20. Chapter 20
Pack Truce
Skylar moves before I can see him coming.
His hands wrap firmly around my waist and I go flying towards the diving board.
I giggle and watch the water come closer, waiting until the very last second to hold my breath.
I sink down to the bottom and kick off into a breaststroke, my fastest swim.
I’m back at his side while he is still searching for me to surface.
I don’t think about what I’m doing, I just do it.
I grab his shorts and yank down, pulling them to his knees then clumsily swimming away again before he can get his hands on me.
I surface behind Erik and jump onto his back.
His scent clouds my thoughts, but I push through it.
I whisper in his ear and he grumbles an odd sound back at me.
“Save me, Erik.”
My legs wrap around his waist and his hand latches on to my thigh.
This is the closest I’ve ever willingly been with a boy.
My body wants to get distracted, and I admit, I do let my mind wander a bit, but the sight of a red faced Skylar coming my way clears the image in my head completely.
He looks mad, but there is a small, almost relieved, smile on his lips.
I trust these guys not to hurt me, but I still pretend like I’m terrified.
“Ah! Erick, run!” I cling to him and Hutch and CJ are laughing so hard I worry that they may inhale water and drown. Erik is chuckling beneath me as I work to climb higher up his back. Before Skylar makes it across the pool, I’m sitting on one of Erik’s shoulders.
“Help!” I pretend wail and Charles and August step up immediately.
They both jump in front of Skylar and CJ climbs on his back, wrestling him back under the water.
Hutch is standing in front of Erik, his hands relaxed at his sides as if he is ready for anything.
Mandy and Abby are holding each other up, laughing like hyenas.
Erik has one arm thrown over my thighs to keep me balanced and the other on braced on my back.
Skylar breaks free of CJ, just to collide with James, who picks him up and tosses him to the other side of the pool like Sky just did to me.
Skylar surfaces and starts to swim towards Erik but Mandy jumps on his back, pushing him back under the water.
Hutch snatches me off Erik’s shoulder and runs through the water, up the stairs, and out of the pool.
Carrying me like a baby, he takes off across the yard.
Looking over his shoulder, I see the rest of his pack following.
Skylar is surprisingly the closest, so I squeal and hug Hutch tight.
“Erik! Up!” Hutch yells over his shoulder then suddenly I’m airborne again.
Laughing and giggling as I land in Erik’s arms. I smile up at the viking but I don’t get to say anything before I’m flying through the air again.
CJ catches me this time and starts heading back to the pool.
We are all laughing and out of breath and this is the most fun I’ve ever had.
CJ surprises me by jumping in off the diving board with me still in his arms. I try to kick away from him, but he holds me tight.
When we surface, he is smiling evilly at me.
“Sorry, Red.” That's all he says before I’m in the air once more. The smell of bananas clue me into the fact that I’m back in Skylar’s arms. Quickly, I turn around and wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, pulling my face as close as I can to his without touching him.
“Let's call a truce. Please. I’ll do anything.”
He blinks at me, looking a bit dazed. I know the feeling.
I’m a bit light headed myself from being passed between all of them.
Their scents are lingering in my mind and making me crave even more contact with the boys.
CJ’s apple, Skylar’s banana, Erik’s chocolate, and Hutch’s strawberry.
Together they remind me of a decadent fruit salad.
When they are all four surrounding me, there is a hint of cinnamon in the scent and my mouth watters. I want to, as Mandy said, bathe in the smell of them, to wrap it around my body and never, ever let it leave. Maybe they are my mates, and if so, then I’m completely okay with it.
Skylar shakes his head as if to clear it then smiles sweetly at me. “Sure, we can call a truce, but you have to agree to come to hang out with us this whole next week while the school is closed.”
I had gotten the email earlier this morning saying that classes have been suspended for the next week because of a gas leak.
Honestly, I’d love nothing more than to spend this time with the pack, getting to know them and trying to figure out what I feel for them.
But I also don’t want to look desperate or overstay my welcome.
“I’ll spend the week in the den with you guys, but I have other plans, so I can’t be locked in there all day, everyday.”
I don’t really have any plans at the moment, but I’m sure Mandy will go shopping with me.
And August owes me that trip for my birthday.
So, I hug Skylar when he smiles and nods in agreement with my modification to our truce.
The rest of the afternoon is spent swimming and playing with the guys.
Mandy and her pack walked inside when Abby said she had to go, so it was just us.
I love getting to know them. I learn so much about each guy, I feel like I’ve known them my whole life.
Skylar is the brains of the pack. Not that any of them are dumb, they are actually all very smart, but Skylar makes Einstein look like an idiot.
He is also the youngest of ten and his parents only Alpha.
He moved to the Community with Hutch when they manifested at sixteen, their birthdays two days apart.
