Arise

After Logan swung by the house, we walked down a dirt path through the forest to a clearing that had a great sunset view. The path was barely covered with the snow, the heat of the sun melting most of it away. Already there was a red striped picnic blanket and on top of it a radio, two plates, and two glasses. I did not expect him to make such an effort for this date, which did not make the situation any better. He was already making it difficult to dislike him.

He tugged me forward and sat down on the blanket. I sat down beside him with my legs stretched out in front of me. The snow was still melting--most of the grass was wet. Even with the sun out and a clear blue sky, it was still cold, which was why I wore my black winter jacket and thermal leggings with boots.

“I know it was probably a bad idea to have a picnic in the middle of winter, but it was such a nice day today and I wanted to bask in it.” He went into the basket and pulled out a thermos. “Hot chocolate?”

I laughed and nodded. He grabbed a mug from the basket and poured the steaming hot chocolate into it before handing it to me.

I sipped the hot chocolate, letting the hot liquid coax my throat. My fingers were getting warm from the heat coming off of the cup. “Tastes good.”

“Thanks, I made it from scratch.”

“Or you used one of those hot chocolate packets.”

“You are definitely right.” I laughed at his response and continued drinking the hot chocolate while eyeing him. Logan was wearing a white shirt under his black winter coat and jeans tucked inside his combat boots, finishing the look with a black beanie on his head. But he didn’t appear to be cold. While I was shivering, he was totally normal.

I set the mug down and adjusted my boots. “Did you grow up here?”

He nodded and hitched his thumb behind him. “My house is just around the bend over there.”

“That sounds convenient for when you’re working.”

He took a sip. “It’s easier for all of Caleb’s employees that work directly under him to live close by. It helps with contracts and transitions.” I had no idea what he meant but I nodded my head anyways.

He took out two sandwiches and handed me one. As I unwrapped it, I asked, “What do your parents do?”

The silence that followed caused me to look up. Logan sat frozen, staring at the ground. His smile no longer on his face. I contorted my face in confusion. “Did I say something wrong?”

He closed his eyes before shaking his head. “My parents passed away a couple years ago.”

The sandwich fell out of my hands. His eyes followed the wrap until it hit the blanket. My eyes widened, and I was quick to apologize, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean—”

He interrupted me with a wave of his hand. “Don’t bother. You didn’t know. It’s kind of why I left for college. I needed to get away and clear my head. Distance did me some good.”

I played with my fingered nervously. “What were they like?”

He smiled, looking back at an old memory. “They were the best parents I could ever ask for: Samuel and Grace Miller. My dad was Caleb’s father’s right-hand man and my mom was a homemaker. Every Friday she baked the best chocolate chip cookies. It was the first thing I would smell when I would come back from school.”

I smiled at the happiness in his eyes, unwilling to let it go. “What about your dad?”

“He was rough around the edges but a dad nonetheless. We watched football on Sundays and he barbecued the best ribs ever. Ma couldn’t have more kids so they treated me like I was on top of the world. Made me the handsome man I am today.” His eyes twinkled as he reflected, creating butterflies in my stomach.

“They sound pretty amazing.” Logan was amazing.

He squinted his eyes as the sunset hit his face and asked, “What about your parents?”

I tilted my head to the side so that I was blocking the sun from blaring in his eyes and chuckled at the gesture. “Lisa and Mark are your average crazy in love type parents. Always sarcastic, always joking, and always showing too much affection,” I laughed and then the memories of my childhood filled my mind causing me to frown. “My mom started off rough, I remember always hearing the yelling when I was younger. Eventually, it all worked out, and now they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Quite annoying actually.”

“Sounds like a wonderful family.”

We sat in a comfortable silence, letting the soft music fill in the gaps. We talked some more after, and I had never felt more content during a date.

It had felt like that in my past relationship before everything had taken a downward spiral. That thought alone reminded me that I couldn’t do this. To me or him. In just a few days I was leaving. This thing that I was about to start with Logan was going to be short lived. Pretty soon, I would be back at school completing my major and then off to whatever life would eventually take me. I didn’t want this week to end. I didn’t want to leave this mob community.

He closed the basket and eyed me, probably sensing that something was off. “Secret for a secret?”

I rolled my eyes. “Does that tactic usually work for you when you’re on dates?”

He ignored my jab and said, “I’m glad to be home.”

That wasn’t much of secret, but I played along anyways. I met his eyes with a frown. “I wish the week didn’t go by so fast. I wish I could spend more time getting to know you.”

