Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(54)
Katherine voiced her thoughts. “I thought I was already a member of this pack.”
“You are,” Sophie rushed to assure her. “Most werewolves are born into packs and remain members of them until they reach the age of seventeen – it’s the age of majority for us. As soon as they turn seventeen, however, they are free to choose their own packs. They may decide to remain a member of their current alpha’s pack or approach a different alpha and request to become a part of his pack. Unless they’ve been recruited by that specific alpha, though, they are usually forced to prove themselves to him in some way – typically by completing a task or trial of some sort. If they fail, they’re almost always rejected by the alpha and have to approach another for a new chance to prove their worth.”
Katherine’s head ached as she attempted to retain all of the information Sophie was spewing forth. “What exactly is recruiting then?” she asked, still not quite grasping the concept.
“It’s when an alpha,” Sophie paused, clearly searching for the proper word to use, “woos a werewolf – tries to convince him or her to join his pack.”
Having finally managed to shove her second arm through her jacket, Katherine crossed her arms over her chest. “If recruiting and all this other crap is inevitable – and you seem to be under the impression that it is – then why did Bastian insist on,” she pursed her lips, willing herself not to blush, “marking me last night?”
Katherine glowered at Sophie when she grinned. “Yeah, that. Bastian seems to think that if he makes his claim obvious, the other alphas of Haven Falls will be more hesitant to recruit you.”
Katherine furrowed her brow. “Is he right?”
Sophie sighed, her amused smile drooping. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just wanted to make sure you knew exactly what kind of situation you were walking into today. Nearly every wolf your age is looking to be recruited. It’s very competitive and by nature, we werewolves are very prideful creatures. Just… be careful.”
Well, wasn’t that wonderful?
As if the butterflies in her stomach weren’t enough, Katherine now felt as if a full-blown dragon was flying around in there.
A blaring car horn sounded from outside.
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Sounds like he’s getting impatient. You’d better get going.”
Katherine nodded, but didn’t make a move for the door. Despite the gigantic beast now taking residence in her stomach, her curiosity had been roused. “Hey, Sophie?”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Why… I mean, did Bastian… how was this pack formed?” she finally managed to spit out.
A sad smile enveloped Sophie’s face. “Well, when our parents died, Bastian was sort of forced to become the new alpha of the Prince pack. Prince. That’s our last name.”
Katherine’s stomach dropped as her suspicions were confirmed. Bastian’s and Sophie’s parents were dead. Just like hers. Unconsciously, she clenched her hands into fists, her blunt nails digging into the soft skin of her palms.
“Bastian was only fifteen when it happened and Caleb and I were the only members of the Prince pack who chose to stay under his leadership. When Bastian finished school with Markus and Zane, they both joined. I wasn’t shocked when Zane approached Bastian; he and his family were in the Prince pack before my parents died. But Markus,” she shook her in fond exasperation, “he was a bit of a surprise.”
Katherine listened as Sophie explained how Zane and Markus had joined Bastian’s pack – the Prince pack, apparently – but she was stuck on the fact that their parents were dead. Morbid curiosity demanded that she ask how they’d died, while empathy – some strange sort of kinship due to what had happened to her own parents – insisted she keep her mouth firmly shut. Before one could win out over the other, the sound of a loud car horn once again pierced the air. She groaned. “Guess I should go.”
Sophie nodded, “Good luck and have fun at school.”
The luck she was sure she would need, but based on what Sophie had said about recruiting and competing, she was fairly certain that fun was out of the question. Nonetheless, she grabbed the satchel Caleb had burrowed her, walked out the door, and clambered into the passenger seat of the running SUV parked in front of the porch.
Bastian didn’t acknowledge her, but waited for her to strap in, at least, before taking off down the same dirt road she and Sophie had traveled yesterday morning. Neither Katherine nor Bastian broke the heavy silence as they cruised through Haven Falls and took a left onto a slightly wider road. Within minutes, they’d arrived at a large brick building with a small collection of rusted cars parked haphazardly in the tall grass on its right.
Katherine could only assume this was the school.
Bastian stalled the SUV in front of the building’s white double doors. As subtly as she could, she turned and glanced at the man. She didn’t know what she was waiting for. Some sort of instruction? A wish of good luck similar to Sophie’s? Heck, even a simple good-bye? Whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t for the man to be directing his blue eyes forward, resolutely refusing to meet her questioning gaze.
Katherine sighed. He was intent on throwing her to the wolves then.
Har. Har. Get it? Throwing her to the wolves?
Apparently, the higher her anxiety, the lower her standards of humor.