Between Two Worlds

Chapter 9 Truce

Jake

I was stretched out on the day bed on the back deck watching the sun dip behind the horizon. It was surprisingly quiet at the packhouse this evening. My dad, the Alpha, had sprung a surprise training mission on the pack’s warriors so they were all out in the rainforest. Sangue Luna pack lands were sought after by many rival packs so we had to always be ready for a breach of our borders. As I looked around, I really couldn’t blame the other packs for desiring our land. Our lands were bordered by lush rainforest that formed a natural large clearing which was where our community began. The packhouse backed straight onto our own private beachfront. All the pack leaders had houses positioned on the water, with the rest of the community spread out to the edge of the rainforest. We are a large pack of nearly 700, but not everyone lived on pack land, some choosing to live amongst the humans for whatever reason. It was a really secluded and secure spot here and that afforded us werewolves the freedom to shift freely without being discovered by humans.

My phone vibrated in the pocket. Pulling it out I saw a text from Anita telling me she was on her way over and we needed to talk. Sighing, I stood up and leaned on the railing waiting for her to arrive.

“Hey,” she said nervously, placing a soft kiss on my cheek. I tried not to stiffen at her innocent display of affection. I motioned to the day bed for her to sit. She perched herself on the edge of the cushion, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

I sit next to her. “What was so urgent that you had to talk to me straight away?” Instantly regretting how cold that must have sounded.

She takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Ever since you first shifted into your wolf, things have been… different.” I shifted uncomfortably at her emphasis on different, I knew what she was referring to. “I’ve just come from Neve’s house, where we were talking things through and Duke explained some things to me that really helped out.”

“You spoke to Duke?” My eyes narrowed and my heart started beating faster worrying about what that fool may have let slip.

Sensing the change in my mood, Anita placed her hand on my knee reassuringly. “He didn’t say anything bad, he just explained how the whole shared mind thing between you, him and Samuel has resulted in some awkward situations.” Anita blushed furiously as she finished her sentence.

Ahhhhhh, smart man, Duke! He had given Anita the most simple of excuses, the one that is the least of my worries in the grander scheme of things. I decided to play along with his explanation, and feigned embarrassment. “Yeah,” I chuckled, running my hands through my hair. “It has been pretty awkward of late.”

Anita giggled beside me and moved in closer. “I was thinking the worst and that you were cheating on me.” My breath hitched in my throat at that statement, but Anita continued on oblivious. “Do you think you might be able to figure out, um, how to switch it off soon?” She was biting her lip, her eyes filled with lust.

I flashed her my best cheeky smile and replied, “I’m slowly figuring it out, it takes a lot of concentration, but for you gorgeous, I will try harder.”

***

Anita was sleeping soundly, naked in my bed. I rubbed my hands over my face as I sat on the edge of the bed. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.

I mind link with Duke and Samuel.

Are you awake? I ask.

How could we NOT be after THAT? Duke responds.

Not cool, bro! Samuel responds.

Ignoring their disgusted tones I command them: Meet me at the packhouse, I need to run and we need to have a chat.

Yes, Alpha! They both reply.

Samuel and Duke meet me on the sand dunes behind the packhouse and we all quickly shift into our wolves. My wolf is a sandy blonde colour, matching my human form’s hair, Duke is chocolate brown, and Samuel is a dark brown almost black wolf. Being the Alpha, my wolf is naturally the largest of the three. We head towards the rainforest and run like crazy for almost an hour before I am ready to talk. We each shift back into our human forms, not caring that we are all naked. We each find a tree to lean our backs on, and I look at my Beta and Gamma.

Samuel starts first. “I thought we agreed you were going to lay off on the X-rated p**n until we sorted stuff out?” His voice was full of annoyance.

“I know, I know,” I reply defensively. “It is just hard keeping this all so hush-hush. She came to me clearly suspecting that there was something wrong, and I panicked and did the only thing I could think of to ease her suspicions.”

Samuel glared at me but said nothing.

Duke spoke next. “Have you found any leads on why you are both feeling this protectiveness over Neve? I mean, I have always felt it, but since we shifted it has been in overdrive and even I am getting sick of it.”

“Not yet,” I reply. “It feels like there is a magical element to it, but the witch I spoke to said it was not a spell. She said it felt more natural like fae magic, but that is impossible as fairies disappeared years ago.”

“Maybe it’s not magic at all, and it is just Duke’s deeply repressed mate bond with Neve?” Samuel jokes.

Duke and I both growl warningly at Samuel.

He puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry, sorry… too soon, I know.”

“I think the best thing for us right now is to try as much as possible to ignore the pull of whatever this feeling is, and try to act as normal as possible. It is affecting all our friendships. It is Anita’s 18th birthday this weekend, and as her friends, we need to try and be as supportive as possible. Agreed?” I ask, looking at my two best mates sitting in front of me.

“Agreed,” says Duke. “Now, can we shift and head back? Sitting here in the rainforest naked with two other dudes is starting to feel a little creepy.”

I chuckle and shift instantly, running in the direction of the packhouse.