by G. Bailey
“Nikoli Forest,” he replies, standing up and walking around the desk. He stops right in front of me, and I don’t move a muscle as he places his hand on my upper arm. There’s something in his gaze, the way he looks at me like he just found a treasure he had been looking for, for years, and it makes me want to stay still. I know it means a lot to him only to touch my arm, but I’m not sure why.
“You called me your mate. What did that mean?” I ask, and he smiles, making him look even more attractive than should be allowed.
“Male wolves are only destined for one, and the male can tell from eye contact with the female they are destined for,” he tells me, moving even closer, so all I can smell is him and the forest-like scent that he seems to have. It’s sweet and strangely comforting. I didn’t even know I liked the forest.
“And you think I’m destined for you?” I ask eventually.
“Yes,” he merely says, like its nothing, and I shrug his hand away.
“I’m not anyone’s, and don't expect that I’m going to be yours just because you say I am. I don’t even know you,” I tell him firmly, which only seems to make him chuckle. I step back, flinching when the pain goes up my leg.
“You’re hurt,” he states, a small growling noise following his words.
“She was bitten by the rogue, remember?” Gold tells Nikoli. “He nearly tore her leg off. It’s healed; well, almost. I checked it five hours ago, but she could still use seeing Tam make sure it doesn’t scar like mine,” Gold says, and Nikoli nods.
“I’ll take her,” he replies, staring at my leg like he can see through the bandage or something. Or he can will the cut to heal with a staring contest.
“Wait, who is Tam?” I ask him as he steps away.
“The pack healer; it’s a special gift. Turned wolves cannot get gifts, but those born as wolves receive gifts from their family line,” he tells me.
“Right,” I reply, looking at Gold, who gives me a small, encouraging smile.
“Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?” Nikoli asks me and I give him a look that suggests where he can shove that idea.
“I can walk,” I bite out. This is all too much, and most of me wants to run away from him, from this place. Another part of me feels safe here, and I shouldn’t. I need to find Colton and get away from the man in front of me, who is looking at me like I belong to him or something. I mean, these people have basically kidnapped me and told me a load of fairy tales that I’m expected to believe. Who believes in fairy tales anyway?
“We won’t hurt you. If you give us a chance and stay in my pack, you will have a safe home. I’m not expecting anything from you,” Nikoli says gently, watching me like I’m about to run. It’s strange that I can see that he knows what I want to do.
“Okay, but I want to speak to an old friend. I just disappeared on him,” I say, and he nods, walking to the door and holding it open.
“I will sort out a way for you to contact him after we have looked at your leg,” he tells me. Gold puts her arm around me, and I let her lead me out. We follow Nikoli down the corridor, and I look back to see Erik walking away towards the front door.
“Go and see Arisa, at least, if not Snow,” Gold shouts, and my eyes widen in shock when he suddenly glimmers slightly and shifts into a giant grey wolf, like the wolf I saw before I passed out, and runs out the open front door.
I can’t avoid or deny this anymore; shifters are real.
“This way,” I say, holding the door to the infirmary open and watch as Harper looks up at me wearily before she goes in. She doesn’t trust me, and I don’t blame her. Harper’s long chestnut coloured hair falls down her back, and when she moves, it floats around her. I can’t stop staring at her, the woman I’ve waited so long for, and she is more than I could have imagined. She is strong because even though she is in pain, she tries not to show it with every step. Stubborn too, and I have a feeling I’m going to have my hands full with this one. I’ve waited years for a mate, many more years than others would have. I’ve met hundreds of females wolves over the years, and it was always expected that I would mate with a born wolf. Not that turned are less powerful, they just don’t come with gifts, and there aren’t a lot of alphas that are mated to them. I don’t care about any of those politics, though, and never have. I don’t run my pack by the rules the royals set. Harper turns slightly to look up at me as she stops in the middle of the room, those warm green eyes locking onto mine, and I have the feeling she is looking for any excuse to run. I don’t know her, but I know she doesn’t want to be here. I don’t blame her; she has had quite the introduction to the shifter world by being bitten by a rogue. I wish that rogues didn’t turn as many innocents like her that they do, but it happens all the time. Harper is lucky that the twins found her and brought back here. Hunters usually have to take newly turned to the royal family, and they have to attend the royal school, and learn how to control their wolf. Not a lot of alphas will take in new wolves because they don’t have time to manage and teach one.
