CHAPTER THREE
- Tallulah -
The front door shuts with a loud click; I take a sniff and recognise Theo’s scent mixed with the pups and pancakes. The smell of him makes my mouth water, and my brain feels fuzzy again. With a groan, I shake my head to try and clear it.
When he’s around, my body always reacts weirdly, and it pisses me off. Normally, I can control my reactions around Theo and his brothers, but lately, it’s become unbearable. Add in Theo’s more defensive attitude lately, and I don’t know what to do. One thing I do know, this stupid crush needs to stop, but I don’t know how.
He must have some important stuff to do if he left the house, especially if he trusts the defenceless half-mutt to take care of the pups. Disappointment wells up, but I choke it down. I’m almost twenty, but my hormones are suddenly frazzled like I’m fifteen again. With a habitual scratch at my nose, I settle in.
It looks like I’m on puppy-watch for however long it takes until the big bad Alpha-wannabe decides to show back up or his parents to get here. Dad said they’re coming over, but sometimes pack stuff demands immediate attention and delays their plans.
The two little guys scarf down their pancakes. They’re so cute, and it’s not as if I mind watching them. For a moment, I rub the tension from my forehead and shut my eyes as I try to work out what the stares between Dad and Theo meant. Something is going on there. Theo’s weird behaviour proves as much, but I can’t seem to work out what. To be honest, I’m not even sure if I really want to figure it out.
A horrible scraping noise makes my eyes pop open and takes me out of my pity party. The horrendous noise is the other pup, whose name I haven’t learnt yet, grinding his teeth down on the plastic plate. His once clean, white fur is now covered in bits of half-eaten pancake and melted chocolate chips.
Bending down, I take the now chewed up, half-eaten plate away, and the pup growls at me. I wiggle a finger at him and gently chastise, “Nuh-huh. Don’t eat the plates, fur-ball.” Looking over at Mylo, I realise he’s shifted back into his wolf form and finished his breakfast. Luckily for me, he didn’t decide to eat the dinner set, too. “Come on, pooches, let’s go and get you cleaned up.”
I dump the plates in the sink for later and prop the kitchen door open so the pups can follow me upstairs. It’s hard to hold back a laugh as they run ahead of me down the hall. Instead of a graceful stop before they whiz up the stairs, they both try to stop on the mat. Unfortunately for them, the braided yarn mat is on hardwood floor, so they both skid into the backdoor with a yelp. Picking one up under each arm, I heft them up the stairs and place them down once we make it into the baby room.
After I make sure they have enough toys to keep them occupied, I enter the bathroom shared between the baby room and another guest room. Once I turn the taps on to fill the bath, I grab a handful of bath towels out of the cupboard and pour soft scented bubbles in the tub. As I swirl my hands in the water, it’s easy to get lost in daydreams. Dad hates it when I do this, but what else do I have going for me? Sometimes it’s nice to just get lost in my head, if only for a few short minutes.
Before my imagination drags me off, I pull myself back to reality. Hastily, I turn the taps off and double check the temperature. Happy that it’s not too hot, I go back into the nursery and immediately stop in my tracks. Both pups are now in toddler form, and they’ve managed to climb onto the high window ledge. Not a stitch of clothing on while they pull silly faces against the glass. Thank god, I always keep that window locked. We won’t test the theory of their ability to land feet first, like felines.
Carefully, I help them down and shoo them into the bathroom. Just as I’m about to turn, something catches my eye. I press my face against the glass, body tensing when I spot a man out there, but quickly relax when I notice he is clad in black jeans and a black shirt with a wolf’s head and ARGENT SECURITY printed on the back. Black boots adorn his feet, and leather cuffs wrap both wrists. He’s definitely pack security.
Splashing causes me to rush back into the bathroom. Both pups have managed to climb into the bath and are blowing a mountain of bubbles at each other. To protect my knees from the cold tile, I take a spare towel and place it on the floor. Then, I have them stand up in turn and use a sponge to thoroughly clean them off. After their scrubbing, they sit down so they can play while the water’s still warm.
Mylo’s body begins to tremble, and the air is suddenly filled with the sounds of cracking. Not worried about getting wet, I quickly dive forward to hold him up while he shifts to prevent him from drowning. This time is much quicker than his last shift, and before long, a damp nose rubs my cheek, followed by a rough, wet tongue.
I laugh. “Thanks, Mylo.”
I pull back enough so I’m able to reach for the towel and wipe the drool off my face. Once the two rugrats are done with their toys, I pull the plug and help them climb out. Mylo stands next to me and starts to shake from his head, working down his body until his tail whips back and forth. Water is flicked everywhere. The other pup tries to copy, but he’s in human form and does a weird shake, but only manages to wiggle his backside.
A loud, heart-wrenching howl breaks through the quiet of the house, and my stomach twists. Both pups whimper and huddle together, their small forms shaking. Swiftly, I run to the nursery to take a peek out the window, but a thick white fog blocks my view. Uneasy with the eerie fog and being unable to see the guard, I grab some clothes and quickly race into the bathroom and dress the still wet boy. Thankfully, Mylo’s still in wolf form, so I don’t need to dress him.
Leaving them tucked in the bathroom, I run down the hall into my bedroom. Moments pass as I grab my emergency backpack and stuff the extra children’s clothes into it. Loud bangs quickly followed by the sound of wood splintering echoes through the house.
