Shadow Crest

Chapter 2

Wyatt

After realizing that my partner in last night's game of chase wasn't present, I focus on training. "Good work." I call out. "No, no. You must bend your knees more. You'll be faster." "Yes, just like that." I walk around observing and giving my notes. We're just near the end of training for the day when I catch a whiff of that familiar scent. I turn in the direction of the smell and see Serena walking onto the grassy field a few yards away. Some people are with her. One girl. And four boys. They're laughing. One of the guys runs up and puts his arm around Serena's shoulders. I want to growl at him touching her. I know we just met, but the truth is, I like her. And I'm an alpha, I'm not big on sharing. Sharing? You've talked twice. She's not yours to share. I scold myself. They stop and the girls place some yoga mats on the ground while the boys start jogging off toward the track field. Not wanting to be a perv and watch the girls stretch, I turn back towards the group of trainees doing pushups. They look beat. I glance down and check my watch. 12:02. We've been at this for four hours. "Alright everyone, you can relax. That's enough for today. Great job. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you back here tomorrow morning." I call out. They start gathering their things or getting in groups to chat. "What's up with her?" Bash asks me, nodding his head towards somewhere behind me. I turn around to see what he's talking about, and see Serena stalking towards the edge of the field, near the forests edge. At this point, everyone has paused to watch her. Suddenly, she stops right in front of the trees that line the forest. She puts her hands out and sits down slowly. What is she doing? I wonder. A few seconds pass by and a wolf comes limping out of the woods in front of her. A real wolf, not a werewolf. The wolf looks scared, and it's injured and I'm starting to get nervous that it's so close to her. She extends her hand, palm facing down, in its direction. The wolf takes a slow step back and growls. "What the hell is she doing?" I wonder, this time out loud. "Who knows." Bash shrugs. "She could get hurt. What if it attacks her?" I snap. His dismissive attitude bothering me. "Bro, she's a witch, remember? She'll be fine." He insists. Looking back in her direction, I see that the wolf has moved a bit closer to her and has stopped growling. The girl she was with goes to move her way, but Serena raises a hand behind her, telling the girl to stop and she does. It's like that gesture was for all of us too. No one moves. The minutes tick by while everyone stays frozen in place. Then the wolf steps towards her and drops into her lap. She begins running her hands through its' fur. Her friend finally makes her way over coming to stand close behind Serena. Then the guys she'd walked on the field with return. They go straight to her but take cautious steps once they're a few feet away. A tall, buff blonde guy creeps to her and peaks over her shoulder. Serena nods at something, though I don't hear anyone speak and then the wolf is rising and floating in the air, the boys following close behind it as they head behind the school. Then Serena and the other girl go through the trees and disappear. Fascinated and invested, we all remain in place. A minute or two later, the girl follows Serena out of the woods, each of them carrying some wolf pups. Serena has three and they are extending their little heads to lick her face. Serena and her friend head off the way the boys went with the other wolf. "What just happened?" Mike asks, echoing everyone's thoughts right now. "I have no idea." I mutter. Now that the show is over, we all make our own ways back to the school. "Serena, yeah." The mention of her name catches my attention. I look to my left and see two girls, no older than 10, giggling and whispering to each other as they walk beside me. I listen in on their conversation. "She saved a mama wolf and her six babies today!" One of the girls tells her friend. The other girl gasps. "She is so cool! It must be awesome being a fairy!" The other girl agrees. A what? "Ugh! I know! She's beautiful and good at everything and everyone loves her!" The first girl gushes. Fairy? She's a fairy? "Yo!" I hear someone shout at me. Looking to my right, I see it's Bash. He's standing next to me, staring. "What?" I question him. He just continues to stare at me, eyebrows raised. Crap. He must have been saying something when I zoned out on the kids' conversation. "Sorry, what were you saying?" I ask. "Were you really eavesdropping on some little girls? You're that obsessed?" He teases me, a grin on his face. A little embarrassed, I bust out laughing. "I guess so." I shrug. Leaving the little girls to their gossip, we continue heading upstairs. "So...what are you going to do? Ask her out?" He asks me. And I must admit the idea excites me. "I don't know. We've barely even talked and, remember, I could have a mate out there." I tell him. "Yeah, but what if she's your mate?" He counters. My mate? I hadn't even considered that. It was rare to find one's mate in a different species of magical being. "I didn't even