Page 27 of The Beta's Heart

“Oh, quit being ugly and stop borrowing trouble, Meanie Boy,” Crew butted in. “Come on, Ty. I’ll carry you home.”

Matthew left in a huff, and Crew and I headed out to his vehicle. I let my mind wander as he drove, thinking about what it meant to have a luna. How it would change the dynamics of the pack. How it would changeme. Everything would be different now. Life would be more complicated and demanding, but also richer with new experiences and deeper bonds.

“What you said to Matthew,” Crew said quietly as he pulled into the O’s driveway. “I agree with you one hundred percent. She’ll beour luna regardless of her personality, but I have to admit, Idohope she’s a nice girl.”

“I hope she’s nice, too,” I clarified, “but I’m also not going to let it get in my way of taking care of her if she isn’t.”

8. Feast or Famine

Peri

A week after the whirlwind of my youngest brothers’ race car birthday and the surprise go-kart track, we found ourselves at Disney in Florida. Mom insisted it was the perfect way to kick off summer vacation, and honestly, I wasn’t about to argue, even if itwaschaos to navigate the Magic Kingdom with six rambunctious boys.

“Peri, catch up!” Wayne called back over his shoulder, leading the charge towards Space Mountain.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I huffed, dodging a family with a stroller and nearly tripping over William as he danced around me.

“Peri, bet you can’t ride every coaster twice in a row.” Archer sauntered along beside me, little Winnie riding on his shoulders.

“I’m not trying to break a record here, Arch. I’m trying to survive this trip with my sanity intact.” I rolled my eyes as Wade, who had recently come into his wolf Scout, bounded up to us.

“Peri! Peri! We’ve got to try the Avatar ride!”

“Okay, we’ll get there, buddy.”

Why all these boys always glommed onto me was a mystery I didn’t even try to solve.

“I wonder if they have a model of the Millennium Falcon.” Wesley lagged behind, walking as slowly as possible past a gift shop window so he could stare at a miniature model of the Epcot ball.

“You’re such an old soul, Wes,” I teased, stopping to tousle his dark brown hair. “We’ll make sure to check before we leave the park.”

“Peri, can we see Mickey now?” William tugged on my hand, his eyes wide with excitement, and I grinned down at him.

“Sure thing, sweetie. Let’s go find Mickey.”

As we wound through the park, avoiding crowds and sticky ice cream hands, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of affection for my boisterous, blended family. Sure, they drove me crazy at times, but they were mine, and moments like these made it all worthwhile.

#

The week went by in a flash of fun adventures with my lively brothers. However, the activities they planned for next week—monster truck shows, dirt bike rallies, and car exhibitions—left me less than enthused.

“Really?” I muttered to myself. “Boys and their toys.”

Finally, with my parents’ permission, I flew home a week early. The idea of having the house to myself made me giddy, but little did I know, an even better surprise awaited me upon my return.

My older brothers had found their mate!

Boy, are they going to be in trouble when the parents get home,Dove snickered.Not letting Mom know the instant they found her? That’s going to go overreallywell.

Sounds like athemproblem, not anusproblem,I smirked.I’m going to rub it in everyone’s face that we get to meet her first! Bwahahaha!

#

Posy Briggs was a pretty girl with dark blue eyes that seemed to hold a thousand secrets. She had her brown hair up in adorable space buns that I’d bet anything Ash had insisted on styling for her, and she was short, one of the shortest she-wolves I’d ever seen, but it wasn’t only her height that caught my attention.

She was thin. No, not just thin. Skeletal.

Oh, my. I wonder if she has an eating disorder,I thought.

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