The shaggy boy grumbled. "Twenty-five and three-quarters."
I patted him on his arm. "Don't feel bad, I’m only twenty-one. The grandmas and grandpas are just jealous," I grinned.
As the group collectively groaned in disagreement, another voice quipped in.
"Wait, you’re only twenty-one?" Ashleigh cut in, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Yup. Something wrong with that?"
The blue-eyed beauty shook her head, her curls shaking with her. "No, not at all... Just... Surprised."
"Wait, how old did you think I was?" I asked, a smirk appearing on my lips. Two could play this game.
"I dunno..." she muttered, but I could just tell from her facial expression that she was shocked.
"Ashleighhhh?"
This time it was Aspen who threw a little twig at his sister. "Yes, tell her Ashleigh, what did you think?" he added, his face oddly smug.
I cocked my head to the side as I wordlessly asked her with my eyes. She glared back at me for a second, before her gaze softened and the frown disappeared from her forehead.
"I don't know, maybe twenty-four," she admitted, her voice strained.
"So why is twenty-one such a big deal?" There wasn't much of a difference with twenty-four. Wait, how old was Ashleigh? And Aspen? Well, obviously they were the same age, they were twins. "Wait, how old are you two?"
"Thirty-one!" Aspen happily chirped as he puffed up his chest as well. "But even if I do say so myself, I’m looking mighty fine for my age."
Thirty-one? A wave of shock and nausea washed over me. Both my mates were ten years older than me? Ashleigh, my beautiful Ashleigh, was almost as old as my oldest brother?
"What?" I softly uttered, still not sure how I was supposed to react to that.
I felt my hands grow clammy as sweat threatened to break through my forehead. They had both cuddled up to me. I had even been fanning over Aspen's muscled chest. Hell, I had almost kissed Ashleigh.
Thirty-one? Jeez... How could that even be? Weren't people of that age supposed to be grown-up and serious? And not chase your naked brother and spank him with a pine tree serious?
A soft hand landed on my upper thigh. And even though my wolf purred from Ashleigh's touch, a little shiver ran through my body. And not the good kind. Ten years?
Ashleigh threw the same stick back at her brother, hitting him square between the eyes. "Shut up, jackass. We are only twenty-seven and our birthdays have already passed. He is just yanking your chain."
As if my body suddenly became pounds lighter, I felt the oxygen return to my lungs. Fucking Aspen, why would he do that to me? Cheeky bastard. I quickly counted the years in my head, calculating that their birthday had already passed and I would turn twenty-two at the end of the year. So that made them only five years older than me. Not ten.
Ooof...
As if Danny had noticed the turmoil inside me, she shook her head in disappointment at the cheeky wolf and gave me one of her kindest smiles. "You shouldn't take anything he says too seriously, Akira. He doesn't know when to stop."
"No, it's fine..." I murmured, my heart still pounding in my ears. As much as I felt drawn to Ashleigh, I wasn't sure if I would ever be okay with such an age difference.
I felt a gentle squeeze and as I followed the arm attached to the hand, I ended up staring in Ashleigh's bright blue eyes. She was looking at me intensely and I could tell she noticed I was a bit shaken up. Worry flashed through her eyes and wordlessly, I knew she was asking me if I was okay.
As I stared into the glaciers, any doubt I previously had, melted like the last snow of winter under the first rays of spring's sun.
I softly squeezed her hand back, as I nodded almost unnoticeable.
Turns out I didn't care after all. I let out a sigh. "I don't like this game."
Aspen chuckled, while Ashleigh threw another rock at his head. At this rate, we would run out of rocks to throw as they all ended up in Aspen's corner.
"So what do we do then? We are stuck in this freaking cave until God knows when," Darren groaned as he threw another rock against the wall.
More rock throwing?
Regan threw him a confused look, looking quite happy with his little stick house, not sure why his companion didn't like the cave.
"We can play another game?" I suggested, feeling the group quirk up.
"What kind of game?" Darren asked, his eyes shining with enthusiasm. He really was a kid sometimes. No wonder I thought him to be younger than he was.
