Masked SheWolf (MSW book 1)

Chapter 23 - Michael

A week later, I wake up to the delightful jokes my brothers pull on me for War Day. I recognize who pulled what from catching their scents; my shoes smell like eggs because Nate stuffed a handful of his dirty socks inside them, and left them to rot all night. My face is excessively drawn on by Mason, who was last week's target. Connor has taped a giant poster of an underwear model on the roof above my bed; let me tell you, that's not a nice sight to wake up to.

And finally, my phone has been taken out of its charger by Danny, and I can't find it anywhere. I need that phone; I was going to call my friends and see if they wanted to do something this afternoon. Guess I'm going to have to walk to their place, again. I hate walking when there's a perfectly good car in the driveway.

On my way there, my feet stomp on the ground furiously, and I contemplate ways to get back at my twin. Obviously, he's my target, but what could possibly be the most humiliating comeback after what he has done?

I'm hoping to get some help on that. Cade's got a very weird imagination, and I could use that for ideas on how to retaliate.

My visits to the pack house have been so frequent lately that the guard immediately buzzes me in when he sees me coming. I don't even knock on the front door anymore. I just waltz right in and join them wherever they are. Today, I find them in the game room, having breakfast over a friendly game of Mortal Kombat 9.

"Die! Die! Die!" Sadie is shouting.

Just another day in the life of Sadie and Cade.

Smirking, I lean against the door frame and watch them for a minute. This is one of the strangest things about their relationship that I admire and will never get used to. They love each other and gross out everybody around them when they express that love. But they are still so laid back and unafraid to be their true self with one another. It just amazes me how much trust they have in their relationship. It must be pretty wonderful to be able to trust someone enough to let them into every part of your life.

"Let me know when you freaks are done," I finally speak and make my presence known.

"Dylan!" Sadie exclaims without taking her eyes off the screen or breaking her concentration. "Grab a chair... watch me beat my boyfriend to a pulp."

"You wish, dummy," Cade replies dryly.

I can definitely feel the love here.

I chuckle at the intriguing dynamic of their relationship. "I'm not here on a social visit," I admit without moving. "I'm actually here because I need your help."

Fingers continue clacking against the consoles and their eyes remain glued to the screen. "Sure, what's up?" Cade asks.

"It's War Day and I've been targeted," I simply say.

Almost instantaneously, they pause the game, lower the consoles and stare at me with mirroring expressions of excitement and anticipation. That is so freaky.

"What did they do?" they ask in unison.

Okay, thatis freaky.

After I tell them what my brothers did, they guess that Daniel is my target, without me needing to specify. We start brainstorming ideas together of how to get back at them. We're interrupted when Logan comes in searching for Cade. He looks so angry that I automatically try to make myself scarce. We're good friends, but there are still moments when he can intimidate me without even trying.

"Hey," he stiffly says, giving a general nod of greeting to Sadie and me. "Got a minute? I need you to do me a favor."

Immediately, Cade stands up. "Sure. What's up?"