Red Ridge Pack 1 Pack of Lies (6 page)

“Alli… hi, I’m Alli,” I corrected him.

One of the older-looking guys jumped up and shook our hands. “Hey, I’m Sammy. And this, well this is everybody. Well, not everybody exactly. Cade and a few others aren’t here, but let’s see, this is Kendall, Cami, Shari, Misty, and Becca.” Sammy went around and pointed out each of the girls and they in turn, gave Aiden a flirty little smile/wave combo, and surprisingly enough, they actually smiled at me too. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be smiled at by someone other than my family.

“Oh thank God! Another girl. This pack is swimming with testosterone. No offense, Aiden,” Kendall said as she walked over to stand next to me. She was oozing that overly friendly, yet fake façade, and some internal instinct told me to watch my back.

“And these are the guys: Ryder, Trenton, Tyson, and Luke. Now Luke here typically hangs out with the jackasses of the pack, but we tolerate him ’cause he’s cool,” Sammy said with a laugh as he shoved Luke’s shoulder.

“Very funny Sammy. You better watch it or I’ll tell Gage you’ve been talking shit,” Luke responded, then looked my way giving me a playful smile.

All the guys stood up and shook both mine and Aiden’s hand as they said hello.

Okay, first impression low-down…

Kendall must be the queen-bee of the group. She just had that air about her. I’d bet money that she says jump and all the girls jump without question. And she certainly looked the part: long, shiny, dark hair, chocolate-brown eyes with eyelashes that you could see from across the room, and the body of an Olympic athlete. On the surface, she seemed nice, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t genuine. And it didn’t help that I could have sworn she glared at me before Sammy introduced her. Not to mention the fact that I noticed that Shari, Misty, and Becca all looked to Kendall for instructions, which apparently were
just smile and let me handle this.

All of the guys seemed like really good guys, not the typical high school males that I had grown accustomed to back home. It was kind of a relief to finally have guys to talk to without worrying about them grabbing certain parts of my body without permission.

Glancing around the campfire at all of the new faces, one thing struck me as particularly odd. They were all extremely attractive. Don’t get me wrong, some more than others, but all of them were ridiculously good-looking. I guess it’s a were-thing. Who knows? But it did make me wonder if there was such a thing as an ugly werewolf.

The girls were all tall and athletic-looking, with long, dark hair. Kendall definitely held the title of most beautiful were-girl. I did find it odd that they all shared the same physical features, though none of them really looked alike. With blonde hair, light-green eyes, and all my new curves, I stood out like a sore thumb.
Great, I didn’t even look the part.

The guys could only be described as tall, dark, and dangerously handsome. They could totally be the next big boy-band. But with bigger muscles. Even the younger guys looked like they grew up in a gym. One word: gorgeous.

Finally, settled around the campfire, Sammy offered us both a beer. Still feeling a little light-headed and queasy, the last thing I wanted was alcohol, so I politely declined, but Aiden didn’t think twice about opening one up and chugging.

Aiden fell into step immediately, telling stories and making everyone laugh. They all got a kick out of hearing about me and Aiden fighting in the front yard. He took it upon himself to get up and act out the whole embarrassing event. I sat there praying he wouldn’t make me get up and participate. I think that even Kendall smiled—at him, not me—when Aiden admitted he got his ass kicked by a girl. I just kind of sat there and laughed when I was supposed to, but I didn’t really join in the conversations.

Suddenly, Luke turned to me and asked, “So, you both really just found out you were werewolves? That’s too weird.”

I opened my mouth to speak when Becca jumped in and asked, “So, you two haven’t changed yet?”

We both just shook our heads. “Should we have?” Aiden asked.

“We usually have our first change before we turn sixteen. But don’t worry, Cami still hasn’t changed and she turned sixteen… what two weeks ago?” Kendall said looking at Cami.

I felt bad for Cami. Kendall was obviously making fun of her.

“We were taught though. It will probably happen soon… for all of you,” Luke said smiling at Cami.

Shari chimed in, “So, how could you not know that you were different? I mean, there are signs and stuff.”

And again, before I could answer, Aiden interrupted, “No, not a clue. I just thought Al was one tough chick. Before she beat me up, she got her hands on three poor, defenseless girls at our old school.”

