Ray of Hope: The Cursed Elements Series Book 1

by K. Mawhood

  “I wasn't as easily convinced,” Sarah says, tucking some hair behind her ear. “He definitely had to work for it.”

  “How did you handle the news that you were a wolf?” I ask.

  “Not that great. I didn’t even know I was adopted, so you can just imagine how that went down,” she says with a chuckle.

  Yeah, I bet that wasn’t very easy. Maybe not knowing where I came from made it a little easier for me to swallow. I didn’t have parents and a family who had been telling me one thing my whole life just to find out it was a lie. Even though I still don’t think I fully believe I am what they say I am.

  After an hour or so, I hear my name being called.

  Looking over my shoulder, I spot the four guys heading this way. I’m annoyed they left me alone for so long. They’re lucky I ran into Sarah and Harry, so I wasn’t alone with a bunch of strangers.

  Sarah stands up and faces them with her hands on her hips. “I should slap each of you for leaving this girl alone for so long in an unfamiliar place,” she says, eyes narrowing by the second.

  The guys all raise their eyebrows and hold their hands up in surrender.

  “We weren’t supposed to be gone that long,” Barrett says apologetically, giving me puppy dog eyes. Ha, puppy dog eyes. I crack myself up.

  “We were meeting with my father, and he wouldn’t let us leave until he was fully filled in on our plans,” Cayden adds in an annoyed voice.

  “Then he proceeded to ask us a million questions,” Liam says, shrugging his shoulders.

  Lowering their arms, Wyatt says, “I’m so sorry we left you alone for so long. We won’t do it again, I promise.”

  I take some pity on them. “It’s okay. Luckily my new besties were here to keep me company.” They are just too cute to stay mad at.

  “Are you ready to go?” Cayden asks. “We’re already getting a later start than we wanted.” He sounds grumpy, as per usual. I’m starting to think that’s his natural disposition.

  I hop off the bench and turn to hug Sarah bye. “I hope I see you again soon. Thanks for keeping me company today.”

  “Any time,” she replies as she squeezes me in return.

  Letting go, I give a quick wave to Harry and make my way to my guys. When did I start thinking of them as mine? It’s odd how completely at ease I feel when I’m around them. I feel almost whole, like pieces of me I didn’t even know were missing have been filled.

  I guess it isn’t any more odd than finding out I’m a werewolf who might have weird, magical powers, so whatever. I’m just going to roll with it. I deserve some happiness and right now they all make me happy.

  “My bags are packed already. I set them by the front door, so I’m ready to go whenever y’all are,” I say as I reach them.

  Liam throws his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close as we start making our way back to the cabin. “We packed the truck earlier this morning. We just need to toss yours in and then we can hit the road.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I say, smiling up at him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Brayleigh

  Fifteen minutes later we are on the road, and I can tell this is going to be a very long trip. Since I’m the smallest, I get the pleasure of being squished between two big men—Cayden and Barrett—in the back seat. I don’t know how Liam scored the front seat, but I’m sure there was some form of trickery involved.

  “I’m taking over the driving in a few hours. I’m not sitting back here for the whole fucking trip,” Cayden growls out, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

  Wyatt glances in the rearview mirror. “We’ll be switching drivers every five and a half hours, that’ll split the drive evenly between us.”

  I perk up at that. “Oh, when will it be my turn?”

  Barrett chuckles lightly beside me and I glance up at him. “Sorry doll, you aren’t driving. It’ll just be me and the guys splitting it.”

  I stick my lower lip out in a pout. “Why not? I’ll have you know I’m an excellent driver! I haven’t killed anyone yet.”

  Liam practically cackles in the front seat. “Yet? You had to throw that in there? Now you definitely aren’t driving.”

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I say, “I didn’t mean it like that, you ass.” That just makes him laugh louder.

  “Whatever,” I say, crossing my arms and slouching back against the seat again.

  I see the others are trying to hide their smiles. Bastards.

  Wyatt meets my gaze in the mirror. “It’s not a diss on your driving skills. You’re just the smallest. If we let you drive then there will be three of us crammed in the backseat, and that will be miserable.”

