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“So, how are you feeling?” Landon’s intuitive eyes settle on mine, and I can’t help my snarky response.
“Well, apparently you know how I’m feeling, so why don’t you tell me?”
“You’re anxious,” he answers evenly. “Stressed. Overwhelmed.”
“Totally hot for all of us,” Jared adds with a wag of his eyebrows.
I laugh again. “You’re something else. You know, what’s funny is when I first met you I thought you were super standoffish, like you didn’t want to get to know me at all.”
“I told you,” Milo chuckles, “Once you get to know him, you won’t be able to get him to shut up.”
“Yeah,” Landon adds. “He looks all cool football player, but really he’s just a nerd in Homecoming King’s clothing.”
“You were Homecoming King?” I raise an eyebrow.
“It’s not a big deal,” Jared’s gaze drops, and I swear he’d be blushing if his cheeks weren’t already dark. “It’s not like Smoky Falls High is a big school. I didn’t have much competition.”
Milo smacks him on the arm. “Thanks, asshole, we were both in your class, too.”
“Like I said, no competition,” Jared grins up at me with a twinkling eye.
“Well, I’m just glad you’re the one who had to stand next to Amber the whole time, and not me,” Landon laughs, and Jared throws a pillow at him.
“Dude, it’s not funny! She kept pinching my buttallnight! I swear my entire cheek was black and blue after that.”
Now all of us are rolling in giggles.
“Look, I feel bad for the girl,” Landon says with a grin. “I bet she thought it was her lucky night. You were the king, she was the queen, and she was finally gonna get in your jock. Head cheerleader and football star, a match made in heaven.”
“Yeah, well, she’s delusional. And shehasa fated, so I don’t know why she’d think she could just go after anyone else.”
My mood instantly sinks. They brought up wolfy stuff again. “How does that work, exactly? If someone doesn’t want their fated, what do they do?”
Milo shrugs. “Well, it’s not exactly that simple. You’re not forced to be with your fated, but they’re your ideal match in every way. Just by hanging out together, most people realize they are head over heels for their fated and they happily end up together.”
“You said ‘most’. What about the others?”
“If they’re not totally in love with their fated, they go to a counselor to see if they can make it work. It’s always better to be with your fated than not. But for those who just can’t do it, they have to find someone without a fated, or if they haven’t manifested yet, they can go to the human world and give up their wolf.”
“Roxanne made it sound like the Montrose Pack are kind of our enemies, because of the whole curse thing. Is that true? I’m guessing they aren’t the only pack around?”
“Montrose is complicated,” Landon explains. “Most of us are distant relatives of people in that pack. Because of the history there, Smoky Falls doesn’t allow people from Montrose to come here seeking an un-fated. But my understanding is they are happy to accept defectors on their side.”
“What do you mean, defectors?”
“Well, you can’t exist as part of two packs. Someone from Smoky Falls couldn’t stay in this pack and have a Montrose mate. They’d have to choose one for both of them to join. So it’s called defecting, when you leave your pack for another. It’s not done very often, because you give up your family, friends, everyone and everything you’ve known.”
“But,” Jared adds, “You get the chance for a mate and a future, which if you’re un-fated, you’re born without. So most people find it a good option. And yes, to answer your question, there are other packs around. Montrose isn’t the only option. It’s just that people from our pack are more likely to find a compatible mate there.”
“Where are they? How far away?”
“They’re in North Carolina, a few hours from here by car.”
My mind churns that information over, along with my year in LA with Roxanne. “So, it’s not everyone who can’t leave for more than twenty-four hours because of the curse, right? It’s just the alpha?”
“Right, and her mates, once they complete the bond.”
“Wait, what?”
