“I can’t do this.”
All thoughts of lust left my mind as confusion settled in, as I had no idea what he was going on about.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember everything that happened yesterday?”
I cast my mind back to the day before, and a shudder went down my spine as memories hit me of bright yellow eyes, large wolves and terrifying growls.
“Wolves,” I said, before covering my mouth quickly with my hand, embarrassed to have said that out loud.
“You were attacked by a pack of wolves. Me and the guys turned up in time to stop them killing you. God, if we’d been just five minutes later.” He leant forward until his forehead touched mine, closing his eyes as if trying to block out the memories from the night before. My head swam as I tried to focus on the fact that not only was I attacked by a pack of wolves, but now Jackson was suddenly treating me completely differently. It was like he had seen me in a new way, and I couldn’t help but find him even more attractive.
“Wolves.” I repeated the word in a defeatist tone, knowing that I sounded like a complete moron, but not really sure what else I could say at that point.
“I know it’s a lot to get your head around, but we do have wolves around here. You could say they are local to the area.” He suddenly looked uncomfortable, and I began to feel excited as I realised I may finally be able to understand at least some of the secrets Wolves Creek were keeping.
“But, how did you get them off me? There were like...ten of them.”
“Well, there were four of them, but six of us. We outnumbered them and they realised pretty early on they weren’t going to win, so it was an easy fight for us.”
“Wait...I’m confused. I don’t know if I hit my head...”
“Laura, we were the other wolves.”
Okay, either I hit my head really, really hard in the forest, or his beautiful face was distracting me and making me hear things.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“The reason why everyone in this town acts differently, and sees you as an outsider, is because we are different. The correct term would be that we are shifters. We’re wolf shifters.”
I felt like my brain was going to explode as I tried to take in what exactly he was telling me, but it felt like I was in a bubble, with his words not really making any sense.
“Okay, I think I have a concussion, because I don’t understand.”
“I know it’s a lot to process and it sounds ridiculous, but you have to realise I wanted to tell you. It’s dangerous. Humans have no idea about our existence, and if they did we would be subject to media, capture and experiments. Our privacy and our lives would be destroyed, which is why any stranger is deemed a threat until proven otherwise.”
I really didn’t want to believe him. I wanted to laugh and tell him off for messing with me, before soaking in a bath and going back to sleep but my brain was screaming at me that he was telling the truth. It sounded totally unbelievable, and I struggled to wrap my head around it, but after seeing the behaviour of the local people; how they treated each other like family and disliked strangers, how they averted my eyes and avoided all contact and how they were clearly hiding some big secrets, meant I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. For the moment, anyway.
“Okay, so if you guys are all wolves...then turn in to one.”
“Now?”
“Sure! I mean, if it’s true you’ll be able to prove it won’t you?”
He stood up to take a few steps back towards the centre of the room, and my heart started to race as I realised he was actually going to try and prove it to me. I thought I had been calling his bluff and he would make up some excuse, meaning that I could then proceed to call him crazy and go mad on his ass for joking about something so stupid. Why is nothing ever simple?
My eyes widened as he removed all of his clothes, and I remembered in the woods the night before and believing that his perfect body was just a figment of my imagination. Nope, it was real. Holy moly. Hot does not even describe it. Distracted by his sculpted form right in front of me, I didn’t have time to register or process as the air suddenly shifted around him, and before I could blink Jackson had disappeared. In his place stood a huge but beautiful, coffee coloured wolf with piercing green eyes that I instantly recognised as belonging to Jackson. He didn’t need to prove anything else to me. My brain was finding it hard to comprehend, but I couldn’t deny those emerald eyes that belonged to him. This was the wolf who was leading the pack that saved my life yesterday. Well, that would explain how he got to me so quickly and fought off a pack of wolves to rescue me. Because he was a wolf himself. Okay. I mean, stranger things have happened right? I pinched my arm and winced at the sharp pain, not sure whether to be relieved or not that I wasn’t dreaming. I’d always been proud of how open-minded I was, and I guessed now was the time to prove it.
The wolf gave a little yip, which made me smile, before he transformed back to Jackson, who stood in front of me, smiling nervously in an endearing way. He was normally so serious, and so sure of himself it was nice to see him acting slightly more human. Well, as human as a wolf can be. God, this was weird.
Jackson threw his clothes back on - such a shame - and sat back in his position on the edge of the bed, picking up my hand and stroking my palm softly with his thumb. I shivered at how such an innocent gesture could unsettle me.
“I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“Understatement.” He smiled at me, and it made me happy to notice he did that a lot more as we’d gotten closer. I didn’t want to get a big head, but I loved the way I could make him smile more than anyone else. So sue me.
