HIDDEN (Hidden Trilogy Book 1) (13 page)

“What’s going to happen?”  I asked more than a little unsure how things were going to play out.  Was I in danger from them now that I knew? 

“Nothing.  We won’t hurt you.”  He reassured.  He must have read my expression on my face.  “There are just some things we need to discuss since you…well…know about us now.”  He motioned for me to walk toward him.  I walked slowly forward and watched him closely.  He was still the same guy I knew and hung out with every day.  But now things started to make a lot more sense. 
The hearing, the scents, the speed
.  I ran those scenarios through my head over and over as I passed Cade with a curious look.  He gave me a small smile as he followed me to the front of the house and inside where everyone waited in the living room, Mica included.  Liam motioned to an empty sofa.  Movement at the entrances to the living room made me look around and notice a few new faces, men in their mid-thirties, who were stationed at the doors. 
Who were they?
 
Guards?
 

“Please, have a seat.”  Liam motioned to the couch.  I nodded and sat down on one side of the couch and Cade sat beside me.  I eyed the men standing around the room and looked toward Cade questioningly. 

“Don’t mind them.  They’re the Pack’s Enforcers.”  Well, that name rang a bell.  If only Tyler knew how close to the truth their nicknames were. 

“Like guards?”  I asked.  He nodded. 

“They are just here as a formality.”  Cade shrugged.  Deciding that was another question for later, I turned to Liam as he started to speak. 

“I’m sorry you found out this way.  It was never our intention for you to know at all.”  Liam sighed.  “There are rules in our society that must be followed, to maintain our secrecy and safety.”

“I won’t tell anyone.”  I assured them as I looked around the group.

“And I believe you won’t.”  Liam nodded.  “But we walk a fine line.  Now that you know, we have to be extra vigilant that no one outside of our pack knows that a human is aware of us.”

“But you said she wasn’t human?”  Cade replied. 
Uh…what?
 

“I didn’t say she wasn’t human, just that she wasn’t quite human.”  He looked to my shocked face and grimaced.  “There’s something…different…about you that I don’t understand.  You look human, act human, but my wolf tells me that there is something else there.”

“Your wolf?”  I asked.

“Maybe we should start at the beginning.”  Mica said gently.  Liam nodded and turned the conversation over to her. 

“Our pack is called the McCoy Pack, since we are the ruling alphas.  As you’ve gathered by now, we are all wolf shifters.   Meaning we can change into wolf form at any time.”

“So no full moons and all that?”  I asked as my eyes shifted to Cassie and remembered our first conversation about werewolves and full moons.  Was she feeling me out for what I knew back then?  Did she know there was something different about me?

“No, those are myths created through time.  Our heritage is passed down through our genes, from one generation to another.  We cannot create a wolf, they are only born.”

“Are there others like you?  Out there in the world?”

“Yes.”  Liam answered.  “We are one pack among many.  We control this territory just as other packs control theirs.” 

“So everyone here, they are werewolves?”

“Wolf shifters, dear,” Mica corrected.  “And yes, this small community is our pack.  We live together, work together, and thrive together.” 
Just like a real pack.
 

“So you all can shift?  Into wolves?” 

“Most of us can.”  Mica answered.  “The young ones eventually learn how to.  The time they first shift can vary depending on how strong the wolf is inside.  Alphas usually shift early, others not until their early teens.”

I looked to Liam.  “I take it you’re the Alpha.”

“I am.”  Liam nodded.  He looked to Mica.  “My wife, or mate, is the Alpha female.” 

“Okay.”  I nodded, easily seeing that they were the leaders of their pack.  “So what’s this about a wolf inside?  Like a duel personality?”

“Close.”  Liam replied.  “I only share this information with you because I know you are not human, well, all human.  The information we discuss today remains here or with the people in this pack.  You cannot tell anyone else.  Understood?”

“Yes, of course.  No one would believe me anyways.”

“Good.”  He cleared his throat before continuing.  “To answer your question, when we are in human form, our thought processes are similar to regular humans.  We control our impulses and desires.”

“When we are in wolf form,” Mica supplied, “Our wolves are more dominate, but it’s not to say we aren’t in control.  Our basic needs arise.  Like chasing, hunting, scenting, things like that.”

“But your human half is still in control?”

“For the most part, yes.”  Mica nodded.

“When isn’t it?”  I asked, concern edging my voice.

