Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) by Genevieve Jack

groaned.
    “Maybe it doesn’t hav e to mean something, but I want it to. I don’t want to grow old with someone who simply served a purpose in my life, like an ugly Christmas sweater I wear every year because it’s become some kind of preposterous tradition. I need intimacy. I want tenderness and love. Yes, real love.” Tears had formed in her eyes and her voice was narrowly short of yelling. “I want what Mom and Dad had.” And that was that. There was no holding back the tears. They stormed her face with a vengeance.
    “So that’s it then. This is about our parents.”
    She whirled on him. “Don’t you want what they had? The pure, unadulterated affection we grew up with?”
    Jason frowned. “Everyone aspires to that, Laina, but you have to remember, they were both purebreds. They were one of the lucky ones who loved the person they were supposed to marry. It’s not like one of them was human.”
    “Cameron asked me to marry him at the ball,” she said suddenly.
    “Cameron is gay.”
    “You caught on to that, huh?”
    “Uh, yeah. I think most people know. They just don’t talk about it.”
    “Well, is that good enough for me? Should I be happy that someone asked? Should I be satisfied with a platonic marriage?”
    “Only you can answer that, but I would think choosing Cameron would be far preferable to having someone chosen for you. You’re twenty-nine and female. You’re running out of time.”
    “I could refuse altogether.”
    “Disobey Silas? How? You’d have to break your connection to your alpha.”
    “It’s possible. It’s been done before in extreme circumstances.”
    “You’d be shunned by the pack. It’s suicide, not to mention it would break my heart. We could never shift together.”
    His forlorn expression caused her to start crying again. Jason strode up to her and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t cry. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll always be your brother.”
    She hugged him back. “I miss Mom and Dad. I hate Alex Bloodright. I hate Jonah. I hate what they’ve done to us.” She sobbed into her brother’s arms. “Will we ever be free to move on from this… nightmare?”
    “I don’t know, sis. I just don’t know.”

Nine
    T he wolves arrived in shifts and Laina guided them in discreet units to the forest behind Monty’s. Not the forest the humans could see, but one that could only be accessed through the door in the back of Monty’s office, enchanted and otherwise inaccessible. If anything, the space was safer than Rivergate Manor, aside from the fact that an ogre with suspected tendencies toward organized crime guarded the door.
    “How have you been?” Cameron asked as he helped her set up the tent that would serve as their mess hall for the next three days. It was possible for the pack to appear human and go about their business during the day, but they rarely did. The preference was to stay together, a three-day wolfapalooza, a family reunion.
    “As well as can be expected,” Laina said. “Monty is about as agreeable as… well, an ogre.”
    He shook his head. “Thanks for doing this. I still can’t believe your older brother offered you up like a sacrificial lamb.”
    “Speaking of my brother, where is everyone’s favorite alpha?” she asked dryly.
    “You don’t know? He left when the rest of us scattered to the wind. Said he was going to track down Jonah and end this before anyone else got hurt.” Cameron shrugged. “It’s my job to know where everyone is, yet Silas didn’t tell me where he was going. I thought he’d tell you.”
    Laina frowned. As much as her brother could be a pain in the ass, she loved the man. Where was he? The alpha never missed a shift on purpose. She retrieved her phone from her back pocket, the one Silas had given her in case of an emergency, and texted him. A few seconds later, the device chimed as his response came through.
    I’m fine. Won’t be there. You can handle it without me.
    She showed it to