As they approached the school, she slowed down. Connor caught her hand and held her back as the others poured past them and into the school. She turned, still angry at him.

He got down on his knees and wrung his hands, physically demonstrating his apology. "Amanda, I am sorry," he said. "Please listen to me. If you think I am being a chauvinist, I am sorry. If you think I am trying to run your life, I am sorry. But listen," he pleaded, "you need to understand what you are up against. This," he put one hand on her cane, "won't save you. I can't emphasize enough the amount of danger you are in."

Amanda surprised both herself and Connor by suddenly bursting into tears. "I am just not used to any of this. I have always been independent, able to take care of myself and the people I love. I don't like this. I don't like the way it makes me feel."

Connor laughed dryly. "You probably won't believe me, but I do understand what it means to have your entire future dependent on another being."

She shook her head to clear it. "I am sorry, Connor. I am." She grabbed him. "Get up." He stumbled to his feet.

"Please, I just want to protect you. I will try my hardest to give you whatever space you need, but don't go anywhere by yourself. Make sure one of the pack is with you, please. Just until this is over. If you want to tell me to take a hike when this is all over, fine."

"I won't," Amanda promised, though she mused: So which is it? You'll give me space, but don't go anywhere alone? She sighed. She knew he really wasn't trying to crowd her or make her dependent on him. But she couldn't help feeling like that was exactly what was happening, and she didn't like it.

They went into the school together. The school officer scowled at her cane. She hurried to her locker and stashed it away before he saw her again and could comment.

#

"So you know?" Tanner said as he and Amanda walked down the hall. Amanda looked both ways, but nobody was near.

"Yeah," she said, "I know."

"How you dealing?" Tanner said.

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Any questions?"

"How long have you known?" she asked. "Was it a huge shock when you found out?"

"For me? No," he said. "My family is as open as they come. We live on this farm way up in Northern Wisconsin. Our nearest neighbors think we are Mormons or something. But the good part of living in the middle of nowhere is that we can be pretty open. I grew up knowing my parents and most of the adults in my life were shifters. My biggest fear until last year was that I wouldn't have the ability."

"Did you all grow up knowing?"

"Nope, just me and Jonathan. Connor was kicking himself for about a week about not knowing, since he grew up within a pack. But in Connor's defense, Aaron and his pack live in town, so they have to be real careful about transformation. They don't speak about it openly. They never spend time at home in wolf form. So how would he have known?" Tanner explained. "Brianna and Erica are both from kin families. They had no clue. They were so shocked."

"I can imagine," she said. "It's one thing to see it, to know it's true, but it would have to be another thing to actually be able to do it. So what's the big deal about kin?"

"Kin?" he said. He shrugged. "You have to be kin in order to have any chance to shift."

"Yeah, I get that. Is it genetic?" she asked.

He shrugged again. "No one knows for sure. We've done some studies, but there aren't that many of us and we don't have the resources to find out for sure. I have an aunt who is a doctor, but that's about how far it goes. There is no big secret lab somewhere studying werewolves. No top-notch scientist on the job or anything like that. My aunt has run some basic blood work on a few of us, and she studies it in her spare time, but it's inconclusive. Maybe it's genetic, maybe it's not."

"But," she stammered, trying to figure out what to ask, "I mean, Connor . . . so what is the deal with him and kin? I mean he is so insistent about my being kin. His dad said he couldn't be certain."

Tanner laughed. "You don't know?" he said.

"No, I don't."

"He's our alpha," Tanner said. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"There isn't one alpha, Amanda. There are two, a male and a female," Tanner said.

"So who is the female alpha?" Amanda asked, "Erica? She seems the more dominant one or whatever."

Tanner laughed again. "No, no, not likely. The alpha female and alpha male are a couple."

"Oh," Amanda said. "So Brianna then?"

"It's who ever Connor takes as a mate. They don't have to be a shifter, but they do have to be kin."

Amanda froze as the words sank in. "You mean, Connor wants to marry me?"

Tanner just shrugged. "Let's just say Connor doesn't have a lot of choices. It's Brianna, like it or not, or if you are kin, you. And let's face it, I love her, but Brianna can be a bitch sometimes. I'd be looking for another option too, if I were Connor. See you after school." With that, he ducked into his class and was gone.

Amanda was late getting to her next class because she was too lost in thought. How did she feel about Connor? She liked him, certainly. He was a nice boyfriend, but he was also her first boyfriend. She was only sixteen. She wasn't ready to marry by any stretch of the imagination. She wasn't even sure she was ready to decide on someone to marry. Was that really what Connor wanted? More importantly, did he really like her at all, or was she simply a nicer alternative than Brianna?

