by Regan Ure
At that moment, the boy who had occupied my mind for most of the morning walked into the kitchen looking as hot as ever and as his eyes met mine, I felt the flutter of butterflies in my stomach again.
It was like my body came alive every time he was near. I wondered if he felt anything around me; if so, I hadn't picked up on anything. I tried to pinpoint if it was the way he walked or if it had something to do with the fact that he was an alpha—that he held that air of authority about him.
I wasn't a good liar and I wasn't good at keeping things from people. It felt like I had a neon sign above my head flashing that read, “She's hiding something!”
"You’re so hungry you didn't bother with a bowl?" he asked as he pointed to the cereal box that I had on my lap.
"Sorry, it's a bad habit. I normally only do it at home," I said while standing up, intent on putting the cereal box back. Then I remembered that was how Blake had found out. No putting the cereal box back, so instead I set it down on the kitchen counter.
"I don't mind," he said as he walked to the fridge and got out a bottle of water.
"Do what makes you happy," he added with a shrug of his shoulders.
I watched him for a moment as he opened the bottle and took a couple of swallows. It was one of the few times he had spoken to me without being angry or annoyed and I was a little stunned, and a little suspicious.
He was never this nice to me and I couldn't help thinking that maybe Blake had gone against his word to me and told Cade I was his mate. But then I thought about it. If he knew, he would be going all territorial on me. I knew him well enough to know he was the possessive type.
"Thanks," I said as I took the cereal box back to my seat. I popped a handful of the chocolate cereal into my mouth.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he leaned against the counter.
"A little sore, but I'll survive," I answered when I'd finished my mouthful of cereal. My head felt fine. It was only my ribs that still ached a bit, but I was sure by tomorrow it would be totally healed.
This caring and almost easygoing Cade was a little disconcerting. I was used to him being domineering and telling me what to do, so I wasn't sure how to handle him at the moment.
"I see you found a shirt," I babbled, feeling a little nervous around him. I hated the way he turned me into a nervous, hormonal teenage girl.
"Yeah," he answered with a smirk. The shirt was tight and hugged his body in all the right places. He was built beautifully. I mentally told myself to stop perving over him.
Get a grip, girl!
"We've finished making plans for tomorrow so I came to ask you if you wanted to see the compound?" he asked, closing the bottle of water and setting it down on the counter.
I was relieved I wouldn't have to spend another day confined to his property, so I wasn't going to ask what the plans entailed. Sometimes ignorance was bliss. I was too curious about the compound to turn him down even if it meant being in his company.
"Sure," I said, closing the cereal box. Other than briefly this morning, I hadn't seen Gary.
"Where is Gary?" I asked as I put the cereal box on the kitchen counter. I had to mentally remind myself not to try and put it away.
"He is at the compound having a look around with Blake," he answered. At the mention of Blake, I couldn't help the guilt that washed over me. It was only for a couple of days, I reminded myself. What was two days, anyway?
"Come on, let me show you around," he said as he led the way out of the kitchen.
He was being so nice to me, and it made me feel a little guilty for keeping the fact that he was my mate from him. Despite how I felt, I kept my mouth shut and followed him.
He led me past a dining area and through a lounge to two double doors that opened toward the back of the property. The doors opened up on a beautiful swimming pool with water so clear it sparkled.
I took a deep breath of the clean, outside air. It had been one of my reasons for moving here. I wanted a place that I could spend more time outdoors. Now I knew why I'd felt like that. Quietly, I walked with Cade to the bottom of his property where the compound was.
The garden was well looked after and the boundary walls on either side were lined with tall dark-green trees. I wondered if they were there for added privacy. It wasn't like he needed it; there weren't any neighbors. Instead, there were open fields on either side of the property and beyond the compound I could see a forest. The compound itself was massive. It was a two-level building.
"It's like an apartment building," I said out loud to Cade as we stopped in front of it.
"Yeah, it gives the werewolves in the pack some privacy," he explained.
There was enough space on this property that they could build a couple more of these. To the right of the apartment building were two smaller buildings, a tenth of the size, which also had two levels side by side.
"What are those buildings for?" I asked, pointing to the two smaller buildings.
"The one is a gym and the other is the dining area."
"How many werewolves live here?" I asked, a little stunned at the whole setup.
"About a hundred," he answered. "There are also some werewolves that belong to our pack but live outside the property."
I assumed that when he found out we were mates he would insist I join his pack and it would entail moving into his property. I wasn't sure that was something I was willing to do yet. If he allowed other members of his pack to live off the property, maybe I could do the same. I held onto that little bit of hope.
As we entered the front of the apartment building, I stumbled and Cade reached out to steady me, but I pulled away from him. Luckily, I'd caught myself on the railing; otherwise, I would have looked like a complete idiot lying face down on the ground.
"What's with you?" he said angrily. "I was just trying to help you."
And the aggressive asshole was back. I was already missing the easygoing and thoughtful Cade. I couldn't really blame him for being angry with me. He didn't understand why I didn't want him to touch me and he'd jumped to a conclusion that had made him angry.
