C11 Charlie

Regan rolled her eyes. “This is town. Unless you want to drive twenty minutes into Hamilton City.”

“Which we don’t,” Carter put in. “Not usually.”

“On this side is the post office and the drugstore. On the left is the grocery and gas station,” Regan said. She pointed to each as we passed even though they were clearly marked.

“What’s that place?” I pointed to a broken-down building behind the drugstore.

“That’s the movie theater. It’s where I was when Mom...” Regan trailed off.

No one said anything. Carter sped up and pointed out his window. “There’s the high school.”

“I thought Dad said I was going to be taught by the pack or him?” I asked.

“You are. I started homeschooling last year,” said Regan. “All of the pack members are pulled junior year for homeschooling. It leaves more time for hunting and patrolling so the council makes it mandatory.”

Up ahead, the stoplight changed and we rolled to a stop. “A blessing in disguise if you ask me. The humans there are a migraine waiting to happen,” Carter said.

“That and you almost gave yourself away with that stupid flagpole prank last year,” Regan said with an eye roll. She propped her elbow on the open window, casual and somehow at ease in the middle of their traded barbs.

“Not my fault,” Carter protested. “They jumped me. Was I supposed to just stand there and take it?”

“Yes,” Regan said, leaning forward a little as her intensity increased. I got the distinct impression these two argued a lot. “If it’s a choice between showing off your superhuman strength and getting beat up, you get beat up.”

Carter only smirked. “You’re just jealous I took out all six of them without breaking a sweat.”

“Anytime, anywhere, Carter, you just say the word,” Regan said.

“My money’s on her,” I said, jerking a thumb at my new sister. I earned a laugh from them both.

The light changed and we passed the school building, brick and brown trim and looking every bit as institutional as my own school back in Oregon. Up ahead, the road forked.

“Home?” Carter asked.

“Home,” Regan agreed.

Carter took the road to the left and we sped up again. “What’s the other way?” I asked. I strained my neck but the road wound around and disappeared out of sight. Regan and Carter exchanged a look.

“That’s a story for later,” Carter said. He sounded angry, though I couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong except maybe Regan had promised me a tour of the town and all I’d gotten was a drive-by. But the air in the truck had thickened with something I didn’t recognize, so I decided not to mention it.

We rode in silence for a few minutes. The road continued to wind and straighten and wind again as we slowly climbed higher toward the house on the hill. I hadn’t realized we’d run so far earlier but I’d been distracted by the urge to compete.

“So have you figured out each other’s strategy yet?” Carter asked.

“What do you mean?” I said.

“The contest. You’re going to have to compete against each other.” He glanced over at me. “You do realize that, right?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

Regan didn’t say anything. She had her lips pressed together and her arms folded again.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” he said.

I looked over at him. He was staring at the road and shaking his head in disgust. “Our competition?” I asked, hoping I’d finally found an ally to talk them all out of it.

“The loser gets to be beta,” he said.

“Sad you’re losing your place?” Regan asked him.

“It’s rightfully mine. I should get a say,” he said.

“No, it’s rightfully the alpha’s choice,” she shot back.

“We both know—” His cheeks reddened and he stopped. “I shouldn’t have to lose it to a newbie,” he finished. They exchanged a glare over my head and I wished I could’ve sunk into the seat.

No one said anything else after that.

At the top of the hill I spotted two large utility vans that hadn’t been there earlier parked in front of the garage.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Neither of them answered. I stole a glance at each of them, but they looked just as stumped as I was. We got out and Carter wandered off. I stayed with Regan because even though I didn’t exactly get a warm fuzzy around her, she was the closest thing to a friend I had made so far. I followed her around the side of the house. Workers in gray uniforms were carrying tables and chairs down a wide path that led straight into the woods.

“What the hell...?” Regan mumbled.

We fell into step side by side and a few minutes later the path opened into a wide clearing. Thick trees bordered all sides, but under my feet was thick grass. I looked down and realized it wasn’t even natural; it was some kind of fancy AstroTurf. The space was clearly being prepared for a party.

Fairy lights were draped from the branches of the trees that hung over the open area while long benches carved out of tree trunks were dragged into position on either side of a wide aisle. A couple of muscled men were ripping pine trees out of the ground where they came too close to the clearing and throwing them aside. They gave loud cracking noises as the roots were wrenched free of the earth. I flinched every time, more in awe of their show of brute force than the violent noise of the dying trees. I’d known my whole life we possessed strength like this—I’d never actually tested the limits. Or watched others do the same.

“Hello, girls.” William Vuk walked up, nodding politely in the way a dinner guest might. He stood with his hand at his sides and his chest out, the picture of confidence and power. He was watching the work with a keen eye that said he didn’t miss a single detail. None of it was familiar or even affectionate. I noticed Regan was just as detached in the way she stood half-facing us, half-ready to bolt.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Regan asked.

“We’re getting ready for a wedding,” he said, the words so matter-of-fact, I was surprised Regan didn’t already know. It felt like everyone knew what was going on but me.

“It looks like a pretty big deal,” I said. “Who’s going to be married?”

“You are,” he said.