Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
Sam grimaced. “That’s harsh. I thought only pack nobility was that stuffy.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I focused on setting the last of the tools back into its place.”Holy shit,” Sam said, her eyes widening as she looked at me. “Are you-?””Yeah,” I murmured. “I mean, I was. Not anymore.”
Sam frowned. She seemed like she wanted to ask the obvious question: How could you go from being nobility to no one overnight? Instead, she asked, “What pack?”
That question was a little easier to answer. And harder to dodge. “Redstone.”
I was expecting her to be surprised, maybe a little confused, since it was the biggest pack in the region by far, but I wasn’t expecting the complete double-take. “Seriously?””Yeah…?””Holy shit,” she blurted again, looking at me like I had just materialized out of thin air. “So Paul Carter is your…?””Father,” I mumbled. “Was, anyway.”
She frowned. “Yeah, how exactly does that work?”
I sighed, realizing I was going to have to come clean eventually. Better to just get it out of the way. Besides, given her reaction, I wasn’t sure it was a bad idea to distance myself from him.”Still not totally sure myself,” I admitted. “Or at least I haven’t come to terms with it, but the short version is he’s not my real father.””And the long version?”
I shrugged. “Mom was the only one who knew that, and since she’s gone, I doubt I’ll be figuring it out anytime soon.””I’m sorry,” Sam murmured. “So how did you find out, anyway?””Just about the worst way possible,” I admitted. “It was my mating ceremony. The second half, anyway. I was supposed to shift for the hunt.””Yeah, the new alphas hunt their mate, I know about that,” she said quickly. “It’s one of those things they used as an example when we were kids to make us glad we didn’t live in a draconian pack structure.”
I blew a puff of air through my nose. “That’s fair enough. Anyway, I couldn’t shift, which led to a whole bunch of invasive exams and that in turn led to them figuring out the truth about my parentage.””Yikes,” Sam said with a sympathetic grimace.”That about sums up my thoughts on the matter,” I agreed.”So he threw you out just like that?” she asked in disbelief. When I didn’t answer, my silence must’ve spoken enough, because she shook her head. “Man, I thought our old man was harsh. I knew Tarik was supposed to be a complete psycho, but that’s brutal. No offense.””None taken,” I sighed. I hesitated, her words sparking a question that had been on my mind ever since Liam had taken me aside. Maybe there was more truth to what he was saying than I had wanted to hear at the moment. It was one thing for Dad to be a shitty father, but if he had such a strong reputation even among coyote shifters, that was new. “He’s that infamous?”
She gave a disbelieving laugh like she wasn’t sure if I was kidding or not. “Yeah, you could say that. Guess that answers one question.””What’s that?””I mean, Redstone is so cloistered, it’s hard to know how much people on the inside actually know. How strong the propaganda is.””I guess that’s one word for it…”
She seemed like she wanted to say something else when another thought occurred to her. “So you were almost mated. I take it that fell through?””Yeah,” I said with a dry laugh. “It did.””Man. I don’t know who’s more of an ass in that scenario, your dad or your mate.””Well, there were three, so there’s plenty of assholery to go around.”
She blanched. “Three?””Yeah. It’s kind of a long story.” Even though I wasn’t exactly concerned about spilling the guys’ secret–considering they should’ve thought about that before they threw me aside like stale bread–if the triad was common knowledge outside of the pack, it didn’t seem like something it was wise to share lightly. Not that I really owed them anything, but still. As nice as Sam was, and as grateful as I was that she had given me a chance, I didn’t really know her and I wasn’t ready to lay all my cards on the table just quite yet.”I’ll bet it is,” she snorted, growing serious a second later. “So, you’re half-marked. What does that mean?”
I shrugged. It was a question that I had admittedly been trying not to think about, but I wasn’t having much luck. “I’m not sure. I’m kind of just taking things one day at a time, you know?””Yeah, I get that,” Sam said quietly. She paused a moment. “Do you have a place to stay?”
I wasn’t sure what to make of the concern in her voice. Especially since it sounded genuine. “Yeah. The Plaza a few blocks from here.”
Her nose wrinkled. “That place should have been condemned before it was built.””Yeah, I’ve noticed. But beggars can’t be choosers, right?”
She pursed her lips and I could tell she was thinking about something else. It was a new thing to be embarrassed about where I lived, but I was far more embarrassed by the fact that I wasn’t even paying for it. Not yet, anyway.”You know, there’s an apartment above this place,” she began. “It’s not big, but it’s clean aside from some dust and old boxes our dad kept up there. And the rent is cheap.”
I blinked. “You’re renting it out?””Been meaning to,” she said with a shrug. “There just never seems to be enough time to get it into good enough shape to put up an ad, but if you don’t mind a little clutter…””No,” I said quickly. “I mean…are you sure?”
She shrugged. “I live across town, and I don’t like this place being empty all night. If you haven’t noticed, it’s not exactly a ritzy neighborhood,” she said with a grin. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing to have someone staying there. Consider it a perk of the job.”
I was at a loss, mostly because I had been conditioned to expect nothing but cutthroat rivalry and cruelty in the world outside. Now I wasn’t so sure if those tall gates were meant to keep the outside out, or the inside in.
Accepting charity wasn’t something I was used to, and it wasn’t something I was sure I could stomach. Even more so than the peeling wallpaper and the stench of mold and the loneliness back at my place. I told myself it wasn’t really charity, though, if I was paying rent. And maybe I could fix the place up and leave it better than I found it. That had to count for something, right?”Okay,” I finally said. “Yeah, that would be amazing. Thank you.””Don’t mention it,” she said, glancing down at my clothes. “Come on. There’s some shit I should show you before we open, and I’ve got a uniform I think will fit you perfectly.””A uniform?” I echoed, following her to a closet behind the pantry.
She pulled out a purposely ripped skintight black T-shirt with a howling coyote sitting in front of a full moon printed on the left breast pocket. “What do you think?” she asked, shimmying it a little.”It’s…””Cheesy?” she offered, tossing the shirt at me. “I know. My brother picked them out, but trust me, cheesy gets tips. That rack won’t hurt, either,” she said, giving my chest a pointed glance. “Go ahead, try it on.”