Chapter 7 Lines in the Dirt

Someone pounded on the door again. “Shhhh, maybe if we stay quiet, they think we aren’t here and go away,” I whispered as quietly as I could. “Reese,” a voice came through the door. “Come on Reese, open up! I miss you.” “Damit Sloan, come back in the afternoon!” I yelled, “Now is not a good time.” “Yeah she’s nak-” I pushed my hand over Quinn’s mouth. “Quinn! Shhh!” She rolled away laughing. “You’re so mean!” I muttered. I couldn’t help but smile, her laughter was contagious. “Ugh, fine, hold on.” I stumbled over to my side of the room. I grabbed my pillow from my bed and launched it at Quinn. She laughed, caught it, and threw it back. My pillow smacked me full in my face. Quinn was behind me before the pillow hit the ground, she wrapped her arms around my stomach and kissed my neck. “Hey now!” I muttered breathlessly. It felt so good. My whole body was tingling in her grasp. Sloan pounded on the door impatiently. “Stop it! You’ll wake the whole dorm!” I hissed at Sloan.

“Wake the dorm? Reese, do you know what time it is?” Sloan’s question wafted through the door. I wriggled out of Quinns grasp just enough to see the clock. It was early afternoon. Only a few short hours left before Chad would return. I pointed to the clock, Quinn read it and frowned. “Girl you must’ve knocked me out last night,” I said quietly in her ear. Quinn giggled again. She let me go and tossed me a deep purple dress from her closet. I didn’t usually like dresses, but Quinn brought out a new side of me. She pulled on sweat pants and a tight fitting top. Oh she looked so hot.

Quinn opened the door and Sloan stepped inside. He looked at me and said, “Who are you and what did you do with my friend? Reese never wears dresses!” “Shut up dude, she looks amazing!” Quinn snapped and shut the door. I could feel my face getting red and hot. Quinn thought I looked pretty. I felt warm and happy all over. “Hmmm Sloan is it?” Quinn sat on her bed. “What do you want?” I frowned, “Be nice. He is my friend.” Quinn sighed, “Fine. I’ll try.” I motioned to Sloan to sit on my bed, I sat beside Quinn and picked up her hand.

Sloan looked at our hands, and shrugged. “That answers that question. Anyway, Umm. Reese, we haven’t spent that much time together since… uh that night when we….?” Quinn raised an eyebrow and looked at me. I chuckled. “Yeah,no. It’s not what you think. He is my friend. He has been pretty much the only one to treat me nicely since he learned my secret. The same one you learned about me yesterday.” Sloan pretended to howl like a wolf. Quinn rolled her eyes. “So he apparently found something he wanted to show me at freaking two in the morning.” “Long story short, wolves attacked us, I shifted, fought them off.” “Saving my life by the way” Sloan interjected. “Yeah that too,” I continued.

“Yeah, he and I haven’t talked much because I’ve been so busy with…wolf stuff.” I said the last two words very quietly. Sloans eyes widened, “Wolf stuff?! Tell me! Tell me!” Quinn eyed him harshly. “Does he know?” She asked me. I shook my head. “Know? Know what? Tell me tell me!” Sloan was practically bouncing off the walls. “You can tell him about your part, if you want. I think we should let the others tell him everything. If they decide to include him.” I hoped Quinn would understand. I knew Casey and River were still on the fence about the Sloan inclusion idea. She looked at me, I could see her pick at my words in her mind. “Sloan,” she began. “Reese told her about her extra fuzzy side.” I grinned at her use of Casey’s words. “But did she tell you about me? That I am one too?” Her words are sharp and full of intimidation. Sloan swallowed hard. “Did you know that I am very protective of the ones I love?” Sloan’s voice cracked, “Good. I like Reese too. I do what I can to take care of her.”

Quinn’s voice went back to its normal cheery tone, “Good. I’m glad we understand one another.” Sloan looked at me questioningly. I nodded, “Yes Quinn is like me. I spent all last night right behind her.” Quinn looked at me and smiled, “I wore ya out didn’t I?” Sloan stood up. “Well, that’s about as much TMI as I can handle. Reese, I’m glad you’re okay.” He walked to the door and left our room. I turned so I could face Quinn. “Did you need to be so harsh with him,” I asked gently. Quinn kissed me softly. I felt butterflies in my stomach. “No. Probably not. I’m sorry. I don’t know him and I was frustrated that he interrupted us. I really like you and like I told him, I’m very protective of my loved ones. I don’t have many of those and I….I don’t know. I’m sorry.” I put my arm around her and pulled her close, “You’re pretty special to me too.” She hugged me tight. “Reese, what are we gonna do? We don’t have much time before the muscle head douchebag comes after us.” She was right. Chad was on his way and it was gonna be messy. “Let’s go find Casey and River.” Quinn stood and pulled me to my feet. Her hand snaked around my neck, she pulled me close for a quick kiss. Oh I couldn’t breathe, she tasted so good! I moaned softly, “One more please”. Quinn smiled and pulled me in close.

