Runt of the Litter (Halfbreed Chronicles Book 1) (3 page)

“
Gotta
say, I never expected you to fall for a guy like
that.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean
?,
”
the tone of my voice sounds
almost vicious, like I’m daring my sister to try to say one mean thing about
Avery.  I feel strangely protective about him already, and we both know
what’s happening here . . . I couldn’t deny it, even if I wanted to.

“You know what I
mean, relax,”
she turns the corner, and heads to the fields nearby.  I
fight against looking back in hopes to catch another glimpse of him.
 Somehow, I managed to play it cool, but really on the inside, my wolf was
pushing against my skin.  For whatever reason, I felt drawn to him in a
way that I’ve never felt before.  I’ve been with a man or two, but it was
almost just to prove that I could enjoy sex - not that I wanted them in
particular.  But with Avery, I felt something almost carnal stirring
inside me, and the inner wolf who I rarely allow to the forefront, kept pushing
its fur under my skin, ready to jump him, too.  I could smell his own
hormones changing when he looked me up and down, and I had no problem letting
him enjoy the view, but I already want to get lost in his eyes, so I insisted
on having them look at me whenever possible.  

It was then that I noticed how hard he was holding onto
his broken bag, and I couldn’t help but imagine those same hands clinging to me
at night . . . I never expected to be the swoon worthy type, but there I was,
feeling dizzy at the slightest touch between our fingers.  What would
happen if we did kiss, and touch, and have sex?  Would it really turn out
he’s my mate, and finally I’d understand what all those other
packmates
mean when they talk about making love, versus
just sex?

The one thing I knew for sure, as dizzy as I felt, it
would have been even harder to say goodbye so quickly to him already
,.
 
And so even
if it came across as forward or brass, I needed to know I’d be seeing him again
soon, in order to accomplish anything else today.  I already feel clingy,
and protective, and almost desperate - though it didn’t really seem he felt the
same powerful tug that I did.  Is it different for
halfbreeds
?
 Do they not have that same invisible string tying them to their
mates, that
purebloods do?  Worse, would that mean that
one day, it wouldn’t that hard for him to leave me?  I have never heard of
such a thing between mates - but then again, I’ve never heard of a werewolf
falling for a
halfbreed
.

But I know what he is, and for some reason, I don’t care.
 

Even though there was no physical manifestation of his
wolf form, a quick flash over his eyes made me know who
,
 
and
what, he was.  I saw
his inner wolf twice - once, when he jumped over us into the backseat.
 His wolf was making sure he didn’t get hurt, and took over to help him
land safely.  The other time was when he was looking me over, and I could
tell that both he - the man, and he - the wolf liked what they saw.  I
don’t find myself repulsive by any means, but not all that and a bag of chips
either.  But when his hormones flushed his cheeks at the sight of my legs,
I can honestly say I never felt sexier.  It’s like for a second, I somehow
managed to make him squirm, in the most delicious ways.

The only way I knew he wasn’t a pureblood, was because I
could smell it on him - wolf like, but not quite (mixed with the delicious
scents of vanilla and sandalwood).  

For Savannah, and I, we’ve only spent time with other
werewolves.  It’s not uncommon nowadays to meet all kinds of creatures,
especially at the conventions, but my Daddy has never been all that keen on
anyone else, and neither I, nor my sister, had enough change to go off on our
own for a weekend of one of those “Get to Know Your Monster Neighbor” retreat.
 

It’s always been werewolves, or humans - who’ve only
vaguely been aware of our existence.  But now, Avery’s crashed into my
life, and suddenly, all I want to do is grab his pale face between my hands and
lean into his warm, ripped body.  

The thought of how soft his lips might be against
mine,
is still swirling in my mind, when Savannah gets us to
the festival site.  I could care even less now of getting anything done,
but if it passes the time until I can see him again, then so
be
it.  

“Riley, it’s only
two hours - you’ll live.”

I bite my lip, because part of me wants to slap my hand
across her shoulder.  It’s not so
simple,
time
feels even slower now, when I’m not near him.  I can barely put one foot
in front of the
other,
much less get anything
accomplished for this festival.  No, I really don’t want to be here, I
want to be climbing into Avery’s lap . . .

