Chapter 5

Jaxon’s POV

            Storming through the door to my parents’ house, thirty minutes later than I should have been, thanks to that little red-headed bitch.

            “Jaxon is that you” my dad’s voice growled at me.

            Great, he was in a good mood! Not!

“Yes, Dad, it’s me,” I quickly answer.

“Come here,” he shouts.

I know what’s coming; he’s mad; I got detention again. But it wasn’t my fault this time, well yeah, it was, but not really as I was stretching my leg out as well as…you know it was funny!

“Explain yourself; your sister had to get a lift home with that Jacob boy; she said you had detention…AGAIN” he bellowed.

            I stare him in the eye; looking away would make me look guilty, and it’s all about appearance with my father. I square my shoulders, steel my resolve, and plough on; I will get myself out of this one.

            “Yes, I had detention, but I shouldn’t have; I was only stretching my leg, and that Smith girl tripped right over it as she walked past; the whole class laughed, annoying Mr Laynard,” I explain. “Plus, I apologised to her right away, dad. I swear it was an accident, Mr Laynard was just not in a good mood today, and I took the repercussions of that,” I conclude, still holding his gaze. Now was the time to hold steady; if I was to win my father over, I had to look innocent and believable.

“I’ll ring the school in the morning; I will not be having a child of mine made to look bad over a pure accident,” he scowls.

            “Yes,” I silently think, “I did it,” I congratulate myself, turning to my still fuming father. I tell him I have homework to complete and excuse myself to my room.

            I take the stairs two at a time, needing to find my sister and find out what the hell is going on and why I must give up my room.

            “Your back, about time” she doesn’t lift her head as she speaks, too busy repainting her toenails.

            “Did mum ring you today in fifth period?” I ask

            “No! why? She answered, sounding so uninterested.

“Apparently, I have to give my room up for a few nights, as someone is coming to stay,” I tell her, and her head snaps up.

            “Did she say who” there was excitement in her voice shining behind her steely blue eyes?

            My sister and I look very similar; due to the twin thing. We both had blonde hair, steel blue eyes, and high cheekbones with full lips. Stacy is tall and slender, whereas I’m tall and broad, just the way a son of an enforcer should be. Hell, if I weren’t me, I would fancy myself, grin to myself; I’m too funny sometimes.

            “Nope, just that I will either have to bunk with you downstairs or at a friend’s!” I tell her

            “You’re not staying with me,” she practically screeches and throws a cushion at me.

            “Trust me; I don’t want to.”

Ayla’s POV

            My Goddess, the house was busy! Laura was rushing here, there, and everywhere. Michael told me the first of our guests would be arriving tonight, tonight! We had so much to do, well according to Laura, we did.

Mason was, of course, nowhere to be seen. I think I saw him sneak out the back door with his phone to his ear an hour or so ago. I just rolled my eyes and carried on. There was no way I would tell his parents that he had disappeared.

Darting up the stairs to the guest wing, I help Sarah and Tina make the beds. We will house visitors from The Sun Valley and The Shadow Forge Packs. There would be four people staying with us.

“Dear Goddess, please let them be nice and not assholes like Mason” I send my silent plea up to the heavens.

It didn’t take too long to get all four rooms ready. We worked great as a three-person team.

The sun had only begun to set, leaving plenty of time to help in the kitchen, preparing the food for the evening.

I loved working with the Packhouse staff; they were all so friendly. They were the closest thing I had to friends.

I would get a friend for maybe a day or two tops outside the house, but as soon as Mason found out, they would no longer want to spend any time with me. There was one guy I was friends with for a couple of days, then the next day, he had a black eye and avoided me like the plague. I gave up after that. I didn’t want people to get hurt because of me.

The kitchen was bustling and smelled amazing. Michael had called in reinforcements to help cook up a feast. Most of our guests would be arriving tomorrow, but the four staying with us were on their way as we spoke. There was a chance some others could come tonight, but it was unlikely.

Laura comes running in franticly, flapping her arms about.

“They are here, they are coming, be ready, go, go, go,” she was hopping from foot to foot.

She looks at me and takes in my clothes. I knew instantly she wasn’t going to be happy.

“Ayla, what the hell are you wearing” she shrieks; I cringe; I thought we had more time.

“Laura, I’m sorry I lost track of time; I thought we had plenty of time before they were due to arrive.” I say, “I haven’t had time to change yet” I generally felt awful about it as I wanted to make an excellent first impression, and I look like crap warmed up.

“Go, go now, up the back stairway and change…. into anything but that!” she is shoving me at this point. “Do it as fast as possible; they are coming up the drive now!”

