ALEJANDRA.
Today Zaire, Katherine, and I are going to the beach. It’s only a quarter mile walk from our house, and since we only have a few days left before Zaire leaves for college, we want to spend some quality time together.
Zaire is my barely older brother. He’s eleven months older than Katherine and me. Honestly, I feel bad for my parents. I’m pretty sure Katherine and I were an accidental pregnancy. Mom had just given birth and then she got pregnant again, with twins.
At first, they didn’t know Katherine and I were twins. They just thought they were having one baby. I was the surprise baby on delivery day. I’m still not sure how I stayed hidden. But Katherine was a big baby, nearly nine pounds, and I was only five pounds. So, I must’ve just been blocked by her larger frame.
“Do you have sunscreen?” Mom asks, stopping me by the front door.
She doesn’t ask Katherine or Zaire. Probably because they don’t need it. They’re super tan and I’m the pasty white one. No matter how long I spend in the sun, I never get tan. But I also never burn. It’s weird. But I still put sunscreen on when my parents are around for their peace of mind.
“Yes, Mom,” I reply, letting out an annoyed breath. I know she means well, but why am I always the one that is doted on?
“Look after your sisters.” Mom gives Zaire a pointed look.
Even though we’ve been going to the beach on our own since we were ten years old, my mom still freaks out, thinking somebody is going to kidnap us. It’s not like the part of town we live in is exactly dangerous—there are a lot of families and elders. Even the elders are smart enough to not be in town this time of year. Today, it’s nearly one hundred degrees.
“I will. Bye, Mom,” Zaire says, rolling his eyes. He’s clearly annoyed that we’re not half way to the beach yet.
Zaire, Katherine and I are stuck in the middle of all our siblings. We have two older siblings, Dahlia and Clay. Dahlia is twenty-five and married. Clay is twenty-two. He just graduate college and has recently moved back home. Mom is glad to have him here, but Dad is trying to push him to look for a job. Clay is happy to just be a moocher.
We also have two younger siblings as well, Legend and Amara. Legend is fifteen and he plays football. He recently started dating this girl from school. They’re both too young to actually go out, so they mostly hang out here or at her house. They’re cute together. And Amara is thirteen. She is in that awkward stage between being a kid and a teenager. She has braces, crushes hardcore on boy bands and recently joined the cheerleading squad.
We walk the quarter mile to the beach. It’s easier to just walk there than drive. By the time we get there, sweat is dripping down my face. I grab a rubber band from the pocket of my shorts and pull my hair up. I sigh as my hair lifts off my neck. When Katherine sees me, she pulls her hair up too.
We’re at the beach less than a minute before Zaire and Katherine both end up walking off with some friends, leaving me sitting under the beach umbrella alone. That’s just fine with me. I grab a book from my bag. I came prepared for this moment.
Zaire is playing football in the sand with some of his friends. I recognize some of them from our school, but others I’ve never seen before. He probably made friends with them today. He’s that kind of guy—the kind who can make friends with anyone and everybody. Him and Katherine both. I’ve always been jealous of them for it.
“Dude, she’s hot. Is she your girlfriend?” I hear one of the guys ask.
I roll my eyes.
“That’s my sister, you idiot,” Zaire huffs. “Don’t call her hot.”
He starts to say something else, but I hear somebody say, “She doesn’t like being touched. If you try, she’ll freak out.”
The comment makes my chest hurt, even if it’s true.
Everybody at school knows I don’t like being touched. Thanks to Zaire’s threats, nobody tries anymore.
I slip a pair of large sunglasses on. Not to shield my eyes from the sun, but to shield people from looking at me. They always stare because I have purple eyes. My parents got me checked at the doctor after I was born, and I’m perfectly healthy. I was just one of the super rare people born with purple eyes. So rare, in fact, that I’m one of six hundred people with the eye color. At first, they thought I was albino, but they quickly ruled that out. I’m not albino. I’m just white. Really, really white.
Still, part of me wishes I were albino. Then I would have a reason why I look so different than the rest of my family.
My thoughts are distracted when I feel a familiar tingle on the back of my neck. Once again, I sense that somebody is watching me, which is crazy. We’re on the beach. Nobody is watching me.
Still, I turn around to look and don’t see anybody there, re-solidifying the fact that I am indeed going crazy.
I turn back around just as somebody trips over my leg. They fall, their legs landing on top of mine.
Not prepared for the rush of emotions, the world spins and everything goes black for a second. When I open my eyes, I see Zaire pulling one of his friends off me and shoving him away.
“Are you okay?” Zaire asks, kneeling down beside me.
It’s then that I realize I’m lying down, my head inches from the pole of the umbrella.
I nod, letting him help me sit up.
“I’m fine,” I say, licking my dry lips. “I wasn’t prepared for anybody to touch me. I think I just passed out for a second.”
“A few seconds.” He starts to gather up out things, grabbing my bag and book in his hands. “We’re going home.”
“No, Zaire,” I protest, my voice steadier than I expect after blacking out. “I promise I’m fine. I was just surprised.”
The last thing I want to do is to leave the beach because someone accidentally tripped over me and I freaked out. Everybody already thinks I’m weird. I don’t need one more reason for the kids at school to look at me differently. Zaire won’t even be there to protect me this year.
“Are you sure?”
I nod.
He reluctantly hands me back my bag and book and gets up, turning back to his friend who tripped over me.
“Watch where you’re going,” Zaire grinds out.
Even from here, I can see that Zaire is furious. His entire body is tensed up and both hands are making a tight fist.
