Scarlett

Gary made it to Cade's house in record time. He'd probably broken all the speed limits to get to me.

"Where is she?" he asked, looking desperately for me as Cade opened the door for him.

The moment he saw me, relief flooded through his features and he pulled me into a hug.

"Thank God," he whispered into my hair. After holding me tightly for a minute, he pulled away and gave me a once over with his eyes, looking for any visible injures.

"How is your head?" he asked with concern, seeing the cut on my forehead.

"I'm fine," I insisted. The headache tablets Cade had given me earlier had kicked in and my headache was gone.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked, checking my arms. Blake and Cade stood together, watching us with interest.

"I think I hurt my ribs," I owned up. He would find out sooner or later. From the time I'd lost my parents, Gary had become not only a father to me, he'd also become a surrogate mother and at the moment he was mothering me.

"We need to get you checked over," he insisted.

"I'm okay," I insisted and pulled out of his grasp.

"We checked her and she doesn't have any serious injuries," Blake said, trying to reassure Gary but he didn't look convinced.

"I've a doctor on the premises that can check her out," Cade revealed.

"Why do you have a doctor on the premises?" I asked.

"It's a long story," muttered Cade. He pulled his phone from his jeans and dialed a number.

"I need you in the house," he ordered and then ended the call.

I couldn't help but wonder if he had a hospital at his beck and call as well.

Gary's attention was now focused on Blake and Cade, who up until then had been quietly watching our interaction.

He studied them for a moment before he turned to face me.

"Who are these guys?" he asked me.

"Guys from my school," I informed him. I did quick introductions between the three but they didn't shake hands; instead, they seemed to be sizing each other up. It was such a guy thing.

"What happened?" Gary asked, turning to face me. "I saw your car outside..."

That was what had probably freaked him out. The car was probably totaled.

I wasn't sure why but suddenly I began to feel tired. I don't know whether it was the adrenaline that wore off that made me suddenly feel dead on my feet, or something else.

"I think it would be best if she sat down," insisted Blake, taking note of my sudden paleness. Gary put an arm around my waist and followed Cade's lead into the formal lounge I'd been in earlier that evening before the accident.

With Gary's help I sank down into the sofa and leaned back. As much as I wanted to close my eyes and give in to the tiredness, the evening wasn't finished.

Moments later an older guy with gray hair beginning to show in his dark brown hair and dressed in a suit stepped into the lounge, holding some sort of leather bag in his hand.

"Curtis, please make sure she doesn't have any serious injuries," Cade instructed.

It was then that I noticed the stethoscope around his neck. He gave me a friendly smile as he walked to me. Gary stood up and Curtis sat down beside me. Under Gary's concerned eyes, the doctor checked my breathing and my heart. His fingers gently probed my injury by my ribs and my head.

He asked me a few questions, like if I had blacked out after hitting my head, and stuff like that to make sure I wasn't suffering from a concussion.

"She'll be fine," was his verdict. "She hasn't broken any ribs. They are just badly bruised and they should heal in a few days. I'd just watch her closely tonight to make sure she hasn't suffered a concussion."

"Thank you," Gary said with relief.

"Thanks, Curtis," Cade said before the guy turned and left. Gary seemed to be less anxious now that he knew I was physically going to be okay. Although after hearing what we were about to tell him, he would definitely be concerned for my mental state.

I took a deep breath as Gary gave me his undivided attention. It was time to tell him the almost unbelievable secret I'd just found out myself.

"You know that from the time I turned sixteen I started developing stronger senses," I began and he nodded, still not quite sure where I was headed with this. "Even my physical strength seemed to increase."

"What has that got to do with you having an accident?" he asked impatiently.

"Well, it seems Cade and Blake know why," I revealed.

I knew Gary wouldn't believe me if I just told him, so I needed Cade or Blake to show him.

"Show him," I instructed Cade and Blake.

"I've done my party trick for the night," said Cade as he stepped back and Blake took a step forward. Then in an instant, the body of Blake was transformed into a huge dark-brown wolf.

"Holy shit!" shouted Gary as he shot up and stood protectively in front of me, putting himself between me and the dangerous animal.

Wincing, I stood up, clutching my injured side and pulled Gary back to look at me. His eyes were still glued to the wolf that was standing on all fours in front of us. Cade stood by, watching Gary's reaction with a smug half grin.

It took some talking to get Gary to sit back down and Blake shifted back into his normal human form. Thank goodness when they shifted, their clothes shifted with them, otherwise it would be all sorts of awkward with naked bodies. And I had no desire to see Blake or Cade naked.

I sat back down, pulling Gary back down beside me. Wide-eyed, Gary listened to Blake and Cade explain the whole werewolf thing. When they were done, he turned to me.

"You're a werewolf?" he asked, almost still in denial. But he couldn't deny what he'd seen with his own two eyes.

"Apparently," I said. I didn't feel any different and the fact that I couldn't really shift into a wolf also didn't help me feel more like one.

"So what does this have to do with your accident?" Gary asked.

I let Cade and Blake explain that a rogue was after me. They gave him the same rundown about rogues that they'd given me earlier.

I could see the fear grow in Gary's eyes at the thought of some supernatural creature wanting to hunt me down and kill me for no apparent reason. He was going to make me move.

"We need to move," were the first words that he spoke to me when Cade and Blake finished telling him about rogues.

"There's no point. If you run, he'll just chase you," Cade warned us.

"But we can't just do nothing and let him get her!" shouted Gary as he stood up to face Blake and Cade.

"We're not going to do nothing," said Cade angrily, glaring at Gary and taking a menacing step forward. Blake put his hand on Cade's shoulder. Cade took a deep breath and tried to get his temper under control.

The more time I spent around them, the more I noticed that Blake was the one to think before he acted but Cade was the complete opposite. He acted without thinking it through.

It did baffle my mind that two people who were so different were such good friends.

"So what is the plan?" Gary asked, looking to the two alphas.

"She's going to have to move in here," Cade said, laying the plan out.

"No way," I said, shaking my head. There was no way I wanted to spend more time around Cade than I already had. The way he made me feel when I was around him scared me and I knew spending more time around him would only make it worse.

"How long?" Gary asked, ignoring my protest.

"At least until we take care of the rogue," Cade clarified, shooting a dark look at Blake.

"I said no," I reinforced, standing up in between them so they couldn't ignore me.

"I don't know why you're fighting us every step of the way. We are trying to keep you safe, but you make it as if we are trying to punish you. I'm not going to beg you to stay, the choice is yours," Cade said angrily at me.

"We wouldn't ask you to do it if there was any other choice," Blake said, trying to reason with me.

My reasonable mind and my fear of the attraction to Cade wrestled with each other and after a little silence my mind won the battle. They were right; I needed their help.

"Okay," I mumbled to Cade.