HIDDEN (Hidden Trilogy Book 1) (12 page)

Laughing, stories, joking – going home in a good mood. 
Even I could hear the implied sigh at the end of that message. 

Do u like Tyler? 
My eyes widened at his bluntness.  To the point, that was Cade. 

He’s a nice guy.

U didn’t answer the question.

I like him as a friend.
  I waited for his response but none was forthcoming.  I shook my head and pulled my covers up around my ears.  Just as I was closing my eyes, another text came in.

Goodnight, Kendra.

Sweet dreams, Cade.
  I smiled a little at our crazy exchange and fell into a deep sleep. 

The following weeks passed without much difference than the previous weeks.  Our routine stayed the same for the most part.  I finally just accepted that the “escorts” to each class were just friends walking with each other to class and nothing everyone else in the school didn’t already do.  Cade still tried to make me eat more than I wanted, but I gave him a look every time and he would back off.  Brody found it hilarious.  Hunter watched our exchange with feigned disinterest, but I knew he was paying close attention to our interactions.  Why?  I had no clue.  Bree and Cassie thought it was cute, seeing as no one ever stood up to Cade the way I did.  I thought it was good for him.  I hadn’t forgotten about the exchange between Hunter and Cade but at that point, I was taking Cassie’s advice and not worrying about it until later. 

Tyler invited us back to his bonfire every weekend, but I thought after the last fiasco it was better to let things cool off before we attempted that again.  So far, we had been out by ourselves a few times around town.  It was great to have just girls around to chat about anything and everything.  While we did tell the boys where we were going, they didn’t demand that we allow them to go with us.  Not that I didn’t catch Cade’s car cruise by on the street a few times.  Coincidence?  I think not. 

It was now a Saturday, three weeks after the bonfire incident.  I was helping Nicole around the house again when I heard a honk from our driveway.  I looked to Nicole to see a gleam in her eye.

“What’s going on?”  I asked a little nervously. 

“Let’s go out to the driveway and see.”  She almost skipped out of the room and I followed her to the front door.  She stepped out ahead of me and turned to me as I made my way out the door.  I didn’t even hear the door shut behind me.  My eyes were riveted on the sight before me.  I traced the lines of a dark burnt orange hood, over the sleek top, to the back tail lights.  The classic muscle car was beautiful.  Sexy.  Totally awesome.  I admired the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T from the porch as I slowly made my way to it.  The only problem?  It was on the back of a flatbed trailer.  Steve and Cade were standing side by side, grinning at my reaction.

“What’s this?”  I finally managed as I stopped in front of them.

“Your new car.”  Steve grinned.  My eyes widened. 

“Oh my God, really?”  I yelled.  I threw my arms around Steve, practically jumping up and down. 

“Whoa, don’t get too excited yet, it needs some work.”  He chuckled.  I pulled back and looked at him. 

“What kind of work?”  I questioned as my eyes flew to the car.

“Well, Cade here helped me find it.  He knew you liked muscle cars and knew we were looking to buy you one.  He found this one cheap and offered to fix it up for you.”  Steve grinned.   Internally, my excited meter just dropped a notch. 

“It doesn’t run?”  I asked hesitantly.  While I admired and loved classic muscle cars, having the know-how in mechanical skills was not in my forte. 

“Not yet.”  Steve admitted.  “But Cade said he could find the parts and have it fixed in no time.” 
I just bet he did.
  I pasted a smile on my face and hugged Steve again. 

“Thank you, it’s great.  Really great.”  I turned to Nicole who also stood by to witness my first reaction.  “Thank you so much.”  I gave her a hug too.

“Hey, don’t I get one?”  Cade asked.  “I did find it online for you.”  I turned to him and stepped into his open arms.  I rose up on my tip toes to whisper in his ear.

“You did this on purpose.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”  He whispered back before I pulled away and stepped to the side.  I jumped up on the trailer to get a closer look. 

“So, I take it you’re pulling this back to your house to work on?”  I glanced at Cade. 

“All my tools are there.”  He commented. 

“I suppose I’ll have to bug you for a ride a little while longer,” I added sarcastically.

“Looks like it.”  He grinned.  I shook my head. 

“Fine.”  I looked to Nicole.  “You mind if I go with him to get started?”

