Pack Gems by Kuro Kusai, WhiteWolf Aura (free ereaders TXT) 📖

when she was resting so peacefully?

Axel looked up to find Connor giving him an amused look, and before he could stop him, the foolish wolf started shaking Kaden awake.

Her eyes snapped open, and before either of them knew what was happening, she was sinking her teeth into Connor's hand.

He gave a yelp and pulled his hand back.

"I don't like when people touch me."

Axel simply laughed as he opened the door and proceeded to get out of the car, "Tried to warn you."

He looked back to the car, extending a hand to Kaden.

Kaden grabbed it for support, letting go of it instantly when she found her footing.

All the while she looked around, her face in awe.

Axel smiled to himself, eager to show her the rest of his home.

This would be where she stayed from now on, and he wanted her to like it.

Chapter 20: Sentencing Laughs and Sleep Arrangements

~Taylor's POV~

Taylor roused herself from sleep, feeling the car begin to slow to a stop.

To her horror and confusion—which only added to her throbbing headache, Taylor found that she was snuggled tight to Mason.

Mason, who was looking out the window, hadn't noticed she was awake yet.

How was she going to pull this off? How could she keep her dignity?

She almost blew her cover with a groan as her brain offered her memories of embarrassment.

You smell nice?! What the hell was she thinking?!

That's the thing.She wasn't thinking.The alcohol was.

Damn. No more drinking. Ever.

If that had been said out loud, Kaden would have laughed her ass off at that declaration.

Her hands were clenched with fist fulls of Mason's dark red shirt, crumpled in between her fingers while her legs were bent at the knees curling around the side of him with her butt resting on one of his thighs.

Leaving her head to rest under his chin, making it hard to see his face.

"You gonna carry her?" Daren's voice sounded from the front seat.

Taylor froze.

Shit!

She closed her eyes.

Mason exhaled, making her body rise with his, "Well…I could,"

"But?" Daren prompted him to continue.

"But you don't want her to wake up and be drop kicked for your good deed?" Akira attempted to finish the sentence.

This elicited a light chuckle from Mason, "No. Although I don't doubt that would happen…"

Taylor felt Mason's head attempt to tilt downward more to see her face.

"It's because I think she'd want to walk herself, after all, she's awake."

Taylor's body froze as a barrage of curse words flowed through her head.

She peeked one eye open and managed to display an apprehensive grin before Mason's gaze.

"Well, shit. She was. Look at that." Akira craned his head to look at her.

"How'd you know that?" Daren asked, his tone impressed.

Mason didn't take his gold eyes off Taylor as he shrugged his reply.

If he had some secret technique to her faking, he wasn't giving it away.

Taylor felt this was her cue to push off from his chest and wrench open the car door.

Thankfully, it had come to a full stop.

"I just didn't want to open my eyes against the light," She rubbed her temples for good measure.

She didn't have that bad of a hangover considering she was just buzzed but she wasn't above faking one.

Mason stepped out from the car with a smirk as he straightened to his full height, "Whatever you say."

Lacing his hands together and stretching them about his head gave him the appearance of a satisfied stretching cat, not at all the alpha wolf that lurked under his skin.

With an unlady-like snort Taylor turned to face the Axel's house.

--Pack POV--

"And they're bringing them here?"

"Hell, yeah. Can't you smell it, those sweet scents?"

"Those scents are off limits." Akira strode through the door first without waiting for either of the Alphas. He was a curious wolf.

"And why is that, wolf?" Both other wolves that were lounging inside Axel's den jumped to their feet to snarl.

"It's just advice," Akira stretched his arms over his head, "But…" Mason and Taylor strolled in the doors first—arguing as loud as their voices would let them."That's our alpha, that's our stray…and this—" Axel burst through the door with an equally looking pissed Kaden in tow, "—Is yours with the other. I don't think it's in your best interest to get to close to either of them. Advice."

Both wolves looked at each other and almost looked convinced until Taylor in her classic clueless fashion stretched and presented her—well, their incentive.

"Idiots." Daren spoke next to him, shaking his head.

"Hey, it isn't everyday you see an unmated female as cute as those two. I can see their thought process." Akira watched both girls assaulting the Alphas with no fear at all.

"You're just saying that because you want to watch them get their asses kicked." Daren smirked at his companion as he watched the two dim-witted wolves edged closer to the pairs.

Akira laughed, unabashed, "True, so true."

What Akira and Daren hadn't expected…the two wolves, judging by their manners to be only pups in age, were put in their place not by the Alphas but by Taylor and Kaden.

Which, to be honest, they should have seen coming.

~Taylor's POV~

"Funny." Kaden laughed.

"No, not funny," Taylor growled back at Kaden, "Enough about my car ride…what about yours?"

Kaden grew silent.

"Oooh? Something 'funny' happen?" Taylor sensed a juicy story and seized onto the change of topic that led away from her own embarrassment.

"Shut up." Kaden pushed Taylor's shoulder.

"Excuse us,"

Kaden and Taylor turned their attention to the new company in front of them.

"Hi girls,"

"Welcome." Both boys extended hands eagerly.