“Usually in situations of high stress or in some cases, emotion.” 

“Am I in danger, hanging out with these guys?”  I asked motioning around the group.  They shifted uncomfortably and I felt bad for asking.  But, honestly, the question had to be asked.

“No.”  Cade answered vehemently.  “Never.”  I looked to him then back to Mica.

“No,” she assured me and eyed her son.  “Their wolves have all accepted you.  They would never turn on you.”

“What do you mean, accepted?”

“It’s kind of complicated.”  Mica bit her lip before continuing.  “Packs are a tight knit group.  They socialize well amongst each other, but not with humans.  When you moved here,” She paused, trying to figure out how to explain. 

“Bree confronted me.”  I offered.  Shock registered on Mica and Liam’s face before they swiveled in Bree’s direction.  Her face flushed red.

“I came out of the store and she was staring at you guys.”  She motioned to the other four.  “I thought she was a loner passing through and didn’t want her sniffing around.” 

“Well done, Bree.”  Mica praised.  Bree glowed.  I assumed since Bree had a passive nature, or submissive as the case may be, a confrontation was out of the ordinary for her.  The wolves must prize more aggressive behavior when it came to the protection of their pack. 

“But then the rest of them joined us and questioned who I was.”  I commented.  Cassie piped up. 

“I knew you weren’t a wolf, you didn’t smell like one.  But you didn’t smell human either.”  She shrugged.  “Either way you needed a friend.”

“Then Cade offered to walk her home.”  Hunter growled from the side couch.  I was surprised he said anything at all.  Usually he was too busy brooding over something or watching silently.  I looked back to Cade who wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes.

“I knew something was…” he searched for the right word.

“Off,” I supplied, dryly.  Cade looked to me in surprise.  “Tanner mentioned you said that about me.” 

“I just bet he did.”  Cade rolled his eyes.  “Yes, there was something different about you and I didn’t know what it was.  I knew we should stay close to figure out what it was, but after a while, you just became a part of our pack.”

“Minus the whole turning furry part.”  I mumbled.  Everyone laughed. 

“Right.”  Cade smiled. 

“Which brings me to my next question,” I said, looking back to Liam.  “You said I’m not all human?”

“Not quite human,” he clarified.  “Your scent is off, not like a human’s.”  He sighed in frustration.  “Though I have no idea what it is.” 

“Vampire?”  I joked.  Liam laughed. 

“No, not vampire.”  I looked to him in confusion.  I meant it as a joke but… “No,” he held up his hand, “don’t ask.  The less you know the better.”
Uh, I can see the nightmares coming already.
 

“So, earlier you said that my knowing about you puts your pack in danger.”  I looked around the group.  “Do I need to stop hanging out with you then?” 

“Absolutely not.”  Cade said firmly.  I ignored him and looked toward Liam for confirmation. 

“We don’t have to worry about anyone from our pack saying anything.  It will just be when neighboring packs visit that we will have to be careful.”

“Meaning I don’t come around here when they are here.”  I replied dryly. 

“Exactly.”  Liam responded.  I nodded in understanding. 

“So, what happens now?”  I asked as I looked around the group. 

“Now?”  Liam asked.  “Now we can all breathe a little easier since you know.  We don’t have to hide what we are.”  He smiled at me. 

“I’m sorry if I put a strain on things whenever I came here.”  I replied quietly. 

“Oh, no dear,” Mica assured me.  “We love having you around.  It will just be easier for everyone to not be so on guard all the time.”  She stood and clasped Liam’s hand.  “We should go have a word with everyone else.  Let them know about this new development.  And talk to Tanner to let him know everything is fine.”

“Yes, you’re right.”  He looked to me before adding, “If you have any questions, feel free to ask us or any of them.”  He said, pointing to the other five.  “We’ll be as honest as we can now.” 

“Thank you.  Really.  For trusting me.”  I replied sincerely.  They both smiled in return before heading out the door.  All of the Enforcers followed them out.  I looked around at the “wolves” beside me. 

“Well, that’s not something you learn every day.”  I said as I fell back into the couch.  Brody laughed. 

“Knew she’d take it like a champ.”  He grinned and I smiled in return. 

“You sure you’re okay?”  Cade turned sideways to face me.  I shrugged.

