[9] 

All Is Not As It Seems

Adam

When I woke up the next morning, I was grinning. I laughed at myself, feeling silly and asking myself why the hell I was smiling when I couldn't even remember what I'd dreamt about. It took about a second for me to feel the warmth in my arms and I glanced down, my breath hitching at the sight of Rory, fast asleep, snuggled into my chest. I inhaled sharply, and had to bite my lip because his scent had shot up into my nose like a concentrated aphrodisiac, intense enough to make me instantly aroused.

Oh my God.

My stomach muscles clenched and I could feel my wolf purring with contentment.

The day had barely even started and it was already the best day of my life. I struggled to breathe as I gazed at his long eyelashes, also realizing that this close, Rory had a tiny dusting of small red freckles on the tip of his nose. His lips were full and pink and beckoning, the lower one a much fuller pout than the upper, a sharp contrast that made my insides curl with desire.

I rose one hand up to sift through his soft dark brown almost reddish tuft of hair, my fingers easily sliding through the sexy locks. He let out a soft sigh, shifting even closer to me, his arms wrapping around my chest.

My stomach chose that second to rumble loudly, and my cheeks darkened with an embarrassed blush as I felt Rory start to come awake in my arms.

"Mm," he murmured, his arms tightening around my torso, "still wanna sleep."

I chuckled, my heart warming with fondness as I felt a shiver rush up my spine at the sound of his voice when he'd just woken up. It was raspy and deep and so fucking sexy. I leaned down to place a light peck on his lips, the action rewarding me with a breathy moan, but that still didn't wake him up. I trembled with the thoughts of the million ways I could wake him up, none of them involving telling him to do so, and I knew I had to leave the bed or we'd never leave it.

"I'm gonna go see if I can make us breakfast or something and talk to the guys about getting us home, okay?"

"Mhm," he mumbled in agreement, his arms still wound tight around me.

I laughed silently. "Rory, you have to let go."

"Don't wanna," he mumbled like a child, burying his face deeper into my chest.

"Come on, how does eggs, bacon and toast sound?" I teased, and heard him laugh sleepily.

"Fine, gimme another kiss before you leave," he whispered, tilting his face up and pouting those delectable lips.

"So needy," I teased.

"You love it," he laughed, before pouting his lips once more. I gave him a light peck. His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes still closed. "You call that a kiss?"

I rolled my eyes, feeling overwhelmed as I leaned down to kiss him properly. When I pulled away, I felt my heart clench at the dreamy smile that lit up his features. "That's better," he said softly, before his grip loosened and I slid out of the bed. He pulled my pillow close and wrapped his arms around it, breathing in my scent, and my wolf growled, the primal urge to mark him rising steadily within me.

Calm the fuck down, wolfy, I snapped and could almost see it roll its eyes, while I moved to get the tracksuit pants from the floor, sliding into them. I couldn't resist planting a soft kiss on Rory's forehead, before leaving the room to check out what was happening in the outside world.

My senses came alert the minute I left the room and I realized the house was eerily quiet. Then I remembered last night; Jack had told me they were all going to leave the house for me and Rory. The implication of that made me blush beet red. They'd left the house so I could mate with him. Fuck, that was embarrassing, but I was still grateful because I was pretty sure my wolf would have ripped someone apart if they'd tried to interrupt.

I whistled as I moved to the kitchen. Upon entering, the cooker was by the left, a huge window right ahead of me holding the sink underneath it while the rest of the room was made up of cupboards held to the wall above or the ground below. A fixed table made of stone, like the same material of the ground was what filled the open space in the middle. I began opening cupboards and looking for something to make Rory for breakfast. I first brought out my phone and sent a text to Jack to let him know it was safe to return back to the...cabin? I shrugged and threw my phone on the counter before starting up one of the hobs and bringing out a cup of noodles and sausages. There wasn't much in the cupboards, and this said to me that they probably didn't use this place much, maybe except for pack meetings.

