Meeting the alpha.
PENELOPE.
The guys are acting weird—tense. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Liam’s dad is coming. He’s the alpha, which I think means he’s like the president of the wolf shifters. I don’t exactly understand the leadership system just yet. All I know is that he’s alpha and that someday, Liam will be alpha too.
Liam acts like an alpha. The guys always do what he says, and he expects me to do the same.
Ha.
Me? Listen to his commands? That’s not going to happen.
One thing I know for sure is that I’m not a wolf shifter. So, technically, he’s not my boss, even if he is my mate.
I’m a little confused by the term mate. I thought it meant soulmate. But if I’m both Aiden and Liam’s mate then I must have heard something wrong. Or maybe wolves have more than one mate. That would be weird, especially when I introduce them to my parents.
How could I explain to my human parents that I have four werewolf boyfriends?
Wolf shifters, I correct myself. They’re not werewolves.
I look up and see Cole smirking at me.
I shut my eyes, completely mortified. How could I forget that the guys can hear my thoughts? And why do I have to think embarrassing thoughts about dating them all?
Somebody better teach me how they block their thoughts from me, because it’s not fair that they hear everything I think and I only hear the things they want me to hear.
Liam walks into the student lounge where we’ve all been waiting. Nobody else is in here because school is going on at the moment. I’m thankful for that because I’m not sure I’m ready to meet a bunch of supernatural creatures. Not yet anyway.
“It’s time,” Liam announces.
It’s time?
Time for what?
All the guys look at me, almost sadly.
Why do I feel like I’m about to be some kind of virgin sacrifice?
Cole smirks at me, Liam’s eyes widen, Aiden looks down, his face turning red, and Parker just laughs.
“Nobody is sacrificing you.” Cole shakes his head in amusement.
“You guys have to stop doing that,” I huff. “My thoughts are private.”
And now they all know that I’m a virgin, which is not exactly something you announce to people you barely know, even if I feel like I’ve known the guys forever.
How did I even exist before them?
“I’ll teach you how to block them later,” Aiden says softly.
The guys glare at Aiden.
“It’s only fair,” I reply. “Unless you guys want to keep your thoughts open to me all the time.”
“We will discuss this later.” Liam’s voice is higher than it normally is, and he keeps fidgeting with his hands. Whatever is about to happen, he’s nervous about it. And Liam is never nervous.
My heart races.
This isn’t good.
I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.
It’ll be fine. If I can survive being smack in the middle of six other siblings, I can handle anything.
I walk between Liam and Parker this time, with Cole in the front and Aiden in the back. I grab Liam’s hand just because he seems like he could use the support. I also grab onto Parker’s hand without even thinking. Whenever I do, the entire world spins and I nearly fall over.
I haven’t touched him before.
I forgot.
Crap.
Now I’ve touched them all. And even though I’m pretty sure he could already read my mind, I’m certain touching them changes everything.
Mine, Parker’s thoughts scream.
Or is it him?
Am I hearing his wolf?
Either way, Parker agrees with his wolf.
“Are you okay?” Liam asks.
It’s then that I realize we’ve stopped walking and Liam is practically holding me up. If he hadn’t, I’m pretty sure I would have fallen.
“Sorry,” I gasp out. “That was…”
“Intense?” Liam suggests.
I nod.
“Is that going to happen every time I touch a wolf shifter?”
“You won’t be touching anybody else,” he answers in a firm tone, grinding his teeth.
I raise an eyebrow.
What did I say to anger him?
“What he means is, no it won’t happen when you touch other shifters,” Aiden says.
“That we know of,” Cole adds.
Everybody looks at each other, and I can literally feel the tension in the room.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I grumble. “And when are you guys going to answer all of my questions. I’m really confused by a lot of things right now.”
“Soon.” Parker squeezes my shoulder.
We start walking again, and this time Liam and Parker both grab my hand without me doing it first. I feel a… calmness. Like something really big just happened and it has completed me in some way. It’s strange and I don’t understand what’s going on.
My whole life, I’ve felt like I’ve been missing something, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. I feel deep in my soul that I’ve found that something. But what is it? This school? These guys? Hopefully they will have the answer to these questions if I am patient for a little while longer.
After a short walk, I’m led into a conference room that I haven’t seen yet. This school is massive, so I’m not surprised that there are places I haven’t been shown. I’m sure it’ll take me forever to figure out the layout of this place. I imagine I’ll get lost a lot.
I’ve never been the new kid before. I’ve lived in the same house in the same neighborhood my whole life. I’ve gone to the same school with all the same kids. And even then, I had my sister and my older brother with me most of the time. Here, it’s different. Yeah, I have the guys, but who says they won’t ditch me? My family had to stay with me because they’re family. The guys don’t have that obligation.
I push those thoughts aside for now because I have plenty of time to worry about that later. Right now, I have more important things to worry about—like why I’m in this conference room.
