CHAPTER 4 Opium Hills

Grace

Saying goodbye to my family is difficult. We are a strong unit. I'm not someone who's trying to escape her past. However, I remind myself that it may just be a trip. It's like an extended field trip, although none of the ones from school ever went beyond two hours away from home.?

The thought of the unknown thrills me, though. So, I take deep breaths and say goodbye to my family. I hug each one of them tightly, inhaling their scents to keep me company throughout my trip, thankful that Mom has given us this ability. Well, I have it. Gannon has it. We can keep and manipulate scents. Gregory is more Alpha werewolf than anything else. There is barely a hint of witch in him, and perhaps it's for the best.?

Throughout the years, after my parents fought and defeated an evil mayor, my dad's pack has been growing. It still carries the name Wolfless from when he was a young Alpha, but the members are mostly new. These are wolves who no longer believe in what their packs stand for. So, they move on, not quite rogues and not quite lone wolves. My dad's rule shows is pure leadership. It's not dominance and aggression. He truly cares for his pack, and he listens to what they have to say.

They're somewhere in the Forbidden Forest while we are on vacation. Dad has a compound built, surrounded by trees, only a few minutes' walk away from the cabin. We have our own pack, and yet I'm journeying on to somebody's own.?

"I feel like one of those princesses from centuries ago. It's like I'm being given away as part of an agreement," I say, as I face my family before I leave.

"Princess?" Gregory snorts. "You wish. And nobody's forcing you. We also don't need any alliance with the Opium Hills' wolves. They need us."

"Gregory," my mother warns, as Great-Aunt Domino flinches at his words. She must have been a desperate for her to come and ask for help. She usually goes around looking for people who need help.?

"I'm sorry. We'll miss you, Grace," Gregory mumbles and I almost tear up. We fight a lot but my brothers and I are very close. We always have each other's backs.?

After the final goodbyes, Great-Aunt Domino and I set off. I don't ask questions. I just follow, with my heavy backpack and a bottle of water in my right hand. We trek toward the edge of the forest, where she parked her vehicle. It looks like she didn't want to drive her truck right into the forest.? It's an expensive pick up truck, but it also looks worn and rugged. It exudes my great-aunt's personality.?

Sweat trickle down as the hours' long walk take its toll. I am grateful to pull up my exhausted self on the passenger's side.?

"Can you drive? I forgot to ask you."

"Yes, Great-Aunt. I can," I say, still a little breathless.

"That's good to know. It's a long trip. When I get tired, you will take over. This way, we don't have to camp out for long. We'll only stop for meals."

That makes sense. What I don't tell her is that while I can drive, I am awfully out of practice. My dad has that annoying habit of driving us all to school a lot. Gregory just recently got a car, but my stupid self had refused so many times. Even Gannon can now drive a little. Then, there's me and my uncertainty. Stupid. I sigh.

"That's all good," I murmur, instead.

"As soon as you get tired, sleep, Okay? Get all the rest you need, and by the way, you can now just call me Domino," she says, starting the engine.

"I - I can't do that. I mean, I can't call you that."

"Please?" she asks, her green eyes probing into mine.?

Her eyes remind me of my mom's. Meanwhile, all three of us Sloane siblings have our dad's eyes. Grey.?

"Oh, okay, D-domino. I will try to rest, too."

Even as I say that, my eyes are magnetized to the greens that make way to the large houses on each side of the road. It means we are moving closer to the city. It's fascinating to breathe in the changes from nature to rural to urban. The sounds change from the twittering of birds to the faint songs coming from radios or lawnmowers flattening yards to the honking and roaring and bustling. By the time we are in the city, the scents of nature are replaced by concrete and smoke.?

It's as far as I've been, but we keep on moving on until we go through a reverse of our travel. The city is gone and we are following a paved road covered by a canopy of trees. Then, Domino parks the truck to the side.

"It's time to eat," she says, fumbling for something from the back.?

