The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 47: Chapter 47

-Oliver-
The atmosphere in the house got really tense after the phone call. I wasn't too afraid of Jack and his pack, since I was apparently surrounded by almost twenty werewolves and hundreds of spirits, but I was nervous about something else.
Jaden's father was coming.
I had no idea what he thought of me, or if he even knew that I was supposed to be Jaden's mate. And he was the Alpha. I had read enough werewolf books. While we were waiting for him to arrive, I had enough time to form a picture of a mighty, battle-scarred warrior who was at least the size of the entire house.
Then there was the fact that he was coming to take Jaden and his friends away... Aurora told us that he would escort them back home, where they would have to stay until the Thorns and the Shadow Walker were properly dealt with.
I should have known... When Jaden said I belonged with them now, it had sounded too good to be true... Now I had no idea when I could see them again, if ever.
Half an hour later, I heard a car stopping in front of the house. Aurora went to look out of the window, before she turned to give us a nod.
"He's here," she said quietly.
I looked at Jaden, who was sitting next to me. He had no expression on his face, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I really missed his Echo.
Tilly and Arch stopped by the bedroom door and peered in, leaning against the door posts. Arch still didn't look well, but he was now standing, so I assumed he was feeling better. I looked back at Aurora when she walked to the front door, opening it.
I wasn't surprised that the man behind it wasn't the size of a house, and he didn't seem scarred either, but when he stepped in, I could feel his aura. It was so strong that I had no doubt that this was the leader of their pack. The Alpha. When he walked towards us, Jaden stood up, pulling me up on my feet as well.
"I thought I'd be fishing right about now," he spoke with a low, raspy voice when he stepped in the middle of the living room, looking down on us all – he may not be the size of a house, but he sure was big. "But no – here I am playing hide and seek with Thorn."
"Did you find anything?" Aurora asked.
"We know which direction they took. Scouts are trailing them, but other than that, nothing. We couldn't find anyone, but they left in a hurry – they left everything they owned behind," the Alpha spoke, letting out a deep sigh. "You guys are all right?"
"We're fine," Aurora said, and suddenly, they both turned to look at me. I resisted the urge to hide behind Jaden when the Alpha's eyes landed on me.
"You must me Oliver," he said, stepping closer to me. I felt so, so, so small next to him. He looked almost exactly like Jaden, just a bigger, older version.
"Y-Yes," I managed to peep out. I felt extremely nervous when he studied me with his eyes. He moved his head a little, taking a deep breath. It occurred to me that he was probably taking in my scent.
"I see..." he then muttered. "I'm Rayleigh. Jaden's father."
I nodded shortly, and waited for him to continue, but he didn't do it right away. He was still looking at me, but I couldn't tell what was on his mind.
"How old are you?" he asked, surprising me.
"I... I turned sixteen a few weeks ago..." I stammered.
"Right... Right..." he muttered. I suddenly heard footsteps behind him, and when Rayleigh turned to look who it was, I saw a glimpse of Mrs. Bundt behind him.
"So?" she asked him with a worried look on her face.
"What you're asking is dangerous, especially since there's only three days until the full moon," Rayleigh told her. "But..." he took another glimpse of me.
"But what?" she asked, stepping closer to him with a frown on her face.
Rayleigh let out a deep sigh, and turned to look away from me. "We have a safe house. It's built to keep us in, so it's strong enough to keep us out as well."
"You'll take him?" Mrs. Bundt spoke quietly with hope in her voice.
"Like I have any other choice," Rayleigh grunted, before he turned to speak to Aurora, "We're leaving. I've called everyone back home. Once the scouts return, we may know more, but right now I want everyone back in our territory."
"Why? We should hunt them down before they can regroup," Aurora spoke, but Rayleigh shook his head.
"Underestimate Shadow Walkers, and you start losing your loved ones," Rayleigh said almost angrily. "You know that. We all paid that price last time, but this time, we're one step ahead of them, as long as we don't screw this up."
"Of course," Aurora said immediately after he was done talking, bowing her head.
"Now we need to go back home," Rayleigh said and turned to look at Mrs. Bundt. "You'll deal with the humans?"