“This way.” I wave a hand towards the doctor’s room door and hold it open. I watch as Gold nods with a smile as she looks at Harper and me. She and her brother hunt rogues for my pack, as well as two other pairs that go out, if needed, and they do take jobs for the royal family because they pay so well. My pack has seventy wolves and is small compared to some of the packs around the world, but it’s still illegal to turn humans. We don’t do that, and I will have to send a letter to the royals to explain what happened with Harper.
“Who’s this?” Tam says as I pull the door shut behind the girls. Gold leads Harper over to one of the beds in the room, and she sits down. Tam is a little shorter than me, with dark brown hair cut short, and he always wears casual shirts with quotes on them. The one he has on at the moment is a picture of a grumpy looking cat and the words ‘I’m not impressed’ under it. The man is strange to me, but I like him. He has a class of three wolves he teaches healing too and overall, he is amazing at calming down wolves when accidents happen. I’ve never seen him not be able to find a way to heal anyone. The pack and I couldn’t do any of the things we do, without him.
“Tam, this is our newest pack member, Harper,” I introduce, and Tam grins at me. I’ve known Tam since we were both pups, and he is one of my closest friends. There’s no one else I would trust to heal her, and while I wish I could do it, that’s not my gift. I have the power calm someone down with one touch, which is good for an alpha to have when I have to sort out fights in the pack. I wish to use my calming power on Harper to help her relax, but mates cannot use their skills on each other. They dull each other out and its always been that way. I guess it’s a natural thing, to never be able to hurt or control your mate.
“Hello, pretty lady,” Tam says, walking over to her as Gold waves and sits down next to Harper. I smirk when Harper gives him a snarky look with a raised eyebrow. Tam looks at her in surprise; I’m sure he’s shocked that his charms don’t work on someone for once. Tam has half the women in the pack in love with him, and a string of one-night stands in the local town to prove how he always makes women like him. I don’t have time for that; well, not until I saw Harper. I hope she gives me the chance to get to know her.
“Right… well, let’s have a look at that leg you’re limping on,” he says, going to his knees and undoing the bandage. When I see the nasty bite on her leg, I grit my teeth, finding myself extremely glad this rogue is already dead, so I don’t have to kill him myself. The rogue looked like he attempted to rip her whole leg off, with the ten or so bites I can see. It’s started to heal but still looks terrible. I’m shocked that she walked in here.
“So, Harper, I’m going to place my hand on your wound, and it will feel freezing for a minute while I heal you. Just don’t move, okay?” he instructs, hovering his hand over the central part of the bite. She nods, and I step forward on instinct when she screams as he places his hand roughly on her bite. A low growl comes out, and Harper looks over at me as pain ro
ckets over her eyes. I walk over, taking her hand in mine as she bravely lets Tam heal her. It always hurts a lot, but it’s over quickly. Tam leans back as he moves his hand away, looking at her leg, which is healed and only a little-dried blood is left there.
“That’s amazing,” she says looking down at her leg. “Thank you.” It's incredible how there are no scars, not a bite mark in sight. I wish every wolf that is turned could see Tam or a healer like him. The scar that is usually left is horrible.
“No problem,” Tam says, looking at my hand in hers, and he smirks at me as he guesses who she is.
“Congrats, old man. It’s been, what, two hundred years of waiting?” he asks, and Harper responds.
“Two hundred? You're over two hundred years old?” she asks me, removing her hand from mine, and I glare at Tam before nodding at her.
