At first I thought I was being led downtown, but then we reached a certain motorbike I recognized. I was also handed an extra helmet for appearance sake. Both our heads were too hard to crack simply from hitting the ground, however there was no need to attract attention to ourselves. Just follow the human rules and blend in.
The ride didn't take too long. Nearing the edge of the city we passed through the werewolf academy Raye had told me about, then some huge building that looked like a student hostel, and various little shops and fast food places. A dirt road soon came into view and we swerved there, entering the forest. A few minutes later we stopped in front of a fairly exposed house. By exposed I mean it had no doors or windows whatsoever, mere openings. It was made with a combination of stone and wood, and several neighboring trees had fused with the building and coiled around it. It was quite picturesque even if it gave off an abandoned feeling.
"We're here," Derek said unnecessarily after he parked to the side of the house.
I could hear loud voices and laughter coming from inside, and made my way to the entrance. A beech had grown in a bent shape right in front, covering the side and top of the entrance, so that anyone had to lower themselves in order to enter. To lower themselves in front of nature, I found the idea refreshing.
What was far more curious were the charms engraved in the stone and wood all around the house. A lot of them were protection against the elements – this building would survive being buried in snow, a flood, a fire, even a tornado. The magic was very strong, and what made it stronger were the number of engravings. Someone had spent a lot of time doing that.
There were other charms that strengthened the materials, and if a bunch of rowdy wolves hang out here every day, I could certainly understand the purpose. The most useful of the various charms, and the most curious, was the one engraved on each wall. To explain it roughly in human terms, it said 'hot and cold in harmony, comfortable temperature'. You can think of it as a type of nature friendly air-conditioning. It would heat the interior when it was cold outside, and it would cool when it was hot, keeping the temperature inside the same. It wasn't any of the basic charms I knew, and what was more, now that I understood the concept of elemental magic, it caught my attention that the charm combined fire and water magic – two elements on the opposite spectrum. While I had used a warming and a cooling spell before, it had never crossed my mind to combine them. How interesting.
"Are you done," Derek asked when I finally looked away from the engravings. He had silently stood behind me, waiting while I satisfied my curiosity. I nodded in response.
"Whose house is this," I asked as we climbed up to the second floor. Maybe the answer would reveal who had done all that work.
"This community bought it 20 years ago, when they first started building the school," he said. It made sense he wouldn't know much, being new in the area after all.
The first thing I noticed when we reached our destination, was the complete lack of a roof. The view of the sky was partly hidden by tree branches lushly covered with amber leaves, but not so much that stargazing at night would be impossible. Before I could figure out what kind of magic substituted the roof, Raye saw me and ran towards me energetically.
"Wow, I can't believe you actually came! I thought you hated werewolves," she chirped disregarding that we could be overheard by said shifters. I shook my head exasperated.
"Come meet my date for Halloween." She grabbed my hand and dragged me to one of the corners where most of the people were gathered.
Couches, love seats and beanbags took up any possible space. I imagined a new one was added each time the company grew larger, hence the complete lack of order or color coordination. It looked cozy enough. Small tables were pushed randomly around the seats, completing the chaotic look. I could smell a grill starting up in the other end of the room, and my stomach reminded me I hadn't eaten for some time. Would they consider grilling some veggies, I wonder.
"You already know Cory, Mandy, Jen, Brit, and Kyle," Raye quickly pointed at her group of party friends. I had met them on several occasions. The occasions being parties at Raye's place. Her parents often traveled on business, and the girl took full advantage. She had a method of throwing a house party that managed to keep the damage to a minimum. One could call her an expert organizer where fun was concerned.
I greeted them eyeing the beers they held. There was something about the taste that really agreed with me. I knew the wolves couldn't get drunk on alcohol unless they downed the strongest liquor in the least amount of time. Then they might feel the buzz for a while. As for me, I never got hung over and my body was immune to poison. I got all the benefits and none of the negative effects of drinking, so of course I'd take advantage.
"Guys, this is Amber," Raye introduced me to the group of shifters, who responded with nods and greetings.