The room has a long, wooden table surrounded by a lot of chairs—probably about twenty. The chairs look like they belong at a throne, which I guess makes sense; I’m in a castle, after all.
“Stand here.” Liam points behind a chair. He is standing by the chair closest to the head of the table, then me, followed by Cole, Aiden, and Parker.
I wonder why we’re not sitting down, but that question is answered a few seconds later when the door opens.
An older guy that looks a lot like Liam walks in.
He’s tall—about the same height as Liam, which means he’s a good foot and a half taller than me. He’s got the same light brown eyes as Liam, but his hair is darker. His hair is thick and there isn’t a speck of gray in it. To be honest, the guy looks like he’s in his late twenties and not old enough to have a teenage son.
I really hope he can’t hear my thoughts because that would be awkward.
When the guy looks at me, he smiles.
“You must be Penelope.”
“Hi.” I give him a little hand wave.
He reaches out his hand to shake mine and I hesitate.
I’ve been afraid to touch people my whole life. It feels wrong to refuse his handshake though. I’m not sure what to do.
“It’s okay,” Liam says, his voice soft.
Okay.
I can shake his hand.
It’s fine.
I eventually reach out my hand and shake his. I wait for the rush of emotions. I wait for the memories. But I get none of that. The only thing I get is what he is currently thinking, and that is that his son has a beautiful mate.
“I am Alpha Mutatio. It is nice to meet you.”
“Penelope has a unique gift.” Liam addresses his dad once our handshake is over.
I breathe better once we’re not touching anymore. And I’m thrilled to know that once our connection is lost I can no longer read his mind.
Phew.
I was worried the connection would be permanent, like it is with the guys.
“I’d love to hear all about it.” Alpha Mutatio motions to the chairs around the table. “Let’s sit down.”
I take note as Alpha Mutatio sits down first. But the guys all look at me. I take a seat, then they do. I wonder what that’s about, but I’m sure I’ll find out. I’ll just add it to my list of questions.
“Your smell is fascinating,” Alpha Mutatio says.
My… smell?
My face grows warm.
On the list of the weirdest things ever said to me, that would be number one.
“There is a hint of wolf.” He studies me for a moment. “But there is something else—something I’ve never smelled before. What are her parents?”
“Human,” Liam answers.
“Impossible,” Alpha Mutatio protests. “But we will worry about that later.”
I’ve considered this a lot through my life—the thought that I was adopted. But my parents have always eased my fears and I know they wouldn’t lie to me. They would tell me the truth.
But what if I am adopted?
“We will discuss this later.” Liam turned away from me, but I can hear how tense he is by the tone of his voice.
Alpha Mutatio looks a little surprised, but he nods. “Certainly.” He turns his attention to me. “Tell me about yourself.”
I’m not sure what to say, so I take a moment to try and think of something. There isn’t really anything interesting about me.
“I’m Penelope Rose Monroe. I’m seventeen years old. I have six other siblings, including a twin sister. I’m from Jacksonville, Florida.” I shrug. “That’s kind of it. I’m a senior now.”
“Twin,” Alpha Mutatio states, then looks at Liam.
“No. Her twin is human. All her siblings are,” Liam replies.
Everybody goes completely silent, so I look up and notice Liam and Alpha Mutatio are giving each other strange looks.
Wait.
Are they talking to each other through their thoughts?
Almost as if nothing happened, Alpha Mutatio focuses his gaze on me.
“You certainly are an interesting girl,” he muses.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to respond to that, so I don’t.
“We’ll be having an introduction this weekend,” he says, turning his attention back to Liam.
“No. It’s too much.” Liam’s mouth is set in a grim line. “I don’t want to overwhelm her.”
“You are the future alpha. People will want to meet her.” Alpha Mutatio’s tone brooks no argument.
Liam sighs and looks at me.
“What’s an introduction?” I ask, hoping that I’m allowed to ask questions.
“Your introduction to our society,” Alpha Mutatio answers. “We’ll be introducing you to everyone as Liam’s mate.”
Okay.
So that really doesn’t answer my question but okay.
“Until then, I will be making an announcement to the school so that everyone knows to treat Penelope well.” Alpha Mutatio nods at Liam.
“What are you going to tell them about the rest of us?” Cole asks.
“The truth.” Alpha Mutatio’s reply is simple and easy.
The truth.
I wish somebody would tell me the truth.
This whole thing is making my head hurt.
“If that’s all, we would really like some time alone with Penelope.” Liam stares pointedly at his father.
“Sure,” Alpha Mutatio says. “I’ll just have Dean Westwood send out the announcement.”
“Thank you.” Liam nods at his father.
Alpha Mutatio looks at me and grins. His smile reminds me a lot of Liam. “It was a pleasure to meet you. I have a good feeling about you.”
“It was nice to meet you too.”