I got the noodles on fire to boil and began cutting up the sausages. When I was done, I put a frying pan with some oil in it to heat while I crossed my fingers and prayed there was at least some fresh vegetables and some juice in the fridge.

"Yes!" I silently cheered as I spotted some Sprite and frozen veg in the freezer. I brought them both out, placing the Sprite in the fridge to defrost, before opening the bag of veggies and adding it to the sausages in the pan.

I felt a shiver rush up my spine, and saw something flitter across my peripheral view, making me look up sharply towards the window by the sink. I frowned when I didn't spot anything, but the chill didn't disappear. All my instincts told me there was something dangerous out there right now.

And of course, my first thought was to face the threat before it decided it wanted to come inside and harm Rory.

I saw something rush through the bushes, and a low warning growl resounded in my chest.

From that point on, I wasn't really thinking. I stalked out of the house, growling and warning whatever was there to back off. I was close to shifting, but the fact that Rory was upstairs and could see me if he glanced out of the window prevented me from changing.

The chill was becoming worse and I was terrified. What the fuck was in the bushes?

My wolf was growling desperately because it could feel the enormity of the threat, and just as I saw the flash of white, I was shifting.

One second, I was a human on the ground, and the next I was in my wolf form, flying into the air at the same time that a pure white wolf, not as big as I was, was also flying out of the bushes. A growl I would never have thought to leave the pure white form escaped its bared teeth and we slammed together in a tangle of fur, flesh and bones.

It happened quickly. I was obviously stronger, probably because I was still a new born, but this strange wolf was faster, tearing at me. I heard a faint, frantic heartbeat and realized it was Rory panicking inside the house.

My wolf panicked and I howled, trying to warn him to stay inside the house, because even though the wolf was smaller than me, it was still twice Rory's size and just it pouncing on my mate would kill him. I heard his voice, shaky in the house.

"Jack? You need to come quick! I d-don't k-know w-what's happening –" his voice was soft and scratchy, but my wolf easily picked it up.

The other wolf did too, and suddenly, it had me pinned just like Michael had last night, teeth around my throat. I stilled, panting, eyes wide, even though everything in me was screaming at the defenceless position, but I knew if I moved, those sharp teeth would be shredding through my throat like a hot knife through butter, and I was so not ready to die today.

The strange wolf shifted so fast it left me reeling, and before I could react, something hard slammed into the side of my head – once, twice, thrice – I made a noise of pure agony, my wolf losing all its strength and collapsing to the floor, vision blurry.

"Where's Michael?" the now naked man on top of me asked. My eyesight was too poor to make out his form, and I shivered at the pure hate and revulsion with which he'd spat the alpha's name. "Where the fuck is he?"

The front door slammed open suddenly, and I made a noise of distress.

Rory, no, you idiot!

"You get the fuck away from him!" I heard Rory snarl.

The man screamed in frustration, pulling me off the floor and knocking me back against it for good measure, before he changed back to a wolf in the blink of an eye, and was speeding into the forest.

All I could see was red. I whimpered when I saw Rory sink to his knees beside me, his face stricken with fear, horror, and panic and he'd barely reached out to touch me before I blacked out.

*

"–that's all we do! Run away!"

I blinked to the sound of Jack screaming. Holy shit, my skull felt like it was about to split in two. I tried to move and realized I was still in my wolf form. I whimpered in pain at the attempt to move, and Jack squatted in front of my face.

"Hey buddy, you were injured pretty badly, it'll be risky for you to change back so just bear with it okay? When you're completely healed in your wolf form, then you can change."

I whined in response and Jack's hand sifted through my fur before he was back to arguing. I took in my surroundings. I was in the sitting room, on the couch, and there was a faint smell of burnt noodles and sausages hanging in the air. The sun was shining through the windows, telling me that it hadn't been long since the white wolf attacked me. The entire pack was here, the four weirdoes and the alpha. I was suddenly worried. What was happening? Who was the white wolf?