  I mean, I guess logically that makes sense. I nod at him in response. “Are we driving straight through or are we stopping on the way?” I ask them.

  Cayden lifts his arm to rest on the seat behind me as he answers, and I feel myself leaning closer to him. “We’ll be stopping in Tennessee somewhere for the night.”

  I place my hand on his leg in excitement. “Oh my God, can we stop in Memphis? Please, please, please?”

  His lips quirk up in a slight smile as he stares down at me. He opens his mouth to respond, but Barrett cuts him off. “Memphis is about eight and a half hours away. We can stop there for the night, but we’ll have to wake up extra early to make up some time.”

  I clap my hands together happily. “That’ll put us there around eight, so we can have dinner and check out some local spots if y’all are down for that,” I say, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.

  They all chuckle and respond, “Whatever you want.” Which just makes me smile even more. These four are gonna spoil me rotten if that’s the motto they stick with.

  An hour or so later, I feel like my tiny bladder is about to burst. It wasn’t hard to convince them to take a pit stop. I’m pretty sure they were ready to stretch their legs anyway. I practically bowl over Barrett when I get out of the car and race into the gas station to do my business.

  After finishing up, I make my way into the snack aisle and load up on chips, candy, and beef jerky. I freaking love beef jerky. While I’m debating on what drink to get, Wyatt walks up and stands beside me. “Do you have everything you want?” he asks.

  I’m trying to readjust my snacks to be held in one hand but give up when I glance up at him, “Yeah, I’m gonna get a Dr. Pepper too, can you grab it for me? I may have gone just a tad overboard on the snacks.”

  He shakes his head and laughs as he opens the refrigerator door to grab my drink. “Why don’t you go put some back then?”

  Gasping in mock horror, I throw my hand still full of snacks, over my heart. “That. Is. Blasphemous.Take it back right now!”

  Chuckling, he says, “Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to offend the lady.”

  “Good, then you’re forgiven,” I say, smiling at him.

  He holds his hand out to me, “Here, hand me those, and I’ll pay for them and you can go outside while we wait for the other two to finish up.”

  Once I’ve handed him the goods, I reach into my pocket to pull out cash for him but he stops me. “No, I’ve got this, princess, don't worry about it.”

  My face turns bright red at the nickname and I become tongue-tied. I manage to give him a small smile and a nod before turning and walking out of the store.

  Needing a distraction from the arousal that name caused, I pull my phone out of my pocket to text Kelsey. I lean back against the brick wall of the store while I message her.

  Me: Hey biatch.

  I get a response almost instantly. The shortened name for Jezebel still makes me laugh when I see it.

  Jezzy: Sup sista friend?

  Me: Just letting you know we are on the move.

  Me: Heading to PA to speak to some elder. We’re stopping in Memphis tonight then driving straight through the rest of the way tomorrow.

  As I finish up the text I get a weird feeling, like there’s eyes on me. The hair on my arms stand on end as I look up from my ph
one. Glancing around the parking lot I don’t see anyone. We are the only car here. I spot a silver town car at the gas station across the street, but from here it looks empty. Seems like too nice of a car to be in this area, but I guess it could just be someone passing through.

  The jingle of the door pulls my attention away from the car across the road. The guys are walking out and heading over to the car. Oh, hell yes. I’m ready for my snacks.

  My phone buzzes as I’m digging through my treasure hoard of goodies and I pull it out to see a text from Kels.

  Jezzy: Sounds awesome! Take a ton of pics and stay safe. Text me when you are on the road tomorrow. :)

  Me: Will do. Love ya <3

  Setting my phone down, I tear into a bag of peppered jerky and go to town. After eating half the bag I look up to see Barrett and Cayden watching me with raised eyebrows.

  I raise mine in question. “Um, what?”

  Cayden is the first to respond. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a girl eat that much jerky at once.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “I was hungry. Don’t judge.”

  “We aren’t judging, doll, but we could have stopped and got you real food if you were that hungry,” Barrett says.

