Friends with Wolves

Chapter Nine

- Not Edited -

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Chapter 9 -


Jason POV-









I sat on the bench, with my hot chocolate in my lap and my hands wrapped around the cup. The warmth of the hot liquid warming up my fingers. I leaned back against the wall behind me, watching as Chase raced around ice rink. As I suspected, the blonde-brown haired boy's feet flew up from underneath him and he landed on the ground with a thump.



I suppressed a chuckle, taking the last sip of my hot chocolate before setting it aside. Avery was seated next to me, sipping at her own hot chocolate. Melody had barely left the building less than a couple of minutes ago, after Avery had pointed out she hadn't looked too well. Melody had gone out the building to get some fresh air.



For the first time in what seemed to be weeks, I felt more relaxed if anything else. Lately I had felt so tense, and I believed it was due to the fact my wolf always wanted to be let out. He was a very dominant and aggressive wolf and at times, he is very hard to control. But since Melody has begun to hang around us during the day, he had become more, relaxed and calm. It made myself feel better.



Beside me Avery suddenly straightened up and her natural forest green eyes brightened to become a few shades lighter, telling me her wolf side was coming through a bit. "James is here." She announced suddenly.



At those three words my wolf began to growl quietly, and I sniffed the air, now able to catch his scent once I focused on what I was looking for. My wolf became agitated just by the scent and I could somehow sense that trouble was coming.



My head snapped to look in the direction of the doors as they swung open so suddenly and a boy, a few years younger than myself, entered. My wolf growled once again, and that seemed to grab his attention as his head quickly turned to look at me. James headed over to myself and Avery, at a fast walking pace.



"Jason," he greeted, dipping his head forward as a sign of respect. He then turned slightly to look at Avery and also dipped his head to her. It was natural for all lower ranking wolves to bow their heads and show their necks to the higher ranking and dominant wolves. It was a sign of respect and submission to the higher ranking wolves.



"James." I replied, my voice calm and even as I rose to stand in front of him, almost a foot taller than him. Avery sets aside her own hot chocolate and stands as well, moving to come stand beside me. As I glance down at her I notice her eyes were still bright green, and her wolf was alert, just as mine was.



"Jason, we couldn't get into contact with you, you had blocked your mind-link." He begins, cutting himself off before he could continue as his sister, Felicity came around the corner, her fingers wrapped around Melody's wrist, dragging her along. My wolf growled quietly causing James to unintentionally flinch.



As Felicity catches my gaze she releases her grip from around Melody's wrist and she speeds up, coming to stand next to James. "Jason, you have to come home. It's your father, he's been..." She cuts herself off, as if realising she couldn't say what she needed to say out loud. What I noticed was that her voice was laced with distressed and as I looked down at her, I noticed her brown hair was in knots, her clothes were thrown on messily and her mint green eyes were widened with something that looked like worry and fear.



"The alpha, your father, was murdered by rogues." She finished off, dropping her gaze from mine and taking a small step back as my wolf growled once again.



My eyes widened in momentary shock. "No, it can't be." I say, looking over at Avery, who like me was just as shocked, before I turned my head so I was looking back at Felicity and James.



"Jason, I'm so sorry." I hear Felicity murmur, but I barely register her words as I slump back onto the bench, as if the life had been drained out of me. My fists clenched up and my gaze dropped to the floor as I tried to keep a leash on my wolf who was beginning to become aggressive.



I glance towards Avery as she drops to her knees on the ground and her hands cup her face to stop everyone from seeing the tears which were in no doubt streaming down her face. I grinded my teeth together as I hear a sob come from her, it hurt me to see my sister crying, she wasn't one to cry often. She had always been one of the tougher girls within the pack, usually the one to stir up trouble if anything.



I force myself to look away from Avery and I look over at Melody, who stood off to the side almost awkwardly. But none the less, her eyes held that mournful look within them. I think I was even tempted to just go over to her and hug her, just to ease the pain and calm my wolf who as pure usual was becoming aggressive.



Soon the sadness diminished and it was replaced with anger. My wolf was seeing red and in no doubt he wanted the blood of the rogues. Straightening up, I look around the room, taking in the figures of my fellow companions. I stiffly rose to stand, my jaw clenched almost painfully as I forced my wolf back in an attempt to stop my canines from elongating.