“What? Really?” Cami turned to me for clarification.

And naturally, good ol’ Aiden decided to answer for me. “Yep. My little sister here had quite a reputation at South Shore High. She punched first and asked questions later.”

Before I could defend myself, Kendall found a way to cleverly take the subject off of us and turn the attention back to her. “So guess what guys? My mom said I’m getting a new car for Christmas. Well, technically, it’s supposed to be for Christmas, but I convinced her to get it for me sooner. Anything I want. What should I ask for?”

With the focus being solely on Kendall and her important car decision, I leaned up against a boulder to try to relax. Though my initial anxiety about meeting the pack had passed, my stomach was still in knots, and I still couldn’t seem to catch my breath.

I was nursing a beer that was forced upon me by Aiden when Sammy scooted over to sit beside me. “Alli, hey girl, you alright? You seem awfully quiet.”

“Actually, I’m feeling a little off. I might just head home,” I admitted.

“You want me to walk you?” Sammy offered.

“She’ll be fine. Won’t you Al?” Kendall said with a little pat on my shoulder, like she was concerned, but in truth, it seemed more like she couldn’t wait to get rid of me.

“Kendall’s right. I’ll be fine,” I told Sammy with as much of a smile as I could manage.

I walked over to where Aiden was chatting up some of the girls and told him that I was heading back home. He gave me an I-knew-you-would-flake look and then went to the cooler for another beer. I waved goodbye to everyone and headed back to our house.

Chapter 8

Kendall

Allison Wright… Allison Wright better watch her big-ass behind. There is only one queen in this pack and it is me. I bet she thinks she’s so hot with all that blonde hair. Who does she think she is? Playing the shy-quiet-new-girl part. She may be tall, and tanned, and curvy, but she is still a nobody. And if I have anything to say about it, she will remain a nobody. There simply isn’t room for anyone new, and I’m going to make damn sure that there is no place for her.

“Earth to Kendall. Do you read me Kendall?” Sammy shouted as he waved his hand back and forth in front of my face.

“What? Get your paw out of my face. I was just thinking.”

“About what? Cade? Where is he anyway?” Shari asked.

Good question. Where was Cade? I didn’t know how to answer that without admitting that Cade hadn’t told me what he was up to tonight. We were supposed to be inseparable, supposed to tell each other everything, but the truth was that he’s been acting weird all day, and things have just been, well… awkward.

“He had some stuff to do. And it’s not really any of your business.” I turned away from Shari and looked over at Aiden, who was laughing at something one of the guys must have said. Aiden was definitely hot, but not really my type. Being that I have been surrounded by weres my whole life, just another pretty face doesn’t really do it for me. When he caught me staring, I ended up blurting out, “So Aiden, how are you liking it here?”

Aiden ran his hand through his hair before he answered, “It’s okay so far. I mean, we just got here, so there’s a lot to get used to, but I think I’m going to like it.”

“I think you’re going to like it too. You and my boyfriend, Cade, will probably be good friends. He’s going to be our next alpha, you know.”

Out of nowhere, Becca interrupts and says, “And Kendall here is just dying to get her hands on Cade’s alpha ring.”

I rolled my eyes at Becca, ignoring her jealous remark, and turned to talk to Aiden again. “You and Cade even kind of look alike,” I said suddenly realizing just how true the statement really was. Cade and Aiden did kind of resemble each other, in a weird way. Maybe it’s just their green eyes. Dark features were the norm in any pack, but every once in a while, you come across a were with light eyes. It was uncommon, but not nearly as rare as blonde hair, like Allison Wright’s. Now that was something I had never seen. She probably thinks she’s oh-so-special with her perfectly-golden locks.

I walked off to get another beer when I caught a scent of something unfamiliar in the air. My nose was leading me off toward the tree line when I heard Sammy’s voice calling, “Hey, Kendall, what’s up?”

