THE WOLF IN THE SHADOWS

Chapter 16

Loren's POV

Yes, sadly, we're on our way back to Wisconsin, and once again, Elyssa is fidgeting around on

my lap. The snake came out from

the rocks, again.

Kenny and Mel took turns

driving, and I didn't know Kenny

could drive! But that's when

something bad happened. Of

course, it just had to be Kenny

that made something happen.

Mel and Elyssa were giggling

because Brady was rapping, and

it was funny because Aaron tried

to rap with him. It was so funny.

I don't think he could be like

Eminem if that's who he's trying

to be.

And here we have Mel and

Kenny. They were flirting, and

laughing, and it was gross to me.

But Elyssa would smile every time Kenny made Mel laugh. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

Kenny, once in a while, kept

looking at Mel, and I was afraid

he would crash into something.

I guess I spoke way too soon.

Kenny looked at Mel, and that's

when she screamed.

Kenny turned the wheel hard.

The car flipped over, and rolled

down a hill. I grabbed on to Elyssa's waist, so that she wouldn't get hurt. Everyone was screaming, then we blacked out.

Minutes, probably hours,

we all woke up. Everyone was

groaning and pushing to get out

of the car, that was upside down.

It was going to blow up.

"Elyssa!" I screamed for her

name.

"Loren! I'm right here."

"Everyone, we need to get out

of the car, now! It's going to blow

up!"

By the time most of us were

out, Mel had gotten stuck. She had a piece of glass stuck in her arm. So, she couldn't crawl, and Kenny went back for her. We had time to get everyone's luggage.

When Mel and Kenny made

it, the truck was blown up. Elyssa

started panicking. "My mom is

gonna kill me!" she was pacing

now.

"Actually," Brady crossed his

arms. "Your mom is gonna kill

Kenny."

Elyssa's POV

Everyone looked at Kenny,

and it looked like he was going to

cry. I mean, I'm not mad at him,

though he destroyed the car, and

put us in the middle of complete

nowhere. I sighed and put my

hand on his shoulder. He looked

at me. "I'm sorry, Elyssa," he said in a soft voice.

Mel came and wrapped her

arms around him. I smiled.

The boys gagged and rolled

their eyes. "You guys are just

jealous," I said.

"Jealous?" Aaron said. "He just

put us in the middle of nowhere,

and you think we'd be jealous?

Unbelievable."

"Does anyone have a phone?"

I asked, and it was a stupid

question because we all had

phones, even me. But, last time

Tristian played with my phone, I

don't know if I have it on me, or

he took it.

Everyone pulled out their

phones. "I can't get a connection."

"I've got no bars."

"Same here."

We all sighed. Darren started

to dig into his luggage, and he

pulled out a jacket. We looked at

him like he was crazy. "What?"

"Nothing."

Then, we remembered. R.Jay

and Darren are humans. We are

werewolves so we don't get that

cold. "So, are we just gonna, like,

stand here and wait for nothing?" I asked.

Everyone mumbled something.

"Fine, since it's too dark, we

should at least build a fire."

I went with Loren and Kenny

to go get some wood, while the

others stayed to make the fire.

"Guys," Kenny started. "I'm really

sorry. It's just....Mel is just so hot

and I couldn't keep my eyes off of

her."

Loren and I joked. "I'm sure

she was hot, Kenny. I'm sure she

was."

We came back with a pile of

wood, and the fire had gotten

started. Truth is, they even found

some logs and giant rocks to sit

on.

We were all quiet, sitting around the camp fire. Then some of our stomach's growled. "What's to eat?" someone had the nerve to

ask. I think Brady.

"Wildlife. Squirrels, raccoons,

if we get lucky, there might be

chickens," Loren answered for

us. I smiled. I'm glad he's smart,

but I don't mean it in a bad way.

I mean it in a he-would-know

-where-to-find-us-food kind of

way.

"Well, it's too dark to hunt right

now."

"So, we'll sleep on an empty

stomach?"

R.Jay pulled out stacks of

candy bars, and our mouths

dropped. "What?"

"How did you get loads of

candy?"

He shrugged. "I bought it when

we were at one of the rest stops.

Would do you guys want?"

"I want a Payday!" Loren and

I both shouted. We looked at

each-other and smiled. R.Jay gave

the bar to me. "Would you like a

piece, Loren?" I teased.

"Uh, yeah!"

I rolled my eyes and gave him

a piece. Mel got a Snicker, Kenny

got Twix, Brady and Aaron both

got M&M's. Darren had gotten

Twizzlers, and R.Jay got Skittles.

We were all eating happy, but

soon afraid that we'd get sick.

So when the morning came,

it was time to look for some real

food. The guys went to go hunt for some food. But, Loren and Kenny stayed with the girls.