Keeping my secret was going to be harder than I thought.
When I looked to the entrance of the apartment block, I noticed Blake standing with Gary.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" asked Gary as he stepped forward, oblivious to the strained tension between Cade and me. Blake picked up on it because his gaze flickered between the two of us.
"Better," I answered with a forced smile. I could feel the anger still radiating off Cade who was still standing beside me.
"Cade said he was going to go and check on you," Gary said, surprising me. So Cade had come to check on me. I snuck a side-glance at him as he walked to Blake.
"He offered to show me the compound," I told Gary.
"They really have a good setup here," Gary commented as he walked me inside the front door of the apartment block to where Blake and Cade were waiting for us.
Cade's jaw tightened when his eyes fell on me. He was still angry. I looked to Blake and he smiled at me, a knowing smile. Yeah, I bet he was enjoying this.
This whole werewolf thing was becoming more complicated by the day. Then another thought occurred to me. I wondered how Gary would feel about finding out Cade was my mate. He might not be blood related, but he considered me a surrogate daughter so I couldn't see him being happy about it. It would be another hurdle I'd have to overcome when the time came.
I spent the next hour getting shown around the compound. I had to agree with Gary's comment about it being a good setup because it was. There were various-sized apartments that ranged from one to three bedrooms and, although there was an eating area, each apartment had a small kitchen.
It was like a whole self-sufficient little community hidden on Cade's huge property. Most of the younger werewolves were still at school so it was only the older werewolves that were busy with their day-to-day tasks when we passed by.
The apartment building formed a U-shape that
faced a set of iron gates leading directly into the thick forest at the back of the property. I studied the forest for a moment while the guys talked about what type of training the werewolves did.
I couldn't help feeling curious about how it would feel to be able to shift into a werewolf and to run free in the forest. I closed my eyes for a moment to imagine it. I'd have to be patient; I wasn't ready for sex yet, but I looked forward to being able to shift into a werewolf. I wondered if it hurt.
When Cade and Blake shifted, it didn't seem to hurt them. Maybe that was because they'd been shifting for a while already.
"Does it hurt to shift?" My question cut across the conversation.
"Only the first time and a couple of shifts afterward," Cade answered. His eyes met mine and I felt my butterflies flutter in response at his attention being on me. Damn those hormones! It was like when he looked at me, nothing around us existed.
"How bad does it hurt?" I carried on with my questioning and Cade kept his eyes on me.
"I'm not going to sugar-coat it. It hurts like a bitch," he told me. "Some of the older female werewolves compared their first shift to childbirth."
The first time I'd seen a TV program where the mother had screamed while she had given birth had traumatized me. It was the day I swore I'd never have kids. I wasn't the type of person to be scared of anything, but that scared me, just a little bit.
Cade waited for my reaction.
"That sucks," I said, trying to cover up how scared I was.
Gary looked at me with concern. He wasn't happy about that little bit of information either. No parent wanted their children to get hurt. It was another thing to go under the reasons why being a werewolf sucked.
For most of my visit to the compound, I walked with an alpha on each side and Gary tagging along behind us. To make sure there were no accidental touches with Cade, I gravitated closer to Blake.
A couple of times I caught Cade glaring at Blake and Blake would give him a helpless look. Was it possible Cade was getting jealous? Did he think I had a thing for Blake? The more important question was, why was he jealous? He didn't know we were mates. Did he feel the same attraction I felt for him without knowing we were mates?
Curtis greeted me when we walked into the medical office. It was a small building built behind the apartment block to the one side of the gate.
"How are you feeling?" he asked me with a friendly smile.
"Much better, thank you," I answered, matching his smile. Cade glared at him.
Like everything else in the compound, it was a good setup. It was one big room with a big central desk with computers. There were about ten beds with curtains in-between to give patients privacy. It looked like what you'd see in any hospital.
The thought that this was a necessity in the compound made me feel nervous. Did they get hurt a lot? Did they get attacked regularly? This whole tour of the compound was opening my eyes up to the new world I belonged to.
The only time I got really excited on the tour was when we walked into the building that housed the gym. On the top floor, they had state-of-the-art gym equipment and a few guys were working out as we looked around.
I noticed there weren't any female werewolves working out. I wasn't going to be happy if I heard only the guys trained and the girls were expected to cook and clean.
I trained hard so I was able to protect myself and not expect some guy to swoop in and save the day. Although at the moment I was relying on Blake and Cade to keep me safe and it wasn't sitting well with me. Once they trained me, I wouldn't need their protection; I would be able to protect myself. Downstairs was a sparring area similar to the one I had at home, except it was bigger.
A massive bulky-built guy walked out of a small office to the side. His legs were the size of tree trunks and he was the same height as Cade. But where Cade was well defined and etched, this guy was bulging with muscles. Just the sight of him was a little scary. He was the type of guy you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.
"This is Hank," Cade said as introduction to the guy.
Hank the tank. It was so fitting because that is what he reminded me of—a tank, indestructible. I had to suppress a laugh and all the guys looked at me a little strangely.