“What are you? My mom? Just give me minute.” I hoped he would think that I just needed to pee and leave me alone. I knew I didn’t have to go far. The scent was getting stronger. After a few steps into the trees, I saw him. Piercing, blue eyes of a wolf I had never seen before peeked out from behind a huge boulder. Our eyes connected, but he didn’t move and neither did I. We just stood there… staring. Whether this wolf was dangerous or not, I didn’t know, but for some reason, I felt like I needed to find out.

Chapter 9

Allison

The further away I got from the campfire the worse I felt. At first, it came and went. A flash of nausea, a tightness in my chest, but now it was more like a tingly sensation all over my body. I swear I could actually feel the blood pumping through my veins. All I wanted to do was stop, lay down in the fetal position, and wait it out, but I needed to get to my house. I knew that if I made it home that I would at least be safely inside the confines of my room, so I pushed ahead with all the speed I could muster.

Despite the fact that I felt like I might faint at any moment, I was almost sprinting by the time I could see our front porch in the distance. Amazingly enough, the sight of it seemed to take the edge off my nausea.

I slowed to a walk and tried to catch my breath a bit. But that was when the serious pain started; I clutched my stomach and doubled over. Falling to my knees, I gasped for air. It was like, all at once, my heart had stopped, my lungs had failed, and something in my stomach was trying to claw its way out. I wanted to scream, but no sound would come. I rolled over on my side attempting to slow my ragged breathing, but the pain wouldn’t let up.

I needed to get home. I lifted my head, pushed up with an arm that seemed to only be partially functioning and somehow made it to my knees.

After that, everything happened so suddenly. I wasn’t even sure how. All I knew was that one second I was struggling to make it to my feet, and the next I was down on all fours… paws, that is.

Holy shit, shit, shit! This can’t be happening. This-so-can’t-be-happening!
I thought to myself since I suddenly found myself unable to speak. I opened my mouth, well not my mouth exactly, more like my muzzle, but nothing but a low whine came out. With a little added effort, I forced out a pitiful excuse for a howl, and then quickly decided that practicing my howl wasn’t the best idea, being that I could quite possibly attract unwanted visitors.

Looking around, everything appeared so different, so much more vivid, so much more alive. I could now see clear across the lake, the water shimmering from the moonlight, the fish swimming just beneath the surface, the dew forming on the grassy bank, the hundreds of insects encircling the nearby trees.

But what shocked me the most were the smells in the air. The rich soil, the thick grass, the lake water, each took on their own unique scent, and somehow I was now able to distinguish between them all at once. I had only thought I had a heightened sense of smell before. The scents in the air were comforting, like earth, nature, life… like home. It was as if I belonged; as if I had finally discovered where I was meant to be.

I found myself beginning to move, needing to explore, to follow the scents that were calling out to me. I took one step on my new legs, expecting it to be like learning to walk all over again, but it was nothing like that. With one step down, the rest followed with ease and before I realized it, I was running. In this form, on these strong legs, I possessed a grace that I have never known before. I was running as fast as I could through the thick forest, never missing a step, zigzagging through trees and brush, loving this new body and all that it could do.

I didn’t know where I was going, but I didn’t care. The freedom of dashing through the woods was all I needed. I finally felt comfortable in my own skin, which didn’t make a lick of sense being that it was all so new to me.

I caught sight of something in my peripheral vision and almost laughed, or whatever the equivalent of laughing was in wolf form, when I realized it was my own tail swooshing along with the rhythm of my gait. I stopped to take a better look at myself. I was the color of honey. I kind of looked like my old neighbor’s golden retriever, but way freakin’ cooler.

As I stood there watching my tail swish back and forth, my thoughts suddenly drifted to Aiden, and I wished that he were here with me. That we could have made our first transformation together. He would so love this.

What he would look like as a wolf? Would he look like me?

Just as I was picturing the two of us racing through the woods together, I picked up on a scent that stopped all thought, all movement, leaving me standing completely still, breathing in a smell that I would never forget. A mix of earth, and musk, and honeysuckle, and sandalwood filled my senses leaving me with a need, a need to find this thing that was suddenly making me salivate, suddenly making me ache with desperation.

Without hesitation, my nose hit the ground as I began to track the enticing smell. I didn’t look up. I didn’t stop moving. I didn’t stop to think about what I might find. None of it mattered. I needed to find the source of that wonderful scent.