Hot, Hard & Howling - OpenDrive

Mari Freeman
“He was. Trent was no more than seven or eight when it all happened.” She shook
her head and looked to the ceiling. “Was a sad day, it was. Arly, his dad, was the Alpha.
Even with the rumors of Cedric’s problems. He married a woman named Ednas, from
another pack. It was a smart move because she was the daughter of that pack’s Alpha.
The marriage brought strength and allies to both packs. Ednas was widowed and had a
young son named Cole.”
“I don’t remember Trent having a step-brother,” Trina said as she came down the
stairs with a tray of tea.
“Well. Cole stayed over on Barton’s Ridge, up near West Virginia. That’s where his
kin lived, including his Alpha grandfather.” She took a long sip of her drink. Nell felt
around for the next moth slot while watching Mi-ma’s animated face. “You see, the
grandfather didn’t want that boy around Ednas. She was crazy as a loon and the old
Alpha knew it. So he married her off to Arly and made her his problem.”
Always the dramatic storyteller, Mi-ma surveyed their faces to make sure all three
girls were enthralled before continuing. “Only thing was, that crazy bitch was also
damn evil.” She looked pointedly at Nell. “She gave Arly a son of his own, but she
wanted her first son, Cole, to have both packs when he matured. She wanted Trent out
of the picture because he was in line for Alpha of his father’s pack. So the lunatic
cooked up a plan. She took the whole family on an outing to a cabin up near Pilot
Mountain. She waited until they were all asleep—and then she set the cabin on fire.”
Trina gasped and covered her mouth. “With the boys inside?”
“The boys and Arly. Apparently, while he slept, she’d moved Cole close to the front
door where she could get to him easily. She’d only intended on Trent and Arly burning
up.”
Trina looked as though she where on the verge of tears. Nell’s sister spent most her
life protecting others from her abilities. The thought of using fire as a weapon, on
purpose, shocked her. “What happened, Mi-ma?”
Nell had stopped her progress with the box, wondering the same thing.
“Well, from what I understand, Trent woke up while she was splashing the gas
around. He questioned her, as any child would if he found his mother pouring gasoline
all over the divan. Arly came in just as she tried to splash the stuff directly on Trent.
Arly, being at his wits end with his loco wife, dragged her out to the woods to get her
away from the kids. She attacked him. They both shifted. He killed her dead.”
“Oh my,” Nell breathed, slowly turning the box over to find another location.
Another moth glowed golden and then melded with the wood. “But what happened to
the brother?”
Mi-ma gave a slow shake of her head. “With all that gasoline everywhere,
something sparked the fire. The adults were out in the woods fighting.” She let out a
sympathetic sigh. “Her plan backfired, ’cause Cole was the one who didn’t find his way
out. Bless his heart.” She looked at Nell. “But Trent did.”
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