Arrowed (Arrowed Series Book 1)

by Gryffin Murphy

  In that way, I suppose, my Arrowing had been good for the clan as well. It was a welcome distraction from the unknown threat against us. It brought us together as we were reminded of how special our species was, and the importance of sticking together. People took it to be a sign of positive changes to come, and the notion that there was newfound hope for the younger members to finally match with a soul mate was rejuvenating the pack energy.

  On your way to see Soph? Milo’s voice came into my head as he shifted. I inwardly smiled at his nickname for her. Like a true best friend, Milo had been the most supportive of everybody. He even liked to boast about how he was there to witness it firsthand when it happened.

  Of course I’m going to see her, I responded.

  Are you going to tell her today?

  He was clearly joking. Of course I wasn’t going to tell her. She and I were just now establishing a friendship. There’s no way she’d be ready for any of that.

  We had to develop our relationship organically. Even now, as our friendship was progressing, I tried not to give too much indication of an intention that might scare her away. At first I had tried to be seductive and flirty, but she had an uncanny knack for calling me out on my bullshit. I quickly learned that interactions with her went so much better when I stopped desperately trying so hard to get her to like me and was just myself.

  To Milo, the idea of casually dropping the “shifter bomb” on her was funny, but to me it was a secret that hung over my head every time I was with her. I could just picture how that would go down: Hey Sophia Rose. Guess what? I’m a shape shifter and I’m madly in love with you! Yes, I turn into a wolf and howl at the moon, thinking only of you. What's that? You're moving out of town? You're staying as far away from me as possible?

  Yeah. Let me get right on that.

  It also just wasn’t a good time for our clan to introduce her to our world. We were facing a risk to our entire way of life. Someone knew of our clan and was making their ill intent towards us very clear. It seemed too dangerous a time for her to get involved with our life when we were getting anonymous letters full of wolfs bane.

  Also, there were still some members who had apprehensions over the fact that Sophie was human. There was an imperative privacy involved in our way of life, and any human learning those secrets was dangerous. Because Arrowing on a human wasn’t common, there weren’t any standards regarding the extent of her immersion into the clan. If I were to let her in, could she be let in all the way?

  ➹➹➹

  Sophia

  Since the morning we spent in the library, Noah and I had spent almost every day together. Early on in the friendship, I mentally established that I was going to try and only view him platonically. Mollie was right, he had a way of getting under my skin, but I had a suspicion that his interest in me wouldn’t last forever. If I allowed myself to crush on him and he shot me down, I’d be devastated. I couldn’t handle heartbreak so soon after my mom’s passing.

  I was surprised at how easily I opened up to Noah about my mom, and at how good a listener he was about it. He told me he had lost his father some time ago, and though he didn’t say much about the circumstances I could tell it was still painful for him. It felt really great knowing that he trusted me well enough to share something like that. I liked feeling closer to him. Even though more than half our time together was spent arguing and getting on each other’s nerves, after every interaction I found myself feeling better than I had in a long time. Maybe he’s the fertilizer to my mind-garden. I rolled my eyes and laughed at myself just for thinking it.

  Noah and I often liked to joke about that first day we met, particularly focusing on how comfortable I was scolding a complete stranger. One time I brought up his behavior, accusing him of being on drugs, and he denied it but didn’t offer any other explanation. I couldn’t help but wonder what had made him so angry to drive to the park that day, because since we started hanging out I had seen him highly annoyed or bothered (usually with me) but never again did he reach the level of rage he had demonstrated. The one time I really pushed the issue he looked at me like he was about to say something he shouldn’t, but then he backed out like a puppy dog with its tail between its legs.

  Despite his secrets, Noah quickly became one of my best friends. It was clear to me that I wasn’t the same for him, however. He had his whole “gang” thing going on. (Since he assured me they weren’t on a team of any sort, gang was the only explanation I could come up with.) He kept telling me they were just a regular group of friends, but every now and then he’d cancel on me because of some “personal” matter. Add that to the leather and muscles and for me it equated to gang. Especially after he told me how close they all lived to one-another.

  I had yet to be introduced to his friends, even though he had become acquainted with mine. That was an imbalance I wasn’t okay with, and I made up my mind to insist that the next movie night be at his house at Wolfsblood Ranch.

  A crash of thunder shook the house and I heard my neighbors’ dog, Ginger, barking in response. The sound of her bark was a lot closer than usual, which meant she had crawled under the fence and into our yard again. It was something she had gotten into the habit of doing any time she was scared.

  I groaned and opened our front door.

  "Ginger?" I shouted out into the night, covering my head with my arms. I squinted in the dark as the rain pelted my face. There was a flash of lightning and I saw the golden retriever pacing in the corner of our yard. Squealing slightly from the chill of the rain, I jogged over to her, my bare feet squishing in the puddles of the grass. I grabbed her by the collar and gently coaxed her back over to our neighbor's house.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Myers?" I called out, banging my fist on the door. I heard someone yell something back, but the voice was muffled. Sighing, I looked down at their soggy dog and couldn't help but grin at its pathetic looking face. I’ve always been a dog lover. My grin was instantly erased, however, the second the dog shook its fur and sprayed the rain all over me.

