1
Isa
“Isabella, you’re going to be late for school.” Natalia calls out. I sigh and ignore her. She won’t think anything of it. She’s done her job and informed me of the time, as I’m sure my father instructed her to do.My father. Thinking of Brian Kline as anything aside from an absolute and total stranger just feels …wrong.
A father is family. He’s someone you run to when you’re hurt or scared. But Brian doesn’t feel like family. He doesn’t feel safe. He isn’tPack.
He smells… like cigars and leather shoe polish. It’s far from comforting.
Had you told me three months ago I’d be leaving my Pack behind to live with humans and attend Hellbound High—a public school whose sole purpose is to integrate supernatural students from different factions with humans—I’d have called you a liar.
Yet here I am.
I worry my bottom lip and stare at my reflection in the floor-length mirror, bracing myself for what will be my first day at a new school, in a new town, with a new family, and for the first time in my life, without the support of a Pack. Because clearly, my life isn’t hard enough.
Tears prick my eyes, but I blink hard to clear them.Come on, Isa. Hold it together.I refuse to cry. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not again. My wolf is a silent presence in the back of my mind, radiating comfort, I remind myself I’m not alone. Not completely.
I’ll always have my wolf. That part of me that is stronger and more resilient than my human self.
Sucking in a shuddering breath, I take in my appearance. I look okay, I guess. Except the girl staring back at me is nothing like the Isabella Romero I’ve been the past seventeen years. She looks preppier. Richer. Honestly, the girl staring back at me looks like a stuck-up bitch from the human world and I hate it.
But this is my life now.
I’m wearing a pair of white skinny jeans that are all but painted onto my body and a soft pink floral top. It has sheer flowing sleeves and exposes a thin strip of my tanned midriff. It’s beyond feminine. If my best friend Josué could see me now, he’d probably keel over laughing like the hyena he is.
This is not my look. I mean, it’s all too light. Too bright. There is no way I’d be able to hide dirt or blood in this.
Not that anyone here cares. Brian is human. He has no idea what it’s like to be a shifter. What it’s like to be a wolf. If he did, he wouldn’t have forced me to come live with him. He’d have realized how important it was to belong to a Pack. Especially after … I shake the thoughts away.
Back home, I’d wear Pack sweats, a worn and faded tee, and a pair of black sneakers. White if I felt like being fancy that day. I’d toss my hair into a messy bun and skip putting on a lick of makeup. No one there cared what I looked like. I was Pack. That was all that mattered.
But last week when I met my bio-dad, he took one look at me in his polished five-piece gray suit and disgust quickly curled his upper lip. Being a tomboy was unacceptable. I was pretty sure he didn’t approve of me being a shapeshifter either but it’s not like he could change that. My wolf and I were a bit of a package deal.
All of my personal belongings were left back in Arizona. Brian’s assistant, Natalia, took it upon herself to give my wardrobe a complete overhaul, claiming I needed a fresh start, and Brian happily agreed with her, refusing to let me bring anything with me beyond the bare essentials. Which pretty much meant the clothes on my back and a toothbrush.
I live in Texas now.I hate Texas.And okay, maybe I was being a bit harsh on the state as a whole, but I was like a fish out of water. Or more accurately, a wolf out of her forest. The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to be exact.
El Paso, Texas, is nothing but desert. It’s dry, hot, and a long eight-hour drive from home. My real home.
But again, no one here cares. They don’t get it. And worse, they don’t care. I have no Pack. No mom. No place to run and let my wolf run free.
You are the daughter of Brian Kline, not some filthy animal in the woods.That’s what he said when I brought up needing somewhere to shift and run.
I bite down on my bottom lip, fighting the urge to scream.
Brian is a prominent member of his community. He is a businessman. He drives a flashy car, waves around his excessive amounts of money, and likes to pretend his perfect little life doesn’t include magic, vampires, or werewolf daughters.
Until a week ago, I’d been his estranged and forgotten daughter.
Not anymore.
Not since my mom died.
I rub at the ache in my chest.Why didn’t you warn me about him, Mom? Why did you keep him a secret?
You’d think given everything I’ve been through, the guy would cut me some slack. He’d … I don’t know, try and get to know me.
I huff out a breath and try to squelch the flicker of hurt inside my chest. Mom can’t answer my questions. She’s dead and I’m here.