think about that. I mean the chances are so slim." I say. "But not impossible." He shrugs. True. We reach his room. "Later dude." He calls over his shoulder as he opens his door. "Later." I respond absently as I make my way to my own room. I gather my clothes together, grab a towel, and get in the shower. The whole time I'm in there, all I can think about is her being my mate. Does that explain her scent? Why it's so strong? Why no one else seems to notice that it is. Not that I've asked anybody, I guess. I go through the motions in the shower, then rinse and turn the water off. I dry off then get dressed. I figure I'll lay down and get some sleep before dinner. I'm just getting comfortable in my bed when I hear Bash's voice in my head. "Want to know what happened today with Rini?" Duh. I think to myself. "Sure." I say, trying to hide my curiosity. "Sure." He mocks me. I roll my eyes, waiting for him to go on. "So, she is a fairy. That wolf got shot by one of the hunters in the woods and I guess she felt it's pain." He tells me. "I didn't hear any gunshots. The wolf couldn't have been close when it was attacked." I reply. "Yeah, but it found its way here. And good thing too. I've heard that if she hadn't gotten help when she did then she would have died. The pups probably wouldn't have made it without her either." He continues. I was about to respond when he says something else. "They took the wolf and her pups to the doctor here at the school. Everyone's saying that Serena was pretty upset. I guess she went into town...wanted to get away for a bit...she asked to be alone." He hints. And I catch on. "She went into town alone?" I clarify. "Yup." He confirms. I cut off the mind link and get out of bed. I change into some joggers and a sweatshirt. It's cold here, summer or not. I grab my car keys from my bag and head out. Thankfully, there's only one town around here for miles. I get in my car, start the engine, and take off. I get to the town lines and slow down, not wanting to get pulled over. I don't know where she could be, so I decide to park. It's a small town so I'll wander around until I catch her scent. I park in front of the towns shopping district. She's a girl, maybe she's shopping? I guess. Getting out of my car, I start sniffing and walking. It doesn't take long before I sniff her out. I follow the scent to the end of the street and stop in front of the last building. She's in there, her scent is so strong here. I tell myself. I look at the window next to the entrance, "Ms. June's Ballet Studio" is painted on the window in gold, cursive letters. A ballet studio? I look around. There's no lights. No cars. The place doesn't even look open. I'm sure she's in there but what is she doing in a closed ballet studio? I feel a little uneasy at the thought. I reach out and turn the doorknob. Hmm...it's unlocked. As I open the door, a little bell rings. Closing the door gently behind me, I see a little reception type desk right in front with two doorways on either side. No one's here and all the lights are off, except one. There's a light on in the doorway to the right. I creep towards the room. Once in, I see her. She's wearing the same tights and sports bra as she was this morning, plus a pair of pink ballet slippers. Her hair is down now and it's flying around as she dances on her tip toes around the room. I hear low music. I look at her carefully and realize she's wearing ear buds. I smile as I watch her gracefully dance and twirl. Then she jumps in the air, doing a split mid-air. Impressive. She lands gently on her toes and then pauses, turning on her heels to face me. Crap. At first, I'm worried that I startled her but then I notice she's smiling. "Oh, hello Wyatt." She sings. "What are you doing here?" She continues. What am I doing here? What AM I doing here? I wonder. Trying to come up with an excuse that doesn't sound as creepy as "I wanted to see you, so I sniffed you out." "I...was in town and caught your scent so I thought I would say hi." I claim. Creepy. Still creepy. "Wow. You must have a really good nose, even for an alpha." She concludes, not seeming creeped out at all. Whew. "Yeah, I guess so." I laugh, relieved. She giggles. The cutest, bubbly giggle. "I hope I didn't interrupt your training session today. When we were taking the wolf and her pups inside, I noticed everyone was just staring at us." She takes her ear buds out and heads towards the mirror on the back wall, where a backpack sits on the floor. "Oh, no. We were finished. We were all just curious I guess." I tell her. She was bent down zipping up her bag. "Yeah, people are curious about me a lot." She laughs, more to herself than to me I feel. "Because you're a fairy?" I prompt. She stands up, pulling a heavy weight jacket over her head and throwing one of the backpack straps over her right shoulder. "I guess so." She smirks. "There aren't many of you. You're rare in a world of rare." I shrug, sensing that maybe she doesn't like the attention. "I guess. I'm just not big on the spotlight." She declares. I was right. I like this, talking to her and being with her. I wonder if I can drag this out and how. "Did you park far? Would you