Whispers of the Wolf

His Party

I rolled his eyes at everyone meekly following the orders of the arrogant man. Why did they always do what he said anyway?

"I just wanted to thank everyone for coming tonight to celebrate Alaric's coming of age!" Conri boomed.

Everyone clapped and cheered, while my eyes were fixed on Conri's son, Alaric, standing next to his father, smiling.

My breath caught in his throat at the sight of him.

Dressed in a similar suit to his father, he was just as tall as him and equally as muscular with light blonde hair that I just wanted to run my hands through and deep blue eyes that I wanted to get lost in.

So, I had a little crush on the mayor's son ... I wasn't the only one.

Looking around the crowd that was gathered in front of Conri, I could see a few girls fluttering their eyelashes at Alaric and I shook my head. I was right ... I wasn't the only one.

Conri waved his arms to calm everyone down. And they did. Of course they did. I was pretty sure that if there was a strip of hot coals Conri wanted everyone to walk on, they'd do it, without questioning him. I rolled his eyes again.

"Although Alaric hasn't met his mate tonight, I'm sure it won't be long before he does." Conri slapped his son on the back while the two of them smiled at each other.

Mate? As in ... friend? That didn't make any sense. Alaric hadn't met his ... friend? Alaric had lots of friends. In fact, I could see Alaric's best friend, Enzo, standing in the crowd from here.

What was Conri talking about?

"But I'm sure you'll all join me in celebrating his first shift!" Conri's voice boomed out and everyone exploded into another clapping and cheering frenzy.

I frowned at Conri's words. The older man wasn't making much sense tonight. Maybe he'd had a bit too much wine. I mean, they served wine at parties, didn't they?

I fidgeted behind the tree again, pressing my back against the bark. Whatever they were clapping and cheering about, I hoped it would be over soon.I wanted to go home. And I was sure Claudia would be wondering where I was. I may be nearly nineteen, but that didn't mean I wouldn't still be in trouble with her.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my thick hair. Painfully aware of how cold my hands were, I raised them to my mouth and blew warm air onto them.

A loud cheer, louder than before, came from behind me and I couldn't stop the eye roll. How much longer were they going to be?

"Come on, son," I heard Conri say, followed by a few wolf whistles and giggles.

Curious, I spun around so that my cold hands were resting on the icy bark of the oak tree and peered around it ... and my eyes nearly fell out of my head.

In front of me, right there, Alaric stood on the grass with his back to me, facing the crowd, in all his naked glory.

I couldn't help his eyes from travelling from Alaric's light coloured hair, to his strong back, along his muscular arms hanging by his sides, to his perfectly rounded ass and down his powerful legs.

I gulped. And again.

Wow.

Just ... wow.

The giggles and snickers had died down, but my racing heart hadn't.

What was going on? Not that I was complaining about the sight, but nothing seemed to explain why Alaric was naked, outside during a cold autumn night, in front of everyone in the town.

I blinked a couple of times and noticed that everyone was watching Alaric, almost as if they were expecting something to happen.

What was ...

Suddenly Alaric bent over double, almost as if he was in pain. He let out a groan.

"That's it, son," Conri uttered in encouragement, standing close to his son so he could pat his shoulder. "Don't fight it. Let it in. Let your beast take over."

Frowning in confusion at Conri's words, I watched as Alaric fell onto his back, clutching his stomach, his knees brought up to his chest as he rolled onto his side, his face contorted in agony. A growl escaped his lips, followed by what sounded like a howl.

Something was wrong.

He looked ... in pain.

He was hurting.

And no one was helping him.

They were all just standing around, watching him, their stances relaxed, curiosity in their eyes.

Why wasn't anyone helping him?

I watched as Alaric's mother, Blevine, knelt beside him in her sparkling blue ball gown, uttering words that I was too far away to hear.

My heart began to race and eyes widened as I watched Alaric roll around on the lawn, clearly distressed and in agony.

What the hell was going on?

Conri knelt on the other side of his son, blocking my view of Alaric. I craned my neck as much as I dared, but all I could see was Alaric's legs as they thrashed against the grass, kicking and stretching.

A gut-wrenching crack.

A loud howl.

My heart stopped at the sounds coming from Alaric. A bead of sweat trickled down my back, despite the chilly air.

I watched in horror as one of Alaric's legs twisted, snapped and contorted, bending his leg and cracking the bone. His leg was snapped in different directions. His screams were turning into howls. Deafening growls filled the air.

His hand reached upwards, snapped the other way, while his nails grew longer ... and longer ...

I was rooted to the spot as a cold chill ran through my body, freezing my limbs in place.

This couldn't be happening.

This ... wasn't possible.

An icy breeze blew past me, ruffling the fallen leaves as it passed.

Suddenly, Alaric grabbed his father and pulled him forward. Conri fell on top of his son with a thud.

Alaric stopped moving. Took a deep breath. Let out a whimper. Snapped his head to the side.

His eyes met mine.

His silver eyes.

Another chill ran through me.

His eyes weren't supposed to be that colour.

He growled and began struggling with his father, keeping eye contact with me.

Conri struggled to his knees and gripped his son's shoulders as Alaric tried to stand.

"Alaric! Calm down!" Conri ordered his son, but he wasn't listening. He kept struggling with his father, his body still contorting out of shape.

"Alaric!" Conri then turned his head to the crowd. "Someone! Help me calm him down!"

The crowd erupted into movement, all rushing towards Conri and his son.

Alaric's silver eyes bore into mine, the stare so intense it hurt.

No.

Don't.

He snarled.

"Mine."

He bared his teeth at me.

His elongated teeth.

His fangs.

No.

NO.

I blinked. Took a step back.

He tried to lurch forward.

"Mine!" he roared.

And that deafening sound was enough to propel me into action.

I spun on my heel and started to run.