Tasting Summer

I arrived in Whispering Hollow a day early. I was back. Permanently this time. I hadn’t prepared myself for my Dad’s wife’s reaction and her daughters. Dad claimed they were nice, but I didn’t know what to make of them. Dad remarried a few months ago and I hadn’t met his new family.

Dad said it wouldn’t be a problem but I doubted that. I was a dent in their perfect lives. Dad was a general in the Alpha’s army. His personality was large and he drilled his soldier’s like a machine. Or so I heard.

His black truck stopped at the bus stage.

“Hey, sweetie!” He boomed.

“Dad…” I blinked a few times.

“Get in here. The family can’t wait to have you home.”

“Terrific.”

I expected silence to fall over the cab but Dad insisted on addressing the elephant in the room. Me.

“It’s going to be hard here,” he started.

“I figured,” I said digging my nails into the car seat.

“For one no one can know what happened.”

“Won’t lying make things worse?”

“Trust me Summer. I might have to limit your movement for a while. Avoid unnecessary contact with betas.”

“They come to your house all the time, Dad!”

He ground his teeth together. “I’ll handle them.”

“Do your step-children know?”

“No.”

“And Marcella?”

“No. The story is you were born human.”

“What happens when they find out?”

“It won’t. There’s no need for anyone to find out. You’re not getting your wolf back anyway.”

The game had changed. That was two months ago. I got up from bed in the basement. I had my private bedroom down in the occasional rat hang-out with leaky pipes. Marcella thought I would like to have my own space. I decided to go job hunting against my Father’s better judgement I was still in partial hiding.

Dad was at the army base as usual and his family was in the kitchen. No one in this house cooked. Except me, but I didn’t have time to play maid. All the good jobs in this town were snatched up quickly.

“Where are you going?” Jade frowned up from her glass of orange juice.

“Got to get a job,” I said, filling a glass of water.

“Didn’t Roman say you can’t go out?”

“I’m tired of making him buy me pads, okay?” I offered the youngest of Marcella’s daughters a smile.

Jade rolled her eyes.

“Jade, leave Summer alone.” Rachel, the oldest strolled into the kitchen. She smiled at me I battled to smile back.

Unlike Rachel and I, Jade was still in high school. Rachel tried to be nice to me… Jade didn’t bother to hide her disdain.

“I think having a job’s a wonderful thing and it doesn’t matter if you’ll be stripping either. You have the legs for it.” She poured herself coffee.

Jade snickered.

Yeah like that would go down well with the Father I have.

“It’s a gas station store. I’m leaving.”

“Oh don’t worry we won’t mention it to Roman either,” Rachel waved.

I marched out without another word. I was over eighteen Dad could puff but he couldn’t keep me locked up. I hoped. I took a twenty-minute drive to the gas station. I carried the help-wanted flyer into the store.

“Hello?” I called and then I walked around the store.

It was a small square room with all sorts of items. There were massive fridges at the back with beverages. The front door chimed and an overwhelming sense of dread crashed me. Two men with matching star tattoos on their necks marched into the store. They could just be customers…

“Mart!” One of them slammed their palm on the counter several times.

Okay, maybe not. I ducked.

Glass shattered on the ground followed by gumballs flying everywhere.

“Come out you worm.”

These guys were shifters they were bound to notice another scent in the store.

“Go check the back.”

I clutched my aching chest. How do I get out of here?

“I know you’re here rat. Come out or die like one.”

I shut my eyes. Crap. The sound of his boots on the tilted floor got louder. I had no choice. I jumped out. The man’s eyes lit up with surprise then something that made my skin crawl. Lust.

“This is a pleasant surprise.”

“Keep dreaming.” My sneaker slammed into his gut before my fist connected with his jaw.

He rubbed his jaw but barely moved. He cussed and swung his arm. I ducked at the same time his partner emerged and stared at us in shock. I took the moment of distraction to throw myself onto the giant shifter. He stumbled and smacked into the stand. I jumped off him before I fell like a tree.

The shelves fell like dominos.

“You little b*tch!”

“I’m so not getting this job,” I whispered.

The shifter charged. He aimed for my side and clawed my shirt. I jammed my elbow into his back. He whirled and connected the back of his hand with my face. I landed on the counter.

“F*ck.”

“B*tch.”

“No,” I gasped when he grabbed my leg.

He dragged me off the counter. I smacked against the ground. I smelt blood.

“You’re a feisty little thing. I need a new toy. I might take you with me.”

“Go to hell.”

I kicked his wrist. He let go enough for me to get free I got to my feet and ran to the door. It opened before I could reach it and another man draped in tattoos and leather marched in. His green eyes bore into me. I swallowed. Three against one wasn’t a fair fight.

“Sh*t,” my attacker spat.

He kicked his friend. Seconds later they ran out the back. My only exit was barred by a man twice my size. I back up slowly at the same time a sharp pain shot through my abdomen.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“I…uhh.”

My back crashed into the counter. He wrapped his hand around my throat.

“Stop, ouch.”’

The man before me split into two. His rugged features blurred as the pain in my body intensified. I brought my hand to the throbbing pain.

“Sh*t.”  My hand came back bloody.

“Hey, hey don’t –”  The man’s voice was the last thing I saw before I passed out.

My chest heaved my body ached as if I’d been beaten with rocks. Something wasn’t right. I shot up from the soft bed and adjusted to the dark room. It was too dark to be my basement room. The upper window on the right that let the moonlight in was missing. I swung my legs off the bed and stood. I willed myself to scan my surroundings but… it didn’t work.

Sometimes I forgot what I was now.

Barefoot I slowly found my way to the wall. I patted the space looking for a switch but instead, I found a door. I rattled the handle but it wouldn’t open.

“Dad’s going to kill me.”

Why was the room so dark? I walked cautiously back to the bed. I patted my jeans and my phone wasn’t there. I grabbed my sticky shirt. I froze. Half of my shirt was gone.

“Crap.”

I gasped when the door jiggled. I crawled backwards and hit the bed. Light burst into the dark room. I hugged myself to cover my naked belly. The man in the centre of the doorframe took a step forward. I swall