like a ride to your car?" I ask. She seems confused. Then she seems...concerned? "Oh, no, I didn't drive. I walked." She tells me. Lie. She's lying. I know she is. I don't know how I know, but I know. Why? I wonder. "Well, then would you like a ride back to the school?" I offer. "You don't have to. I don't want to bother you." She shakes her head. "I interrupted your dancing, it's the least I can do." I assure her. "Alright. Thank you. Just let me turn off the lights and lock up here." She agrees. I nod, "Okay." She flicks the light switch on the wall as we leave the room. Then once outside the door she pulls out a key from her backpacks front pocket and locks the door. "Ready." She states. "My car is all the way at the end of the road. Do you mind walking, or I can go get it and pick you up here?" I ask her. She smirks again, "I can walk." I nod, smiling, then gesture for her to lead the way. We walk in silence for a few minutes. "So, what do I smell like?" She inquires. Well, this will be awkward. "Um...I'm not sure." I mumble nervously. "Oh, come on, don't be embarrassed. You're a wolf, it's natural. And I'm curious." She insists. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. "Please, I'm really curious." She begs. "You smell sweet. You actually smell like something very familiar. I just can't put my finger on it. It's some kind of dessert or pastry?" I tell her - a little shocked at how easily I gave in. "Hmm...a desert?" She thinks, tapping her long pointer finger on her cheek. "Ooh! I know! Follow me!" She shouts. She grabs my hand to lead the way and I know it right then. She is my mate. The bond snaps into place and I feel so much joy and happiness and peace. I am lost in the feeling of finding my mate, of finding her. I wasn't paying attention to anything. I forget about the world around us. "Here." She gestures toward the little shop, dropping my hand. I'm a little hurt and insulted that she let go of my hand. I have to tell myself she meant nothing by it, she was just showing me where we'd been heading. I read the sign on the door, "Sweet Tooth Bakery." Huh? "They have every kind of desert known to man or wolf." She laughs at herself. "You can smell all of them and maybe we'll find which one I smell like!" She continues excitedly. I love her. "Okay, let's go!" I tell her. We open the door and rush in. There's a short line, so we wait. I glance down at her. Jeez. How short is she? I'm six foot and she barely reaches my chest. "How tall are you?" I blurt out without thinking. "Five one." She responds. She reaches in the pocket of her pants and pulls out her phone. She's responding to a text. I try not to look. We take a step forward in line. While she's looking at her phone, I take the time to just look at her. She has rosy cheeks and nice skin. Her hair looks so soft, and I get the feeling that she would smell nice even if I weren't a werewolf and she wasn't my mate. She giggles at something on her phone, and I love the sound. My pack will love her. I can't wait for them to meet her. Although for that to happen I will have to take her home with me. I wonder if she'll want to leave. Her grandparents and her friends are here. She laughs again, a little louder this time causing the couple in front of us to turn around and stare. She covers her mouth in embarrassment, her face turns tomato red. She steps closer to me. I beam. Or was she just stepping away from the people in front of her? Now that I think about it, she doesn't seem to have noticed the mate bond. I wonder how old she is. You can't find your mate until you're at least 19 for a werewolf. I believe it's the same for most supernatural beings. But fairies are different. They're magical in a whole different way and there's not many left. After the wars, most of the fairies were wiped out so not much is known about them. Who knows at what age a fairy can find their mate or if they have them? I'll have to investigate this. I don't think she's that young. I mean...she does look young though, I ponder as I gaze down at her. If she's not 18 yet, then who knows how long I'd have to wait for her to feel the mate bond. And if she's that young then I'm 22 so I would have to be very careful to respect her and not pressure her. "Next?" A woman calls. Rini looks up from her phone and hurries up to the counter. I follow close behind. "Hello dears, how may I help you today?" A little old lady asks us. She has her silver hair braided into a bun and she's looking over pink glasses with kind, blue eyes. "May we have one of everything you have, please?" Serena smiles at her. "Oh. Well of course but it will take me a few minutes. Would you like them to go, or will you have them here? There's quite a bit." She states. I see Rini staring up at me questioningly. "Here, if that's alright with you?" I tell the lady and then look at Rini. She smiles "Of course. Here it is." "Alright, have a seat and give me just a few minutes to gather everything together." She gestures to the front part of the bakery, where all the open seats are. Serena grabs my hand and leads me to a booth in the corner. "We'll need room for all the pastries." She tells me. I sit down and