Something So Unexpected

Chapter 9

Jamie’s POV

I look up at him affectionately, into those striking slate grey eyes. This night was magical. I’ve never been so instantly drawn to someone as I am to Aiden. I let him hold me a bit more as we watched the sun set low over the horizon.

The hot air balloon slowly decreased. I didn’t want to tell him, but I have a little fear of heights. However, the fact that it was just floating made it not as scary. That, or maybe it was Aiden’s presence. His proximity alone makes my heart flutter, but he also calms me from a singe touch.

We started walking back to the car hand in hand. As we curved around the lake where the hot air balloon was no longer in view, Aiden stiffened beside me. I stopped walking too and looked at him. He was smelling the air, his eyes darting around, seemingly searching and scanning the horizon.

“s**t,” he said in a near whisper. Aiden had been so calm and collected throughout the date that his sudden tension had scared me a little. He stepped ahead of me, shielding my body apprehensively, when I saw two sets of glowing eyes in the tree line. The eyes moved forward as large wolves came into view, but they didn’t seem like normal wolves. They were much larger than a typical wolf.

The wolves were snarling as they continued to stalk forward towards us. More eyes came into view. Aiden seemed to be having an internal battle. One side must have one as he turned to me, simply saying, “I’m sorry you have to find out this way.”

I looked at him in confusion. I know Aiden was strong, as I had felt his physique as his body was against mine earlier. However, there’s no way a man could take on so many wolves like this.

Suddenly, Aiden jumped forward, transforming into a wolf himself before my eyes. I had never seen a transformation like that before. The wolf that was standing right where Aiden was turned back to look at me, sadness in his eyes, but also determination. This wolf was midnight black, with those same slate gray eyes.

It was then that I realized I had seen this wolf before, in my dream. His name is Hunter. My inner voice was becoming more and more frequent and it knew things beyond my capabilities. I was paralyzed in fear at the situation unfolding before me. The black wolf was very outnumbered. There were at least eight wolves spread out in front of us.

The black wolf leapt through the air soaring into the closest wolves. Suddenly, it started gnashing teeth and biting wherever it could. It reached around to the first wolf’s throat, biting down and removing it from the body. I let out an involuntary scream. It turned on the second wolf and bit the tail. The muddy brown wolf turned towards the black one in response, giving it the opening to body check the wolf and knock it down. He pinned the muddy brown wolf, ending its life quickly by removing the throat in the same way he did the first.

The other wolves continued to come closer, still baring their teeth. I looked around for something to defend myself with. I found a large stick and held it like a sword in front of me. As I looked out at the situation, the black wolf had another of the dirty brown wolves pinned down, the blood of the animal spilling into the dirt. One wolf had jumped onto the back of the black wolf and bit hard. No! My inner voice yelled, this time, with no uncertainty. The black wolf shook off the matted wolf that was on his back, as he rolled on the ground, trying to scurry to get up.

Suddenly, the remaining five wolves looked at me. At this point, the black wolf did too. If animals could look shocked, they did. What were they looking at? The five brown wolves ran off. The adrenaline from the attack was quickly wearing off, my body exhausted from the stress. My body fell to the ground and darkness consumed me.

Aiden’s POV

As soon as I smelled the rogues, I was internally battling with what to do. First and foremost, I needed to keep my Luna safe, but I knew she was no match for the rogues. However, when I became further outnumbered, I knew there was nothing I could do to protect her from my human form.

“I’m sorry you have to find out this way,” I told her, mentally preparing myself for what was going to take place. I let Hunter and his instincts take over. As I jumped from my position, I turned into Hunter. He was larger than the rogues. Alphas are usually the largest in the pack to keep the members safe from situations like this. I let my Alpha aura roll off of me in waves, giving the rogues a chance to run away. However, rogues are typically feral and do not submit to an Alpha.

Hunter made quick work of the first few rogues. After Hunter killed three, one had managed to get an opportunistic bite on my back. I shook my body hard, and he flew away from me, rolling onto the ground. The remaining rogues stopped coming towards us and they were looking at Jamie in shock. I looked at her too, and she was glowing. Her eyes were shining bright, her aura like nothing I had experienced before, and she was floating off the ground. What is happening? She looked like a beacon.

The remaining rogues ran off back into the woods. I made sure they left, but immediately went to Jamie. She had passed out on the ground. What the hell was that?

I picked her up carefully. Despite the wound on my back stinging, I worked through the pain, as I picked Jamie up and carefully placed her in the passenger seat and buckled her in. I realized I was still naked, though I felt my wound starting to close. I put on some extra clothes that I had n my trunk. I placed the items from the picnic back into the trunk and got in the car.

Hunter started pacing in my head. What is it? I asked him?

I don’t know. He replied.

Are you just worried about Jamie?

Yes, I’m worried about our mate. But also, what was that? I’ve never seen anything like that before. He sounded nervous.

Me neither. I replied honestly.

Hunter howled in pain, before retreating in my mind. I focused on driving as I took her back to the pack. The clinic should be able to have more answers for me.

“Just hold on, Jamie,” I whispered, holding her hand.