"We're leaving." I announce to the group surrounding me, Holly, Hunter and Chase having come off the ice rink and come over to join us.



"Avery, let's go." I say, turning to look down at my younger sister. She looks up at me and my facial expression softens up slightly as I take in her eyes which were now red with tears.



I turn around, heading towards the exit. But as I past Melody my shoulder gently brushes against her shoulder and I stop suddenly, as if only remembering she was still here with us. I look down at her, her sky blue eyes widened as her head tipped back to stare up at me. Her blonde curls which were previously tucked neatly underneath her black beanie, were now all messed up as if she had crashed into someone or something suddenly.



I breathed inwards sharply, taking in her scent. The first thing that comes to mind is the scent of vanilla, along with the slight hint of pine. And I could only believe she had picked up the pine scent from the forest which she tended to wander through at night. I observe her for a couple of seconds longer, noticing a few messy strands of her blonde curls hanging over her eyes and I was tempted to brush them out of the way.


"Holly and Felicity, take Melody home." I order, forcing myself to step away from Melody. I look back at Avery who was now standing, but was still sobbing. "And take Avery with you too." I add.



"The rest of you, come with me." I say, turning and walking away after they had all bowed their head forward, respecting my order.



I exited the building and headed in the direction of the forest, my canines having finally elongated and were now piercing my bottom lip. As I entered the forest, a growl which I had been holding back, ripped through my chest. Before I could shift out of pure anger, I slipped out of my clothes, not wanting them to get torn.



When the last piece of clothing dropped I shifted, black fur sprouting from my body. My face extended to form a snout and my ears moved to the top of my head.



The first shifting for wolves was always the hardest and it always hurt. When I had first experienced the change it had taken almost three hours more me to complete it fully, my bones and snapped everywhere and I was pretty sure I had fallen unconscious at one point. For other wolves it could take longer or shorter, usually depending on was blood you had within you. Alpha's usually changed the quickest, whilst low ranking wolves such as Omega's can take up to twelve excruciating hours to shift for the first time.



I shook my head, looking towards Hunter, Chase and James who all shifted as well. Due to my alpha blood I stood at least two to three feet taller than the others, we were all massive wolves and nobody could deny that. Female wolves tended to be smaller than males, but there is the occasional taller female, but they are usually of alpha blood.



I snarled, my teeth baring as my wolf side began to reveal itself even more. I bent down and grabbed my pants from off the ground, knowing I'd want them for later. With another shake of my head, I turned and raced through the forest, quickly gaining speed. We all knew the forest like the back of our hand and we all knew the quickest routes to wherever we wanted to go. But in this case, I was currently unsure.



"Beta." I say through the mind-link, trying to summon the current Beta, who was also my father's Beta, Michael. He responds after a few seconds. "Yes Alpha Jason?"





I was momentarily stunned by Michael's words, but was quick to realise that since my father had been murder, it was only my duty to step up as alpha. Normally the first born would take over the position as alpha at the age of twenty, unless in a situation like this happened. If the first-born was too young to step up either the Beta or a family relative, such as an uncle, would step up to be alpha until the first-born is old enough to take over. Or the first-born will simply step up if they are ready.


"Where are you?" I asked, allowing my gaze to sweep across the forest that surrounded me.



"Near the east border." Michael answers instantly. "We have the rogues surrounded." He added a few seconds after.



I growled once again, changing course, now heading towards the east where Michael had surrounded the rogues.



As we approached the east border, the scent of blood soon began to fill the air, and that only added to the anger my wolf was currently feeling. I soon caught a flash of Michael's grey fur and I slowed down, shifting back into my human form and slipping on the pants.



I walked out into the clearing where Michael stood, in human form, with several other wolves of the pack, surrounding five wolves which in no doubt were the rogues. And what I noticed off to the side, was my father's limp body, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. My wolf growls loudly and my canine elongated once again.



At my presence Michael looks over at me and bows his head to me. "I am sorry for your loss Alpha Jason." He murmurs as I come to stand beside him. I offer him a weak smile.



"Michael, explain what happened." I asked, looking towards the five rogues and snarling. From the corner of my eye I watched as Hunter, Chase and James all joined the circle that surrounded the rogues.



"Your father had gone for a run and had scented the rogues. He mind-linked me and asked me to bring a group of wolves to this area to capture them. However, when we got here, the rogues had already killed your father." He explained to me. "We managed to capture." He added, inclining his head to the five rogues.



