Chapter Ten - In The Middle of Nowhere
Siobhan
As the plane landed, I spotted two heads in the trees. One of them was Harrod, of course, although I couldn’t tell which one. From the distance, they both looked the same. The plane halted and I waited inside until those guys were here. The forest was beautiful, but also terrifying.
When Harrod walked in, I’m surprised at how different he looked.
“Harrod,” I said, getting up. “You look so different. What have…” Then the actual Harrod stepped in.
“Siobhan,” he said, surprised. He pushed the other guy aside, locked me in an embrace and kissed me. “What are you doing here?”
“I went to your place and raised hell, so your father sent me here.”
“Did he? You must have been pretty convincing.”
“You never told me you had a twin. Who is this?”
“This is my brother,” he said.
“Hi, I’m Harrison,” the other guy said.
“Wow, the resemblance is uncanny,” I said, shaking his hand. “Harrod never told me he had a brother.”
“Yeah, he didn’t know,” he said.
“How are you now?” Harrod asks.
“I’m fine. I still have the stomach bug.”
“I was worried about you,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here.”
As we stepped out of the plane, I asked, “So, where are we? Your father’s secret science facility?”
“Something like that,” he said.
It was a 15-minute walk into a fenced community, a village of sorts. Harrod introduced me to his Grandpa and a woman called Mishayev. ‘Misha is my teacher here,’ he told me.
“What does she teach you? What are you here for, secret service training?”
“No. I’ll tell you later.”
“No, you said you’ll tell me when we are together, I can’t wait anymore. Tell me what took you away from me.”
I perched on an ottoman in what appeared to be a common room, and Harrod got on behind me, legs and arms around me. It felt safe inside his arms.
“I need to warn you first and prepare you. This shit is crazy.”
“Whatever it is, tell me. Go ahead, I can take it. Can’t be crazier than everything else that has happened, with me coming out to the middle of nowhere to be with a guy I only had one date with.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I said, cutting him off. “Tell me now.”
“Harrison, do the honors, will you?”
What happened next was, simply put, crazy. I should have freaked out, I should have, but I didn’t. I was inside his arms, I was safe. I knew that no harm would come to me. But it took my breath away anyway.
“So, your brother is a shape-shifter,” I said, letting out a long breath.
“Not a shape-shifter,” he said, rubbing my arm, turning me on. “A werewolf.”
“And you?”
“Me too. Everyone here is.”
“And your dad knows about this?”
“He’s one too. Like I said, Siobhan, we all are. Except my mother.”
“Oh.”
“I think that’s probably why my dad sent you here, so you could find out before things get serious.”
“Before things get serious, Harrod, seriously? We still have a before?”
“I mean, you know, so you can get out while you can.”
“So if I want to get out, you won’t stop me?”
“If this is too much for you, why would I?”
“So you’d let me go just like that,” I said, slightly angry.
“I’d try like hell to stop you, but I won’t force you.”
“I’m cool with it,” I said. “Growing up in a political family, I’ve seen stuff way more messed up than this. Nothing like this, but still. I think I can get used to this. But I sure as hell won’t be living here forever.”
“Neither will I,” he said. “But we’ll have to come here every full moon. I’ll have to.”
Then I asked him something really stupid, something a child would ask. “Can you turn me into a werewolf?”
“With a bite, yes.”
“Cool,” she said. “Do it. Bite me.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” he told me. “Only an Alpha’s bite can do that, and I am not an Alpha yet.”
“Get the Alpha to bite me then.”
“Six days from now, I have to face my brother in The Pit. If I can beat him there, I’ll become the Alpha. We’ll think about it then. But I can’t wait to bite you in other circumstances.” His hand found its way into my shirt and around my stomach. He turned me around, rubbed my back and kissed me again.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he said.
“I missed you, too,” I said.
I closed my eyes and drew in a long breath, taking in his masculine smell, his intoxicating juniper cologne. He pushed me down on the ottoman and tried to get on top.
“Not here,” I whispered.
“They don’t mind.”
“I’m shy.”
“Okay,” he said, kissing me again. “You should go rest, anyway. You must be tired. Mishayev will show you to our room.”
“Okay.” I gave him a quick kiss and left with Mishayev.
She took me to Harrod’s room, which was a mess, as could be expected.
“You will get cold. Let me bring you some fur.”
“Thank you.”
She came back ten minutes later, carrying three different colored fur coats.
“Wow, these are real,” I said, feeling the soft fur, trying one out. “These are so warm and light.”
“Yeah, these are real.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
She smiled, then looked at me strangely.
“What is it,” I asked.
“You love him?”
“I guess…yeah.”
She smiled. “He’s a good guy. Training here is hard, coming to terms with everything, but he’s patient. He’s doing it all very well. He’s a keeper. Don’t break his heart.”
“I won’t,” I promised, hand over my heart.
“If you need anything or have any questions, you can come to me,” she said, and turned to leave.
“Misha,” I said, “I can call you that, right?”
“Call me whatever you want,” she said.
“I wanted to ask you something,”
“What is it?”
“Is there a doctor here?”
“We have an infirmary. It has all the modern equipment and our doctors are great. But don’t go there alone.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
“I’m fine. I was just curious.”
“Right. You should rest now, and I’ll wake you up for dinner.”