"I can't do this."
All thoughts of lust left my mind as confusion settled in, as I had no idea what he was going on about.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember everything that happened yesterday?"
I cast my mind back to the day before, a shudder travelling down my spine as memories hit me of bright yellow eyes, large wolves and terrifying growls.
"Wolves," I said, before covering my mouth quickly with my hand, embarrassed to have said that out loud.
"You were attacked by a pack of wolves. Me and the guys turned up in time to stop them killing you. God, if we'd been just five minutes later." He leant forward until his forehead touched mine, closing his eyes as if trying to block out the memories from the night before. My head swam as I tried to focus on the fact that not only was I attacked by a pack of wolves, but now Jackson was suddenly treating me completely differently. It was like he had seen me in a new way and I couldn't help but find him even more attractive.
"Wolves." I repeated the word in a defeatist tone, knowing that I sounded like a complete moron, but not really sure what else I could say at that point.
"I know it's a lot to get your head around, but we do have wolves around here. You could say they are local to the area." He suddenly looked uncomfortable and I began to feel excited as I realised I may finally be able to understand at least some of the secrets Wolves Creek were keeping.
"But, how did you get them off me? There were like...ten of them."
"Well, there were four of them, but six of us. We outnumbered them and they realised pretty early on they weren't going to win, so it was an easy fight for us."
"Wait...I'm confused. I don't know if I hit my head..."
"Laura, we were the other wolves."
Okay, either I hit my head really, really hard in the forest, or his beautiful face was distracting me and making me hear things.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"The reason why everyone in this town acts differently, and sees you as an outsider, is because we are different. The correct term would be that we are shifters. We're wolf shifters."
I felt like my brain was going to explode as I tried to take in what exactly he was telling me, but it felt like I was in a bubble, with his words not really making any sense.
"Okay, I think I have a concussion, because I don't understand."
"I know it's a lot to process and it sounds ridiculous, but you have to realise I wanted to tell you. It's dangerous. Humans have no idea about our existence and if they did we would be subject to media, capture and experiments. Our privacy and our lives would be destroyed, which is why any stranger is deemed a threat until proven otherwise."
I really didn't want to believe him. I wanted to laugh and tell him off for messing with me, before soaking in a bath and going back to sleep but my brain was screaming at me that he was telling the truth. It sounded totally unbelievable and I struggled to wrap my head around it, but after seeing the behaviour of the local people; how they treated each other like family and disliked strangers, how they averted my eyes and avoided all contact and how they were clearly hiding some big secrets, meant I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. For the moment, anyway.
"Okay, so if you guys are all wolves...then turn in to one."
"Now?"
"Sure! I mean, if it's true you'll be able to prove it won't you?"
He stood up to take a few steps back towards the centre of the room, my heart starting to race as I realised he was actually going to try and prove it to me. I thought I had been calling his bluff and he would make up some excuse, meaning that I could then proceed to call him crazy and go mad on his ass for joking about something so stupid. Why is nothing ever simple?
My eyes widened as he removed all of his clothes and I remembered in the woods the night before, believing that his perfect body was just a figment of my imagination. Nope, it was real. Holy moly. Hot does not even describe it. Distracted by his sculpted form right in front of me, I didn't have time to register or process as the air suddenly shifted around him. Before I could blink, Jackson had disappeared. In his place stood a huge but beautiful, coffee coloured wolf with piercing green eyes that I instantly recognised as belonging to Jackson. He didn't need to prove anything else to me. My brain was finding it hard to comprehend, but I couldn't deny those emerald eyes that belonged to him. This was the wolf who was leading the pack that saved my life yesterday. Well, that would explain how he got to me so quickly and fought off a pack of wolves to rescue me. Because he was a wolf himself. Okay. I mean, stranger things have happened right? I pinched my arm and winced at the sharp pain, not sure whether to be relieved or not that I wasn't dreaming. I'd always been proud of how open-minded I was and I guessed now was the time to prove it.
The wolf gave a little yip, which made me smile, before he transformed back to Jackson, who stood in front of me, smiling nervously in an endearing way. He was normally so serious and so sure of himself, it was nice to see him acting slightly more human. Well, as human as a wolf can be. God, this was weird.
Jackson threw his clothes back on - such a shame - and sat back in his position on the edge of the bed, picking up my hand and stroking my palm softly with his thumb. I shivered at how such an innocent gesture could unsettle me.
"I know it's a lot to take in."
"Understatement." He smiled at me, making me happy as I noticed he did that a lot more as we'd gotten closer. I didn't want to get a big head, but I loved the way I could make him smile more than anyone else. So sue me.
"Are you dangerous?"
"To you? Never. I can be dangerous though. There are those who want to hurt us, but that's what the enforcers are for. We're a small community and everyone who lives here, is part of my pack."
"So, you're like, the boss?"
He smiled again. "Something like that. Everyone around here is pack, and I'm the Alpha. The title of Alpha is pretty much passed down through families. Sometimes other wolves want to fight to overthrow you, but if you earn the loyalty of the rest of your pack, they probably won't succeed. My enforcers act as security for the community, but also my advisors. I need their advice on numerous occasions and I trust those men with my life. Being part of a pack is like being part of a family, only more. There is not one person in this pack who would not lay their life down in exchange for yours."
My head was spinning with all the new information. "But, I'm not a wolf."
"That doesn't mean you aren't pack. People distrusted you to begin with, but you've found your way in to their hearts. You even managed to win over Isaac who's the most distrustful one out of us all. We look after our own in this pack, and that includes you."
"So, why did your wolves attack me yesterday?"
"Those aren't from my pack. If they were, they would be dealt with a lot differently, and I would never have let them get away." His eyes lit with unleashed fury and for a split second I saw just how dangerous he could potentially be.
"What do you mean?"
"As Alpha, I pretty much deal with any issues that arise, including dealing with punishments. If anyone from my pack tries to hurt another pack member, they are dealt with swiftly. Those wolves were from a pack that has been causing us problems for a while. If we kill members of another pack, we could start a war and we want to avoid that at all costs. They aren't supposed to come on to our territory, but they've been getting cocky lately, and I'm worried about what it is they want. Unfortunately, word through the grapevine is that they want to out us to the humans, believing themselves to be a much superior race."
"But, I thought if the humans found out about you they would take you prisoner and kill you all?"
"They would. They know the humans outnumber us, hence why the pack haven't done anything about it yet. All we know at the moment is they are trying to gain support. Unfortunately, the thoughts the pack has of their superiority over humans and the frustration at having to hide, has caused unrest. There are various packs all over the country, and it won't take much to persuade them over to their cause."
"But why are they hanging around here? Surely you won't be persuaded by that bullshit?"
"Of course not. We are content with living here, and everyone is happy. War is the last thing we want. We prefer to exist harmoniously beside humans, with them being none the wiser. Making the humans aware of our existence would be catastrophic, leading to the extinction of our kind everywhere, I guarantee it. From what Ethan has managed to find out through various sources, the wolves disturbing us are from the Grove Pack based around fifty miles away. They hate humans and they must have heard that you were here. They want to hurt you."