“Well, I find out all my friends are wolf shifters, a secret society humans don’t know about, and oh yeah, apparently I’m not even human.”  I sighed.  “Yeah, I’m just dandy.” 

“Dad and Mom are working on what you are.  They are doing research but haven’t come across anything yet.”  Cade said. 

“They can’t exactly go around asking questions of other packs either.”  Cassie added. “It would raise too many questions.” 

“Enough with the serious talk.”  Brody huffed as he pushed to his feet.  “Don’t you want to know what we look like in wolf form?”  My eyes widened. 
Hell yeah.
  I nodded vigorously. 

“Well, all right then.”  Brody smiled. 

“Let’s go back to the Falls, first.”  Bree suggested.  “It will give us a little more privacy while the pack is adjusting to Kendra knowing about us.”

“You’re right.”  Cassie stood up too and Hunter followed suit.  “The storm has passed so the sun should be coming out soon.”  Cade stood beside me and held out his hand. 

“You ready?”  He asked, looking at me questioningly. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”  I clasped his hand and he pulled me to my feet. 

The trip up the mountain was faster this time.  Cade made me ride piggy back style since he didn’t have to hide his strength and speed anymore.  Yes,
made
me.  The man didn’t know how to ask nicely for anything.  With nothing to hide, they all could use their wolfy traits and speed toward the Falls. 

When we reached the Falls, the sun was just peeking out of the clouds.  Cade gently let me down a few feet beyond the tree line.  I looked around at them and wondered how the shift happened.  I mean, I watched Tanner but it was so sudden I didn’t get that good of a look.  Never mind the shock of watching him change.  It was like one moment he was a boy, the next a wolf pup. 

“Cassie, Bree,” Cade started. “Stay in the trees and shift, then walk slowly toward us.  We’ll take Kendra out further on the rocks.”  I didn’t object as Cade guided me to the rock outcropping where we had picnicked a few weeks before. 

“Why can’t they shift out here?” 

“One, I want to give you time to adjust to our size.  We are a bit bigger than Tanner.”  Cade said. 

“That’s why the girls are going first too.”  Brody commented.  I looked to him in confusion.  “We,” he motioned to the three of them, “are bigger than the girls.”  He said with a twinkle in his eye.  Movement to the side of my vision made me look back toward the edge of the trees where two large wolves now stood. 
Brody said they were bigger than that? 
Both wolves easily came up to my thigh.  I watched as they slowly trotted in our direction. 

Who’s who?”  I breathed. 

“Cassie is the slightly bigger one, black tipped in silver.  Bree is the smaller, reddish brown one.”  Cade replied as he watched me closely.  I wasn’t freaking out, at least not yet.  Both wolves stopped within arm’s reach of me and waited for my reaction.  I stepped forward and Cade mirrored my movements.  I moved to Cassie first, and she waited patiently as I ran my hand lightly over the crown of her head. 
So soft.
  I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.  I glanced over at Cade to see him smiling. 

“Now, Bree.”  He instructed.  I turned back to Bree and did the same to her. 

“This is so cool.”  I grinned. 

“I’m glad you think so.”  Cade commented with a grin.  He nodded to Brody and Hunter who strode off into the forest.  I waited impatiently to see what the size difference would be and what color of fur they would have.  Belatedly I remembered Cade was listing reasons why they couldn’t shift in the open. 

“What was the other reason for shifting in the woods?”  I asked, eyes on the trees.  Cassie and Bree sat on their haunches, their wolf eyes following our conversation. 

“When we shift, it’s sudden.  Nothing gentle about it.  It’s best if we remove our clothing first, so we don’t have to buy out an entire department store later.”

“Oh.”  I replied, face heating before adding, “I could have just turned my back.  Or are you guys always this modest?”  I teased and Cade laughed. 

“Modesty isn’t the wolf way.  We were doing it for your benefit.” 

“You don’t have to change your routine just because of me.  I can adjust.”  I assured him.  He grinned before he replied. 

“We’ll see.”  He turned and I followed his gaze. 
Wow.  They were big.  Bigger than Cassie and Bree.
  Brody and Hunter were much more bulky and taller than either Cassie or Bree.  They probably stood at about hip level to me. 

“Brody is the light brown one, Hunter the dark brown.” 

