Chapter 2. Friends and kisses

ADRIANA

The afternoon goes by easily and around 8 PM I get over to the town square, we always meet up there before we take a run through the forest.

The towns square is a bit plain, it has a few benches, cute colored bricks and a fountain in the middle. There are some stores situated around the place and two restaurants that also take up a little space on the square for their terrace.

I spot Jenna seated on our favorite bench; I think she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Her mom is Antillean and her father is Dutch, making her the perfect mixture of both worlds. She has chocolate colored skin, curly black hair that falls halfway down her shoulders, full lips like her mom and gray/blueish eyes like her father. Her frame is curvy but muscular, with her 5.2 ft she is a little bit smaller than I am.

“Babe!” I call out. “Hey girl, how are ya?” She stands up and walks over. She pulls me in for a hug and I give her a peck on the cheek. “I’m good. Are you ready and set up for tomorrow?” I ask. “Yeah, I got everything ready for the games. I am excited about this year though, maybe our Mates are from that new pack that is hosting them.” She says excitedly. “God, you are starting to sound like Alexis. She is certain our Mate is from that pack.” I say slightly annoyed. “Are you saying I am weird? Cause your wolf is definitely a bit peculiar.” She smirks at me and I have to bite back the growl that leaves Alexis. Jenna sends me an apologetic smile. “Sorry Lex, you know we love you.”

“Adriana! I’m running late. You can already head to the forest without me, I’ll take my brother with me later this evening.” Laura mind links me and I tell Jenna.

We get a move on and after a few minutes we arrive at the border of our town. We have a small building to put our clothes in before we shift. Nudity is not a big deal around. From the time we are able to shift we try to strip down on beforehand, so our clothes don’t tear to shreds every time we shift.

Jenna and I strip down and store our clothes, Jenna is the first to shift. Her wolf Jesse has a dark gray coat and brown eyes. She nudges me and I stroke her soft fur. I take a step back and fall down on all fours, my bones cracking and fur covering my body in a blink of an eye. Alexis is a lot bigger than Jesse, my wolf’s fur is a bit longer and has a dark brown shade to it. Her eyes are the same emerald color my mom had, I love that I inherited that bit of her.

“This was just what I needed.” Alexis purrs and I hand her the reins. Our wolves take off, playing and running together. The feeling of pure freedom you get from letting your wolf out and run doesn’t compare to anything else, it truly is the best feeling of the world.

Our sight, smell and emotions heighten when in wolf form, just as our speed and strength. The feeling of the air flowing through your fur and the earth thundering under your paws is heavenly.

After a good two hour run, we head back to the small building we left our clothes. “I’m sorry we need to head home this early Lex, but we really need to be well-rested tomorrow. Our plane departs at 08:15 and Sabine and dad want to leave to the airport around half past six.” I feel bad for her, normally we have runs from at least three hours. “Don’t worry about it, we will be busy enough at the games.” She coos and I feel how content she is with the 2-hour run we just had.

I turn my attention at my friend, she is busy chucking her clothes on. “We will be picking you up around half past six tomorrow. Sabine wanted to get breakfast at the airport, so we leave a bit earlier than normal.” I say and grab my clothes from the locker I put them in earlier this evening. “Okay. I’ll be ready and waiting at the front door. Mom and dad are so relieved your folks offered to give me a lift to the airport, mom was all worked up how she would get me there since our own car is still at the mechanic.” She says jumping around on one leg while trying fit her foot in her shoe. “It’s nothing, you would do the same for me.” I snort of laughter when she falls on her butt, so far, my gracious friend.

We say our goodbyes and I walk home. I look up to the sky, it’s almost dark now and the clear sky displays so many stars. I believed since I was a small pup that the ones we loved and lost were watching us from up above. It gave me peace of mind whenever I thought about my mom or my grandparents, to know they are up there and at peace.

The next morning, I wake up just before my alarm-clock, I feel rested and excited to get to Spain. I take a quick shower and put on some light make up. I look at my reflection; dark blond, wavy hair that falls till my lower back, amber colored eyes with long lashes and a winged eyeliner, high cheekbones and full plump lips. I’ve got a tanned lean body with nice curves and with my 5.7 ft I am not to big but also not crazy small. Being a werewolf has it perks; it grants you with stunning beauty and I am no exception.

I grab my ripped blue jeans from the closet, match it with a red, tiger printed t-shirt and chuck on my all stars. ‘That will do.’ I think to myself and turn on my heels to put the last stuff in my bag and take it downstairs.

