6. Bexley

6

BEXLEY

The second my stare fell upon that babbling, bubbling river, I couldn’t help myself.

“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” I exclaimed.

The children giggled and laughed around me as we all took off. I leapt onto some slimy river rocks, balancing myself as the children dove in headfirst. Fish jumped out of the water, rushing back downstream to get away from the waves we made as water enveloped their bodies. They splashed about, chugging and glistening beneath the stars without a care in the world.

It had been weeks since any of us felt this safe.

“Come on, Alpha!” Annabelle said as she splashed me. “Get in! It feels good!”

Silvia jumped up onto the rock where I was perched. “You think we’d be okay if we shifted in the water for a while?”

I stood to my feet and turned, trying to assess the situation. I learned a lot of things I hadn’t known before about shifters now that I had spent serious time with them. I mean, I grew up with the whispers and the rumors. You know, how packs are always loyal to one another and that shifters of all shapes and sizes and animals existed. Bedtime stories told of their healing powers and communicative telepathy. But, one thing I didn’t know that I learned on the fly was that, every time a wolf shifted, it released a very specific scent that had to dissipate. And if a shifter was vulnerable while in that state, it essentially demarcated a path straight to them.

I didn’t see anything, though. There wasn’t a shred of evidence that suggested we were in any kind of danger.

So, I looked over at Silvia and smiled. “Have at it.”

She tilted her head back as I watched, completely mesmerized. “Ah-oooooooo!”

Silvia let out a bombastic howl that everyone else repeated around her. The howling sound rattled my ribcage and filled me with pride as I watched her shift into her beautiful auburn red wolf. She stood on her back haunches, her talons slicing through the air as yet another happy howl barked from the back of her throat. And as everyone cheered with her, a few of the others in the pack decided to join her in the shifting.

Before they all jumped into the rushing river water.

Everyone was in a state of undress. If they weren’t shifted, they were at least down to their underwear, so I felt less weird in undressing before I dove into the water. I allowed the stairstep waterfall to rush me all the way down to where some of the kids were, and then a quick trip back up the rocks got me all the way to the top. Up and down I went, feeling the cool water splashing against me. Gone was the sweat. Gone were the tears. Gone was the fear we had been enveloped in for fucking weeks.

And when I got down to the bottom of the waterfall for a fourth time, I dove my head under water, and chugged.With every swallow that I took, fish batted their little fins against my legs. I came up for air, gasping before I stuck my head back beneath the rushing waters. Bubbles popped against my skin. Cool, fresh water filled my throat, snaking its way to my stomach. The stars twinkled above our heads while the half moon shone down a lovely blue glow over everything as far as my eyes could see.

But, when I came up for air again after drinking myself stupid, I felt something on the nape of my neck.

“You coming, Alpha!?” Little Billy exclaimed from the top of the stairstep waterfall.

It pulled my attention from the shadowed figure perched at the edge of the woods. “I’ll be up there in a bit! Just getting my fill of water!”

He waved at me. “Okay! See you soon!”

I waved back at him and watched as he scurried out of sight with Annabelle and her grandfather. Then, I slowly returned my gaze to the woods. I expected to find the shadowed figure gone. Or, possibly moved. But instead, the figure stepped out of the woods.

And I found that same scarred face that had taken that deer off my back staring back at me.

I didn’t know his name, but he looked brutal. The scar that cut through his right eye told me everything I needed to know about the kind of life he lived for himself. His steel gray eyes fixated on me as he stood there with his broad shoulders hunched against a tree trunk. He was close enough for me to see geometric-style tattoos peeking out from the sleeves of his t-shirt as well as just above its collar, cascading up his neck. He wasn’t completely etched in stone. Not like the naked man at the meadow. But, he was big. Mountainous, even.

And his clothes blended in perfectly with his surroundings.

As he leaned against the tree with his arms folded across his chest, I couldn’t help but watch as the moonlight illuminated the veins of his forearms. That scar stared back at me. The breadth of his shoulders teased my gaze, forcing it downward into a pair of hips that sloped into long, lean, strong legs.

