---Jacob’s POV---
My heart was still lying heavily in my chest, as if it had turned into solid lead at the past events. Sean hadn’t looked at me after he had revealed what I had walked into. Unbeknownst to me, Sean had figured out why he had this strange attraction to Paige.
Apparently, when Paige had shifted a few days ago, her body had emitted a scent, the same scent that I was following back to camp in an attempt to stop her and talk to her, make things right…. again.
Stupid, stupid, stupid fool! Where are your brains?
My wolf agreed with me and hasn’t spoken one friendly word with me. The only things he had said, were threats and snarls aimed at me but I had to point him to the fact that both of us were at fault. I had been suspicious and slightly shocked when I saw Paige in Sean’s arms but that had been intensified by my wolf’s possessiveness, an Alpha trait, which made me more territorial, jealous and gave me a shorter fuse as well.
“I never said you should accuse her to be a cheating bitch, like you put it so nicely!” He snarled as we neared the camp. I curled my lips as an answer, since he had taken over and shifted after Sean had ran back to the camp, leaving me behind to think about my actions.
Just before I was about to walk into camp, my wolf suddenly decided that I had to shift back and left me there in human form. I sighed deeply before I pushed through the last bushes, just to witness Paige flying off as her falcon. “Paige, WAIT!!”
She didn’t react but I did get another response to my startled shout. A mass of reddish brown fur shot at me before Nick snarled and scraped his claws over my chest. “You ASSHOLE! How dare you say that?! You keep doing this to my sister even though you promised her not to. She’s your mate for goodness sake!” He snarled as he kept lunging at me while I tried to dodge his attacks.
When I wanted to shift to my wolf form however, he simply laid down and took the brunt of the attack without resisting. My wolf shoved me to the back of my mind and forced me to see the world through his eyes.
Yes, he did snarl at Paige because he was angry that another male was near her and that she had chosen to embrace said male. But he wasn’t angry with her; he was scared. Scared that she could have been swooned by another male, that he had failed her.
Although we were werewolves, our inner wolves still had their natural animalistic instincts. In the wild, a male wolf had to protect his mate and stake his claim when other males were trying to get her attention. But still, he’d never force her to choose him. In the end, everything was based on the female wolf’s desire.
So, when Nick attacked us head on, he didn’t act on those urges that an Alpha male had; to defend his position and rank against another wolf in or out the pack. Because he knew that we made a grief mistake and he knew that whatever Nick could do to us was rightfully deserved.
I was stunned and humbled when my wolf showed me all this, effectively driving home what I was doing to both him and Paige. I didn’t even realize that Nick had relented as soon as I had turned on my back and offered my vulnerable stomach. My heart was heavy and my mind numb as I crawled back on my paws, ignoring the wounds that were telltale signs of our scuffle and made my way to mine and Paige’s tent.
Nick stopped me halfway and snarled again. Surprise shot through his look when I lowered my head in front of every one else, showing him that he was higher than me. “You will FIX this! You might have forgotten about it Jacob, but you cheated on her, not the other way around.”
I winched slightly but it was the truth; I had made the stupid mistake of ignoring my what I believed human mate and got myself so drunk that I had slept with Adrianna. And in the midst of my stupid rage, I had accused her of cheating. God, what kind of mate am I?
“The worst, if you keep this up.” My wolf grumbled lowly before I padded towards Paige’s sheets and flopped down on them, burying myself in her scent. Maybe I could contact her through the link, letting her know that I was sorry. I didn’t mean anything what I had said, it was just all my fears and insecurities speaking.
“Paige? Are you there?”
I knew that she could hear my but she didn’t respond. My stomach turned in a sickening motion but nonetheless I kept trying.
“Paige? Come on Paige, talk to me.” I waited for a moment but felt that she had pulled shields up around her thoughts, shields that I couldn’t and wouldn’t break, even if I wanted to so badly. Shifting back, I grasped my head in my hands while sitting there with my knees pulled up.
How was I going to fix this mess? I could finally see what I did wrong and that I needed to change. Yes, I was the future Alpha of a very large pack of werewolves but that didn’t gave me the excuse to treat Paige the way I have been treating her. I’ve never seen father treat mom this way.
My wolf whimpered slightly as I touched Paige’s mind again and instantly collided with thick mental walls. “Look what you’ve done now.” A soft whimper echoed through my mind as I sighed and pulled some shorts on, realizing that my eyes were wet. I swiped a hand over my face as anger directed at myself shot through my system. Crying like a little kid wasn’t going to help this situation. I stuffed up, big time and now I had to make things right again.
But first things first. Since Paige was ignoring me, I’d better face the others first and offer Sean my apologies. I could only begin to imagine how he has felt this whole time. With a muffled groan, I pushed myself on my knees before I scrambled up. It was slowly starting to sink in that Paige was pregnant. She was going to carry my pups, grow round before we would be parents.
I sure as hell was going to make sure that my children were never going to make the same stupid mistakes that I made. With an angry scowl I shoved the tent opening open and made my way towards the others, who all looked up at me with faces that either remained blank or shot me a venomous glare.
