Free Alpha in a Fur Coat by Sloane Meyers Page A

addition.
    “Uh, yeah, no problem,” he said. Then he quickly recovered his composure. “Storm, we have to go.”
    “Yeah, what the hell is going on? I just woke up to Silver calling me, and when I went to call her back I realized I have seventeen missed calls from all of you.”
    “I decoded the documents from the Mayor’s office. It’s literally a step-by-step schedule of how to stir up chaos and hatred of shifters within the city. Part of the plan is to put the entire city under lockdown after an emergency press conference tomorrow at noon. If we want to get out of the city without having to deal with no-fly zones and carefully watching police hovers, we have to go now.”
    “They’re announcing the scanners tomorrow?” Storm asked, her eyes widening.
    “Well, tomorrow they’re announcing that shifters exist. Then a day or two later they’re announcing the shifter-detecting scanners. But the main point is that if we want to leave quietly and under the cover of darkness, now is the time to do it. Juno is on her way over here to ride with us. And Bash is heading to Jack and Silver’s to pick them up.”
    “I…I’m not even packed yet,” Storm said. She looked around the room, as though trying to decide if there was anything in here that she needed to take with her.
    “Then pack now. As quickly as you can. Just clothes and other basics. And anything that’s sentimentally priceless to you. Odds are these condos won’t be here when or if we make it back. And no electronics of any kind. The phone and tablet and all that stay here. In fact, it’s better if you destroy them, just so none of the information on them ends up in the wrong hands.”
    Storm blinked at Grant, trying to take in everything he had just told her. “You’re serious? We’re leaving tonight?”
    “Yes, tonight. In about fifteen minutes, if you can manage to pack that quickly.”
    “The mayor’s office is going to be suspicious when I don’t show up to work tomorrow.”
    “Screw them. Storm, come on. Get moving. This isn’t a drill. We have to leave, now.”
    Storm jumped a bit at the sharp tone in Grant’s voice, but his words did the trick. This was really happening. She was really about to leave everything behind and head off into the wilderness with no idea what the future was going to bring.
    “Okay. I just need a few minutes,” she said. She ran back to her bedroom and got rid of the huge coat she was wearing, then changed into a normal outfit of jeans and a t-shirt—complete with a bra, thank you very much. She hated the way she sort of liked it that Grant had been staring at her nipples. But she couldn’t think about him right now. She had to get a bag packed. Storm went to her bedroom closet and grabbed a small duffel bag. She started throwing clothes and toiletries into the bag, trying to stick to the bare minimum. After she had put a few outfits into the bag, she glanced around her closet and saw a small box on the shelf above her. The box, which was decorated with pink glitter, was something she’d had since she was a little girl. She used it to hold onto the few possessions she owned that had sentimental value to her.
    Storm reached for that box and opened it, her breath catching in her throat as she saw a worn-out stuffed wolf. Her dad had given her that wolf for her fourth birthday, and she had carried it around constantly as a little girl. Storm quickly threw it into her duffel bag, not caring if anyone thought it was stupid to bring a stuffed animal with her when the world was ending. That wolf was a little piece of her father. It connected her to him. Right underneath the wolf there had been a family photo. Actual printed photos were so rare and expensive these days, and this photo had always been one of Storm’s favorites. She threw the photo into her duffel bag alongside her stuffed wolf and mess of clothes.
    When she walked back out to the living room, Grant was pacing back and forth like a caged animal.