Chapter 61: New Friends

My body felt numb and cold. All I could think about was how I became the center of the pain and suffering that would be unleashed upon my loved ones. How had this happened? Was the curse common knowledge?

The shock had paralyzed me. I couldn’t move or think. Morris was so angry he was shaking and trying to find a way to get a hold of me. Blake was standing in front of me, blocking Morris’s attempts while shaking so hard, little black fur patches had started to appear on his skin. Nate and Dwayne grabbed Morris, holding him back. From the corner of my eye, I watched Sue and Theresa quickly grab Taylor and head for their car.

They knew I was safe with both Max and Rocky shielding me from the screaming match happening between the men. The next thing I knew, warm hands grabbed me, and I was in the back of Rocky’s SUV with Max right next to me, holding my hand.

All I wanted today was to bury my parents in peace. To be able to say goodbye to them without any drama. Why couldn’t I have a normal day without any involvement in werewolf drama?! Did I make a bad choice when I decided to stay with Blake and be part of his life? If I had walked away, maybe I wouldn’t have been exposed to all these things.

The ache in the pit of my stomach was making me nauseous and dizzy. My stomach churned even more from the speed Rocky was driving.

Max’s warm hand tighten around mine while he looked outside, trying to make sure we weren’t getting followed by any extra people Morris brought with him.

I felt the bile rise, and my throat got tight.

“Rocky..” I whispered.

“Yeah, Rosy. I’m here. You’re safe, don’t worry” he glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Pull over..” I covered my mouth, trying to hold it in.

“What?!” Rocky looked over his shoulder while trying to drive straight.

“Dude, she’s going to throw up. Pullover” Max’s voice was filled with panic.

The car slowed down, and I leaped out as soon I felt it stop.

I bend over and let the contents of my stomach pour out. My stomach squeezed itself, pushing out everything in it. At the same time, I felt the earth move. My body swayed as I held my hair back and tried to stand straight. My knees gave way, and I sunk to the ground, landing on my butt.

Suddenly there was an arm wrapped around my waist, and all the loose hair around my face disappeared.

“Rocky, you got any water?” Max yelled over his shoulder. He was kneeling next to me, holding me and my hair.

“Yeah,” Rocky’s voice came from a distance.

I heard the car door close and heavy footsteps crunch across the grass.

“Give her to me. You’re meant to be staying away” Rocky didn’t sound very impressed.

“Right now isn’t the time to be worrying about my intentions. We all want the same thing, and that’s to keep Rosy alive. We’re on the same team, dude. Chill.” I cringed at how loud Max’s voice was.

“Can you two please stop? Rocky...” I put my hand out for the bottle of water he had in his hands.

He handed it to me and loosened his tie. Concern clearly reflecting off his face.

“Shit! I always hated that old fućker!” He growled.

I gulped down the water, letting it soothe my throat.

“You’ve met him before?” I looked up at Rocky, wiping my mouth.

“Yeah. We use to live in the packhouse with him. He and Richard had a big fight, and we moved out. It was the last I saw or heard of him” Rocky ran his hands through his hair and huffed.

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to all this. I’ve never heard of this curse. If it’s such a big deal, there would have been some chatter about it among their pack mages.” Max gently rubbed my back.

His touch felt so wrong yet so right. It was calming me down and making me feel better but also reminding me what he truly wanted.

“You think that old fućker is lying?” Rocky asked.

“I will have to do some investigating. Let’s not jump to conclusions yet. Whatever it is, there will be a way to fix it. I will find a way.”

Max looked at me with eyes filled with sincerity and concern. I couldn’t help but stare back at him. He really did care about me.

“Shit. We have to move. Rosy, are you feeling any better? We have to get you to the Cooper Mansion. Blake’s orders” Rocky walked over to me.

“Yeah, I’m okay now. Let’s go.”

Arms wrapped around my waist, and Max yanked me to my feet.

“Wow, gently,” I complained.

“Sorry. I keep forgetting your still human.” Max rubbed the back of his neck and blushed a little.

He blushed?!

“You really need to keep your hands off her, man. I understand we’re on the same team, but you haven’t really given me a reason to trust you. So please, back off” Rocky grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

“Come on, dude. Really? Why would I want to harm her in any way? She’s my mate. I want her safe and sound too” Max grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him.

“She’s not your mate. She’s mated to Blake. You really need to get that through your head!” Rocky grabbed my arm again and pulled me towards him.

The sudden movements were making me nauseous again.

I felt Max’s hand wrap around my arm, but before he could pull, I yanked my arm away from him.

“STOP! You two need to stop!” I yelled and looked between the two of them.

“Max, I’m very grateful for your help, I really am. But Rocky is right. I am not your mate. Please stop with that bullshit. I’ve got enough drama happening today. If you can’t help me, please at least don’t make matters worse.”

Max looked taken back by my reaction. He clenched his jaws and stared at me.

“Okay. I’ll behave” was all he replied before turning towards the SUV and stomping away.

“Come on, Rosy. Let’s get you somewhere safe” Rocky motioned to get in the car, and I nodded.

I got into the back with Max, and Rocky got into the driver's seat. They both gave each other a quick cold glance before turning away.

“Rocky, where is Blake?”

