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Chapter 6
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2020-11-13 02:40:33Chapter 6
>Lucas´ house. Guest bedroom. Day.<
I wake up in my bedroom at Lucas´s house. The last thing I recall is the fire at Nexus labs, where I became trapped under a collapsed ceiling.
Thank god. I´m alive. Then I remember Patrick and Liam. Is Patrick all right? Did Liam rescue me?
“Laura.” Mom moves across the room toward me. Seven is also present. “How are you feeling?” I sit up in bed. “I feel fine. Where is Patrick? He´s been shot. Is he okay?” “He´s in recovery.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “What about Liam?” “He´s okay. He was here a while ago. How about you? Are you sure you´re all right?” “I´m fine, Mom.” Mom just smiles softly. For a change, my mom isn´t hysterically worried about me. (Seven) “You´re getting stronger each day. You´re healing more rapidly than ever.” She´s correct. I don´t see any wounds on me, although I feel slightly sore.
“How did Liam manage to get me out of the rubble?” “He didn´t. I did.” I looked at Seven with surprise. “I´ve been watching you through my mind´s eye the entire time. When I saw what occurred, I knew I had to interfere. Just as I told you before. You are too important, Laura.” “But why, Seven? Why am I so important?” “All will be revealed in due time. Right now, what´s important is that you´re alive.” “Thank you for saving my life.” “I´m uncertain of the consequences of my actions. But something tells me that it was the correct thing to do. All is well for now. However, it isn't over yet. Today I must return to the Citadel.” “The Citadel?” “It´s where I live. It´s calling me home. For now, I´ll give you this.” Seven hands me an amulet of black stone with a long leather string. “Wear it always. The string is long enough so that it will fit you even when you shift into your wolf form. That amulet will safeguard you from magic.” “Why would I need protection from magic?” “I have reason to suspect that dark magic is at play here. I will understand more once I´ve return home. For now, gather your pack. Wolf Springs and its people will need you to protect them. I bid you farewell, Laura.”
Seven gives my mom a nod which my mom returns. Seven moves a step backwards and disappears in a flash of light.
I turn to my mom. “I don´t feel good about this, Mom.” “Dark days are coming, Laura. I feel it in the air. You must prepare for it.” “Then I must talk to the pack. Do you know where Liam is?” “I´ll go and get him. He´s been waiting for you.”
Mom smiles softly at me, giving my hand a squeeze before heading out of the door. When the door to my bedroom opens once again, Liam enters. My heart skips a beat upon seeing him. “Laura.” Liam rushes to my side and wraps his arms around me. “Thank god, you´re all right.” He sits on the bed. “You scared me for a moment back there. “I´m sorry. I had to do it. I am your Alpha. I´m the first one in and the last one out.” “Still, it was reckless.” “It was a shot at enabling you guys to escape and i took it.” “And look where it got you. You almost died. You would have been dead if it wasn´t for Seven.” “You and me both, because you didn´t obey your Alpha.” “Of course I´m not abandon you just like that. I don´t want to lose you.” I smile at him as he holds my hand.
“Is it really this difficult to be the Alpha? Or is it because I´m new to all this?” “It doesn´t get any easier. You just get more used to it as time goes by. Being the Alpha means having to make the most challenging decisions.” I stare at Liam, studying his features. I can´t believe I came so close to not seeing his face ever again. His beautiful, angelic face. “I don´t think it´s for me. Being the Alpha I mean. I think you should be the Alpha.” “That´s assuming there´s going to be a pack to lead. I thought this is just temporary.” “Seven told me that it´s not over yet. We have to be ready to protect the people of Wolf Springs. Dark days are coming, Liam.”
Liam caresses my face and kisses me on the lips. “Then we´ll face it together.”
