Chapter 3. First impressions

ADRIANA

We have a relaxed flight and three hours later we land in Malaga, Spain. We pick up our luggage and make our way to the exit. The air is warm and dry, it is almost noon and already thirty degrees. I snatch a bowl of paella for me and Jenna from one of the food trucks alongside the airport. Alexis, my wolf, is happy to be out of the plane and have some food in her belly. She is excited about seeing the new surroundings and the new faces at the games.

“So where is this gathering point supposed to be?” Ben quizzes and as if it were meant to be, as we walk around the corner, we find a bus with some other young weres hanging in front of it. I hear different languages at the same time and know that is where we are supposed to meet. “There it is, come on guys!” I say, pointing towards the bus. We walk over there and are greeted by an older woman. She is well is her fifties, has a soft face and a curvy body.

“Hola, I am Margareta, your bus-driver. When everyone has put their luggage in the bus we can head of to the games.” She says while opening a side-panel of the bus to reveal a big space for all our luggage. Once everyone has loaded everything in the bus, she directs us into the bus.

“Alright, if everyone wants to pay attention. I have some things to say before we arrive and I do not want to repeat myself.” She says with a strict voice and everyone goes quiet. “Now. We have cabins for every pack that participates and we expect you to keep things decent. We are not hosting a giant orgy, so have some decency. All meals are provided by the pack and will take up an hour, breakfast starts at 7 AM, lunch at 1 PM and dinner starts at 7 PM. Tonight however you are expected thirty minutes earlier for the welcoming speech.” She finishes and Jenna whispers under her breath; “She is not messing around, I am curious about the Alpha though. It sounds like he runs a tight ship.” “I know right.” I say softly.

Half an hour and many bumps in the road later, I can see the pack grounds coming in sight. The place is situated against a mountainside, tiny white house’s make up the village and on top of the mountain I can see a huge hacienda style building. Probably the pack-house. The lower half of the mountain is covered by small bushes and I can spot some outdoor training grounds. The rest is a mystery, hidden from all the nosy weres by a huge black screen. “I bet that’s where the games are going to take place.” Alexis points out. “Yeah, probably.”

“We are entering the pack grounds when we cross the stream coming up. You are not allowed outside the pack-border, because we cannot guarantee your safety outside.” Margareta calls out and the next moment we take a turn to a bridge. I feel Alexis becoming anxious for some reason and when we cross the stream I exactly know why.

I feel a rush of power course through me, it feels like my heart explodes with electricity and sparks. My smell, hearing and sight somehow improves and I can see, smell and hear everything. I am hit with another wave of it and I feel Alexis growing more powerful, like she is awakened. She roars in my head and prances around, her fur dancing with every step she takes. Her eyes are such a bright emerald color it looks like they are glowing. The feeling dies down and my insides settle to their normal calm motion.

“Adriana.” I hear Jenna slightly panicked voice through the mind link. “What happened? You went all tense and I could feel the electricity coming of you!” I look at her and see the shock on her face. “You, Your eyes. They changed, what is happening to you?” “I don’t know, but I feel much more powerful.” I pull out my phone to take a look at my eyes and I am shocked at the sight. My normally amber eyes are now decorated with an emerald ring around the iris, they are beautiful.

“I am allowed to share my full power now with you. The goddess granted me by your side because you are destined for great things. I am the most powerful wolf ever to walk this earth. You will need all my strength and wisdom for everything what’s to come. This place right here is a first step in discovering who you truly are.” Alexis tells me and with that she pulls back to the edges of my mind. I am shocked!

I tell Jenna what just happened and she is just as much in shock as I am. She grabs my hand and squeezes it gently. “You need to keep this for yourself, this is massive! I don’t know how this pack responds when they find our you are more powerful than their own Alpha. Promise me to be careful.” Jenna whispers through the mind link. “I will, don’t worry about it.” I try reassuring her and myself.

We drive through the village, I see kids running around the playground we pass. Teenagers and adults helping everyone to get to their assigned cabins and showing people around town. This place is buzzing with energy and excitement.

Margareta pulls up in front of the pack-house, she guides us into the place and the inside is a complete opposite of the outdoor. Where the outdoor has all the characteristics of an old, idyllic hacienda, the indoor is modern/chic. The walls are a dark green and the floor is made of grey washed floorboards, the doors are made of dark mahogany and have golden placards on them, telling everyone exactly what they can find behind it.

