Isla continued to stare at me, wiggling her eyebrows, and biting her lip as I hemmed and hawed over the idea of sneaking out.
“Sloane, please,” she begged. “I don’t want to be the only girl; you know how much the boys gang up on me.”
“Fine,” I whispered, moving dark hair out of my eyes.
Isla’s face turned ecstatic, and she let out a blunt laugh. “I knew there was a little bit of danger in you, Sloane Calder!” I laughed with her, and we walked back to where the boys stood. “Sloane’s coming with us.”
They seemed moderately surprised but didn’t say anything in opposition. I glanced at Ezra, his blonde hair bouncing as he nudged Jett’s shoulder with his own. I’m sure my cheeks were filled with red.
“Well,” Isla declared. “Until tonight, boys. Ten sharp.”
We left the meeting hall and walked home with our parents. Dad had been named Beta to Alpha Titus years ago, just after Isla was born. I knew he was proud of the position, though our mother would much rather he give up his title. After so many years, she wanted nothing more than to settle into a mundane routine, somewhere out in the mountains where we wouldn’t need to worry about the intrusive eyes of the humans.
Our mother cooked dinner, and we stayed around to talk about our curfew for the night. Dad told us that pack business required us to be inside tonight. Isla smiled smugly and agreed.
At 9:50, my bedroom door creaked open, and Isla’s silhouette blocked the light from the hall. “Come on,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder.
“Isla,” I moaned. “This is not a good idea.”
She sighed and stepped fully into my room, closing the large wooden door behind her. “Sloane. I love you, but you play it safe. When you’re old and grey, are you going to want to tell your grandkids stories of all the journals you filled or are you going to tell them that you snuck out against Beta’s orders to spy on an Alpha?”
“If we’re dead, it won’t matter what we did or will do.” I glared.
“Fine,” she whined. “I’m going to meet up with the guys. If I end up dead, just remember I can still haunt you from beyond the grave.”
She closed my door, and I debated what to do. I heard her bedroom window slide open and bolted out of my desk chair. I slipped out of my room and walked down the hall to her bedroom. Her window opened to a trellis in the backyard. She climbed out first, and I followed her, closing her window behind me.
Jett, Ezra, and Maverick were waiting at the side of our house.
“This way.” Jett motioned, leading us towards the training grounds.
“Which Alpha is even coming?” I wondered.
“Does it matter?” Isla asked happily. “Anyone other than Titus is automatically better.”
We reached the training grounds, where the Alpha, Beta, and Head Warriors stood. They were waiting patiently, staring into the woods.
We crouched down behind blockades meant for training and waited. The pack officials were halted near the tree-line, standing in a tight formation.
From the woods, groups of footsteps crunching through the brush filled the silent, night air. Titus greeted the Alpha happily, and they began talking about some issue or another. It was difficult to see behind everyone since I was the smallest, and I got pushed to the back. Isla stood on the balls of her feet, giggling at something across the field.
Her foot slipped, and one of the blockades tumbled loudly to the ground. Everyone froze.
Across the field, someone started cursing. “Is this some sort of ambush?” a deep voice growled.
“No, Alpha Weston, I swear I don’t know what that is, probably just a raccoon or something,” Titus tried to soothe him.
“I smell other wolves,” the voice growled again. Isla’s head moved under cover of the blockade.
“They’re walking over here,” she whispered frantically.
“Shit,” Jett groaned.
“You guys go, I’ll distract them,” Isla ordered, preparing herself to walk out in front of two angry Alphas.
“Isla, no,” I hissed, nails sinking into her arm as I grabbed her. “You don’t know this other Alpha; he could kill you for spying on them.” She scoffed and wrenched her arm out of mine. I looked behind me and saw the three boys fleeing quickly.
Cowards.
When I turned back, Isla wasn’t in front of me anymore. She had left the barricade and walked towards the angry men. Alpha Titus growled and shoved Isla to her knees in front of them. Her body shook. I closed my eyes momentarily until I heard the other Alpha’s fierce growl.
My heart stopped, and my body began moving on its own.
I stepped out from my protection, intending to help Isla, but with one look at the Alpha, I was useless.
His head slowly lifted from Isla’s eyes to meet mine, constantly growling low in his chest. Something sparked in his body, and his chest quaked inward like someone had punched him. He stepped over Isla’s crouched body.
His eyes never left mine, staring at me in wonder. My neck crooned to keep his gaze as he moved closer until he was right in front of me.
My hands were shaking, there was nothing I could do to stop them. Once he was in front of me, I wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch his tanned skin. I heard my father scoff from behind the Alpha.
The Alpha turned and sent a demonizing glare at my father, who snapped his mouth shut. As he turned back to me, the Alpha’s Caribbean eyes danced across my face, the corners of his mouth perked up, and he let out one choppy breath that was intended to be a laugh.
“You’re in a lot of trouble, little wolf.”
Two Days
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