The more she thought about that latter point, the angrier she got. By the time school let out, she'd worked herself into a fury. She grabbed her book bag and her walking cane and ran out of the school. She stormed right past the waiting group. Connor ran to catch up. "Hey, Amanda," he called, "what's wrong?"

"You, that's what!" she shouted at him. "Tell them to stay back," she said as the group came jogging up. He turned and gave them some sort of signal. "Okay, they are gone. What is this about?"

"When were you planning on telling me?" she said.

"Telling you what?" he asked.

"About the whole kin thing." She said.

"I told you yesterday," he said, confused.

"Not that, the rest of it, about you being alpha, needing a mate-that part."

"Oh, that," he said sheepishly. "Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter," she said angrily. "So, it's true then? You just want me because you need to marry kin, and if you don't find kin, then you have to marry Brianna?"

"No, not exactly," he stuttered. "Crap, you weren't supposed to know."

"Why not? You would rather trick me into falling for you, then spring it on me?" She turned and stormed off again, forcing him to follow her.

"Please, Amanda, it's not what you think."

She spun on him. "Oh, so you know what I think, do you? Is that one of your precious werewolf abilities or something?"

"No," he said, "I just . . . let me explain, please."

She stopped. "Okay, explain."

He swallowed. "It's true, I need an alpha female to cement my leadership of the pack. It's true it needs to either be a shifter or kin. And yes, it's true that the only real options right here are you and Brianna. But you two aren't the only options in the world. Please believe me when I tell you this . . . I didn't want you to know, not because I wanted to trick you, but because I don't want to pressure you. I don't want you to choose me because of this. That's why I don't want Brianna, I don't want to be with the girl who wants to be an alpha and is putting up with me to get it. And as much as it sucks for me that I have only a few options, you don't. You can be with anyone you want."

"Yes, I can," she said defiantly. "Don't forget that."

"I won't." He sounded hurt, looking away from her. They walked the rest of the way home in silence.

#

"You seem pretty distant lately," Uncle Darren said at the table that night.

"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about some stuff," Amanda said. How could she even begin? She couldn't tell Uncle Darren that werewolves were real, that her boyfriend was one, or that he wanted her for his alpha.

"Is it that Connor boy?"

"It's nothing, Uncle Darren," she said quickly.

"'Cause if he hurt you, I will be having words with him. He won't be disrespecting my niece-ee."

"It's nothing like that," she assured him. "In fact, I was wondering if I could go on a short trip with them over spring break next week?" She willed herself to smile. The Leidulfs were going to Wisconsin to meet with some of the tribe elders. They were hoping one of them could identify Amanda's clan, if she was indeed kin. They also had a few scraps of clothing and things they had gathered in their investigation of the invading pack. They hoped it would be enough for the elders to identify the smell of that pack.

"I don't know," he said, cautiously. "Are you sure you're not upset with him?"

"No, Uncle Darren, it's fine. He's been a perfect gentleman. It's other stuff," she lied. "Something I heard at school."

He rose and went into the kitchen. When he came back, he held up the tattered remains of a pair of boxers-Connor's boxers. "It wouldn't have anything to do with this?" he asked.

Amanda blushed deeply and looked down. "Umm, no, where did you find that?"

He threw the boxers back into the trash. "Look, Amanda, niece-ee, you are sixteen now. If you are . . . er . . . if you are experimenting, it's okay. But I have to know he's not pushing it, and you are being safe."

"Uncle!" she exclaimed, sincerely horrified that he would think- "We are not! We . .. no! And no, he isn't pushing either."

He looked at her, and she knew he didn't fully believe her but he didn't force the issue.

"Besides," she said, "this isn't that kind of trip. The adults will be there. Do you want to talk to his dad about it?"

"So where are they going?" he asked.

"It's north of the Dells," she said. "It's the camp they all go to in the summer usually, but they've decided to go this spring too. Connor's told me a lot of stuff about it, and I want to see it for myself. It will only be a day or two."

"Yeah, have Mr. Leidulf call me."

The next morning Erica was waiting on the porch when she and Hunter stepped outside. Amanda looked around the yard. "Where are the others?" she asked.

"They went a different route," Erica said. "To give you some space." Amanda nodded and the three of them walked to the middle school.

After Hunter had been dropped off, Erica said casually, "I hear Tanner's got a big mouth."

Amanda felt her mouth twitch despite herself. "Yeah, I guess he does. But Connor shouldn't hide stuff from me and then be surprised that I am pissed about it."

"That's true," Erica agreed.

"So how much space am I getting?"

"As much as we can safely give you. We will take turns watching over you, but if you want me to walk a half block away or something, that's fine."

"No, don't be silly."

"He's a really good guy, you know," Erica said after a brief silence.

"Are you his peacemaker now?" Amanda asked sarcastically.

"No, I just . . . I can see both sides of this," Erica explained. "He's in a shitty situation."