“They look almost identical.”  I assessed as they both made their way slowly toward me.  They stopped just within arm’s reach like Cassie and Bree had.  I moved to touch them, Cade once again mirrored my steps.  Feeling more comfortable with Brody, I reached out to him first.  His eyes closed when I ran my hand over his head and a soft contented growl emanated from his chest. 

“Did he just purr?”  I asked, and the sound abruptly cut off.  I watched as Brody gave me a wolfy glare before he moved out of my reach.  Cade laughed. 

“He doesn’t appreciate being compared to a cat.” 

“Can you talk to them?”  I asked, astonished.

“Sure.  Human to human, human to wolf, or wolf to wolf, we can hear and talk to each other.  The human connection only works with pack members.” 

“That’s pretty cool.”  I was impressed. 

“Touch Hunter.”  Cade instructed.  I turned back to the dark haired wolf.  I slowly approached Hunter, watching his body language for any signs he didn’t like it.  I knew Hunter the person, was still in charge, but I had a feeling his wolf was a little more aggressive than the others.  He allowed me to touch his head, briefly, before he turned away and joined Cassie and Bree. 

“Ok.”  I grinned, happy with my success.  I turned to look at Cade and found myself face to chest.  Bare, naked, sculpted chest. 
Oh.  My.  God.
  My heart stopped and my lungs seized.  Finally I regained enough composure to raise my eyes to his.  He was smirking.  His shirt was still in his hand, and I watched as he dropped it to the ground.  Then his hands went for his jeans.  My eyes widened. 

“What are you doing?”  I turned around quickly as I heard a zipper slide. 

“You said that we shouldn’t do anything different.  That you’d adjust.  So I’m shifting in front of you.” 

“Yeah, but a little warning next time.”  I huffed, still turned away.  He chuckled behind me.  I didn’t hear anything for a few seconds, but didn’t dare turn around, just in case. 
Not that I wasn’t curious.
  Before I could think any more on Cade’s less than half clad body, a soft pressure on my lower back made me think it was okay to turn around. 

As I did, I looked down at Cade.  In wolf form.  He was entirely black and huge.  Easily bigger than Brody or Hunter.  I could see Cade looking out from his brown wolf eyes and that was all the reassurance I needed to raise my hand.  He ducked under to bump my hand sooner.  I gently ran my hand over his crown and admired the soft fur underneath.  He pressed a little harder into my hand.  I took that as a good sign so I brought my other hand up and cupped his jaw then caressed over and around his ears.  His eyes closed in pleasure.  I smiled in return.  I let my hands fall down to my side, but Cade wasn’t done quite yet.  He head bunted my stomach which made me step back to catch myself and my hands automatically came back up to steady myself along his neck.  He rubbed the crown of his head against my stomach before he shifted to the side of me and rubbed around to my back. 

I held still, not really sure what he was doing.  I looked over to the other four and found each of them looking on with their heads cocked to the side.  As if they were just as puzzled about what was going on as I was.  Finally, Cade rounded my other side and stood close enough that his fur rubbed against me.  He looked at the other wolves and some silent communication must have passed between them, because each of them took off toward the trees and left me with Cade.  I watched as they bounded through the tree line, bumping into each other playfully as they went. 

My eyes moved to Cade who was watching them go and then proceeded to curl up on the ground at my feet.  Once settled, he looked up at me, as if to ask, “Coming?”  I laughed, too bad their wolf talk didn’t work on humans. 
Or…whatever I was.  Right, one thing at a time.
  I sat down by his head and Cade laid his head in my lap.  Shocked, I looked down at the large head resting on my legs and shook my head. 
Such a weird day. 
With nowhere else to lay my hands, I started petting him like I would a dog.  He didn’t seem to mind. 

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I continued to pet him.  He would occasionally sigh in contentment and his eyes were closed.  I thought back over the new revelations over the past few hours and couldn’t believe the changes.  There were actually wolf shifters in the world.  No myths or fantasies.  They were real.  Beautiful.  Majestic.  And somehow I was accepted as one of them.  Of course, there was the small fact about how Liam claimed I wasn’t human.  Which I didn’t totally understand…yet.  If I wasn’t human, what was I?  Obviously not a shifter if they didn’t think so.  What other creatures were out there?  Was I one of them?  If only I knew who my parents were.  They could probably have shed some light on the situation.  I sighed and looked around the clearing. 