His eyes softened, but that dimple remained on his cheek. “That was two secrets,” he said softly.

I winked. “Looks like you owe me a secret.”

He leaned towards me, gaze dropping to my lips. I held my breath. “Rosetta, I—” His eyes widened, irises turning gold and moved back slightly. I moved my head back and furrowed my eyebrows. Did his eyes always change color?

He stared at the forest for a couple seconds and then swore. “We have to go.” He rose to his feet and helped me up.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“We just have to go.” The nervous haste in his voice made me stand up warily. I brushed the invisible dust from my knees.

That was when I heard it. A growl vibrated across the forest causing me to freeze.

“Did you hear that?” I looked over to him, unsure if I was just hearing things. He didn’t confirm or deny that he heard it too.

“C’mon.” He pulled me away from the picnic and before I could protest he yelled, “Leave the basket and blanket. I’ll come back for it later.”

“Logan, what’s going on?” He pulled me behind him but before we could continue, something blocked our path.

His arms suddenly raised in front of me, stopping me from continuing further. His stance was stiff but his eyes held fear and concern. “You need to run right now! Go!”

I looked over him and gripped his arms. “Is that wolf?” I blinked a few times and sure enough, it was. Unlike any wolf I had imagined seeing, it was huge. The wolf’s eyes were red, and it was snarling, baring teeth in anger. I gasped and held my urge to scream.

He pushed me back and yelled, “Run!” I didn’t have to think twice. My feet moved faster than my mind tried to understand the situation. I heard snarls behind me as my feet pumped against the snow melting grass. When the sounds silenced, I slowed down to stop beside a tree for a quick breath. I was so focused on running, I didn’t notice that Logan stayed behind. I did a quick scan of the forest and pulled out my phone to call Valerie.

My voice shook as I said, “We saw a wolf, Val and it was very feral.” I tried to control my breathing but it was near impossible. “I ran but I don’t know where Logan is and I’m really scared.”

“Tell me where you are. Look for the tree markers, Rosetta.”

Tears form at the corner of my eyes, while I tried to regain breathing. Before I could even look up, a growl emitted from behind me. I shut my eyes and whimpered, “It’s behind me, Val.” Where was Logan?

“Breathe, Rosie. Caleb is on his way. Hold on, okay.”

I slowly turned around as tears slipped past my cheeks. It was staring back at me as if it was smirking, like it could smell my fear and enjoyed every second of it. It looked at me and sensed that I would be its next prey. It took a steady step forward, and I took a step back. I pleaded and begged that the wolf wouldn’t attack me, but when it bared its teeth with a feral growl, I covered my face with my arms and braced for impact. None came.

A gray wolf had pushed it away and was fighting it off. They tumbled side to side with matching growls. The gray wolf now stood between me and the feral one, as if it were protecting me.

“Rosetta!” I turn around and saw Valerie running towards me, as another wolf ran right past her towards the wolf. I followed the wolf’s movement as it pushed against the feral wolf. Now it was two against one: the black and gray wolves against the brown one.

Before I could continue watching, Valerie tugged my arm and gestured me to follow her. But I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. I wanted to watch the wolves battle it out. There was something strange and familiar about the two wolves but I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly. Why did they feel familiar?

“Wait, Val.”

“For you own sanity, Rosie. You do not want to watch how this ends.” Valerie was worried more about my well-being than anything else, but I wanted to see it. I didn’t miss the way Valerie showed her familiarity with the situation. She knew something I didn’t which meant it involved Caleb and his stupid secret.

I stood my ground and watched as the wolves fought each other, biting and clawing the brown wolf as he returned with the same moves. The gray wolf bit its hind leg, causing it to fall back with a whine. Without even a second thought, the black wolf bit the brown wolf’s neck. I gasped as blood immediately reddened the snow. I watched as the wolf’s breathing slowed down but remained steady. Alive, but unconscious.

Without a moment’s notice, the black wolf dragged the wolf away with his teeth. He then stopped in front of Val and looked at her almost like he was asking for forgiveness. She looked at me and then sighed and leaned her forehead against his snout. “It’s okay, Cal. You saved her.”

“You named him after your fiancé?” This society was really starting to weird me out.

She nervously chuckled and continued petting his fur. “Funny story: this is Caleb.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

My question hung in the air but, in that moment, the black wolf shuttered and slowly stood on his hind legs, while his bones cracked in a bizarre manner. Within seconds, I was staring at a very naked Caleb.

