I clenched my jaw and tried to remind myself that the alpha, beta, and my parents were only a little ways around.
"I'm sure you'd place."
"That's it." I threw caution to the wind, set the hose on full blast, ignored Gabriel's threats, and sprayed him; consequences be damned.
Gabriel jumped up and his chair went pivoting to the ground. "Shit!" He held up his hands to block some of the water, but that didn't do much. He was already soaked through. Everyone was laughing, except him, when I finished.
His eyes were like pits of lava when he turned to me. I lowered my weapon and grinned innocently at him, "Now you can enter the contest too."
I barely had enough time to register what was happening as Gabriel came up to me. He moved with superhuman speed and had me in his arms before I knew it.
I squealed as his freezing wet clothes consumed me and fought his grasp. My fight was futile. All he did was adjust me so he was holding me in bridle style.
"You think that's funny?" I wasn't sure if he was mad or not. The way his eyes glowed to me, for sure, that he was pissed. But his tone was deep and hoarse with something other than anger mixed into his voice.
"Yeah, I did." I told him; grinning like a fool even though I knew I shouldn't be. A wicked grin stretched over his lips. In a way it reminded me of the Joker in the Black Knight. "Help me!" I was only half joking.
Gabriel's eyes flickered away from mine just as another pair of arms ripped me from Gabriel's.
I panicked and wrapped my arms around the man's neck as he began spinning me around a smile a minute.
We finally slowed down and I saw my brother smiling down at me. "Having fun?" Josh's smile, on the other hand, looked like the Cheshire Cat's.
"Oh yeah, this is the best punishment I've ever had." Even I wasn't sure if I was being truthful or sarcastic.
Then we both heard Gabriel growl, "Maybe I can change that." Josh and I snapped around. Gabriel was standing near the hood of the jeep with the hose in his hands.
Josh and I swore in unison, just as a blast of cold water hit us.
I slipped out of Josh's arms and we dove behind the Jeep. The ground was wet and soaked my jeans in mud instantly. I barely noticed it, though. I concentrated on the slashing sound of Gabriel's footsteps. He was coming closer.
Josh tugged on my arm and my eyes snapped to his.
Using hand signs he told me to follow him.
Then, before I could even blink, my brother took off around the Jeep. I kept low to the ground as I half jogged after him. I didn't even dare to look through the windows.
When Josh grabbed the water bucket, that was full of soap suds, I grinned mischievously at him. "Brilliant." I told him barely above a whisper.
He tilted his head to the side and waved his free hand. I nodded my understanding and stood. I walked so I was beside Josh as he snuck around the bumper of the Jeep.
"Hey Greg!" I called over to the porch. He was standing on the steps watching us. His face was red he was laughing so hard. "Who do you think would win the wet t-shirt contest? Me or Gabriel?"
I ducked, and clutched my sides as I laughed, as a stream of water came my way.
Then, I peered around the Jeep, just in time to see my brother take the victory of the field.
He got right behind Gabriel and dropped the bucket over his head. I burst out laughing as Josh jumped out of the way of Gabriel's fist.
The seemingly innocent task of washing the car turned into a riot as half the pack joined in the water war. Every garden hose was being used. Some of the kids even made water balloons. It was great! I hadn't seen so many smiling faces in a while.
During those fifteen minutes it was like everything had gone back to normal. The war didn't exist. The only thing people were worried about was getting hit by Gabriel's expert aim.
I had been tackling Josh from behind when I heard a few people gasp.
I hadn't thought it was possible for that many people to stop what they were doing and become completely serious in such little time. But the pack froze.
We all had our eyes glued to the middle of the clearing; where Alex was standing with water soaking his shirt.
A few feet away Cassiel was holding a hose. His face was shocked and pale.
Cassiel dropped the hose and crashed down on his knees two seconds after the fact.
No one moved.
Josh let go of my waist and I slid down to the ground. It was almost in slow motion that Alex grabbed a water balloon out of Chris's hands. He studied it for a second before holding it over Cassiel's head and squeezing it.
It popped easily and water drenched Cassie's sandy hair.
"We're even." Alex winked.
The riot continued after that, except for me and the Durand's. We were kind of in shock. I, for one, had never expected Alex to do that. Sure, he wasn't a hard ass like a lot of Alpha's, but still. It was definitely new to me.
"Want to be on our team, Alex?" I recovered quickly and jogged over to the Alpha.
"I don't think so, Elaine." Alexander told me. He glanced over his shoulder and Michael appeared a few feet away from him. "Watch them. Make sure no one gets killed." He winked playfully at his youngest son and then headed towards his house with my parents in tow.
Once they were inside the party broke out again.
"What about you Michael?" I asked. The sun was drying my clothes and I felt weighed down because of them, but nothing could get rid of my smile.
Michael grinned and grabbed the hose that Cassie had dropped, "I think I'll join Gabriel's."
I held my arms up, to shield my face, as Michael turned on the hose.
CL
I was hand drying my hair with a towel when the doorbell rang. My ears told me that Josh was still in the shower, so it was up to me to get the door.
