Lone Wolf

Fighting For Fun

Jake was true to his bribe in getting me to stay in his house, and his study was my new favorite place in his house. It was the size of a bedroom but seemed smaller and cozier because three of the four walls were lined with bookshelves. When I first arrived, I ran my fingers across some of the covers and noticed that many of them were historical books. I thought there might be a bigger range of genres, but the more I searched, I found that they all covered American history.

One of the wall's shelves was divided into two sides with a desk and window in between. I could see why this was where Jake chose to place his workspace because even at night I could see that it had a similar view to my bedroom's window.

Noah headed straight to his room when we arrived, stating that he was going to sleep, but I could hear that not everyone was asleep yet. At some points and with enough focus I was able to hear glimpses of conversation going on between Easton and Noah. I even heard Trenton speak a couple of times.

Jake followed me into the study and watched me drop my overnight bag on the floor and lower my hand from the books. "Where is Aiden?"

Jake glanced out the window and then back at me. "Out."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "At three in the morning?" He was not technically lying, but he also was not telling me the full truth. I had to begin taking tips from Jake to learn how to deceive the truth from the Five Musketeers because I did not think that speaking the truth would always be in my best interest.

Jake's eyes narrowed, seeing that I could tell he was not telling me everything. "Alright. If you really want to know, he is out...hunting."

Hunting? In the early morning? I was about to say how crazy that was until the memory of me chasing down the deer came up.

"Oh. Oh! You mean..." I could not say the word. I had accepted what happened to me, but that still did not mean that I could say the words without feeling like a fool.

"Yeah, he will be back tomorrow morning. Now that you have gone through your first shift, you should know that you need to shift regularly if you want to remain healthy."

That sent shivers through my spine. "How regularly?" I demanded, hoping that regularly was an exaggeration.

Jake seemed to be calculating in his head. "Once a week at the least, but we normally shift every day or every other day. It just depends on when we have the time." I planned on following the "at the least" rule, especially after what had happened the first time I ran as a wolf. I did not want to have that experience again.

"But you also should not shift too often or too quickly. That can hurt." Jake added, thinking more over his answer.

I sat down on the cushioned chair in the corner of the room and rested my feet on the matching ottoman. "This all sounds too complicated."

Jake's strong expression softened. "Your body will tell you what you should and shouldn't do."

There was a moment of silence and I shut my eyes, curling up into the large armchair. "Listen, Noah said he would sleep in the basement with Trenton and you could use his room tonight."

My eye shot open. "The basement?" I could only picture Noah and Trenton sleeping on the floor in too small sleeping bags with creepy spiders crawling all over them.

Jake rolled his eyes. "It is furnished. That is where Trenton's bedroom is, anyways. Noah said he does not mind."

I did not believe him. Noah did not seem like the top contender for allowing me to sleep in his room. Especially when it makes him move to the basement. Living in a one-story home most of my life and then moving into an apartment on the third floor, I have only spent shorts amount of time in basements when I was over at friends' houses. I had grown used to basements being a big part of a horror movie's plot, and could not believe that Noah would give up his room for one or why Trenton would sleep in one every night. Noah might have said he did not mind, but that did not mean he meant it.