It was quiet for a moment.

Too quiet. I sighed. "How are we

gonna get back?"

"I don't know," Mel said.

"Well, we need to get going

after we eat, or we'll never make

it back," Loren suggested.

"Get going? For what?" Kenny

asked.

"Get going! Walking, moving,

searching. We can't just sit here

all day, or week. We would

eventually die. It could start

raining, and we have no shelter,"

Loren snapped. I looked around.

Is he mad at Kenny or something? He sighed, and his voice quieted down. "Look, we can't turn into wolves, alright? R.Jay and Darren don't know s**t about us, and Elyssa and Mel haven't changed yet. It would take days for their bones to be in place."

Mel and I cringed at the phrase

'Bones to be in place'. "Sorry,"

Loren told us. "But, we can't just

sit here."

Just then, the guys came back,

with chickens, raccoons, squirrels and birds. Our stomachs growled at the sight of it.

When we were done eating,

Loren told everyone the same

speech that he told us, but he

skipped the whole wolf things.

Although, Brady and Aaron

already know about it.

So, we changed our clothes in

the bushes, and tried to get clean

as possible. We packed up the left

over food, grabbed our luggage,

and started walking. We walked

in pairs.

I walked beside Loren, and we

were the first ones to navigate.

Then it was Kenny and Mel

beside us. Mel was softly crying

hoping we will make it. I wanted

to cry too. But I knew it would be

useless. Crying wouldn't make us

magically appear home.

We were walking for hours,

and hours and hours. It was 6

o'clock already, when we finally

found the road.

"Jesus," Brady muttered. "Now

all we have to do is either keep

walking, or wait for a car to pass

by."

"I say we wait for a car,"

Mel said. "The sun is up, and it

looks like we're in a desert or

something."

"Kenny!" Aaron whined. "You

took us to a desert?"

"No, you ass-wipe. We might

have walked into a desert," Kenny snapped.

Mel put her hand on his

shoulder.

"Guys, look!" R.Jay pointed. We

all looked. There was a car, more

like a van at least that could fit

like eight people.

"Hey!" we all started yelling. I

dared to go on the road and wave in front of the car. But, the car stopped.

"Guys," Loren growled.

"What?" I asked, softly.

"I think I know who this is-"

The door opened, and out

stepped a smiling Tristian. Loren's hands balled up into fists beside me. I forgot that I did tell Loren about Tristian, but I didn't tell him about the kissing thing.

"Thank, goodness," Darren

stepped out. "We need a ride," he

went close up to Tristian. Tristian looked down on him.

"Sure thing," he smiled. "Where

would you like to go? I could

take you back to my place if you

Want-"

"No!" we all chorused. R.Jay

and Darren looked at us like we

were stupid.

"Well, then," R.Jay said. "Can

you drop us off at Wisconsin?"

"I was just heading there, too,"

Tristian said. "Let's go," he said in a polite way.

R.Jay and Darren took all of

our bags and threw them in the

trunk of the van.

"I don't like this," I whispered

to Loren. His hands were still

balled into fists, and he was

giving Tridtya death glare. I

know what he's thinking right

now. He's thinking, 'I will kill you

when I get the chance.'

That reminds me, how did

Tristian find us? Was he stalking

us this whole entire time, and we

were blind? "Well, what are you

guys waiting for?" Darren hopped into the van. By the way, where did he get a van? And his clothes? This time he had on a black T-Shirt, blue jeans with a chain hanging from the belt hoops, and black Vans.

We all hesitated. And when I

say all, I mean all the werewolves.

Darren shook his head. "We can

trust this guy."

If only he knew...

Kenny took hold of Mel's hand,

and slowly went into Tristian's

van. Brady and Aaron climbed

inside the van. "Loren," I said.

"Loren, we have to. If not, R.Jay

and Darren are going to think

something. Loren, please."

He looked at me, and looked

back at Tristian who was

smirking. Loren took hold on

my hand and started walking

to the van. He got in first. Now

there were no more seats. Just

the front seat, which was next to

Tristian. Tristian shrugged. "I won't bite, my dear."

I almost gasped to hear him call me that in front of everyone. I

looked at Mel. She had a shocked

look on her face. I only told her

about Tristian kissing me. I looked at Loren. He was trembling, shaking like he was about to form. I mouthed to Mel, "Take care of Loren. I think he's about to change." Then I climbed into the passenger seat.

"So, where are you headed to,

stranger," Tristian teased, looking at me.

"Keep your eyes on the road,

Tristian," I snapped, low enough

for Loren, Mel, Kenny, Brady and

Aaron to hear. He smiled, but did

as I said. Then I spoke louder so

R.Jay and Darren could hear.