“Wow,” she says, pulling her leggings down her one leg and standing up.
“I told you we live a long time,” Gold tells her softly.
“I know, it’s just…” she says, and Gold takes her hand in hers.
“I’m going to show Harper around and then find her room,” she says, and as much as I don’t want to be away from her, I know she needs a friend like Gold to help her settle in.
“She can have the one next to mine,” I say, and Harper glares at me.
“I don’t know what you expect from me, but that’s not happening… I want a room away from you.”
“It's safer for you to be near me, while you control your wolf. I’m not expecting anything, but I want to keep an eye on you. You don’t want to shift in your sleep and go running out of the house without me there to protect you,” I tell her. It’s happened more than once to turned shifters, and then they are away from other wolves for too long as their pack tries to find them. Their wolf takes over, and then they are lost. It’s a horrible side affect the life we have.
“I won’t ever be yours, you know that? This is pointless.” She crosses her arms and glares up at me.
“Run all you want, Harper, but wolves love the chase,” I reply, and her bright green eyes widen in shock. I turn around and walk out the room, knowing she is watching me. I have to make a plan to win her over.
“So, this is the kitchens,” Gold says as she opens one of the big glass doors at the end of the corridor, which opens into a large modern kitchen. It has dozens of cabinets, two large fridges and freezers, and a large double oven. All of the house is quite modern and clean; very clean for the number of people that live in it. I’ve seen several people walking around who have waved at us. They all have thick Irish accents, much like Tam has. Nikoli has a little accent, but it's not there that much, just the way he says certain words. I keep my eyes on the doors, seeing there’s one in the kitchen, and one at the end of the corridor that leads outside.
“The pack always eats together, so we need a big kitchen. Come on.” She gestures for me to follow her and walks back out the door. I follow her down the incredibly long corridor, and she opens a wooden door halfway down.
“How is everything so clean?”
“We have a rota for everything and a WhatsApp group chat, and everyone is on it. You will be added to help. It works well,” she tells me. That’s the strangest group chat I could ever think of.
“This is the living room,” she says and walks in. I follow her, and the first thing I see are the four young women seated on two sofas in the room, watching a movie. One with long black hair pauses the film, and all of them turn to stare.
“Everyone, this is Harper, your new pack member,” Gold says, introducing us. The one with black hair and bright blue eyes stands up, walking over. She is stunning – like, supermodel stunning – and I find myself staring. She also looks slightly familiar. She offers me a hand, and I shake it as she speaks.
“Nice to meet you, Harper. I’m Snow,” she says. I ignore the strange names they all have and simply nod. This is just like a damn twisted fairy tale.
“That’s Sarah, Phoebe, and Daisy,” Snow introduces the other women in the room and I wave, feeling awkward as Snow pulls Gold into a hug.
“How is my niece?” Gold asks her as she pulls away.
“Out at dancing class with the humans. I’m picking her up in an hour,” Snow says gently.
“I can’t wait to see her,” Gold says, with genuine excitement in her eyes.
“It’s good to see you, and she will be so happy. Is Erik back?” she asks Gold, who nods. A brief look of sadness drifts over Snow’s face before she hides it with a big smile.
“See you later. I’m showing Harper around,” Gold says, giving Snow a sympathetic look. I don’t get what is going on there, but the girls on the sofa all give each other and Snow sad smiles.
“Every Friday, we have girls’ night in here. No boys allowed and you're more than welcome to come. It’s in three days and might be a good way to settle in,” Snow tells me.
“Thanks, I’ll think about it,” I say, leaving out the fact I plan to leave here before then. She smiles, walking back to the sofa, where the other girls are watching me with curious faces. None of them looks unfriendly but growing up in foster care taught me not to judge people on their looks. The most innocent-looking person could be the cruellest, whereas the evilest-looking, could be the kindest.