I throw the bag on my back and listen carefully at my bedroom door. Loud voices reverberate from downstairs in the direction of the entrance. Hastily, I come up with a half-baked plan before stealthily moving back down the hallway to the bathroom. Gesturing at both pups to be quiet, I pick the pup in human form up and sneak down the hallway to the back stairs, a wet Mylo tucked tightly to my leg.
Silently, we stalk down the stairs.
Managing to not run into whoever broke in, we slip into Dad’s office and lock the door firmly behind us. Setting the boy down, I grab a chair and silently put it under the handle in hopes of stalling them longer. Opening the top drawer on Dad’s monstrosity of a desk, I take out the handgun and slip it into the waistband of my slightly damp shorts. The extra ammo I dump in my bag.
As I carefully open the blind over the window and click the lock across, I pray the wooden window frame doesn’t squeak when it opens. As gently as possible, I push the window open. Exhaling in relief when it doesn’t creak or squeak, a weird smell makes my nose twitch. With no time to work out what it is, I cautiously stick my head out to survey the area. I pray that whoever’s inside has no one stationed outside.
Waving the boys over, I crouch down and whisper to them, “I’ll jump down, then I want you to jump down to me. Think you can do that?”
Trembling, both human and wolf pups give me a wide-eyed nod.
My jump to the ground is silent. Exactly as I asked, first the wolf pup then the human pup jump to me, and I catch them. Placing them down, I take the boy’s hand and point ahead to the trees, signalling to Mylo which way I want him to run. Sudden, loud noises in my father’s office can be heard easily from where we press tightly against the side of the house.
Ignoring the fear, I take a breath to centre myself, then tap Mylo on the backside and point again. It’s now or never. Checking to make sure I have a strong hold on the boy next to me, I count to three before I push off the wall and make a run for it in the same direction I sent Mylo.
We barely make it to the treeline when a gravelly voice booms from behind us, “Outside, now!”
With my heart in my throat, I urge the little guy to run faster. Unfortunately, he trips, but with my hold, I manage to catch him and swing him up into my arms before he can crash to the ground. Adjusting his weight, I pick up my pace. Two howls announcing their excitement for the chase come piercingly close behind us. The air in my lungs instantly freezes in fright. I jump over fallen branches and skid around bushes as a stampede starts up behind us.
Why did Dad think it was a good idea to live so far out? Stupid, stupid man! God, if I make it out of this, then I’ll kick his ass.
A sharp pain shoots up my leg, and I cry out. My leg gives way, so I forcefully push the little boy away as I crash to my knees. He runs, and I hope he can find Mylo. As I quickly spin around onto my backside, leaves and twigs dig into my palms. The pain in my leg burns, like someone placed hot coals on my skin, but I ignore it.
My gaze searches around the area until I come face to face with a huge black wolf. His eyes soulless, like two bottomless pits, cause me to break out in a cold sweat. His blood-soaked mouth opens, displaying a huge set of razor-sharp teeth followed by a whiff of rancid breath. If I hadn’t grown up with werewolves I would have fainted or crapped myself seeing it.
He throws his head back, and his celebratory howls pierce the air. Another black wolf runs into the clearing and races past us in the same direction the pups had run. It instantly snaps me out of my pain, and I scramble backwards. Hand stuffed into my damp waistband, I grope for the gun. Finally, I wrap my fingers around the cold metal, pull it free, and flick the safety off in one move.
My aim is steady as I point at the wolf in front of me.
The wolf manages to dive away as I pull the trigger. There’s a yelp, followed by a whine. At least I managed to hit him somewhere. I pull myself up into a crouch, leg aching, and aim the gun in the direction he dived.
Everything goes silent. With no wolf in sight, I turn slightly each way, searching. Altering my stance until my weight rests more on my uninjured leg, I continue to scan the area. As blood flows down my leg, the ground under my bare foot turns damp and muddy. I’m in a small, open area surrounded by brush and trees, which works in his favour and offers him plenty of coverage. There’s no way I can hide with the blood loss. They’d be able to sniff me out from miles away, so I do the only thing I can. Choke the fear down, and stand my ground.
A branch snaps behind me, and I spin. My weight lands on my injured leg. As it gives way, I crash to the ground with a cry, giving the wolf a perfect opportunity to pounce. Time slows as he launches himself from behind a tree and lands near my feet. I try to push myself backwards, but my leg lies limp. He opens his mouth to rip into me at the same time I raise my gun back up. I pull the trigger once, then immediately squeeze it again, but nothing happens.
Jammed, the gun jammed.
I squeeze my eyes shut tight and wait for the inevitable pain when the wolf goes in for the kill. A loud thump echoes around the forest instead. My eyes snap open to watch in horror as two wolves viciously fight.
Brutally, the wolves flip and tumble, biting and ripping chunks off each other. It’s then the colour of the other wolf registers, Theo.
Theo goes for the throat of the other wolf. He viciously bites down and yanks the black wolf’s throat out, and it’s all over. The wolf lies lifeless on the blood-soaked earth. Theo turns his face to me. His muzzle is covered in blood and gore, but I strangely don’t find it hideous, the complete opposite, rather. He tilts his head up and lets loose an ear-splitting victory howl.
Loud footsteps stomp into the clearing behind Theo. Over his shoulder, I spot two guys in security outfits move around Theo and stand guard above me.
“The pups?” I question immediately.
“Are safe,” is all they say.
Relieved, I collapse back in the dirt. As I lie there, I silently thank the heavens the pups weren’t hurt, and I didn’t die. Once my leg is healed, I can kick my father’s ass for having us live so far from the pack.