Filed To Story: Secret with Betas Daughter: Skylar Story Series
He smiles back at us as we head downstairs. “As far as the time, no, no one is usually out that long. But you both are so young, that might be the reason. I mean, Mina just turned eighteen, and that’s when you’re supposed to start the training. And Midge you’re supposed to still be in school, just figuring out boys and make-up and other girly sh*t like that. You were probably a teenager when you were six.”
He laughs at his own joke and I just roll my eyes. He walks to the island and pulls out two of the stools. We both take a silent seat and watch as he pulls glasses out of the cabinet, along with an array of other things. It looks like he is going to set up a buffet, not just serve us a drink. “First thing you need to know is that drinks come in various forms…”
He begins with shots, then moves to on-the-rocks and then mixed drinks. We get a whole lesson on alcohol types, how things are measured and poured properly, what drinks are common in college and what to look for and avoid. I am completely fascinated by the whole thing. He only has whiskey on hand, but that does the trick and I can feel the effect of my brain being sluggishly slow and not matching up with what my body is trying to do. He didn’t give us more than a small sip of each type of pour, but since I have zero experience, my body and brain are doing whatever they want. “Now, you both need something to eat before you throw up all over the kitchen.”
He catches me as start to slide sideways, but can’t be bothered to right myself. “l don’t like this at all. I can’t move my body, I just feel floppy.”
I giggle and can feel my emotions bouncing all over the place. “Why would anyone choose this? It’s like torture.”
I feel grumpy again. Mina is next to me and she has been giggling the whole time. It started with my faces when we first started tasting the whisky. Then she just never really stopped. “For control freaks like you to loosen up a bit. You don’t have a choice now, you have to ride the drunk train to get it out of your system. Woohoo! We need some music!” She pops up faster than anyone should be allowed right now and disappears somewhere, then I hear her pop music blaring from a corner of the living room.
“Nope, this is stupid and never happening again.”
I drop my head onto my forearms on the island counter.
Just then, my favorite song comes on and I jump out of my seat. “YES!!!” My mood is shifting again, and I am vaguely aware that the whiplash will suck later. I run over to Mina and we both start dancing. I have never been much for dancing around, I just don’t really know how, but here with Mina and Nickolas, hidden in the house where no one else can see me, I can’t bring myself to care at all. I let the music tell my body what to do and could care less about anything around me.
I hear a low chuckle from somewhere behind me and I spin to see who it is. Who else is here watching us? In my haste I trip over my feet and almost faceplant into the coffee table. Big strong hands pick me up and help me straighten up.
“Well, I can see that we are all using ourtime wisely.”
I know this voice, why do I know this voice? It’s comforting like Cameron’s…. but it doesn’t make my tummy tingle the same way.
Why does my tummy tingle when Cam talks? I’ll have to remember to ask Sierra about that. Or when Dakota held my hand. There are those little pricks of electricity that me and my wolf like. And why do sleep the best when Oliver is super close?
Like my whole body is just safe so I can relax. Sam and my brother give the best hugs, but they don’t make the butterflies flap around. But, when the twins made me into a sandwich, that was the best sleep. That seems like a silly thing, but a sandwich is not a silly thing..
“Oh!” I gasp, focusing on the guys in front of me. “I’m hungry! Nickolas, you said need to eat. Can you help me make a sandwich? My arms are really heavy and I feel wobbly, but I want to eat.”
I groan.
More laughing. did you do to her?” “Nothing, I swear. The branding did not do them any favors. They were out longer than any of us thought. But.they are both over-tired and bored and decided that since they are going to embrace the college ife when the next semester starts, they need a lesson in alcohol tolerance. We clearly need to practice a bit more and she’s right, she needs to Someone is pushing me back to the island where the little glass I was using still sits. A plate magically appears in front of me. How did he do that? He must know witchcraft too. Witchcraft is so cool, I really should study with Gentry. I wonder where she is. I didn’t see when we came down. “Why do I feel fuzzy?” I say around the most delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich I have ever had in my l’fe. “The alcohol makes your brain work a little slow, and since you’ve never had any and decided to start on a whim, there really wasn’t any way to ease you in, so welcome to being drunk off a couple of whiskey shots.”
Nickolas laughs at me. “You started her on straight whiskey? What were you thinking?” The gruff familiar voice comes from behind me, but it doesn’t sound angry, is he laughing too? “Why do you keep laughing? And who else is here?’ I finish the last of my sandwich, and feel my body coming back to normal a little bit. I still feel slow, but the minute the food starts to settle in my stomach, the fuzzy, delayed feeling is going away quickly. “l don’t know how I feel about that. It was like being stuck in my head and having multiple toddlers trying to make decisions for me, but not agreeing on anything.”
