Outcast (Supernaturals Book 2) by Jennifer Reynolds Read Free Book Online Page A

pack’s rules. The scent of her anger and determination cloying the air was welcoming because it masked mine. I was doubly glad for the suit I wore as it covered the fur that was sprouting from my arms and back. I felt my teeth shifting, and it took everything I had in me not to curl my lips and snarl at the pack members surrounding the tables Mr. Alexander had reserved. My wolf was scratching at the surface of my skin, begging for me to release him. I could feel Danielle’s body vibrating in front of me, wanting to do the same.
    The instant Danielle started to turn in the direction of her sister, a large man stepped up behind us, placed an arm around each of our shoulders, and led us toward our waiting pack. Instead of cowering, my wolf snapped at the man. I forced myself to keep my mouth shut and to keep my eyes straight ahead to prevent the man from seeing my defiance.
    The older wolf said Danielle’s name jovially and spoke as if nothing were wrong, but his grip on us told me he was angry. Martin Burch, one of our more stubborn and vocal Council members had also seen Danielle’s decision and quickly stepped in to stop her. Burch looked fifty-five, but was hundreds of years older than that and had the strength to prove it.
    Danielle’s face instantly shifted to docile and compliant, and she let him guide us to our corner, but her fake smile fooled no one. Despite our bravado, the Council still intimidated us. I could feel their hold on me weakening though. Danielle’s body language suggested the same for her.
    We took our seats, and I did as Danielle had asked. I sat at the end of the table far from the Council and the bride and groom’s family. From my location, I could see Leigh’s every move, every breath, every blink. She wore a stunning midnight blue, ankle length wrap dress with matching heels. She had her phone out on the table. She pretended to read something on it as she waited for and ate her meal. She never once looked our way.
    I did hear Danielle’s phone vibrate a few times from under the table and knew that Leigh was surreptitiously texting her. I couldn’t help but grin at the sisters’ defiance.
    Martin looked my way a few times, his expression hardening with irritation every time he caught me watching Leigh. I didn’t hide the fact that I was watching her from anyone, though I think he was the only one paying enough attention to me to notice. He glowered at me in the hopes of intimidating me, but all his look did was fuel my anger and my determination. Our pack wasn’t small by any means, but I knew that we couldn’t lose too many members or others would see the town as weak and try to invade us. I didn’t want to leave the pack. Pine Hollow was my home. Unfortunately, I was finding more and more reasons not to stay.
    Every so often, I wondered if it would be better if someone else seized control of the pack. We didn’t have an alpha family like so many others. We had a ruling Council made up of family members from the six families that created our pack. The longer they ruled, the harder their grip on the community got, the more power they seemed to want. Martin was the worst. His family had been the first to come to Pine Hollow, and he walked our streets with an air of superiority.
    I didn’t know what the behind-the-scenes story of some of the other packs was, but I had to wonder if we would be better off with a single alpha couple, not a ruling Council. I didn’t think I wanted an outside pack taking over because the only packs wanting to do so were those who preferred war to peace, being nomads who rarely settled down, and mostly gave in to their animal sides rather than their human ones.
    No one inside our pack would be willing to overthrow the Council, not even Dave who I thought was born for the role, so I couldn’t hope for that to happen, which meant that if I wanted a change, I was going to have to leave the pack. The Council couldn’t stop me from leaving if I found a pack to