>Lucas´ house. Guest room. Day.<
Later that day, I visit Patrick in his room where he´s recuperating. He´s already standing beside the window by the time I enter his room. He turns to me, providing me with a full view of his shirtless body. “Patrick, I´m glad you´re all right.” “So am I.” I can still see the mark the gunshot wound left on his shoulder. I touch it, my fingers tracing the circular wound. “Does it still hurt?” Patrick places his hand over mine. “Not anymore.” “I´m gathering the pack right now. I want you to stay.” “For you, Laura, I will stay as long as you need me.” “Thank you. It means a lot to mean that I can depend on you.”
I look into his eyes. He has sadness in his eyes. Not a trace of the fury I witnessed last night. Whatever it is I saw last night, I don´t want to know about it. It´s Patrick´s life. He would share it with me if he wanted to. I give Patrick a peck on the cheek. “What was that for?” “For being so good to me. For being a good man.” Patrick smiles at me.
>Lucas´ house. War room. Day.<
The pack is gathered at the war room.
“I want to thank you all for a job well done at Nexus Labs. We accomplished the mission all because we worked as a team. Seven told me that all is well for now. However, the worst is yet to come. She suspects that dark magic is involved in this situation. It is for this reason that we must become a cohesive pack in order to be ready to protect the people of Wolf Springs. But I cannot lead this pack. I´m not ready yet. At least for now.”
(Tank) “Then we only have two choices. It´s either Liam or Patrick. They are the potential Alphas.” (Lucas) “I have a feeling that neither one of them is going to bow down.” (Amelia) “Then we will settle this in the traditional way. Through trial by combat to determine the new Alpha.” (Laura) “I guess that means that you guys are agreeing to be part of the pack?” (Tank) “We´ve missed the good old days.” (Lucas) “So what´s it going to be, Liam? Patrick? Are we going to watch a showdown between the two most eligible Alphas?” (Patrick) “I am not going to back down from a fight.” (Liam) “Then a fight you will get.”
“(Laura) “Please, guys, don´t take this personally. We are here to become a united pack. We need to become a team.” (Liam) “I´m sorry if I´m being overly aggressive. You´re right, Laura. We need to become a team.”
(Lucas) “Speaking of team, since the good ol´ oracle says it´s all good for now, I think we should celebrate this win. And build a team in the process.” “What do you have in mind, Luc?” “A retreat to my lake house at Brightmoon Lake.”
(Tank) “I think that´s a great idea. We can do some team building there. We can also hold the Alpha fight between Patrick and Liam at the lake house.” (Lucas) “Exactly. By the time we return from our retreat we´ll be a legit pack. If we leave now, we can be there by sundown.”
>Lucas´ Brightmoon Lakehouse. Night.<
The pack, with the exception of my mom, arrive at Brightmoon Lakehouse by sundown just as Lucas predicted. Everyone is in awe at how tremendous and vast Lucas´s lakehouse is.
(Patrick) “Dude, you really are loaded. How come you´re so rich?” “Because I´m Bruce Wayne. Now, most of the rooms are used for storage, meaning that some of you will have to bunk together.” (Patrick) “Laura, you can stay with me.” (Liam) “I´m already carrying her bags. She can stay with me.” “I´m not staying with either one of you. I´m bunking with Amelia. It´s about time us girls bonded together.” (Amelia) “That´s the best idea I´ve heard all week. Now, where´s our room?” (Lucas) “Second door to the right and straight on `til the bathroom.” “We´ll find it our own. Bye, boys.”
Amelia and I make our way down the hall to find a suitable room for both of us. We settle in a bedroom with two separate beds. “This is pleasant. I feel like I´m back in college with my new roommate.” I plop myself down on the bed. “Never been to university before.” “Really?” I sit up straight, looking at Amelia in surprise. “We never did go to college, Lucas and I. We come from a long line of natural born wolves. Just like you. When we were around 16 years of age, our parents started our training as wolves. Combat training, tactical strategy, wolflore and history, those are the things we were taught.” Amelia sits on the bed besides me. I just realized that there´s a great deal. I don´t know about Lucas, whom I considered my best friend all these years. But then again, I´ve only found out that my best friend is a werewolf. It´s a totally different life.
