Hey y’all!  Hope y’all enjoyed the first chapter!  Anyways, here’s the new one.  Enjoy 

Quote of the Chapter:
“I've never had a tail before. I can't figure out what exactly it's supposed to do. It's so distracting.”
~Shay Doran in Nightshade
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Chapter 2: Peach Rose

The white wolf slowly stopped baring her teeth and growling, much to Ren’s relief.  Although he didn’t doubt his ability to win out over her in a fight, he didn’t want the situation to come to that point.

She had changed into her human form by now, although when was a good question.  Ren had been too focused on staring her down to notice any change she made, including transforming from wolf to human.  He also realized that he had transformed into his human form as well, making him vaguely wonder who had changed first: him or her.

“Renier Laroche?” She whispered.  He had her arms pinned down, holding her by the elbows so she was practically immobile.  Her blonde hair fanned out across the dirt, a peach colored rose wedged behind her right ear.  Her bright hazel eyes never looked away from his.

“Who are you?  Where did you come from?  How did you know when to save me?  Why did you save me?” Ren fired the questions rapidly.  The girl merely smirked at him.  Her breath smelled like cinnamon, he observed.

“It would be a lot more inclined to answer you,” she remarked casually, “if the position we are currently in didn’t feel so awkward.”

Ren flushed when he discovered how far down on her he was sitting.  His cheeks flamed for some reason.  Perhaps it was because he barely knew this girl.  If it had been Calla, he would’ve felt nothing wrong about the position they were in, but with this girl…

“Do you promise me you won’t bolt away from me?” Ren inquired seriously.  She promised.  He hastily got off of her and helped her sit up.  She pulled her legs up to her chest and interlocked her hands around them, resting her head on her knees.  Renier simply sat on the back of his legs.

“So which question do you want me to answer first?” She asked softly.

“Who are you?”

“Arya Lightwood.”

“Where did you come from?”

“I was born here in Estes.”

“How did you know to save me?”

Arya hesitated. “I was on orders…”

“Orders from whom?” Ren questioned.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Arya mumbled, looking up at the stars.

“Try me,” Ren said.  He knew alphas didn’t like to be challenged, no matter what type of information they held.

Arya snapped her eyes back to hold gazes with Ren; they showed the small amount of anger she had at being challenged. “You’re challenging me on my own turf?  Not a wise idea.”

“I know it’s not, but I want to know who gave you those orders.  I’ve seen the Lyulfs, I found out I had a sister, I witnessed the girl I loved become engaged to someone else.  Not much else can shock me.”

“Fine… It was Cian.” Ren wished he could recant his statement about how not much else could shock him. “Is that shocking to you?”

“Why would Cian care about me?  She hates our kind.”

“I’m not sure, but she said it was vital to the survival of our species that you live.  She said ‘although we were ‘created in violation of natural laws’’-”

“So she was pretty much calling us abominations,” Ren simplified.  What Cian had told Arya strongly reminded him of Silas giving him the history of Guardians and Searchers and Keepers.  The thought of the Scribe brought a hidden smile to Ren’s face.  Silas had been a nutjob but for some reason, you couldn’t help but like the guy, even if you did want to slap him upside the head half the time you were talking to him.

“Pretty much.  Anyways, she said that even though we were abominations, we were still vital to this world and keeping its natural order or something.  For some reason, you being alive right now is part of the reason we are able to maintain being able to shift forms.”

“Me?  Why me?”

“If I knew that, I would tell you, but I don’t,” Arya snapped lightly.

“I know you would.  So would mind if I asked why you followed Cian’s orders?” Ren shifted positions so that he was sitting Indian-style, leaning back on his arms.  Arya, however, remained in the same position.

“I might not like that she called me an abomination to my face and I do not like the fact that she would rather our kind not exist at all but she is an ancient one who said if you were saved, we would still be able to shift forms but we wouldn’t be able to create any more of our kind by the unconventional way-”

“Meaning if we bit someone and said the incantation, the only thing that would happen to that person is they would get an ugly scar from us?”

“Yes… and no.  Yes in the sense that the incantation wouldn’t work; we can’t change someone who isn’t a Guardian naturally into a Guardian.  You now have to be born one.  And no matter what, the wolf gene is dominant.  It used to be that if the father was a human and the mother was a Guardian, the child would be a Guardian too, but it would be human if the father was a wolf and the mother was a human. However, our blood still has healing properties, so that person wouldn’t have an ugly scar.”