“Today?”  She raised an eyebrow and looked between Cade and me.

“Yes.”  I replied firmly.  “The quicker we start, the faster I can drive this baby.”  I smiled as I ran my hand over the hood.  Cade chuckled.

“Yeah, okay.”  Nicole answered.

“I’ll have her home tonight.”  Cade called as I jumped down from the trailer.  Cade’s truck was connected to the trailer, how I missed that earlier was a wonder.  I moved to the passenger side and Cade was suddenly there beside me.  He opened the door and easily lifted me inside.  I waved to Steve and Nicole before Cade shut the door and walked around to his side.  Before long, we were making our way to his house. 

“You know that was pretty sneaky, right?”  I asked.

“What was sneaky?”  Cade chuckled.

“You knew Steve was looking for a car for me.  And you happen to find the perfect one.  Minus the working engine part.”

“It will be a great car once it’s running.”

“Yeah, but I could have found a cheap one that already runs.  Not that I’m complaining about this one.”  I grinned at him.  “How long will it take to fix up?”

“As long as it needs to.”  He replied with a grin.  I rolled my eyes. 

“Hey, one thing I’ve been curious about.  What made you like cars so much?  Most kids our age wouldn’t be driving the latest model Charger.”

“I don’t know.  I’ve always liked things with motors.  I scrimped and saved to buy the Charger and my parents helped a little.”

“Do you have other favorites?”

“Who doesn’t?”  He asked with a chuckle.  “The ‘69 Camaro SS, ‘68 Shelby GT500, ‘69 Pontiac GTO are on my list to own one day if I can find and restore them.” 

“And the Challenger didn’t make it on the list?”  I asked with a nod to the vehicle we were pulling. 

“Course.  But you never know what Fate has in store.”  He replied cryptically without meeting my eyes.  I left his statement at that because I wasn’t sure how to take it.  Did he plan on me selling the car to him at some point?  Or was he hinting at a future time when he would own the car…at the same time I did?  I shook my head and abandoned those dangerous thoughts. 

Soon we pulled up beside his house and Cassie was on the porch steps with admiration in her eyes.  I opened my door and hopped out before I shut it behind me. 

“What do you think of my baby?”  I asked.

“I think I’m in love.”  She breathed.  I laughed and couldn’t agree more.  I jumped back up onto the trailer to look in the interior.  Cade was still on the other side of the trailer and grinned up at me.  I could see Brody about twenty paces away, making his way toward us. 

“It needs a little work but she will be a beauty when it’s all done.”  I smiled as I turned around.  I must have misplaced my foot because I stepped off into air.  I pin wheeled my arms to no avail, before I started to pitch backwards.  I closed my eyes and braced myself because I knew it was going to hurt like hell when I hit the ground.  Just as I braced for impact, strong arms caught me mid-drop and pulled me against a solid chest.  It wasn’t Cade, but there was still something familiar about the scent surrounding me.  I opened my eyes to see Brody who looked down at me in concern. 
Huh, I could have sworn he was farther away when I started to fall. 
Two seconds later, Cade’s face was over mine and he took me from Brody’s arms.

“Are you all right?”  Cade asked, worriedly. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  I pushed off his chest so he would set me down.  “Brody caught me in time.”  I looked to him to see him blush and look at the ground.  I wanted to ask how he reached me so quickly but Bree came running up beside us and enveloped me in a hug. 

“Oh, are you all right?”  She questioned, almost squeezing me to the point that I couldn’t breathe.  I felt a sense of comfort wash over me and my original question about Brody disappeared. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  I wheezed.  Bree finally let me go. 

“That was scary.”  She said shakily.  “You should watch where you step.”

“Yeah, I’ll try to remember that next time.”  I replied sarcastically.  No one would meet my eyes and Cade was the first to break the silence. 

“Brody, help me push her into the garage, will you?”  Cade asked, eyes on the car.  He nodded and both Cade and he worked on unloading the car.  Hunter turned up a few seconds later and helped push it into one of the garage stalls.  Cassie, Bree, and I watched…and admired.  Who wouldn’t with all that testosterone on display? 

We spent the afternoon going over what needed to be fixed.  I could tell many afternoons and evenings were going to be spent in that garage.  The boys were excited about their new project.  I was excited for the day I would get to drive her. 