Kaden and Taylor looked at each other and gave a mutual smirk, all the while ignoring their outstretched hands.

"Yeah…hi," Taylor managed to force out.

"Sup." Kaden gave a nod.

One of the braver—or less intelligent wolves—stepped forward toward Taylor.

Reaching up to brush a strand of loose hair behind her ear, Taylor caught the foolish wolf's wrist before he could even begin to try and touch her.

In a ruthless manner, she yanked at his arm throwing him off balance; she ducked through his falling form to stand at his back.

Giving one finally push to his shoulder blades the Were fell on his face with Taylor twisting his arm to hold him in place…and a well placed foot to the spine as an added precaution.

Kaden just snorted, not at all surprised by Taylor's antics.

"Shouldn't have gone for the hair, she has a thing about that…" Kaden bent to meet the squished Were's eyes.

He let fly a string of curses as he tried to stand.

Taylor twisted his arm harder,"Now, now. That's no way to speak to a lady."

"You bitch! Aaron, you just gonna stand there or are you going to help me?" he snarled.

"Psh, it's not like you should need help, Brett. It's just a chic—"

"If you finish that sentence, you'll be like him. Or worse," Kaden supplied him with a lazy grin.

"Oh? Cute. You want to wrestle me, doll?"

Kaden moved faster than Taylor had— not that this surprised her.The dummy had asked for it.

She swiped "Aaron's" foot out from under him and before he could register what was happening, he was slammed against the floor next to his companion.

Kaden held both of the Were's arms upward and twisted.

It was obvious one arm was pulled out of socket, although Taylor was spared any bone chilling pops because neither could hear anything over the howling and blubbering.

This signaled Mason and Axel back in the room in a flurry."What the—?!"

"Hey, guys." Taylor used Brett's arm that she gripped to wave at the pair.Brett groaned at the motion.

"What are you two doing?" Mason's voice was full of pure amusement, not at all what Taylor thought she would hear.

"What did you two do?" Axel gave a more stern tone to them.

"Hey, they had it coming. You think lycanthropy would have leveled their male egotistical thinking." Kaden added a twist of Aaron's arm for good measure.

Taylor disagreed, finding that this tended to make it worse.

Even if one could lift a twist iron in the shape of a pretzel, females were coddled— Taylor and Kaden just used it to their advantage.

The wolf didn't disappoint as a whimper escaped past his lips from the painful jerk.

Axel pursed his lips in a disapproving manner at the pack mate at his feet before leveling his eyes to meet Taylor and Kaden once more, "I was talking to them. Not you."

"Axel, I thought it was foolish to worry about them here, being that they were guaranteed safe and all." Mason's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"At least no one has gotten kidnapped yet—!" Axel interjected with venom.

Taylor used the foot that was placed on Brett's back to push herself off the ground and land between the two Alphas smoothly,"Now, now, children, play nice."

Both looked on with a twinge of animosity, conveying quite clearly without words that her interjection was not appreciated.She felt the friction of energy singe her skin from being in between angry wolves and instead of breaking out into chills—she got annoyed.

She opened her mouth to speak and no doubt add fuel to the fire when Kaden interjected.

"So, where are we sleeping?"

Kaden was good like that. She sensed when the tension was getting high and defused it without even thinking; that and she could follow Taylor's own moods as clear as her own.

"Ah, glad you asked," Axel gave her a toothy smile that seemed like nothing good would come from this news—call it her own intuition.Stepping closer to Kaden he continued, "You will be staying in this room…with me."

Taylor almost let loose a loud laugh but caught herself in time and reduced it to a soundless whoosh of air escaping her lips as she tried not to look amused.

"…What?" Kaden was miraculously calm, although Taylor figured that it was more of a deadly tone than a calm one.

"My room is obviously the best room in this house and I don't have any vacant rooms near mine. Plus, the idea of you staying in a room alone without my immediate protection…no." he sounded resolute, "You will be staying with me."

Taylor tilted her head down to hide a smile as Kaden began a tirade all her own—she even thought she heard her dipping into Spanish, but she was speaking too fast for Taylor to tell for sure.

Axel appeared undeterred and actually looked on with a peculiar fascination.

Taylor didn't know when she started to giggle but she blamed it on Mason.

He was the one who started to snicker until it was an all out laugh. It was contagious.

"And what about her?!" Kaden snapped around to face Taylor once more.

Taylor shrunk at the attention, her smile evaporating.

"She has a room right next to Mason's—"

"Ab-so-lute-ly not!" Kaden made sure to over pronounce every syllable in the word absolutely as if it would make her point come across better if she elongated it.

"Wha--?!" Taylor jumped to her own defense, already seeing where this was going.

"It's only fair—I mean...she needs closer protection too." Kaden pointed out, faking a concerned expression.

"Well…" Axel pondered, his own sentence trailing off.

"I suppose I don't mind helping out." Mason chimed in a little too eagerly for her.

"Then it's settled."

"What?! No! I want my single room!" Taylor whined before turning a glare on Kaden, "And you? You're evil."

Kaden answered back with a laugh, "It's what you get. You were laughing at me."

And she had tried so hard not to laugh too…Well, this would be an