  "Ugh, Ginger!" I whined. Finally, the door opened and Ginger immediately ran inside. Mrs. Myers thanked me fervently while I nodded and smiled politely before rushing back into the warmth and comfort of my own home.

  My clothes were soaked. By the time I had changed into a different pair of jeans and a warm plaid shirt there was already a knock at the door. I ran to go open the door, still shivering slightly. The sooner I was dry and by the fire, the better.

  “Hey, you." I smiled, pulling him in quickly from the storm. He grinned, taking me into one of his usual bone-crushing hugs.

  "I'm sorry," I apologized as he pulled away.

  "For what?" He stepped back to look down at me.

  "I smell like wet dog." I ran a hand through my wet hair, pouting. He smirked, seeming as if he was enjoying some private joke I wasn't aware of.

  "Actually, Sophia Rose, I'm pretty sure that's me."

  ➹➹➹

  Noah

  We were sitting on the floor, with our heads rested back against the couch. She was sitting like that to be closer to the fire, and I was sitting like that to be closer to her. I didn’t need to be near the fire, my supernatural temperature was running high well enough on its own.

  She had joked about it once or twice, like asking if I had just taken a trip to the Earth’s core. The best time was when she just plain mentioned I was “hot” and my responding smile made her blush and ramble on about how she was merely commenting on my body temperature and not my physical appearance. It didn’t matter to me; I’d take what I could get.

  The credits rolled on the movie and I let out a sigh of relief. We had gotten on a horror movie kick, and the blood and guts in this one were a little too excessive and sickening for my taste.

  “So,” she said, turning her torso towards me.

  “Mm?” I responded sleepily. I was still a little worn out from my run. I turned to face her and was immediately awakened with the realization of how physically close we we
re. I was about to get carried away in thoughts about what would happen if I just leaned in a little closer when she spoke up again.

  “I was thinking that maybe next time we could meet up at your place.” She leaned over to grab a handful of popcorn and my eyes lingered on the freckles on her bare shoulders. Halfway through the movie she felt warm enough to take off the shirt she had on over her white camisole and the Arrow nearly passed out at the G rated striptease.

  I shook my head and tried to bring myself back to the present. She wanted to come over to Wolfsblood?

  “Really?”

  “Well it only seems fair,” she said between bites of popcorn. “Besides, I’d like to meet your friends.” Oh, no. It was too soon for that. I didn’t need to be some psychic witch to see how that’d play out. Frankie and Benji would try to embarrass me the whole time. I couldn’t even bear to imagine what my mother would say to her.

  “But I don’t want them meeting you,” I blurted without thinking. As expected, she took it the wrong way.

  “Oh,” she said softly, looking down at her lap. Her head snapped back up angrily. “Why, is there something wrong with me?”

  Damn, she turned me on when her fiery temper flared up. I didn’t think it was a healthy reaction, but it was one I couldn’t help. Every time she got feisty I wanted to take her in my arms and conquer her anger with kisses.

  “There’s something wrong with them.” I laughed, and she smiled apologetically. “They’re obnoxious. They’ll try to embarrass me, and act like idiots in the process. I just don’t want you judging me for hanging out with them.”

  “You don’t just hang out with them,” she argued, “You all live together on one big property. They’re not just ‘people you hang out’ with-they’re your neighbors, your best friends, and practically your family.”

  She was getting pretty close to accurate: they were my clan.

  “You promise not to judge me?” I winced in anticipation.

  “I promise.” She made an X over her heart with her finger, and it was about the cutest thing I’d ever seen. Suddenly she was leaning in closer. “Please, Noah?” My mind went blank.

  “Yes.” Wait-what was the question again? It didn’t matter, one look into those wide golden eyes and I would agree to anything.

  She grinned and reached out to hug me. I took advantage of the hug to take in her scent and the feel of her body pressed against mine as my arms wrapped around her, and I held on for as long as rules of “friendship normalcy” would allow.

  Chapter Five

  Sophia

  I paced back and forth in front of my mirror. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous about meeting Noah’s friends. It was probably because he was nervous. Noah’s apprehension had made him even go as far as to text me in the morning to make sure that I wanted to go through with it. He was so funny. The first time I met him I thought he gave off the impression of being a hard grump and unexpectedly, he had revealed himself to be the opposite: a complete dork.

  I groaned at my closet in frustration. The whole point of having a simple wardrobe was that I was supposed to never feel like I had nothing to wear. And yet that was exactly what I was feeling! I gave up on the search for a perfect outfit that would never appear, and settled upon my lucky ripped jeans and a white blouse. I then threw on my leather motorcycle jacket but froze with my arm halfway through the sleeve. These guys actually rode motorcycles. Would they think I was a lame poser for wearing this jacket? I rolled my eyes and shook the thought out of my head. For a chilly summer night this was the best jacket option I had, so I was forced to go with it.

  I was making my way down the stairs and was about to reach the door when I caught sight of my dad in the kitchen. I was surprised to see him. Usually, he was still at work at this time.

  “You’re home, early,” I commented. He looked up at me from the takeout menu in his hand.