she sits opposite of me. I know it shouldn't bother me since she doesn't know we're mates yet but I wish she would have sat on my side with me. She's looking around the room awkwardly. Here's my chance to get to know her. "So, what's it like being a fairy?" I tease her. She lets out an awkward chuckle. "It's great. I love being a fairy." She blurts out. I raise an eyebrow at her. "I'm serious. I do. If I'd been given the choice, I would've chosen to be a fairy. I love animals and flowers. I can grow anything I touch, and I can somewhat communicate with animals and they trust me so I get to play with them a lot." She sighs, "But then there's times that all of that makes being a fairy very hard. Like with the wolves earlier. The mother was in so much pain after being shot and she was so scared for her babies, who were terrified themselves without her. And I could feel it all." I hate to see her so upset. I try to distract her. "I think it's a little troubling that the hunters got so close to the school, and no one sensed them. We didn't smell them or hear the gunshot." I whisper, not wanting anyone to hear. "What do you mean? The hunters weren't close to the school. She was shot right outside of town. Her and the pups ran to the school." She informs me. Huh? "Why?" I wonder. She tilts her head to the side, smirking as if I've missed something. "Me." She says plainly. "You?" I shake my head, confused. "I'm a fairy, they felt my presence and knew they'd be safe with me." She admits. Hmm...that's adorable. "That's sweet. I'm glad they found you in time and you could help them." I tell her. "Me too..." She begins but is interrupted. "Alright, one of everything." The old woman says as she sits down a tray with a bunch of pie slices on it. Then a red headed woman with bright red lipstick and long red nails brings a platter full of cookies. A few more women come out with more deserts. "That's everything. Do you need anything else?" The old woman asks as she hands us each a thing of silverware. We shake our heads. "I'm Mary if you need anything else, enjoy dears." She hollers back at us as she waddles off back towards the front counter. "Start smelling." Serena commands. "Yes ma'am." I chuckle. I sniff the pies. No. Then the cookies. No. Brownies? No, it's not chocolate. Cakes? Hmm...the strawberry short cake is closer. I have sniffed every tray and platter on the table. I don't bother with anything cinnamon. There were so many smells, it was hard to tell. Plus, she's sitting right across from me so of course I can smell her. I try to concentrate, not wanting to disappoint her. I close my eyes and I can smell something; it isn't her, but almost. I can almost taste it now. What is it? "What's in that box?" I point to a small pink box next to her elbow. She picks it up and opens it. That's it. She sighs. "Funnel cake." Funnel cake! Yes! Like at the fair! "That's it! That's what you smell like. But better." I explain. She purses her lips together. "Hmm...funnel cake? I can live with that." She shrugs, smiling. "Now what do we do with all these sweets?" She asks. "We eat them." I challenge her. She beams, "Okay." We eat until we can't eat anymore and there's still so much left. "I'm full. I can't eat one more thing." She confesses. "Me neither." I agree. "We could box up what's left and bring it back to the school? Some of the kids that stayed behind for the break did so because they have nowhere to go or because their home lives aren't very good. This might cheer them up." She suggests. "Sounds perfect." I tell her. She smiles. We have Mary pack up the rest of the deserts and then she hands us the check. Serena reaches into her purse but she's too slow. I hand three hundreds to Mary. "Thank you and keep the change." "Oh. Thank you!" She exclaims. I nod to her. As we are walking out of the bakery, I notice Serena is pouting. Man, is there anything about this girl I don't find adorable? "You okay?" I ask. "You didn't have to pay, you know. It wasn't your idea to go there." She replies. "Don't worry about it, I haven't had that many sweets in forever and it was really fun." I promise her. "I could have at least split it with you." She pouts again. "I know you could have but like I said it was fun, the most fun I've had in a while, so I owed you" I wink at her. Which causes her to blush. Again, adorable. "So, tell me more about yourself." I encourage. "What would you like to know?" She shrugs. "I don't know. Let's start with the basics." I suggest. "Okay. You know my name and my nickname." She states. I nod. "I'm 18, almost 19. My favorite color is blue. I love to read. My favorite show is One Tree Hill. My favorite food is.... peaches? Or strawberries? Some type of fruit. I'm a vegetarian. I was studying to become a veterinarian, but I've decided to take some time off this semester. And...I think that's it." She tells me. Eighteen. I wonder how long until she's nineteen. "How long are you visiting your grandparents?" I ask. Her face seems to fall a little. "I'm not visiting. I live with them." She tells me. "Oh. Since when?" I press. "Since I was ten." She responds. "Don't you miss your parents?" I regret asking the second I