I thought I felt my heart stop. “This is a sick joke.” This wasn’t real. I’m dreaming.

“Believe it, doofus.” His skin was marred with scratches from the fight, but he didn’t look at all in pain.

“How did you? When did you?” I stuttered and took a step back. Fear consumed me. My mind couldn’t comprehend this even as a possibility. Caleb was a werewolf?

“Spit out your words.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, I’m not the only one.” I shifted my gaze to Valerie. Her too? She shook her head and tilted her head in the direction of the gray wolf.

Hoping my guess was wrong and that this was all a joke, I knelt in front of the gray wolf. He whimpered as his eyes met mine. They were beautiful swirls of gray surrounded by golden circles. The same eyes I saw at Valerie’s party. The same eyes I saw a couple days ago at the breakfast line. Those same eyes that asked me out yesterday, were now staring back at me with sadness. His ears folded down embarrassed and he nudged my hands that were resting on my lap. He wanted me to pet him, but I was too shocked to move. It took all my energy to say, “Logan.”

He backed up before me and went through the same transitioning process as Caleb. I was frozen in shock. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. This was real, but this can’t possibly be real. I blinked, and blinked again…and again. This was not possible. Werewolves were only in movies and books. They can’t be real. My head was spinning.

“Rosetta—” He reached his arm out to me, but I shrieked and covered my eyes. He was just as naked as Caleb, and I was not ready to witness all of that. I stood up and backed away slowly, bumping into Valerie.

“I…uh—I just need a minute. Um…I don’t—” My legs finally found the will to move. I turned around abruptly and walked away confused and in shock.

I did not know how I got here, but I was currently finding solace in the comfort of the room I was residing in. It took me the instant I stepped foot into the threshold to figure out that every single person besides me, Dylan, Val, and Jordan were werewolves. They were completely normal. They went on with their lives like it was no big deal. I was a human surrounded by wolves this whole time!

A knock at the door caused me to flinch. “Relax, it’s just me and Val.” Dylan opened the door and walked in with her hands raised. Valerie behind her walked in cautiously.

I started, “if you think for one second that—”

Dylan scoffed at me and put her hands on her hips. “Oh put a sock in it, Rosie. Let her explain.”

I narrowed my eyes and got off the bed as I spoke, “Explain? I just saw two—wait did you know about this?” I pointed an accusatory finger at her.

She shrugged and nonchalantly said, “I was there when Jordan went through his first shift into a wolf.”

I sputtered. “First shift? As in, turning into a werewolf?!” If Jordan was a werewolf then that meant...I looked at my friend. “You’re a werewolf too?!” Unbelievable. The world was playing games with me.

Valerie visibly winced. “Guilty.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and sighed. “I’m sorry.”

I clenched my hands into fists and glared at her. “I looked you right in the eye and you shook your head!”

“That’s because Caleb was referring to Logan, not me.”

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. “That doesn’t matter because you lied to me! I have known you since high school and you blatantly lied to my face. You’ve been lying to me for years!” I shifted my gaze towards my so-called sister and yelled, “And you, my own sister. You kept this major secret from me.”

My eyes burned and tears threatened to fall, but I didn’t care. Two of the most important people in my life shared one big giant secret, and kept it from me. “The both of you have kept this huge secret from me for years and I had to find out now! By almost being attacked by one of them!” I was getting angrier with each passing minute.

“It’s not one of us! It’s a rogue,” Valerie tried to reason, but I wasn’t having it.

I crossed my arms over my chest and gasped while sarcastically saying, “I’m sorry, I only just learned about werewolves, my bad if I couldn’t tell a damn different!”

Valerie threw her hands up in surrender. “No need to get sarcastic on me.”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this situation. I just saw two wolves turn into humans!”

“Rosie, if you would just calm down and let us explain.”

I interrupted Dylan. “You want me to calm down, Dylan? I just found out that my best friend and her arrogant boyfriend are werewolves, the guy I have really like is a werewolf, and you are in love with a werewolf!” I was way past rationality, I was fuming.

Dylan’s eyes glinted which meant she was seconds away from erupting, but before she could, she was interrupted.

“Crap, they’re coming,” Valerie muttered.

“Who?”

“Caleb and Logan.”

“How do—“ Before I could finish my question, a knock came followed by a voice.

“Rosetta.” Logan.

