Chapter 25

Tristan’s POV

My head hasn’t stopped racing since the call with my mother. I can’t believe she would automatically assume I wouldn’t be able to handle this situation myself. I guess it shows her faith in me, doesn’t it? What makes it worse is that she didn’t even make herself known to me; I was left in the dark like everyone else here. How on earth would I have pulled this off as my work to my uncle if she wasn’t planning on telling me in the first place?

My time was mostly wasted here right now. Ayla was nowhere to be seen, always wrapped up with those triplets. I wondered about trying to mingle with people I had no intention of spending time with ever again. Mason invites me to join him occasionally, but I reckon it’s only because his father encourages him. The guy’s twenty-one and still needs his father to tell him what to do and when.

The town here is quite nice; I guess most of its people are friendly enough; I’m just a bit lost on what I’m meant to do now. How do I kill a girl who permanently has her trio of massive bodyguards? My mother thought she was helping but let’s be honest; she made my job much harder. Those three-won’t let her out of their sights now. It’s odd how possessively protective they are over her; they only met this week!

Speaking of people you only met, the other representatives all seem fantastic; apart from Molten Vale, they just seem like dicks. Layton and Ivy Von Core, brother and sister, their father was the Alpha. They have five other siblings as well; let’s just say I’m glad they didn’t all attend. Luckily for me, they are stuck at someone called Moira’s house; if what I have heard is true, they are very well suited.

The River Stone representatives are great, though. Melody is beautiful, tall, slim, and pale as an English rose. Her long, white, wavy hair appeared to be blue when the light caught it just right. She was the eldest of the three at twenty-two. Her father was her Alpha’s Beta; Tanya and Harrison are siblings and the Alpha’s only children. Harrison is nineteen, and Tanya is only seventeen, but she seems much older. She wore her white-grey hair in a pixie cut, making her look adorable and showing her amazing silver-blue eyes off. Her brother was stupidly protective of her too. He was tall like melody, quite wiry for a wolf, but no doubt he was strong. His face was all sharp angles and seriousness, but he was a total comedian.

I hadn’t spent much time with Light Gorge, Black storm or Mountain peak yet, but I plan to meet with them all this evening at the pack house. The Luna has arranged a meal for all of us to get to know each other better. At least I’ll be able to gauge the situation as no doubt Ayla will be there. Then I can have at least something to report back to my uncle. I can’t fail this time. Too much is at stake now, thanks to my mother’s mistake.

Ayla’s POV

“Axel, what happened” I splutter as I try to run over to him. He was now dressed in grey joggers and a white t-shirt. Anger was rolling off him in waves. I was sure I could see his rage pulsating from him as he moved closer to me.

“Mason, he had been in your room, looking for something; I don’t know what, though.” he paused. His breathing was so ragged. “I followed his scent and found him on the phone to someone.”

“Did you hear who?” I butt in

“No, but he plans on hurting you, and when I heard him say so, I lost it. I shifted before I could stop it,” he confessed.

Growling erupted all around me; all three of my mates had been triggered by Axel’s news. For the first time, I could genuinely see how formidable my men were; I was in awe of them.

“Guy’s breathing; I’m with you, I’m fine”, I soothed them.

“I’m going to kill that fucking prick” Aiden was already moving towards the house.

“Count me in”, Archer snapped.

“Oi, you three better turn your arses around right now”, I shout, my mate’s feet slam to a stop. I can see how hard they are breathing by their shoulders rising up and down with each breath.

“Ayla, we do this for you!” Axel answered; nothing more than a whisper reached me. It took everything he had not to storm back the way he had come.

“Not now; I know how you feel, Goddess. I know how you feel, but it will do more harm than good right now, so please, if you care for me, then turn around and let’s go” I almost Sobbed. I didn’t want to see them fight, to get hurt. Not that I believed Mason could hurt them at all. It’s more the wolves that would come for them after they found out what my mates did to him. I couldn’t bear to think about it, let alone witness it.

All three must have felt my feelings as their shoulders sagged in unison. I’m pretty sure Aiden whined a little too!

“Archer, start the car up; let’s go before I change my mind”, Aiden instructed. “Remember, hold on tight Beautiful; he’s a terrible driver.”

“Am not!” Archer calls from the driver’s side, leading us all to laugh.

Aiden’s POV

Walking away from the pack house, knowing Mason was in there somewhere, was the hardest thing I have had to do in a bloody long time. I don’t think I would have stopped if it wasn't for the wobble in Ayla's voice. The best thing we could do was to get out of there and as far away as possible for a few hours; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise to my mate.

She was soon laughing again once Archer reversed the car out of the parking space and kangaroo hopped it down the drive.

“Told you he was a shit driver” I laugh and hold on to her a little tighter.

“It’s not me; it’s this car; the controls are all backwards”, Archer moaned.

“Hey, don’t blame my baby for your bad driving skills”, Ayla scolded him

“It’s not me, though. I swear I can drive bloody hell, Aiden. Now she thinks it too. You’re such a knob! He sulks, causing Ayla to bust out laughing. There was no way he would stay grumpy with that sound filling the car.

