Hannaford Prep: The Complete Series

by J. Bree

It's only in the black light that you can see the ink that covers me. The skeletal structure I've had tattooed to my skin, the jaw opening wide etched in my cheeks with vicious teeth. Every inch of my body is covered in the whorls and arches that imitate the pelt. The black light shows that underneath the human facade I wear the truth of who I am. The Wolf.

I remind myself that this is necessary, that separating myself from the Jackal is the first step to finding freedom and safety, but it’s like losing my security blanket at the same time as ridding myself of the monster under the bed. He’s evil, he’s twisted and psychotic, and he’s the only family I have left. He’s cared for me since I was nine years old. He’s abused me, broken me, snapped bones, and destroyed me. He’s had my back in every single situation I’ve been in as the Wolf. I can’t think of Matteo without thinking about the Jackal.

“I'm weird. I wear guys’ shirts and sweaters with booty shorts and skirts. I listen to the same three albums on repeat. I like French toast, coffee, and cherry anything. I don't function my birthday or Christmas. I can kill a grown man eight different ways with nothing but my bare hands. I’m never going to be normal.”

“If you're trying to warn us off, it's not going to work. We've never agreed to anything as quickly as when we agreed to share you. I'm not planning on wooing you, I'm planning on doing whatever I need to do to get to keep you.”

Harley scoffs and whispers in my ear, “Stop looking at her like you want to fuck her; you’ll give us all a complex.” I quirk an eyebrow at him. “If we both swung that way, we’d be fucking married by now. I would have wifed her ass last year.”