“I wasn´t aware that Lucas was a natural born wolf. Hell, I didn´t even know he had a sister until recently.” Amelia falls silent. Is her relationship with Lucas a touchy subject for her? I decide not to press the subject. Whatever it is that happened between the two of them, she would tell me when she´s ready. Or maybe Lucas will. I just wish there is a way for them to patch things up.
>Lakehouse kitchen. Day<
The following morning, Amelia and I make our way down to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Lucas is standing in the entry way of the kitchen, a mug of coffee in one hand. He´s watching everything that is occurring inside the kitchen.
(Laura) “What is going on?” As we enter the kitchen, I see Liam and Patrick. Both are shirtless as they cook breakfast. “Talk about déjà vu.” “At least they´re both wearing pants this time.”
(Liam) “Good morning, Laura. I´ll have your breakfast ready in a sec.” Liam makes a show of flipping pancakes in the air. (Patrick) “Good morning, beautiful. Come and sit down.” Patrick is making an omelet, which he is flipping in the air as well.
Two hot guys cooking in the kitchen. Can breakfast can get any better than this?
I can´t help but smile. Amelia and I sit at the counter where I can get a full view of their shirtless bodies. I can´t tell which one of them is sexier. However, one thing is for certain, they both look gorgeous.
(Liam) “Do you like pancakes? I bet you´ll like my pancakes, they´re delicious.” “Laura looks like an omelet kind of girl. You´ll love my omelet.”
(Lucas) “You know you´re both looking so stupid now, right?”
Watching the both of them makes me hungry, but not for their cooking.
(Amelia) “What´s it going to be, Laura? The guys are asking you to make a choice.” “I´m gonna have to go with Liam´s pancakes.” “Yes!” Liam pumps his fist like he´s just scored a three-point shot. Patrick looks rather disappointed. Yet he still forces a smile. “Here you go, Laura.” Liam hands me a plate of pancakes, as Patrick gives Amelia the omelet. Patrick leaves momentarily and then returns with a cup of coffee. I take a sip and it´s heaven. “Oh, Patrick, this is the most astounding coffee I´ve ever tasted.” Patrick looks proud and winks at me. “Thank you.”
Liam takes the plate of pancakes in one hand and cuts a piece of one of them with a fork, then tries to feed it to me. “Here, try this.” I take a bite of the pancake. “Oh, this one is good too.” “But of course.” Liam feeds me another piece of pancake, although the maple syrup on it drips on to my chin. “Oh, you got syrup on your chin.” But since Liam´s hands are full, he licks it of my chin instead.” “Here we go.” Lucas comments from behind. Amelia, who is bemused by all this, shakes her head. “Seriously, guys? Right in front of my omelet?”
Patrick touches my chin and turn me to face him. “He missed a spot.” Patrick kisses me on the lips instead, sucking on my lower lip. Hot damn. Can this breakfast get any hotter? Liam puts down the plate of pancakes. “Oh, look, you didn´t get all of it.” Liam presses his lips against mine as well. Following Liam´s kiss I bite my lower lip, the taste of both their mouths lingering. The urge I feel inside me is about to overcome me, but I have to resist. “This has been a lovely breakfast. I´m satisfied.” (Lucas) “Obviously.” I ignore Lucas. “I guess I´ll see you at the trial later? May the best Alpha win.”
>Lakehouse. A clearing near the woods. Day.<
Following an interesting breakfast, the pack gathers at a clearing near the woods surrounding the lake. We watch from the sideline as Patrick and Liam warm up for the fight.
Their sweating bodies are glistening in the sunlight which is filtering through the trees.
(Liam) “All right. Let´s get this over with.” “I´m ready.” “Then let´s begin.” Both men assume a fighting position. The fight begins as Patrick throws the first punch. Liam blocks it and counters. The fight progresses, with Patrick going on the offensive as Liam fends him off. It appears that Patrick is gaining the upper-hand. I watch as every muscle in their bodies grows taut with every move, flexing with each move they make. This is like Fight Club. Only hotter.
However, as Patrick´s endurance begins to wane, Liam goes on the offensive and showers him with a barrage of attacks. Patrick ends up trapped in Liam´s arm in a sleeper hold. He taps Liam´s arm, yielding. Liam wins. Liam is Alpha.
