wolves¹[wyatt lykensen]

.07

BONDING EXPERIENCES

"I THINK WILLA is starting to warm up to me," I say with a small smirk, leaning against the wall next to Wyatt. His gaze turned to me, watching my actions carefully before slowly turning his attention back to the wolves who continued to jump and dance through the game.

"It's hard not to," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's saying something, though. She doesn't usually take well to outsiders."

"I'm taking that as a compliment," I say lightheartedly, turning my attention to Addison who'd begun to jump through the wooden poles that laid on the ground as the wolves moved them, making it a bit more challenging for her to get through. She smiled giddily as she stepped back and the poles were raised up, lifting her hands in victory before sliding through the bottom across the cave floor and standing.

"Hold up!" Willa announced, beginning to walk down the stairs. She looked to Wyatt, causing him to lean away from the wall. "Let me just point out, she's a cheerleader, not an alpha." She walked down the stairs and waltzed over in front of Addison. A small feeling of recognition washed through me, making me realize this was a way of challenging Addison to see if she was who they thought. "You might be in the den, but that doesn't mean you have my trust."

I shot Wyatt a worried glance, the negative thought of Addison not being able to meet Willa's challenge showing up in my mind. He gave a comforting smile, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"Show me what you've really got if you're one of us," Willa dared.

The two stood toe-to-toe, glaring each other down as the wolves and Wyatt and I crowded around them. Willa let out a powerful howl, showing her rank in the pack as alpha. Despite Addy's earlier mishap with the wolf language, she gulped and let out a strong howl of her own, causing Willa to raise her eyebrows before going again.

The two went back and forth a few more times, showing off and eventually it ceased as Willa grinned to Addison as she let out one last howl, telling that Addison had passed the test she'd given her. Both of their hands raised and connected in a small handshake before falling to their sides.

"I guess you've got a bit more in you than I anticipated," Willa commented, stepping back as the wolves created a small path, lifting the cheerleader up onto their backs. She walked to the highest point and stood for a moment before falling back and letting the wolves catch her in a circle. They crowded around her, causing me to be unable to see until she rose back up with her hair in a half-up style and new clothes.

"How the—when did that even happen?" I turned to Wyatt who only chuckled at my confusion with a shrug.

"What can I say? The pack's pretty good with makeovers."

➤

"Don't make me take this off! You don't want to see me zombie-out!" Zed threatened. He had unexpectedly shown up as the pack was celebrating. "Coraline, get behind me!" He dragged me behind him and next to Addison. We looked to each other, unsure of what to do.

"Don't look at me, that's your boyfriend." I held my hands up in a surrendering motion. She gave me a look that said 'he's your friend, too', making me sigh.

The wolves took a defensive stance, their eyes glowing a golden color as their moonstones lit up blue. Zed took this badly, flinging his z-band off of his wrist and beginning to lose control. Veins began to darken under his skin and become more prominent as his voice deepened.

"Okay, Zed. That's enough. Stop!" I said firmly, grabbing his arm as Addison ran and slid for the z-band. As I grabbed his arm, he used his free hand to grip my arm firmly before pulling me forward and flinging me onto the ground forcefully. The impact caused me to groan, feeling the air knocked out of my lungs as my back hit the rock.

"Cora!" I heard Wyatt shout.

"No!" Addison yelled, quickly grabbing the band and clasping it onto Zed's wrist, causing him to regain full control.

I looked over as Wyatt kneeled beside me, carefully grabbing my shoulders and helping me sit up. I leaned against him as his arm draped around me. A deep growl resonated through his chest, making me look up to see his eyes glowing fiercely. "What the hell?" he snapped at Zed. Zed looked over to me regretfully, now seeing and realizing what he'd done.

"Wyatt, it's okay. He didn't mean to," I said lowly, setting my hand against his chest. The wolf glared daggers at Zed for another moment, almost as if he were silently threatening him. "Wyatt," I said again, causing his eyes to flicker to mine and settle there after a moment, allowing him to calm down and shift back.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His voice was lowered to where only I could hear his words as Addison shouted at Zed behind him. The boy's eyes scanned over me for injuries, but I nodded my head.

"Just some bruising if anything, I'm fine. I promise," I gave him a small smile, making him let out a relieved sigh. "Can you help me up?" Wyatt did as I asked, pulling me to my feet gently. My head turned to see his arm still firmly wrapped around my back before turning back to face him. "You can let go of me now," I said.

"No, it's okay," he answered, giving me a smirk and causing a playful scoff to escape my lips at the action and the subtle flirting.

"...didn't you see the beaker emoji?" Addison's voice rang out, gesturing to Bree who stood with her phone in her hand.

"Oh," she let out, smiling sheepishly. "I-I do now. By the way, I love this new look. New hairstylist?"

"Werewolves," Addy said. "They know hair." She shrugged.

"And manicures," Wynter cut in, lifting her claws out for them to see. The pack let out small noises of agreement, murmuring amongst themselves as Addison and Zed continued to argue.

"This isn't good," I muttered, already knowing that this was going to lead to something a bit bigger than a simple dispute between the two. Zed already wasn't happy with the white-haired cheerleader becoming friends with the pack, and this just piled onto his growing concerns.

author's note
since wolf tales is getting released tonight, i figured i would update twice today! ngl, i know i'm not the only one that thinks wyatt is like really cute in the previews lol