I still had a nagging thought in the back of my head as Cade drove me home that night.  How did Brody get to me so fast?  I was positive he was too far away to be anywhere close enough to catch me.  That night when I fell asleep, I had no problem remembering my reoccurring dream.  They were becoming easier to remember unlike when we first moved there.  Weirdly enough, they were all about wolves.  I dreamed of the black wolf running through the forest.  The weird part was?  I was a wolf running alongside him. 

Another month passed and we were closing in on the end of October.  Our group of friends planned on having our own party at the McCoy’s house.  It was just going to be a simple party where we gorged on candy and watched movies.  We were too old to go trick or treating and figured we should leave that to the younger kids.  Tyler invited us to his house again, but since he and his friends didn’t see eye to eye with Cade and the boys, Cassie and I figured we would be better off not going.  We did go to Tyler’s house a few times for bonfires.  The boys didn’t go but were made aware of where we were, per our agreement.  I was still slightly miffed that it was necessary, but if it gained a little freedom for Cassie and Bree, well, I could put up with it.  Even if I didn’t understand it…yet.  I was determined to figure out that mystery. 

The car was a work in progress.  Some of the parts were hard to find and took time to order and ship to Cade’s house.  Not that Cade minded.  He continued to drive me to and from school, and picked me up whenever we worked on the car.  I guess I was getting used to it because it didn’t bother me near as much as it used to.  Cade was fun to be around, when he wasn’t being an overbearing caveman, of course. 

I sat in my window seat in my room again and looked out at the morning light.  It was a Saturday, and Cade was probably on his way to pick me up.  We planned to work on the car again since more of the parts had arrived.  I looked down to flip through my sketchbook and noted the number of pictures I’d drawn of wolves lately.  I knew I liked them, but never before had I drawn them so much or with such clarity.  The pictures had progressed from one wolf, to a whole pack.  Each picture slowly added one more wolf until the last, where there were five standing in a group, and one looking on from a distance.  I didn’t know what it meant, or even if it should mean something, but I felt like it should. 

I’d also been thinking more about the weird things that seemed to happen when I was around my friends.  Like the first time when Bree and I were in the library and Tyler wanted to talk to me privately.  I was positive that Bree was too far away to hear our conversation and yet she did.  There were a few other instances when she or one of the others heard something that was just beyond my range of hearing.  Then there was the time when Cassie said she could “scent” Cade from behind us at that first bonfire.  I mean, the guy did smell good and all but with the bonfire going and hardly any wind, I couldn’t see how that was possible.  Add in the fact of how Brody reached me so fast that day I almost landed on my backside off the trailer…well, things just didn’t add up. 

“Kendra!” Nicole called from downstairs.  “Cade’s here!” 

“Coming!” I yelled back.  I grabbed a sweatshirt off the back of my chair as I stood up and placed the sketch book on top of the desk.  I pulled the sweatshirt over my head and made my way downstairs to find Cade already inside the house.

“I hear the car is coming along?”  Steve asked Cade. 

“Yeah, we’re making good progress on it.” Cade replied.  His eyes slipped to mine as I reached the bottom of the steps. 

“Well, we appreciate all the time and energy you’re putting into it.”  Nicole added.

“No problem.  It gives the guys and me something to do.”  Cade returned his attention to them. 

“Keeps you out of trouble, huh?”  Steve joked.

“Yeah, for sure.”  Cade smiled.  He looked back to me and asked, “You ready?”

“Yep.”  I waved to Steve and Nicole and opened the door ahead of Cade.  I caught him as he scowled at me.  “Gotta be quicker than that.”  I teased.  To prove a point, he quickly shut the front door and soon waited beside the passenger side of his truck, with the door open.

“Quick enough for you?”  He smirked.  I rolled my eyes.  He lifted me into the truck and we were headed toward his home. 

“Have you decided what colleges you’re applying for?”  Cade asked.  I was surprised at his out of the blue question and it took me a moment to answer. 

“I was thinking about Southern Oregon University in Ashland.  It has a great art program.”

“That’s not too far away,” he commented, a frown formed on his face.

“Only about an hour.”  I agreed.  I watched him for a second then asked, “What about you?”