Ren’s mind was whirling.

“I know.  It’s a lot to take in,” Arya said gently as if she could read his mind.  He really hoped she couldn’t.

“I just don’t see how I’m the one that is the cause for all of this…”

Arya stayed silent.

Deciding to change the subject, Ren asked, “So who is your alpha male?”

“We don’t have one,” Arya replied simply.

“You don’t have one?” Ren was astonished but he tried to keep his shock out of his voice. “How big is your pack?”

“There are nineteen of us, not including me.”

“Nineteen?” This time Ren couldn’t keep the incredulousness out of tone.

Arya smirked. “Yes.”

“And you are the only alpha running the pack?”

“Correct.”

“That’s impressive,” Ren complimented.

“Thank you.  You’re lucky I’m the one that found you.”

“Why’s that?” Ren inquired curiously.

“If it had been anyone else in my pack, they would’ve ripped you to shreds and asked questions later.  That almost happened but I changed patrol areas with my second and that’s the reason I found you and not him.”

“If he had found me?”

“He is the most powerful wolf in our pack.  You would’ve been turned into puppy chow but you can hardly call him a puppy.  It’s just we’ve had some bad experiences with past Guardians… we don’t trust many of them.  Actually, my whole pack was against me going to save you, even though Cian had practically ordered it.  I snuck out of my house to do it.”

“You snuck out of your house to save someone you didn’t even know?  Either you’re the bravest person I’ve met or the most foolish.  Where do you live?”

“I believe it was a mixture of both.  Anyways, I live up on a mountain that gives the most stunning view of the Twin Owls.  It’s a very private area; only my pack and I live there.  We live about ten minutes away from the town.  The Searchers were really kind to us and built us an underground driveway.  It’s really cool… would you mind if I asked you something?”

“You saved my life.  I can at least answer your questions so go ahead.”

“Do you have a place to stay?” Arya asked, somewhat shyly.

“I booked a room at the Stanley Hotel.  I’m not sure how long I’m going to be staying there,” Ren admitted. “I don’t know how much money was on the Keepers’ credit card.”

“I can give you two choices: one, you can stay at the Stanley indefinitely for free, or two, I have a spare room in my house at the Lightwood Compound.”

“You can give me a free room at the Stanley for an indefinite amount of time?” Ren whistled. “Are you going to blackmail the boss or something?”

“I’m not going to blackmail myself; that’s just silly,” Arya replied with small laugh.

“You own the Stanley Hotel?” Ren queried.

“Yeah… The Stanley is nice but you would probably be more comfortable at the Compound.  For one, Walter and Mia are amazing cooks.”

“Are Walter and Mia part of your pack or are they hired?”

“They’re part of the pack.”

“Who all is in your pack?”

“It’s a long list: Shiloh McKay, Carrie Shaw, Ray Flinn, Austin Garder, Nancy Holt, Irene Descartes, Taki Saikou, Erin Cole, Frank West, Walter Mendel, Mia Perry, Rigg LeVox, Derek Hill, Leyla Winston, Katrina Scott, Amy Buckler, Melinda Gates, Dmitri Ferguson, and Michael Jackson.”

“Michael Jackson?” Ren couldn’t help but laugh.

“He had awesome parents,” Arya told him with a shrug, a smile on her lips.

“Pardon me for asking this because I don’t want it to come across the wrong way but is he white or black?”

“Both.  His mom is white, dad is black.”

Inexplicably, Ren laughed.  A few moments later, Arya joined in.  Her laugh was sweet-sounding; it inexplicably made his stomach do flip-flops.

“Listen, I know I gave you two choices but I’d feel better if you stayed at our compound,” Arya said rather sheepishly.

“Why?” Ren grinned. “Don’t want to lose a handsome devil like me?”

“You wish that was the reason,” Arya retorted, but she was smiling.  In a more solemn tone, she added, “No, it’s just I know how lonely it can be without a pack.”

At that, Ren looked down.  For a brief moment, he had forgotten he was alone.  Now reality surged up into his mind and it took all of his willpower to not howl at the moon in frustration and sadness.

“What do you say?” Arya inquired.  She was somehow standing above him; he hadn’t even heard her get up.  He looked up at her, blue eyes meeting hazel, although the current lighting made them look green.  The moon gave her hair a silvery halo.  She was absolutely beautiful.

