HIDDEN (Hidden Trilogy Book 1) (20 page)

“So, ice cream?”  I asked as Brody backed out of the driveway.

“God yes.”  Cassie almost groaned.  “Anything to get away from jerk face.” 

“He was bugging you too?”  I asked, innocently.  Cassie turned and gave me an evil glare.

“The boy should stay in his own territory.  If I have to listen to his incessant boasting of this hunt he went on and killed something big, or that girl he managed to sleep with, or-“

“He’s completely annoying.”  Bree interrupted and giggled at Cassie’s glare now directed at her. 

“He’s insufferable.  Why he thinks any girl would want to hear about other girls he’s slept with is beyond me.”

“Not to mention his hunting story went on for like, thirty minutes.”  Bree added helpfully.

“Aww,” I said sweetly.  “Cassie has an admirer.” 

“Shut it.”  Cassie glared then grinned at me in humor.  “Just be glad you don’t have to be around him.”

“He’s not getting anywhere near Kendra.”  Cade said forcefully. 

“Fine by me.  From what you guys describe, he’s not exactly a person I’d like to spend time with.”  Brody pulled up in front of the ice cream parlor and we all piled out.  Soon we were in a corner booth laughing over some joke Brody made when the front doors chimed.  I heard and watched the group give a collective groan, broken up with a few growls, as they took in the group of three boys that walked in. 

“What the hell is Fate playing at?”  Cassie grumbled.  From their collective glares, I could only assume that one of the boys was the infamous Dusty. 
And most likely the cocky one in the middle.
   I watched as the bulky boy scanned the room and groaned internally when his eyes landed on us.  A slow smile spread across his face as he made his way in our direction.  I could tell he was slightly shorter than Cade, but bulkier, whether that was muscle or fat I wasn’t sure.  His short black hair matched his devilish midnight eyes.  His two buddies almost matched him look for look.  He wasn’t “little” by any means, but I could forgive Cade’s nickname as Dusty opened his mouth as he stopped in front of us. 

“Well, well, well.  What do we have here?”  Dusty crooned.  The booth we sat in had Hunter and Cade on the outside, not the most rational individuals to have near the antagonizer in this situation.  Dusty scanned the group again, smile still in place until his eyes landed on me.  Slowly the smile faded and was replaced by a frown.  Cade stiffened beside me.  “I don’t remember you on the McCoy’s lands.  I’m sure I’d remember a pretty face like yours.”

“She lives in town.”  Cade said matter-of-factly before I could put a word in edgewise. 

“In town?  I thought all of you live out in your little community?”  Dusty asked. 

“Careful.”  Cade warned.  “She lives with her family here.”

“She’s not a…relative…of yours?”  Dusty asked. 
Ew…but if we were talking wolf genes, then no. 

“No.  Not of any of us.”  Cade answered shortly. 

“How-“ Dusty started but Hunter interrupted him.

“Was there a point in you being here?”  Hunter growled.  Dusty’s eyes snapped to Hunter and he scowled. 

“Now, now, no need to be rude.”  He chided.  His eyes slid to Cassie.  “Just wanted to see if my girl needed anything else from the counter.”

“I’m not your girl.”  Cassie practically growled as she folded her arms across her chest.  It was a good thing she was locked in otherwise I was pretty sure she would have hit him. 

“Time will tell.”  He smiled creepily before sweeping our group with his eyes one more time.  Hunter stood up with clenched fists at his side.  The two faced off for a few seconds before Dusty glanced back at our table.  “See you back at the home base.”  He smirked before he turned and left.  I watched as he sat down with his buddies at the counter.
Much too close for wolfy ears for us to carry on a conversation.
 

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”  Cassie said. 

“Did Steve or Nicole want anything?”  Cade asked as we all stood up. 

“No, they texted me and said they decided not to.”

“Okay.”  He nodded as we all filed past Dusty and his friends.  Cade kept a hand on my back as we passed.  I didn’t look at Dusty but I could feel his eyes track me as we went out the front door.  We walked to the SUV and climbed in before anyone said anything else.

“Is it a problem that he saw me with you?”  I finally managed to ask.