"Of course," she nodded, and turned to walk to me. "I'm sorry, Oliver," she said, gently placing her hands on my shoulders. "We'll do everything we can to stop them, but for now, I need you to go with Rayleigh."
"What?" I stared at her.
"We can't keep you safe, but the Blue Moons can. I'm sure you won't mind skipping a couple of day of school, am I right?" she tried to smile, but the worry in her eyes didn't go away.
"But I thought humans aren't allowed in your territory," I turned to speak to Rayleigh.
"I'm making an exception, but I need you to follow my orders, understand?" he said sternly. "Not all of us can control our nature, so it will be dangerous for you. Like I said, we have a safe house you can use, and you will be safe as long as you stay inside."
"I'm not leaving Oliver alone. I'm staying with him in the safe house," Jaden spoke, looking at his father challengingly.
Rayleigh snorted at him. "And here I thought I would have to knock you out to keep you in our territory," he said, and turned to point his finger at me. "I like you already."
"We're staying with Oliver as well," Tilly spoke, and Arch nodded.
"I've got no problem with that," Aurora spoke, raising her hands. "I'm actually happier knowing that you're all safe."
"We need to get going," Rayleigh said, and started walking to the door.
I looked at Mrs. Bundt. "What about you?"
"I'll be fine," she said reassuringly. "I'll go get you some clothes and everything else you might need and bring them to you later. Do you have your phone with you?"
"Yes," I nodded.
"Good. Be a good boy. Do as Alpha Rayleigh says, and stay safe, okay? He and his werewolves can protect you from the Shadow Walkers better than I ever could, but they are werewolves. The ones who are turned may try to–"
"Eat me alive?" I chuckled nervously. "I know, Jaden told me about it."
"Stay in the safe house," she said with a pleading voice. "Please – I know this isn't the best solution, but it's the best we got."
"I will protect him," Aurora said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "You protected mine, I'll protect yours. No one will lay a finger on him, you have my word."
"Thank you," Mrs. Bundt said to her with teary eyes, before she hugged me. "You have to go now. Stay safe. Promise me that."
"I will," I said, hugging her back. "You too."
"Everything will be all right soon," she whispered, before letting go of me. "Go – they're waiting for you."
I nodded, and recollected myself before I turned my back on her. Jaden took my hand in his and led me to the door, where I turned around to wave at Mrs. Bundt. Natalie. She had a sad smile on her face when she waved back at me.
"Stay safe," she said one more time, before I was led outside to the car that was waiting for us.
"Everything will be fine," Jaden said, squeezing my hand when we stopped next to the car. "We know how to fight."
"We've learned from the best," Tilly said, patting my shoulder.
"I'm more worried about them," I said truthfully, turning to look back at the house.
"She's not alone," Jaden said, and I turned to look at him. "She has her friends and my pack on her side."
"We have to get going," Rayleigh spoke, stepping next to me. "She'll be fine. I made a promise a long time ago, and I am going to keep it, no matter what."
"I swear, if I hear the word, promise, one more time..." Jaden muttered angrily.
"You and I will talk later," Rayleigh said. "I promise."
Jaden showed him his teeth, which was a weird thing to witness, and it didn't get any better when Rayleigh did the same thing. A werewolf thing perhaps?
That thought really made me realize I would spend the night with werewolves. In a place where humans weren't allowed. With werewolves. With loads of them. And some of them wanted to rip my throat out.
Jaden made me sit in the middle of the backseat, while Tilly climbed in the front with Rayleigh, and Arch went around to sit on my other side. I looked at the house again, when the car started moving, and once I couldn't see it any longer, I turned to talk to Jaden.
"Is it... really alright for me to be in your territory?" I asked, trying not to sound too scared.
"I'll make sure none of ours will get to you," Rayleigh said. "There's... five or six of us who might cause trouble, but no one can get into the safe house. During the day it's pretty safe, but the nights are bad. Especially during full moon. I'll have my hunters keep an eye on you to make sure everyone else stay away."
"And you have us," Jaden said.
I gave him a small smile, and looked down at my lap.
He was still holding my hand.