Darcingtowne Wolves: The Misfits (Book 1)

Chapter Six: Hearts to Burn

Ryan’s eyes lit up when Penny finally hopped down from the trunk, and he pulled her into a tight hug as a wide smile played across his thin lips. That smile was the most recognizable thing about him, as the rest of him had changed so much.

Now that she was getting a good look at him, Penelope had to admit that Carrie had a point. Ryan had grown into his ears, which had been a bit protuberant when he was a short, skinny kid. She hadn’t seen him in person in a couple years, and apparently puberty had been kind. He was tall, almost as tall as her father who stood a good 6’5”, and had long black hair tied back into a low ponytail, and dazzling golden yellow eyes. He must have gotten tired of getting pushed around by the asshole bullies in his pack, because he hadn’t just grown taller, but wider as well. He was wearing a loose shirt and grey sweatpants, and despite the casual cut of his clothing Penny could tell that underneath those thin layers was a hard, ripped body.

“Alpha,” he greeted her, his deep bassy voice reverberating through her chest in a way that probably would have made any other girl melt.

“Oh, don’t you start Alpha-ing me, too…” Penny grumbled a little.

Although she hadn’t been expecting them, Penelope was very relieved when she didn’t feel the telltale sparks that would have indicated they were mates. Penny wondered idly, as they parted from the hug, if Ryan was even aware of the effect he was going to have on the rest of the she-wolf population. He’d always been a bit of an innocent - even more so than Penny herself.  

At least Penny had fooled around a little bit with Sebastian, though that was before he figured out that girls didn’t really do it for him. Well, it was more like how he confirmed that girls didn’t really do it for him. It was unexpected, and happened during their last homeschool field trip. 

They had been watching a movie after the others went to sleep, and while they cuddled under the same blanket, his hands just kinda started wandering. Penny wasn’t really all that attracted to Sebastian, but she was curious and so was he, plus he was safe and comfortable. She couldn’t really complain, seeing as how he gave her a pretty nice orgasm, but she did feel just a little insulted when he’d immediately gone to the restroom afterward to rinse his mouth out with soap. Apparently, lady bits don’t taste quite as good as he thought they would.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Sebastian whined, causing the other three to laugh.

“I got a hug for you too, bud.” Ryan said, pulling Sebastian into a hug that made him look like a tiny, adorable rag doll.

Sebastian was only 5’9”, which was short for a fully grown male wolf. Not that he was a purebred wolf anyway. He was a half-wolf mage, and took after his enchantress mother, who was almost as vertically challenged as Carrie. Penelope considered that Bastian was lucky to have gotten to the height that he was. His Mom was only 5’2” and he’d inherited the chip she had on her regarding her height - though in his case, it was more like a boulder than a chip. He hadn’t left school due to being bullied, but had been expelled because he had a penchant for hexing anyone who even so much as mentioned his height in passing.

“Ugh, gross! Get your sweaty paws off. I’m not into bears.” Bastian barked a laugh, pushing at Ryan’s face as the giant of a wolf nuzzled his cheek.

“I’m not a bear,” Ryan mumbled, letting Bastian go with a bit of a huff. “I’m all wolf, baby.”

“Not that kind of bear- oh f**k it, I’m not explaining this to you. Come on now girls, give me a hug and get this jerk’s stink off me.” Sebastian said, throwing his arms wide.

Carrie and Penelope hugged Sebastian at the same time, but before they could part Ryan grabbed all three of them and gave the whole group a squeeze that made more than a few ribs crack ominously. Though she knew that Ryan was a purebred wolf, Penny could see why Sebastian compared him to a bear. Ryan had gone from small and cute to huge, and yet still shy and cuddly, in the space of two years. Like one of those enormous stuffed teddy bears, but with what Penny suspected was a six pack. Granted, she knew he meant a bear in the bulky gay man kind of way. She’d picked up a lot of things from the interwebs.

Pair that with Ryan’s status as a pre-med student, and his ambition to become a pediatrician, and Penelope started thinking she should keep a shotgun for all the she-wolves who would surely be trying to steal her bestie’s virtue. She prayed to the moon goddess that Ryan wasn’t as innocent as he made himself out to be, or they were going to be in trouble - though it was kind of hilarious that while other packs were worried about territorial disputes or rogue attacks, her first concern as Alpha was preventing the packhouse from getting overrun by horny university girls.

“Kids these days.” Mason muttered, and shook his head at them as he headed into the house with a load of Carrie’s pink plaid suitcases.

“Ok big boy, just for that you get to carry all the bags in.” Bastian said, chortling at the dopey pout Ryan gave him in response.

“Fine, but only because your feeble wizard arms probably can’t lift more than your wand.” Ryan snipped, smirking cheekily when Bastian tried to stab him with a sharp glare.

“Boys, boys, you’ll have plenty of time to wave your wands around once we’re inside.” Carrie said, giggling a little when both the young men blushed. “I like a good show, you know.”

“Don’t make me regret inducting you fools into my pack before it’s even happened.” Penelope called at the boys as she hauled their bags out from the back of Ryan’s SUV. While they were bickering, she’d already emptied the vehicle out. “At least keep it chill until Pops leaves, please? I don’t want him thinking we’re having wild, drunken orgies.”

“Ooooh, can we though?” Carrie asked, giving the boys a feral grin that made both young men shut up and grab some luggage. “That sounds super fun, doesn’t it boys?”

Ryan and Sebastian quickly hauled the bags up to the brownstone’s front door without another word, clearly fleeing from Carrie’s over exuberant flirting.

“Boys?!” Carrie called out after them. Once they went inside and slammed the door shut, she burst out laughing.

Penelope sighed deeply and covered her face with the palm of her hand.

“I’m so glad the packhouse is thoroughly enchanted...at least the neighbors won’t be calling the mundy cops on us when things get rowdy.” Penelope said, shaking her head as Carrie’s laughter died down.

“Oh, come on Penny. Like you don’t have a stash of toys to help with your heat. Wouldn’t it be way more fun to get off with friends instead?” Carrie asked, quirking an eyebrow at Penelope.

“I think I’m good, Carrie. Boys are too much work. And before you ask, so are girls.” Penny said, rolling her eyes at the crestfallen expression the redhead gave her.

“Well, you know where I am if you need a hand. Or you know, a tongue.” Carrie said, giving Penny a wink with a bit of tongue action as she flounced up the pathway to the front door.

Penny had assumed that Ryan was going to be her first concern, with his clueless hotness, but she was seriously reconsidering that assessment now. Carrie knew exactly how attractive she was, and a city full of hot, horny shifters was probably her dream flirting ground. Now that they were going to be living free from the constraints of their parents, Penelope could only imagine how many hearts her fiery haired friend was about to burn.