Secret Wolf Book 2
Autorzy
Enola Forfatter
Lektury
120K
Rozdziały
23
Chapter 1
Book 2: Secrets Revealed
SOPHIE
In front of me, an old man, the leader of the hunters, stared at me with a wicked grin. That didn’t feel good.
“Finally, we meet.” His creaky voice sent shivers down my spine.
“Did you know I was the last one who saw your parents alive?” He laughed. “You know how I’m so sure about that? Because I was the one who killed them both,” he said dispassionately.
Rage went through my body. My wolf wanted to take over.
“It was a mistake to let you live, though,” he continued. “But maybe you can still be of use to us.”
I took a deep breath. I needed to calm myself—I was surrounded by hunters.
“So no more games, Sophie. I know you led us to your old pack—we’re no fools. Do you really think they can beat us?”
When I didn’t answer, the leader shook his head. “I’ll give you one chance to straighten out your little mistake.”
He took his bow and put an arrow in it. He pointed it directly at me.
“Join us or die,” he said.
“I have no other choice, then,” I said.
***
It had been three months since I became a wolf, and Jake and I had marked each other. Life was good with Jake. He treated me like a princess—which technically, I was now.
Over time, I’d learned what it was to be a wolf. Did I know everything? No, absolutely not. But everyone in my new pack tried to help me understand my wolf. They accepted me as their future luna.
My best friend, Bonnie, and I had both moved to the pack house. So, technically, we still lived together. We didn’t see each other as much as we had before. Since she’d met Dylan, her mate, those two were inseparable.
Because of my turbulent past with Will, the guy who’d harassed me, I’d decided I wanted to learn how to fight.
At first, Jake was not amused. He didn’t like the idea of me fighting with another wolf, even though it was only for training. He tried to talk me out of it, but, well, I was stubborn.
Bonnie had already talked me through the basics. How hard could it be?
That’s how I ended up here—on the training grounds for my very first time. Although I really wanted to train, I was a bit nervous. Thank God—or should I say, thank Goddess—Bonnie offered to be my partner.
Jake was a little reassured by this. He thought Bonnie would take it easy on me. Well, think again!
“Oomph!”
My body flew through the air and landed with a muffled thump on the ground. Ouch! That hurt!
I heard a loud growl.
I gazed at my beautiful, muscular mate. His normally handsome face looked furious. His gray eyes were focused on my attacker, Bonnie. Jake pushed his dark-brown hair out of his eyes with visible frustration.
I pointed at Jake and looked at him sternly before he could say anything. “Jake, if you can’t control yourself, you need to go. This won’t be the last time I’ll get my ass kicked.”
“I know, my love. It’s just so unnatural for me to let this happen to you. I’m still adjusting to the idea that you’re a wolf. And now you’re fighting!” He looked at me apologetically.
I picked myself up and approached him. When I grabbed his hand, I felt him relax immediately.
“Come on, Jake, think of all the benefits we have—the things we’ve done since I became one of you.” My face was just inches from his. “Or should I help remind you?”
My lips lightly touched his. His pupils dilated. My tongue licked his lips.
Suddenly, I felt someone grab the back of my shirt, and before I knew it, I was flying again. I felt more like a bird than a wolf.
“Bee, that’s not fair!” I screeched.
Bonnie just shrugged her shoulders. “Most of the time, an attack isn’t fair. Besides, we’re here to train. Keep your lovemaking in your bedroom.” She waved her hand between us.
I wiped my hair out of my eyes and glared at her. She had her short blonde hair up in a tight ponytail. Her brown eyes looked at me defiantly. Her full lips pulled into a big grin.
I rolled my eyes at her and looked at Jake. He still looked frustrated. I heard him sigh, and he walked back toward the pack house.
Bonnie returned to her fighting stance. I did the same.
“Why are we fighting as humans? I want to fight as a wolf,” I whined.
Bonnie lifted her eyebrows and looked at me as if I were crazy. “Really, Soof? You think you can fight as a wolf when you can’t even fight as a human? I don’t think so.”
I pouted.
“Now, come on,” she said. “Give me your best shot. Think of all the basics I’ve taught you.”
I tried to remember her lessons. I knew I had to stay low to the ground and circle her to find a weak spot. Oh yeah, and one of the most important rules was that I shouldn’t get distracted.
I looked at Bonnie. She smiled wickedly and beckoned me.
“Luna Sophie?” a voice called to me. I looked up to see who it was.
I shouldn’t have done that. The wrecking ball that was Bonnie knocked me over again.
I looked to the person responsible for the distraction. It was Dylan. He smiled and waved. My mouth fell open. “You didn’t ask him to distract me, did you?”
Bonnie laughed. “Yes, I did. You need to focus, Soof. Never get distracted while you’re fighting—whether it’s training or for real.”