A soft heartbeat and the sudden scent of love and warmth made me snuggle into the couch. I frowned at the bumps underneath my head and sniffed, nearly flying out of the couch when I realized my head was on Rory's thighs.

"Hey, hey, shh, I'm here," he whispered while my wolf whimpered and tried to get away from him. Wasn't he scared? What was he doing? I didn't want Rory to see me like this! It might just break the fragile relationship we'd barely managed to build! I was too weak to move and Rory wasn't letting me either way.

His arms could barely wrap around my neck, hell my wolf's head was nearly as huge as his torso. I melted into the embrace, unable to help the hitching whimpers my wolf was making in the back of its throat. Rory practically cooed at me, and if this was any other situation I would be embarrassed, but my wolf was calming down slowly, melting more into its mate, the hitching whimpers turning into a low rumbling purr.

"We'll move to–"

"No," Jack interrupted, and everyone in the room bristled because it wasn't like Jack to talk against Michael – against the alpha like that. "We're not moving anywhere! I'm tired of moving! Anytime something like this happens, we move! What are you so afraid of, huh, Michael? What the hell is happening?"

"Shut up!" Michael bellowed, and even though I couldn't lift my head because I was weak with contentment from being so close to Rory in my wolf form, I could make out Michael clenching and unclenching his fists, "We are never to speak of this morning, and that's an order! What this wolf wants is me and solely me."

"Then why don't you give yourself to him? Why are you running? Is he another bloody alpha? Does he want our pack?"

Everyone else was curling in on themselves, appalled at the way Jack was speaking to Michael. He was talking like him and Michael were on the same level, and the remaining werewolves were shaking with fright that their alpha was going to severely punish him – and them – for his unruly behaviour.

"Leave," Michael growled, "All of you except Rory and Adam. Leave right now."

The other weirdoes dashed out of the house almost gratefully. Jack heaved in a breath and gave Michael a disappointed look, before he joined the other pack members and disappeared out of the house.

Michael remained in the sitting room for a second, before stomping up the stairs, a door slamming in his wake. I felt Rory shiver underneath me, and nuzzled his stomach with my nose to calm him.

He sighed as he whispered, "What the hell was that?"

I stretched my limbs experimentally and realized that I could move now. The throbbing in my head could be easily ignored now. I got off Rory's lap and pranced around the room, making sure all my wounds were healed, and then shot Rory a look. Could I change in front of him?

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously? I saw you bloodied and about half near death but I can't see you transform?"

I merely glared back.

"Fine, fine," he huffed, but he was grinning. "Just know that I'm definitely going to see it, sooner or later," he teased as he turned around.

I snorted at him, and if I could smile in this form, I would be too. I felt my bones shift and crack, skin breaking as I changed back. Back in my human form, I stood up on shaky legs, wincing as the soles of my feet met with the ground, remembering that I was always going to be this sensitive after a change.

"Are you done now?" Rory asked.

"Yeah," I replied, my voice gruff and before I could warn him that I was naked, he was spinning around. His cheeks and ears burned bright red when he saw my body, still glistening wetly from my change, and he spun back around. I burst out laughing. "Oh? You want to see my gruesome transformation from wolf to man but can't handle my naked dick?"

"Oh my God, Adam, shut the fuck up," he groaned, and I laughed again, trembling at the way his scent deepened with the musk that was his arousal.

They'd left me a pair of tracksuit pants on the table, and I reached for it, wincing as I put it on over my still-sensitive skin.

"You can turn around now," I said with a smirk, and my eyes widened when Rory spun around and stalked up to me to plant a harsh kiss on my lips that left me breathless and blinking dazedly when it was over.

He looked smug, and it made me want to kiss him again. "Let's get out of here," he said, and tugged my arm, leading me out of the house.

I winced as I walked on the stony, sandy road on my sensitive bare feet, and raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sight of his car parked on the dirt road. He climbed into the driver's seat and I followed into the passenger's side, gasping when Rory started the car and shot out of the dirt road without even waiting for me to close my door.