  “Nah, I’m good now, but if y’all are hungry for real food then go for it.”

  After a few more hours, one food stop, and a driver switch later, I’m now sandwiched between Liam and Wyatt. I think we have about three and a half hours left. I hope they go by quickly because I’m sick of being in this car. Tomorrow is going to suck.

  I’m having a lot of fun though. I haven’t ever really been on a long road trip before, just a few shorter trips I’ve taken with Kelsey. The only long trips I’ve been on was going from one foster home to another, and those weren’t fun. They were sad and depressing.

  At least on this one I’ve laughed a lot and gotten to play a few road trip games. Every time I saw a Volkswagen Beetle, poor Barrett got a punch in the arm. He was a good sport about it though, gasping and rubbing his arm like my small fist actually hurt him.

  I’m starting to get sleepy and can feel my eyes drooping. The guy's conversation is lulling me to sleep. Liam lifts his arm and places it around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I rest my head on him and pass out while he strokes my arm.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Brayleigh

  Someone shaking my shoulder wakes me up a while later. Opening my eyes, I see that we stopped at a motel.

  “Hey, princess, we’re here,” Wyatt softly whispers.

  I perk up at that and start looking all around us. “Where are the others?” I ask him.

  “They checked us in and are taking the bags up to the room now.”

  “Room,” I ask. “As in one?”

  He gives me a sheepish look. “They have an event going on here right now, and all the hotels are booked. We were lucky enough to find this room.”

  “Oh, okay that’s fine. I was just wondering.”

  “Come on, let’s go to the room and figure out where we want to go eat,” Wyatt says.

  Getting out of the truck, I begin looking around. It seems like a decent motel. It’s a two-story building with all the room entrances outside. I start following Wyatt to our room. We are on the first floor at the corner of the motel. Entering the room, I spot Cayden going through his bag while Liam is lounging on one of the beds. Barrett is exiting what seems to be the bathroom as Wyatt closes the door behind me.

  I move quickly towards Liam and body slam myself right beside him, causing him to bounce on the bed. I start giggling at the look on his face.

  “Damn, sweetheart, you trying to throw me off the bed?” he asks me.

  “Well, actually yes, yes I was,” I say, laughing even more.

  His eyes light up with mischief as he rolls over onto his side and starts tickling me relentlessly. I erupt in a fit of hysterics.

  “Uncle! Uncle!” I gasp out between laughs.

  He smiles down at me not pausing for one second in his tickle torture. “Say you’re sorry and I’ll stop.”

  Pff, this man doesn’t know me at all. There’s no way I’m saying sorry. “Never,” I tell him as I try and fail to roll away.

  Just as he starts to tickle me even more I see a pair of socks fly through the air and nail him in the side of the face. That shouldn’t make me laugh harder, but I just can’t help myself when I see his eyes widen in shock.

  “Get off her and leave her the fuck alone,” Cayden growls from across the room. I look over at him as Liam sits up and his brows are drawn in anger. Oh, he is not a happy camper right now.

  “Screw off, Cayden, we were just playing,” Liam shoots daggers at him.

  “No arguing guys. We’ve been traveling all day and we’re all tired. Don’t start any shit,” Wyatt tells them as I sit up on the bed.

  Barrett, seated at the chair by the desk, speaks up. “What’s the plan? Do you guys want to go eat or what?”

  Shifting on the bed, I raise my hand up to get their attention before lowering it to my lap. “I was thinking, if y’all aren’t too hungry, maybe we could check out a bar around town?”

  They look around at each other and shrug their shoulders.

  “That sounds good to me. We can always grab something there to eat,” Wyatt says, and the others nod in agreement.

  Hopping off the bed, I head over to my bag by the dresser. “Sweet, I’m gonna go change real quick, then I’ll be ready to go.”

  Twenty minutes later, we are pulling into the Coyote Ugly parking lot. I’m so excited. I rarely get to go out to a bar outside of going to work. Tonight should be a lot of fun, especially with the four sexy as hell wolves as my dates.

