There was only one place in the Matthews house where I could escape the cold stares of the Hagan men. As an added bonus, it was also where I could find some pants.

I was able to enjoy my breakfast in a sanctuary of complete privacy and near silence. Talley owned a pair of super-expensive headphones which miraculously blocked out all the annoying background noise, which was annoying even if it wasn’t the complete sensory overload it had been.

I was just slurping the last of the sugary milk from my bowl in the most unladylike fashion imaginable when someone invaded my Fortress of Solitude. I’m not sure how I knew he was behind me. I just know one moment everything was fine and dandy, and the next the little hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end as I began to mentally review defensive strategies.

I slid off the headphones and turned to find Layne, Toby’s tween-age son, standing in the doorway of Talley’s bedroom.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” he said. “This room is off limits.”

“This room is off limits to boys.” I dabbed at a spot of maple syrup I spilled onto Talley’s bedspread and prayed Mrs. Matthews wouldn’t notice. “I can come in here whenever I want. I even have my own drawer full of clothes and a toothbrush in the bathroom.” It was an arrangement our parents came to when we were seven and started demanding weekly sleepovers. Talley had a drawer of clothes and a toothbrush at my house too.

Layne wasn’t impressed. In fact, he seemed to be a bit angry. “You’re not special, you know. You’re a freak. Something is wrong with you.”

I made a display of smelling the air even though I recognized his scent the moment I stepped into the house. “I hope you thanked him for saving your life.”

“He’s the Pack Leader and my dad. It’s his job.”

“I wasn’t talking about your dad, moron.”

Layne was visibly shaking. “There is something wrong with you. My dad is going to kill you and put you out of your misery, you know.”

I showed my teeth. “I’m going to rip you apart and enjoy watching your blood leave your body.”

The moment the words were out of my mouth I wished I could stuff them back in. Yes, Layne was an annoying brat and someone needed to put him in his place, but it was mean of me to purposefully scare him. He was still a kid, a point driven home by his quivering lip.

“Layne, listen…” But he didn’t want to. He darted down the hall before I could even think of the right words to apologize with.

Crap. Now I was going to have to chase after the little monster.

It quickly became evident the good people at Bose were geniuses and the sound-proofed headphones were worth every single penny. They had managed to completely block out the sound of twenty Shifters and two Seers engaged in a shouting match.

“And I’m telling you, nice little girls don’t just up and turn into Shifters,” Uncle Charles was saying. For once, his face was red from emotion rather than a few dozen too many drinks. “That thing is an abomination. A monster.”

He was calling me a monster? That was rich coming from a man who liked to use his son as a punching bag.

“She’s not a ‘thing’.” Talley’s eyes glowed with a manic rage. It was the first time for me to see her truly angry in nearly eighteen years. “She has a name, or is your memory slipping along with your ability to Shift?”

I saw Uncle Charles’s hand ball into a fist, but was too shocked to do anything. Luckily, Jase wasn’t frozen to the spot. He grabbed the older man’s elbow and jerked him back before he could swing.

“Call my sister names or even think about touching Talley again, and I’ll end your miserable life. Do you understand me?”

“She isn’t your sister, whelp. The sooner you remember that, the better off you’ll be.”

“Enough,” Toby said, taking a single step towards his father and cousin, but that was all it took. Jase went back to leaning on the counter while Uncle Charles retreated to the leather Lazy Boy recliner. “We’re not going to go around accusing anyone of anything until we have proof,” the Pack Leader said, leveling Uncle Charles with his eyes. “And we’re to respect our elder Pack members,” he said to both Jase and Talley.

If I were Toby, Jase would have been strangled over his salute. The arrogant Pack Leader merely nodded as if he was truly a commanding officer and Jase didn’t reek of sarcasm.

“Listen, Toby, it doesn’t matter if she’s a saint or a demon. The fact is, an arctic wolf is going to attract a lot of a attention around here,” one of Jase’s older distant cousins chimed in. “Especially after what your boys pulled last month. Every redneck with a gun thinks it’s open season on coyotes. Add a dangerous non-indigenous wolf to the mix and they’ll be shooting at anything that moves.”

The boy sitting on the couch was the one person in the room I should have made every effort to avoid, but I felt myself pulled towards the only one not in the middle of a what-are-we-going-to-do-about-Scout discussion.

“I’m an arctic wolf?”

Charlie nodded, his eyes focused on his brother.

Toby is the kind of guy who demands attention. He has rock-star looks and an attitude to match. Yet, in the presence of his Pack, he became something more. Even I could acknowledge that. He was a leader, although a very exasperated one at the moment. “What am I supposed to do? Force her to leave town? This isn’t some random lone wolf who wandered into our area. And we can’t ignore the fact that some members of this Pack may have had some role in this happening.”

Jase’s head whipped up. “You don’t really think —”

“That’s ridiculous,” Talley’s mother said. “Jase and Charlie had nothing to do with this. You can’t make Shifters. And she’s turning into a wolf, not a coyote.”

“You have to look at the facts, Vera,” Toby said, becoming the first person to ever use Mrs. Matthews’s first name in conversation. “One month she gets ripped in half by a Shifter, and the next full moon she’s sprouting fur and fangs. There has to be a connection.”

“It’s not some sort of infection you can get from a scratch or a little bit of blood, Tobian. You know as well as I do that being a Shifter is part of your DNA.”

Toby raked his hand through his hair. “Well, if anyone has any better theories, I’m willing to listen.”