Roses Wither: Into the Darkness

Aiden

The trucks were all backed in at the creek, country music blared, and the she-wolves giggled as the males flirted and laughed with them.

These were the summers of the shifters. We would work all day, at our random jobs, and chill on the land in the evenings, on through the night.

It was BBQs, bonfires, tan lines, lots of sex and booze. Of course the booze had to be stronger, to effect the shifters and their metabolism, but it was totally worth it.

Tonight was no different, except for the occasion. Rosa was turning 18. At exactly 11:47pm.

I was fucking terrified. If the pull was like this now, how would I be able to hide it when she turned 18?

We’d been here since early afternoon, but I had parked my ass on my tailgate for most of the day, while she swam in the creek and mingled around. I was 8 drinks in and still trying to drown my wolf as he watched her talk and flirt with the guys.

It didn’t help that she was dressed in a little black, lacy top and skin tight jeans either. The cowgirl boots were pretty fucking sexy too.

Some of our shifter friends danced around the fire now, as others mingled and talked amongst themselves. Some couples even strode into the woods together.

“Why are you sitting, man? It's a party.” Ben, my closest brother and future Beta had been gone for almost a year, but now he leaned against the back of my pickup, like it was nothing.

Shit, I hadn't even heard or felt him coming near. What the fuck was wrong with me?

“What the fuck is up, bro?” I snorted, taking a swig of my beer as I examined him.

He was just as lanky as ever, still not as big as me, but that was because I was born to be the Alpha, which was worthless, if I couldn't even feel my own brother approach.

“I came home for Rosa’s birthday.” He snorted, grabbing a beer from the back of my truck, “It's a big deal, ya know. Once again, what are you doing over here? It’s Rosa’s eighteenth. She’s a fucking adult now.”

“I always sit here.” I shrugged, “The chicks come to me, not the other way around.”

“Did you claim her to the pack yet?” His green eyes bore into the side of my face, but I didn’t look at him. Instead, I examined my beer before taking another swig.

“Where is she anyway?” He began to look around, "I know she's here. I can feel her little ass."

“Over there.” I nudged my chin toward her group and his smile grew.

She was hanging with Clara and her new friend. The three together were actually somewhat scary. Especially Clara. She held a prophecy. One only a witch could hold. How she would help Rosa was beyond me.

“What happened when I was away?” He punched my arm, “Shit, bro! She got hotter than hell.”

The song changed and Rosa’s friend Megan howled from her side. I grinned when she joined in and they began to sway and dance to the music.

It was all fun and games now, but when these two really got to dancing, they danced, and no one could keep up with them.

“Who’s the blonde?” Ben’s brow furrowed as he watched Rosa’s friend.

Meg and Rosa had been in the same grade. She was a 4th generation shifter. Cute, but we hadn’t talked, other than when we patrolled and I was giving orders.

She wasn’t my type, then again, on the other hand, she appeared to be my brother’s type. If he liked a tall blonde, with brown eyes and a lean figure.

“Rosa’s friend,” I told him, “Megan Thornton. Apparently you like tall blondes?”

“She eighteen?” He didn’t look away from her as his eyes flashed with the amber of his wolf’s.

“Yeah, I think a month ago.” I snorted, watching him.

“This should be fun.” He looked me in the eye, something very few did, and smiled wolfishly. I just snorted again and swigged my beer.

My brothers and I all looked exactly the same. Tall, muscular, black hair, green eyes, but we were all so mentally different that we almost cancelled each other out.

Ben was in college, to get a fucking law degree. He was my complete opposite, because I was destined to live as the warrior. I would follow my father’s footsteps and be the Alpha of the Royal Guard. I would be the force and he would be the little halo on my shoulder.

Caleb and Dean, our next brothers, were twins. Where Caleb was the reason, Dean was the force

Then there was Evan. Our youngest brother, who had disappeared with two she-wolves about thirty minutes ago. It was the way of the wolves and I supposed that we were all like that at sixteen.

“She’s dancing.” Ben groaned, “I can’t dance.”

He was right. We needed to be in charge and one couldn’t be on alert if he was dancing.

“Wait for them to come around.” I shrugged and motioned to the other cooler on my tailgate. The black one with band decals all over it, “I got Rosa’s booze in the boot.”

He laughed at the stickers and shook his head, “Oh, Rosa... Some things never change.”

“The girl likes country, but she loves her heavy metal.” I sighed, and as we laughed, the power shifted into something unearthly and electrical.

I immediately went on alert and looked at my brother. His face told me that he’d felt it too.

It had been years since I felt a power like this, but it was stronger than I remembered. It was like a current, running through water, waiting for a victim.

My eyes, followed by Ben’s, darted around the party. No one had felt it, but I knew if I had felt it, Rosa had too.

When my eyes found her, her body appeared relaxed, except her eyes frantically darted around. She was working hard to remain calm.

“There.” Ben watched the bulky, redheaded vampire as he walked across the field.

Marcus was fully a vampire now. I knew he'd make the shift eventually, but I didn't know his power would be so strong.

I watched as he grabbed a drink from one of the kegs on his way through and made his way to his sister’s group, like it was any other party and any other day.

Hed been gone for years and wasn't expected today. That much was evident in Rosa's reaction.

As soon as Marcus reached Rosa, her drink slid from her grasp. She began to shake with tears, before trying to cover her face. Emotion was something a superior shouldn't show, but Rosa was full of it now as her brother made it to her side.

Marcus knew this. He was taught this well, before my time. No emotion, not even to family, but when he moved to pull her into his arms, she fully wrapped her body around her big brother, legs and all, and cried.

No one had seen Marcus in three years. I forgot about how red his hair was and how much the two of them really stood out when they were together.

She was crying into his shoulder and he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

He went through the change. That was the electrical current we felt. It was the power of a vampire. A strong one, and the fact that his face was buried in her neck had me ready to step in.

I sat a little stiffer, until he spoke and I could hear the emotion in his voice.

I had no idea what he said, since he spoke in his father's native tongue, but whatever it was, she began to sob even harder.