HIDDEN (Hidden Trilogy Book 1) (15 page)

“So, to this day they haven’t forgotten?”

“Would you forget being beaten into almost a coma?”  He chuckled. 

“You know you shouldn’t have fought with them.”  I scolded.

“What would you have had us do?”

“Report them.”

“So they could get a slap on the wrist with in school suspension?”  He scoffed.  “No.  No one messes with my pack.”  The conversation seemed closed as he sat up and looked at me.  “Do you want to do some exploring?  I can lead in wolf form.  My senses are sharper that way.”

“Sure.  Sounds like fun.”  We both stood up and Cade reached for the button on his jeans again.  I promptly turned around to his soft chuckle.  I now understood why Tyler and his friends always kept their distance from Cade and the boys.  Being beaten to a pulp would be a lasting impression on anyone.  Although, I didn’t agree with their methods.  There was a time back before Steve and Nicole when I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.  Now, I understood the importance of diplomacy.  Did it work every time?  No, of course not.  Then an old fashion beat down was just the ticket. 

We spent the next hour wandering in and out of the trees, following trails and a small stream that led to the waterfalls.  Cade seemed to be enjoying himself because I caught him wagging his tail on a number of occasions as he waited for me or scouted ahead. 
Fodder for teasing at a later time.
  He’d occasionally double back and rub against me before he’d bound ahead, tail wagging.  If wolves could smile, he’d be grinning ear to ear. 

After a while, I heard rustling in the forest to our left and watched as the other four wolves emerged from the brush.  They all greeted each other upon their return and rubbed against each other.  They even included me in their welcome.  I did notice that Hunter still kept his distance from me.  I knew Hunter had always been standoffish with me, but since this morning, he seemed to hold more of a grudge than ever.  I remembered his argument outside of school with Cade and the things he said about me not being one of them.  If that was his view, I could understand his hostility to me now knowing about them.  After the greeting, we turned back to the Falls so everyone could change into their clothes.  Once everyone was dressed, we headed back down the mountain at a leisurely pace. 

The McCoys invited me to eat supper with them that night and it was like nothing had changed.  They were still friendly and happy with me in their presence.  Cade and I shared the news about my dreams and drawings.  While Liam and Mica found it interesting, they didn’t really know if it was a lead.  They said they would keep it in mind as they talked with other wolves.  During the meal, they shared stories from their lives as wolves that were thoroughly entertaining.  I didn’t stay pass supper as my body was tired from all the excitement that day.  Of course, Cade offered to drive me home.  I had to smile when he actually
asked
if he could take me home. 
He asked, instead of demanded. 
I smiled.
Baby steps.
 

A few weeks later Bree, Cassie and I were hanging out in my room.  We were waiting on parts for the car again so we decided to spend some time at my house.  It was one of the rare times when they left the boys at home.   I was glad as there were a few questions that had been bothering me since the big reveal that needed to be answered. 

“Hey Cassie,” I asked from my desk.  She was sprawled out on my bed reading a magazine. 

“Yeah?” she asked but didn’t look up.  Bree sat on the floor and painted her toe nails.  I’d questioned earlier if the strong smell of nail polish bothered them but she shrugged it off.  She said some things were worth putting up with. 

“Your parents,” I paused before continuing, “they said they were mates.  Does that mean for life?  Or if one dies they can be with another?  How does that work with you guys?” 

“Wow.  Deep subject for a Saturday morning.”  Bree breathed as she looked up from her toes.  Cassie sat up and regarded me for a second before answering. 

“Wolf shifters are much like their animal counterparts.”  She said to answer my question.  “We search for our mate, hoping we find the one that we call a lifemate.”

“Meaning, a mate for life?”  I asked, just to be sure.

“Yes.  My parents are lifemates.”  Cassie nodded.  “Most wolves find their lifemates.  That one person that was meant just for you.  Those that don’t marry someone they care for deeply.”

“Are lifemates hard to find?”

“Not usually, no.  Since we are in touch with our wolves, we can scent them when they are near or we come in contact with them.  It’s an awareness that is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, or so I’m told.”  Cassie said. 

“So, neither of you have met your lifemate?”  I asked as I looked between Cassie and Bree.  Bree answered first.

“No.  Wolves can only scent their lifemate after they turn 18.  Something about giving each mate time to mature and be ready for a serious relationship.” 

“When do you guys turn 18?”  I asked.

“Next spring.  Bree’s birthday is in April, mine and Cade’s is in March.”  Cassie replied. 

“What about Brody and Hunter?”  I asked.

“They turned 18 already.” 

“Really?”  I asked shocked.

“Yeah, last summer.”

“Oh.”  I paused before asking, “Have either of them found their lifemate yet?”