“Archer hit the round button and turn the music on; I can’t remember what I have in the cd player right now, so don’t judge me, okay” she chuckles.

All my anger was slowly dissipating. The music was playing, and Ayla was singing; she looked happy and free, and for once, she looked relaxed. Everything was perfect right at this moment.

“I GOT MY FIRST REAL SIX STRING” Axel joined Ayla in the singing; he was so tone-deaf it was scary; Ayla didn’t seem to care; it only encouraged her to sing louder.

“Where too then, everyone” Archer finally asked; we had been driving for about fifteen minutes by this point.

“Well, you guys are the tourists. Do you want to go into town, or would you rather see the not-so-public places” Ayla asked.

“Let’s go off the beaten track; I’m sure we could find some amazing sights”, I suggest.

“Archer, turn right up ahead; we can start there. I’m sure you guys will love it,” Ayla tells us with a grin.

“Yes, boss”, he said and saluted!

As we rounded the corner Ayla had told us to take, we entered a narrow lane, well, more a dirt track, to be honest. The sounds and smells of the forest assaulted my senses. I loved it. It was as if we had left our world behind and entered a different one altogether. The light that filtered through the thick cover of leaves let off an eerie green glow.

“Wow, this looks amazing”, I breathed.

“Just wait till you see ahead; if this amazes you, you’ll love that”, Ayla promised.

The car bumped over uneven ground, littered with fallen twigs and the odd small branch. A couple of times, we almost took off as we bounced over tree roots and a few larger rocks. At least Archer could claim the rubbish driving wasn’t him this time!

“Ready!” Ayla was buzzing with excitement.

She wasn’t wrong; the view that spread out in front of us was breath-taking. In the distance was a massive mountain range, the tips covered in snow and some even hidden in the clouds. The tall pine trees we had been driving through had begun to taper down towards the valley below; the sun had managed to break through the natural canopy made by the growth of the forest and shone down triumphantly, hitting the river that ran through the whole of the valley, nestled between the mountains and the forest. It was beautiful in every way. We would never have known it was here if Ayla hadn’t told us to turn when we did.

“So, do you like it?” she asked, biting her lip in anticipation.

“It’s stunning!” we all say as one. She laughed, making it even better “Can we get down there?”

“Not by car, but we can if we go on foot,” she tells us. “Do you want to go?”

“Definitely” Axel was already hopping out of the passenger’s seat.

“Axel, wait!” I call, “Ayla is still healing. Remember”

“Oh shit! Sorry sweetheart,” he clapped his hand to his head. “How could I have forgotten.”

“Well! I have three powerful wolves with me,” she sang as she beamed at us. “Surely you could give me a hand when I need it.”

Archer jumped out of the car and started to pull off his top, unbuttoning his jeans; he kicked off his shoes and proceeded to remove his boxers. I knew exactly what he was thinking. Turning, I looked at Ayla. Her eyes were wide, and her face was the colour of beetroot. It was hilarious but adorable at the same time.

“Ayla, I’d like you to meet Titan,” I say with a flourish.

We had been shifting for a few years, so we could quickly change. One second my naked brother stood before me. The next, he had jumped, and Titan was landing inches away from our mate.

Titan wasn’t as tall as Blaze, my wolf. He was massive still, though, standing eight feet tall, his grey fur shone like silver, matching Archer’s hair perfectly. Titan still had the same amazing Amethyst eyes as his human counterpart and radiated strength.

Ayla’s face was a picture. She had seen people change into wolves before, but I’m never guessing up this close. She all but had her jaw touching the ground.

“You okay there, beautiful,” I ask, chuckling, my arms folded across my chest as I watch her.

“Your breath-taking”, she breathed; Titan bowed his head to her and nuzzled her outstretched hand.

“Ayla, you need to climb onto Titan’s back; he wants to carry you down the cliff side,” I tell her. She turns slowly to face me, her eyes bugging out of her face.

“Really?” she stumbled over the word.

“Trust me; he’s much better in his wolf form than he is at driving”, I laughed.

I hear Titan huff at me, making it all the funnier.

“Yes! We get to shift and run” Axel was buzzing. I couldn’t blame him. I was so excited myself. It had been way too long since I shifted and just ran.

Axel was whipping his clothes off so fast you would think he was getting lucky; he was so keen. After putting his clothes in a backpack – we always had one with us for times like this – and handing it to Ayla to wear, he leapt into the air. A black and grey wolf with Sapphire eyes, standing a comfortable eight foot five, was stood before us, shaking his head and stretching his legs. Ace was free, and he couldn’t have been happier.

“Okay, well, there is nothing left for it; time for you to meet Blaze!” I declare

Within no time, I could feel myself changing, and the damp earth was beneath my paws. It was the best feeling letting Blaze take over. From the look on Ayla’s face, she was either stunned by me or scared of me. I am almost nine feet tall in my wolf form and fully jet black, with my Emerald eyes never changing.

“My Goddess, you’re all gorgeous!” her voice sounded husky.

“Thank you, my mate, now climb on to Titan. He wants to carry you down the cliffside, don’t be scared. We will be right with you,” Blaze spoke to her in her mind, loving every second of being free and desperate to run. To feel the wind blowing through our fur, there was nothing like it.