Chapter Fifty-Nine
Waverly.
She eyed her neck in the mirror in preparation for meeting the werewolves. She loved the idea of everyone knowing that she was mated to Drake. The two small puncher wounds looked deep, and the thought made her stomach twist in butterflies. The pleasure she got from it shocked her.
Drake knocked his knuckles against the cracked bathroom door. She caught his gaze in the slit and a blush warmed her neck.
His chuckle slid up her skin. “You’re embarrassed after that, Wave?”
“I can’t help it,” she whispered, turning to face him and opening the door. “Are you ready?”
He offered her his hand and led her through the cabin and onto the front porch.
The amount of people in the yard startled her and made her laugh at the same time. The wolves stood on one half, all of them looked tanned from the sun and buff. Nothing like the slender vampires.
Beau looked tense standing in the gap between the two kinds.
Even though this was his idea. Waverly couldn’t hear their conversation, but she assumed it was explaining what the hell was going on, and why they needed the wolves' help.
When the biggest male, the one speaking with Beau glanced over, she stiffened.
“That’s the Alpha,” Drake whispered into her ear. “He’s the leader of the pack.”
“I can see why,” she mumbled.
Drake shot her a glance but led her down the stairs toward the group. The cabin door shut behind them and Waverly glanced over to see Sarah’s wide-eyed expression.
The sheer quantity of them was overwhelming not including their size. Waverly was on the edge of her seat wanting to see their wolf form.
Drake looked down at her. “Why are you so excited?”
“I want to see them shift,” she whispered back.
He seemed unenthused that they were there. Waverly stopped when Drake did, and eyed the Alpha. His muscles were hardly contained in his t-shirt. He looked like he’d been plucked from a pro football team.
The frown on his face screamed that he was uncomfortable. Several of the wolves bounced on their heels behind him. She wasn’t sure if it was due to nerves or excitement that something was happening.
The Alpha ran his fingers into his dark black hair and shifted his weight. “So, because of this,” he said, gesturing toward Waverly and Drake, “you’re fighting royal vampires? I’m missing something?”
Beau looked around them at Sarah and Barbie. “Because of her,” he said, gesturing toward Sarah, “and her inability to know when to shut up.”
“Hey!” Sarah said. “I didn’t know they were vampires. No one told me!”
A few of the wolves laughed, but the Alpha didn’t. He looked unimpressed.
“Look,” Beau said, “are you going to help or not?”
The Alpha slid his tongue roughly over his teeth. “I don’t like this. I’ve been around long enough to know not to go up against the royals. I’ve encountered many,” he said, his gaze shifted toward Beau, “you know that. You saved me from a few. I can’t deny you your favor. I don’t like
it and I don’t want to jeopardize my pack, but you saved my family.”
Beau nodded. “I’m sorry I have to ask you. It’s not my intention to hurt your pack. But I don’t know what to do anymore. One of our vampires went missing. We think it’s his father that took him. There is no trace. The scent went cold on the highway, though I have some of my best trackers attempting to follow it.”
The Alpha looked over his shoulder. “How far are they?”
Beau shrugged. “Fifty or sixty miles out by now.”
“I can send my trackers with them. I’m sure they’re great, but everyone knows that a wolf's sense of smell is greater.”
Beau gestured toward the woods. “The trail should take them toward the edge of the woods, and I’m not sure from there.”
The alpha turned toward his pack. Waverly watched in excitement as he called out two trackers. They were much smaller than he was, but they looked quick, which was good for a tracker.
“Follow the scents that lead to the road, keep in contact with me, and if you smell trouble, come back. I’m not risking your lives when you have no backup out there. Come back, and we’ll make a new plan once you find where they’ve taken him.”
Waverly rocked back on her heels when she saw them strip from their T-shirts. When they began to take off their pants, her gaze lowered to the ground. She wanted to see them shift, but not that badly.
She felt Drake’s gaze on the side of her face, and she hid her laugh. Drake nudged her ribs and when she looked up they were shifting.
It was quicker than she imagined. Their entire bodies contorted, and in the quickest way possible, they shifted into giant wolves.
Waverly couldn’t stop her gasping at their size. An average wolf was nothing compared to them. One was a dark grey with black ears and the other was silver.
Everything was animalistic and raw other than their eyes. They looked intelligent like they were looking into their souls.
Waverly watched as they darted off into the woods, and disappeared behind the trees. She felt her heart racing at the sight of them.
The alpha turned back to look at Beau but stole a glance at Waverly. Maybe he could sense her excitement? Or he wanted to see what he was fighting for. Either way, she couldn’t stare long, she glanced down and felt Drake squeeze her hand.
He sensed all of her emotions, and sometimes she forgot just how linked they were.
Beau broke the rambling in her head when he cleared his throat. “Maybe we should show you all to your cabins before we figure out a game plan. Since we have visitors, a couple of the wolves will have to bunk in each cabin.”
Drake growled under his breath, but no one else seemed to care about his unease.
It didn’t matter how angry it made Drake. He’d have to get over it.
“I’d say three wolves in each cabin. Pick which one you want...”
The alpha turned to Drake and faced him. “I want to bunk with you. If we’re protecting the humans, I need to be close to them because they will come after them first.”
Drake tightened his fingers around Waverly’s.
He chuckled. “My Beta will join me. Don’t worry, we both have mates and no interest in yours.”
Drake seemed to relax. Maybe being around the wolves just made him nervous. Waverly nudged Drake’s side, and he shot her a glare.
“Okay. Come on then. I think the couch pulls out into a bed.”
The wolves began to break into pairs of two and three, making their way to random cabins as the vampires, somewhat, greeted them.
Sarah made it inside with Barbie first, and Waverly walked in front of the wolves to get inside.
The alpha took a deep breath in when he made it through the doorjamb. “Who’s been screwing in here?”
Waverly’s cheeks warmed.
Sarah pointed. “Them two.”
Waverly didn’t dare look up from the ground. She felt a blush crawl up her neck and rest against her cheeks.
“We’ve been stressed, Sarah,” Drake said, rolling his eyes. “Thank you for that.”
Sarah shrugged and sat down on the couch.
The Beta, a blonde-haired blue-eyed male stepped in beside the Alpha. “Do you want me to check to see where all the windows and doors are?”
“Yes,” the Alpha said.
He disappeared into their bedroom and began to walk from room to room.
The Alpha shut the door. “We need to talk,” he said. “I need you girls to promise to listen to me if they show up. I know I’m not your leader or your mate, but I’m going to make sure that Beau is repaid for his kindness by making sure you two make it.”
Drake’s shoulders loosened. “We’ll do whatever you need us to do.”
He nodded. “Good. Bring all the beds in here. We’re not going to leave one another’s sights. Disappearing is not an option, because we’ve been taught that we may not come back. I smelled many vampires on my way into this camp. The royals are going to bring an army.”