“They are trying to find Morris. Blake said Morris lost his shit and shifted. Morris took off into the forest, and they don’t know which way he went. They think he might come after you” Rocky started the car and sped off. He kept looking around to make sure we weren’t getting followed.

Max, on the other hand, had his eyes closed and was chanting something.

“Rocky, tell Blake not to worry about Morris. He's gone back towards his territory,” Max finally spoke.

“How do you know?” Rocky looked over his shoulder.

“I tracked him.”

Rocky raised his eyebrow and tilted his head in astonishment.

“You can do that?” I asked.

“You sound surprised,” Max laughed, turning towards me.

“Umm yeah. The best magic trick I’ve seen is a guy sawing a lady in half without killing her. So this is all new to me. You can just track anyone anywhere?”

“Hmm, it depends on how far they are. Like when I tracked you. I was in your area, so it was easy. If you were far away, I would have to use a stronger spell which requires a spellbook and some ornaments,” Max explained.

“That’s very interesting. What else can you do?” I was truly intrigued.

Blake hadn’t really mentioned much about witches and warlocks. Every time we had a conversation about Max, Blake would quickly change the topic and distract me. He was not keen on talking about all the pain his brother had caused him.

“I can do lots of things. It’s the beauty of magic. It’s fascinating. I did tell you that maybe you should get to know me more. I may have done some fuxked up things, but I’m not a bad guy.”

“Yeah, like pretending to be Blake to get close to my sister. Not a bad guy move at all,” Rocky snorted.

Max growled and rolled his eyes.

“He can pretend all his wants. I know the difference.” I laughed and leaned back in my seat.

“You know I’ve been doing some digging about that. I think you can tell the difference because Blake’s marked you. If he hadn’t marked you, you wouldn’t know.”

I looked up at the rearview mirror. Rocky was observing me.

“You really think that?” I turned my attention back to Max.

“Yes, I do. See if I mark you, you may feel the same way about me.”

“I highly doubt that. I’m not attracted to you in that way. I’ve been attracted to Blake from the day I met him. You, on the other hand, are an annoying pest that won’t go away.”

Rocky cracked up laughing.

Max looked stunned.

“Here I am offering to help you, and you’re calling me a pest? Seriously? Don’t you think it’s stupidity to mock the one warlock that can help you?” Max growled. He sounded angry.

I didn’t know much about the supernatural world but from all the movies and TV shows I had watched, keeping people with magic on your side was always handy.

Max was right about one thing in particular. Since we had met, he hadn’t done anything wrong to me. He had actually saved me and kept me safe. I had never witnessed him being a bad guy. What did I have to lose by being his friend? Was I too cryptically?

“Okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you a pest. You are right; there are lots of interesting things to learn about you. How about I make you a deal? I’ll keep an open mind and get to know you some more only if you be my friend and stop trying to steal me away from Blake.”

“You’re friend-zoning me?” Max looked horrified.

“Sort of. I don’t know you at all, and the best way to know you is by being your friend. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I figure it’s the best option if you want to stick around and not have your brother kill you.”

Max narrowed his eyes at me, and I could literally hear his brain ticking.

I glanced over at Rocky. His eyes were flicking between the road and Max. I was sure he was telling Blake everything.

“Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll be your friend. At least this way, I do get to stay around you. Besides, you may see something you like, and I can assure you I have a few things you may like,” Max smirked, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

“Blaargh” I stuck my tongue out and pretended to vomit.

Rocky cracked up laughing again. Max rolled his eyes and looked away.

“You’re making me regret my decision to be your friend.”

“Well, suck it up. Innocent flirting is common in friendship, right Rocky?” Max snickered.

“No comments made.” Rocky sobered up.

Before Rocky and I found out we were related, Rocky use to pass innocent flirty comments as well. However, I knew regardless of the remarks Rocky made, his intentions were never wrong. He only did it as a joke.

With Max, I knew it wasn’t a joke. Max intended to make me his, and even though I was okay with letting it slide, Blake wouldn’t be so happy.

“You have to behave, Max. I don’t want to have to pick between Blake and our friendship. I will always choose Blake, and that will just add fuel to the fire you already have burning for your brother.”

Max nodded but started quiet. The look on his face made my insides shiver. I knew I was going to regret my decision. I had to tell Blake about my newly formed friendship with Max. The last thing I needed was Blake getting the wrong impression.

The car slowed down, and I looked out to find the Cooper Mansion before us.

“Blake’s waiting for you in his room,” Rocky called over his shoulder.

Shït! Blake would have already heard our conversation through his mindlink with Rocky.

“Is he mad?” I whispered. My voice was cracking a little.

“No, he isn't. He's just worried about you. Go see him.”

I nodded and gave Max one last look before opening the door.

“I’m here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on after you argue with Blake.” Max snickered.

“Shut up, asshöle!” I flipped him my middle finger and slammed the door shut as hard as I could.

“Hey! Careful. Why are you getting angry at my car?!” Rocky shrieked and quickly got out to check his car.

“Whatever!” I took a deep breath in and headed inside. My heart was pounding. Was Blake going to be mad that I had initiated a friendship with Max? He hadn’t shown any skepticism at the cemetery when I had asked Max to be my friend.

My heart pounded harder and faster as I got closer to the main entrance. Why was I so scared? It was going to be okay!

Blake would understand...

Right?.....