Rookie in the Midst [Blue Platoon 1] (Siren Publishing LoveXtrem ManLove) by Jools Louise

Author:Jools Louise
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Published: 2018-02-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“I didn’t know you’d been bullied,” Amos said much later, sitting in the living room enjoying the log fire and cold beer. A half-eaten cherry pie sat on one of the coffee tables as the Hartland pack conversed. “I followed some of your history, but my parents didn’t say that you’d been through that.”

“There were a couple of older boys who liked to be mean,” Craig said, snuggled in the alpha’s arms, replete after their meal of steak, baked potatoes, salad, and corncobs. There’d been three cherry pies and lashings of whipped cream, with only a little left. He felt content, despite the hint of danger that still lurked in the air. This was the home he’d always wanted, surrounded by a loving family, his belly full, feeling safe in their arms. “The group home was a cold, unloving place. I had to act tough just to survive. I hung with a gang I thought were cool, but they were into some nasty stuff. When my friend died, I quit and decided I needed to turn my life around. I was the one they were after. I bad-mouthed the wrong someone.”

“What was foster care like?” Elvis asked, curled up on the floor in front of Carter, who still slept on one of the couches. He’d managed to eat and then had fallen asleep again soon after.

“Lonely,” Craig replied, sighing as he stared into the flames. “It wasn’t all bad, but those boys made it unpleasant. They needed someone to pick on, I suppose, to give them control over their lives. The foster carers were pretty negligent and weren’t very interested in us. They were in it for the money, not because they wanted to help. I knew I was a shifter, which made it worse, because I had nobody to talk to about it. My wolf was unhappy, stifled since there was nowhere to run unseen. I spent years feeling miserable.” He smiled up at Amos. “It wasn’t until I enlisted that I felt a sense of belonging. When I went on exercise, twice, anyway, I was finally able to let loose.”

“You shifted on exercise?” Amos asked, his gaze suddenly intent. “Wasn’t Carlos in basic training with you?”

Craig felt sick and closed his eyes in horror. “I’m the one, aren’t I?” he whispered. “He must have seen me. That’s why he’s involved in that facility. Because of me. He’s an opportunist of the worst kind. Always out to make a buck. And he said, when he beat me up, that he was going to get rich. I thought he was talking about smuggling or something.”

“Hey,” Amos said softly, hugging him. “You weren’t brought up like we were, knowing about your heritage. You did the right thing and listened to your instincts. You’ve had to survive the only way you could. I don’t blame you for letting your wolf loose when you had an opportunity. He must have been feeling trapped having to stay hidden for so long.”

“He was desperate to run,” Craig admitted.

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