Claws and Effect by Amanda Arista

Author:Amanda Arista
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

CASA DEL BRIGGS was in Irving. It was the cheapest and the most rural apartment complex they could find in the Metroplex. The back of the property ran into a large open park. It was also just down the road from a huge shopping area, a Walmart, and right next to a train that could take them into Dallas or Fort Worth for work.

Tucker and I were walking around the park. The other boys jumped and danced wildly around us in furry form. Both boys were perfectly healed with the shared energy of their new pack. One day was all it took.

I couldn’t help but smile. Joy just poured out of them, and I lapped it up. I not only felt it on my skin but also up my arms and in my head as well. They ran and tossed balls to each other and played Frisbee seemingly without any memory of what had just happened.

“Spencer used to let us play like this,” Tucker said as we sat down on a metal bench along a running trail.

“Didn’t seem the frolicking type.”

“Before you, he wasn’t that bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Tucker said apologetically. “He just cracked. His father pushed him too far.”

“Do you think I might have been able to help him?”

Tucker shook his head. “I don’t think a person can recover from that kind of darkness. And I don’t think that you need to be worrying about the past.”

I chuckled.

“We may have ripped the Hogs a new one, but it’s still not over. The Pack will still fight among themselves to name an heir. That thing with Carlisle isn’t going away. No matter how deep Tyler buried him.”

I sat silent. I’d read it in the paper that morning over the most protein-packed breakfast I could muster up. Strange things had been happening. A construction site was set on fire without accelerant and burned so hot that the metal supports melted, like hellfire hot. And there had been a car accident on the freeway that witnesses say the car just began to fly before it rammed into an overhead sign. That had to be them, the Barons clambering for power.

“Do you think the others know that there is a choice?” I asked.

“They probably think you’re some legend. I don’t think they know what to do with you. From what I’ve heard, you’re just like this other do-gooder from about forty years back, when Haverty was staking his claim.”

I nodded. “Iris. Her and her sisters protected the city before Haverty turned the pack against her.”

“Haverty probably couldn’t turn her. The Dark One can’t infiltrate people that good-hearted.”

“We’re not good-hearted,” I shook my head. “We’re just stubborn.”

Tucker frowned. “You know Iris?”

I nodded. “She’s the one who trained me.”

Tucker nodded his head and looked out at the boys who were playing Frisbee.

“And we all have a weak spot,” I admitted. “Iris’s was her sisters.”

“And yours?”

Six months ago, I would have said Jessa. Poor petite little Jessa, but she had proven in the past four months to be a powerhouse herself.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.