I jogged down the stairs in jogging shorts and a green tank top. My hair was in curly strands and water drops were running down my shoulders. The shower had warmed me up and washed away the suds that had cloaked my skin.
The water war had lasted till dinner. We ate outside in the grass because there wasn't one person who was dry enough to set foot indoors. It was one huge cook out complete with smores and ghost stories.
I glanced at the clock in the hall as I wrapped my towel around my neck. It was going on six. It was the second night of the full moon, so most of the pack was getting ready to go on a run.
I swung open the door and my jaw almost dropped.
"El, good, it's you." Lily greeted me joyously. Her hair was pulled up into a nice bun and she was dressed up far too much to be here to hang with me. Also, I picked up a nervous stutter in her voice.
"What's wrong?" Claire was in her arms and I smiled brightly at her, "Hey sweetheart."
She reached her arms out at me and I instantly went to take her from her mom's grasp. Claire was small for her age and wasn't heavy to hold, so I didn't have a problem with her sitting on my hip.
"Can we talk for a few minutes?" Lily asked me.
"Yeah," I told her suspiciously before turning to the little girl in my arms. She looked half asleep, which told me that she had been sleeping in the car. I hugged her to my chest and she wrapped her arms around my neck.
We went into the living room and I laid Claire on the couch. She was so adorable and fell back asleep instantly.
"I lost my job a few days ago." Lily blurted out. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears and the first thing that came to mind, after 'I'm so sorry', was to beat up the jerk who fired her. "I hate asking you this, but you're the only one I trust with Claire."
"I'll do anything for you, you know that." I told her firmly.
She nodded hastily, "Can you watch Claire for a few hours? I have an interview at a restaurant and I can't take her with me."
"This late?" I glanced at the clock again. It was five till six.
She grimaced, "It's a temporary position, until I can get an office job. But I'm going to try and get the job at The Risi
ng Sun."
I stared at her, "The pub?"
"I know. You don't need to give me a lecture. But if I don't get money to pay the bills I might lose the house." Lily defended herself heatedly. I knew she probably had this conversation with herself thousands of times.
"You can always take Alex's offer."
"That's not an option for me." Lily stood, so I stood too. "Can you watch Claire for me, please?" She sounded desperate, and I nodded.
"Of course."
Lily hesitated a second before throwing her arms around my neck. I held her close, "You're a lifesaver. I should be back around 9 or so."
Then, after a few more goodbyes and good lucks, Lily left.
I sighed heavily and sat down next to the blonde on the couch. Her hair was lightly curled and fell around her face. I brushed the locks behind her ear and smiled down at her.
"I don't understand why Lillian won't just come back to the pack."
I leaned back on to the couch and closed my eyes, "Michael, you're a guy, so of course you don't understand."
He chuckled softly and I heard him walk around the room. When I opened my eyes he was sitting in the chair across from me. "How have you been?"
"I'm exhausted." I decided to try and keep the conversation as light and fluffy as possible. I wasn't sure why, but things with Michael had been a little stressed lately.
Michael grinned faintly and I saw a huge resemblance between him and his father in his features. He leaned forward so his elbows were resting on his knees, "We haven't talked much since I got back."
"I don't know. I think you've said quite a bit to me the last few days." I was referring to all the times he's yelled at me.
He obviously heard the cheeky edge in my voice and got my meaning, because he gave me a dark look.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked after a second. I didn't think I needed to apologize, so I didn't.
"Greg told me that you were concerned about your change." He locked his eyes on me and I lowered my gaze to the floor after a few seconds.
I wouldn't have worded it like that, but I nodded anyway.
"You should stop trying to grow up so fast." He lectured, "Enjoy being a kid while you can."
"You can say that until you're face turns purple, but that's not going to change that fact that I want to go through my change." I told him, "I want to run with the pack and really be part of the pack. Not just the daughter of Quentin and Elizabeth."
I glanced up and saw Michael narrowing his eyes in confusion "Is that really how you see yourself?"
"How else should I see myself?" I asked rhetorically.
The little girl beside me fidgeted, and both Michael and I shut up.
Her eyes opened and she slowly became aware of where she was. "Hey." She greeted us gently as she wiped her eyes. I glanced at Michael. He was giving the little girl a calm and gentle smile, but I could tell he still had stuff he wanted to say to me.
All I wanted was to get far away from him. My nerves were tight and I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Claire looked revived and ready for some fun, so I suggested we go outside. She slipped off the couch, "Yeah!"
I grinned and stood too. With Claire's hand in mine we walked through the living room. She was practically pulling me along behind her.
"See ya later, Michael." I called after my shoulder, but he was already gone.
Chapter Thirteen
As I rocked the porch swing back and forth I couldn't help but title this day as perfect. Not only had I gotten Gabriel to smile (a feat I thought impossible during most of my childhood), but I had gotten ice cream out of the deal.
Claire and I licked our mint chocolate chip ice cream, in cones, as the sun shone gently on our skin. It wasn't over powering as it had been earlier, but instead it greeted me like an old friend; gentle and kind.
