True Nature Read Online Free PDF Page A

quickly, then headed back to the car, shivering. He’d definitely remember to put another jacket in the car.
    On the way to Zoe’s, he turned up the radio as Neon Trees sang “Animal.” He stopped long enough to grab a gallon of milk and three sub sandwiches at a grocery store. Changing twice in one night left him hungry. As he drove, he ate the first sandwich and remembered the day he’d learned his family’s genetic secret.
    He was sixteen at the time. Summoned to the Manhattan office of his father, Stirling MacRae, he was surprised to find Fraser, his grandfather, there too. The two men had looked very tall and stern, standing together in front of the windows. Though over eighty, Fraser was still fit of form, his hair only sprinkled with silver, his intense green eyes alive with the vitality of a man many years younger. Stirling was striking, as well, but later, when he knew the truth, Hunter had realized that the father and son gave off two very different vibes.
    On that day nearly thirteen years ago, the two men looked so grim that Hunter was sure his grandmother was dead. He reacted accordingly.
    “Is something wrong with Nana Isobel?” Hunter rushed to his grandfather’s side. “Is she sick?”
    With uncharacteristic gentleness, the older man placed a hand on Hunter’s shoulder and squeezed. “No, lad,” he said, his Scottish accent as strong as ever. “Your grandmother is well and happy. I’ve come to take to you to our home for a while. There are things you need to learn about your family.”
    Hunter turned to his father for the first time. “What’s this all about?”
    “Your grandfather will give you all the information you need,” Stirling MacRae said. “I’ve had your things packed so you can leave with him now. You’ll take the company helicopter back to the estate.”
    “What if I don’t want to go?”
    “That doesna matter, boy, you have to go with me,” Fraser said. “Now, come on, I want to get back to the estate before it gets dark.”
    The “estate” was a house as big as a small town in the Adirondack Mountains. The family owned another estate in Scotland, a ski lodge in Canada, a beach house in Hawaii, and a villa in France. But the Adirondack estate was Fraser’s pride and joy. He had it built once he established himself in New York City. As soon as Stirling started taking over the law firm, Fraser and Hunter’s grandmother spent as much time there as possible. Hunter had visited for at least a month every summer until he’d become a teenager and found life in the city more interesting. Since then his visits had been brief, usually with the rest of his family for holidays and his grandfather’s huge birthday celebrations.
    Birthdays were big events in the MacRae family—often with several celebrations. While Fraser and Isobel brought family and close friends to the mountains for birthdays, Stirling took advantage of the occasions to host tax-write-off galas filled with clients and business associates. These were must-have invitations for a certain group in the city. You weren’t officially a part of New York society unless your name was on a guest list for a MacRae-hosted event.
    Hunter’s sixteenth birthday party had been held at the Marriott in Times Square with Cold Play and the Beastie Boys providing entertainment. Even though his father had filled the club with lots of people Hunter didn’t know, he and Zoe and their friends had enjoyed an evening of unlimited food, music, and games. Hunter smiled, remembering he’d gotten to third base with Lindsey, his new girlfriend. The brand new Porsche his father gave him certainly aided that conquest. Now he was supposed to leave Lindsey and his great car behind to visit grandparents?
    “No way,” he muttered angrily. He wasn’t leaving the city right now.
    “You have no choice.” Stirling’s face was set in the uncompromising lines that Hunter recognized well.
    “It’s time for you to learn about your