Sandwiches. Ham and cheese. Mom must have prepared them while I was still stuck in my room, mourning some of my belongings. We only spend our summers in the Forbidden Forest cabin, but I leave a lot of things there because I know it's ours and we can always go back when we want to. When we need to. There's that assurance that I will see my stuff again.?

I munch at the sandwich. At first, I do it like a lady since I'm supposed to be one. But hunger prevails and I find my jaw working harder and a small growl coming from my throat. I often calm the wolf in me, but it comes out at times like this.?

"It's time for you to drive. I will rest while the road is flat. Once you see a fork in the road, wake me up."

"So this just goes on and on?" I ask incredulously

"Exactly."

I do as she says. After three hours of driving, I haven't seen any other car on the road. No several wheeler trucks delivering anything from state to state. Nothing. When I see the fork on the road she was talking about, I stop and wake her. By that last leg of the journey, I have become too anxious to rest. I watch as we begin the ascent she was talking about. We are going up a hill, weaving paths around it.?

"We're here," she finally says.?

It's very dark. I check my watch and see that it's past ten o'clock at night. We had left after breakfast but made a couple of stops to eat.?

"Are they expecting us?" I ask, shivering a little. Our blood runs hot but I feel cold at the thought of the "they" in question. What are they like??

"Yes," she says, getting out of the truck and reaching out for her bags. I do the same. I follow her and gasp at what I see.

"It's beautiful here," I gush.

The sky looks so close to the almost identical houses that scatter up the hill in an orderly fashion. At the very top is a large mansion, which looks somewhat similar but a lot bigger and grander than the rest of the houses.?

"Is that the pack house?" I ask.

"There 's no such thing here. It's a whole community of werewolves, Grace."

Still awe-struck I follow her as she walks up to the large gate. A red light blinks on top. A camera? Then, the gate opens automatically. Domino and I continue walking - across the large yard to the front door that feels like a whole city block away from the gate. The door opens as we approach.

"Come inside," an elderly woman says. Her hair is pure white and reaches her waist.?

We walk past the foyer and the living room to a large, well-lit hall. Then, we turn right and enter the first room.?

"Welcome," a man in his forties approaches us with his arms wide open.

"Alpha Kele, this is Grace," Domino says.

He looks at me and I feel like I'm drowning in his black eyes.?

"Welcome, Grace. Come and I'll introduce you to the wolves," he says.?

I feel overwhelmed. Young men, some as young as teenagers and some as old as thirty-something are lined up. Do I choose from them? Most of them are attractive, but I don't feel anything. Alpha Kele introduces me to each one. A couple of them stand out. The blond Alpha Dash is around six feet tall with kind blue eyes. He smiles at me, and I can't help but smile back. Maybe it's not going to be as bad here.?

"This is Dash, twenty-three. Can you believe that he works as a medic in the human world," Alpha Kele says, with a proud smile. "He's my friend Alpha David's son."

Then, there's a dark-skinned Alpha with pale green eyes. His name is Fox and his face looks like a model's but he is much sturdier in built than one. He and Dash are about the same height.

I also notice the blond girl who could only be Justine standing shyly in a corner. What does she think of all this??

"Nice meeting you all," I say. "Is that all of them?"

"My son knows we have a meeting today," Alpha Kele's tone becomes apologetic. "But -."

Then, we hear a faint growling. I almost expect someone in their wolf form coming in to attack us, but it is a man, and what a man it is. My hair stand on end as he approaches us, with blood still staining his lips. I can't help but sniff, by nose twitching a little. The tangy smell of blood and male musk overwhelm. He is a large man, about six feet three, with long, dark hair. His eyes are pools of black. I have no doubt this is Alpha Kele's son in the flesh.

"Oh, there he is. Grace, meet Onyx."

He approaches me until we are only inches apart. He looks down at me and inhales me. My cheeks burn at his actions, but I feel stuck in place.?

"Hi, Grace," he says, his voice deep and confident. The smile in his eyes feels like a challenge.?