Chapter 6

“You didn’t come home last night. We were worried, so we followed your scent,” Makoce, his Beta, explained.

“We had trouble finding your scent because of the rain,” the Hispanic Matias, the Gamma, added.

“Just… get out of here,” he ordered.

Nyjah, another Gamma, took a step closer to him with a grin. “It’s a girl, right?” The African-American gave him a teasing and knowing look.

He pushed him playfully. “Shut up!”

His pack members answered a low-rumbling laughter. Some of them were curious, sniffing the air and howling.

“Hey, stop that! You’ll scare the hell out of her!” Bleidd reprimanded his pack members. He turned away to go back to the river. Laken might have heard the howls, and she would probably get scared. And he was not wrong. She was looking around with apprehensive eyes but was standing still.

“W-what was that? I didn’t see you! Where were you?” she demanded, although she still kept her distance away from him for good two meters.

He sarcastically thought she knew the measurement well, it seemed.

“It was nothing. Are you done?” he asked instead.

She nodded, averting her beautiful eyes.

“It’s my turn to take a dip,” he told her casually.

“W-what? With that howls out there? Are you kidding me? What if that animal is just nearby and… and…” Her words trailed off, eyes darting around them in nervousness.

Instead of answering her, he peeled off his shirt and saw her jaw drop. She looked away after a short gaze at his mouth-watering six-pack abs, wide and muscled chest, broad shoulders and well-toned biceps. Blame it to his being a werewolf who gave him the best physical qualities that any girl would clamor.

He gave her a teasing look when she looked over her shoulder once more.

“Just make it quick,” she instructed with urgency coated in her voice. She also gave him a sharp look.

“Just five minutes,” he promised and had a swim.

From the water, he watched her with her back to him. He could not believe she was quite conservative. Had she not seen a half-naked man before? He was almost sure that she already had. Where she came from was a very populated area, after all. There were a lot of men around. He now wondered if she had not had any boyfriend, according to what he had heard during the first night he stalked her.

He submerged underwater, holding his breath. Despite the heavy rain, there was no flood, so the water was clear. He could see clearly the light brown sand, pebbles and rocks of different shapes, small and medium-size fish, occasional tadpoles and underwater plants. His hands touched the riverbed, enjoying the faint sound of running water and the unique beauty underwater.

A faint scream penetrated under the water. He blinked for a second before he pushed himself out of the water. His eyes quickly scanned where he left Laken earlier. He could not find her anywhere. He called out her name.

‘Damn it! Where is she?’ He was panicking.

He called out again and heard another scream. He followed the sound and found his pack in their full-blast werewolf forms, surrounding the very scared Laken.

‘Damn it! What are they thinking?’ He observed that it was led by the playful Matias.

As Laken had her back on him, he changed into his werewolf form. He howled and growled, warning his pack members. He bit Matias’ neck, and the latter whimpered. He let go of the brown wolf go and growled at the rest of his pack. He wondered where Makoce is. He could not have just let the others play Laken like this.

Laken stared at him, relieved that the half a dozen of his pack dashed, away from them. But she stepped back with dread reflected in her eyes, as she looked into his golden eyes. He gave her a grin and went out of her sight. He put his clothes on and went back for her.

“Y-you!” She pointed a finger at him accusingly.

“Let’s get back to the cave,” he simply said, walking away. He shook his midnight blue hair that was up to his shoulders.

And yet, she stepped right in front of him, so he stopped in his tracks. She threw her chin up that her brown eyes could penetrate his black globes. They held their gazes at each other for a long moment or two.

“You… you’re one of them… whatever they are!” she deduced, almost with vehemence.

He shook his head. He went around her to continue to walk toward the cave. At the same time, he took the water container from her hand. She followed him quickly.

“I can just smell you, you know? Y-you scared them away. Are you for real?”

He remained silent; his strides were long and quick. He held the branches out of the way for her. He was still thinking if it would be better for her to think what she was thinking or to confirm it. What if he did? Maybe she would distance herself even more or she would think he was a monster. Right now, he thought it would be better not to tell her anything.

“Why aren’t you speaking to me?” She stopped again, blocking his way.

He stopped just a few inches away from her. He could very well scent her delicate aroma that he so loved, despite the fact that she now distanced herself away from him by backing away, covering her nose.

“You’re not used to being ignored, are you?” he stated, brows knitting.

One of her beautifully arched eyebrows shot up. “I’m actually not used to owing people anything.” She looked away.

He chuckled at those words. “You owed someone since you were young.”

Her head quickly spun in his direction, and her eyes darted on his face as though she was looking for something familiar about him. She slowly dropped her hand. But he did not give her a chance to say anything as he continued to walk, leaving her to follow him or not.

When they arrived at the cave, Laken’s sister was still asleep.

“Hey! What do you know about me?” Her eyes were full of curiosity. He knew she was dying to know what he knows about her. Should he tell her now?