“Shouldn’t be.”  Cade replied.  “We can still mingle with humans.  They just can’t know what we are.” 

“So, he can’t say anything to the High Council then, right?”

“He would have to provide some kind of proof that you know about us.”  Cade assured. 

“He’d need something more than us having ice cream with you.”  Brody pointed out. 

“Okay.”  I nodded, relieved. 

“I suppose we should take you back.  We all have school tomorrow.”

“You’ll be there?  Even if they haven’t left yet?”

“I’m not sticking around to listen to him one more day.”  Cassie said vehemently. 

“Education’s too important to miss out on.”  Brody said with a grin through the rearview mirror.  We all laughed. 

A few days later a text came through from Cade right after supper.

Little shit’s leaving.  Falls?
I chuckled at his message before replying. 

Sure.  Meet u where? 

My house.  They left.

Be there in ten.

Hurry, but drive safe.

Will do.

After telling Steve I was headed to Cade’s, I was out the door and driving down their lane in no time.  Cade met me as I pulled up and opened my door.  I climbed out and was immediately engulfed by his arms.  I returned his embrace.  I loved the way I felt safe and comforted in his arms.  There weren’t many times before Steve and Nicole where I could say the same thing.  He pulled back and leaned in to kiss me.  I savored the feeling of his lips on mine and everything around us faded to the background.  There was only us.  Finally, Cade pulled back. 

“We need to blow off some steam.”  Cade said.

“And celebrate.”  Brody added.  We turned and I watched as he walked up to us with a grin spreading across his face.  Hunter and Bree were right behind him and walked hand in hand. 

“All of us going then?”  I asked as I looked around for Cassie.

“Yep.”  Her reply made me turn back toward the main house as she jumped off the porch.  “Let’s do this.” 

I rode piggy back style on Cade’s back as we weaved our way up the mountain.  In no time we were back at the Falls where I first saw them shift.  This time I closed my eyes as they all shed their clothes around me and shifted.  A gentle push on my hip let me know the coast was clear.  I opened my eyes and gazed at the wolves surrounding me.  No matter how many times they shifted, I was still awed that they were able to do that.  Cassie stepped forward and “tagged” me lightly with her front paw then jumped back, head down and tail swinging in the air.  The others leapt away from me as our game of tag commenced. 

Since I was obviously slower than the rest of them, Cade helped me by corralling the others toward me.  I managed to brush up against Bree who then took off after Hunter.  He playfully eluded her until a misstep allowed Bree to pounce on him.  I laughed at the indignant look on Hunter’s face.  He looked back at me and slowly started stalking me. 
Uh oh.
  I slowly backed up, noting Cade was slinking up from the side.  Without thinking, I bolted for him and he gladly played interference for me to the point where Hunter couldn’t get near me.  He finally gave up and chased after Brody.  Laughing, I collapsed against Cade as he stood beside me. 

I watched as the others were engrossed in their game.  Running, dodging, and even nipping at each other.  The whole time Cade stood or sat beside me as I ran my hand through his fur with the waterfalls at our back.  I had just rested my head against his side when his whole body stiffened.  I looked up at him as he leapt to his feet.  The others froze in their tracks as they all looked deeper into the forest. Without any outward sign, they hurried back to Cade and me without making a sound.  Just as they reached us, I saw movement from within the trees.  I watched in trepidation as three wolves emerged from around the base of the trees.  All three were mostly black and watched us intently.  By Cade and the others’ response, I had a feeling the appearance of the three wolves wasn’t good. 

Cade stood in front of me and let out a menacing growl, swiftly followed by the others.  I was surrounded by the wolves as they faced off with the other three across the wooded distance.  They didn’t take a step toward us, but their stance told me enough.  They knew I was there.  And that I wasn’t a wolf.  Cade’s growl increased in warning.  I watched as the wolf in the center bared his teeth and slowly advanced, his two friends at his side.  A silent signal passed in our group because Cassie and Bree closed in at my sides as Cade, Hunter, and Brody moved toward the other wolves. 