"And this is Remi," she added as she sat down next to a pretty boy. She didn't bother telling me the others' names, since there were too many to do one by one.
"'sup, Remi," I said grabbing a can from one of the coolers on the floor. He smiled at me charmingly. No wonder Raye was gaga over him. He had a foreign name to boot.
Looking around for a place to sit, I became aware of the many pairs of eyes following my every move. Good thing I wasn't shy, or that would've been quite intimidating. They were probably curious about the girl their precious leader had brought. And who knows what he'd been telling them about me.
My gaze rested on a circular love seat. It was exactly my type of furniture – cushy and expensive looking, with a bunch of pillows framing the backrest. It was big enough to fit 3 people, and it was positioned perfectly under a thick branch that had invaded from the window, and formed a lovely roof of leaves directly above the seat. Too bad it was already occupied.
Just as I finished admiring it, the couple occupying it hastily stood up. I looked at them in surprise.
"Um, if you like it, please take it," the girl said nervously.
"No, it's alright. There are plenty of seats," I tried to refuse, feeling more and more suspicious about my reputation with this group I'd never seen before.
"But you liked this one. You should sit here," she insisted.
As I opened my mouth to refuse more firmly, the boy also gave his input, "You're a first time visitor here, allow us to show our hospitality."
Wow, he was a smooth-talker. "Then, if you insist."
I felt a little bad for usurping the best seat in the house, but it would've been impolite to argue further. In the end I sat cross-legged in the middle, getting comfortable with my drink despite the sneaky glances I was constantly receiving.
"Aren't they so nice," Raye gushed from the side. "They're Jake and Anne, same age as us."
"Sure," I smiled at her. "So, have you chosen a costume for Halloween?"
Expertly deflecting the conversation in a different direction, if I do say so myself. That quickly got people discussing their plans. With everyone talking over each other I wondered how much information actually got transmitted. Apparently they planned to host an after party in the house and stay up all night. A part of them were responsible for the decorations. They were promising it was scary, impressive, and not to be missed. I could see Raye's eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. When she turned to me with a determined expression, I already knew what she was going to pester me about next.
Derek showed up just then to provide distraction. He was carrying a full plate in one hand as he headed my way.
"Here, wi-, Amber," he stumbled over his words, probably conscious of Raye and the other humans around us. "You don't like meat, right?"
I took the plate from him. It smelled heavenly to my empty stomach. Grilled mushrooms with butter, some red peppers, carrots and a whole corn on the cob. Yummy.
"Thank you," I said, swallowing my drool.
So as not to dirty the seat, I changed my position folding one leg under the other, and using the triangle of space inbetween as a hold for the plate. The stares had intensified, but I didn't let it bother me.
"The meat is ready, come get it while it's hot," someone shouted from the grill and a couple of the shifters shuffled around preparing paper plates and bringing more food. I noticed that most of the salads were distinctly pushed in my direction.
Someone passed Derek a plate with 2 steaming steaks, before they served the guests, and then themselves. By then I figured it wouldn't be rude to start eating and went for the mushrooms first.
Derek chose to sit on the floor, leaning on the love seat with my dangling foot to his left. The noise suddenly came to a halt, not even the clunking of utensils disturbing the quiet. I paused mid bite to see what had happened, while Derek calmly went about devouring the meat. He held the plastic fork in his fist awkwardly, like he had never bothered learning how to do it properly. In his case I could totally believe it. He stabbed the whole steak with the fork and started taking bites, shifting his head to get a better angle when necessary. Was everyone staring at his savage eating?
"Give it here," I said, taking the plate from him, and using a knife to cut the meat into smaller pieces.
There, now people will stop staring at him, was what I thought as I returned his meal. But no, some people were staring with their mouths open.
"Oh," he mumbled, then immediately stabbed and shoved a few pieces in his mouth.
"It's so quiet here, got any music?" Raye broke the silence, bless her dense pretty head.
"Ah, right," Remi came to his senses first. "Someone was supposed to turn it on earlier."
