Page 21 of War Games

“More practice. Everyone knows who my dad is, human and supernatural alike. I grew up with Dad as a pack Alpha, his face on the news when he was asked to do PR statements for the werewolves and everything. Your dad is well known among the supernatural, but you get to hide around humans. I never had that. I could never hide.”

He sniffed and frowned.

She wasn’tsadabout that. He could have sworn she would be sad. She wasn’t even angry. She was just tired.

“It doesn’t make you angry that you’ve never had a normal life?”

“Sometimes, it can bother me. Remember that party when…” She threw a hand toward him, waving it up and down. “That happened?”

“I… am not likely to forget,” he said, swallowing. He’d been chewed on by a werewolf and was fortunate to have survived the Change. He knew that. They all did.

“I was that night for a little while. I had finally brought friends over and was having a normal birthday party… as normal as I could ever have. A boy was asking me out. I got in trouble for trying to lie to my dad about it. They all stopped talking to me after that, and I thought about it for a long time.” Carey shrugged. “It hurt me, but… it didn’t take me long to realize that I would take you, Landon, my dad, and Jacky over other kids my age any day. I would rather talk to Makalo and learn things about places I’ve never been. Niko is really cool, too. Normal is… small. It feels smaller than my life, and I love how big my life is.”

Dirk didn’t know what to say. He only had one thought, and it wasn’t for Carey to hear.

I guess this is what growing up human in the supernatural world looks like if everyone in your life makes a full effort.

“You don’t mind how dangerous it is?” he asked softly, searching her face while stopped at a red light.

“Everyone’s lives are dangerous,” she replied, shrugging. “Is mine more dangerous? Yeah, but… it’s not the most dangerous, either. There are people out there who deal with worse and have fewer people looking out for them. Plus, my parents don’t really ask for all of this. My dad didn’t decide to be a werewolf. Landon didn’t choose to be one, either. Same for Jacky being a werecat. Sure, they’ve attracted a lot of attention, but they arealways fighting for things they believe in, for each other, and for me. If other people have a problem with my family, that’stheirproblem, not my family’s.” She stopped with a strong nod, then looked at him. “Dirk, it turned green.”

With a chuckle, he hit the gas.

“It’s your family, too,” she added once they were through the empty intersection.

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. “So, how do I deal with your brother?”

“Ask him to tell you how he really feels,” she said, crossing her arms. “Landon has this thing where he masks really big emotions with anger. He’s not good at them, especially when they make him feel… soft or something. He’d rather be angry. Angry is easy for him. I get why. I know how he had to grow up, even with Dad and Richard trying to protect him from everything. They’ve never shied away from the truth with me. Even when my brother looked like he was about to cry, he would get angry. He’d growl and stomp his feet and be angry. You need to know what he’s feeling underneath that, and you need to hear from him.”

“When did you get so damn smart?” he asked, wondering when she went from a twelve-year-old girl to the nearly adult woman sitting next to him. They were just celebrating her sixteenth birthday.

“I’ve always been smart. None of you appreciated my genius,” she countered. “Can we stop? I want something from the gas station. I’m feeling some candy. We can say it’s how you repaid me for such great advice about my brother.”

With a snort, Dirk shook his head and kept driving right past the first gas station. As she gasped at him, the second came into view, and he pulled in. He grabbed twenty dollars out of his wallet and handed it to her.

“Get me a drink,” he said as she took it slowly. “I’m not messing with you. I brought you out early. Get yourself a snack and get me a drink.”

“Thanks, Dirk!” She was out in a second, running inside without him. He kept an eye on the door, making sure no one followed her in, looking suspicious.

When she got back, she handed him his favorite flavored water. He knew he wasn’t getting any change back. She would stash it like she always did. Landon had started letting her do that when they took her somewhere without Heath, and Dirk was willing to let it happen to him, too. He was nearly positive that Heath and Jacky had no idea how much money Carey kept in her closet. Dirk knew where she hid it because he had to do the bug searches, but he never told her that.

“Thank you again, Dirk.” She grinned as she opened a bag of gummy bears and popped one in her mouth.

“I’m amazed they never notice you have a sugar rush whenever we bring you home.”

“I go right to my room and talk to Makalo or work on homework. So much homework. Or I listen to music. I know better than to get too noisy, though. Too noisy and the parents ask questions.” She put her feet on the dash, so he reached over and knocked them down.

“Don’t do that. If someone hits us, your legs will break.”

“See?” She ate another gummy bear. “Just like Landon.”

“He’s right about that!”

“I know. I was proving my point from earlier.”

“Why are we back on that point?”

“Because I had a thought while I was in the gas station. Maybe you guys will understand better when you realize you could very easily switch places in different circumstances. Like those movies where the mom and daughter switch bodies or something.” Carey shrugged again and ate another gummy bear.

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