Rory

Okay, so I was panicking a little.

Just a little.

I was doing very well to hide it though, if I did say so myself. My heart was thumping and my stomach kept dropping, making me feel like I was either going to throw up or get really gassy. I tried taking in deep breaths to prevent the panic from taking over.

Holy shit, all this was real. I mean, I'd believed it when Adam had told me he was a freaking werewolf, and I'd taken some time off to get used to the thought; I mean, I'd known exactly what I was getting into and I hadn't cared.

Until now.

I'd had a fucking wolf – that was about the size of a grizzly bear – in my fucking lap for the past half hour.

Said wolf is now a person, sitting beside me.

You'll forgive me if I do freak out.

"Rory?" Adam's voice asked, and he sounded tentative. Shit, I'd almost forgotten he was even there. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, just peachy," I replied, my lips automatically stretching into a wide, accommodating grin, hurting from how fake it was. "I'm absolutely fine! What makes you think something is wrong? Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all."

I heard Adam snort at my dramatics. "Rory, stop the car, please."

"No," I replied, my foot pressing harder on the accelerator, sending us flying into the main road and just nearly missing being hit by a truck, which blasted its horn at us before speeding down the road. I swerved the car back into position and continued driving like nothing just happened, while Adam clutched the handle of the door and his seat like his life depended on it.

"Rory, what the fuck? Stop the damn car!"

"I'm fine!" I hissed, clutching the steering wheel.

"Sure! Almost driving us into an oncoming truck sounds pretty damn peachy to me!" he growled sarcastically.

"Don't be a smartass."

"Seriously, we need to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about. You're a wolf, there was an attack, and you're completely fine. That's all that matters."

It was only when my eyes got glassy I realized I was about to actually cry from the stress. Fuck, looked like I must've been freaking out more than I thought. I felt Adam's warm palm give my knee a gentle caress as he whispered again for me to stop. I finally caved and parked the car securely in a corner, my hands still stubbornly clutching the steering wheel. I gave Adam a curious look when he opened his door and stepped out of the car.

I sniffed, eyeing him in confusion as he walked around the front and then came to my door. He pulled open my door, and before I could take a breath, I was buried in the warmth of his naked chest, hearing that his heart was beating as frantically as mine.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that. God," he choked, one hand clutching my hair in a tight yet reassuring grip while the other held the small of my back, keeping me securely to his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologise," I whispered, unable to resist lifting my hands up to wrap around his waist.

"I'm only just realizing what this must be like for you. You're not cut out for this. Maybe this isn't...maybe..."

I knew what he was going to say before he even said it, and I pulled back to plant a desperate kiss on his lips, whispering when we couldn't breathe, "Don't you fucking dare. Don't you dare tell me I made the wrong decision to date you."

"Okay," he said softly. His hand left my hair to join the other one, wrapping tightly around me.

"Fine," I whispered, "Maybe I'm freaking out a little, but that's only natural, right? I mean, I saw not one – but two fucking werewolves for the first time in my life – said werewolves were not even close to the size of a normal wolf, they were like...wolves on steroids. And then you got attacked, and God, Adam, there was blood e-everywhere–" my voice wobbled.

"Hey," he interrupted, "deep breaths. It's over. I promise. It's over and I'm here and you're here."

I heaved in a deep shaky breath, while Adam continued holding me close, gently rocking his body back and forth until I felt a bit calm.

"I'm fine now, really," I whispered into his chest, my breathing even and my voice low, not screeching and frantic like earlier.

He tilted my face up to plant a soft kiss on my lips.

"Want to go do something? Watch a movie? Go to the fair? I need...I really need to get back to reality right now," I whispered and Adam chuckled.

"We can go to the mall and watch a movie after?" he suggested, "Nothing realer than the mall."

I smiled. "Sounds like a plan."