Masked SheWolf (MSW book 1)

Chapter 7 - Michael

JUNE 2022 UPDATE: Go read "Lucy", a spinoff of the Masked SheWolf trilogy, now updating on Wattpad, and its "Behind the Scenes" companion book that includes character profiles and a complete recap of the trilogy, as told by the characters in interview format.

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When we get home, I practically run up the stairs into the guest room while the rest of my family settles in the living room or the kitchen. I'm surprised Mason doesn't go straight up there with me, but it makes sense when I see him raiding the fridge. Marianna's suitcase is thrown open on the bed, and I'm relieved to find that there's nothing inside it yet.

She's not in the room, but I hear her in the bathroom. The door is open and I take that as I sign that I can go in. She's collecting her beauty products and toiletries from the cabinets. She hears me coming and smiles at me, looking sideways.

"How was it?" she asks, and the ever present hint of her French accent shows.

"Tense," I tell her. "As expected."

"What's the new alpha like?"

I take a moment to think about how to answer that. The guys in the pack were different from what I imagined; they're all younger than I expected, maybe even younger than Connor. The first one I recognized was Sadie's boyfriend Cade, because he was standing closest to her. He's pretty cute in an injured-puppy kind of way, but his features are almost baby-ish. I personally don't find that attractive, even though he is pretty well-built.

Two others were identical, which led me to guess they're the younger brothers Sadie mentioned. Plus, Jared and Sam had features in common with their older brother, although they were not as muscular. When introductions were made, I knew I was right about who they are.

So that meant that the last one was the alpha. He was tall, and his physique was much more defined than all the others'. Vein tracks stuck out on the parts of his arms that were not covered by clothing. He had blond hair and eyes so smoldering that I couldn't even tell what color they were. He looked so perfectly sculpted, like some piece of art instead of a real person, that it was almost impossible to look away.

Because we were sitting across from each other during the whole meeting, I had plenty of time to analyze how he looked, but it was the initial contact that gave me the creeps.

Something happened when we made eye contact. A petrifying heat rose from my stomach, and extended outward like an invisible chord. It was the instinctual fear of the alpha our wolf side usually feels, especially in the presence of one that is intimidating.

If the process of elimination was not enough to confirm that he was alpha, it was obvious by how the other three seemed to subconsciously follow his lead. And the fact that he was the only one who kept eye contact with me until his mate asked him to introduce everyone.

Now, her, I didn't really like. She gave me a weird smile when we were introduced. I also don't appreciate the rude way she snapped at her mate -the alpha, of all people- when she told him to introduce us. My family was barely saying a few words, and we usually never shut up. I couldn't understand why an alpha as strong as Logan would be with someone like that.

Every time we locked eyes throughout the evening the chord thickened again, no matter how brief the moment was. His presence was just thatenormous and daunting. Even Connor was backing down.

"Too young to be so grave and intimidating," I finally say.

"He intimidated you?" Marianna wonders with a frown.

"Not on purpose, but yeah," I find myself confessing. I would never admit to this in front of anyone other than her, especially not my brothers. I would never hear the end of it.