"To the first gas station that you

could find in Wisconsin."I forced

myself to smile, but Tristian knew it was totally fake.

"How did you, uh, end up on

the road with all that luggage?"

"Why are you doing this?

What the hell do you want?" I

whispered to him.

"How many times have we gone over this discussion?" Tristian winked at me.

I rolled my eyes, in a frustrated

way. "We had an accident, the car

blew up, but we got our things

before it did."

"Yeah," Darren said. "Someone

wasn't paying attention, and we

crashed."

Tristian chuckled. "Oh, it couldn't have been that bad."

"Tristian," I growled.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Why the hell are you here?

What could you possibly want

from me?"

He sighed. "You have something that I need," he took one hand off the steering wheel.He put his hand on my thigh. By the way, I was wearing shorts.

He started to caress my thigh,

and I stood very still. I looked in

the rear-view mirror, and saw

Loren. His ears were pointy, and

his eyes were dark. Mel tried to

calm him down.

I looked out the window as a

tear fell from my face. "What

could you possibly need from me, Tristian?"

"I think you'll figure that out

yourself, my dear," his hand

inched up higher to my thigh.

Loren started to growl.

Mel hit him in his head. "Ow!"

he yelled out.

I giggled. It was actually funny

that Mel all of a sudden hit him

in the head. At the sound of my

laughter, Loren sighed, and went

back to normal. I flicked away

Tristian's hand from my thigh. His eyes got dark, but he put his hand back on the steering wheel. "Can you drive fast, please?" Loren asked, and I was surprised. I'm surprised he's asking Tristian to do something.

"Now, you're talking, Loren,"

Tristian mumbled, and sped up.

We eventually made it to

Wisconsin, at a gas station that

I definitely remember. It's just

called The G-Stat, and its ran by

Arab women.

"Now, would you leave us

alone?" I said to Tristian while

everyone else was out of the van.

"My dear, I am only bothering

you. And I won't leave you alone

until I have you to myself," he

flicked the dirt from his nails.

"Well, you are getting on

Loren's bad side, and I suggest

you stop, and leave us the hell

alone," I said, and I was about to

get out of the van.

"Tell you're soul-mate he could

mind his own business."

I got back in the van. "Excuse

me?"

"I meant to say mate, but it doesn't really matter."

"What the hel..are you talking about? What is this about

mates and soul-mates?" I asked

him. I was serious now. No more

games. He keeps saying shit

about mates, and I want to know

what the hell he's talking about.

"It wasn't supposed to leave my

lips. Ask Loren about it. Now," he

looked at me with dark eyes. "Get

out of my van."

I glared at him, once more

before getting out of the car. I

made sure to slam the damn

door. "Where is Loren?" I asked.

"He's inside, he told us to tell

you to meet him inside," Brady

said.

I went inside the G-Stat, and

saw Loren at the phone booth.

"Okay, Elyssa is right here," he was saying. "No. Yes. Nothing! I know. Good. I thought so. Go ahead. Tell her no, I'll be home later. Alright. Please do. I'm sorry. Look, it's not my fault! Not yet. I will. Bye." Then he rolled his eyes. "Love you, too." And he hung up.

"Who was that?"

"My mom."

"Aw, you love her, too?" I

teased.

His cheeks got red. "Yeah,

yeah."

"You wanted to talk to me?"

He grabbed my hand and led

me to one of the tables by the

window. "What happened in the

van? What did Tristian say to

you?"

I sighed. "Loren..."

Loren sighed too. "Elyssa, I have

to know this-"

"Why?" my voice got loud.

"Why do you want to know this

shit so badly?" People were

starting to give me looks now, so I had to calm down sooner or later.

Loren sat back in his seat, and

looked at me with his green eyes.

"I'm just being protective. I'm

making sure nothing happens to

you. We don't know what Tristian wants, he could be some psycho wolf"

"Well, what if I knew what he

wanted me for, huh? What if I

knew?"

"What if you got killed? What

the hell am I supposed to do if

you were killed?"

"I don't know!" I yelled, and

Loren blinked. "Move on, I guess."

Loren spoke softly, "I'm just

looking after you."

"Well, maybe you need to back

off a little bit and give me some

goddamn space," I stood up,

making sure the chair screeched

against the floor as loud as it

would go.

"It won't be at easy," Loren

looked away from me.

"Why, Loren? Why wouldn't it

be so easy?"

He didn't answer me. He just

sat still, arms crossed and he

stared at the wall. So, I walked off from him. I don't have all damn day to be waiting for him. But as soon as I opened the door to head outside, Loren spoke, "Because we're soul-mates."

I stopped dead in my tracks,

and turned around to face

Loren. He looked absolutely

serious....and pale.

"What?" I breathed.