I sighed and jumped back on my feet. “Should we stop until tomorrow? I’m tired.”
Bonnie looked at me with an evil grin on her face. “Come on, Soof. Is that all you’ve got?”
I looked at her through narrowed eyes.
“You know, I’ve noticed Jake tries to protect you because you’re weak. How can you ever be a luna like this? Nobody wants that.”
She was trying to provoke me, and it was working.
“Maybe Jake should find another mate—one who’s strong,” she taunted.
I felt my anger surfacing. I circled Bonnie.
“Yeah, I think that’s better for everyone. Don’t you think, Soof?”
I lunged at her and did something she wasn’t expecting. I went for her legs, put my arms around her knees, and pulled hard. She squealed and fell backward. Before she could recover, I sat on top of her.
I gave her a smug smile. “Don’t piss me off, Bee.”
She looked satisfied. “I think I should do it more often. It really unleashed something in you.”
I got off her and offered her my hand. She took it, and I pulled her up.
“Is training over?” I asked her hopefully.
“I don’t think so, Soof. Let’s get to the gym. You need to strengthen up.”
An hour later, we were finally finished. Why did I want to learn how to fight again?
I dragged myself to our bedroom and went straight to the bathroom. Jake was probably working; he was nowhere to be seen.
I took a nice, long shower and felt my muscles relax. The minor cuts I’d gotten during training were already healed. It was so good to be a wolf.
After my shower, I went to the library. I had planned to delve into the history of our pack.
The library wasn’t a very busy place. Most of the youngsters read on e-readers. So it wasn’t out of the ordinary that I was there alone.
But that day, I wasn’t. As soon as I entered the room, I saw a man sitting at the table, surrounded by books.
“Allan, I didn’t know you were back again.”
Allan, Jake’s uncle, looked up. His dirty-blond hair was so long that it covered his eyes. His bronzed skin almost seemed to glow as if he’d swallowed the sun.
He pushed back his hair, and a smile crossed his face. He stood up and came to me.
“Sophie, good to see you. Yes, I returned last night.” His face turned serious. “I’ve already spent many hours searching for your real family, but I still haven’t found anything. It frustrates me.”
I sighed. All my life, I’d known that I was adopted. But I had no idea who my biological parents were. As far as I was concerned, my adoptive parents were my real parents.
“Have you talked to your parents yet?” Allan asked.
I shook my head. “I still didn’t have the guts to talk to them. What if they have no idea what I am? They’ll think of me as a monster.”
Allan looked at me sympathetically. “I understand. But in order to get any information about your biological parents, I think it’s the only way.”
I nodded. Allan walked back to the table. I sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed a history book. My thoughts wandered. Jake had also tried to persuade me to talk to my parents, but I couldn’t. I was just scared.
I couldn’t concentrate anymore. My mind was all over the place. I closed the book, stood up, and left the library. I felt a bit sad.
I walked back to our room and curled up in bed. After a couple of minutes, I heard someone enter. It was Jake. He didn’t say anything—he only spooned me. His scent calmed me.
“Mind telling me what’s bothering you?” he whispered.
I turned around in his arms and looked him in the eyes. “I spoke to Allan; he couldn’t find anything about my biological family. He wants me to talk to my parents.”
“You know, Sophie, I will always be on your side—no matter what you decide.”
I gave him a small smile. “I know.” I sighed. “I think it’s time to give my parents a call.”
I grabbed my phone. As soon as I put it to my ear, my stomach lurched. My mom picked up.
“Sophie, it’s so nice to hear from you. How are you? And how is that lovely boyfriend of yours?” She sounded happy.
I told my parents about Jake—not everything, of course. In their eyes, he was my boyfriend, but in our world, I was practically married to him.
“Hi, Mom. Jake and I are both fine, thank you. How are you and Dad?”
My mom started chattering about the things she and my dad did. I heard her, but I didn’t fully listen.
“Mom”—I cut her off—“I need to talk to you guys.”
My mom was silent for a moment. “About what, sweetie?” I heard suspicion in her voice.
I took a deep breath. “I’m searching for my biological parents.”
Again, it was quiet for a moment. I didn’t hear anything.
“Sophie, can you come over soon? We don’t want to do this over the phone.”
My mom sounded a bit sad. But, more importantly, she knew something! My heart started to race. I was excited, scared, and curious all at once.
“Uh, yeah. Can we come this weekend?”
“We?” she asked, surprised.
Shit—I forgot for a moment that they didn’t know everything. “Yeah, I want to bring Jake,” I said.
I felt her hesitation. “Oh, okay. Maybe that’s a good idea.”
She was being very careful with her words; so was I.
“Give my regards to Dad, and I’ll see you soon, then.”
We hung up. Jake smiled at me. Of course, he’d heard everything.
“It’s going to be okay, my love,” he said.
I sure hoped it would be. I still had a couple of days to prepare myself.