“ . . . Hey if
anything, why don’t we talk about what you’re wearing for this date tonight, to
get your mind off the time?”

I keep letting myself be surprised by my sister.  The
little big one who knows all about me, and even though I can’t imagine Avery
interests her nearly as much as me, she’s willing to do the
prepwork
beside me, while I talk about this date (if only to get things done).  I
don’t really care what the motive is, because in all honesty, it’d be good for
me to look a little less biker
chique
tonight.
 It seems to help a guy treat you like a lady, when you actually look like
one (even if he was checking out my biker boots hard),
“Sure.”

I pretend not to have any emotion connected to the reply,
but she knows exactly what’s going on inside me - she sees how deep my still
waters run, and is more than happy to help a sister out.  If I wasn’t
plotting my escape across the field, I might even be able to show a little
gratitude.

There’s just enough concern in her voice to make me stop
my stride beside her.  And I look at her, unsure where her worry is coming
from,
“He’s got you all Rile-d up,
doesn’t he?”

I’m pretty sure my eyes have never rolled further back
into my eye sockets,
“You’ve been
wanting to use that line all your life, right?”

She nods excitedly, more like a kid than a teenager, and I
wrap my arm around her neck, silently thanking her for the break in my own
thoughts.  While we prep, we can talk about clothes, and maybe shop for an
outfit before the date - because soon enough, I’ll get Avery under my claws.

I’m running about ten minutes late, and apologize
profusely to the Johnson’s, but they don’t seem all that bothered, and since
I’ve never been late before, are quick to dismiss it.  I manage to get
through the motions, but to be
honest,
I’m having a
hard time keeping the adrenaline down.  My fingers keep tapping the pen on
the table, my leg bobs up and down a little, and within fifteen minutes I’ve
scanned twenty pages of numbers, without even as much of an idea what the heck
I just looked at.  All my brain wants to focus on is how I can get Riley’s
legs wrapped my hips.

The elderly Mrs. Johnson shakes my mind free from the
thought, embarrassingly so, and I apologize and explain how I was in a slight
car accident.  They are very understanding and insist I head home to
recuperate.  I feel slightly guilty that I didn’t explain I was just fine
physically, just painfully distracted by a strange lady I met along the way,
but if it meant I could take their files home, and take care of the paperwork
tomorrow, then so be it.  We shook hands, and I walked them to their car,
trying to feign politeness, and apologizing, promising to take a better look in
the morning.  Surely by then, some of the adrenal would die down a little,
or so I hoped.

Once they drove off, I practically bolted back to the bus
station.  I don’t know why I had the slimmest sliver of hope that Riley
would still be there, and I definitely couldn’t understand why it was so
disappointing to realize she wasn’t.  I was feeling so confused by just
about everything, that even on the bus ride home, I could barely form anything
other than questions that swirled around my mind, in annoying repetition:

“Did she really ask
me on a date, or was she just - well really what else could she have meant with
‘taking’ her out?”

By the time I get home, I’m about as confused as could be,
and wandered into house, via the kitchen side door.  For some reason,
Lou’s not here.  I can’t smell the
oakwood
and
appleblossom
scents he usually wafts through the place, and
instant relief floods my pores.  He’d ask me how the meeting went, and
because I’m already feeling guilty for having lied to the Johnson’s, I’m pretty
sure I’d blab the truth.  Which would have earned me unanswerable
questions from my big
brother, that
would merely mimic
my own.  

My legs feel a little wobbly, all the adrenaline from
earlier seemingly draining from my body.  I lug forward just enough to
catch a kitchen chair nearby, and plant myself in the hard wood.  I sit
there for what feels like hours, still trying to figure out if I’m actually
going or not.  She seemed to want to go on a date, but maybe she was just
trying to make it up to me, for me almost having been killed.  Maybe I’m
reading too much into this.  But then again, if a human has got me this
stirred up, maybe it’d be a good idea to talk to Liam,
he
was always the wisest when it came to common sense.  And he ended up
mating a human, so maybe he could lend me some tips on what dating is like for
a
halfbreed
anyways.  I mean, I’m pretty human
myself, but am I going to have some sort of animalistic response in bed if
something happens with Riley?  