“No, you’d know if they had.  They wouldn’t be able to spend much time apart.  They might not find their mate for a couple years anyway.  They can’t scent their mate until she is at least 18 too.  So if one of their mates is like, 16, then they have a couple years before they’ll know.”

“What if one of you is their mate?”  I asked with raised eyebrows.  Bree blushed and Cassie laughed.

“No way.”  Cassie giggled.  “Neither one appeals to me.  They’re great as friends but I’m not attracted to them any more than that.”

“I’m sure Cade is happy about that.” I commented. 

“Yeah, he can be a pain.  But when I turn 18, I’m going hunting.  I’d like to meet the wolf for me.”  Cassie grinned.  I laughed, just imaging Cassie out there, literally hunting down her mate.  I turned to Bree. 

“What about you, Bree?  You like any of the boys?”  I teased lightly. 

“I like them but they are too alpha to want me.”  Bree said quietly and didn’t meet my eyes.  The smile dropped from my face. 

“What do you mean?”  I asked confused. 

“Bree is destined to be our Omega.  Just like her Mom is now.”  Cassie said with an encouraging smile at Bree.  “She’s brilliant at healing and will be great for the wellbeing of our pack.”

“Okay, I think I’m missing something here.”  I said, still confused.

“All packs have a hierarchy.”  Cassie explained.  “The Alpha pair are in charge of the pack, making the impactful decisions that would affect our whole pack.  That’s my parents.  The Beta is next.   This can be a lone position or a mated pair.  They see to the financial and less important decisions regarding the pack, to help ease the burden of the Alpha pair.  My uncle is the Beta of our pack.”  Cassie explained, “He’s been away on business for the pack lately but should be back soon.  He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“Me?” 

“Yeah, Cade and Liam have told him a lot about you.”

“Huh.”  I wasn’t sure how to respond to that so I returned to the original subject.  “All right, I’m following so far.” 

“Then we have the Enforcers.  They are usually all male, upper 20’s and 30’s in age to see to the safety and basically be peacekeepers of the pack.  Once they start their families, they take on other roles in the pack, like running businesses in town or some other way to bring in money for the pack.  Enforcers have the potential of being an alpha of another pack if they ever choose to leave.”

“That’s what Brody and Hunter will be,” Bree commented.  “Enforcers.” 

“And why would that be a problem if you liked one of them?”  I asked.

“It’s not a problem.” Cassie said forcefully and looked at Bree.  “She just thinks that they would be too high up in the hierarchy of the wolf pack to want her as a mate.  Which is crap, as I keep telling her.”

“Doesn’t matter if neither are my lifemate anyways.”  Bree said quietly. 

“So, where does the Omega come in?”  I asked, trying to keep everything straight. 

“After the Enforcers, other pack members fall into line according to their strength and abilities.  Omega’s are usually the weakest physically in the pack, but,” Cassie said with a stern face to Bree, “they are very important to the health and wellbeing of the pack.”  She looked back at me.  “It’s the rest of the pack’s responsibility to protect the Omega’s from harm.” 

“So,” I looked at Bree, “You think since you are destined to be the pack’s Omega that Brody or Hunter, who will be Enforcers, won’t want you because you think you’re weak?”  I watched as she nodded sadly before adding, “But if you are destined lifemates, that won’t matter.  It would be Fate, right?”

“She thinks if one of them is her lifemate that they would resent the fact that she was their mate.”

“Is that possible?”  I asked with raised eyebrows. 

“No.  And I’ve told her that repeatedly.”  Cassie glared at Bree who didn’t meet her eyes. 

“Bree,” I said softly.  I waited until she looked at me.  “I know I don’t know that much about your whole shifter society, but I don’t think either Brody or Hunter would feel that way.”  I assured her.  Hunter may be ambivalent about me, but I was sure he had a soft spot for Bree.  “If anything I think they would be overbearing and suffocating with their protection.”  Cassie laughed and that made Bree smile.

“You think so?”  She asked.

“Yeah, definitely.”  I nodded.  Seeing that she felt more confident, I asked the one nagging question that came to mind during our discussion.  “What about Cade?”

“What about him?”  Cassie asked. 

“Where does he land in the hierarchy?” 

“Basically Alpha in training.”  Cassie commented offhanded.  My eyes widened.

“As in, heir to the pack?” 

“Yep.”  Cassie chuckled.  “It’s why he’s so protective of everything, demands to know where everyone is, things like that.  He’ll be a great Alpha if he can find his lifemate to be by his side.”  She looked at me before adding, “Too bad you’re not a wolf.”

“What?”

“Only wolves can mate with wolves.  You’re not human, but you’re not a wolf.  If you were a wolf, I bet you would be his lifemate.”  Cassie replied. 

“Why do you say that?”  I asked slowly. 

“You are the only one that stands up to him, well besides me, but I’m his sister.”  She shrugged before adding, “He’s super protective of you, is always watching you and demanding to know how you are doing whenever we go home.”

