Jackson kissed her forehead softly, still rubbing her back. She turned her face to look up at him. The firelight reflected in his brown eyes, his brows relaxed as he smiled at her. Chloe closed her eyes and kissed him, feeling his warmth spread down into her toes. He was so handsome. She was sure this was all a dream. There was no way that this handsome man was holding her and that her brother was safe.
His tongue slipped into her mouth, teasing her with softness. She moaned slightly and he smiled as he kissed her further, nibbling on her bottom lip and tasting her sweetness. His fingers kept their slow circles on her back. Her fingers touched his jawline, feeling the masculine stubble.
Jackson kissed down her jaw, down the angle of her neck, sucking gently at the sensitive skin. She shivered with delight and then promptly let out a jaw-cracking yawn.
Jackson laughed softly, kissing her forehead again and cuddling her into him. "I just can't seem to get enough of you," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. "Go to sleep. I'll keep watch on them."
Chloe yawned again before nestling her head into the hollow of his shoulder. His heat and the gentle crackle of the fire had her asleep before she finished closing her eyes.
Chapter 27
Chloe awoke warm and in a strange bed. She sat straight up and promptly bumped her head on the bed above her. She swore and held her hand to her head as she carefully maneuvered out of the bunk bed. The fire still crackled in the fireplace next to her, but sunlight shone through the high windows of the cabin, filling the room with morning light.
The door with the crescent moon on it was indeed a bathroom, which Chloe took her time using. She even found a comb and managed to coax her hair out of the giant rat's nest it had become and back into a usable ponytail. She found her coat and shoes stored neatly by the front door and stepped outside.
Snow had continued to fall through the night and the entire camp sparkled with fresh snow. The trees wore blankets of thick white and the ground glittered in the sun. Chloe took a deep breath in of clean, winter air and smiled. Today was going to be a good day.
She could hear the sounds of laughter and yelling, so she followed a path beaten into the snow by other feet. In a clearing just beyond the cabin, the four soldiers were playing football in the snow while Quent and Arthur watched.
The two soldiers, Chloe realized she still didn't know their names yet, were shirtless in the snow. Steam rose in tendrils from their muscular bodies as they ran to catch the ball. Jackson and Blake were in nothing but plain white t-shirts, the fabric already soaked and clinging to their skin.
Chloe licked her lips as she watched Jackson throw the ball to Blake. The wet shirt clung to his skin like a transparent lover, accenting the curves and lines of his chest and abs. His army pants hung low on his hips, hugging his perfectly sculpted ass. Everything about him was curves and strength and she could feel her core heating to see him.
"You sleep well?" Arthur asked without turning around as she joined them from where they watched the others play.
"Yes, thank you." She stretched her hands above her head and quickly pulled her arms back down as an inch of skin between her jacket and gloves exposed to the cold air. "How are they not freezing? It's gotta be a bajillion degrees below zero out here and those two aren't even wearing shirts."
"How else are you supposed to play shirts vs skins?" Quent quipped.
Arthur laughed. "They're Weres. The moon is full tonight and we tend to be a little restless. Those four are just burning off extra energy. I doubt they even feel the cold," Arthur explained. Chloe realized that neither Arthur nor Quent were wearing coats. They both had on short sleeved shirts and neither seemed bothered by the cold. She tucked her gloved hands inside her coat. Despite the men's reaction, she was sure it was still cold outside.
The blonde soldier had control of the ball now and was passing it to the dark-haired soldier. Jackson slammed into the blonde's waist as he let the ball fly, the two of them landing in the snow with a thud. They were both up in a minute, shaking the snow from their skin and chasing after the ball. Steam rose from both their shoulders and combined with their breath before disappearing into the sunlight.
Arthur turned, his blue eyes bright under bushy brows. "Chloe, there's something very serious we need to discuss with you."
Quent fidgeted in the snow with his foot for a moment before turning to face her. He put both hands on her shoulders, his eyes dark. He took a deep breath. "Chloe, your brother isn't human anymore."
Chloe snorted and nodded in the pointed her head in the direction of the football game. "They're playing shirts and skins in below zero weather and aren't cold. I think I got that one."
"Chloe, it's more serious than that." Quent frowned at her and she put her gloved hands over his bare ones.
"I know. He's a wolf now. I understand."
"It's more than just that. He's dangerous now," Arthur added. Chloe shook her head.
"No, he's not. I mean, yes, he's bigger and stronger and can hear stuff from a mile away, but he's still my brother." She smiled at the two men reassuringly. "I taught him how to swim. I was the one who made sure he didn't get beaten up in elementary school. He would never hurt me."
"He would never mean to hurt you, but... accidents happen." Arthur's eyes were calm and sure as he looked at her. "It's happened before."
"So I will be careful." Chloe looked back and forth between the two men. "Quent, you've known me for years and you've never hurt me. Jackson's hasn't hurt me either."
