Close To Me

Isaac's Pov

"Whooooo! Faster!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as we went hurtling past yet another tree. Clinging onto my best friends back, she slowed down and came to a stop. I could easily see her house in the clearing of the acres of woodland her father owned as I climbed down off her back. After she shifted, I handed her clothes back to her and waited for her to put them on again. This was one of the many perks that came with having a werewolf as your best friend. And before you go thinking that me and Belle will ever be an "item", we don't like each other like that; we made rules. Wait, why am I speaking to a tree... get it ... paper, a tree ;) well its electronic anyways. Ignore all of that, really, I'm just a big geek that likes to talk.

Plus if anything did happen, I'd have the most powerful alpha werewolf in the world hunting me down, or otherwise known as Belle's hot and hunky dad. What? Can't a guy have taste, he's all kinds of hot. Wait, I can't say that. I'll edit that out later.

"Hey! Isaac! Are you coming or what? Or are you just going to stand there day-dreaming about my dad all day?" she shouted from the back door.

"Hu? What? How did yo-"

"Relax, I'm joking." She laughed as she was thinking it through. "That would be weird."

"Um, yeah it would, totally." I sighed "I'm coming now Belle"

Once inside, I made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed our water bottles. Chucking Belle hers, I took a gulp of mine to ease the heat I shouldn't have been feeling deep in my stomach.

Belle was eyeing me cautiously before she uttered the words that would change my summer completely.

"Oh, did I mention," she began "my dad is coming back for a while to watch over things and do some pack business or something, I thought your brother might have said something."

"No, he didn't" I mumbled back to her.

"What was that, I couldn't hear you?"

"No. No, he didn't." I replied, thinking about the news she just gave me.

"Oh." She thought for a moment and then continued, "My dad probably didn't tell him because wanted it to be a surprise, you know, with them being best friends and all."

"Yeah. That makes sense." I replied.

Filling the silence as Belle looked out of the window, I asked, "Are you exited to see him again after he has been away for so long?"

I knew that I was. The last time I saw Francis Lupo Di Mezzanotte in person was, I guess, before I hit puberty. He knows me as the skinny awkward boy that is his daughters' best friend. But now I'm nearly 18 and let's just say that being the captain of the Junior British Ski Freestyle Team has had its benefits as I have had to build up a lot of strength.

When she didn't respond I looked over, "Everything alright Belle?"

Spinning around to jump up and sit on the worktop, she met my gaze, "I'm just nervous you know, with the pressure that I will have from dad when I turn 18." She hopped down and I followed her into the living room where we both sat down on one of the sofas. "I need to be mated to someone who he can trust and who is strong enough to assist me to fulfil my position as Alpha after he steps down." I watched her as she moved to look longingly at one of the photos on the mantel. It was the only family photo they had of the three of them together: her, Francis and her mother. It had been taken the summer before her mother had been attacked by wolves in our own pack who didn't deem her suitable of being our Luna. Belle and I were nearly 5 at the time and there had been some trouble around the fact that Belle had already been born over 4 years before it was decided that her mother would become Luna. 

I overheard lots of the pack speculating that she mustn't have been a true Luna if it had taken her 5 years to be ready. Some whispers even gave the idea that she wasn't even Alpha Francis' mate and it didn't help that he was 17 when Belle was born meaning that he hadn't turned 18 yet which is when you gain the capability to feel the connection of your mate. Yet, no one dared to as much as utter those ideas if they wanted to keep their lives. 

Now if you ask me, I couldn't comment on her not being ready purely because I was only 4 at the time and had no interest in anything other than playing in the woods with the other kids and not being separated from Belle. The latter more than anything once we had reached high school and everyone except me began their first changes into wolf form. In full let's just say that it is seriously scary when the kids you have spent your whole life so far growing up around are suddenly majestic creatures capable of killing a plain human like me. 

Me and my brother are the only humans in any pack around the world and truthfully, I love it. We are part of the top tier of the biggest pack in the world and being in this community is the best thing to have happened to me and my brother. Our parents abandoned us once I was born as there was such a big age gap between us and they didn't want to deal with raising another child especially a new born. Therefore the only thing he knew to do was to bring us to Francis and his pack. 

They had been best friends ever since Francis protected him from a wolf attack when he was just 11 years old and at the time Francis was 15 and in his training to become an Alpha just like Belle has been ever since her first shift. 2 years later when I was born, and our parents left, he brought us to live with Francis where 1 month later Belle was born and our connection as best friends began. 

The first few years were the most difficult for him because he was acting as my dad when he was only 13 and still in school so I spent most of my time with Belle and her nanny as her dad spent most of his time dealing with pack business. After my brother completed his A levels 5 years later, we moved into our own house that was custom built in the forest clearing, down the path from Belles. 

Soon after, he was working as Francis' under cover spy during business deals as he was human, so the other wolves couldn't pick up a scent from him and therefore detect him. However, once I was starting secondary school 6 years later and I was 11, he became a teacher to "watch over me and protect my safety" as he said at the time. Basically, he was worried that with me being the only human at the school and the other wolves experiencing their first shifts and learning to control their new found strength and abilities, that I would be "vulnerable" and an "easy target". 

These views changed once winter season rolled around that year and with the Scottish Highlands covered in snow, I learned how to ski and quickly found a passion within the sport of ski slopestyle and therefore built up my strength, speed and agility. 

After that, once he was content that I could protect myself, he became less protective and gave me more freedom, so now I spend most of my time skiing in the winter months, occasionally exploring with Belle (as she snowboards), and training down in the forest and town during the summer months. 

Most of the year I was all Belle had when her dad was away and for the past 5 years I haven't seen him once. Belle visited him at Christmas and on birthdays at the various locations he was at then, but I knew even if she didn't want to show it, she missed him. 

So now here we are, he is 34 and my brother is 30, me and Belle are both 17, turning 18 this year. 

And what a year it is going to be.