Zach stood still and watched the horrific scene unfolding in front of him.
Jacob was whimpering over the lifeless body of their mother. Adam hovered over Rose, his mate of three years. Her eyes would never shine with excitement ever again. Their father, the alpha of the pack, had an eerie calmness as his eyes took on a midnight black coloring. Zach knew he was plotting and planning an act of revenge. Blood was everywhere. This was a massacre. The start of a war. Dread filled the once peaceful garden.The slamming of a car door wakened Zach from the nightmare that had haunted him for the past four years. Sweat rolled down the sides of his face as he shook the engrained, detailed memory from his thoughts. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon as his tired eyes squinted at his cell phone beside him on the bed. The numbers read seven-thirty.
"What the fuck!"
Today was the last day to sleep in before the start of school tomorrow. Running his hand through his golden-brown bedhead, he rolled his six-foot all-muscle frame out of bed. He walked over to the window to see who decided to make this loud disturbance and saw his younger brother Jacob walking up the house's front path.
"What the hell is he doing up so early?" Throwing on a pair of shorts over his boxers and grabbing a T-shirt, he headed downstairs. Jacob entered the front entryway when Zach bounded down the last step. "Hey, where'd you go so early?"
Jacob brushed back his collar-length blond-streaked hair, peeled off his shirt, shorts, and shoes, kicking them to the side, leaving only his boxers in place."Early? I'm getting in from last night."
"So, you went out with Will and Anthony?" Zach tried to keep the conversation going.
Jacob walked into the kitchen. "You could say that."
Trying to talk to Jacob was like trying to carry a conversation with a three-year-old sometimes. He gave answers that had many different meanings.
"What did you guys do last night?" Zach attempted one more time for an answer that had more than five words.
"We met up with Brindle and her posse and did what normal teenagers do. You should try it sometime." Jacob let the refrigerator door shut rather loudly as he finally found what he was looking for, a cold can of soda.
"Were Heather and Rachel with you guys?" Zach grabbed bottled water out of the fridge.
Jacob turned toward Zach with a wide smirk on his face. "Oh, does Zach got the hots for the amazing cheerleading threesome?"
Zach shook his head, dissing Jacob's comment. "Nah, just curious as to who was all out. I think my taste in women goes a little above the leg-splitting cheerleading trio." He walked back towards the staircase.
Jacob got right up into Zach's face, egging him on for some sort of argument. "Oh c'mon, a little threesome or foursome fun might loosen you up some."
Zach kept his cool and sidestepped Jacob. "I think I'll pass." He paused going upstairs before he made his following remark. "School starts tomorrow. You can't be staying out late tonight." He waited for the uproar that Jacob usually did when someone told him what to do.
Jacob stood at the stairway landing, glaring up at Zach."Well, Zach, you're not my parent. Do we have one anymore? When was the last time dear father was around?" He was going off on a complete tantrum. "Big bad brother Adam is always too busy with his pack of misfits, and you're barely an adult yourself. So fuck off and quit trying to tell me what to do."
"Just saying. I didn't think you'd wanna be reprimanded the first day by being late or sleeping in class. And, Dad is off doing business. He should be back in a week or two."
Jacob chuckled to himself. "Like I would ever get in trouble at school. Where would that place be without me? Ahhh, let's see, no state championships for football or baseball. Do you really think any teacher would risk that? Fuck, the whole community would fall apart if we didn't win any championships."
Zach thought about what Jacob had said. Okay, so maybe he did own the school. Since his freshman year two years ago, he played varsity football and baseball, had almost every girl falling for him, and guys, even seniors, wanted to be his best buds.
Yep, guess the school would fall apart without him.
Jacob climbed up the stairs, marching past Zach with a bump to the shoulder. "Hey, I'm gonna go catch up on a little sleep since, you know, last night was sort of busy." He gave Zach a look, signaling he should know what and whom he was talking about. "I guess wake me up in about an hour or so." He finished climbing the rest of the stairs.
