Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“Oh no,” I say, fearing it’s some kind of fundraiser. My pride kicks in. “What is this?”
“They’re letters.” Coach Jamison produces a stack of letters from his back pocket and starts leafing through them. “I have one here from the alpha, from your mom, the mailman, your next door neighbor, some of your teachers.”
“Letters.”
“There’s one from me, too. You can save it for when you need a pep talk/kick in the ass from your old coach, though.”
J.J. passes in front of Coach, and he drops his stack of letters into the cardboard box.
My eyes start to burn. I recapture Lotta from the rock because I need to hold her in my arms to keep me steady. She straddles my waist, arms looped around my neck.
“Your mate is making sure you know you’re important here. You matter. The pack should’ve done better by you, and Lotta gave them a chance to rectify that situation. You have an entire box full of letters from people who care about you–old and young.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, stumbling back.
“Indeed,” Coach says, for once not calling me on the bad language. He takes the box from J. J. and hands it to me with a clap on the back. “Next time you start feeling like the world’s against you, pull out a letter and read it. This pack belongs to you, and you belong to it. Even when you’re gone.”
Lotta squeezes me tight, and I realize she’s crying.
I lower her to her feet and cradle her beautiful face. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she lets out a watery laugh. “That just hit hard, you know? Because that’s what I didn’t know when I was gone the first time. I didn’t realize I still belonged somewhere, and I still had support, even if it didn’t come from my parents, who had their heads stuck up their asses.”
I blink rapidly against the moisture in my eyes. “Yeah, I can see that.”
I thumb away her tears, then slant my lips over hers to kiss her softly. “Thank you, angel. What you did was incredible. A gift I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But the best gift of all is always gonna be you.”
Lotta blinks her own tears back. “No, you,” she says impishly.
“You.”
She squirms out of my arms and takes off running. “You!” she calls over her shoulder.
Every pack member knows exactly what she’s inciting. Clothing flies in every direction. There are flashes of fur–black, tan, white, grey, and every mix possible of the colors as we all transform into wolves, boys chasing girls. Girls chasing boys.
The full moon claiming all of us in a silvery baptism of light.
I stay on Lotta’s heels, following, but not overpowering. Not yet.
Not until I find the perfect place to throw her down and fuck her hard.
And then to cradle her close and keep her.
Forever, mine.