I ran up the stairs as fast as my short little legs could. Throwing the door to my room open, I run to my wardrobe and rummage for anything presentable. There was no time, so I grabbed a clean pair of skinny black jeans and a simple purple t-shirt. I pull my hair out of its messy bun and finger comb my hair in hopes it looks better than it did.

Running to my mirror, I look myself over. It will have to do. There was no time for makeup; sadly, this was the best I could do.  I went to grab my trainers and see how bloody awful they looked; I couldn’t wear these; Laura would kill me. There was nothing for it; I had to wear my slippers.

That’s when it hits me. That smell… no, scent. It was so strong, so intoxicating. I stopped in my tracks; it smelt like pine needles and mint. I couldn’t get enough of it. My legs felt like jelly, and my breath became short. What the hell was happening.

I hear Michael make the first greetings. That made me move. I crept down the back staircase as quickly and quietly as I could. I edged my way around the side and joined the others waiting in the foyer to greet our guests. That’s when I first saw him.

He was tall with broad shoulders, possibly six foot five, if not more. Jet black hair was short on the sides and slightly longer on the top, with the most amazing emerald eyes. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Then he smiled, and that was it. I was done. I was a puddle on the floor where Ayla Smith had been stood moments before.

“Hi, Alpha Michael, I’m Aiden Chase; my brothers will be here in a second,” he greeted our Alpha. My Goddess, he sounded so sexy; I have never gotten goosebumps from hearing a voice before.

“Welcome, Aiden; thank you for coming; I hope your stay with us will be good. I’ll do all the formal introductions once your brothers join us,” Michael told him, he had hold of Aiden’s hand in his, and his other gripped Aiden’s elbow. One of our traditional werewolf handshakes.

I zoned out then. I couldn’t take my eyes off the God-like man standing before me. He was perfection personified. I must have looked like a right idiot, as when I finally took note, and my eyes travelled back up the length of his body, he was staring right at me. A slight smirk danced along his lips.

My face instantly lit up like a neon light, a beacon for all to see.

“Goddess, kill me now,” I whispered.

His hearing must be outstanding, as I’m sure he heard my almost silent plea as he was chuckling. Lifting his hand, he rubbed both sides of his jaw; his head was tilted slightly downwards, causing his hair to flop over his eyes a bit. That smile, though, reached up to his eyes; they shone with such brightness. I almost forgot it was at my expense.

My feet became oh so interesting to me from that point onward. I still couldn’t believe I was stuck wearing my pink fluffy slippers when I had to meet this God of a man.

Then it happened again! How could it happen again? Pine needles and freshly cut grass smacked me so hard that I took a step back. I would have landed on my ass if I wasn't near the hallway wall.

I looked up in the direction of the delicious scent, and there, walking through the door, was a second God-like creature, around the same height as Aiden, just as broad-shouldered, but his hair wasn’t as dark, and it had flecks of silver in it. When the light hit it just right, it was mesmerising to watch.

The moment I looked at him, he looked straight back at me. His brother was leaning in, speaking to him, but his eyes were also on mine.  The new brother’s eyes were Sapphire instead of emerald, like his twin. He was equally as breath-taking.

“Ah, hello, I’m Michael; sorry to sound rude, but which triplet are you” Michael extends his hand.

“Triplets!” I scream inside my head. There was no way I was going to cope with three of them. One is too much, if I’m honest.

“I’m Axel, Sir; it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says politely

            With that, the third Brother, as promised, made himself known to me. There was the scent I was waiting for, which I knew would knock me off my feet just as much as his brothers had.

Pine needles and coconut. I had never smelt anything like it before. It wasn’t two scents I would typically associate as going together, but it worked.

            All hope for me looking dignified was lost; I had audibly taken a breath in when the final member of the gorgeous trio walked in. I looked ridiculous, and I knew it, but right now, I don’t think I cared. I would later, but not yet; I struggled to stand and breathe, let alone anything else.

            “Hi, I’m Archer; thanks for having us, Alpha Michael,” he said

            I know Michael answered, but I didn’t hear him. I was too busy gawking. Archer was again just as tall as his brothers and broad. He had silvery, slate-coloured hair. It was stunning. He wore it short like his brothers, yet he had the top part of his hair, the longer part tied back out of his eyes.

Axel whispered in Archer’s ear, very quickly like Aiden had done to him. His eyes darted to me, and he smiled. They were the most breath-taking shade of amethyst I had ever seen. I’m sure my mouth was hanging open; I wouldn’t be surprised if I were drooling too.

 Before I knew it, the three brothers were focused back on the task at hand.

            “Hey guys, I’m Mason; anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask,” Mason introduced himself, and my stomach slammed back into place; there was nothing quite like a massive douche bag to bring you back down to earth.