Shadow Wolves: Rise of the Phoenix (Book 7)

Chapter 1 - A strange sensation.

After a long week at work, Sarah was looking forward to returning to the pack grounds for the weekend. With a lot of jumping and grunting, Luc finally got the boot of the van closed.

“You know it’s just for the weekend, right?” He looked amused.

“I had to pack for any possible occasion.” She shrugged, winking at him. It was a weekend away for her to get to know them better and to welcome Fiona back into the fold. Grown-ups only… No kids, thank goodness. She didn’t think she would survive having children around, on top of everything else. Although from what Fiona’s told her, Luc’s triplets were a little older. Teenagers, if she remembered correctly.

Finally, in the van and on the road, they started pouring drinks for everyone, except Luc, because he was the designated driver. They took turns pouring the drinks and, of course, made a big mess all over the van’s interior. This in turn meant that every time the girls saw a pit stop sign, they asked him to stop, so they could go, making the journey take nearly twice as long as it was supposed to, but probably double the fun. He played a song on the radio and Meg pumped Sarah in her ribs, nearly making her spill her drink again.

“He is playing that for you, you know?! It’s his favourite song of all time.” Meg put her hand over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes, making Sarah burst out laughing.

“Really? No, it can’t be. You are just pulling my leg. Nobody falls in love at the snap of your fingers like that.” Sarah laughed, but what Meg told her before, about wolves who fall in love with their true mate like people who fall in love at first sight, still lingered in the back of her mind. When his eyes met hers in his mirror, she felt the warmth spread over her cheeks. They reached the cabin, and it was nearly sunset.

Poor Luc could finally join in the festivities. Sarah couldn’t make out much of the resort as they drove through the mountains in the shimmering sunlight of the late afternoon sun, and the cabin was a simple one-room building with a bunch of bunk beds inside.

“Are you kidding me?” Sarah was giggling at the first sight of the beds.

“Nope, this is luxurious, apparently.” Fiona rolled her eyes, pointed at Meg and made Sarah laugh louder. They pushed the beds together to turn them into double beds, and decided to do the same for Sarah and Luc.

“Just in case.” Meg shrugged.

“Yes, you never know when a girl might need some protection in these mountains.” Fiona nodded in agreement. Sarah nearly peed herself, laughing at the two of them and their scheming! In-between pouring more drinks and taking a rest here and there, they got everything unpacked. Unfortunately, by the time they were ready to go to bed, Luc had just gotten started. He built the biggest bonfire in the history of vacations and was having a party for one. Singing loudly in the night’s sky, she listened to his smooth voice and thought about the day.

“That must be what happens when you are a single parent,” Meg whispered from the top bunk, and Ant shushed her.

“Exactly why I left Erik in your capable hands.” Matt burst out giggling, and she heard Fiona punching him in the stomach as he gasped.

“That’s my son you are talking about there.” She said with crunched teeth.

“No kids, remember.” Ant reminded everyone.

“I can’t help it! I’m pregnant!” Fiona complained. They all burst out laughing, and Sarah’s stomach started aching from all the laughter. It took Luc about an hour to realize that they had gone to bed, which made him barge into the cabin and wake them up with his singing. Deciding it was a lot colder outside than inside, he found his way into bed, next to her. She couldn’t for the life of her decide if she was thankful for his body heat, or slightly ashamed at her sudden feelings for him boiling up.

They ended up giggling like a bunch of school children on their first camping trip, until the sandman came to take them to dreamland. At about four in the morning, it started getting quieter until all of them finally fell asleep.

As expected, they slept late, and when they finally got up, had breakfast, and cleaned up, Meg and Fiona decided they wanted to go into town for a couple of things.

“We can’t even close the van, it’s so full, and you wanna go buy more stuff?” Luc rolled his eyes. The girls just laughed and nodded. So, to keep them happy, the guys agreed on an outing on the condition that they join them for a horse ride after lunch.

“Agreed, but how would it work? You know, won’t the horses smell your scent and see you as predators?” Sarah asked, looking concerned. Luc stalked her for some odd reason, and she got ready to run. He grabbed hold of her, picked her up bridal style, and laughed as he carried her off to the van. Dumping her unceremoniously on the couch.

“We wear a special scent, so they won’t smell us.” Meg stated. She winked at Sarah, and she didn’t know if she could believe Meg or not. With this lot, you never really know when they are joking or telling the truth! She sure as hell couldn’t smell anything different. When they left the resort, she could finally see the rustic beauty of it. Nestled in a valley in the mountains, hidden by huge trees, sat the cabin built with stone. A wooden porch at the front with a couple of chairs packed out. The perfect get-away.

Shopping took longer than they said it would, but was shorter than what the men thought it would be. They had lunch at the local restaurant and were on their way back to the cabin. All this driving about meant the van needed gas, so Luc decided to check everything.

“Whoops!” Luc said, his eyes widening.