“He is?”  I asked surprised. 

“Yeah, it’s kind of strange.  I’ve never seen that attachment to a human before.”  She looked at me, before clarifying, “well, not exactly human.”

“Thanks.”  I replied dryly. 

“When you go toe to toe with him,” Bree said from her seat on the floor, “It’s exactly what Alpha mates do.  You get his hackles up and never back down.  You question him, make him see things from a different perspective.”  Bree laughed.  “It’s quite entertaining.” 

“It’s frustrating is what it is,” I commented. 

“Yeah,” Bree said still laughing from the floor.  “Too bad you’re not a wolf.  I’d like to see who became Alpha in that relationship.” 
Yeah, too bad.
 

“Well, Cassie, you’re parents still haven’t had any luck with their research, have they?”  I asked, redirecting the topic to safer subjects. 

“No, they are still looking.”  She sighed.  “I can tell they are frustrated, but they don’t want to alert everyone to the fact that they have someone in their territory that they can’t identify.”

“And that would be bad because?”

“Shifters would either be too curious and want a sniff of you, or shun us because of the unknown.”  Bree commented.

“Not to mention the High Council would probably get involved.”  Cassie rolled her eyes.

“All right, another question.  What’s the High Council?”  I asked.

“Not a what but a who.  A bunch of old, stuffy shifters that make the rules.”  Cassie rolled her eyes.  “They have their own Enforcers that, well, enforce their laws and bring people to heel if they misstep.”

“Sounds like a fun group.” 

“Yeah, but if we follow the rules then they don’t have any reason to get involved.”

“And if they found out about me?”

“You’d probably be called in to stand in front of them while they figured out what you are and what to do with you.”

“Fantastic.” I drawled.

“But don’t worry.  Dad and Mom will figure this out.”  Cassie said encouragingly.  “We just need to keep everything hush hush while they do.”  My phone beeped and I looked down at it to see a message from Cade.

Movie night with pack?
  I smiled, knowing he was referring to the boys, Cassie, Bree and me.  

Why didn’t u just wolf speak to Cassie?

Because I wanted to ask u

Ur getting better, asking instead of demanding

I’m learning

A throat cleared and I looked up to see both Cassie and Bree smiling at me.  “What?”

“So, movie night?”  Cassie asked, I laughed but nodded.  The girls stood up and straightened things out while I texted back. 

Be there shortly

I’ll save u a spot

The ride to the McCoys’ land didn’t take long.  I replayed the conversation in my head about lifemates and how only wolves could mate with wolves. 
If that was the case, things between Cade and me, well, we could never be more than friends.  Right?
  We piled out of the car at Cassie’s house and made our way inside.  It was quiet, which was unusual.  Since my inadvertent discovery, the pack was more open about being around me.  A few Enforcers were usually present in the house and smiled whenever they saw me.  Other pack members would smile in my direction when we passed to Cassie’s house.  I was happy they were okay with my knowledge of their existence and trusted me enough not to tell anyone.  Of course it might have had something to do with Cade giving off alpha vibes and strongly suggesting they accept me or else. 
Just maybe.
 

“Where is everyone?”  I asked as I looked around the empty house.

“Oh, I forget you don’t hear us.”  Cassie shrugged and tapped her temple.  “Dad and Mom are out of town on business, with a few of the Enforcers as back up.  We are holding down the fort tonight.”  She grinned.  “By the way, I checked with Nicole and she was cool with you spending the night.  I packed a bag for you.”  I just then noticed the backpack that she had slung over her shoulder.

“Sneaky.”  I commented, not really upset with her for packing my things for me.

“Figured you wouldn’t mind.”  She set the bag down by the stairs and turned toward the basement.  I lifted my nose as the scent of pizza hit me. 

“Did the guys order pizza?”  I asked.  Both Bree and Cassie shared a look. 

“Uh, they did but they are in the basement.”  She paused before adding, “behind the closed door.”

“So?”  I asked, not sure where she was going with that.

“So,” Bree said, looking at me closely.  “You shouldn’t be able to smell it.  A human wouldn’t.”  My eyes widened at her statement. 

“I thought we ruled out human for me?”  I tried to laugh it off. 

“Right,” Bree drawled.

“Is this the first time you’ve been able to scent things you normally wouldn’t?”

“How would I know?”  I shrugged. 

“Hmm,” Cassie contemplated, and then turned and led the way to the basement.  Bree and I followed her down. 

“Hey, you guys finally made it!”  Brody yelled around a mouthful of pizza.

“Couldn’t wait for us?”  Cassie asked as she rounded the corner and snatched up a slice for herself.  She plopped down in her usual spot and I caught Cade’s eye as I rounded the corner of the couch.  He uncovered a plate of two slices of pizza and motioned for me to sit beside him.