“Your Prince Charming is the Alpha now.” I elbow Lucas in the stomach. “What?” Lucas laughs. “Shut up, Lucas.” Tank and Amelia move to congratulate Liam. (Tank) “Just like old times.”
I´m about to walk over to Liam. But I decide to change my mind. I approach Patrick. “Are you all right?” I touch the cut on his cheekbone as it begins to heal itself. “It´s nothing.” I turn to gaze at Liam and find him looking back to me. We nod to each other. (Patrick) “I want to get outta here. Come with me to the lake?”
Momentarily I am torn between celebrating Liam´s victory and commiserating Patrick´s loss. But Patrick needs me more right now. “Sure.”
>Brightmoon Lake. Day.<
We leave the group and walk toward the lake. It hasn´t frozen over yet, even though winter is upon us. We sit under a tree by the lakeshore. “Are you all right?” “I am.” However, I can see the sadness in his eyes. Losing against Liam has really affected him. “You don´t look all right.” “It´s just that I really wanted to be the Alpha of this pack.” “Why?” “I wanted to prove myself to you.” I wrap my arms around Patrick. “I would never ask you to prove yourself for me. I already know well that you´re a good man.”
Patrick holds my hand. He leans so close to me that ii can feel his breath upon my face as he speaks. My heart is palpitating wildly. “There´s something about you that makes me want to be a better man. I´m so glad I found you, Laura. I´m going to kiss you now.”
I turn away from Patrick as he is about the lean in for a kiss. “Is there something wrong?” “Oh, no, not at all. It´s just that--” “I can tell something is wrong, Laura. You know that you can tell me anything, right?” “I know, Patrick. Thank you. Perhaps we should just head back to the lakehouse. This is supposed to be group retreat, remember?” “Yeah, I understand. Let´s head back then.”
>Brightmoon Lakehouse. Dinning room. Night.<
We are all gathered at the dinner table. I sit in between Liam and Patrick. Liam offers me a choice between two glasses of wine. “Would you like red or white?” I take the glass of white wine from Liam. I bring it up to my nose and breathe it in. Lucas suddenly stands up, raising his glass of wine. “Everyone please raise your glass. I´d like to propose a toast.” We all comply with Lucas´ request. “To Laura, my best friend. Thank you for taking care of the pack, even if it´s only been for a brief time. You´ve shown authentic courage when posed with impossible odds.” (Everyone) “Here, here.” We all take a sip of wine. “There´s more. To Liam, our new but not really new Alpha, who´s shown what it means to be a true Alpha. Thank you for not leaving my best friend behind.” Momentarily, I think that Lucas is about to tear up. “I´m so pleased that we get to be a pack again. I´m glad you´re back, man. Cheers!” (Everyone) “Cheers!”
As we finish eating dinner, Liam leans into me and whispers. “Can I invite you for a walk outside?” Without a moment's hesitation, I agree.
>Brightmoon Lake. Night.<
Liam and I walk down the fishing dock down by the lake. “Did you want to talk to me about something?” “I just want to come out and say that I have feelings for you, Laura. This isn´t simply about sexual attraction. I´m talking about something deeper than that. I just want to make it clear. I don't want us to be just friends. I desire something more. I want us to see each other. Officially.” “But not exclusively. Right now, I don´t want to be tied to just a single person. There´s so much to explore about being a werewolf and dating per se. I just don´t want to be tied down.” “I can live with that. I understand. But I want you to know that someday, I am going to mark you. And I don´t care if Patrick already did. As long as you haven´t marked him, then I will fight him if it comes to that.” He really wants me that badly.
Without another word, I grab the back of his head and press his face to mine so that our lips touch. Liam looks at me and smiles. Liam is about to lean in for a further kiss, when he suddenly turns. And then I pick up the scent too. “Someone´s coming!” A figure appears ahead. It is the silhouette of a woman. When the figure emerges to the light, I am shocked to see who it is.