“Are you dangerous?”
“To you? Never. I can be dangerous though. There are those who want to hurt us, but that’s what the enforcers are for. We’re a small community and everyone who lives here, is part of my pack.”
“So, you’re like, the boss?”
He smiled again. “Something like that. Everyone around here is pack, and I’m the Alpha. The title of Alpha is pretty much passed down through families. Sometimes other wolves want to fight to overthrow you, but if you earn the loyalty of the rest of your pack, they probably won’t succeed. My enforcers act as security for the community, but also my advisors. I need their advice on numerous occasions and I trust those men with my life. Being part of a pack is like being part of a family, only more. There is not one person in this pack who would not lay their life down in exchange for yours.”
My head was spinning with all the new information. “But, I’m not a wolf.”
“That doesn’t mean you aren’t pack. People distrusted you to begin with, but you’ve found your way in to their hearts. You even managed to win over Isaac who’s the most distrustful one out of us all. We look after our own in this pack, and that includes you.”
“So, why did your wolves attack me yesterday?”
“Those aren’t from my pack. If they were, they would be dealt with a lot differently, and I would never have let them get away.” His eyes lit with unleashed fury, and for a split second I saw just how dangerous he could potentially be.
“What do you mean?”
“As Alpha, I pretty much deal with any issues that arise, including dealing with punishments. If anyone from my pack tries to hurt another pack member, they are dealt with swiftly. Those wolves were from a pack that has been causing us problems for a while. If we kill members of another pack, we could start a war and we want to avoid that at all costs. They aren’t supposed to come on to our territory, but they’ve been getting cocky lately, and I’m worried about what it is they want. Unfortunately, word through the grapevine is that they want to out us to the humans, believing themselves to be a much superior race.”
“But, I thought if the humans found out about you they would take you prisoner and kill you all?”
“They would. They know the humans outnumber us, hence why the pack haven’t done anything about it yet. All we kno
w at the moment is they are trying to gain support. Unfortunately, the thoughts the pack has of their superiority over humans and the frustration at having to hide, has caused unrest. There are various packs all over the country, and it won’t take much to persuade them over to their cause.”
“But why are they hanging around here? Surely you won’t be persuaded by that bullshit?”
“Of course not. We are content with living here, and everyone is happy. War is the last thing we want, and we prefer to exist harmoniously beside humans, with them being none the wiser. Making the humans aware of our existence would be catastrophic, and lead to the extinction of our kind everywhere, I guarantee it. From what Ethan has managed to find out through various sources, the wolves disturbing us are from the Grove Pack based around fifty miles away. They hate humans and they must have heard that you were here. They want to hurt you.”
I felt the blood rush from my face as the throbbing in my left arm reminded me how close I had come yesterday to being a meal for this Grove Pack. Urgh, I hate them already. I lay back down on the bed and closed my eyes, suddenly exhausted from the bombardment of unbelievable information, and the pain in my arm that had hit me full force. Well, I had wanted an adventure, and boy did I get one!
Jackson squeezed my hand, and gave me a small smile which set my heart racing again.
“You need to rest. Luckily, the bite wasn’t deep enough to cause any permanent damage, but we need to keep an eye out for things like infection, so it will need to be checked daily to begin with. It’s gonna hurt like a bitch for a while though, so try not to move it as much as possible.”
“Yes, sir. Oh, wait!” I used my good arm to pull him back down as he went to stand up. “How do you keep the humans away? This place is beautiful; surely it generates interest from passers-by?”
“That’s a long story for another day. The short version is there was an ancient spell cast on the town many years ago. Humans tend to just drive straight through without paying much attention to what’s happening around them, and it seems to have worked pretty well so far.”
“Until me.” I closed my eyes and settled comfortably, seconds away from dozing off.
“Until you.” He said softly, squeezing my hand one more time, before standing up. “Don’t worry about anything. My enforcers are guarding this place 24/7, and I have the best team of carers looking after you.”
“Because you’re the Alpha, and it’s your duty?”
“No. Because you’re worth the very best care, and you deserve it. No-one’s going to hurt you again.”
