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her.
    “It’s likely, especially if you are a healthy pureblood.” Cassie opens the stall door. “Just don’t tell anyone about the pill, ok?”
    I salute her the way I do Layla when I’m being a smart ass, except Cassie laughs.
    We step out of the shower and Cassie fights for a spot at the wall of mirrors. She pulls out a tube of red goo and dabs some on her lips. “Do you want some?”
    “No, thanks,” I tell her. “Let’s get out of here. I’m melting.” I’ve never missed air conditioning so much in my life. I pull her away from the mirror and out the door. The humid air actually feels refreshing after being inside. Cassie has her hair twisted into a bun, and I notice a tattoo between her shoulder blades. It’s a small paw print; Layla has the same one on her ankle. “Nice, tat, is that a wolf thing?” I saw a bunch of the girls in the bathroom with the same tattoo.
    “No, it’s a Shasta thing,” Cassie says. “All the females have them.”
    “A Shasta thing? But, my mom has one and she is from Sierra.”
    Cassie stops walking and takes my arm. “Your mother was born a Shasta, not Sierra.”
    “She was born what?”
    Cassie looks worried, like she’s just spilled an important secret. “I just assumed you would know your lineage since you’re practically royalty.”
    “What are you talking about?” I’m starting to think Cassie is the one believing fairy tales now.
    Cassie takes my hand and pulls me away from the clearing; there are too many people around now. “Don’t you know anything about your family? Who you are?”
    “I guess not.”
    “You carry the blood of two original lines. Layla was born an Orrin. Your father is a Tallac. When the pack split, the Orrins went to Shasta as their leader.”
    “How does that make me royalty? Aren’t we all really the same pack?”
    “We are the same pack in theory. But time, politics, and money have created a wedge between the two sides. Someone like you, with blood on both sides, could be the link that brings us back together. You have pureblood from both Sierra and Shasta. That means you and your children can lead either pack or both.”
    I feel like someone just dropped a ton of bricks on my shoulders. Is this why Layla brought me back? So I can lead both packs? One was bad enough, but two?
    Another group of girls saunters by, eyeballing me and Cassie. It’s obvious the girls stay in cliques from their packs, branches even. Cassie explains that the Dunsmuir branch controls Shasta. They have the most alphas and control their industry, beer. “The Sierra pack is run by two families, one controls the business, and the other controls the pack and its branches. They think it keeps things fair, but my father says it will rip them apart.”
    I wonder what side my father comes from, what drives him—power or money. Where would I be if Layla raised me in the pack? Would I even be speaking to Cassie right now? My stomach turns at the thought. Although I’ve only known Cassie a few hours, we are connected. I can feel it. “Why don’t you hate me?”
    “I told you, we’re family.” She smiles and pulls me in for hug. “I may be small, but if any of those bitches try anything, I got your back.” Cassie puts her fists up. I know she means it. Cassie is a petite version of my mother. Her hair is wavy like Layla’s, and she has the same sapphire blue eyes, only she’s about four inches shorter. “Now, let’s go fall in love!” she says and pulls me back towards the clearing.
    Cassie insists we sit on top of a table where everyone can see us. It’s a power play, she says. After our talk, I’m feeling stronger, bolder. I even put on some of Cassie’s lip gloss. Jessie’s beer is being consumed by the barrel. There are kegs of it in enormous ice bins on both sides of the makeshift dance floor. A few females are dancing. Cassie calls them low alphas.
    I’ve learned that a “low alpha” is someone with a parent who has never phased, either