“Me?”  He questioned, as if the question surprised him.

“Yeah you.”  I laughed. 

“There’s a private school where my dad went that I’ll go to.  They only allow relatives of those that had gone before to attend.”

“Really?  That sounds kind of elitist.”  I said, looking out the window.  “What would you study?”

“Politics, mostly.”  I swung my gaze around to him. 

“You don’t strike me as the government type.”

“Hmm,” he replied, noncommittally.  The conversation dropped as we pulled off the highway and onto their long lane.  As we reached the houses, I noticed there were quite a few more people around.  Usually whenever I came around, the place was pretty much empty.  I’ve only seen a few other faces and never met anyone outside of my group of friends and Cade’s parents. 

“What’s with all the people?”  I asked.  Cade shrugged.

“A bunch of them are off work today.  It’s supposed to be nice for a couple of hours before the storm moves in so a lot of them will be around, working outside.  With winter coming on, there’s enough stuff to get done outside.”

“Oh.”  I noticed a few curious faces as we passed, a few smiles, but otherwise they looked on with questioning looks.  I suppose I was still considered an outsider since I didn’t live there.  We pulled up near the garage and hopped out.  By now we had a routine.  I could see Brody and Hunter coming up the lane along with Bree.  Cassie stepped out of the house and rounded the side to the garage.  The boys would discuss and work on the car, and we would keep them company. 

We slid into easy conversation and a few hours passed.  The sky was steadily becoming darker with the approaching storm.  We were laughing at some joke Brody made when all of their heads came up and looked toward the garage door.  I glanced that way just as a little boy came skidding around the corner.  He paused when he saw me and shuffled his feet looking anxious. 

“Tanner?”  Cade asked he set down his wrench and crouched in front of the little boy.  He had to only be around six or seven years old.  He was cute with his curly blonde hair and boyish charm.  “What’s wrong?”  Cade asked.

“Devon and Quinton are fighting.”  He glanced at me before adding, “Others are egging them on.  Someone is going to get hurt.”  Cade cursed under his breath then patted Tanner’s shoulder as he stood. 

“We’ll have to go sort this out, Dad’s in a meeting in the house.”  He motioned for the others to follow but held up his hand for me.  “Stay here.”   He looked down to the little boy standing in front of him.  “Tanner, will you keep Kendra company while we are gone?”  I could see Tanner’s chest swell with pride that Cade had asked something of him, even if it was babysitting me.

“You bet.”  Tanner grinned. 

“Good.”  Cade smiled down at him and soon they were all gone and Tanner was left with me.  I smiled at him.

“So, your name is Tanner?”  I asked.

“Yep.  You’re Kendra.”  He stated matter-of-factly.  I nodded.  “Cade talks about you all the time.”  My eyes widened.

“Oh really?”  Hmm…this could be an interesting conversation.

“Yeah, he says there’s something off about you but can’t figure out what it is.”  Well that didn’t sound very complimentary.  Before I could reply, a huge crack of thunder sounded and made me jump.  Tanner jumped in the air even more than I did, but when he reached the peak of his jump, something…very odd…happened.  I watched with wide eyes as his body abruptly shifted and there was suddenly a small blonde wolf that landed on all four paws.  Right in front of me.  I stood, slack jawed, wondering what the hell just happened. 
Did…did that just happen?
 

Too frozen to move, I watched the little wolf glance at me and start to shake, like he was nervous or scared.  Instincts kicked in and I crouched to make myself appear less intimidating to the animal. 
It was a small wolf, he wouldn’t hurt me, right? 
I still was having a hard time accepting that I’d just witnessed Tanner turn into a freaking wolf pup.  I could tell he was scared, hell, so was I.  Who wouldn’t be freaking out that a boy just turned into a wolf.  His whole body shook and I didn’t know if it was from the continued rumble of thunder or the pounding footsteps headed in our direction.  I looked past Tanner just as Cade skidded into sight.  He took in my crouched position and the pup huddled on the floor between us. 

“Shit.”  He cursed under his breath.  He made a move toward Tanner, who immediately started shaking in earnest. 

“Wait!”  I held up my hand and Cade stopped.  He cocked his head to the side, eyes wide, as he waited for me to continue.  “You’re scaring him.”