Zach walked back down the stairs and put his half-empty water bottle back in the refrigerator. What to do and where to go on the last day of summer. He went into the family room and stretched out on their overstuffed sofa. Come to think of it, Jacob had the right idea. A little nap would feel good right about now. He turned on the TV and, in time, surrendered back into dreamland.
***
Well, another new town to start another new year of school.
Emily unpacked some of the boxes in her room.
How could anyone be excited about going to another new school?
It was inevitable Aunt Maureen would make them move again since she had her big company to run, and they happened to open another office in Pittsburgh. But why couldn't she wait another year until after graduation?
After three years, I got comfortable in my school, became best friends with Julia and Beth, almost had a boyfriend, and started to feel like I fit in. Now, I have to go through it again.
Dumping out a box of her clothes, Emily began to sort through them. She searched to find something to wear that didn't make her look like she was still in middle school. And she knew she definitely had to do a little something with her hair and makeup in the morning before school. First impressions were always paramount.
"Emily, can you come down here a minute?" Aunt Maureen hollered from downstairs.
"Be there in a sec." Hoping not to trip over anything, Emily slowly got up from her bed and weaved through the boxes needing unpacking. "What's up?" she asked as she went into the kitchen to find her aunt dancing around to her favorite band.
Somehow Aunt Maureen was still stuck into 80s music, and her favorite band was Poison. She tried to catch them at every outing they did, especially if it involved Bret Michaels. You know the whole Rock of Love thing he had going on; she used to watch it over and over.
Actually, Aunt Maureen is beautiful. She was of model likeness. She could've been on one of those shows or even have a boyfriend, but having to take care of me all her life and being CEO of her own company, she has no social life. Hmm, like me.
"So I was thinking," Aunt Maureen danced around, opening boxes and putting dishes and cups away, "We could go out to the mall later and pick up some more new outfits for you to wear this year for school."
Emily remembered coming through this small, in the middle of nowhere town, of West Lakes. The nearest mall was like thirty minutes away. But what else did she have to do except open more boxes? "I guess. I think I got enough, but it will get us out of the house for a while." She cautiously eased her way out of the kitchen before Aunt Maureen suggested she help unpack those boxes also.
The sun was barely making its appearance when Zach threw on his white t-shite, dark blue button-down to go over it, and a pair of faded jeans. First day of senior year. Exciting, right. Not.Zach walked down to Jacob's room, knowing he would sleep in until the last possible moment. There were eight bedrooms in the house, and most nights there were only two people sleeping there. Jacob took the room farthest from Zach's, stating, 'I like to have guests over, and at times they may be a little noisy.' Zach knew he wasn't talking about playing monopoly with Will and Anthony. It was more like Jacob and the cheer squad going horizontal. Zach knocked loudly three times on the door. Of course, he wasn't going to answer. Jacob was probably dead to the world after getting home late. He decided to go in, not knowing what or whom he might find. The room was a mess, but that was to be expected. And Jacob's bed was empty. A smack hit Zach o
Zach and Danny entered the student parking lot after eight. They still had time to meet up with everyone and get their schedules. Zach always tried to avoid the crowds. He hated when everyone stared wherever they went. It was like take a picture; it'll last a lot longer. Come to think of it; some girls had done that already when he and Jacob were together.Walking up from the parking lot, they ran into a few kids they had in some of their classes last year."Hey, Zach and Dan, what's up?" It was a kid they had in their honors English the previous year."Not much," Danny replied as they walked by. Such a man of many words.*Opening the front doors is like opening a jail cell. You know you're gonna be here a long time. *Zach opened the front doors of the school for him and Danny to go in. He glanced around and saw Alex and Madison hanging out, talking to several guys but probably waiting for the two of them. The girls looked pretty good today, not t