Sean looked up from across the fire, where he was busy pacing a line in the dirt as he shot me a spine-tingling glare before he continued his pacing, cursing and muttering all along.
“Calm down Sean. Paige knows now and wouldn’t do anything reckless.” Nick said softly while Cary and Cian nodded slowly, their arms wrapped securely around their Beloveds as I sat down at the edge of the circle.
A hiss escaped Sean as he shook his head slightly before he glanced at Nick, who was sitting rather motionless. A few seconds later, Sean followed his example and I could feel the sadness of my wolf when we realized that they were probably talking to Paige.
They blinked and turned back to the present while I grasped my head between my hands, feeling more and more desperate. A hand on my shoulder caused me to look up in Cary’s open and compassionate face.
“What’s done is done Jacob. You can’t reverse time but I really hope you’ll learn from your lessons because I don’t know if Paige can keep this up.” I nodded slowly and bit my lip to will myself not to cry. Sean stared at me with a torn expression before he growled deeply in his throat.
He made his way towards me and yanked me up from the tree log. “Instead of sitting there and sulk, why don’t you try to make things right again? Work on a plan to gain her trust back Jacob, because I don’t think you’ll be able to live with yourself if you manage to push Paige away, permanently.”
And then he walked back into the forest, knowing that we couldn’t leave until Paige had come back. The witches were moving a crystal pendulum over a map as their eyes were closed, probably trying to track Paige’s parents.
I sighed and leaned back, shooting a silent thought towards my mate, wherever she was.
Paige, I’m sorry.
---Paige’s POV---
I growled slightly at all the questions that were swimming in my head. Apparently, neither Luke nor the Jacksons knew about shifter/werewolf pregnancies. Basically, I was one of the first of my race who have a soulmate amongst werewolves. It has happened before with a vampire and a witch but their pregnancies were different than a werewolf’s pregnancy.
Alpha Jackson smiled reassuringly at me before he patted me on the knee. “Don’t worry Paige, we can be safe to assume that your pregnancy will be a mix between a soulshifter’s and a werewolf’s. Either you’re going to have a small litter or a very large one.” He smirked at the end, which made me swallow.
Soulshifters had a normal amount of kids, mostly two till three. Werewolves on the other hand had multiples, varying from twins, triplets to quadruplets and some had a mix of these.
I had pointed to Luke that Jacob and Alexis both were born alone and Luke had just smiled. “Both of them carry the Alpha gene and were significantly larger than any normal pup. Alexis did have a sibling but she died off early in the pregnancy.” He added, his smile turning in a grimace before he cleared his face of any expression.
The mention of miscarrying a child had my stomach twist and turn while my heart clenched for the Alpha pair. A small tear slid down my face while I absentmindedly rubbed over my still flat stomach before I felt the couch dip and a pair of arms hugged me from the side.
“Hush child, nothing is going to happen with your pups and what happened in the past remains in the past.” Isabella muttered in my hair with a slightly choked up voice. I chuckled slightly and flicked the tear away. “I don’t even know why I’m crying now.”
At that, Luke laughed deeply, shaking his head before he said, “That’s a common side effect from a wolf’s first pregnancy. Be prepared to have your hormones and moods jumping all over the place. And don’t forget the weird cravings.” He laughed even harder before a knock was heard on the door.
“Alpha sir, the Hunters are getting restless.” One of the regulars muttered as he peeked around the corner and smiled at me. The pack had heard of the news through the link and all of them were out celebrating the fact that their future Luna was pregnant. I smiled warmly at him, feeling slightly giddy before Luke stepped outside.
A few seconds later, the Hunters entered the building, with Daniel in front of the whole group. He glanced around the room until his eyes landed on me, his face an epitome of curiosity and hope before it was shielded behind a strictly business poker face.
“Daniel, meet Paige. I believe she is the reason why you came here in the first place.” Luke said while pinning the man down with a stern look. Daniel must have noticed the warning that was hidden in Luke’s eyes because he nodded slowly and walked towards the couch opposite me where he sat down with the rest of his men.
“So, what is it that you want?” I asked while crossing my arms in front of my chest before I pulled my legs under me. All the Hunters looked warily at me before turning their gaze at Daniel, who seemed to observe me very closely.
When I raised an eyebrow, he cleared his throat and leaned slightly forwards, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. “Well, we wanted to know who the soulshifter was that my brother has found and if the myths about Hunters regaining their wolves. Judging by the fact that we met Damon in his wolf-form, I think the myths are real.”
I rolled my eyes slightly while I felt the irritation flare up. So what, he wanted to come over here and simple want his wolf back and I just had to give it back, not thinking about the fact that it was because of the Hunters that me and my parents were the last ones to roam the planet?
“Not exactly. You nailed it in the beginning, that I wanted my wolf back but then you lost me.”
