Page 48 of Shift (The Black Mountain Pack 1)

“He just let her go?” he chirped, his attention on the house. “He really just let her go? Withyou?He really didn’t want her? Wow, he must be—”

“Micha, shut up,” Kyle commanded.

The youth clammed up instantly, still bouncing on his seat.

Loren swallowed as the truck lurched into motion, kicking up mud in a violent spray. Helpless, her gaze drifted through the rear windshield, noting the dark figure standing impassively in the kitchen window.

No, a part of her whined. The dread became a physical ache in her chest as the truck hurtled around a corner. Suddenly her pulse surged. She couldn’t breathe.I can’t leave...

“Hi!”

She blinked, staring directly into a pair of massive green eyes.

“I’m Micha,” the chirpy voice belonged to the younger figure who twisted around to face her from over the headrest of his seat. “You’re Loren.”

“Y-Yes,” she stammered, wondering just how he knew her name. Though, maybe she should have been wondering about a lot of things?

Like why Officer McGoven let her go with two strangers? Or why he seemed so determined to send her away in the first place? Why take her in, if all he wanted was to pawn her off on someone else?

Lukka.

“So—” The playful tone drew her attention back to Micha. “Why didn’t McGoven want you?”

“Micha!” Kyle’s tone deepened, not that Micha had the sense to look ashamed. His stare was persistent, demanding an answer.

Why didn’t he want me?

“I…he found me wandering in the woods. He took me in, though; it was just for a little while.”Lies.When said out loud, the explanation didn’t make sense. What kind of person took in a teenage girl whose father had just been murdered? Not to mention…why hadn’t he brought her to the police station—at least for questioning?

An interview?

To claim her father’s body?

He hadn’t even asked her about funeral arrangements. Overnight, McGoven had taken control of her life with little effort. Already, she was being shipped off to only God knew where, on his say-so, and…

You’re just okay with that?a part of her wondered. Strangely enough, shewas.

She didn’t know why. Whenever she tried to question it, the same old thought would play through her mind like a bad song stuck on rewind—“Officer McGoven said…”

His words seemed ingrained in her mind, her very soul.

I don’t want this.

Lukka can have her.

Loren go!

“You’ll love Black Mountain,” Micha gushed, once again intruding into her thoughts. “It’s big. There’s lots of space to run around, though I haven’t lived there long—” He lifted his thin shoulder in a shrug. “When Lukka found me, I was little more than a stray myself. The Alpha of my old pack was a total—”

“Alpha?” The word dislodged some long-forgotten memory. McGoven had said it—though as if it were something comical. A mockery. “What’s an Alpha?”

Micha gaped at her. Then, he looked at Kyle, who only curtly shook his head—no.

“Oh!” Those big green eyes got even wider. “You mean she really doesn’t—” He seemed to stop himself from saying any more. Instead, he fidgeted in his seat, his dark curls bouncing against his scalp. “Oh, wow!”

Her apparent ignorance only seemed to increase Micha’s interest in her. He didn’t speak, but he never turned around, observing her intently as though she were some curiosity on display. “Wow,” he’d murmur every now and again.

Loren felt uneasy. She wanted to demand they tell her something, but an instinctive part of her knew that Kyle would just shrug her off. He was impatient, glaring at the road, gripping the wheel tightly.

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