Secret Wolf Book 2

JAKE

My dad had been trying to reach me through mind-link, but I’d been…a little busy at the time. So at first, I pushed him aside. When I finally accepted the mind-link, his voice boomed through my mind.

He wanted me to come to his office to discuss some business.

When I reached the door, I knocked and stepped inside. My dad was sitting behind his desk. Allan sat in one of the chairs in front of him.

I raised my eyebrows. “Business, you said?”

My dad waved his hand. “Please, sit down, Jake.”

I took a seat and looked at the two men. “So, what is it?”

My dad leaned over the desk. “We heard that Sophie did the obstacle run today. For the first time, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “Good news travels fast, I see.”

Allan shook his head. “News? Yes. Good? We’ll have to see about that, but I sure hope so.”

“Listen, Allan, and Dad—I understand your concerns. But there is one thing I know: my mate may be strong and rare, but she has a heart of gold.”

They nodded in unison. “Even the most loyal pets can go crazy if something isn’t right in the head.” Allan pointed to his head.

Rage pooled through my body. “Are you saying my mate is a pet?”

Allan immediately threw his hands up in the air apologetically. “No! Excuse my choice of words. I just wanted to point out that, with the wrong genes, she could go feral.”

I calmed a bit. I knew this was true. I’d heard the story about a loyal pack member, a very strong and powerful one, who’d turned feral against his own alpha.

“Listen, son, we all love Sophie, and she’s in our hearts. But we just want to be careful. We must guarantee safety for our whole pack.”

“Well, we have an appointment with her parents,” I said. “They seem to know more.”

“Good,” my dad said. “Let’s hear what they have to say, and we’ll go further with that.”

“I have one more idea we could try to gauge her strength and speed.” Allan said.

“And what’s that?” I asked curiously.

“Well, it seems like Sophie has a really strong natural instinct when it comes to her wolf. I want to know what else she can do in her wolf form. So I suggest we let her fight.”

I immediately exclaimed, “Are you crazy? She just had one lesson in her human form, and you already want her to fight in her wolf form?”

“We’ll take it easy on her. It would be a friendly fight, just to check out her abilities.”

My dad cleared his throat. “Jake, I think it’s a good idea. Just ask Bonnie to be her opponent—she’ll take it easy on Sophie.”

I disagreed at first, but on the other hand, I was also curious about what she could do.

“Okay, fine. Tomorrow, she will fight her first battle. But when it gets too rough, I’ll stop it immediately.”

I stood up and left. I had this nagging feeling inside me.

SOPHIE

After Jake had left, I decided to take a stroll through the forest. The weather was nice, and the shadow of the trees was pleasant.

It wasn’t the first time Jake had gotten called away through mind-link. He was pretty busy because in two weeks he would become alpha, and I, his luna.

But first, I wanted to focus on the visit to my parents. The day after tomorrow, Jake and I would visit them. I was quite nervous about that. I sighed and started walking back toward the pack house.

“Love, can you come to our room?” Jake asked me through mind-link.

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

When I arrived, Jake was sitting in one of the chairs by the window. He gave me a kiss and pulled me onto his lap.

“Listen, baby, I just had a conversation with my dad and Allan. They heard about your great accomplishment at the obstacle course. It made them very curious about your talents in your wolf form. They want you to participate in a friendly fight.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I think you mean they’re concerned about what I could do, so they want to test me, right?”

Jake hesitated, searching my face for a reaction.

“Oh, come on, Jake. I’m not mad. We already concluded that I’m…special.”

Jake smiled at me. “You are, indeed, very special to me.” He winked.

I slapped him on the chest.

“But seriously, Sophie, what do you say? You don’t have to do it. It’s your choice.”

“I want to try it,” I said with confidence.

I saw pride flash through Jake’s eyes. “Okay, tomorrow it is, then.”

The next day, when I woke up, Jake had already left. I had butterflies in my stomach. It was the day of the fight. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

When I felt ready, I went down to the dining room and joined Bonnie and Dylan with a plate of delicious food.

“Good morning, Soof. Ready to get your ass kicked?” Bonnie joked. “You know, we shouldn’t talk right now. You are my enemy, right?”

Dylan shook his head and smiled at me. “I’m sorry, Sophie. She’s impossible when it comes to fights. Even when they’re just friendly fights.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“Oh, come on, Soof. I’m just kidding.” She pursed her lips and pretended to kiss me. “But I am going to kick your ass,” she said quickly.

I picked up a bun from my plate and threw it at her with a laugh. “We’ll see about that.”

Before I knew it, I was getting ready for the fight. Jake was by my side the whole time. I felt he was more anxious than me.

As soon as it was time, we walked toward the training grounds. It was crowded; the whole pack had come to watch.

I recognized multiple faces. Allan and Steven, but also Josephine and Ben. They were chatting with other pack members.

Bonnie was already in her wolf form. She flashed me a literal wolfish grin.

Jake walked with me to the edge of the forest. He cupped my cheeks and gave me a long, deep kiss. “If you think you’ve had enough, just mind-link Bonnie or me, and the fight stops immediately.”

I nodded. Then I stripped and took a deep breath. I felt the usual shiver run through my body before I shifted.

Jake and I walked back to the training grounds. All eyes were on us.

I held my head up high and looked at the familiar faces. Ben gave me a thumbs-up. Josephine smiled sweetly at me. Steven nodded and winked. Only Allan looked serious.

I took my stance and mimicked Bonnie. She stood low to the ground. I followed her every move. I didn’t think about it—I just let my wolf lead.

Steven whistled while Bonnie and I circled each other. She snapped at me in the air. I stayed silent, monitoring her.

She lunged at me, and I instinctively ducked. She landed, rolled over, and lunged again. I was able to avoid her. Bonnie shook out her fur.

So far, she was doing all the work. I simply kept my eyes on her and avoided her. This happened a couple more times.

I could sense Bonnie getting frustrated. She changed her tactics, but I was quick.

Once, she bit my back leg. I heard the crowd gasp. But I recovered quickly and bit her snout. She released me.

“Are you letting me do all the work, Soof? A bit unfair, don’t you think? Or should I rile you up a bit, like I did during training?” Bonnie said through mind-link.

I looked at Jake, remembering when she’d told me I wasn’t good enough for him, that he should find another mate. Bonnie followed my gaze, reading my thoughts.

“Maybe I should bite him. See what happens.”

I felt my rage ignite. A deep growl escaped my throat. I saw a moment of fear in her eyes before I lunged at her. We rolled around on the ground.

Within seconds, I had her pinned beneath me. She showed me her throat, surrendering herself. But my wolf didn’t calm down. She had threatened my mate.

Jake’s voice came through a mind-link. “Sophie, my love, she surrendered. Stop. Release her.”

I shook my head and looked at Jake. He gave me a pleading look. I took in the rest of my surroundings: some people looked at me in fear, others looked concerned.

I looked at Bonnie who was still showing me her throat.

Shock coursed through my body. What was I doing? This was my best friend. I quickly released her.

I was confused. What happened? How could I have lost control like this? Was I dangerous?

I couldn’t stay here anymore. I turned and ran. I ran as if the devil was chasing me. I was afraid of myself. A frustrated howl escaped my mouth.