.
“Who said I was interested in his dick?” I ask, quirking a brow. And okay, yeah, maybe I am, but I don’t have to admit it to this guy. Whoever the hell he is.
He snorts. “With a body like yours in a dress like that, you’re looking for something, and it’s not cookies at a bake sale. My money is on dick.”