*Deep breath in, deep breath out.*Emily kept telling herself this as they got closer to the school. She didn't know why she was so nervous. She'd done this so many times before that she should be used to it.Aunt Maureen turned off the highway road, went through some gates, and back a paved entranceway. Off to Emily’s right was a parking lot, maybe the student parking lot.*Well no, duh, Em, that's what the sign said.*Her aunt pulled up to the front of the building and parked in the visitor spot. The school was red brick and had massive windows in the front looking into the cafeteria. Emily saw several students walking along the sidewalk and going in the front doors. There was already a group of kids congregating inside the front room.*Great, now I have to walk past a whole bunch of kids. Why couldn't things be easy? *"Well, here you are." Aunt Maureen turned off the car."Um, you don't have
Zach opened the door to Ms. Fredley's office and noticed a girl the secretary was helping. She had long brown hair that hung down her back in waves. A nice body from what he could tell from the back. She looked to be a little bit taller than five feet, with a slender build. He noted the girl was looking over the papers Ms. Fredley had given her.*C'mon, turn around so I can see your face. *Ms. Fredley glanced up after Zach got done checking out the new girl, and he cleared his throat to alert her someone had come in. "Zachary, how are you? I just had the privilege of having your brother in here a few moments ago." She grimaced about having to deal with Jacob so early on in the day. "So, what can I do for you?"The call of his name again pulled Zach out of thought. "Um, Paige said she didn't have my schedule and to check with you." He kept his focus on the girl ahead of him.The girl turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.*'Ours'
That was weird. What the heck was that guy, Zach's, problem? Didn't he ever hear of common courtesy? Someone smiles at you, and you smile back.Emily took one step at a time, looking over her schedule and trying not to bump into anyone running up or down the stairwell. Her thoughts filtered back to the guy, she'd seen in the registration office.There was something about him. Like I'd seen him before. Like there was some type of connection. Maybe he resembles someone from my last school? "Oh, sorry." Emily reached out and touched the arm of the girl she almost accidentally smacked into on the second landing. The girl gave a brief nod, then continued walking.Nah, someone like Zach, I would definitely remember. But, what was it about him that made my whole body tingle. OMG, Em, you're thinking way too much into this. He was just a boy, and now he's gone.Emily opened up the door leading to
Emily followed Zach as weaved his way through the science center. She could see into the classrooms as each door was a glassed entryway, most were filled with students which made her stomach spin even more. Instead of focusing on the attention she would get arriving at her first class as the new student, Em concentrated on the guy walking two steps ahead of her.What did I do to this guy that would make him act this way? We don't even know each other.He is either stuck-up, shy, or not freakin' interested in talking to me.Good thing he's taking me to this class because the science department is a maze of classrooms, labs, and teacher's offices.At the end of one of the halls, Zach stopped and opened the door for her to enter.Emily noted the classroom was quiet when they entered. Everyone turned to watch them, well, mainly her. There were only about fifteen other kids, but it felt like hundreds when all
Why didn't I find a place she could sit beside me?What the hell is wrong with me?Why am I running from my 'supposed' mate?I didn't hear one word Mr. Warner has said since I walked in here. Doesn't every teacher use the same freakin' spill on the first day? Welcome to blah...blah...blah, this year we are going to learn about blah...blah...blah.Zach was trying not to look back at Emily or Paige.There's just something about her.'She's our mate,' his wolf said once again.'Yeah. Yeah. I get it. You said this before.Zach was once again having an internal conflict with his other-self. If he didn't know he was a shifter, he would begin to suspect he was going insane with having a wolf talking inside of him. He knew he had to speak with his older brother Adam or his father if he returned soon. There hadn't been any other girl who had made him feel and
Danny, Alex, Madison, and Zach were all in PE class together right before lunch. It was always an experience when they were all together. Today they played a quick game of B-ball. Zach and Dan liked to show off their skills in sports. It was the wolf in them that wanted the competition.The girls tried to keep up, but the guys knew they wouldn't be able to. Madison bitched, and Alex kept looking at Danny as if she was in awe of everything he did. After they changed their clothes from PE, they met back in the gym to head down to lunch."Hey, where did Alex go?" Zach noticed her abrupt disappearance.Madison smirked like she knew something was going on. "Oh, I think she had to head back to our locker for something." Zach started to walk away, but Madison tugged on his arm. "C'mon, let's get a table before they are all taken."Like they had to worry. They'd sat in the same spot for the past three years. Nothing ever changed here, well, until this year. The t