They met in the middle amongst trees, their challenging stance daring the other to attack first.  The other wolf in the center made the first move.  He leapt at Cade without warning and landed on his back, biting into his fur.  Cade twisted suddenly to shake off the other wolf.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the other two wolves were engaged with Brody and Hunter, but my eyes were fixed on Cade.  I watched, in slight fascination and slight horror at the brutality before me.  The wolves used every tooth and nail they possessed to try to find purchase in the other. 

Cade bowled into the side of the other wolf, rolling him a few times on the ground.  But he was back on his feet before Cade could subdue him.  The other wolf bared his teeth and lunged at Cade.  He barely jumped back in time.  Cade once again shoulder slammed the other wolf and knocked him off his feet.  Cade was able to pounce on the other and he clamped his jaws over the other’s shoulder.  The downed wolf used his back legs to scrape his nails and push at the underside of Cade.  He finally found enough leverage that Cade had to release the wolf as he was pushed away.  I couldn’t tell if their teeth had broken through the skin since the blood wouldn’t show up on their black fur. 

I tried to yell out a warning to Cade as the other wolf lunged forward and clamped his jaws around Cade’s upper front leg.  Cade tried to pull away and snapped his own teeth as he tried to rip the other wolf off.  Regardless of Cade pulling and snapping, the other wolf never let up.  What would happen if his leg broke?  Would his wolf genes help heal the break swiftly?  I quickly looked around for something to throw at the wolf to distract him, and hopefully not hit Cade, when I realized that Cassie had taken up point in front of Bree and me. 

My search for a blunt object was interrupted when I noticed Bree was lying on her belly with her eyes closed. 
What the hell?  This was no place for a little nap!
  I wasn’t thinking clearly and couldn’t help my emotions from being appalled and verging on homicidal that she would do that. 
There was a battle going on for Christ’s sake!
  I was about to hit her over the head to knock some sense into her when I finally realized that she wasn’t sleeping but projecting her healing abilities.  Her wolfy eyes were closed and body tensed in concentration.  Rational thought finally returned to me. 
She must be trying to heal their wounds.
  I hoped that would be enough so Cade’s leg didn’t break under the other’s jaws.  A ferocious growl and whimper made me snap my eyes back to the action. 

Cade was finally free from the other wolf and standing over him, teeth bared and growls emanating from his chest.  Brody and Hunter were in similar positions with the other two wolves.  Some silent communication must have passed again, because Brody and Hunter backed up to either side of Cade, releasing their attackers.  All three widened their stance, continued to bare their teeth, and growled menacingly.  Each of the other wolves slowly rose and backed away in crouched positions.  When they reached a certain distance, they turned and disappeared into the forest. 

Cade, Hunter, and Brody stood for a few more seconds, watching and waiting for any more signs or threats.  When they found none, they turned and trotted back to us.  Hunter stepped up to Bree and nuzzled her in their wolf forms.  Bree slowly stirred and stood.  I watched, fascinated, as their wolves rubbed heads before each turned back to Cade.  As one, all of the wolves around me shifted and I got a brief glance of skin before I closed my eyes.  Clothes rustled but I stayed where I was until I felt Cade’s arm pulling me to his side. 

“We have to go.  Now.”  He demanded fiercely. 

“Was that-“ I asked, as he swung me up onto his back.

“Dusty Rhunes.”  Cade growled.

“What about your arm?”  I looked down at the faint scar on his arm.  Bree’s ability was amazing.

“It’s fine.  Let’s go.” With me riding piggy back style, we took off running through the forest and down the mountainside.  I swear the trip down took even less time than the trip up.  Everything was a blur as we entered the clearing next to the main house.  When I finally had a chance to look around me I found that we had picked up a few other wolves.  I recognized them as some of the pack’s Enforcers.  Glancing back to the house, I saw both Liam and Mica standing side by side with worried looks as we approached the back porch. 

“What happened?” Liam asked.

“Rhunes saw us in wolf form.  With Kendra.”  Cade explained.  “He said he was going to report us.”

“Were any of you hurt?”  Mica asked, concern edging her voice as she looked us over.

“No, Bree took care of us.”  Hunter commented as he pulled Bree closer to his side. 

“I thought they’d left?”  Cassie asked with frustration.

“They did.”  Mica answered.  “They must have heard you and came back for something.” 

