Chapter Eighty-Eight

“Oh, that’s good. Are you close to Amy?” Morgan turned to face me, but Lytin was already shaking her head. “No. I asked to come to this pack without realizing that Oakenfang was the pack her mother moved to.” Lynn’s eyes wouldn’t meet mine, or my mother’s, for that matter. She was staring fully at Morgan.

“Really?” Morgan tilted his head. “Then why did you seem so close to her when you two walked in?”

Lynn smiled. “Beta, if you would have looked outside when we pulled up, I stood away from Alpha Amy and Beta Ronnie. I followed her inside since this was her home, and you were giving me a place to sleep while I explored the pack for my mate.” Lynn cut her eyes to me and there was thinly veiled hatred in them. “Alpha Amy has been as polite to me as I have been to her, but I wouldn’t say we are friends.” She looked back at Morgan. “I follow the protocol my Alpha commanded me to follow.” She dipped her head.

With just a few words, she shifted her actions onto my father, removing any suspicion that she was my friend or confidante in Morgan’s eyes, which might actually help us. I watched as Morgan relaxed a little before he turned back to me. “Amy?”

“Yes, Morgan?” I waited as his anger spiked. He hated that I called him Morgan. He told me a million times to call him Beta Morgan, but he let it drop when I demanded him calling me Alpha Amy.

He gritted his teeth and looked back at Lynn. “I think it will be a good thing for Lynn to be shown around the pack by Shannon. We have had a few new transfers while you were gone, and this way she can get the lay of the land while you settle in.”

I shot a look at Lynn, but she wasn’t looking at me. Morgan focused on me for a second, and she gave the tiniest of nods. “Sure. I’m tired anyway and I have to clean my room now that I have the time to remove Shannon’s scent from my clothing. I don’t want Brandon to get any more foolish ideas about me being his mate.”

Morgan’s jaw tightened. “Right.”

“Plus Shannon must be ecstatic,” I pointed out as I heard a low growl from the other room.

“What do you mean?” Morgan’s eyes cut over to the doorway where I assumed Shannon waited.

“Brandon is her boyfriend, and he tried to claim me, her stepsister, as his mate. But now that it has been cleared up, she can go back to being his one and only.” I smiled and went to the fridge.

“Shut your stupid mouth,” Shannon stormed in. But I just opened the fridge and searched for something to eat. In reality, I was hiding my smile. Shannon is predictable, as always. She hadn’t learned how to hide her true intentions yet. That came later. “You think you are so fucking big and strong, but you can’t even shift. How fucking pathetic are you? An alpha that can’t shift.”

I felt Nix come forward. “Who says?”

“What?”

I stood up and closed the door, still facing away from them. “Who says I can’t shift?”

Shannon laughed; even Morgan chuckled a bit. “You have only been gone a few months, Amy. You were a pathetic wolf back then, and you’re still one now.” I heard Morgan’s soft hum of agreement as I turned.

But everyone gasped as they looked at my shifted face and arms. I felt my nose and mouth had shifted partially, giving me a snout. My teeth were shifted to my fangs, and my eyes were the gold of Nix’s. I raised my hands; my claws and black fur covered them to my elbows. “What? You just called me a pathetic wolf? A child of a Beta who isn’t even ranked? You fucking dare to call me pathetic!” Nix’s voice was ragged, and I watched as the two of them trembled.

Nix released her aura and stepped forward as the two of them dropped to their knees. “Amy.” My mother’s gasp filled with hope, but she quickly schooled herself. “Release them.” I whirled on her and growled. “Nix, please.”

“They disrespected us.” Nix’s voice reverberated through the house. She pushed out more power directed at the two on the floor, and Shannon whimpered. I crouched by their heads. “Not so pathetic anymore, am I?”

“No,” Shannon’s voice was small.

“Am I, Beta Morgan?” I growled out.

“No,” his voice was filled with rage.

“No what?” I got lower and growled again by his head.

“No, Alpha Amy,” he bit out each word, and then I released them.

“Watch yourselves in the future.”