"Jackson is a different story altogether, and Quent has had years to learn how to control the wolf," Arthur said. "What Quent is trying to say, and failing, is that you need to stay in the councilors cabin tonight. And should probably not play football with them."
A loud bickering came from the football field as the four men scrabbled for the ball. Muscles and snow mixed on the ground as each man tried to gain the football. If she had been playing, she would have been squished. Hell, she thought, if a Denver Bronco's linebacker was playing, he'd be squished.
"Excuse me for a moment." Arthur turned from Quent and Chloe and stepped into the melee, yelling at the four to break it up. The two soldiers backed off immediately, but Blake and Jackson took a moment. Blake only seemed to back down once Jackson relaxed. Arthur picked up the ball and handed it to the blonde and the game resumed.
"This is not an option. I'm requiring you to stay in the councilor's cabin tonight," Arthur continued as he returned to his original spot. "With new Weres, they have a tendency to be unpredictable. They are a lot like big puppies. They don't know their own strength, and they tend to get a bit... overzealous. I just don't want to see you get bit. Or worse."
Chloe chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. The idea that her sweet, helpful, loving little brother could be a dangerous killer was a difficult concept to wrap her head around. She didn't have the same bone-knowing feeling that she did with him and her safety that she did with Jackson. She thought back to when he first woke up from the tank and how he had squeezed Jackson's throat. Her hand touched her neck in an unconscious movement as she watched the Blake take down the dark haired soldier in a decisive tackle.
"I understand and I'll stay in the councilor's cabin away from Blake tonight," she said slowly. She looked up at the two men, and bit her lip. "They're all going to be okay, though, right?"
Quent put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "They're going to be fine. It's going to be a rough night, being their first shift and all, but they're going to be just fine."
"Your brother and his friends are stronger than any Were I've ever seen. Faster too." Arthur's eyes followed the football as it sped through the air and into Blake's hands.
"It's a good thing we got to them in time," Quent told her softly. I'm terrified to think of what that last dose would have done to them. As is, they are on the upper scales of Weres. I've never encountered anything like them."
Chloe nodded. "Thank you for telling me."
Quent patted her shoulder gently as the three of them resumed watching the football game. "You deserve to know what's going on. You're as much a part of this as anyone now."
Chapter 28
The evening sun hung low in the sky, slowly dipping behind the mountains as it were tired. The sky was awash in purples and reds with thin clouds making abstract and beautiful designs in the sky. On the other end of the sky from the sun, stars were starting to dot the navy blue heavens and the moon was beginning her full rise to glory.
Chloe sat at the window, watching the sun and moon shift places. A friendly fire crackled in the small councilor's cabin and she had a cup of tea on the table beside her. The cabin was meant to hold camp councilors during the summer months. As such, there were three small bedrooms, one bathroom, a utility kitchen, and a small table with four chairs next to the big window overlooking the center courtyard. Chloe could see the sun fading into to the west from the edge of the window, and the moon ascending in the middle.
The moon had been in the sky for much of the day, hanging low but still visible. She had asked why they all weren't shifting since the full moon was in the sky.
"The pull is strongest at night," Quent had told her over lunch. "We think it has something to do with the light source and some other phenomena."
"Like the ocean and fish spawning?" Chloe asked, her brain trying to combine various papers she had read on the subjects. Quent shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Not exactly a huge area of research currently being done on the shifting habits of werewolves," he said with a grin.
The day had been relatively calm. The three new Weres were bustling with nervous energy as the moon pulled them ever closer to their wolf state. Arthur had her stay away from them, and as much as she wanted to see her brother, his flashes of anger at the other wolves told her it was for the best. Arthur and Jackson had to break up several fights, and Arthur had even been bit by the blonde soldier.
Evan, she reminded herself. The blonde is Evan Drandt, the other one is Joel Martinez. She had picked up their names when Blake had finally seen her watching them play football. Introductions were made all around, and then Joel had gotten a little close to her and made Blake growl.
A scuffle had almost broken out, but Jackson had been her protector that time. He stepped between her and the other two, and seemed to grow bigger. They had both backed down, then. That was when Arthur had decided she should spend the day away from the wolves. Jackson went with the three soldiers off into the woods to burn off more energy. She wished he would have stayed with her.
Instead, Quent had spent much of the day drilling her on her thesis plans. In all the commotion, she had almost forgotten that she was still a student and that there were still tests and papers due. Luckily, she was supposed to be with Quent this week to work on her thesis and lab work. Unfortunately for her, Quent didn't let her off the hook just because they were in the middle of the woods.
The sun gave one last yellow flash before ducking under its blanket of mountains and going to sleep. Chloe got up and checked the lock on the sturdy oak door one last time. The wolves would be coming out at any time now.