My cock instantly twitches at the thought of ending up
rolling around in a bed with her - the
raven
Goddess,
who could lick her lips, and make me do her bidding.  As uncomfortable as
I am right now at the thought of what lies ahead, I’m also too excited to deny
it.  For so long, I’ve been like a statue, the sun rising and setting
around me, one day going into the next, without much change.  
An almost mundane existence.
 

Now, tonight, something will be different, and I’m both
terrified, and ready all at the same time.  I resolve to pick up the phone
and call my oldest brother after all, if anything for some guidance.  He
picks up after a few rings,
“Hi Liam,
how’s Haley feeling?”

Haley and Liam have been married for just over two years,
and were both surprised, albeit pleasantly, when she got pregnant.  Of
course the excitement was short lived, considering most pregnancies don’t go
well for our mixed kind.  A lot of anxiety had been plaguing them both,
but every day she got closer to the quickening helped ease some of it.
 Once the fetus kicked, they contacted the Council (as is protocol), and
supposedly, someone is coming out to share the results of the blood test taken
last week, to see what kind of creature it is.  The babies that are born
to us
halfbreeds
,
have a few possibilities: they are either
halfbreeds
as well, are fully human, or inherit the one
magical quality that one parent has.  Well at least, supposedly those are
the possibilities.  I haven’t found one case of a
fullblooded
werewolf who came from a
halfbreed
and human.

If the baby turns out to be a
halfbreed
,
the birth could be difficult, so Haley would most likely get moved to a nearby
safe house for the remainder of the pregnancy, and we’d all pray for everyone
involved.  More than one human has died giving birth to our kind, and
though better medicine and more Council
OB’s
have
helped, it’s another reason why I haven’t jumped onto the bandwagon of mating
with a human.  There’s a lot of pain involved, and I can’t imagine if
something were to happen to Haley, how Liam would hold up.  Would I be
able to carry on, if I killed my mate?

“Hi Avery, she’s
doing good today - she’s excited for the test results when the specialist gets
here.  Seven days and counting.”

He does sound a little cheerful, more than he’s been in a
while.  And so I don’t feel like I’m burdening him, when I just dive right
into it,
“I just wanted to call, because
somehow, I landed myself a date tonight.”

“Oh really
?,
”
I can just picture him wiggling his eyebrows, and
though I really don’t want to discuss romance with him, I trudge forward,
because I’m desperate for information.

“Yeah, and - well,
she’s human.”

He sighs, obviously smarter than I give him credit for, if
he’s already deduced why I’m calling,
“So
you figured I’d give
ya
the run down of how that
works, and all?”
“Kind of,”
I’m not sure how to word the next part, but it’s the biggest
question I have, so I figure while his patience is still at the forefront, I’ll
ask away,
“I guess I just wanted to
know, before I even allow myself to move forward - is it worth it?”  

There’s a pause, and I imagine Liam looking back at his
wife, who I don’t hear nearby, but who must be, since my brother never allows
her out of sight nowadays, with the danger of the pregnancy looming over them,
“Yeah, it’s worth it.”  
I can tell
he’s smiling, and that’s really all I need to hear.  I’ll figure out the
rest myself, because whatever Liam did to snag
Haley,
would not work on Riley.  Those two are about as different as could be,
“Thanks bro, I appreciate it.”

“Remember, use
protection - Night.”

He hangs up and I remain frozen in place, back to the
statue, all too used to the ridiculous ways my brothers try to tease me.
 But the sex joke is a new one.  I’m as virgin as they come.  I
know better than to assume that that would somehow change tonight, I have never
been the cocky kind (literally).  And I definitely don’t plan on being the
kind of guy who thinks a woman owes him anything, just because she wants a
date.

I put the receiver on the hook, and figure I might as well
do some of the paperwork I’m being paid for, if anything to get the
bloodflow
back to my brain and away from my dick.  I’m
sure it’ll pop right back up as soon as I take a shower, and get dressed for
later, but for now, I’ll try take my mind off of it all, with some familiar
work.