I skidded to a stop, my claws digging into the dirt, when the strange smell hit my nose full force. It may have faded a little, but it was still all along the Eastern edge of our territory. My fur stood on end and I fought the snarl that tried to work its way out of my throat. Jarren’s growl voiced both of our displeasure. He sniffed the ground and jerked back, searching the forest like he expected the danger to suddenly show itself.
He looked up at me, I don’t know what it is. I can smell that it is human, but there is something more that feels evil. I can’t judge if they are friendly or not, but I would say not. They knew where the territory line was. They are taunting us, showing that they know exactly where and what we are. With that Jarren moved to follow the trail toward the creek as I had done.
I sat on my haunches and considered the implications of what Jarren had said. We were careful, we had to be. There were no reported wolf sightings. My mind rushed through the possibilities. This person, or whatever the hell it was, may just be curious, but a curious person introduced themselves by now. That could only mean that this person meant harm to the pack. My hackles rose at the thought and I loosed a snarl, wishing that whoever it was stood in front of me at that moment.
Chapter Eleven
Zee
It is apparently possible to have a full-blown argument with yourself. Obviously, I’ve considered whether something was right or wrong before, but an all-out fight seemed crazy. I was crazy. From the moment I got out of bed that morning I was back and forth about going to see Alex. First, I considered calling in to work. I could have been sick. Guy dilemmas are a sickness. I’m sure Delilah had covered it in class.
Yeah, that’s where my mind was right up until I pulled into the resort. Then I spent my morning cleaning up after people while I fussed at myself for being a drama queen. Luckily, I was unexpectedly skilled at doing this in my head or the guy in cabin 12 would have been terrified. It was his own fault really. Check out is at eleven a.m. and if you’re still in the room you could at least use the Do Not Disturb sign. Or I could have knocked, but who’s getting that particular.
The drive to his house was a little of everything. Maybe he wasn’t home. Maybe he didn’t want to see me. Maybe I should have called first. What if he’s secretly married? What if his wife is visiting so he can sign he divorce papers? I definitely should have called first. Wait, when did he get married? He should have told me, no he would have told me.
Absolutely crazy. My poor car didn’t know what to do as I drove slowly and hit the brakes more times than any animal crossing could justify even in a forest. That’s probably why it rattled like a box of screws as I drove up along Alex’s driveway late Sunday afternoon. There were no more chances to turn around, and besides as loud as my car was, they knew I was coming, so I couldn’t turn back now. I needed to apologize for being a spaz at the very least.
When I pulled through the tree line I was distracted from my inner struggle by the cabin. I don’t know if I would ever get over how perfect it really was. A flash of grey to my left had me slowing down. Did Alex have a dog? I searched the trees but thought maybe it was my imagination. I was about to push on the gas when two wolves broke from the tree line and raced towards the house.
I had just a brief moment of panic, what if they got in the house to Alex, but it faded quickly. It wasn’t like wolves could open doors. I took a moment to study the wolves as they stopped outside of the house. One was light brown with grey streaked fur and the other was light grey with a little black. My car was almost at a standstill when the wolves both changed in the blink of an eye into Wyatt and Ryker. I let out a yelp and hit the brakes. My heart felt like it would pound right out of my chest and I squeezed my eyes shut. I did not just see wolves change into people. I did not just see wolves change into people. I cracked my eyes open and screamed.
Standing in front of my car was a tall shirtless man. His skin was the color of caramel and he was muscular. His hair was short and black, but I couldn’t tell his eye color, only that they were unusually light. He was looking at me intently as I shamelessly checked him out. Even in my terrified state it seemed my hormones won out. His nostrils flared and he cocked his head just slightly. Oh my…did he just smell me? The first day I met Alex suddenly came to mind, he had done the same thing. My car door jerked open, really have to start locking that, I thought dazed as I looked up into icy blue eyes.
“I need you to turn off the car and step out now,” he spoke calmly, but his look was calculating and dangerous. Stranger danger thoughts filled my mind and I stared at him without moving. He