She guides us through the hallway and into an office. The color scheme from the hallway continues but the room feels much lighter. In the middle stands a desk with a glass tabletop and golden legs, behind the desk there are two big windows with white curtains. In the far corner stands a big bookcase made of glass and gold, accompanied by a velvet green sofa with soft golden cushions and a white furry rug.

A young woman stands in the middle of the office, she is busy rummaging through some papers and when we come in, she looks up. She looks like an exact copy of Michelle Rodriguez. Jenna and I are stunned, especially when she introduces herself. “Hey guys, I’m Michelle and I will be handing you all the information that you will be needing the coming days.” I am baffled, she even sounds like her. Realizing I must be staring at her I quickly drop my gaze. Laura takes the initiative, being the Alpha’s daughter, it comes natural to her. “Hi Michelle, we are from the Lowland Pack. It is just the four of us.” She says and Michelle pulls out a big envelope. “This holds all the information about your cabin, when the games will start and where to be. It holds information about what we expect of you and some stuff about our meals. The games we have planned for you are still a surprise and you won’t get to know them before they actually start, so no snooping.” Michelle winks and hands the envelope to Laura. “Thank you very much.” “Rui is already waiting for you to show you your cabin. You can find him at the main entrance.” We bow our head slightly as a sign we are leaving and with that we walk out to find this Rui.

“Hola senoritas y senor! I am Rui, let me check which cabin is yours.” A young boy, barely fifteen, greets us. He is tanned, has chopped short pink hair, tattoos and a wide smile plastered on his face. His happy demeanor is contagious to us and I can’t help but smile as I see him snatch the envelope out of Laura’s hands. “Ah! You guys have cabin 28, follow me!” He calls out happily and claps his hands. He hands the envelope back to Laura and leads us down the mountain.

Our cabin is easy to find, the cabin sight is set up in lanes of ten. The bottom going 1 to 10, the second 11 to 20 etcetera. Rui says his goodbye and rushes to the packhouse again.

The cabin has nice and simple interior, it has a small living room, a bathroom and four bedrooms. White walls, wooden floor and beige furniture with green and gold touches make up the interior design.

Jenna and I decide to take a quick shower before heading to get lunch. I chuck on a simple t-shirt and shorts and put on some mascara. When I get downstairs Jenna is already waiting for me. She wears her bright yellow t-shirt dress, her long legs stealing the show. “You are going to hurt people’s eyes with that.” I grin at her as we walk out towards town square. “Yeah, but I look amazing while doing so.” She says with a wicked smile on her face. I hook my arm around hers and we walk into the sunlight. We walk over to the town-square, it’s filled with long tables and benches to accommodate everyone who wants to enjoy lunch. Closest to the pack-house I spot tables filled with huge bowls with food. When we get closer, I can see every bowl had a small sign that tells you what’s in it, I love it!

Jenna grabs us two plates and we start piling a bit of everything on it. The mountain of food we can put on our plate is impressive.

“So, where do you want to sit, I can’t spot Laura or Ben anywhere.” Jenna asks. “I don’t mind, you pick a place.” I coo looking over the tables. All of them are already occupied with weres, but not all are occupied to the range that we won’t fit anymore.

Jenna walks up to a small group, the two guys are fully invested in their conversation and the girl just sits there, slowly eating her food. “Hi there, can we sit with you?” Jenna asks pointing at the empty place on the bench. The girl nods, she pulls out her phone and shows us a message. “I can’t speak, but I can understand English and type fast.” “Cool! I am Adriana and this is Jenna, we are from the Lowland Pack. How about you?” She starts typing again, but one of the guys catches her. He places his hand on her arm and nudges her gently. “I will mind link with my sister and tell you everything she wants to say. It’s much easier that way. I am Sergei, this is Anatoli and this is Irina, my sister. We are from the Bolshoy Iremel Pack.” The guy next to her tells us in a thick Russian accent. They do look a lot alike, they have the same sandy blond hair, same grey eyes and the same round facial structure. Anatoli has black hair, pale skin and a rough appearance, typical bad boy vibes. From the corner of my eye, I see Jenna biting her bottom lip, it’s obvious why she wanted to sit here. “If I don’t find my Mate and he doesn’t find his either, I am definitely going to fuck him senseless.” Her husky voice filling my head through the mind link. I laugh at her. “As long as I don’t hear your moaning and screaming that’s fine by me.”