“Woohoo! I love this song!” I turn to see Mina dancing away, well I think it’s supposed to be dancing. Her limbs are flailing almost to the beat of the music. “What’s wrong with her?” I turn to look at Nickolas and Alpha Reggie. When did he get here?
“Seriously! That’s it? No hangover, no stumbling around? Just hand you some food and you burn the liquor off just like that? I mean wolves tend to burn through alcohol quickly, but that’s nuts for what I gave you!” Nickolas looks incredulous. “What? What did I do?” I look between both of them. “l told you she was special. I was curious how this would work for you based on how you metabolize silver. How much did you give her anyway? Alpha Reggie turns from Nickolas to me. “A shot, on the rocks and they shared two drinks with different kinds of mixers. What do you mean ‘metabolizes silver’? No werewolf metabolizes silver, it hurts like a bitch and if we take on too much we die from it.”
Nickolas is still baffled and not trying to hide it.
The end of November sucks and the stupid snow doesn’t let up at all. And of course we ive near more humans than wolves so any time we want to go out we have to bundle up like our natural body heat is non-existent. And we can’t spend more than the necessary amount of time outside, otherwise it would look weird to the neighbors. The only light in this tunnel of frost is Nickolas has taken us out everyday since the three of us spent a lonely, drunken Thanksgiving together. I guess he had several guards surrounding the house that day so he could take a break and he indeed took full advantage of the situation.
We tried every flavor of vodka he could bring us and I have decided that whiskey is my sipping slow drink and vodka is the party drink. He did bring us a beer and I have to agree that ‘that sh *t sucks!’ The skunky bitter flavor was awful and made me feel full and bloated. If I can avoid it, I will never drink it again.
We have figured out that I metabolize all alcohols the same way. I do get drunk, but the minute I eat something the sensation is completely gone and when I don’t eat, because we are very thorough in our research and have tested every theory we can think of in our state of boredom, it takes me about an hour to completely burn it off. I have taken to keeping a protein bar or something else small on me at all times, just in case.
We have also gotten back to some semblance of training. I have shifted more in the last couple weeks than have in the last year. My wolf loves it and I love feeling stronger as she grows in strength and size.
I am still shifting and changing physically too. In the seven months I have been here, I have leaned out even more, but I’m not necessarily getting smaller.
I have packed on about fifteen pounds of muscle on my tiny frame and most of my muscles are defined even in a relaxed state. Oliver would be happy with my progress, he always said I was too small.
We are learning to use the benefits our brands give us. Shifting with our clothes intact is a huge plus. Even though it is part of the magic, we have to concentrate on mentally making the clothes a part of our body, it’s basically invoking the spell to work. The first couple of tries were hilarious. One time, Mina ended up with the right half of her clothes hanging from her body, while the left side was in shreds. She was super proud of herself for getting in half right until she noticed Nickolas’ cheeks turn bright red and he spun away from us so fast I thought he might fall over.
Her bra and underwear were also in the mix of being half there and half not, so her left boob was hanging out for all the world to see. She had to stay in wolf form until Nickolas could get her a change of clothes so she wasn’t seen or would freeze her girl bits off.
We may run warmer than the average human, but we are still susceptible to the elements, and she does not need to freeze her t*ts off! After Mina’s debacle, we both carried a couple extra sets of clothes whenever we trained. My efforts were less entertaining, but I still lost more clothes than she did. I seemed to get stuck in the top half or the bottom half of my clothes. I did end up in my underwear and bra once, which led Mina down a whole rabbit hole of me getting new lingerie, because I was not supposed to dress like a grandma’ when I am a badass warrior, and as soon as we are able she is taking me shopping with Sierra and the only thing I am allowed to buy is under garments that my mate would appreciate.
I had to remind her…again… that would be three years before I could find my mate, so it shouldn’t matter now. Her only response was that I might find a boy here to fool around with and practice on until then. My heart stopped for a second, until she started laughing at me. I’m sure my face was one of total repulsion.
“Why are you so hung up on saving yourself for your mate? You know none of the guys save themselves for us right? All the guys we know personally are out frolicking in the sheets with whichever set of legs will spread for them. And you aren’t even interested in finding your mate right now anyway, hence your presence here.”
She points dramatically at the muddy area surrounding us.
“l don’t know what it is, Mina. Any time we even talk and joke about me being with just anyone I physically feel sick. I understand what you are but I just don’t think I could really go through with being like that with anyone but my mate” I rub my face with my towel, we are both sparring in a patch of woods behind the new house we found closer to campus. “Is that stupid?’ I look back up at her, really wanting an answer.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.