“So, all down here are different social rooms. There is a game room, two offices, two studies, an art room, and the rest are mainly sofa-filled rooms for the pack,” Gold explains as we walk out the room and into the corridor. I follow her back towards the entrance, stopping to stare when two men walk in through the doors. They stop as well, looking me over.
“Stop staring, it’s not like we don’t get new pack members. Don’t you all have a job to be doing?” Gold says, and they give her an amused look before glancing over at me once more, then turn to leave.
“It will get better,” Gold tells me.
“How many people live here?” I ask as we walk up the stairs.
“Seventy live on the lands. In the house, there are only ten that are invited to live here. The betas, the alpha, and his family. And a few wolves who are needed to be close to the alpha, like Tam,” she says. I guess it makes sense to have the healer in the main house.
“His family?” I ask her. It suddenly hits me that Nikoli might have a girlfriend, and maybe even children. Why does that thought make me want to be sick?
“Yes. Snow is his sister, and she is married to Erik, with a child,” Gold says, and some kind of relief fills me. I don’t want to think about why I’m so relieved, so I settle on looking at the first floor we walk up to. There are many doors randomly placed down the corridor, and it’s kind of empty, other than a cabinet and bookcase that I can see.
“This is my floor, and the others. You’re up here,” Gold says, continuing to walk up another set of stairs to the next floor. I follow her up, stopping to look out a massive window that overlooks the vast forest behind the house. The glass is stained with pinks and yellows, but it’s still easy to see out of.
“We own about two hundred acres around the house. In the woods, are seven houses that we built over the years, and the other members of the pack live in them. When you shift, the woods are good to run and hunt in. The humans in the town have just gotten used to seeing wolves in the woods, and ignoring them,” she tells me.
“When will I shift?” I ask her, wondering how close the movies I watched got to the real deal. I also know I need to shift first before I try and leave. I just hope what they said about my wolf taking over doesn’t come true before I can get to Colton and explain everything. I know I will have to return here, but I can’t leave Colton just wondering where I am.
“Tonight. It’s always the night after you wake up from being bitten. No one knows why again, but sometime tonight, you will shift. Nikoli will take you out to the woods and help you. You need an alpha around,” she says, and I pull my gaze away from the woods to look at her.
“Why can’t you?” I ask, not wanting to be alon
e with Nikoli.
“I’m not an alpha, and I couldn’t control you if you need help,” she laughs, but stops at my worried expression. “He makes you nervous, and that’s normal. But, come on. Nikoli is one fine-looking guy,” she says, knocking my shoulder, and I laugh.
“He may be a little bit attractive,” I say, and Gold raises her eyebrows at me. I shake my head at her and start thinking of his soft-looking black hair and fantastic body. Attractive is a significant understatement; the man seems like everything a woman could want. I haven’t dated anyone in a year, and even then, it was some stupid guy that only cared about feeling me up, and I ended up slapping him. I met Colton not long after, and no guys would come near me, as they assumed I was dating him. Gold doesn’t reply, only laughs again as she carries on walking up the stairs. I follow her up and at the top is another corridor with three doors. Straight in front are two double doors, and two single ones next to it. Gold walks over to the only door on the left and opens it. I walk in as she holds the door open. The room is lovely and simple, but more than I’ve ever had before. It's way too big and nice.
“I can’t accept this room. It's huge,” I say and Gold chuckles.
“He isn’t going to want his mate sleeping far away from him, and the house is huge,” Gold says, and I suppose she is right.
“Look, get some rest, and Nikoli will come and get you. If you need anything, I’m going to be in the gym, which is at the back of the house.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she nods, understanding what I mean.
“Can I come in?” Nikoli voice comes from the other side of the door, seconds after he knocks twice. I sit up on the bed, straightening my hair down from my nap.
“Sure,” I call back, and he opens the door, walking in. Nikoli stops when he sees me, and smiles as he looks me over. Nikoli has a jumper on, and tight jeans that I find myself not being able to look away from.