Yeah, what kind of game... Good question... With three sets of expectant eyes staring at me, I felt heat creep up to my cheeks. Why can't you just think before saying things, Akira?
"What if... One of us makes three statements. Two of them have to be true, one of them is a lie. And then the others just guess which one it is?"
Ashleigh scratched the side of her head in confusion. "But we all know each other really well. How would that work?"
"Pssh, please, you don't know all my secrets," Aspen next to her huffed.
"You think I don't know everything about you?" she challenged him, making him puff up his chest.
"Nah."
"No? Alright, bring it on," my dark-haired mate growled, never able to resist her brother riling her up.
"Why don't I start?" I quickly intervened, hoping that this would calm down the war threatening to break out. "Okay, three things about myself... Ehmmm..." Again, I mentally hit myself over the head. Think before you speak, Akira! Damn it!
As the twins and Darren curiously stared at me, I racked my brains for some weird things about myself. Things that might be questionable.
"Aha. Okay, I got some! Number one. I got my head stuck in a pumpkin once. Number two. When I was little, I fell in horseshit. Number three. I tripped my sister during an official ceremony. Two are true, but which one is the lie?"
"Wait, only one of them is a lie?" Ashleigh asked as she furrowed her brows, thinking lines appearing on her forehead. She was so cute.
"I wish all of them were true," Darren dreamily sighed, staring at me with a new-found admiration.
I chuckled. Only he would hope that. "Only two happened."
Aspen narrowed his eyes. "I do think you'd trip your sister, but I want the others to be true... So I'll pick the sister tripping."
"Darren?"
He cocked his head to the side, studying my face. "I pick the horseshit... If that was true, you wouldn't have told us," he reasoned, looking quite smug with his answer.
"I believe the pumpkin. Your head isn't small enough to fit in one," Ashleigh argued, making the wolf in my chest whimper. See, this is why she was our mate.
But before I could confirm which one was the lie, a loud bang was heard from outside the cave. Like rabbits, we all jumped up and ran towards the entrance. A warm hand grabbed my upper arm, catching me mid-way.
"Don't go outside..." Ashleigh warned me, as she stuck her nose in the air. Behind her, Aspen and the rest caught up as well.
"Incoming!" Aspen loudly whispered into the group, as they all stopped dead in our tracks.
"What?" I bewilderedly asked, looking around at my companions.
"Ssssh,' Ashleigh hushed me, pulling me closer to her.
"What?" I asked again, a lot quieter this time.
"Coyotes. And a lot of them," Danny whispered from the other side of me, as she slowly unbuttoned her coat and dropped it on the ground. On her other side, Darren was pulling off his pants as Regan suddenly lost his shirt.
Was this really the appropriate response to Coyotes? Stripping? What was it with this group, couldn't they just keep on their freaking clothes? I thought they were cold?
"JP is going to stay with you, guard our bags, please?" Ashleigh whispered in my ear as I forced myself not to look down at her bare shoulders and the rest of her curves. There was obviously something going on here and I almost knew what, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"What is going on?"
"I-I-I'll explain,
just be q-quiet for a moment," JP stuttered as he collected the scattered clothes from off the ground and stuffed them in a small bag.
Come on brain, you can figure this out. Coyotes, and a lot of stripping... Could this mean?
"Wait!"
"Shhhh!"
I lowered my voice again. "Wait, does this mean what I think it means? Are you all going to shift?" They seriously weren't all going to run out into the storm, right? That was just madness.
"Right on the money," Darren grinned as he demonstratively unbuckled his belt.
"Why?"
"We'll tell you in a bit," Danny muttered as she shed her shirt and was now only wearing a set of panties and a bra. She wasn't going to take those off, was she?
A stern, deep, voice suddenly caught my attention. "Let's do this quickly and smoothly. We don't want any unnecessary complications. Usual formation. Regan, you’re in the lead. Darren and Danny, from the flanks. Ash, you and I will back up Regan."
I stared at astonishment at Aspen, as his commands send shivers down my spine. Was this really the goofy guy I shared my camp with?