  “I decided to eat some takeout at home tonight,” he explained, loosening his tie, “Would you like to join me? We can get whatever you want: Thai, Chinese…”

  My heart broke at his words. Finally, after years of almost radio silence, my father attempts to share a genuine moment with me and I have plans. I deeply considered cancelling on Noah for a moment, but I had been looking forward to it all evening and I even texted him back in the morning assuring him I wasn’t going to back out.

  Dad looked down at the keys in my hand and he put down the menu. “You have plans don’t you,” he guessed.

  “Yeah,” I responded weakly, “But I love Chinese food, so if we can do a rain check I’ll definitely be there.” I tried to sound excited to encourage him. Maybe all he needed was a little push to start acting like my actual father again, and not a distant housemate.

  “Deal.” He smiled. I nodded and turned to leave but he held out a hand to stop me. “Before you go…”

  “Yeah, Dad?” I pressed. The word ‘Dad’ sounded foreign on my tongue. I hadn’t addressed him by that term in a while. His face reddened and my curiosity peaked.

  “That boy I met the other day…the one who comes over a lot…”

  “Noah,” I clarified.

  “Yes, him. Are you two- I mean, you’re not- Are you making sure you’re-?”

  “We’re just friends, Dad,” I said very quickly, hoping to cut off any semblance of a sex talk that my father was attempting to make. I was 21, it was a little too late for him to “fill me in”. He relaxed in his chair,

  “Okay good. Well, where are you off to now?”

  “Noah’s family owns and runs Wolfblood Ranch. Have you heard of it? I’m going over there for dinner and maybe a campfire.”

  “I see,” he nodded. I could tell he wanted to make some sort of fatherly demand of a curfew but I had been a free agent for so long now we both knew I would have been out of place.

  “Well have fun,” he said instead.

  “Thanks. Goodnight, Dad!” I walked out of the house with a smile on my face. It was the first real moment we had shared since I moved in., and it was definitely a sign of progress.

  ➹➹➹

  Noah

  “I SWEAR TO GOD BENJI IF YOU EVEN DARE-“ The glass shattering in my hand interrupted my shouting. I groaned inwardly. Another glass of water gone, crumpled before I could drink it, and my stupid cousin Benji had already run out of the room laughing before I could make him pay for it.

  “Noah Sebastian if you break one more of my glasses!” Ma threatened, her Southern accent thick with anger. She was using her Alpha voice and it tensed up my entire body. The sensation passed when she came over to gingerly pick the bits of glasses out of my hand.

  “Now, son, I know you’re nervous, but I have ordered everyone in the clan to be on their best behavior. And you know they can’t say no to me.” She winked at me and I smiled in response. Sometimes it really helped to have your mother be the Alpha of the clan. For whatever mystical reason, our clan had no choice but to follow her commands.

  “But what about you, Ma?” I whined, suddenly feeling thirteen, “What if you get too gushy and scare her away?”

  “’Gushy’?” she repeated, “What, like call her my future daughter-in-law? Ask her how many grandchildren she’ll give me?”

  “Yes exactly that!” I was panicking and she laughed right in my face for it,

  “Honey, I may turn into a wolf and run through the wilderness, but I am still civilized. I know how to interact with a human. I also know that for now you two are just friends and I shall treat her as such. Just like when you invite your friends over from school.”

  “Except he never wanted to stick his tongue down the throats of his school friends,” Benji said from the doorway. Ugh, the prodigal idiot returns. Before I could say anything Ma stepped in and gave the kid a severe warning glance. He raised his hands in surrender.

  He was right though. This wasn’t going to be anything like bringing home a friend from school. Tonight was going to be the night when I introduced Sophia Rose to her (hopefully) futu
re family. I didn’t want anyone scaring her away.

  As if on cue, Milo came in from the side door and said, “When’s the future Mrs. arriving?” I felt my mother tense up in anticipation of my reaction but Milo’s comment didn’t put me off because I knew it wasn’t something he’d ever say in front of her.

  “Pretty soon, I think,” I said as I checked my phone for the time.

  “Why is there broken glass all over the floor?” he asked. I gave him one guilty look and he had the answer. He laughed and smacked a hand on my shoulder. “You have to relax, dude. You can’t be this amped up when she gets here. Why don’t you go to the garage and tinker with your tools while I clean up in here?”

  He was absolutely right. If our emotions got to be too heightened we could shift without control. That would not be a good situation. Luckily, nothing calmed me down more than doing some mechanical work on my truck.

  “Thanks man, I owe you.” I hugged him quickly.

  “I expect you to do it for me when my time comes.” I hoped that day came for him soon. Milo was the nicest guy on the planet, and he deserved to have somebody special in his life.

  When I got to the barn that we had turned into a mechanic garage, I saw that Frankie was already there: greased up and working on her motorcycle.

  “Frances, why are you such a mess? Don’t you know we have company a’comin?” I put my hands on my hips and did my best impression of my grandmother.

  “Call me Frances one more time, see what happens,” she said not turning around. I laughed and tossed a rag at her. It hit her in the back and she picked it up, wiping her hands.

  “You seem more relaxed than I’d expected you to be.” She stood slowly, eyeing me up and down.