I froze and glanced at the door before returning my gaze to Valerie and whispered, “I don’t want to see him or talk to him ever again.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, human. We have enhanced hearing. Now, open the door before I kick it down.”

Valerie turned toward the door and yelled, “Give us a minute, Caleb!”

He knocked harder. “No, open the door, Val!”

“Don’t tell her what to do, jerk!” I shouted.

Logan gently spoke. “Rosie, let me explain. Please open the door.” Even in my anger, his gentle voice still made my stupid heart skip a beat. Made my anger cease.

“Do not call me Rosie. Leave.”

“Valerie!” Caleb yelled again. Valerie moved toward the door slowly.

I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, “You’re going to let him control you like that?”

She looked torn between the two options held out in front of her, but she was ready to choose the wrong one. I wasn’t going to let her do this to me. “If you open that door, we will have a serious problem.”

She bit her lip worriedly. “You don’t understand, but if you would just let Logan explain it to you.”

“I don’t even want to be within walking distance of him.” She didn’t listen to me and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal a very irritated Caleb and a sad looking Logan. I refused to meet his eyes. If I did, I would see regret, and I would feel bad for him.

Valerie put her hands against Caleb’s chest to get his attention. She kissed his lips and quietly said, “Let’s give them space to talk.” Do not leave me with him! She ignored my internal pleas and nodded her head at Dylan, gesturing her to leave too.

“No, don’t—” They closed the door.

Logan stood in front of the door and looked at me worriedly. I could see the sadness in his eyes, pleading me to give him a chance to explain. Deep down, I really wanted to, but right now, my anger was clouding my judgement.

I cleared my throat and said, “I’m giving you five minutes to tell me the truth. All of it.”

He put his hands in his front pockets, “Can we at least talk somewhere private?”

“This isn’t private enough for you?”

“Not really. I’m absolutely positive that they’re listening.”

“Fine.”

He opened the door and I followed him with my head down. I only stared at where his feet were going and said nothing else. Pretty soon, we were out of the house and I felt the strain in my shoulders relax. Too many of them in one house freaked me out. I glared at the back of his head as I followed him through the forest. We walked for five minutes in silence until we reached a simple looking lodge.

“This is your house?” The lodge was two stories tall with very large bay windows on both levels. The second level had a walkout that seemed to go around the whole house. There were two stone pillars on the first floor with a door in between.

“Did you expect a mansion?” He asked with a smirk.

“Yes.”

“Alpha and Luna think I should upgrade to one.”

“Who?”

“Caleb and Valerie.”Suddenly, conversations I had with people here flashed through my mind. I had heard multiple accounts of them calling Caleb and Val those names. There was the time with Dr. Hal and Shaw.

“Oh.”

“I will explain everything, but first, would you like anything to drink?”

Some alcohol would be nice. “I’m good.”

From there, we sat across from each other on the table. He offered the couch, but that meant getting comfortable, and this discussion was far from it. He told me that the entire world had werewolves, but this town was run by his pack. The Moon Rise pack, so it was called, was apparently number three in the state, led by the notorious jerk, Caleb. Caleb was the Alpha, while Logan was his second-in-command or what he was formally known as, Beta.

The Alpha title was passed down to Caleb by his father, when he met his mate, Valerie, who became the pack’s Luna. The Alpha was the leader of the pack, while the Luna was the balance that kept him grounded and maintained peace between pack members. The next rank was his Beta. When Logan’s parents died, his father’s title was passed down to him. Beneath him was the third-in command, a Delta who trained members to fight.

“What’s a mate?” I had never heard of it as endearment.

“Means soulmate, your other half, someone to complement your character. They are made for you and you alone.”

His words laid heavy on me. “So, Caleb and Val are mates, and Jordan and Dylan are mates.”

“Yes.”

Something in my mind began to put the puzzles together. “Does everyone have a mate?”

“Werewolves: yes. Humans: no, not in the way werewolves do. It’s not rare for a werewolf to have a human as a mate, but it’s not very common either.”

I couldn’t dare to bring myself to ask. I couldn’t bring myself to even ponder the idea.

His eyebrows furrowed and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he sighed and said instead, “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”

I laughed half-heartedly and considered his eyes. “We are literally and figuratively from two different worlds.”

His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. “That doesn’t mean we can’t work this out.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh and shook my head. “Don’t you have a mate to look for? I do not fit in here. Dylan does, Valerie does, but not me.”

His eyes soften. “Give me a chance, doll.”