finish the sentence. She looks like she is about to cry. "I do miss them." She whispers. I'm not used to seeing her sad. She's like a ball of sunshine. I just stare at her, waiting. We reach my car and I stop. She takes a deep breath. "My parents died when I was ten. And I came to live with my grandparents." She finishes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know and I didn't mean to pry." I tell her, wanting to pull her in my arms. She just looks so sad. She looks up at me and then something changes in her face. "Don't be. You didn't know and you weren't prying. We were talking. I miss them and it is sad, but I loved them and they loved me and we were very happy together and now I have my grandparents and my cousins and I'm still very happy. I can't really complain. Others have it much worse. I'm just not used to talking to someone who doesn't know I suppose. Most of the people in my life have been there forever so I've never needed to tell them because they already knew. It's just a little odd to say I guess." She explains. Beautiful. A good cook. Kind. And strong. Is there anything wrong with this girl? "This is my car." I tell her. "Nice!" She praises. I load my boxes into the backseat and then take hers and do the same. She walks to the passenger door, and I open it for her. I grab her hand to guide her up into my lifted Jeep. She thanks me sweetly and I close the door once she's seated. I get in the car and shut my door as she buckles her seat belt. "So, how about you? Tell me about yourself." She inquires. I back out of the parking lot and start back towards the school. On the way, I tell her all about myself. My full name - Wyatt Henry Montgomery. How my favorite color is also blue, and my favorite food is chicken wings, though I do love strawberries. How I have an adopted baby sister who was abandoned in the woods near my pack right before my father stepped down as alpha and how my parents decided to give her a home, that we named her Mia. I explain that Mia is very shy and only talks to us and still it's very little after four years of her being a part of our family and how she doesn't remember anything before us but she's still not quite comfortable. I tell her about my little brothers. Twins. Blake and Jake. She laughs when I tell her I know how lame that sounds and that I'm embarrassed for them. We laugh and talk until we reach the gates of Shadow Crest and hear gun shots in the distance. I was shocked she even heard them. I mean I guess a fairy would have better hearing than a human but most magical beings couldn't hear as well as a werewolf. "Those freaking hunters. All those poor animals. They're so scared. I hope my grandparents can buy that property soon." She almost snarls. The gates weren't opening. "It's after nine so the gates are sealed." She explains. What? "How'd you know what I was thinking?" I gasp. "Lucky guess." She chuckles. She faces the gate, and her eyes begin glowing pink. A few seconds later, the gate opens. "Pink, huh?" I tease her. "Yup. Werewolves are yellow. Witches and warlocks are purple. Dragons are red. Elves and Giants are green. Mermaids and sirens are blue. And fairies get pink." She states bitterly. I bust out laughing. "What? Do you not like pink?" I ask. She shakes her head, "Nope." Her mouth makes a "pop" sound on the "p". "Noted." I tell her, still laughing a little. I couldn't believe we'd been gone all day. It felt like such a short amount of time. I park my car and we get out. She's about to jump down but I rush around and reach up, grabbing her hips to help her then set her gently down. She smiles at me, "Thank you for the ride back." "Any time." I tell her and to my satisfaction, she's blushing again. We grab the boxes of sweets and head inside. I mind link the boys to meet us at the door, so she doesn't have to carry anything for too long. We're only up the first few steps when a cat darts in front of me, and I almost lose my balance. I save myself but the boxes in my hand were slipping. Suddenly, something lights up pink beside me. "I should have done it this way the whole time." She sighs. All the boxes begin to float along in front of us, leading the way to the door. All the while her eyes glow the most hypnotic pink. I hear the boys at the door, and it opens. They're mouths hang open when they see boxes go floating by their faces followed by Serena's eyes. "Stop gawking at her!" I growl at them in the link. They close their mouths immediately. "Hey boys, want some dessert?" She laughs at their shocked faces. "Hell yeah!" They shout in unison. Then they book it to the dining hall behind the flying boxes. I follow, letting Serena lead the way, watching her with amazement. I'm a werewolf. I live in a world of supernatural, but there's just something about her that's so different from anyone even I've ever met. We reach the dining hall and Sebastian and Michael are already chowing down on a box of doughnuts. "Please, can you not act like animals?" I bark at them. Serena giggles. "Well, they are wolves and that technically does make them animals." She counters. The guys burst out laughing and I can't help but join them. I take a seat next to