Golden: A Paranormal Romance

by Ellis Marie

  Werewolf.

  “And now, I’m making this about me. F*ck!”

  As he turns to leave the bed, my body moves before I can think it through, ignoring my fear as my arms wrap around his back and hold him in place, leaning my forehead into his skin.

  I can’t let him flip out and change. He’ll only get more annoyed at himself.

  “You didn’t know,” I whisper. “If you didn’t set him off, someone else would have. And I was more scared of Carter, you’re right. The unknown is much more terrifying than something you’ve already gone through. At least, you’re prepared if it’s the same thing over again.” Tears build in my eyes as I try to hold them down, the fear of Trent walking out on me combined with the thought of Carter, shaking me to the bone.

  Plus I can feel his pain. Feel his turmoil at not doing more, but I can also feel his wolf pushing at the seams and thrashing to be let out.

  “Just breathe, Trent. I’m okay. I’m right here.”

  I repeat the words like a whisper. After a few moments, his body stops shaking, his breathing straightens out, and his head lolls forward, his anger disappearing as I coo.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispers, his voice cracking. I loosen my arms, pulling back so that he can turn around to face me. “Goddess knows how f*cking sorry I am, Elle.”

  All the words of comfort that I intend to say die when I see the moonlight reflect off his eyes, not because they’re so bright that it’s almost luminescent, but because the tears at the bottom of them make my heart stop.

  Is Trent crying?

  I’m so stunned that I don’t say a thing as he slides off the bed and onto the floor, pulling me towards him until I’m sitting on the edge of it and he’s kneeling in front of me.

  My own tears slip down my cheeks as he takes my hands into his and holds them to his mouth, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he shudders a breath and then places his head into my lap.

  When his voice comes out, it’s strong and determined, but it shakes with so much emotion that I feel it in my soul.

  “I swear to you, now and before our Goddess, they will pay for treating you in any way less than you deserve. For hurting you. For disrespecting you. I will never let you suffer. I will protect you with my life, my heart, and my soul. I cannot take back what’s happened to you, but I can promise to never let it happen again. I can promise to never let anything happen to you again.”

  He opens his eyes as he looks up at me, a single tear escaping the confinements of their prison. His hands hold on to my legs with a touch so soft in comparison to his words.

  I’ve never seen a man with so much power. Or felt something as strong as his promise.

  “The people that so much as laid a finger on you will feel the unendurable pain of their actions, and I will rain hell upon them in every way imaginable. They will not know what death feels like until they can only imagine it as the last form of bliss, until they are begging for it to come. I swear to you, my mate, as I swear on my life, my pack, and my goddess.”

  Fear stills my body, begging me to pull back and run away from the anger so prevalent that it makes me want to choke, but I don’t.

  I push through the fear. I move past the violent and terrifying look in his eyes. I ignore the straining muscles in his jaw that show the truth behind his words. I keep going until I find the softness in gaze, the passion in the way my pain has affected him.

  Trent could hurt someone, yes. There’s no hiding that, but that person is never going to be me.

  Trent will never hurt me.

  Tenderly, I take his face in my hands, lifting his chin up so he can stare straight into my eyes and see that I’m not hiding anything from him. He rises up without a word, lifting on his knees until our faces are barely an inch from each other, our ragged breaths merging into one.

  A heaviness finally lifts from my heart.

  “I believe you.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “It’s called an Alpha’s Oath; it’s usually reserved for acts of revenge or wedding vows, if they’re a romantic.”

  I look over at Scarlette as she relaxes back on her towel, completely unaware of the mental freak out I’m currently having.

  “And that’s why you told me that it’s ‘not a big deal’?”

  She glances over at me and starts chuckling, lifting her sunglasses so that I can see her smiling eyes in the sunshine.

  “It’s Trent,” she muses. “I thought you’d have already realised that he doesn’t do anything half-ass*d by now.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” I shrug, lying back on my elbows in defeat. “It’s actually not that surprising, is it?”

  Scarlette shakes her head and settles down, sighing as the sun hits her bikini-clad body.

  The two of us decided to go down to the beach for the day. Considering we are coming to the end of the good weather for the year, we thought we would make the most of it. The boys hadn’t joined us, they were all up and out before I even woke up. Trent called them all away and had asked Scarlette to stay with me so I wasn’t alone. The area of the beach that we’re on isn’t used by the public and is kind of private property, which is news to me. All the rest of the town seems to go to the other side where the cafes and shops are, and it’s a bit more kid-friendly.

  Scarlette thought it’s best that we stay here, considering the safety aspect and the fact that I haven’t been introduced to the whole pack yet. Apparently, it will cause quite some excitement if I just appear somewhere. Plus considering the bikini that she has given me to borrow, I don’t think we are exactly dressed for meeting the extended family.

  “Heads!”

  The call comes from the water. I immediately put my arms up in front of my face to shield it, expecting a hit. Luckily, Scarlette has already stepped in front of me and caught the ball with one hand before it can.

  “I told you, if you were a pain, I was going to send you on errands!” she screams at the teenage boys who are standing, shouting apologies. “Do you want me to tell our alpha that you almost hit your luna?”

