The Reluctant Read Online Free Page A

talent I am often envious
of. Then maybe I wouldn’t hurt you so much. Our children will be
born Lycanthrope, and luckier than us by far. But I digress, again.
I’m sorry. I just want you to understand. There’s so much for you
to learn.
    When my father confronted her about
taking up with other men, she Changed him. She could have killed
him, but according to her, knew that I would be human and wanted as
normal a life as possible for me. Now, I think she wanted someone
to leave me with when she was ready to leave and wander as her kind
are known for doing—someone who, even if he Changed, would not harm
me because of his love for me.
    And my father did comply for the first
few years of my life on the banks of the Gulf of California, taking
care of me and repressing as much of his newly-acquired nature as
possible. He was naturally a passive man, I remember that much. He
had a wonderful smile. My mother had not changed that about
him.
    Lycanthrope will choose a weaker human
mate, no offense Emily, to take as his or her own. Apparently the,
well, I guess it’s brainwashing, but Lycanthrope scientists insist
it’s pheromones—anyway, Imprinting will not take place if the
potential Lycanti does not have a weaker will. And the Lycanthrope
always demand absolute obedience. My mother broke my father
emotionally and physically. He was dead of his wounds inflicted by
her during a mating by the time I turned five. I never knew what
happened to him until a few years ago. He just quit coming to the
house. Instead of his loving caretaking, I was left with often
inattentive friends of my mother who had children my age—normal
friends of hers, not Clan. Like I said, my childhood was very
normal except for my father’s abandonment crushing me.
    My mother hid her condition very well.
She told me the truth about herself before I graduated. I did not
believe it. I thought perhaps it would be a kinder thing if she
went back to her family in Mexico so they could take care of her. I
asked many questions trying to get her to see reason, and she
became angry during many of her terse answers. I think she
regretted raising me away from the Clan. Every Lycanthrope child
knows the history and mannerisms of its pack. But I, an ignorant
human adolescent, had no idea about any of this. She thought I was
mocking her, or worse, thought her insane. She was not far off from
guessing my thoughts. I dismissed her careful explanations of
Halflings and Pure Bloods, and it wasn’t until much later that I
learned the genetic facts and far more than I ever wanted to know
about my condition from Luka.
    After revealing all of this to me, she
fled back to her Lycanthrope pack, presumably to finally find
another mate. I was alone. And suddenly, I found myself as prey for
a society that I knew pitifully little about—but who knew
everything about me thanks to a mother who would not stop bragging
about her very human son. Soon, one sought me out.

    Emily

    The next few days cycled as if Will
and I had never been strangers. We hadn’t had sex again since that
night of lovemaking after rape, and Will was polite, courteous, and
more than willing to not touch me until I acted like I wanted him
to—which I must admit I rubbed against him at every chance
possible. We hung around his house, which was nothing fancy, but
which indulged every summer whim I had. We spent hours talking
about books, movies, music, and even discussed politics, always
quietly and noncompetitively. He told me funny stories about his
best friend Luka, and I told him about falling when I accepted my
diploma the previous summer. This surreal state was achieved mainly
by my newly-acquired mood of composure. I had never been this
docile. Was he drugging me? He certainly fed me enough, always
insisting that I allow him to show off since he rarely had anyone
to show off for.
    “Will?” I asked on the third night
before forking some spaghetti into my mouth. I swear that I gained
five pounds that