"Let's get it done, alright."
His voice was huskier than usual, his biceps flexing under his shirt as he directed the rest of the group.
I felt my wolf stir inside my chest as she was drawn to Aspen once again and I was overcome with a strange desire for him.
"Let's move!" he commanded the group, and as they all nodded his head in agreement, I suddenly realised what was going on.
Alpha.
The group jogged towards the entrance of the cave. Regan seemed to inspect the sky, and with a nod, he seemed to approve whatever it was that needed approving.
I turned back to Ashleigh, still not sure what exactly was going on. Before I could speak to her, the cave was suddenly filled with a noise I would recognise in my wildest nightmares.
The shift.
The nauseating sound of joints popping and bones cracking made me cringe and buckle down into the ground. I covered my ears with my hands, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep the muffled groans and cries out as my new friends were in hellish pain.
I managed to glance at JP, wondering how he was taking the living nightmare, but he looked surprisingly unfazed. He was just staring at Danny, his eyes glazed over a little. I wasn't sure he was even here.
He must've felt my eyes prickle on his back, as he turned his focus from the redhead to me. A meek smile appeared on his face as he gently touched my hand.
"You'll get used to it," he said, with a remarkably clear voice. "I always count down from hundred in intervals of seven. It helps me stay calm."
I frowned my forehead, not exactly sure what he meant.
"Like this. Hundred. Ninety-three. Eight-six. Seventy-nine. Seventy-two. You should try it."
That was an odd technique. I looked at JP again, wondering if he was yanking my chain, but he encouragingly nodded his head. Couldn't hurt to try, right?
"Sixty-five... Fifty-eight. Fifty-one. Ehmm... Forty-four... Thirty-seven. Thirty. Twenty-three.."
"See, that is better, no?" he smiled, as he counted along with me.
I nodded in relief, my stomach no longer threatening to return all of Darren's food back to mother Earth.
"Yeah, it helped... How did you come up with that technique?" I asked him, wondering where the nervous, stuttering man went.
"It's just a coping mechanism I developed over the years. You can use other numbers as well, but I like seven."
"Seven is good."
"It is. Look, they are all done," he pointed out, nudging with his head towards the entrance of the cave. I followed his line of sight and felt my breath hitch in my throat. It did help. In the time it took me to count down, their transformation had completed.
My new companions had disappeared and five beautiful wolves had taken their place. I immediately recognised Aspen's form by his amber-coloured eyes and his grey fur. His hind leg had completely healed and he stood much more proudly than before, now that he was surrounded by his family.
The other grey wolf of the pack must've been Darren's form. He was slightly smaller than Aspen and his fur was quite shaggy. There was a darker patch around his snout that made it look like he was permanently grinning. Definitely Darren.
The smaller wolf with the reddish fur was obviously Danny. She was counting into the ground with her paws, looking rather happy about being in her wolf form. She affectionately nudged the shaggy wolf next to her and shook her head playfully. Yes, that was Danny.
The giant wolf towering over the rest with broad shoulders and big paws was without a single doubt, Regan. Just like his human body, he was massive. But whereas he seemed gentle and calm in person, his wolf radiated power and strength. I wouldn't want to get in his way, that was for sure.
And then there she was. The only black wolf in the middle of the pack. She was rather small, but her fur was long and darker than a raven. She was sniffing the ground, her tail wagging against the leg of her brother. As if she felt the pull from the wolf inside my chest, she suddenly looked in my direction. Piercing blue eyes found mine. Ashleigh.
"Hi," I whispered as I walked over to her, my hand gliding through her fur as she playfully nipped at my ankle. “You’re beautiful."
JP joined me with the wolves. "I-I-I've seen them shift m-many times, but they s-s-still amaze me."
So the stuttery, rather twitchy man was back. Interesting.
"I have never seen a black wolf," I admitted as I admired the dark fur of my mate. It matched the colour of her hair perfectly.