I walk out my room and get downstairs, where I pour myself a glass of water. Dad is already waiting and tells me Sabine should be almost finished dressing Rover. We hear Sabine shout something unintelligible to Rover and not even a minute after they come downstairs. Rover is definitely about to throw a massive temper tantrum; he is completely flushed and his tiny fists clenched by his sides.

“You cannot wear your Superman pajamas to the airport Rover and that’s final.” Sabine’s stern voice chastised. “But mom!” Rover makes one final attempt and dad slams his fist on the table. He glared at Rover and a low growl escapes him, Rover immediately gives up. “Sorry dad.” He murmurs and dad visibly relaxes.

Seeing this as the signal we can all get up and head for the car, I put my glass in the sink and get going. “Come on guys, Jenna’s probably already waiting.” I say and glance at the clock on the wall, it says 06:32. She is definitely already waiting.

I get my bag from upstairs and meet them at the car. Rover is all buckled up in the middle seat and I get in next to him. He always likes to be in the middle whenever Jenna rides with us. He claims she is his other sister and therefore he always wants to sit next to the both of us. Always in the center of all the attention.

We pull up to Jenna’s home and she and her parents are waiting on the porch. They give her a kiss and tell my parents once more how grateful they are she can ride with us. “JENNA! You can sit next to me. I have a special place for you.” Rover calls out and pads the place next to him. “Aw, thank you little brother!” She muses and sits next to him before smothering him in kisses. “Iiieewwll!! Kisses are gross!” He exclaims and I chuckle at them. “Yeah, well wait till you’re older. Then all you’ll wanna do is give kisses to girls or boys.” I smirk, the look of absolute horror he displays is Oscar worthy. “No.” He breathes. We all burst out laughing and dad gives us the sign we need to go. Jenna tells her mom and dad she loves them and we drive off.

Within half an hour we arrive at Eindhoven Airport, dad parks the car and we all get out. Jenna and I grab our luggage and make our way towards the entrance. “Okay, time for breakfast. Do you guys have any idea what you want to eat?” Sabine quizzes and Jenna and I both chime; “Farm foods!” Sabine chuckles and we set foot to the restaurant which has an amazing view over the runway. Rover runs into the restaurant and picks a table at the window.

I look over the place and it had the same wooden floor, white walls and cozy set up. The tables all have a checkered top, on the walls you can see old farming tools and horse tack. Different food stations are set up with a wooden sigh above them with their menus on it, it’s like walking into a farmers’ market.

Jenna and I race of to the station where they serve pancakes, Sabine and Rover order a sandwich and dad goes for a dish with sausage, scrambled eggs and toast. We order a kettle of coffee and a Fristi for Rover. Once we are all seated, we dig in and for a moment everyone is quiet. “Girls, be careful when you are at the Games.” Dad takes a sip of his coffee and continues. “The pack, they are new to Europe and how things work around here. I heard some rumors about them and I would not want any of you getting in to trouble with a member of that pack. It’s not without reason they call themselves; Lobo Furioso.” “What does that mean?” I ask him. “It means raging wolf and that is exactly what they are known for. So do not get in to trouble.” My dad urges us. “Of course, dad. Don’t worry about us. We know how to behave ourselves by now.” I smirk at him and before he can answer I see his eyes glaze over. He is being mind linked. “That was the Alpha. He just arrived with Laura and Ben and told us to meet him at the boarding station.” Dad says and we finish our breakfast. Sabine pays the check and we walk off to meet up at the boarding station.

I see the Alpha pacing up and down the waiting area, he is the type that is never able to sit still in one place for long. He spots us and calls us over. “Perfect, we have everybody now. Your flight leaves in 30 minutes, so I suggest the kids check in and get a move on. We don’t have all day.” He says and Jenna and I grab our boarding passes and passports. I hug Sabine and kiss dad goodbye, Rover jumps up in my arms and kisses my cheek. “I will miss you big sis.” He murmurs quietly. “Aw, I will miss you to Rover.” I give him a tight hug and plant a kiss on top of his head. He moves over to Jenna to give her one of his hugs and even Laura receives one. I see dad raise an eyebrow at the sight and I nudge his shoulder. “So far for kisses and hugs are gross.” He smirks.

Jenna, Laura, Ben and I get checked in and we wave everyone goodbye and make our way to the gate.