Alpha (Wolves Creek Book 1)(15)

"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."