I give a nod of my head to Michael before turning my attention to the rogues. "Shift." I snarl, allowing my wolf to reveal himself a bit. I couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied when I noticed a look of fear cross over one of the rogue's faces.



The largest rogue, whose fur was a dark brown shade snarled at me and moved forward, as if to try attack me. But he was knocked back by Hunter who stood in front of me. The dark brown rogue took several steps back, his ears flattening against his skull. I watched him closely as he bared his teeth at me. "Shift." I snarl once again.



Like before, the same rogue rushed forward, but this time, he sinks his teeth into Hunter's shoulder and shoves him aside. He then launched himself at me, instantly I shift, my large black wolf replacing my human figure. Several other pack member launch themselves towards the dark brown rogue to stop him from reaching me.



The rogue crashes into me and I feel his teeth sink deeply into my back. I snarl, turning my body so I was able to sink my own teeth into his flesh. My teeth meet the flesh at the back of his neck and I sink them in as far as they could go, my wolf feeling satisfied when the rogue whined quietly and released his grip on my back.



I release my own grip on the rogue, and he staggers away a few steps, his neck now stained with his own blood. He snarls at me, seconds before he is knocked over and pinned to the ground by a couple of my pack members.



I shift back into my human form, flinching as the wound on my back seared up. "Shift!" I snarled, stepping towards the rogues threatening. Not really caring about standing there in my all naked glory. Michael throws me some pants, where he got them from, unknown to me.



Almost reluctantly, one by one, they shift. Naked as the day they were born, but honestly, they didn't seem to care. The rogue that had attacked me having been shoved back into the little group with his buddies and also shifting back into his human form. He looked not much older than me and now, his neck was covered in his blood. He was glaring at me.



"What do you want us to do with them Alpha?" Michael asked.



"Bring them to the pack house, we'll lock them in the cells and question them later." I say. Michael acknowledges my orders with a simple nod of his head, before ordering the other wolves who currently surrounded the rogues.


The pack members remain surrounded around the rogues and begin to lead them back to the pack house.



I follow after them at a slower pace, troubled by my own thoughts that swirled around inside my head and soon enough, the rest of the pack disappeared up ahead, leaving me alone in the forest. I inhaled slowly, trying to calm my still angered wolf...







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By the time I got back to the pack house, the rogues were already placed in their cells and my father's body had been brought back to the pack house. And when I had entered, I had been greeted with the loud sobbing of my mother. She crouched over my father's body, the tears streaming down her face.



I walk across the room to her, crouching down beside her and wrapping one arm around her shoulder. I brought her into my chest, hugging my sobbing mother. She turns slightly, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug, without saying a single word. Her delicate hands gently stroked my black hair, soothing myself and my wolf.



When I pulled back from her, I watched her closely. Her grey-silver eyes were all puffy and red, her cheeks stained with her tears and her red hair was in knots and tangles.


"Mum.." I glance over my shoulder as I hear Avery, her voice cracking.



Avery came over to join us, sitting down on the other side of mum and engulfing her in a massive hug. Avery stroked mum's hair, hushing her.

I couldn't understand how mother was feeling, she was probably feeling the loss of her mate the most. From what I had heard, losing your mate was like losing half of yourself. In some cases I had heard some werewolves have gone crazy whilst others killed themselves to go join their mate with the moon goddess.



Sighing softly, I rose to stand, giving both my mother and sister a kiss on the top of their heads before leaving them to mourn.




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Hours had passed since I had returned to the pack house and the sun had now set and the moon was high in the sky. My wolf paced ruthlessly inside of me, wanting to be let out desperately. He clawed at my insides and snarled loudly, as per usual, I ignored him, knowing all too well how aggressive my wolf was. I rubbed my hands over my face groaning loudly, I felt particularly drained whilst my wolf felt like he could run a marathon.



Eventually I gave into my wolf's need to go for a run and I headed downstairs and out of the pack house, the dark sky above my head. Once the pack house was out of view I slipped out of my pants and shifted. My bite wound on my back having now healed and only now left the faintest of scars.



When I had shifted, my wolf seemed to calm down almost instantly as he was set free. I bent down and picked my pants up off the ground, holding them in my jaws as I launched forward into a run.


I raced through the forest, weaving through the trees and shrubs that were in my path. The wind rushed through my fur and every now and again my wolf would snarl, satisfied with having a run.



