Tristan's POV
Taking my eyes away from the road, I glanced over at Lise who was sitting beside me rocking her body from side to side, tapping her foot to the beat of the song. Her tiny fingers, which were entwined with mine over the middle console, were drumming against the back of my hand as though she was playing the keys of a piano.
Lise and Anya who was seated directly behind the passenger seat, were singing along...very loudly might I add...to Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. They both have really nice voices and could sing their asses off. It’s surprising how well they sing together. I love seeing her so happy and carefree that I didn't have it in my heart to tell her how much I absolutely hated this damn song.
When we got back to her house from the club last night, Luke and I left for a while to check in with my Dad. I notified him of the incident at the club with Rico and Alonso and in turn he promised to call their father Alpha Perez to offer our pack's assistance in helping them track down Mia.
Dad said he'd send Jewel's father, whom as you guys know our pack's current Beta to speak to Rico and Alonso. After shifting and running our night patrols, we stopped to get a quick shower at my house. When we finally got back over to Lise's it was way past two in the morning. Walking into the living room I was ecstatic to see that she was willingly tucked into the side of my sleeping bag waiting for me to come back.
Crawling in next to her, she instantly rolled over and snuggled up to me in her sleep. This made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world. Just the simple fact of knowing she wanted to be near me warmed me right down to the core of my heart. Kissing Lise on the forehead after wrapping my arm around her, I hugged her close to my chest. I stayed awake a while watching her in a peaceful slumber.
I was willing to kill for this girl tonight, ready to annihilate anything that even came close to threatening the safety of my mate. My wolf was itching to come out and show the two strangers dragging our mates around like rag dolls, what the future Alpha of Monhegan Moonlight Pack is all about. In all honestly I was about a minute away from shifting when I felt Lise's thin arm wrap around me hugging me from behind. That small action managed to calm my wolf allowing me to think clearly. Yes, I know I have some uncontrollable anger issues...but what wolf doesn't?
Lise leaning over to look into the back at Anya while holding her thumb and pinky to her ear as she finished off the song with, "So call me, maybe?" broke me out of my thoughts. Oh thank god that wretched song is finally over, looking up into the rear view mirror I could see the look of relief in the eyes of Luke and Max who were seated in the second row and Gabe, Sam, and Jordan seated in the last row.
Troy’s driving in his car following closely behind us with Andre, Lance, and Sal. His friends decided to drive up and join us in the last day of his birthday weekend celebration after having fun at the club last night. Meeting up outside Lise's house at eight this morning, we knew we needed to get an early start for our three and a half-hour trek to The Forks.
We're on our way to go...yes I know you're probably thinking we're a few sandwiches short of a picnic, crazy...Whitewater Rafting! What can I say? You only live once and it seems we all have one thing in common, we're a bunch of adrenaline junkies.
"Please change the station, I can't take anymore of these bubblegum songs!" Max cried leaning between the seats to try and reach for my radio. My instant reflex was to turn my head to the side and bite down on his arm. "Ow, dammit!" He yelped retracting his arm back.
No one and I mean no one touches my radio stations, besides Lise that is. "Serves you right, now sit back and put your seat belt on!" Lise scolded like a mama bear. The look on her face brought an instant smile to my lips, her eyes were narrowed causing her eyebrows to scrunch up. If there's one thing she's adamant about it's wearing your seat belt in the car. I never wear mine...wolf here, hello...but of course she gave me the silent treatment until I finally put it on.
"What station do you want?" She asked considerately offering to change it for him. Max's hand shot out offering Lise his Iphone.
"Plug it into the usb and hit play please." Max instructed happily. I'm glad she gets along with all the guys. They all love her like a sister already, saying she's made me into a better guy all around. I could see what they meant by that Lise really is going to make an awesome Luna. We finally arrived to our destination after pulling over halfway at a rest stop, the girls needed a bathroom break and the guys wanted some food.