They are the youngest of the pack by a month.
Hutch and Erik are the playful wolves. Though Erik is a lot more stoic than Hutch, he is still one of the first ones to jump into a game or pull a prank.
He grew up in a community in Norway that still follows the Viking traditions and religions.
I giggle when he explains that he was raised as a Viking, and I have to face the embarrassment of admitting that I thought he looked like a Viking when I first met him.
We talk for ages about his community and his mom, who still calls him daily and visits at least three times a year.
Hutch is just a big goofball. I’m not sure he is capable of being serious, but I love it.
I love how carefree he is. Even when he was talking about his parents, he seemed to not be bothered.
His dads passed away in a wildfire when he was two, and his mom, having lost all three of her mates, went crazy.
She got admitted to a facility, but her wolf was too feral to be saved, so they had to put her down.
By that time, he was already living with CJ.
He says he was too young to miss them, but I can see the emotions behind his eyes.
CJ is the quiet one. He doesn’t say much, so when he does talk, I tend to tune everything else out to listen.
Him and Hutch bicker like brothers, but I can tell there is true love between them.
I notice he likes to watch everything and I’ve caught him whispering to Skylar more than once.
Usually, that results in Skylar doing something hilarious and slightly evil to one of the other two boys.
He never directs Skylar towards me, so I keep it to myself that I’ve figured out their ploy.
We stay outside playing and talking until the sun starts to set and Charles calls us in for dinner.
Somehow in the tumble of games we’ve played, my coverup got dunked in the pool and it is now soaked.
I don’t want to drag water through the house, but I don't have anything else to put on over my suit. I’m standing by the back door, mentally considering my options when a large shirt that smells like chocolate is pulled over my head.
My arms are trapped in the material and the guys are howling with laughter when the bottom hemline falls to my calves.
“Here, Red. Wear my shirt up to your room to get dressed. I’m not dripping so Mandy won’t murder me for going inside like I am.” Erik winks then walks past me into the house.
All of the boys are mostly dry since they spent the last hour timing my laps and giving me tips on how to get faster. Skylar was a bit grumpy when my last lap beat his best time by almost ten seconds. Still, he smiled and high-fived me when I climbed out of the pool.
I had so much fun with them this afternoon and I’ve even gotten used to their scents and the reaction my body and wolf has to them.
Even wrapped in Erik’s shirt, I’m fairly sure I can walk to my room without swooning like a schoolgirl.
That doesn’t stop me from throwing the shirt in my secret room when I go change though.
I’m better about not acting like a love-sick fool around them, not immune to the temptation of their scent.
Now if only I can figure out a way to steal something from the rest of them.
Dinner is loud and entertaining. I sit back and stay quiet for most of it, enjoying watching the boys interact with Mandy and her mates.
James is like the fun uncle that is always making rude and slightly inappropriate jokes about the younger boys, while Charles is like a father to all of them.
He asks them about school and football, and I’m shocked to learn that all four of them are on the team.
I mean, I assumed CJ and Hutch were, but Skylar doesn’t seem like the type to like organized sports and I didn’t think Erik would be able to fit the uniform.
Hutch laughs so hard he literally falls out of his chair when I ask Erik how they found a uniform big enough and Erik shoots him an ugly look before smiling sweetly back at me.
“They custom order the uniforms every year, Red. So they have a tailor that makes the jersey and padded pants just for me. You should come watch our games in August, I think you’ll like it.”
My heart flutters at the thought that they may want me around in August. It seems so far away, even though it’s only a month or so. It still surprises me that someone wants me just for me and not for what I can do for them or what they can get out of being my friends.
Of course, the boys are a little different. I’m ninety percent sure they want me because they are my mates and none of us have accepted it yet. I’m starting to though, and, even though that scares me, hearing that they want me to be around in August is comforting.
“Alright! “ Skylar gets up from beside me and takes both our empty plates to the sink.
“Red owes us a movie night. Erik, do the dishes while Hutch gets the snacks. And CJ, you go pull out some options for Red to choose from and get the den set up, Hutch and Erik will join you when they finish their tasks. Red, do you need anything for the night?”
I nod my head and Skylar claps his hands together.
“Then I’ll take you to your room to get what you need.
It’s a slumber party, so be sure to grab everything you’ll need for the night and tomorrow.
Then I’ll take you to the Den. Mom, Dads,” He turns and smiles sweetly at the smirking pack still sitting at the table.
“Call us on the Den phone if you need anything. We promise we’ll have her home by noon. ”
The boys all jump up from the table and start to clear the dishes. Skylar comes over and pulls my chair out, holding a hand up to help me stand. I look over my shoulder at Mandy as we walk out the room and she winks at me while waving her hands in a shooing motion to tell me to go with it.