A very strong urge wrapped around me at that moment. An urge that made me want to stand near him. I felt that same urge in the woods, with Mr. Naked Man. A need to be close. A need to be pressed against. I figured it was just because the man in the woods looked hot as hell while naked, with his bulging muscles and his ripped abs. But, here this man stood with all of his clothes on, and by all accounts, he should have scared the shit out of me.

But all I thought was how absolutely breathtaking he looked in the moonlight.

“Alpha! There you are,” Silas said.

I heard him slipping and sliding down rocks to get to me, and the sound forced the man back into the woods. He turned his back and took a few steps toward the trees, and just like that the darkness engulfed him once more, leaving me standing there, dripping wet, in nothing but my underwear.

“Hey,” Silas said as he came to stand beside me, “everyone’s looking for you, Alpha. You okay?”

I wish I could be your Alpha. “Yeah, yeah. I was just dirtier and thirstier than I imagined.”

He chuckled. “I’ll bet. Listen, I just told the kids I’d come check on you. But, if you’re looking for some alone time?—”

I snickered. “Nonsense, Silas. This isn’t the kind of time that we need to be spending apart. We need to stick together.”

He nodded. “Of course, Alpha. So, can we expect you soon at the party?”

“Ah, let the woman have herself a drink. I’m sure she’s parched and exhausted, keeping up with all of those kids you guys have.”

Silas barked with laughter. “They really are a handful sometimes, aren’t they?”

I peered over my shoulder and saw Mr. Naked approaching us with a jug in his hand. Silas patted me on the shoulder before he bounded back up the rocks toward the top of the shallow waterfall. He took one last look at me before waving, then he made a break for the woods and let out a massive howl that I could only assume was to let everyone know that I was all right.

“Take it,” Mr. Naked Man said as he placed the jug against my palm, “drink. You look parched.”

I slowly pivoted in his direction. “I’m just impressed you have clothes on this time.”

He smirked. “Just take the damn drink.”

I plucked the jug from his hand and lifted it to my nose. I sniffed deeply before tracing the outer rim of the jug with my finger.

“What? You think it’s poisoned?” the man asked with a snicker.

My face fell flat as I licked the tip of my finger and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“Don’t assume to know my life,” I said as I lifted the jug to my lips, “and I won’t assume to know yours.”

Then, I chugged. When I was convinced that the wine wasn’t anything other than that, I took pull after pull of the delicious, delectable drink. I never tasted anything like it. Hints of orange and cherries sprang against my tongue. Slightly fizzy notes tickled my nose, causing me to giggle as I came up for air. Three deep breaths filled my lungs before I put the jug back to my lips, continuing to chug the gorgeously sweet liquid down.

I hadn’t had anything but water in a while, and it felt like I died and went to heaven.

“Well,” Mr. Naked Man said after I returned the empty jug to him, “a woman who can hold her drink like that deserves to know a name. Voss.”

He held out his hand, but all I did was canvass his arm with my gaze before I looked up into his face.

“Bexley,” was all I offered as I continued to study him.

So, Mr. Naked Man had a name. Voss. It oddly suited him, with the way he stood there, towering over me with that stupid grin on his face. Me, standing on a rock. Him, standing in the water.

God, I wanted to kiss him so badly. Jesus Christ.

“What are you looking at?” I asked flatly.

Voss’s smirk grew. “I could ask you the same thing.”

I rolled my eyes and whipped toward the water. “Let me just finish—oh!”

Spinning around the way that I did served to tilt my entire world on its axis. Jesus Christ, that wine was strong. My feet stumbled upon the slimy river rock where I was perched. I felt my body careening toward the water, ready to be whisked away from a world I had no business being in.

That is, until I felt a strong arm wrapping its way around my waist.

“There we go,” Voss grunted as he planted me back on the rock, “No use in being whisked away tonight.”

I gasped softly as he lifted me with one arm as if I weighed nothing. His stunning emerald eyes held me hostage as he maneuvered both of us like I was nothing but a sack of feathers. He lifted me out of the water, planted me back on the rock, and held me there with his embrace until I nodded.

“Okay, I’m good,” I said breathlessly.

