Drawn To You (boyxboy)

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Peter

"Alright, alright, pipe down all of you," Dannon yelled over the chatters of the rest of the pack members as we stood before them, him nestling a dark green bottle. They all sat around a crackling fire; it was early in the evening in the woods near Christian's back yard after we'd travelled back from the paintball range.

"Now, Peter here has been a wolf for less than a week," he said, hand firmly placed on my shoulder. "Not only has he accepted and learned how to be part of our kind," he glanced at me and smiled before going on, "but he also got the jump on two born lycans, and made the winning shot in one of the best werewolf paintball matches we've ever had."

To my surprise, the pack rooted in agreement. Dannon held up his bottle and shouted, "Cheers for Peter!"

The rest of them set their hands on their laps, and slapped them three times. "Pe-ter!" Another three. "Pe-ter!" Three again. "Pe-ter!"

The twins got up from their seats and made their way to me. Jamie grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. "Congrats, mate. You're one of us now." Jake followed suit and grinned. "Not many can take on the British Invasion. And win," they added simultaneously.

"Glad to be one of the special few," I laughed as I returned the handshake. They left in the direction of their seats, and were quickly replaced by Shane. He slapped my shoulder twice and grinned.

"You might just be the new sharpshooter from now on," he said. "That aim was brilliant."

I scoffed. "Nothing compared to when you got Dannon, but I'll gladly take the props."

He laughed and nodded as Eli came barging in, golden hair bouncing like a Pantene commercial. "Don't go getting a big head now, you're still the kid around here," he said with a quirked eyebrow, and held out his hand. I rolled my eyes and reached to accept it, but he speedily pulled back. "Ooh, gotta be faster than that."

"Knock it off, Eli," Shane scoffed and caught him in a neck-hold. Shane grinned once more at me as he dragged the struggling and protesting Eli away amidst the pack's laughter.

But the moment where I could not contain my surprise was when Allison stepped up in front of me, and gave a small nod. "Not bad for a newbie." I smiled in appreciation. It may not have seemed like much, but I figured by Allison Buick standards it was a lot. I glanced over at Christian as she walked back, and he caught my gaze and smiled proudly.

"Here you go, Peter," Dannon suddenly said as he thrust a bottle in my hand. I looked up at him with an anxious expression, to which he only shook his head. "You may be sixteen, but right now that doesn't matter. Tonight, you have become a man."

It was a bit theatrical on his part, but I guessed he'd had already had a few. Dannon had pretty much no flaws, so this was an apt bullet for the empty list. So, on the encouraging catcalls of the pack, I pressed the bottle to my lips and tipped it back. And as the alcohol burned my throat, and the guys cheered me on, the feeling washed over me that I was part of something. That I belonged.

We sat around the fire for quite a while, talked and laughed and drank some more. They told me stories from when they were younger, werewolf-related and not. They told me that in three weeks I'd full-shift for the first time. The twins explained to me what Nandos is. Shane played his guitar to Allison's clap beat, and Dannon sang fairly out-of-tune, while Christian and Eli demonstrated their limited collection of dance moves. It was truly one of the best days of my life.

After about an hour, I got up and excused myself so I could go catch some air. Christian shot me a concerned look, but I smiled, reassuring him that I was more than fine. I slipped my hands into my jean pockets and walked off, disappearing into the woods. I leaned against one of the trees and, to my pleasant discovery, I found myself smiling.