“Whoops… What do you mean, whoops?!” Matt wanted to know, frowning at him. That wasn’t part of the plan. The water cap fell off the radiator in between the grill and the radiator, and no amount of trying from Luc’s side got the damn thing out!

“Everything okay?” Sarah wanted to know, standing looking at them with her hands on her hips.

“She has to come and check, of course… She is that kind of girl. Just great! She will probably know more about cars than I do!” Luc rolled his eyes.

“Oh, nothing much, this clever little lad just dropped the water cap down there, and we can’t reach it.” Ant explained.

“Thanks for the help, dude!” Luc growled softly. Ant pointed at the gap, and at that point, she couldn’t figure out whether he found it funny or not!

“Oh, okay.” She shrugged, walked up to the front of the car, looked at where the cap was and aimed to stick her hand in.

“HEY! STOP! You will get hurt!” Luc pulled her arm back, feeling the adrenaline rush through his entire body.

“Look, it’s cooled down.” She put her hand on the radiator, nearly giving him a heart attack, but she was so damn fast, he couldn’t stop her! Sliding her beautiful hand and arm into the small space, she pulled out the cap. They took so long trying to find a way to get it out, it must have cooled down enough.

“Sometimes, small hands are a good thing.” She winked at him and climbed back into the van. Speechless, he put it back and they hit the road. Looking into the rearview mirror, he caught her eyes sparkling, smiling back at him, making poor Rudi howl with delight. His heart skipped a beat every time she looked at him.

Back at the resort, the girls unpacked their absolutely necessary shopping, and got dressed for their horse ride in the mountains. She came walking out, wearing the tightest pair of jeans he thought he had ever seen on a woman. He booked the outing first thing this morning, hoping it would show Sarah his romantic side, and grinned like a Cheshire cat when he saw her. On their way to the stables, he prepared his brave face and told stories of past bravado. The stables were exquisite, and the horses were beautiful, but nothing compared to her beauty.

Luc had to show off and choose the wildest stallion he could find, but she decided on a more docile mare. With everyone on a horse, they headed into the mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. Luc and the boys were pretending they were cowboys, and with each gallop, it became worse! They raced each other up and down and headed back now and again, to check on the girls. They did nothing but laugh at their shenanigans. They rode up to a waterfall where the resort had packed out a beautiful picnic. She climbed off the horse to find a pair of strong hands gripping her waist and helping her down.

“This way.” He took her hand in his, and they walked over to one of the blankets. The fruit was fresh, and the sandwiches delicious, and after the hard ride, the cold drinks were truly welcome. Sitting in what she could only describe as one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, looking up at one of the tallest waterfalls she had ever seen, she was completely swept off her feet. After lunch, they decided to go for a swim, but she had never felt such cold water in her life! That was the moment it all hit home. She sat on one of the rocks sunbathing, watching them play around in the water, when she felt his hot breath blowing in her neck.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you swimming?” He asked, and she burst out laughing.

“Colder human blood. The water is too cold for me.” She smiled, pulling her legs up to her chest, bursting out in goosebumps, just thinking about it. He sat down, folding himself around her, and the heat radiated from him, warming her up immediately.

“My perfect human.” He smiled, leaving a soft kiss on her collarbone. Just below his kiss, she felt a burning sensation on her skin, but it was, strangely enough, a good feeling. Not one that hurt.

“Something wrong?” He asked, looking concerned.

“I don’t know, I must be a bit sunburned. I just felt something burn, just here.” She showed him and his eyes grew slightly wider, making him look a bit frightening.

“What’s wrong? Did I burn? Oh, hell, I did, didn’t I?” Sarah looked a little panicked. He stood up quickly, stammering a little.

“No, no you didn’t, you are perfect.” He smiled, looking really nervous.

“Really?” She asked, looking at him, feeling worried, and started looking for her lotion. Then she realized she wouldn’t have burnt in just the one spot… Especially when her back was turned towards the sun, and her front was in… the shade.

“Luc? Luc, please tell me what this means.” She stood up, walked over to him, but he stepped back, slipped, and fell into the freezing water, scaring the living daylights out of her, and everyone else when she screamed his name. He popped right up from underneath the water and swam to where the other men were playing Tarzan under the waterfall.

“Luc! I’m so going to get you for that one!!” She furiously screamed at him. Meg and Fiona joined her, asking her what happened, and when she explained it, they reacted the way he did. “Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!” She asked, waving her hands in the air. They looked at each other, then at where the men were frolicking like children.

“Sarah, let’s sit down.” Meg pointed to the blankets. They sat down on one of the blankets, and she poured them all a glass of wine. “That sensation you felt is where a wolf marks its mate. It usually only happens when two mates are meant for each other. I’ve never heard of a human feeling anything happening on their skin, though.” Meg explained.

“Are you sure you don’t have any supernatural ancestors?” Fiona asked, looking intrigued. Sarah thought about it, but then she didn’t know anything about her family.

“No, I’m human. Why would I feel that? I’m just human.” She almost freaked out.

“Either way, sweetie, it can only mean that you are definitely destined to be together,” Meg said, shrugging.