I was sitting with my body angled so I had a perfect view of the blonde beside me and the two trouble makers sitting on the porch steps. I didn't know what they were up to, but their smirks weren't comforting. Odolf and Martin were full of whispers, and I knew better than to turn my back on them when they were acting like that.
The last thing we needed was for them to stowaway in the Jeep tomorrow when we headed to London.
"Mommy's been crying." Claire's small voice broke through my thoughts and I turned back to her. She was clutching her ice cream cone like it was the greatest treasure in the world. I followed her gaze and saw that she was eyeing the twins warily. I almost laughed. She must have thought the twins were planning to steal her treat.
I sighed instead, "Things have been hard for your mommy." I wasn't sure how much Lily had shared with Claire, so I kept my reply pretty vague. I didn't want to start anything between the mother and daughter.
"Is she leaving me here?"
I almost dropped my ice cream. I spun around to meet eyes with the little girl. She watched me with confusion and pain filled eyes. I quickly shook my head, "No. Never. She just had some things to clear up at work and didn't want to leave you home by yourself."
Claire's expression changed completely and went back to her cheerful self.
I frowned at my ice cream. I couldn't believe that Claire had even thought that Lily wasn't coming back for her. I shuddered, and not because of the breeze that had come through.
"I like it here."
I smiled at her four year old behavior. She could be so serious one second, and so carefree the next.
"I love it when you're here." I gently tickled her side, which caused her to squeal with laughter and scoot away from my grasp. She kept her ice cream close and only loosened her grip on the cone when she was sure I was done. Then she laughed with me, and went back to her dessert.
We sat there for a few minutes; just enjoying the evening. I relaxed even more when the twins got up and went inside. They smirked at me as they walked across the porch and I sent them a warning glare. They'd better not cause any trouble.
The pack had enough on their plates. They didn't need the twins causing trouble too.
I finished my ice cream and wiped my hands on my jogging shorts. "So, now what do you want to do?"
I watched Claire finish up and drew back inwardly when a huge mischievous grin spread over her features. "Can we go swimming?" She slipped off the porch swing and I watched her with my eyes; making sure she'd stay on her feet when she landed.
She turned and continued to smile at me, "At the river?"
I thought about that for a second. The river didn't seem like a horrible idea, but then a memory (more like a nightmare) came into my head. Not two weeks before Gabriel had caught a scent of the Nicolais pack near our territory. It had ended in the river.
I shuddered, "I don't think we're allowed to go there."
"Since when as that stopped you?"
My eyes widened and I stared at her for a second, before laughing, "You listen to me far too much." That got her normal smile taking control of her expression.
I slipped off the swing, "How about we take a walk?"
"To the river?" She watched me hopefully.
"Maybe."
"Come on!" Claire grabbed my hand and practically dragged me off the porch. I let her lead the way and laughed at her enthusiasm. I couldn't remember the last time I had taken her to the river. It was probably last year. It kind of surprised me that she still remembered it.
I had to slow her down once we got to the tree line. My sandals were about to slip off. Normally I hated the damn things. I preferred sneakers. But I had slipped into these earlier, because I hadn't wanted to keep the four year old waiting… plus I wanted to get away from the guys.
Tonight was poker night and most of the males of the pack had already crowded into my house.
I heard someone approaching us from behind and I turned. Michael had changed since the last time I saw him, and it actually shocked me to see him in casual track pants and a white beater.
"Hey," He was smiling, that also put me on edge.
Then he surprised me even more by kneeling down to talk to Claire. He whispered something into her ear, and suddenly Michael was her best friend. She threw her arms around his neck and burst into giggles.
"Let's go!" She exclaimed.
"Go where?" I asked both of them. Claire turned back to me and just smiled. "What? I have to guess?"
Then Michael picked Claire up as he stood. She sat on his hip and clutched his shirt half heartedly. It warmed my heart and made me smile; that Claire trusted Michael not to drop her even though I couldn't remember the last time she had even seen him.
"You heard the lady." Michael was still smiling as he laced his fingers through mine and started leading us towards the pack house. "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" I repeated stubbornly.
It wasn't that I wasn't a fan of surprises; I just liked to know what was going on.
Okay, I'd admit it. I hated surprises. Call me a control freak, but I liked to know where I was going and why.
Michael's hand just tightened around mine. I could practically hear him and Claire laughing at me. I glared at him, but followed anyway. It wasn't like I had a choice. Claire wanted to go.
"Be patient." Michael pulled on my hand until I was right beside him. I frowned at him.
"That's easy for you to say. You already know where we're going." I was on the brink of pouting, but I stopped when we walked around to the front yard of the pack house. "I can't believe we still have that!" I replaced the pout with a bright smile.
Michael laughed, "I got bored."
There was a tall oak in the front yard of Michael's house. Growing up we had this swing that Michael had put up for me, when I was like five or something. That had been my favorite place during my childhood. I remembered nights when Michael would stay up till midnight pushing me on that thing.
We took it down when I went to London, because no one would be here to use it, and we just never put it up again.
But there it was. In all it's glory; swinging gently in the sunlight.
"Me first!" Claire exclaimed.
Howl (Howl Book 1) Page 17