His gaze fell to my lips before he nodded. “Good. I’m glad.”

“Impressive chugging.”

I jumped back from Voss a bit, and it caused him to drop his arm. My head darted toward the woods, causing the world to tilt again, and I cursed myself for gulping that wine down.

“What?” I asked as I watched the brutal man with the scar come fully into the moonlight.

He nodded toward the jug that was still on the rock I stood upon. “Haven’t seen drinking like that since Dom challenged me to a drink-off.”

“Right,” I said with a slow nod of my head.

Mr. Scarface approached me. “You ready to head back to the celebration?”

I blinked. “Celebration?”

Voss chuckled as he slid his arm around my waist again. “We celebrate the solstices. It’s sort of our pack’s thing.”

I nodded slowly again. “Right.”

The man with the scar reached his leg out onto the rock I was standing on. “Here, let’s get you back.”

I shook my head softly. “I just need to?—”

Voss urged me toward the man. “We can get whatever you need. We can find you a comfortable bed for the evening, or we can?—”

I ducked Mr. Scarface’s outreached arm and plunged back into the water. “I got it! Thanks!”

Overwhelmed. That’s how I felt. As I swam beneath the water to put some distance in between me and those two… I don’t know what the hell they were… I swam with all my might up that stairstep waterfall. I let the water take me where it wished, and then I pawed at the rocks until I got all the way back up to the top. I gulped water as I swam in an attempt to water down the sheer alcohol I just poured down my fucking throat, hoping it would sober me up enough to put on a smile for the celebration we just crashed.

But, when I got planted onto a rock and turned around, Voss nor Mr. Scarface were standing at the bottom any longer.

“Well, there’s that,” I murmured as I searched for my clothes.

My brain screamed to go find them, though. Voss’s heat radiated against my skin and Mr. Scarface’s steely stare emblazoned itself into my mind. I was overwhelmed, yes. Smothered, sure. But, it wasn’t as if I felt unsafe.

Go find them. They’ll keep you safe.

Tell them the truth, they seem like they’ll help.

Just tell your pack. You’ve done so much for them. They’ll help you out of this mess.

“Shit,” I hissed as I jumped back into the water.

Instead of rushing my way down the waterfall, however, I placed my back against that rock and sat facing the current of the river. I wasn’t sure how deep the hole I dug for myself went, but I was in so deep that I no longer felt the sunlight on my face. I had an entire pack relying on me, and now we had come into contact with another, greater pack. Could I trust them? Could any of us trust them? The wellbeing of those in my care always came first, and I just dropped them off with the first pack we came upon?

Can I trust anyone out here?

“The celebration is beginning, you know.”

The voice didn’t startle me, but seeing who owned it did. I lobbed my head toward the sound and found the most dazzling oceanic blue eyes staring back at me. A man stood tall and confident at the edge of the river, lean and trim beneath his black suit pants. He donned a white button-front shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the skinny black tie he wore matched his pants and his leather belt. I slid my hand up the rock as I continued to study him. I moved slowly, hoping that I wouldn’t spook him away. He had a smattering of light brown freckles across his nose and cheeks that lended a boyish charm to his face. But, the glint of deviousness behind his eyes was illuminated by the heavy-hanging moon over our heads.

I found him absolutely captivating.

“I’ll be there in a second,” I said as I climbed onto the top of that rock, my gaze not wavering from his even once. “I just need a few minutes.”

The man’s eyes danced across my face. “I can give you a few minutes.”

“Alone.”

His stare slid down my body. “Not sure I can do that one.”

My back straightened. “The longer you stare, the longer this takes. You want me at the celebration? Give me ten minutes by myself to decompress, and I’ll be along.”

He clasped his hands behind his back. “Fair enough.”

But dear fucking God, he didn’t stop staring at me. He didn’t even turn around in an attempt to give me the privacy I asked for. Was I a threat? Did my boss find us? Did they know about me already? Was the pack compromised because of me now? I had to find a way to get my pack out of the situation we found ourselves in, and fast.

Because while that man stared me down from the edge of the river, I got the sneaking suspicion that we weren’t as safe with them as I initially figured.