  I’m wearing skinny jeans and a sheer, cold-shoulder blouse that I’m glad I accidentally packed. Barrett is in a green plaid shirt that matches his eyes, as well as the hot leather jacket, boots, and his normal wranglers. Cayden has his hair up in a bun, all Viking like, showing off his sexy gauges, with a Metallica shirt and black jeans. Wyatt has on light jeans with a teal, horizontal striped button-up, which shows exactly how fit his body is. Lastly, Liam is gorgeous in a tight fit red polo, that hugs his tribal tattoo on his bicep and dark boot cut jeans. They are all so different and so mine, for now anyways.

  Walking inside, I’m met with the sounds of loud music and laughter. The place is crowded tonight. Making our way through the throng of people, we find a table by the back wall. It’s a standing-only table, but that’s okay since there literally is nowhere else to sit. Cayden takes our order and heads to the bar with Barrett following closely behind, as I’m shamelessly watching them walk away. Man, they look good from behind.

  Turning back to the table, I see Wyatt and Liam watching me. I clear my throat as my face turns fifty shades of red. Liam gives me a knowing smirk and Wyatt’s eyes are shining in amusement.

  “So, y’all come here often,” I ask, giving them a wink. Chuckling, they both just shake their heads at me.

  “You know, even though there’s a Coyote Ugly in Texas I’ve never actually been there, but I’ve always heard awesome things about it,” I tell them.

  “We went once before when we were in Austin on our yearly camping trip,” Wyatt informs me.

  Liam throws his arm over my shoulder. “Yeah, there’s something about getting to watch half-dressed women dance on a bar that makes the experience extra special.”

  Laughing, I elbow him in the stomach. “Don’t be a pig,” I tell him.

  “I’m no pig, sweetheart. Haven’t you heard? I’m the big bad wolf,” he says in a sly voice.

  “My God, I can’t even with you right now,” I say, rolling my eyes and giggling at him.

  He gives me a wink and removes his arm as the other two come back to the table and pass out drinks.

  After an hour or so, I’ve filled up on bar food and downed a few drinks. I’m feeling pretty good right now. The bartenders and waitresses have been dancing on the bar every few songs, and it’s awesome! I reall
y want to get up there now that I have some liquid courage. I see them getting up there again and I rush towards the bar in hopes they’ll pull me up.

  I feel the guys moving right behind me. They haven’t let me wander off without at least one of them following close behind. Reaching the bar, I stand front and center to watch the show. The woman standing in front of me holds her hand out for me to grab. Oh, fuck yes!

  I grab her hand and look back at the guys for help. Barrett comes up behind me and grabs my hips to lift me on the bar. Standing next to the woman now, she moves the microphone away from her mouth to speak to me.

  “What’s your name hun?”

  “Brayleigh,” I say loudly, so she can hear me. She smiles at me. “I’m Gretchen.”

  Turning back to the bar, she raises the mic again. “Ladies and gents, this here is Brayleigh, and she’s gonna put on a show for you. Let’s hear it for this sexy chick right here!” she shouts to the crowd.

  The bar erupts in whoops and hollers as the music gets louder again. We start dancing and I’m having a freaking blast! I look out to the crowd and see my four guys watching me intently. That makes me sway my hips more and drop it like it’s hot just for them. I dance my little heart out.

  The song ends and Gretchen grabs my hand and holds it up in the air. “She did fucking awesome, am I right?”

  The crowd starts shouting and cheering loudly. “How ‘bout you show this lovely lady some love by getting her a shot!” she tells them.

  Liam surges toward the bar, holding his cash up in the air shouting, “Body shot, body shot!” Which makes the people around him shout it as well.

  Gretchen smirks as she speaks in the mic again. “Body shot, huh?” Everyone cheers as she turns to the woman behind the bar. “Lisa, get this girl a shot.”

  Lisa hands her a red shot in one of those long, plastic tubes, and she sticks it right in her cleavage. I give the guys a wink as I turn towards Gretchen. I place my hands on her hips and bend down to grab the shot with my mouth.