Page 47 of Raised By Wolves

Holo devours his food at wolf speed, but I just push my eggs from one side of the plate to the other. Now that Beast has pups, it’s more important than ever that she keeps the pack far away from civilization.

From us.

The realization makes me feel like crying.

“Eat,” the chief says again.

I glare at him and shove my plate away.

Holo takes a huge bite of toast. “Kai’s growling at you in her mind,” he tells the chief.

“I don’t care, as long as I can’t hear it,” the chief says. Then he frowns. Because now a sound a lot like a growl is coming from outside the house.

I follow the chief as he goes to open the front door. My brother stays put and helps himself to my breakfast.

“Shoot,” the chief says, sounding surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Waylon Meloy is on the porch, leaning easily against the railing, one leg crossed over the other. Behind him I can see two helmets dangling from the handlebars of his motorcycle. “Good morning,” he says, with a sly half smile.

The chief braces himself in the doorway like he’s trying to keep me inside. “Let’s try that again. Why are you on my porch when it’s not even seven a.m.?”

Waylon peers over the chief’s outstretched arms to catch my eye. He winks.Why does he always do that?Then he gives the chief a little bow that seems polite and mocking at the same time. “Well, sir, I heard Kai’s suspension got revoked, and I thought she should return to school in style. So I’m here to give her a ride.” He gestures to the extra helmet. It’s purple with gold stars. “I’ll go very, very slowly. Ten miles under the speed limit at least.”

The chief scoffs. “You can go whatever speed you want. You’re not taking Kai.”

“Doesn’t Kai have a say in it?” Waylon asks reasonably.

The chief starts to close the door. “No, she does not.”

Waylon sticks his foot out to block it and cranes his neck to see me again. “Hey, Kai,” he calls. “I thought you might like to try riding on a motorcycle, but this cop here says you can’t.”

I manage to smile at him—maybe because he’s at a safe distance. “So I heard.”

“It’s definitely not against the law, so I’m not sure what his problem is.”

The chief tries to move so he can block my view of Waylon. But Waylon ducks down low so he can peer at me through the chief’s legs. “Doyouknow what his problem is?”

I can’t help laughing, even though I can tell by the chief’s body language that Waylon’s kind of pissing him off. “I’m not really sure,” I say. “Maybe keeping a couple of wolf kids is a hassle or something.”

“Waylon Meloy,” the chief says, ignoring my comment. “Please get the hell off my property before I find some reason to object more officially to your presence.”

“I’ve never been arrested for trespassing before,” Waylon says. “Could be exciting.”

“It won’t be,” the chief says.

“Okay, fine, Chief Greene,” Waylon says, sighing dramatically. He calls over his shoulder to me as he walks away. “See you in class, Kai!”

“Bye,” I say, but so quietly that he doesn’t hear me.

The chief shuts the door. “I should’ve let you stay suspended,” he grumbles.

“Great,” I say. “Call the principal back.”

Even if it means seeing Waylon again, I don’t want to go back to Kokanee Creek High. I don’t like those people and they don’t like me.

But the chief shakes his head. “You’re going to school. And you’re going to smile and be nice. And you’re going to make friends.”

“That’s impossible,” I say. “They think we’re freaks. And they’re totally right.”

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