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, and my heart started 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 and 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, and 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, and it made me happy to notice 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.”