Page 17 of Wicked Wolves and Tangled Truths
Rafe
Ipull up to the Shadle Creek campgrounds in Des’s Escalade. I would have preferred to drive my car, but Des’s ride has more space, so here we are. Jordy sits passenger while Desmond is sprawled out in the backseat, snoring louder than a lawnmower. He doesn’t usually let me drive. He’s got control issues. But he’s fucking beat. We all are.
We had to pull double duty after school today, helping reinforce one of the Clan houses that was seeing some unusual vampire activity in the area. Then we had to sit in on a two-hour meeting with our Clan leaders and talk about relationships between factions at our school and what they wanted to do moving forward. I wanted to pound my head against the table at least half a dozen times. I don’t know how my pops deals with all the other Clans. It’s a fucking headache. But at least we managed to make decent time.
“Wake up,cabrón.We’re here.”
Desmond groans but pushes himself into a sitting position before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The three of us stare at the circle of cabins in front of us with varying expressions. Jordy is hyped as fuck and already has his door flung open. His hair is still wet. We all showered before leaving the Compound so when he whips out of the car, water droplets smack me in the face.
Asshole.
Des is his usual impassive self, but side-eyes me as he grabs his shit from the back. It only takes a second for me to figure out why when all the blood inside me heats and anger spikes in my chest. A growl works its way up my throat and I clench my teeth down to contain it.
Isa is here, and just exited one of the Pack cabins with Zheng Liu.Fucking Liu. Just the sight of that asshole makes my blood boil. I told her to stay away from him.
I grit my teeth and tighten my hands on the steering wheel.
“Bro, come on,” Jordy calls, slamming his door and grabbing his duffel from the back, oblivious to what’s grabbed my sudden attention. Des meets my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“You gonna eye-fuck the girl all weekend?” he asks.
“Fuck you.” I flip him off.
He snorts and climbs out of the backseat, grabbing his bag before heading off to follow Jordy to Clan Wolf’s bigger and better cabin. I watch them in my peripheral vision, but I don’t take my eyes off Isa. She looks good. Real good. She’s changed her clothes since I last saw her at school, trading in her white jeans and flowing top for black, low slung sweats and a basic t-shirt. The top dips low in the front exposing a thin line of cleavage and I’m already envisioning her naked breasts on display for my pleasure and mine alone. My wolf scrapes claws beneath my skin and I scrub a hand over my face. I need to stop checking her out. Stop letting my wolf get riled up every time I see her.
Jordy’s been on my ass all week to focus on Clan shit. My pops has been giving me more and more responsibilities. Preparing me for when he eventually passes the torch, but that’s still years away. I don’t know why he’s pressing the matter now, but he’s noticed I’m distracted. What he doesn’t know yet is that she’s the cause of it.
I’ve stayed away from her all week, avoiding her in the hallways like a fucking coward. It was risky, especially if she decided to whine to Rourke about it, but she stayed quiet like I knew she would. Which makes her all the more intriguing. She didn’t rat me out and land me in detention. She didn’t beg for attention like other girls would have after being on the receiving end of my cold shoulder.
No. She kept her head down and acted like the submissive I know she’s not. She acted like I didn’t even exist. No chance glances my way. No longing looks.
I don’t know what it is about her, but I can’t get her out of my head, and it pisses me right the fuck off. I thought if I avoided her it would lessen my attraction to her but seeing her now makes me realize that was a big fucking failure. If anything, I want her more. My wolf rakes its claws against the inside of my skin again, eager to chase after her. To see if she’s as much fun to play with as I suspect she is.
I want her as consumed with thoughts of me as I am with her.
It’s becoming an obsession.
What am I doing to myself?I pull my shirt over my head, stripping down to naked flesh and tossing my clothes in the SUV before letting my shift take over me. Bones snap, reforming into the shape of my wolf as jet-black fur breaks out over my skin. My mouth and nose morph into a snout and my lips peel back to reveal four-inch canines as I ride through the accompanying pain of my shift, baring my teeth. The change takes less than a minute, then I’m off, running through the surrounding forest in search of anything that will take my mind off Isabella Romero.
Desmond will give me hell for taking off without them, but I need to get my head on straight and I need to do it alone.
I pick up a game trail and follow it in search of a meal. Letting my human mind take a backseat as the wolf in me presses forward and takes the lead.
Thirty minutes later, my beast satisfied and licking the remnants of blood from its lips after enjoying its kill, I run back to Des’s ride and shift again, pushing my body quickly through the change. I dig out a bag of beef jerky from the glovebox, my mouth watering, and shove a handful in my mouth. I burned through too many calories with the back-to-back shifts so close together and was now ravenous, but it couldn’t be avoided.
My skin is coated in a thin sheen of sweat, my chest rising and falling at a quickened pace. The food helps but I’ll be on edge until I get some sleep together. I shove the jerky bag back inside the car and throw my clothes on. Rolling my shoulders and grabbing my bag, I make my way across the clearing to our cabin.
We stay here at least once a month. It’s nice to get away from things. Or it would have been if we didn’t have to share the space with the other factions and if my pops hadn’t decided we should host school get-togethers from time to time. But again, this is supposed to be for the good of the Pack. A way to bond with our classmates. Build relationships with our enemies that might one day lead to them becoming our allies.
I glare at Liu and Isa once more before slipping on a pair of mirrored aviators. I don’t care that it’s late. No one’s gonna say shit to me about the sunglasses.
The clearing is packed with people illuminated by firelight. Most hang out next to their cars, or in small clusters by the fire. Now that the sun has set, the vampires have decided to come out. The three I spot look like teenagers, but I’m not fooled. You don’t change a still-developing youth. Not in today’s time. It was a popular practice in the Victorian era so I wouldn’t be surprised if the three vampires posing as fellow teens are pushing one hundred or better. Not that the humans or witches seem to mind. Too many of the foolish girls have stars in their eyes, probably wishing the vamps would sparkle or some shit.
I’m happy to see the members of my Pack are giving them a wide berth. The witches and the humans are a nuisance, but the vampires, they’re a very real threat and the hatred between our kind runs deep.
No one speaks to me and everyone gives me space as I make my way toward the cabin.
A few guys I recognize from Clan Cat nod in my direction as if to saysup?But I don’t reciprocate the gesture. I might talk to some of these assholes at school when I have to, but I sure as shit am not going to tolerate them here. I am not one of them. I’m not a cat. Or a bear. Or a fucking coyote. I’m a wolf. I made the mistake of befriending someone outside my clan already and that shit blew up in my face thanks to a certain tiger on my shit list.