  Of course, when we said that we are going to the beach, we were begged by Lee and his friends to take them with us to avoid a day of work.

  I don’t have any issue with it, but it sounds as though they are meant to be doing other chores around the packhouse. Somehow, Lee convinced his sister to let them do it later in the evening. She’s been holding it over their heads ever since, making them get us fresh drinks and snacks frequently is one of her favourites along with scaring them with threats of Trent.

  “Sorry, Luna!” they shout. I roll my eyes, shoving Scarlette a little as she laughs and throws back the ball, making sure to aim for someone’s head.

  “It’s fine, guys,” I call at their retreating figures. “And I’ve asked you to call me Elle!”

  They wave off my shout as they run back to the water, their laughter echoing back to us. I huff, throwing a handful of sand at Scarlette’s legs as she sits back down beside me.

  “I hate you for using that.”

  “You should really get used to the nickname,” she teases. “It’s not like Trent is going to let people not call you it.”

  “But it’s so formal,” I whine, collapsing back. “We aren’t even officially dating yet, let alone anything else.”

  It’s not that I don’t like the idea of being equal with Trent and having a place to really call home. It’s just that I’ve never been in charge of anyone before, let alone an entire pack of people—well, not people, werewolves.

  No pressure at all.

  “We’re an all-or-nothing kind of breed, get used to it.”

  She has a point, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

  When I woke up this morning, Trent wasn’t there . . . again. I know that they all get up early in the mornings, but I thought maybe he’d have a long lie on a Sunday, or at least after everything that happened last night, but the only thing that was waiting for me this morning is an empty bed and a disappointed heart. He
hasn’t even left a note or anything. Instead, he just got Scarlette to let me know his plans.

  I’m not angry at him. I’m just a bit annoyed. Okay, maybe a lot annoyed.

  When I explain to Scarlette why and tell her about last night—minus Trent crying (I don’t think he really want that shared with anyone)—she rolls her eyes and scoffs, going on a rant about how all the men in the pack are utterly useless when it came to ‘social norms’ on how to treat a girl and that they’re all small-brained animals who need someone to show them how to interact with other species. It’s an entertaining speech for sure.

  “I think Kristie and Tom are here.”

  I follow her gaze to our left where Kristie’s bright yellow car is pulling up at the beach, music thumping as she parks while tooting her horn.

  “How could you tell?”

  A figure jumps out of the car and waves their hands above their head, a shout of excitement following as they charge over, trying not to fall in the sand in the process.

  “And where the heck have you been, Miss Williams!”

  Laughing, I clamber to my feet just in time to open my arms and grab Tom as he crashes into me, picking me up off the ground.

  Being away from school has made me realise how much I really miss my friends and their overdramatic personalities, even while living with supernatural creatures, my days still weren’t as exciting without them, and phone calls don’t really have the same satisfaction.

  I shriek as he jabs at my sides, going on about how bad of a texter I am and how much drama I’ve missed at school in my absence while I scream apologies. As we both settle down and he puts me back on my feet, his green eyes turn soft, his expression losing all humour.

  “I’m sorry about everything that happened, and I’m glad you’re alright. I can’t even begin to imagine how you’re feeling.”

  My eyes widen as I struggle to come up with a response, my mind flitting through everything that’s happened in the last couple of weeks and what exactly he’s talking about.

  “I, uh . . . yeah, it’s been hard.”

  He nods solemnly and hugs me to him, his hair brushing my face.

  “Honestly, out of all the houses to pick for a random attack, it had to be yours! And your poor neighbour too! I’m just so grateful that you weren’t in the house at the time and your dad was away on business, y’know.” He pulls back and kisses my forehead. “Lucky timing.”

  So that’s what the story is. Trent has done a pretty good job in the coverup then.

  “Oh yeah,” I agree quietly, thinking about Mrs. Grenway and her caring smile. “Lucky timing.”

  “Hey, Tom,” Scarlette says as she stands up beside me, looking over to Kristie’s car. “Did someone else come with you and Kristie?”

  There’s an edge to her voice that catches my attention. When I see the boys in the water straightening up and making their way over, my heart starts racing.

  “Oh yeah.” He grins. “Kristie basically forced him to come. You should have seen it, Elle. You would have laughed. It was a classic Kristie-and-Cam fight.”

  Cam.

  I haven’t seen him since the incident at the mall, and before that, Mrs. Grenway’s funeral. In fact, I haven’t really spent time with him since before I moved in here.

  “Actually, I better go help with our stuff before they both kill me.”

  His grin lets me know that he’s totally oblivious to the bomb that he’s just dropped as he spins around and runs off, shouting to our other friends. As soon as Tom is out of earshot, I grab Scarlette and hold her in place, my eyes already begging her not to flip out as her own body shakes.

  “He shouldn’t be here,” she snarls, eyes locked onto him even from so far away. “He’s a rogue; he can be killed for trespassing.”

  “Kristie doesn’t know that,” I explain. “He’s our best friend, she and Tom don’t know anything about wolves.”

  “He should know better than to come.”

  “It’s not his fault. Kristie can be pretty stubborn when she wants something.”

  “Trent wouldn’t like it.”