“I wish I had my sketch book.”  I commented as I thought of all the drawings I could have made.  Cade huffed in agreement.  The sun was finally out and there was a nice breeze.  The flowers were starting to lose their brilliance in the late fall but overall, the waterfalls were still beautiful.  Not to mention I was sitting next to an actual wolf.  It would have been cool to sketch Cade in his wolf form. 

Wait a minute.
I thought back to my most recent drawings.  The ones of the individual wolf, or the group.  The whole pack, five of them in all. 
All my drawings were of them.  All of them.
  Cade, Cassie, Bree, Brody and Hunter.  The only one missing was the one looking on from the forest.  What did that mean? 

“Cade, I think I knew you were wolves all along.”  He cocked his head to the side and looked up at me with one eye.  “I mean it, but I have absolutely no idea how.  I’ve drawn all of you.  Right down to the same color.”  Cade sat up and looked at me.  Before I could even guess what he was going to do, I blinked and suddenly he was human. 
Naked.
  Right in front of me. 

“OH MY GOD!”  I yelled, closed my eyes, and threw my hand over my eyes for good measure.  “What the hell, Cade?  A little warning next time?” 

“What was I supposed to do?”  Cade huffed from somewhere above me.  “You drop a bomb like that then wait patiently to discuss it?”  I could hear him as he moved around and pulled his clothes on.  “I can’t exactly tell you I’m shifting.”  I waited, not wanting to risk another peep show, even if a small part of me wanted to. 
Just a small part, really.
  “I’m decent now.”  I moved my hand to see that he was half decent.  He only had his jeans on, and it didn’t look like he was going to put his shirt on that was still lying on the ground as he sat beside me.

“Now, what’s this about your drawings?”  His full attention was on me waiting for an answer.  I took a deep breath before I tried to explain. 

“I’ve been drawing you and everyone else.  Well, I think it’s you.  It sure looks like you in your midnight black wolf form.”  I said.  “Same for the others.  And I’ve been having dreams about all of you.  In wolf form.”

“How could you possibly know that, enough to draw us?  Or dream about us?”  Cade asked softly, perplexed. 

“I have no clue.”  I shrugged.  “This is your world, not mine.  I don’t understand how I would even begin to know something like that.”  I pondered and didn’t meet his eyes.  He shifted closer to me and rested back on one hand while he brought the other one up to my chin to force me to look at him. 

“This is as much your world as it is mine now.”  He argued.  “You know who we are, what we are.  Nothing changes that.  You’re one of us now.”  He grinned before adding.  “An honorary pack member.”  I shook my head and grinned as I remembered back to when he said that the first time.  Little did I know then how literal that phrase would be. 

“So you have no idea about this whole drawing or dreaming thing?”  I asked.  He sighed and dropped his hand from my jaw before he raised it to run it through his hair. 

“No.  Not a clue.  Although,” he said with a gleam in his eye, “It’s flattering to know you dream about me.”  I play punched him in the arm which didn’t affect him at all.  “We’ll tell Dad and Mom when we get back.”  He commented as his eyes traveled off toward the woods. 

“You can go run with them, if you want.” I commented, thinking that he wished he was with them. 

“And leave you alone?  I don’t think so.”  He scowled at me like it was the worst idea ever. 

“No really, I don’t mind.  I’ll just hang out here or do a little exploring.” 

“Exploring?”  He scoffed.  “Besides, I’m not leaving you in the middle of a forest, alone.”  He said disapprovingly. 

“Fine.  Then what do you want to talk about?” 

“You.”  He leaned back on his elbows. 

“Me?”  I asked with raise eyebrows.  I turned slightly to look at him.  No shirt, leaning back on his elbows? 
Holy muscles.
 

“Yeah, you know my secret, now I want to know yours.”

“Hate to break it to you but I don’t turn into a furry animal.”

“No kidding,” he replied, rolling his eyes.  “Although, it would be cool if you could.”

“Yeah, one thing at a time.”  I replied with a shake of my head. 

“So, how about it?  What’s your secret?”  He asked again. 

“Uh, last time I checked your parents were doing research on that one.”

“Not that.  And quite stalling.  You know what I’m asking.  I want to know what happened at your other foster homes.”  Huh, not exactly a topic I wanted to talk about right then. 

I regarded him carefully before slowly asking, “Why?”

“Something you said.”  He regarded me steadily.  “You said staying with Steve and Nicole was better than any other place you’d been.  I want to know what happened at the other places.”