He stood up, then hesitated and turned to me. "Is there any music you prefer?"
"Oh, for the love of... Just play whatever," I sighed irritated at all the attention.
I glared at Derek's head, certain he had something to do with this. He, on the other hand, was munching without a word, with his eyes firmly set on his food, as if the slices of meat would sprout tiny feet and run off the second he looked away.
Some pop music soon filled the air, and conversations gradually started up again. The food didn't seem to end, with groups taking turns at the grill to keep things fair; which was expected since the wolves ate like the world would end tomorrow whenever they gathered for a social event. I happily stuffed myself on mashed potatoes and peas, while some people had drifted on to the two pool tables in the middle of the room. Derek kept bringing me food from the grill until I couldn't even breathe anymore.
"Ah, that was satisfying," I groaned and plopped on my back to ease the pressure off my tummy. It was so easy to overeat in the company of shifters. They never judged and they were always happy to offer you more. That said, the feeling of fullness wasn't very pleasant, so I concentrated on speeding up my metabolism. My body heated slightly in the process.
Derek took the chance to put his arm around my leg. When I didn't kick him off, he grew bolder and slipped his fingers underneath my jeans, stroking my ankle with his thumb. People were still glancing at us with a mixture of fear, shock, and wonder. While he wasn't the only one to sit on the floor, I was starting to think it was unusual for him to do so. I propped myself on my elbows so I could see him better, and nudged him with my foot.
"Hey, aren't you uncomfortable on the floor?"
He turned his head and let his eyes slowly travel along my body till they reached my face. I raised an eyebrow at his audacity.
"I'm fine where I am, witch," he stated. His fingers caressed my skin a little higher.
"Really? So you don't want to sit here," I pressed, patting the space next to me.
"Can I?" He held his breath. Did he really think I was just being mean and teasing him with the offer.
"Of course. Were you waiting for me to suggest it? If so, way to make me feel bad."
In a second he had climbed on top of me and my words got stuck in my throat.
"I didn't expect you to suggest it." He licked his lips in what could only be called erotic manner, and my heart sped up.
Wait, stop. Remember who he is. Blame the beer. I immediately squashed the nervousness he almost caused in me with his sudden action. Sensing he had lost, he proceeded to sit beside me.
"I wanted to respect your boundaries," he added a bit later. I snorted to show my disbelief.
Still, I was too lazy to move yet, and he started petting my hair softly, which felt incredibly good. I closed my eyes to enjoy the atmosphere fully. The music was a pleasant background. I could hear Raye's laughter somewhere in the distance, the sounds of the billiard balls being hit and bouncing off each other, the various chatter around the room, the clinking of beer cans. Below all those, the gentle rustling of leaves and the warmth of the setting sun's rays. I loved the house and the energy inside it.
My peace was disturbed by a shadow hiding my face from the sunlight. I opened my eyes to see Derek leaning over me, his face directly above mine. His breathing was uneven, his eyes slightly wide and devoid of reason, the greed to possess pushing from behind them.
I hurriedly maneuvered around him and stood up, reminding myself to never let my guard down in his presence.
"Well, you invited me for a game of pool," I said light-heartedly and cracked my fingers. "So it's time to show them how it's done."
He let his body hit the cushions with a disappointed sigh, as I joined the commotion at the pool tables.
A/N: Is there even a point to this chapter... Well, thought it was okay to take it easy on the plot sometimes. Each chapter is actually a part of a bigger chapter, 3 parts make a whole one, so in fact, this story has only 3 chapters so far ahah, make sense to you?
That aside, I have another recommendation for a werewolf story, this one going more for their classic image. The Other Side of Midnight by Shadowswept. Maybe if enough of us beg her, she might consider raising the rating from T to M xD. A perv can only hope. Let me assure you that I don't read a story purely for the smut (unless I'm in that type of mood of course), however, when I spend enough time reading it, and when I like the characters, and when their chemistry is sizzling hot, I end up hoping for at least one tiny little love scene to end my frustrations. Yeah, I know, I'm shameless. I'll beg if I have to xD.