"Nice to meet you, Hank," I said as I held out my hand. He studied me for a moment before he smiled and shook my hand. In that instant, I decided I liked him. Cade introduced him to Gary.
"This is where everyone trains together," Cade said. "And Hank oversees the training."
It was no wonder he was built the way he was if he spent all day and every day in the gym. Personally I didn't like guys that built up; I preferred guys that were nicely built but not bulky.
"Good to hear the girls get to train as well," I quipped, letting my eyes drift around the room.
"Girls can train, but only the guys fight," stated Cade.
Oh, hell no! My eyes shot to Cade as I felt my temper rise.
"Why can't girls fight?" I asked, digging my fingers into the palms of my hands as I tried to rein in my temper. I knew the answer before I even asked the question, but I wanted him to say it out loud.
"Female werewolves are physically weaker than their male counterparts," said Cade.
Don't slap him, I said over and over. If you slap him he'll find out you're his mate. It took everything in me not to give in to the urge. Sexist asshole.
"Just because guys are physically stronger than girls doesn't mean we can't hold our own in a fight," I bit back, standing up for all the female werewolves. It was also hard to believe that they allowed themselves to be dictated to like that.
The truth was I'd never had to fight off anyone, never mind a powerful werewolf. But I refused to believe it wasn't something I could accomplish with the right training.
"Besides, it would be hard for a male werewolf to concentrate on a fight if he has to worry about his mate," said Blake.
I swung my gaze to him. I was in the presence of two sexist assholes, but this one I could slap.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Scarlett
Something in my eyes must have told Blake what I wanted to do to him because he took a step backward and he was out of my reach.
Clever boy. I glared at him.
“You might not be happy with the way things work in the pack, but these have been the way things have worked for centuries and it isn’t going to change,” Cade informed me with a steely glare.
I swung my gaze to glare back at him.
“We’ll see,” I challenged.
Unable to stand being around the two idiots any longer, I stalked out of the gym. There was no way I would allow this to continue if I had to join Cade’s pack. I was not going to sit back and be a helpless female that needed males to protect her.
I remembered from some stories that members of a pack couldn’t go against what the alpha said. I needed to get some more information from Blake. It made me more hesitant to give up my freedom and join Cade’s pack.
I didn’t want to talk to Blake, but I had to if I was going to get answers to my questions.
It didn’t take long for Blake, Cade and Gary to exit the gym. Gary gave me a look that said he was on my side, but unfortunately he wasn’t in charge—dumb and dumber were.
I completely ignored Cade and walked beside Blake back to the main house. Cade trailed behind us with Gary. The heat of Cade’s glare on the two of us as we walked couldn’t be ignored and a glance at Blake told me he felt it too.
As much as I was dying to ask Blake some questions, I didn’t dare do it within earshot of Cade. I didn’t want him becoming suspicious of why I wanted to know about mates and stuff like that. I’d have to try and talk to Blake another time when Cade wasn’t around.
My stomach was growling by the time I entered the kitchen.
Lunch was strained. The four of us sat at the dining room table. There were various sandwiches and salads spread out.
“Who made all the food?” I asked Cade. He’d been a little preoccu
pied and he was acting jealous.
“One of the ladies from our pack likes to cook so I let her have free reign in the kitchen,” he replied tightly. He was still angry, but he was trying to be polite.
By the end of lunch, I decided to retreat back to my room for a while. I needed space and time to try and figure out how I was going to deal with Cade finding out I was his mate. I had just over one day left before I had to come clean.
That night I slept well despite all the things weighing down on me and I was relieved I was going back to school.
Cade was nowhere to be seen when I went down to the kitchen after getting ready for school.
“Hi, how are you feeling?” Gary asked. He was always up early.
“I’m good,” I replied as I went to get some coffee.
Cade walked in and I felt the flutter in my stomach at the sight of him.
“Morning,” he greeted as he grabbed a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” I greeted, trying to keep myself from perving over him. He was gorgeous.
“You ready to leave for school?” he asked as he took a sip of coffee.
“Yes,” I answered. The truth was I hadn’t eaten yet but I wasn’t going to make him wait while I had breakfast.
“Come on, let’s go.”
The car ride was quiet. I kept my gaze fixed on the scenery passing us by, trying to keep the flutter of excitement that came alive whenever he was close to me under control. I felt Cade’s eyes on me a couple of times but I refused to look at him.
By the time he pulled into the school parking lot, I was frazzled and nervous. Quickly, I got out of the car and walked inside the school, leaving Cade behind.
I felt safe within the school. There were enough werewolves to keep me safe. Cade and Blake had gone through my classes and scheduled specific werewolves to keep an eye on me in each class. It was like a rotation of bodyguards.
I was at my locker getting a book when I turned to see Keri beside me.
“You’re back,” she said.
“Yeah, I was sick yesterday.” The lie rolled off my tongue.
“I spotted you getting dropped off by Cade Presley,” she informed me with a knowing smile.