"Me or Brianna . . . yeah, that is a shitty situation."

"Amanda, I am being serious. Both of you are freaking awesome. If you had to choose between two people, you couldn't have two better choices." Amanda blew a raspberry. "But to have to marry someone who is kin? That's kind of screwed up. I mean what if they made me marry a guy? I couldn't do it. Look, the point I wanted to make was this: he's really a good guy. He only wanted to hide it because he didn't want you to be in the same situation that he's in now, having to make choices. He was ready to watch you walk away rather than pressure you."

"Still, I think he only likes me because I am kin."

"That is not true."

"How can you know, because he said so?"

"Because he talked about you this summer, before he knew he was going to be alpha," Erica replied matter-of-factly.

"Bullshit. He didn't even like me before this year."

"Oh, Amanda," Erica said. "You know how it is. He was young and stupid, and he showed his affection in stupid ways."

"What do you know about it?"

"Okay, do you know what he said to me?" Erica challenged.

"What?"

"We all thought Jonathan was going to be alpha, right up until the end of summer. We thought we would all be sent to Jonathan's family, not here. And all summer Connor kept saying, 'the only thing I will miss about Dubuque is one spunky girl that never backs down.' Serious, the truth, that's what he said."

Connor was waiting for them when they got to school. He quietly asked Amanda if he could talk to her for a minute before class. She nodded her assent, not sure if she could even speak or what she would say.

"Look, I understand why you are pissed. I am still a little pissed at my family for hiding so much from me for years, even though I understand why. But I want you to understand one thing. I only hid that one aspect because . . . because I don't want you on those terms. I want you to look around, see every guy in school, every guy in the freaking world, for that matter, and still choose me. I want to know you think I am the best man out there. I will try my hardest to be the best man out there, but I will never pressure you. I promise."

She nodded. "Just give me some time, okay?"

That afternoon, it was Brianna that walked with Amanda. Two blocks past the middle school, Brianna's phone beeped at her. She read the text. Before she was done, the phone began buzzing. "It's Jonathan," she said. "They think they smelled something nearby. I've got to take this."

"Okay," Amanda said. They stopped as Brianna took the call, and then Amanda noticed a dark brown van parked halfway down the next block, the front end facing her. Suspicious, she started to walk over to get a closer look. A young girl, maybe seven or eight, was standing beside the van. As Amanda got closer, she could see the side door was open and a pair of legs were sticking out. She couldn't hear what was being said, but the girl kept shaking her head no.

As she cleared the far side of the street, she got her first clear view of the man sitting inside the van talking to the girl. Her blood ran cold, and anger burned inside her. She started running toward the van, holding her cane in front of her.

"You! Girl!" she shouted. "Get away from him!"

Stanley's hand shot out to grab the girl, but she had already scampered out of his reach. He made another try for her.

"Don't touch her!" Amanda screamed. He paused long enough to take her in and recognize her. Amanda froze. "Oh crap," she muttered to herself.

She thought he would come for her, but instead he jumped inside the side door of the van. Then he was in the driver's seat, and the van roared to life. Amanda turned and fled back down the street, the van barreling after her. She heard a crash as a trashcan was sent flying. The van jumped the curb and dug into the grass on the edge of the street as he aimed right at her. She could almost feel it coming.

A blond form flew in front of her, tackling her out of the way of the oncoming van. Brianna and Amanda hit the ground and rolled. Brianna was on her feet in an instant. "Third and Vine, Third and Vine!" she was screaming into her cell phone. She turned and fixed a middle-aged woman, who was standing on her front porch watching them, with a stare. "Call 9-1-1!" she shouted at the woman. "That was the pedophile." The woman disappeared.

Amanda watched as the van hit the corner, wondering if he would come back for another attempt. He turned a hard left. She caught one glimpse as Stanley flipped her off, and then he was gone. A moment later, Tanner shot past the intersection on foot, in hot pursuit of the departing van.

"Amanda!" Brianna raged, turning on her, "How could you? Goddamn it! How could you? We are trying to keep you safe. Don't you understand?"

"But . . ." Amanda replied, feeling hurt.

"But nothing. That guy is trying to kill you! I am trying to keep you safe. Do you know how hard that is when you walk right up to the guy that is trying to kill you? What the hell were you thinking?"

"There was a little girl!" Amanda yelled back. "I couldn't let him get her. I had to save her."

They both stared at each other angrily for a long minute. Then Brianna shrugged. "I guess that's that," she said. She bent and retrieved her school bag. "Next time, could you please call for me before going off?" she added angrily and stormed off.

They walked as far as the intersection when an old four-door Volvo pulled up. Valerie was at the wheel. "Jump in," she said, "we are all regrouping at the house." Wordlessly, they climbed in.