Free Reluctantly Lycan by Jez Strider Page B

own room. His father had said he could change anything around he wanted. The room hadn’t been used in years.
    Mara finally found the plates and placed three on the counter. Everyone, including her, was starving. She tried to distract herself from how stupid she was behaving by preparing the sandwiches. It didn’t work. Her head bowed down and she placed the knife flat on the counter, her hand resting on top of it.
    I hate him . Tears threatened to spill again. The thought wasn’t a lie… exactly. She wanted to pound her fists against his chest and scream enough curse words to make a demon blush. So many years spent with anger. Shedding it was nearly impossible. And being home caused the original, sickening ache of betrayal to twist her insides. Like a knife driven into her gut, an open wound in her heart.
    I love him . She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the knife and held it in her hand. Loving him made her rage more than hating him. Her hand lifted and she stabbed downward, driving the blade into the cutting board. When she let go, the knife stood straight up on its own. She splayed her fingers and examined her palm. It was red from how tightly she’d been holding onto the handle.
    “Mom, is that sandwich done yet?” Jak called out.
    Mara frowned, taking hold of the knife again and tugging. It didn’t budge from the huge chunk of chopping block. “Not yet.” She yelled, trying to get back into motherly mode instead of that of an unstable psycho.
    “This room is awesome.” He yelled, not coming into the kitchen.
    After several more tugs, she finally dislodged the blade. “Great!” She drew in a tense breath and sighed.
    “I found a bunch of neat stuff. Arrowheads, old books, and even some records. Didn’t see a record player, though.” He told her when he entered the kitchen.
    “Why do you want to listen to a record when you have tons of music downloaded?” So long as she kept the conversation going, hopefully she could stop herself from freaking out again.

“Come on, Mom. It’ s not the same. That crackle, the warm buzz, the sound not digitalized to perfection!” He sat down on a bar stool, treating the albums like revered treasure.
    “If you say so.”
    “Sweet!” Jak held up a copy of Abbey Road by The Beatles, showing Mara.
    She finished making his sandwich and slid it across the bar. “That is a good one.” The plate barely bumped into the stack of records.
    “Geez, watch the vinyl.” He snatched the sandwich and the records. “Thanks,” came out muffled since the bread blocked his mouth.
    She laughed a little. The crazy kid could brighten her darkest moods. Good thing, too, because she had a lot of them.
     
    Kaden , running on fumes and unfamiliar emotion, left the house to meet with the high pack. He hoped one of them had made progress because all he’d gotten was an ill omen from an annoyingly ambiguous, but always right, wandering man. The sun hurt his tired eyes and he groaned in frustration. He pushed the meeting hall door open. The wolves were in their usual seats, looking almost as tired as he felt.
    “Tell me we have something.” He said.
    Nashoba spoke up first. “I interrogated a few of the villagers until they broke down into tears, but none of them seemed to know anything.” His callous tone made Kaden bristle and bare teeth, even as a human. The fact of the matter was Nash could do the unsavory tasks the others weren’t cut out for and do it without flinching.
    “What about you guys?” He turned to Blake and Luke, intentionally leaving Levi for last.
    Blake rose to his feet out of respect, Luke remained seated. “Sir, Old Finn said he saw a figure walking through the forest the night Mason disappeared. His sight isn’t what it used to be, but he said the figure appeared to be carrying something big and heavy.”
    Nashoba cursed, Levi covered his mouth with his hand, and Kaden lowered his lids until his eyes were tiny slits. “Did he recognize anyone?”