Looking up, my cheeks flamed up when I realized that I said that out loud. Stupid pregnancy hormones and mood swings. I felt the familiar mental jab, indicating that Jacob probably wanted to talk to me again. I lowered the walls slightly; just enough to let him feel the presence of his father and mother before I pulled them back on. That should get him off my tail.
Daniel sat back and sighed before looking up when Isabella stopped in front of him, a tray with coffees balancing in her hands. He looked sincerely surprised and thankful when he accepted the mug and took a sip.
The weirdness of the whole situation started to sink in as I watched them relax in our presence. It made me realize that these were Hunters, the actual hunters that had probably kidnapped other creatures and that had killed of my entire species. But yet, when I searched their auras, they weren’t as dark and black as Kale’s and Lucius’ were.
Their auras were lighter; an inner light being circled by dark clouds as it were, the dark and light balance varying from person to person. I realized that their soul, their goals were good enough but their past actions had made their being a bit darker. But still, there was hope for them.
I looked up when Daniel cleared his throat and said, “Over the last centuries, where the amount of soulshifters grew lower and lower, the Headquarters were troubled with inner conflicts. A part of the Hunters believed that if we captured them and forced the shifters to give our wolves back that they would succeed.” He looked disturbed and embarrassed by the idea.
Still, I inquired, “Let me guess, it didn’t end well for my kind.” I drawled sarcastically and was proven right when Daniel blushed slightly while the other hunters shifted in their seats. “Not exactly, and our hunters didn’t fair as well either. They met the same fate as Kale did. Stuck in-between shifts until they died.” One of the men mumbled, earning himself a jab in the ribs from one of his friends.
Daniel shot a warning glare at the man’s bluntness before he lowered his mug and said, “Well, let’s get straight to the point here. I know what my kind did, what my ancestors did but that’s just it. My ancestors did it, not me, not us. Some of us just want to go back to how we were before, get in a pack, find our mate, live a long and happy life. And you might give it to us.”
My face turned serious as I contemplated what he said and I could feel the tension building in the room as the Hunters awaited my verdict. I leaned forwards and placed my feet back on the ground before I started pacing behind the couches.
“What about those of your kind who hold onto the old ways? Won’t they stop you? Harm you or even me if I wanted to help you out?”
One of the older, more rugged hunters gave me the answer. “To tell you the truth, most of the Hunters don’t like the fact that they need to hunt and kill the other supernatural creatures just because of this urge that our ancestors cursed us with. We try to fight these urges while others slowly give in.”
An idea popped in my head but I realized that it was getting time for me to get back to the others. I stopped pacing mid-step and nearly laughed at the swift changes in the hunters’ expressions before they all were leaning forwards, awaiting my answer.
I smiled lightly and send every bit of what I thought of to Alpha Jackson, Luke and Isabella to see if they would approve before I walked upstairs again to retrieve my bag. “Can you guys fill them in? I’m running out of time here.”
Luke nodded his head once, a proud grin spreading wide on his face that made me all giddy and warm inside, knowing that he approved of my idea. I passed Alexis’ room and halted as I saw her and Zack curled on the bed watching one of the Harry potter movies.
Harry was just looking around some room before he noticed a reddish bird perched on a stick. I smiled at Alexis’ awed look when the bird caught fire and the boy on the screen flipped out and started stuttering an apology when the headmaster arrived.
“Fawkes is a Phoenix Harry…” I smiled at the fascination dripping of Alexis’ face as she watched some ugly red chick appear from ashes and I smiled slightly before waving at Zack to say my goodbye. He nodded his head before turning back to the movie when Alexis chirped up, “Oh look, I want a phoenix too!”
Zack let out a choked splutter while I walked further, shaking my head at her request. Unless I could learn that form, which was rather unlikely, she couldn’t ever see a phoenix.
Racing for my room, I quickly grabbed a bag and threw my book in before adding two more books about Soulshifters. It was better to be prepared for whatever was going to happen.
After a few seconds I was back down and ready to depart. However, I couldn’t lift my back in any bird form that I knew and I wasn’t going to travel all on my own on four paws. That would take me days, days that I needed to search for my parents.
“Paige, let’s try something else.” Luke said whilst I was in my hawk form, tugging at the straps of the bag with my claws while the anger was simmering and growing stronger and stronger.
“I can’t get back as a wolf or any other form, that will cost me too much. I have a bad feeling, like something’s going to happen with either mom or dad and I need to get there before it happens. This bag is coming with me and it’s coming NOW!” I snarled the last bit as the anger overflowed before I was tossed back in the air when suddenly the bag seemed to weigh a lot less.
“Finally!” I said, clutching my claws closer over the straps before I noticed that Luke had fallen back on his bum, staring flabbergasted up at me along with several others of the pack.
“What?” I asked slightly curious while I looked around. I flapped my wings to remain aloft and then noticed the color in them. A color that none of my bird forms had.
They were red. Bright red.
A new chapter for you guys ^-^
So, what do you guys think that Paige's plan is? And what is her new form?
I added a picture to the side which i thought would describe the Hunters' auras the best.
Enjoy
Comment, Vote,....