  “Trent’s not here.”

  There’s a sharpness in my voice that even I’m surprised at. It seems to stop her from wanting to storm over and chuck Cam out as she takes in my frown and stills.

  “Trent is off doing whatever it is that he’s doing, and I want to spend time with my friends who I haven’t seen because he doesn’t think it’s safe. That’s going to happen here or away from the safety of the pack.” I step back from her and cross my arms as I wait for her response. “You can decide because I am not pushing my friends away.”

  She looks me over slowly, her mouth turning from a frown into a grin as she lets out a whistle in the direction of the water. Lee and his friends look at her in shock, but stop heading towards the car and turn back to us, making their way over.

  “You know . . .” She smiles proudly. “For someone who doesn’t want to be called it, you certainly fit the role well, Luna.”

  I blush at her comment and turn, ignoring the way that it makes my stomach curl in excitement as I leave her to deal with the younger boys who are already arguing with her on her decision and shouting objections.

  Cameron is the last person to leave the car. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he steps out cautiously, his apprehension obvious. When he sees me rushing over, he winces and holds up his hands in apology as he prepares for my onslaught of reprimands about him being here.

  As I step up to him, I push his arms out of the way and wrap my own around his waist, pulling him into me in a tight embrace. He’s frozen for a second, as if he’s waiting for something to happen and then he returns the gesture, hugging me close.

  “God, I’ve missed you,” I say, my voice muffled by his shirt. “It’s like losing a limb, I swear.”

  “Don’t let your new man hear you saying that,” he mumbles into my ear. “I think I’ll get made into a rug.”

  I mean, it’s not exactly far from the truth.

  “I told you she’d want to see you,” Kristie scoffs, slamming the car doors behind her before she gives me a one-armed hug and a kiss on both cheeks. “Stupid boy thought you’d start ditching us for your new friends.”

  She misses the tension that her words cause as she leaves us alone, heading to the group of people who are all introducing themselves to each other. I look at Cam. I know hurt is clear on my features as he sighs and wraps an arm around me, trying to make me feel better.

  “I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t exactly know how to tell her I wasn’t wanted because these people are pretentious, purebred—”

  “Cam.”

  “Sorry.” He winces before shooting me his apologetic and puppy dog-like smile. “I suppose anything I say that’s offensive to them hurts you now.”

  “That’s not fair,” I state, pulling my body away from him and halting, refusing to get closer to our friends while we are having this discussion. “I’m here for my safety, and it’s not like I had anywhere else to go—”

  “You had me,” he interrupts. I snap my mouth shut. His words seem to surprise even him as he winces and looks away from me, muttering under his breath.

  “Look, it doesn’t matter. How are you feeling? After that guy at the mall and everything.”

  The change of subject is like a breath of fresh air. We seem to both jump at the opportunity to move on from the tense conversation as we make our way over to my friends.

  I love Cam. I can’t even begin to imagine my life without him, and it’s true that maybe we’ve distanced from each other the last couple of months, but it’s not like I don’t still see him. If anything, I could spend more time with him now that I don’t have Matt hanging over my shoulder, so why does it feel like he’s so far away?

  You already know the answer.

  Is he going to hate me forever? Is he never going to forgive me for my feelings for Trent?

  “Elle, I cannot believe you’ve landed such a good g
ig,” Tom calls to me, snatching me out of my dreary thoughts as he motions to our surroundings. “Beautiful beach that’s got no screaming children on it, a stunning house literally five minutes away and . . .” He lowers his sunglasses and looks over at Lee and his friends who are setting up a volleyball net.

  “Such welcoming boys you’re living with too.”

  “They might not look it, but they’re also about fifteen,” I inform him awkwardly, resuming my place in the sand.

  Tom turns in shock, and everyone begins laughing at his flabbergasted expression. Kristie cackles the loudest as we make fun of him. Of course, he blames his bad eyesight and lack of glasses for the comment, but after a while, he gives up in trying to defend himself and just starts to whine about how his body didn’t look like that at their age.

  Twenty minutes later, he’s still not over it.

  “But they’re so muscular!”

  A cough makes him turn to Scarlette with an apologetic smile as he takes a drink.

  “Sorry, I know he’s your brother, but is there something in the water here? Honestly, I’m yet to meet a boy that doesn’t look as though the ‘monkey gym’ at their playground was a literal gym.”

  I suppose I’ve gotten so used to living with the boys and seeing them daily that I’ve forgotten that they don’t exactly match up with the kids of today when it comes to physical development.

  “Are you wanting to know their workout routine?” Cam jibes with a shove, and Tom slaps his arm in reply.

  “What’s your routine, Cam?” Kristie adds. “Ever going to reveal who you bought the steroids off of that got you so muscular so quickly?”

  That would be a confusing answer.

  “Think he should ask for a refund.”

  Cam laughs sarcastically while Scarlette snorts from beside me. I try not to laugh at her harsh comment. Kristie throws us a weird look, and I quickly straighten up, shrugging as I pretend to dig through my bag while subtly knocking Scar with my foot.

  “Speaking of steroids,” Cam announces loudly. “Where’s the rest of the gang, Scarlette?”