I was running to who knows where, going wherever my paws intended to lead me. But in the end, I eventually made it to the river, not to my surprise. I found the river a relaxing place to be and it often calmed me.



I shifted back, slipping into my pants and sitting down at the edge of the river. Not effected by the coldness of the air or the cold water that would splash up at me every so often. The gentle rushing sound of the water calmed me and the stiffness in my muscles beginning to ease up.


"Jason."



I was on guard almost instantly, whilst my wolf seemed to remain calmer despite there being a possible threat. I turn my head to look over my shoulder, quickly registering that the voice was very familiar and belonged to Melody. She stood there, sky blue eyes wide and blonde curls pulled up into a ponytail on the top of her head. She was dressed in all black.


My wolf reacts to her presence almost instantly, seeming pleased that she had come here.



She seemed surprised to see me here, however, I felt the complete opposite. I knew she would come into the forest, she always did.


"Hey." I greet lamely, returning my gaze back to the river.


I hear Melody's footsteps as she moves closer to me and I am soon able to sense that she was standing behind me. "What are you doing here?" I hear Melody ask as she goes to sit beside me. I glance at her from the corner of my eye, she had pulled her knees into her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees.


"Thinking." I answer, shrugging my shoulders as I look over at her. Melody's mouth having opened up to form an 'O' shape. "What are you doing here then?" I ask in return, despite knowing the true answer.


"Just going for a walk." She answers.


"This late at night?" I tease, chuckling as I notice a frown form over her face. She glares at me, not in the 'I hate you and I'm going to murder you now' way, but more in the 'very funny' sort of way.


"What's so bad about going for a walk this late at night?" She asks, her voice quiet yet full of curiosity and maybe a slight annoyance.


"A lot of things, firstly you could get lost and secondly you could get attacked by some wild animal." I say, grinning.


"Yeah? What sort of wild animals?" She retorts back almost instantly.


"Wolves." Is the first answer that comes to mind, well, rogues to be precise, but I wouldn't say that out loud.


"Already been attacked by that, give me something new." She says, her gaze drifting away from me as she looked around the forest.


At first when she had said that, I felt a little angered, when had she been attacked by a rogue? But then I remembered, it had only been a couple of nights ago. She had been attacked by a rogue and had climbed up a tree, Avery had come to save her. But I in the end had been the one to essentially kill the rogue.


"A bear." I reply, watching as she began to pick at the grass underneath us. A smile stretched across my lips as I hear her laugh. "I'll inform you first when I'm attacked by a bear." She answers.


I chuckle at her answer and shake my head slowly. "You're crazy." I mutter.


"You need to work on your compliments." She replies, her voice softening out and becoming somewhat quieter.


"I'll try." I tease, smirking.


Silence surrounds us again and only the natural sounds of the forest can be heard. Including the rushing water of the river and the rustle of the leaves.


"Aren't you cold?" I hear Melody ask, and at first I'm confused. But then I glance down at myself and notice I was only in my pants. I was shirtless. When I looked back at Melody I couldn't help but notice her eyeing my chest.


"No." I answer, shrugging my shoulders. "Why, does my shirtless body affect you?" I tease, leaning towards her slightly as I chuckle once again.


Melody's cheeks become a light pink colour and honestly, I thought it was cute. "No." She answers, looking away from me.


I purposely shift my body so I was closer to her, and I wrapped and arm around her shoulder, pulling her small frame into my chest. Werewolves naturally had higher body temperatures and we had a high metabolism, meaning when humans were cold we were warm and we tend to eat at least three times more than humans but gain either none or the tiniest bit of weight.


Much to my surprise, my wolf calms down instantly and somehow, my wolf seemed satisfied when Melody shivered underneath my touch. I breathed inwards, taking in her scent of vanilla and pine.


"Melody?" I murmur, trying to gain attention.


She shifts her position slightly, turning her head to look at me. "Yeah?" She replies.


"Can you sing for me?" I ask, ignoring the fact that she stiffened up. I look down at her, her small frame basically curled up into a ball next to me. From the expression on her face I could only assume that she was having an inner conflict with herself.


"I don't know." I hear the mutter, I probably wouldn't have heard her if I didn't have sensitive wolf hearing.


"Please?" I say. Watching as she dropped her gaze from mine and bit her bottom lip.


