Page 37 of Clawless

Which we’d managed to do by the time I was all caught up on the Sons of Anarchy’s wicked ways, and Marnie had moved on to some very strange housewives. Their bickering faded as my eyelids grew heavy, and when I looked up next, the screen was showing an old black and white movie and Reed was sitting in the chair beside me. I rubbed my face and groaned. “What time is it? Where’s Marnie?”

“It’s late. She headed back to her dorm a couple hours ago.” He pulled the blanket up to my chin and I realized we were sharing. I was glad it was dark, because I was pretty sure I was blushing at the way I’d curled towards his body heat. But he just settled back in his chair and murmured, “She said you’re feeling homesick.”

I blew out a long breath. “Maybe. My last visit home wasn’t exactly a happy one, though.” I gave him a quick run-down of arriving back in the Horn to find Driftwood ensconced in the northern cabin. “I tried to send him a letter, but Jasper intercepted it.” I knew I sounded as bitter as I felt and rubbed my hands across my face. “I’m surprised Marnie told you. I mean, things are pretty weird between you two.” When he just stared at the screen, I decided it wasn’t something I could let lie. If I was spending more time in Reed’s company, I needed to know what he’d done to my friend. “Did something happen? Like what you and Potter did to me in the utility closet?”

“No! No, of course not!” He caught the look on my face and rammed his footrest down, his shoulders hunching forward until his elbows rested on his knees. “That was bullshit, Vail. I never told you I was sorry about that, but I am.”

“It was bullshit,” I agreed. “And especially because you thought it was okay because I was a dud.”

“That’s not why…” He broke off and scrubbed his hand across his buzzcut. “The thing with you and Jay just threw me. And Callum was in my ear-.”

“Callum is an asshole,” I interjected. “And you’re a big enough boy to make up your own mind about how to treat someone.” When he just stared at his hands, I looked at the screen, and realized he was watching the original version of The Wolf Man. Instead of making me smile, it made me sad. “I know shifter life is different. It’s more…” I waved at the screen. “Base instincts. You have all these ideas about how wolves are supposed to treat each other, only it’s more brutal than anything I’ve seen in the wild. Shouldn’t a pack look out for those who can’t stick up for themselves? Because we have more to offer than fangs and claws, right?”

He nodded and took my hand. “I fucked up. I was confused, and didn’t get why Jay was acting so crazy. But I get it now, Vail. I see you. And I get it.”

I pulled my hand back. “You see a Marrow princess. I know that’s why you’re looking out for me, Reed. Maybe I don’t understand how pack politics works, but I know the power of a name.”

“You’re right. My dad wanted me to look out for you. But that wasn’t your Marrow blood. You’re a Marshall wolf, Vail. That’s not politics. That’s pack.”

“But so is Marnie!” I thumped my hand on the arm of the chair. “And you made her crawl out of Jasper’s room like a naughty dog! Why the hell did you do that, Reed?”

“Because she’s a dud!” When I jumped to my feet, he grabbed my arm. “Wait! It’s complicated. Has anyone told you about arranged matings?” When I gave a tight nod, he sighed. “Our families have always been close. Carter is one of my best friends and our moms do everything together. When Marnie was born, everyone just assumed she and I would get together in some way. But then she never shifted. At first it was okay – she’s a couple years younger – but it got awkward. Her mom took it really hard, always apologizing and making excuses. She was my friend, but it became so painful to be around her. And then she stopped talking to me. Couldn’t be in the same room… It got easier to think of her as a dud.”

My heart was breaking. Poor Marnie. I’d lived with their prejudice for a couple months but she’d had it her whole life. The pressure to prove herself, to live up to the pack expectations, must have been crushing. I was surprised she was as together as she was. And that she wasn’t screaming about her partial shift from the rooftops. But that was her news to share, so I didn’t rub his nose in it, as much as I wanted to. “You’re the alphason, Reed. You’re supposed to be this future leader. Couldn’t you have worked out a way to help her?”

A muscle jumped in his cheek. “I should have. But it’s not how things are done, Vail. Especially when you’re the next pack leader.”

He had the decency to avoid my eye, but when I sat back in the chair, I pulled the blanket firmly over to my side. “You should go to bed, Reed. I’m going to sleep here, unless that’s not how things are done on this floor.”

