I shrug. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
Silence stretches between us.
“Is that why you’re a lone wolf now? Why you don’t have a Pack?
I swallow hard. “Partly, yeah. Brian is human. He doesn’t know how important it is to belong to a Pack. If he did, I wouldn’t be here.”
He nods, his eyes softening. “Yeah, I get it. My pops is human, too. He and my mom aren’t together. I’m his best kept secret. Everyone he knows thinks I’m human. I guess I’ve gotten good at masking my beast. But only when I’m with him, which thankfully isn’t too often.
“Ah, living that double life?”
He smirks. “I guess you could say that.”
Looking through one final drawer in my dresser, I give up in defeat. “I don’t think this is going to work. I don’t really have anything appropriate for camping,” I say, resignation in my voice. I needed this. Needed a safe place to shift. To be me. It’s been weeks since I’ve been able to don my wolf skin. If I don’t find a way to do it soon, I’m going to go insane.
Zheng considers me a moment before taking my hand and pulling me from the floor where I’d been sitting. “It’s cool. You can borrow some sweats of mine if you want. My bag is already packed in my trunk. Or we can always run by a store?”
“I don’t think I’d fit in anything of yours,” I say, eyeing his physique. Zheng is tall and thin, probably just shy of six feet but still a good nine inches taller and fifty pounds heavier.
“Is there, I don’t know, a Target nearby or on the way?” I ask.
He chuckles. “I didn’t take you for the Target type but yeah, there is.”
My shoulders sag as I lean against the wall, relief sweeping through me. “I don’t come from money. All of this, my dad’s assistant bought it all for me when I moved in. I’m very much a Target kind of girl.”
He grins this goofy lopsided smile that has my wolf relaxing beneath the surface of my skin. “I think I like you even more with that revelation. Come on. Let’s get you some new kicks and go have some fun.”
6
Isa
I’ve never been one for shopping, but I absolutely raid Target as soon as we get to the women’s section. I’m not the picky type so I grab the basics. Things I can mix and match with little effort. A few solid white shirts and a couple with funny phrases. Some black jeans. A pair of cut-off shorts even though it’s past fall and nearing winter. A swimsuit, just in case. And a few pairs of cotton sweatpants along with an oversized hoodie for good measure.
Zheng is a good sport, helping me carry the piles of clothes as I wander up and down the aisles without a single complaint. When I feel like I have enough, we make our way to the registers.
I feel bad when the cashier rings me up and gives me the total. Four hundred and thirteen dollars. I swallow hard as I hand over Brian’s credit card and guilt sweeps through me, reminding me I need to find a job so I don’t have to rely on him. I’ll be eighteen soon, and I need to be prepared for that. My Pack will take me in, but I don’t want to be a burden on them either.
It only takes a few minutes after she hands me my receipt to remember my mom just died and Brian hasn’t bothered to be around all week. What kind of father does that?
That helps sweep away any lingering guilt over how much I’m spending today. I’ll still need to search for a job, though.
“Damn, Isa. You look good.” Zheng says when I step out of the restroom.
As soon as I’d paid, I’d changed into a pair of gray sweatpants rolled at the waist and a white V-neck shirt. It’s not polished or sexy by any means but you wouldn’t think that based on the way Zheng is looking at me right now.
“Thanks.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and smile.
I’m comfortable for once since arriving in El Paso. I feel a little more like myself. The wolf shifter girl who doesn’t care if people like her. Who has amazing friends back home and a Clan that loves her.
With my arms full, Zheng helps me carry my load to his car and we toss everything in the back of his Subaru WRX. As I shopped, he told me about the cabin we’ll be staying in. It’s on Pack lands but he’s assured me it’s okay, even though I’m a lone wolf.
There’s a chance I might get to meet some of the other wolves from his Pack. The ones who don’t attend Hellbound High. He says they’re not all broody assholes like Rafael, which is good, though I’m still anxious over the prospect.
On the hour-long drive to Shadle Creek, Zheng tells me about the copious amounts of partying that’ll be taking place. Partying isn’t really my scene and I’m a little bummed by the cabin. I miss sleeping with my Packmates in a giant heap under the stars. But the practical side of me realizes it’s probably for the best. I’m not sure I’d get an ounce of sleep outside knowing vampires could be lurking in the shadows anyway.
The more Zheng talks, the more I get the sense he comes from money. Not like Brian does. That’s an entirely different level. But Zheng’s father is better off in the human world than most. The way he talks about life growing up feels a lot like the way Brian lives.
His parents share custody, so he divides his time between the two. From the sounds of it, he only stays with his father one or two weekends a month and that seems to be the way he likes it. The Southwest Pack is large. Not as big as the Pacific Northwest Pack but it’s a close runner-up. I guess when he was born, his mom got the Pack lawyers involved to fight for full custody, but his father refused to go down without a fight and in the end, was awarded shared. Zheng has some say in how often he sees him now that he’s older, but he still has mandatory visitation obligations.