Getting out of the car we all stretched, our bodies sore from such a long journey. "I'm so stoked! This is going to be awesome!" Lance shouted as our group made its way to the cabin where you check in. We met our guide who went over the rules of safety and directed us on how to properly row with the current. Lise and Anya both carried a nervous expression on their faces as we approached the raft. Guess the rushing sound of the roaring rapids caused them to get scared.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." I promised as I hugged her to my side, kissing her on the temple. Lise gave me a small smile, which was equivalent to a grimace in my book. Even with my pledge of keeping her safe, she still looked terrified. Buckling her into her life vest, I ran my thumb over her cheek as my hand cupped her neck. "You know how to swim, right?"
Her hazel eyes widened as they stared up at me. Oh crap, please lord let her know how to swim. If she says no, forget about it we're not going in the water. I could feel my own expression change from a pleasant manner to one more of concern. Then a smug smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she began laughing. "The look on your face was priceless." She giggled grabbing onto her stomach in laughter. "Of course I know how to swim, silly. Not that great, but enough."
A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I gripped her up playfully into a bear hug. "Oh, so you think teasing me is funny do you?" I asked blowing raspberries against her neck causing her to laugh even more. One thing I learned is she's extremely ticklish on certain parts of her neck. Which is great payback for me when I want to torture her.
"Al-right...al-right." She gasped for a breath of air between her fit of giggles. "I'm sorry it's not funny teasing you."
"C'mon love birds. We want to get the show on the road already." Max groaned causing us to look over and notice everyone was seated in the rafts. Wow, the two of us always get so caught up in one another. It's like time stops just for us and everything else around us just keeps on going. We need two rafts because our group is so big. Each raft comes with a personal guide and fits eight people comfortably. The first raft included Troy, Andre, Sal, Lance, Jordan and Gabe. Our raft consisted of myself, Lise, Luke, Anya, Sam and Max.
"C'mon beautiful." I smiled holding out my hand to Lise. She grabbed a hold of it and I tugged her towards me, kissing her quickly on the lips before helping her into the raft. The guys in the first raft let out a yip of excitement as their guide untied the raft from the dock and advised them to push off. We could hear their shouts of "Hell yea!" as their raft rolled over the rough waters and disappeared out of sight.
Now it was our turn to push off. Max and Sam were at the head of the raft, Lise and Anya in the middle, and Luke and I controlled the back with the guide. Our guide would shout out orders here and there, "Row faster or hold your oar up out the water as we drop down." He must have had every crevice of this river memorized as this is his every day job and he's probably traveled it a million times by now.
The rush of adrenaline pumped through my veins as I rowed, I love the water. There’s just something about it that seems so serene and calming. Little shrieks of surprise escaped Anya and Lise's lips every now and then as our raft hit a rough wave or swooped down a little drop. Initially they may have been scared, but now it seems like they're having the time of their lives as they began looking at one another and laughing.
I glanced over at Luke who seemed to be doing the same exact thing I was doing, watching his mate have a great time with her best friend. Guess Luke and I were too busy in a daze of staring at our mates and not focusing on what the guide was
directing because we were still mindlessly rowing and fast at that. I faintly recall hearing the guide say something about the finale being a huge drop and to prepare ourselves because we were coming up on it soon.
"Tristan...Luke...I said stop rowing!" The guide shouted as the front of our raft began tilting forward at a dangerous angle. "We're supposed to ease into the drop not go into it full speed ahead!" All I remember hearing was "Remember once in the water swim with the current not against it!" Our guide barked out. "And whatever you do, don't panic!"
The front of our raft slanted forward, causing the back of the raft to lift up completely out of the water. If I need to give you a visual of what we were currently experiencing, I'd say picture the Titanic after the ship split in half and it was standing straight up vertically as it capsized. The velocity of it all tossed Luke, the guide, and I out first before flipping over completely and heaving out Lise, Anya, Max, and Sam. My only concern as I hit the cold water and began getting swept away by the current was to try my damn hardest to swim back and find my mate.
Chapter 30: Rescue