He winced at the bite in my voice. “Okay.” He stood slowly, and I thought I saw real remorse in his eyes. But I was also looking at one of the strongest shifters in the school. Someone who could have made things easier on one of the weakest, and he hadn’t even tried. I picked up the remote, and turned it to a random channel, hoping he got the message. He paused at the door, but I kept watching the shopping channel, even when he said, “If you want to write another letter to your foster family, I’ll make sure it gets delivered. Night, Vail.”

Twenty-Seven – Vail

I woke super early on Sunday, partially because of the strange sleeping position, but mostly because of the dreams. I hadn’t been able to escape my late-night conversation with Reed, and it had dragged me back to that day in the closet with Potter. He might say he saw me now, and knew I was more than just my pack status, but that memory was too raw to just forgive and forget. They’d thought it was fine to force me onto my knees for some random guy, just because I was worthless in their eyes. And the thought of Marnie suffering similar humiliations made me sick to my stomach. I had to see her. And whatever it took to put things right, I had to do it.

I was glad it was so early, since I was still in my pajamas, and not up for a run-in with Pearl or an angry pack mom. At least the Dud Dorm was only a couple floors down and I could sneak along the corridors undetected. Or so I thought, confident I was home free when I rounded the corner and ran straight into Principal Bregman. I stopped short, blushing to my roots to be caught sneaking around in my pajamas, but he looked relieved to see me.

“Ms. Marrow, I need to speak with you in my office.”

He was a gruff guy, more like a soldier than a teacher, but rumor was he’d been appointed by Jasper directly. It made sense, since the new Clan Alpha was so nuts about security, but it didn’t put me at ease. “I was just…” I gestured down the corridor. “I’m not dressed.”

“You’re fine. It’s the weekend. And I know you’ve had a little trouble over at Omega House.”

A little trouble? I tried to read his expression, but he put a hand behind me – not touching my back, but kind of drawing me along – and I didn’t see how I could refuse. “We’re very focused on keeping you safe, Ms. Marrow. The breach at your accommodation was unacceptable, but it was a good wake-up call. A reminder we have to be vigilant at all times.”

He sounded just about as nuts as Jasper, but I relaxed a little. I thought he might have been in the same camp as Mrs. Arras, but it seemed he was giving me the benefit of the doubt. “Is everything okay now? The pups are alright?”

“Yes, thanks to you.” We’d reached his office, and he waved me inside. It took me a moment to realize the two guards who’d tackled me outside my room were there. Neither of them looked happy to see me, but it was the one I’d bitten who managed a smile. It wasn’t a nice smile and my gaze swung around the room. It was a big office, and even with the four of us in there, they’d been able to fit a padded bench against the wall. There was a woman standing beside it who I’d never seen before, but her white coat kicked my alarm bells right up to DEFCON 1.

“What’s going on?” I twisted around to look at the principal, but he’d stepped back out of the room. It was just me, the guards, and the doctor standing against the wall. She was staring at the floor, but there was enough about her appearance to remind me of another technician. Someone with kind eyes, who’d stood back while I was drugged. Who never said a word when I lost the use of my limbs, and was tested to the point of torture.

I looked frantically around the room, sweat dripping into my eyes. The sore stomach I’d woken with was now in knots, and I thought I might puke. I could feel my heart racing as the doctor stepped forward. Her face morphed into Klein’s technician, and I turned and made a dash for the door. I didn’t get two feet before a blast of alpha power had me on my knees. Someone scooped me up from behind and dragged me back towards the doctor.

It was the guard. Not the one I’d bitten, but the one who’d wrestled the pup out of my arms. He pulled me hard back against his chest, the leather plate digging into my spine, as he hissed in my ear, “Ms. Marrow, this’ll go much easier if you calm down.”

“I can’t! Wait a second!” I squirmed enough to get an arm free, but the guard with the nasty smile quickly grabbed it and pulled me over to the padded bench. I glimpsed a tray of silver instruments out of the corner of my eye and something clicked in the back of my brain. Base instincts, like I’d accused Reed of. Only this was all fear. And the memory of another room, another doctor. Of pain so raw and deep, it made lightning dance in my veins. Some of Reed’s training must have kicked in, because I got a groin strike into the guy behind me and a kick into the grinning guard’s knee. But the next wave of alpha power sent me flying forward, and they shoved me face-first onto the bench. “Get Jasper!” I gasped. “He’ll stop you!”

“The Arras Alpha is the one who ordered this,” the doctor told me quietly. “It’s to keep you safe.”

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