My mother and I went out of the packhouse and to the cars, getting into the middle vehicle and waiting for the others to join us.
We were about five miles away from the Rhyolite pack territory when we suddenly stopped. I glanced between my brother and Danika, then at my mother and father. Sawyer pulled out his phone, dialing someone. My father got out of the vehicle just as Beta Adam got out of the front seat. Glancing out the side windows, I noticed that wolves were surrounding us.
Sawyer spoke into the phone with a worried tone, “Hey, man. Did you send a greeting party? No? Okay, well, we may end up needing help. Alright, let me know when you all get here. She’s okay, alright, see you soon.”
I stared at Sawyer; his face emotionless as he slowly shook his head. I sat back in my seat and took hold of my mother’s hand. Sawyer opened the door to the SUV and stepped out. He shut the door with a quick snap, and I fixed my eyes on my brother as he strolled up to our dad and Beta Adam.
None of the wolves that encircled us moved other than to lick their jowls, keeping their drool from the ground. I stared outside of the SUV; my father and brother were too still, the air tense as all the wolves held their ground. Something was happening, the tension in the air was unbearable, and everything was way too calm.
A quick bark with a howl sounded out. I glanced over at my mother, whose face paled. Sawyer, my dad, and Beta Adam never moved a muscle, but the wolves seemed a little on edge since the sound. Snarls and growls resounded from my left. Which prompted my brother, father, and the beta to shift, bounding after the wolves in front of them.
Danika, my mother, and I sat in the SUV, waiting for the fighting to end. Wolves crashed into one another, sinking their teeth into the other. Blood splattered the left side of the vehicle and I turned to see a massive black and grey wolf with golden eyes standing beside our vehicle. It shook his head, flinging blood on everything that was close.
“Nolen.” My heart started to race as he gazed at me. With a wink, Nolen ran off into the fray of fur and claws on the other side of the motorcade, tearing apart wolves and helping out my brother, father, and the beta. He was amazing to watch, even though it was a little gory.
I let go of my mother and pressed myself up against the SUV’s window. The last of the wolves that surrounded us ran off. My father, brother, and the beta returned in wolf form along with Nolen in his. “Sawyer says they will run back with Nolen alongside the vehicles.” Danika glanced between my mother and me. Nolen must have been the one Sawyer had called, and he came to help us out. If I had my wolf and had been his mate, I could have mind linked with him like the other wolves. I couldn’t take my eyes off his magnificent wolf as he ran on my side of the vehicle.
Nolen
When we arrived back at the packhouse, the girls went in and the others came and got their things. Sawyer, Alpha Roman, and I, along with the warriors that had shifted to take down the pack of wolves, stayed in wolf form, watching as others took the SUVs to be washed.
It’s a good thing Sawyer called us. Sarge shook his large head as Sawyer’s wolf came up and nudged us. We followed him to around the back of the packhouse and shifted into human form.
Yes, it was a good thing he did. Turning to Sawyer, the blood that had stuck to our fur now stained our skin. Sawyer grinned at me as he came up to me, pulling me into a bloody hug. “Thanks for having our back. I don’t think we would’ve had anyone left if you didn’t.”
“You know I would come to help you in a heartbeat, and not just because of her. You are practically my brother now,” I told him as we went up the pack steps. Alpha Roman and Beta Adam had gone ahead of us to the shower room. I turned to the wolves that had yet to turn back, motioning for them to follow us. “Come on. You deserve a shower. There’s plenty of room, so shift and come get cleaned up.”
Sawyer and I went through the back doors of the building and into the shower room, which used to give me anxiety. Members of my pack had bullied me in here, and this is where Archer had first caught them. He had been livid that afternoon after he had just finished with training to find me being bullied in the showers. I thought he would tear the place apart.
My father had this renovated when I was training with Sawyer and his pack. It had new tile and faucets, and lockers lined the wall separating the front room and the showers. Alpha Roman and Beta Adam came out just as Sawyer and I grabbed towels and a bar of soap.
“Hurry up, boys. We still have dinner to get to, and you know how your mother is, Nolen.” Alpha Roman strolled by a towel wrapped around his waist. For a man in his sixties, he was still very fit.
“We won’t be long, Alpha Roman. There are clothes here for you to wear if you need them,” I said, pointing over to the cabinets that held extra clothes in them. Sawyer and I stepped into a cubical and turned on the warm water, cleaning the blood and sweat off our bodies. I switched off the water and pulled a towel off the bar, drying the droplets away from my skin. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I walked out of the shower room and back into the first room.
Opening the cabinets, I pulled out a pair of shorts to put on, letting me head to my room so that I could dress for dinner. Looking behind me, Sawyer must have had the same idea since he had just a pair of shorts on as well. We both left the showers and headed up to the rooms above.
Everyone was heading into the dining room. The un-mated she-wolves snickered and flirted with me as they entered the hall. Sawyer cocked an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head at him as we went up the stairs. “I don’t pay them any mind. They still won’t give up, and they try to persuade me to take one of them as a chosen mate.”
“Yeah, I’m glad my mate was near and of age. Otherwise, I’d be in the same boat as you.” Sawyer stopped at the door he had stayed in the last time he and his family had come. He looked over my shoulder, nodding to the door on the other side of the room next to mine. “You realize she chose that one, right?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I smiled and then turned back to him. “I’m glad she kept the room. Her scent has been all but gone for a while now.”
The door behind me opened, and her sweet scent invaded my senses. Sarge pushed himself up to the surface as I gazed at Sawyer before I turned around to face Amora as she stood there, letting her eyes roam over me. When our eyes met, she grinned at me, wetting her lips with her tongue. “Hey, Nolen.”
“Hey, Amora. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it to your birthday. Did you receive your present?” I held my ground, trying to avoid grabbing her up and taking her into my room. Glancing down at her wrist, I saw the small bracelet resting lightly on it.
“Of course, I love it. I understand. I’m sure you had some pack business that needed to be taken care of.” One of her hands went to her hair, twirling a light brown strand around her finger.
“I was busy. But I tried to make it, I really did.” Sarge had pushed so far up that my voice sounded more animalistic, while I tried to keep him back. He made this more complicated as he fought me, even though he knew we couldn’t have her yet.
Amora strode to me, and I locked my muscles as she neared. Her hand reached out to touch my bare skin, and I watched every movement as her skin found mine. Amora’s fingers softly traced my torso before she pulled her hand away. The way her skin ignited mine told me that the bond was getting stronger, and she could sense it more since she was closer to her eighteenth birthday.
She glanced up at me, surprise in her eyes before she turned her gaze to Sawyer behind me. Sawyer’s hand landed on my shoulder, reminding me that I needed to take back control of myself and Sarge. Bud, you need to chill out. She still needs time.
I know, but her being so near when we have been so far away…Sarge started to rescind back into my mind, his sadness coming through my emotions.
Sarge, we only have to wait three hundred and fifty more days. I gazed at her, taking in every bit of her beauty. That beautiful mouth and her gorgeous amber eyes held mine as she again wet her lips with her tongue.