"M-M-Me neither. She is the o-only one so f-far," JP spoke as he then patted Danny between her ears. She happily licked his open palm and curled her snout against his hand. I couldn't be anything but impressed that even in her wolf form, she responded to JP with such kindness and love. Especially since her first mate was standing right next to her, shifted and all. Their love must run much deeper than I expected it to be.
A short bark suddenly drew the attention of Ashleigh and Danny away. It was Aspen calling for them. And even with my wolf locked in my chest, I could feel her stirring as she longed to answer that call. Disobeying any natural Alpha was a hard task, but resisting the call of your Alpha mate, even if it was only your second, was even harder. Especially as my wolf was torn between him and the beautiful female wolf standing next to him.
Why did this have to happen to me? What was I supposed to do now?
Another low growl was uttered by Aspen as the rest of the pack nudged their heads down. Regan dug his paws into the frozen ground, shards of frozen earth flying about as he effortlessly broke through the hard floor. He shook his head and with his whole body flexed, he sprinted out of the cave. The two twins immediately raced behind him, while Danny and Darren lingered for another moment. She gave him an affectionate lick on his snout and snatched the bag out of JP's hand. With a cheerful bark, they both darted out of sight, disappearing into the stormy night.
The cave suddenly felt much colder and scarier without them. Why did they have to leave?
"D-Don't worry... They always come b-b-back," JP stuttered from behind me, his clammy hand finding my shoulder as he urged me to step away from the entrance.
"You sure about that? Last time, I found Aspen hurt and trapped in a metal clasp," I asked, staring into the night hesitantly. What if someone else had found him?
"T-T-That was just b-bad luck. A-Aspen was scouting and got t-trapped. If he hadn't t-t-told us he was being taken c-care off, w-we would've come m-much, much sooner," JP explained as he strung together what was probably the longest sentence I had ever heard him speak.
"Wait, hang on. He told you? How?"
"They can c-c-communicate telepathically. At l-least, A-Aspen can talk to Ash and D-Danny with R-Regan. H-Has to do something with the b-blood bond?"
I nodded as the explanation made sense. If they knew how to release their wolves, I shouldn't be surprised they also knew how to communicate with immediate family and
their designated mates. As a pair of twins, Ashleigh and Aspen should have very clear communication between them. And Danny and Regan, as first mates, would have the same bond.
With that thought, I jealously glared into the night as I wished my wolf could freely talk to them. To Aspen or Ashleigh, it didn't even matter. Just one of them to talk to would be a welcome change from my wolf whispering small words now and then.
I needed to set her free so I could run with the pack. With this pack. With my pack.
Even though I hadn't known them for very long, this was where I belonged. In the midst of Aspen and Ashleigh, my two mates, my promised family. But not just them, I had grown quite fond of Danny, Regan, JP, and even Darren. There was just something about them that made me feel safe and welcome. Like they had always expected me to arrive, and now I was here, I effortlessly fit into their puzzle. I was their lost puzzle piece. Yes, this was where I was supposed to be.
And even though I knew that at some point, I'd have to separate from them for my own quest, I knew I would always return to them. To him. To her. To Aspen. To Ashleigh...
A hollow ache formed inside my chest as I dreaded the moment I'd have to split apart from the pack.
"Y-You don't need to worry. You will always find your w-way back to them," JP softly spoke from behind me, like he had read my mind.
I rapidly blinked a tear away and cleared the lump in my throat before I turned towards him. "How... How did you know?"
"Y-You have the same look on your face when-whenever Regan has to go somewhere w-without Danny," he smiled, but from his glazed over eyes, I knew he was no stranger to that look himself.
It must've been hard for him that he couldn't follow Danny in her wolf form like Darren and Regan could.
"Do you ever feel..." How do I phrase this delicately? "Less because you’re human?" I cringed as soon as the words left my mouth. That wasn't delicate at all. Shit, I hope I didn't just insult the man who had so graciously comforted me.
A light chuckle escaped from his thin lips as he didn't seem to be too offended. "N-N-Not anymore... It was a b-bit difficult in the beginning, b-b-but Danny and I w-were so solid, we h-had to make it work. So we m-made it work.
Shifters Gone Wild: A Shifter Romance Collection Page 41