Read Online Splintered by Dean Murray - Free Book Online Page A

There's a spot just west of Angel's
Landing that I've been trying to catch in the right light almost
since we arrived."
    We all crowded around Mom's
laptop.
    "What about this one, Adri?"
    "I don't know, Mom. I think the
birds actually ruin it. If you sell it as a smaller print they look
like smudges and even with a larger print they're kind of
asymmetrical, not in a good way."
    Sam shook his head as we finished and Mom set
her laptop down. "That's amazing. I mean it isn't very often you
get to sit in on a piece of the creative process like that. You're
really good, Mrs. Paige."
    Mom blushed slightly. "Thanks. I'm
still a long way from being where I need to be but I do appreciate
the flattery. Careful, Alison. Sam seems like he could be quite the
heart-throb."
    Alison chuckled. "Oh, he's good, but
not nearly as good as he thinks he is."
    "I guess we can't all be Casanovas
like Alec."
    Sam said it with a smile, but there was an edge
to his eyes. I was so busy wondering if he and Alison had been
fighting lately that I was halfway to the door before I realized
Mom's expression had become just the slightest bit
fixed.
    "You know Alec well, Sam?"
    "Yeah. As well as anyone really knows him I
guess. He's kind of a private kind of person."
    I never would have believed that things could
go bad this quick. Whatever had Sam bent out of shape would have to
be addressed later. For now I just needed to get him out of the
house before Mom completely freaked out.
    As if reading my mind, Alison
punched Sam lightly in the shoulder. "Alec's a good guy and you
know it. Not many people would take in the Dominics and Jasmins of
the world like he has."
    Mom's expression didn't unfreeze much, but I
figured nothing I could say would really fix things right
now.
    "Shall we head out,
guys?"
    There was exactly one fast-food
place in Sanctuary, and it was surprisingly empty for a Saturday. I
managed not to say anything until we made it to Big
Al's.
    "What is up with you today, Sam? You
do remember that I'm dating Alec, right? After that comment, it's
going to be that much harder to convince my mom that Alec's not
some kind of monster."
    "No pun intended, right?" Alison had
the grace to look abashed, but Sam's words weren't the apology I
was expecting.
    "I'm serious. My mom was already
freaked out. She's got this thing against rich guys."
    "You're right. I shouldn't have said that.
Things are just getting pretty bad with Alec gone. The dominants
are all riding us pretty hard. Alison is little more than a slave,
fetching and carrying for Isaac and Jess."
    Alison put a hand on Sam's arm.
"That's not entirely fair. We're shape shifters; that's how things
work. Dominants boss the submissives around."
    "Right, which is totally in keeping with Alec's
squeaky-clean image. If anything it's worse that we're being
treated like that here. I thought we'd finally be beyond this
crap."
    I grabbed a French fry while I
stalled for time to think. "I thought things were a lot better
since you guys came over from Brandon's pack."
    Sam shrugged. "It's all relative. We
get the crap kicked out of us no matter where we go; Alec was just
more misleading about what we were getting into."
    Alison looked for a second like she was going
to interject something, but instead looked down and grabbed a fry
of her own.
    I shook my head. "That doesn't sound
right, doesn't sound like what Alec is trying to do."
    "Maybe you're right, maybe he isn't
trying to do that to us, but that's what's happening. Even Jasmin
has been riding us lately, and she has less reason than anyone. I
know Jack is kind of a maniac, but none of us has done anything to
her."
    "I'll talk to the others. No promises, but
we've been through a lot together so maybe it will
help."
    Sam smiled. "Thanks, Adriana. By the way, good luck helping
Jasmin catch Ben. He seems like a pretty hard sell."

Chapter 11
    Alec still wasn't back in town by the time
Monday rolled around. I was starting to feel jittery and tired.
Someone else