I tried to focus on what he said, honestly, but the blessed darkness was calling me, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
****
The next day, I was bored of resting and too eager to explore the town again now I knew most of its secrets. My arm was bandaged up, but the painkillers were working wonders, and the constant throbbing had eased to an occasional ache. It still hurt like a bitch when I moved it, but if I kept it still then I could pretty much ignore it. I was sitting outside in the beautiful gardens of Jackson’s house which were surrounded by miles of forest. I breathed in the clean air, and pulled out my laptop with my good arm, opening it and turning it on. I knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to be typing all day with my bad arm, but I needed to get some work done or I was going to go stir crazy. I had always loved to write. It was probably the only thing I’d ever been good at, or even enjoyed at school, and from a young age I knew I wanted to do it as a career. I had gone to university to do a joint honours degree with creative writing and journalism - I know, the two of them didn’t really mesh that well - but I had enjoyed every second of it. When I sat down to write, it was like everything else just went away, and nothing else was important anymore. Whether it was working on the sci-fi novel I was hoping to publish, or writing my blog which had been featured in a national women’s magazine, I just loved to write. I was lucky enough to have been left with a large inheritance sum when my parents had both died. Well, lucky wasn’t really the right word. I had been only eight when my parents had both died tragically in a car accident, changing my life forever. With no brothers, sisters or even cousins, I suddenly found myself alone in the world. I grew up with the most amazing foster families, but it was never really the same thing. As soon as I turned 18 I was allowed access to my inheritance, and I just wasn’t the type of person to waste it all and be broke again within a year. It was enough for me to be able to spend my time building up my customer base for my freelance work, and I was thankful every day for my parents providing me with the means for me to pursue my dream and do something I loved for a living. Of course, I’d rather they still be with me, but sometimes the world was a cruel place and you had to just try your best to get through it each day. Maybe it was one of the reasons why I had warmed to this community so quickly, or why I was so desperate to belong somewhere. I hated to think about going through the rest of my life alone, and already felt more secure knowing I had the pack behind me, even if they didn’t all like me. I felt safe; and maybe that was the most important thing that had eluded me so far.
I had been writing for about an hour, when I jumped back at the wolf that suddenly appeared on my right side. I quickly relaxed and smiled when I recognised the piercing green eyes that were watching me. His tongue lolled out in a goofy way and I laughed as he walked up to me and licked my cheek, before bouncing off with a yip.
“Eww gross!” I laughed and wiped my cheek, pretending to be disgusted when in fact I thought it was pretty damn adorable.
It should have taken me longer to process the fact that I was living with actual, real-life shifters, and if you’d told me a few months ago that I would sitting in the forest and mucking around with wolves, I would have probably called someone up to come and take you to the padded rooms. As much as I’d love to say this was all just a crazy dream, there was no denying that those eyes belonged to Jackson, and it made more sense to believe it than not to. I just decided to go along with it, because I was a lot happier now than I had been before, so surely that meant that as crazy as it was, it could only be a good thing.
Sitting down on the floor, Jackson looked even bigger. The power he commanded was given readily with no physical act required, and I understood why he was the alpha. Strength radiated from him like heat from a fire. There was no denying his dominant aura, and I was captivated as I watched him surveying his surroundings, as if waiting for something to happen. I stood up so I didn’t feel so small, and observed as he stood up straighter when three more wolves came out of the trees. I should have been terrified, but I knew these were from our pack. Funny how I thought of it as our pack instead of their pack. I relaxed, just enjoying the visual spectacle that the huge wolves presented. Every single one of them was beautiful, and they were watching me as if waiting for me to run away screaming. I didn’t want to run away, in fact what I really wanted to do was go over to them and show them I was okay with them. I wanted to see for myself if their fur was as soft as it looked, but as a newbie who had no idea of the etiquette and protocol behind these things, I had no idea if that would be okay or not. Jackson must have read the questions on my face, because he ducked his head slightly and the three wolves moved slowly towards me, as if trying not to spook me. They would never spook me though, this was the coolest thing that had ever happened to me and I felt like a child at Christmas with excitement bubbling up inside me. I never realised before how important eyes were when differentiating between people, but just by looking in to these wolves bright eyes, I knew exactly who was stood in front of me. Noah’s eyes were easy to pick out, and his wolf was a light brown chocolate colour. Ethan and Blake’s wolves were harder to tell apart, until one of the wolves poked their tongue out and started rolling around on the floor - the childishness of the whole scenario just screamed at me that it was Blake, and I laughed at his behaviour. I laughed even harder when I saw Jackson rolling his eyes, and felt a nudge behind me as he used his head to push me closer to the oth
er guys. I presumed this meant it would be okay if I touched them, and reaching out with a shaking hand, I touched Noah on the head - figuring if he was anything like human Noah then he would be the calmest of the bunch - and was pleasantly surprised by how soft the fur was. It felt like silk and the warmth that radiated through me from his body heat made me so comfortable I could have probably fallen asleep right then. I giggled when Blake suddenly used his head to push my hand off of Noah, and on to his own head. Just like normal dogs, they were each vying for my attention and I kept that thought to myself in case being compared to dogs was offensive for them.
Alpha (Wolves Creek Book 1) Page 8