Page 93 of Dark Wolf Soul
She looks thoughtful. “Hard. Demanding. Cold. We all had expectations from our families, and since our parents were all generals, we were thrown together a lot. Forgotten together a lot too. For a while, it was just me, Dutch, and Grey. Then, Ramsey’s dad got promoted, so he got stuck with us during meetings and outings. Razor came last, and he was already a package deal with Crow—not that we wouldn’t have taken him on his own.”
“Grey said they have the same dad, but they’re not fully brothers?”
“They are brothers,” she says, eyes flashing with irritation. She takes a breath and then, more calmly, explains, “Alvaro, Razor’s father, had an affair with Crow’s mom about a year after Razor was born.”
“So, Crow having a different mom makes him an outcast?”
“Worse. Crow’s mom wasn’t a general’s wife, and that makes both of them an outcast. Alvaro and the other generals refuse to recognize him as an heir and basically just ignore him whenever they see him.”
“An heir to what?”
She cocks her head. “Is Grey really not telling you how our basic hierarchy works? I thought you two made peace.”
My face heats as I say, “We’ve been busy doing … other things.”
“Ah.”
Her smile suggests she’s not even surprised, which only makes me want to ask how the hell she knew before I did that Grey wanted me—or what else she knows that I don’t. Instead, I clear my throat and force my attention back to the conversation at hand. “You were saying? About Crow not being an heir?”
“Right. It’s a stupid scandal that shouldn’t even matter in this millennium, but here we are. Being a general is an inherited title in our pack, which means someday, Ramsey, Dutch, Razor, and I will all become one.”
“But not Crow.”
“Not under the current leadership.”
My heart aches for what it must have meant to be rejected by his own family.
“I know how it feels,” I say quietly.
Mia reaches across the table and squeezes my hand then releases it quickly. “You’re one of us now, just like he is.”
I smile at her, feeling a stirring of friendship that I sincerely hope I can trust. “Thanks.”
After lunch, we get our nails done, followed by my hair, which thankfully involves zero cutting or chopping. Alejandrooohsandahhsover my hair and skin tone until Mia takes mercy on me and gets me out of there.
We’re just leaving the salon when I nearly run into someone.
“Oh, sorry.” I step back quickly and look up to find a familiar golden boy smiling down at me.
“No apology necessary. It’s my lucky day to run into such a beautiful woman—even if she’s done it literally.”
“Hello, Ramsey.”
“Ram, what are you doing here?” Mia asks.
“I had an errand out this way, so Grey asked me to look in on you two. How’s the shopping going?”
“Great,” Mia tells him.
He eyes us, confused. “But you don’t have any bags.”
Mia rolls her eyes. “Everything’s being delivered to the apartment. Why would we carry it ourselves?”
He meets my eyes, smiling. “Indeed. In that case, do you need a lift home to get dressed?”
“Oh.” I check the time, realizing it’s getting late already. “Sure, but I think Mia was going to…”
He turns to Mia. “I have to run over to pick something up for Grey anyway. It’s no trouble.”