“But they can’t do that, right?”  Cassie asked.  “They are supposed to ask for permission to enter our lands again.”

“That pales in comparison to what they will report.”  Liam noted softly.  “Gene will report this to the High Council.”

“Gene?”  I asked.

“Dusty’s dad.”  Cade replied.

“Rhunes’ Alpha.”  Mica pointed out.  Everyone was silent so I asked the question that had to weigh on everyone’s mind.

“So, what happens now?”

“We’ll be summoned to the High Council.  There’s no escaping that outcome.  You’ll have to come with us.”  Liam said.

“No.  No way is she going.”  Cade said as he took a step to stand in front of me.

“You don’t have a choice.”  Liam growled softly as he frowned at his son.  “She must be present.”

“They can’t do anything.”  Mica reassured Cade.  “She’s not human.  Even they will be able to scent that.” 

“They’ll figure out she’s not human, but will that matter to them?”  Cassie asked.  “Only wolf shifters are held in any regard to them.”

“They might know what she is.”  Bree pointed out. 

“They might not, either, and deem her a risk to our secret.”  Hunter noted.

“They can’t say she’s a risk if they don’t know what she is.”  Brody put in. 

“Doesn’t matter.”  Cassie scoffed.  “They’ll feel threatened by the unknown and want to eliminate her anyway.” 

“Cassie!”  Mica admonished. 

“You know it’s happened before.  Why is this time any different?”

“Because she has us.”  Cade said and pulled me closer to him. 

“That will look even better.”  Hunter replied sarcastically.  “A future Alpha infatuated by an unknown creature.”

“Enough!”  I yelled and was surprised when everyone turned to me.  “First of all, I’m not a creature.  So screw you Hunter.”  I glared at him.  “Second of all, for the safety of your pack and the possibility of finding out what I am, I’ll go.”

“Kendra-“ Cade started to argue.

“No Cade.  I’m going.”  We stared at each other, neither one of us wanted to back down.  Liam’s cell phone finally broke our staring contest. 

He pulled it out of his pocket before muttering, “That was fast.”  He answered the call saying, “Liam speaking.”  He listen for a minute and I watched as his eyes shifted from me, to everyone else, then back to me.  He nodded and replied, “We’ll be there,” and hung up. 

“Well?”  Cade asked.

“We’ve been summoned by the High Council.  We are to drive over to Ashland and board the private plane that will be sent in the morning.  Everyone that was in the clearing is commanded to be there.”

“All of us?”  Bree squeaked.  Hunter wrapped both of his arms around her.

“Yes.  Which means your parents will be coming too.  As well as some of our Enforcers.”  He looked to me before adding, “I’ll have to talk to Steve and make an excuse for you.  We won’t be able to tell them the true reason why we need to leave.”

“What are you going to say?”  I asked.

“I’ll think of something.”  He sighed before adding, “I’ll take you home to pack a bag.  You’ll spend the night with us and make sure you have enough clothes for two more nights at least.  I’m not sure how long we will be there.”

“Where are we going?”  I was curious where the High Council would be located.  Some remote wooded area?  I had pictures of a wooded clearing with a high table and elaborate chairs behind where the Council members would sit running through my head. 

“Dallas.”  Cade replied, looking grim. 
Huh, not exactly hiding...or secluded.
  He ushered me toward the garage as Liam led the way.  Cassie fell into step beside me.

“Cade, you should stay here.”  Cassie stated.  “I’ll go with Dad and Kendra to pack a bag.  It would look weird if you came too.”

“Why do you get to go?”  Cade frowned.

“Because I’m a girl and can help her pack.  I don’t think Steve would want you touching her bras and panties.” 
Uh, what?
  Cassie was apparently trying to lighten the mood and it worked.  A small smile tugged at Cade’s lips before I had a chance to respond. 

“I’ll see you when you get back.”  Cade said softly as he wrapped me up in a hug and kissed me gently.  I followed Cassie into the car and soon Liam, Cassie, and I were headed back toward my house.  Only an hour had passed so Steve was a little surprised to see me walk through the door.  When he saw Liam and Cassie behind me, his eyes widened.

“Everything all right?”  Steve asked.