Casey and River were about to walk into our dorm building as Quinn and I were walking out. They wore serious expressions. The air was brisk and smelled like rain. We were in for a nasty storm. Casey broke the silence, “I’d rather not have this confrontation this close to people. I think we should go back to the clearing where Douchebag first found us.” Quinn smirked, “I call him that too!” The spot was about a two hour hike from the college. I put my hand in Quinn’s and solemnly walked off into the trees.

Quinn asked a worrisome question “These twins, Ellis and Kai, do you think they are being honest with us?” River spoke up, “Yes. I have seen several power-hungry dirtbags in charge of packs before.” Casey grunted in agreement. “Just because we are predatory by nature doesn’t mean we are forced to be monsters.” “Yeah I get that, but how do we know this isn’t an elaborate ploy to get our guard down and slaughter us?” I contemplated Quinn’s question. “There is always a chance,” I mumbled quietly.

Eventually we arrived at the meeting place. We sat down and waited. We didn’t have to wait long before we heard a chorus of howls. Chad the Douchebag had come. His wolves once again ran in tight circles around the clearing to block us in. Chad, in wolf form, emerged from the ring of fur, pranced into the center and shifted into his human shape. He stood up and held his hand out to Quinn, “Come on babe, I choose you. You belong to me and together we will run the strongest pack there ever was or ever will be!” My inner wolf rose up within me, fueled by an unquenchable hatred for this arrogant piece of garbage. “In your dreams, douchebag!” Quinn snarled. “I will never be with you, you disgusting flea bag!” Anger filled Chad’s eyes. “Do you hear that boys?!” He roared to his furious wolves. “She doesn’t want to join us! But she will once she sees her friends’ bloody dead bodies strewn around her!” The wolves howled viciously in agreement. “Keep her alive, but the rest of them do what you will!”

Immediately there was chaos in the ring of wolves. There was serious combat within Chad’s ranks. I could barely make it out but I watched two wolves with a bright red stripe on each of their backs fight desperately for their lives. They must be the twins, Ellis and Kai. Two more wolves seemed to be at war shoulder to shoulder with Ellis and Kai, probably the two that the twins mentioned might join us. Quinn looked at me, “Let’s join the fun,” she growled. She exploded into her wolf form. Quinn was gorgeous even covered in fur. I slipped out of Quinns purple dress and in a flash I was on all four paws and chased her into the fray.

Everything was happening so fast, fangs flashed, claws collided, howls of pain and anger could be heard all around. The ground was slick with blood in most places. The eight of us started to push back Chad’s pack. Most of his pack had been wounded or run off. Chad and his two biggest wolves yet remained. I used a fallen tree as a springboard and leapt high into the air. One of Chad’s wolves had Quinn pinned on the ground. I roared and landed directly on the wolf’s back, my jaws clamping down tight on its neck. I could taste its blood on my tongue. No one was going to hurt my Quinn. No one! “Enough!” Casey roared, back in their human shape. Everything stopped, silence hung heavily in the air. “Hasn’t there been enough blood spilled!? Have we fought enough?! We are all wolves here! Why can’t we figure out a peaceful solution?” Chad made a sound that resembled a laugh. He shifted back into his human form. His laugh continued, “Peaceful solution?” He held his belly and guffawed dramatically. “ I offered you peace. I offered you a place in the greatest pack of all time! And you spat on me! Disrespect will not be tolerated!”

I tightened my jaw on the wolf’s neck and threw my body to one side. I hit the ground and rolled hard, yanking the wolf off Quinn. The airborne wolf smashed face first into Chad. They both tumbled to the ground. I forced my body to shift back into a human. “Chad! You are beaten! Take your thugs and go! It is over!” Chad scrambled to his feet and looked at me. He examined my body, I was too angry and covered in blood and dirt to care. “Maybe I should’ve chosen you.” I could feel the vomit flood my throat. “No matter. I may end up with you both. I mean two toys are better than one!” Quinn snarled viciously at him.

Chad grinned fiendishly. He looked around and expected his wolves to join him in his revelry. Only then did he realize he no longer had the advantage of numbers. “Traitors!” He screamed, “Betrayers! After everything I have done for you! I have given you a home, I have kept you safe! I have kept you fed! I have given you fantastic hunts! I would’ve given you the world!” He raged at the twins and the two others, “But now I give you only one thing more! A slow and painful death! Filthy mutts! I gave you everything and this is how you repay me!? Fine! If this is what you want, let it be war on all of you!” Spit flew from Chad’s mouth in his impotent rage. I saw a grapefruit sized rock on the ground near my feet. I picked it up and hurled it at Chad with all my strength. There was a loud ‘thunk’ as the rock made contact with Chad’s slobber covered face. He crumpled to the ground unconscious. “Now,” I began loudly to his two remaining wolves. “I suggest you take that giant in-grown hair out of here before anything more happens to you!” The two wolves whined and obeyed. They shifted back into humans and dragged the unconscious douchebag away.