“I’m scaring him?”  Cade asked, nonplussed.  I ignored his question, and held out my hand to the pup.  Tanner looked at me, frame still shaking.  “Kendra don’t-“

“Hush.”  I cut him off without looking at him.  My instincts were screaming at me to calm the pup and that was exactly what I was going to do.  My eyes focused on Tanner.  “Come on,” I encouraged in a soft tone.  “I won’t hurt you.  Come over here away from the thunder and big scary Cade.”  I heard Cade scoff softly but I had Tanner’s attention.  He shuffled a few steps in my direction.  “Come on, sweetie, I won’t hurt you.  I’ll protect you from everything.”  I cooed.  The last statement must have encouraged Tanner enough to have him step quickly over to me and land in my lap.  I wrapped my arms around him and pet him soothingly.  “There’s a good boy.  You’re safe now.” 

“What the hell?”  I looked up at Brody’s confused voice.  Beyond him, Cassie, Bree, and Hunter were all looking on with mild looks of shock, confusion, and admiration.  I looked back to Tanner who had stopped shaking and was curled up on my lap, contentedly.  He was about the size of a beagle and his fur was a blondish color that matched his normal hair color.  I looked up as Cassie cleared her throat. 

“I think I should take him back to his mom.”  She said slowly as she walked over to me and picked up Tanner.  He didn’t struggle but did manage to lick my face as he was lifted away.  I chuckled before I wiped my face with my sleeve.  I pulled myself to my feet and looked around at my friends.  All those thoughts I had earlier about how they were different?  Yeah, that was starting to make sense now. 

“Something you want to tell me?”  I asked as my eyes landed on Cade.  He was still frozen in place and watched me carefully. 
Could the rest of them change shape too?
  I was suddenly very wary of my friends.  If they could change, was I in danger?  Could one scratch from them turn me into a werewolf too?  I kept my internal dilemma to myself as I faced off with Cade.  Answers.  I needed answers.  Now. 

“Tanner is scared of thunder.”  Cade replied.  I raised my eyebrow. 

“Really?”  I drawled.  “I think I got that when he was startled into changing into a wolf pup.” 
A freaking WOLF PUP. 
My inner voice was screaming at me to freak out but I tried to contain my rolling emotions.  If they were wolves, I didn’t need to set them off by being hysterical. 

“He shifted right in front of you?”  Brody asked, surprised.  “And you’re still here, talking to us?”

“What do you think I was going to do?” I scoffed.  “Run screaming down the lane?”  Not that part of my mind wasn’t telling me to do that very thing at that very moment.  The other half was curious as to how things would play out. 

“That would be a normal response.”  Hunter muttered.  I rolled my eyes at him. 
Play it cool, Kendra.
 

“Well I didn’t.”  I replied, glaring at him.  If they could be cool about this whole thing, so could I.  “Was I surprised?  Sure, but he was so small and scared himself. I had to help him.”  I shrugged. 

“He came to you in his wolf form?”  Bree asked, surprised.

“Yeah.  I coaxed him over.  He was trembling and I didn’t like seeing him like that.”  I answered honestly. 

“Incredible.”  Brody breathed. 

“Why do you say that?”  I asked.

“We don’t associate with humans.”  Cade responded.  “The fact that he changed in front of you is a huge infraction.  That he sought comfort from you, and not me when I was standing right there, is…unprecedented.” 

“He won’t be in trouble will he?”  I was suddenly worried that Tanner might be met with some repercussions because of me.  It wasn’t his fault that he was scared and I was in the wrong place.  “I mean, it was the thunder that scared him.  I won’t tell anyone.” 

“He’s only six.”  Bree assured me.  “We all make mistakes.”  She bit her lip and turned her head as Cassie rounded the corner with her dad two steps behind.  Liam did not look happy. 

“What did you see?”  Liam demanded.

“Um…”  I hesitated because I didn’t want to get Tanner in trouble. 

“Everything.”  Cade supplied as he met his dad’s gaze.  They shared a look before Liam looked back at me and sighed. 

“Come inside.  We should discuss things there.”  He turned away and headed back toward the house.  Everyone else besides Cade also turned and headed in that direction.  Cade waited for me to move forward.