"Ok then, what do you want me to sing?" She asks me, shifting her body away from me as she sat up straighter, causing my arm to drop off her shoulder.


"Anything. Sing anything you want." I reply.


Melody nods her head slowly before starting. Her soft and gentle voice filling the silence that surrounded us.


I close my eyes and breath outwards, the stress and tension beginning to leave my body as I listened to Melody singing.


Eventually her voice off and quietened until she was silent once more.


I now felt even more relaxed so that was even possible. "That was nice." I murmur, wrapping my arm around Melody's shoulder again and drawing her up against my chest.


"Just nice?" She teases, poking my side.


"Amazing." I murmur, breathing inwards to take in her scent.


Melody doesn't say anything afterwards and we are left sitting in silence. But the silence doesn't last long as a bush behind us rustles and a red wolf emerges. It's Avery. I notice Melody brighten up almost instantly when Avery emerges from the bushes.


"Getting cosy with Melody I see." I hear Avery tease through the mind-link.


I glare at Avery. "Shut up." I snap back at her, watching as she gave a wolfish grin.


"Just don't hurt her." She replies, giving me a stern glare. "Anyway, it's time for you to return home. Mother's getting all worried again and the rogues are becoming are nuisance, the guard is getting pissed off by them." She informs me, causing my wolf to growl quietly at the mention of the rogues.


"Ok, I'll be home soon. I'm just going to drop Melody home." I tell Avery who simple nods her head before turning and running away.


I unwrap my arm from around Melody's shoulder and stand up. "Come on, best get you home." I say, grabbing hold of Melody's hands and pulling her to her feet.


"I'm quite capable of walking myself home." She says, brushing the dirt and grass off her pants.


"I know, but I want to walk you home." I reply, beginning to walk in the direction of where Melody's home was.


"What a gentleman." I hear Melody tease me. I laugh, looking back at her. She had a warm smile stretched across her lips and her sky blue yes gleamed in the moon light.


"Keep up." I say, slowing my pace down only slightly whilst she sped up to keep up with me.


Suddenly her footsteps stop and I hear her gasp, I turn around quickly, my eyes widening as I looked around for any sign of danger. My wolf now alert. "What?" I ask.


"What happened?" She says, speeding up and pressing her hands against my shoulder, turning my body away from her so she was able to see my back. "What happened?" She repeated, touching my back where the faint scars were. I couldn't help but curse that rogue for attacking me. I inwardly shivered as she traced my scars.


I felt somewhat lost, I didn't know how to answer Melody without revealing the werewolf world to her. "I was attacked by a bear?" I lie lamely.


"Very funny Jason, but I know you're lying, tell me the truth." She snaps, glaring at me.


I remain silent, looking at the floor as I had an inner conflict within myself. "I was attacked by wolves." I say slowly, knowing what I was saying was true. But I was unsure if she would actually believe me.


"Really?" She asks, looking up at me with wide eyes which were filled with curiosity. "A wolf like the one we saw at the river?" She adds, obviously referring to Avery.


"Yeah." I answer simply.


Melody nods her head slowly, now looking back at the faint scars. Her fingers continue to gently trace the scars, sending shivers running down my spine. Her tracing of my scars also causing my usually tense and aggressive wolf to begin purring.


I however end up stopping her by turning to look at her. She blushes once she catches my gaze and her hands drops down to her side, taking a step away me from. "Sorry." I hear her mutter.


I can't help but smirk. "It's ok."


Melody doesn't say anything and drops her gaze, beginning to walk again.



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Throughout the rest of the walk Melody had barely said anything, either give me short answers or just nodding her head. Eventually, through the trees up ahead, Melody's house came into view.


Melody glanced over at me and stopped walking, I stopped beside her. Melody smiles at me, "I'll see you Monday then." She murmurs, turning to walk out of the forest.


But I stop her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into me, giving her a quick hug. "See you Monday." I say, taking in her scent of vanilla and pine once more before releasing her.


Her cheeks were pink again as she nodded and walked away from me, heading to her house. I watched from the darkness of the trees as she entered her backyard through the gate and began to climb up the tree before swinging into her window.


I remained standing there for a couple more minutes before shaking my head and shifting into my large black wolf. I turned, racing through the forest back to the pack house.


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Well, I did Jason's POV - hoped you like it!

Sorry it took so long to update.