Her hand was outstretched.  Slowly, Ren took it and she helped him up gently.  Arya was tall, much taller than he had anticipated, but then again, he was used to short girls because the girls at his high school had, for some unexplainable reason, been unusually short.  Arya’s eyes were level with his chin whereas Calla’s had been at shoulder level.

Ren noticed, although she was dressed simply, wearing white short shorts and a dark blue tank top with a sporty-looking black jacket on, she still looked like a million bucks and he would totally date her.

He really had to get a grip on himself… he couldn’t be thinking about dating her.  He wasn’t going to be staying at the Lightwood Compound long enough for their relationship to turn serious anyways.

“Come on; I’ll brief you on everyone so you’ll know who to watch out for,” Arya said as she started to walk off. “It would be best if we walked as humans.  It will give me more time to tell you about everyone.”

Ren followed, falling in step with her.

“So, who’s your second?”

“Shiloh McKay.  He looks like Josh Hutcherson with black hair if you want an image of him.”

“Who is Josh Hutcherson?” Ren asked in confusion.

“He was Peeta Mellark in the Hunger Games,” Arya explained, stepping over a fallen log.

“Oh, okay, I know who you’re talking about.  I have an idea because I’m horrible with remembering what people look like.  How about you tell me what celebrity they resemble.  Cheesy but I think it will work.”

“Ooh, I like a challenge.  All right.  Here goes.  So we already established that Shiloh looked like Josh Hutcherson…”

And Arya started explaining everyone.  Carrie looked like Ellen Page, Ray like Matthew Lewis, Austin like Liam Payne, Nancy like Alexandra Daddario, Irene like Lacey Chambert, Taki like Brenda Song, Erin like Jennifer Lawrence, Frank like Brandon T. Jackson, Walter like Garret Hedlund, Mia like Shenae Grimes, Rigg like Liam Hemsworth, Derek like Channing Tatum, Leyla like Megan Fox, Katrina like Lily Collins, Amy like Jane Levy, Melinda like Brittany Snow, Dmitri like Chris Hemsworth, and Michael like a younger version of LL Cool J.

Ren was rather excited that one of the girls resembled Megan Fox; he had always thought she was good looking; however, he had never quite got the massive infatuation guys had with her.  Maybe it was because he preferred blondes.

Arya explained that Rigg and Dmitri were often mistaken for being brothers even though they had no relationship with each other whatsoever but the two of them did act like brothers.

“So just a few questions: who are Matthew Lewis, Alexandra Daddario, and Garret Hedlund?” Ren questioned as he helped Arya up a steep embankment.  He couldn’t help but notice how warm and soft her hand was in his.

“Matthew Lewis was Neville in Harry Potter; Alexandra Daddario was in Percy Jackson and she played Annabeth.  She was also in White Collar.  Garret Hedlund was Murtagh in Eragon.”

“So who all do I need to watch out for?”

“Dmitri and Rigg might cause some problems in the beginning.  Leyla and Katrina will either be really bitchy to you- excuse my French- or they’ll ignore you completely.  The one you should probably avoid is Shiloh,” Arya warned.

“I figured,” Renier muttered. “Does he hate every new person that comes to the compound?”

“Only if you’re a boy,” Arya answered with a smirk.

“Why?”

Arya was hesitant before quietly explaining. “I’m pretty sure he likes me.  In fact, I know he does; the thing is the feelings go only one way.”

“You don’t like him like that, do you?”

“No, and he can’t get that through his head.  Fortunately, I think he has a crush on Carrie, too, so I’m hoping he’ll follow that path.”

They elapsed into silence as they started walking up a hill.  There were lights at the top of it; Ren guessed they were almost at the compound.

He was right. “We’re almost there.  I’m going to tell the pack to gather outside around the fountain.”

Ren wasn’t sure what surprised him more.  The fact that she had a fountain outside or that instead of pulling out a cell phone, Arya shifted forms and let out a long, low howl.  She was responded to with a chorus of replies from the top of the hill.  Ren had to admit the sound of Arya’s pack’s howling was intimidating; but he was an alpha, and he wasn’t going to show that he was intimidated.  She shifted back to human form.

“They’re waiting for us.  Are you ready?”

Ren nodded.

“Good.  Walk on my right, just a little bit behind me,” Arya ordered.  Ren did as he was told and together, they walked up the hill.
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Okey doke, there’s the chapter!  I hope y’all enjoyed!  Please review!