“It was an accident.” I shrug. “I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry, Alejandra.” The boy grimaces at Zaire’s hard stare and shoots me an apologetic look.
“It’s okay,” I say, more for Zaire’s benefit than anyone else. “I’m fine.”
Eventually, the guys go back to playing football, but they move further away from me, making me feel even more like a freak.
I’ll never fit in.
ALEJANDRA.I relax in the bayside window of the room Katherine and I share in our family’s two-story home. Katherine is gone, she’s hanging out with some of her friends. She wanted me to come, but I declined.I hate hanging out with Katherine’s friends. Not that they’re not nice—they are, but they’re her friends. I feel like the third wheel when I hang out with them. I’d much prefer to stay at home, in my bedroom, hiding from the world.I shift my MacBook sitting in my lap, and I pull something up on Netflix. I need the distraction tonight.It was a rough day today. Passing out in front of all of Zaire’s friends at the beach was humiliating. When Zaire told Mom once we got back, she freaked out and had Dad do an exam on me just to make sure nothing was wrong.My dad’s a doctor—a general practitioner. He used to be a surgeon, but he was gone a lot. He gave up his prestigious job at the hospital when I was just a baby so he could stay home more. He’s always been around to me.I sigh, le
ALEJANDRA.It’s been a couple of nights since I met Forrest on the beach, and I definitely haven’t thought about him.Nope.Not once.At least, that’s what I tell myself, but by telling myself not to think about him, aren’t I just thinking about him?Tonight, my house is noisy and full of people. Well, not full, but we do have company. My mom and dad invited a family over.My dad works with another doctor that has a large family too. They have five kids, all pretty close in age to us, so they come over every once in a while for dinner and game night. It’s always super loud and chaotic.“Hey, Little A.”I look up to see a pair of blue eyes eagerly watching me. I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes.They have a son named Shawn. He’s the same age as Katherine and me. He goes to our school, so I see him a lot, but he’s a little too flirty for my taste. At least with me. He never flirts with Katherine.“It’s Alejandra,” I say, frowning.Why does my family and this one boy insist on cal
ALEJANDRA.Today we are taking Zaire to college.All ten of us—Dad, Mom, Dahlia and her husband Alex, Clay, obviously Zaire, Katherine, me, Legend and Amara.We are taking five separate vehicles. Dad and Legend are driving his pickup truck with a lot of Zaire’s stuff in the back. Mom and Amara are taking the SUV with all the seats folded down and the back full of stuff. Dahlia and Alex are driving their small car. They’re not carrying anything, but Alex is going to help move stuff. Not like we need help, but Dahlia wanted to come. Zaire and Clay are taking Zaire’s car. Katherine and I are in the back of the caravan, driving the Jeep that we share. There is really no point in driving, but I just didn’t want to ride with anybody else, and Katherine thinks guys will talk to her if she’s driving because they’ll think she’s a college student. I don’t mind, as long as she drives.Katherine and I are quiet on the drive. I think we’re both sad that we have to say goodbye to Zaire. Sure, he’ll
ALEJANDRA.Today feels like a monumental day. Like something big is going to happen. Something that will change my life. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I can’t shake the feeling. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s strange.Katherine is going out tonight with a guy from our school. He texted her earlier and asked if she wanted to go eat dinner and get a movie. She doesn’t like the guy, but she said she never turns down free dinner and a free movie. I don’t understand why she would go out with a guy she doesn’t really like, but I don’t question her. I’m actually kind of glad she’s going out because I want to spend some time alone tonight.Getting up from my desk, I head downstairs. I tell myself I’m just going on a walk, but I know it’s more than that. I know exactly where my walk is going to lead.When I let my mom know I’m going for a walk, she’s so upset about Zaire leaving yesterday that she doesn’t even complain about it.Once I get outside, I see the almost full moon in the
ALEJANDRA. I hear the ocean in my dream. There are soft waves crashing and… A rocking motion? Why am I rocking? And why do I feel like I got the best sleep of my life? I stretch my arms and legs out. I can literally smell the salt water in the air, like I’m sleeping on the beach or something. Wait a minute. My eyes open abruptly, and I find myself in an unfamiliar room. The rocking sensation wasn’t just in my dreams. Something is rocking gently. I am in a small bed in the corner of a room. I sit up and look around, seeing nothing familiar. There is a small window with a curtain covering it, so I get up and walk over to look outside. When I look out, I see nothing but water. Oh, my gosh. I’ve been kidnapped. My heart is racing, and my entire body feels heavy. Think, Alejandra. What’s the last think you remember? Forrest. Phoenix. Desmond. Puma. I hate how just thinking their names makes my heart race for an entirely different reason than fear. Why are they the last thin
ALEJANDRA.Desmond thinks he’s my “mate.” Mate as in soulmate.He thinks we’re meant to be together.I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but how can we be meant to be when I literally just met him? I don’t know him well enough to be together with him.Plus, the fact that whatever I feel for him, whatever connection we have, I also have that same connection with the other three guys. I try to keep that out of my mind, but it’s impossible. I cringe, thinking about him listening in on my private thoughts. He’s talking with Forrest at the moment. He’s on the other side of the deck, but I know he can hear me.I groan.Great.Now my “mate” knows that I also have feelings for his three best friends. This thing is turning out great so far.I’m also worried about my family. Forrest told me I can call them once I arrive at the school, as long as I promise not to talk about the fact that I’m at a school for werewolves.They don’t like being called werewolves. They say they’re wolf shifters and th
ALEJANDRA.People are staring at me.Do I call them people? Well, I guess they’re technically people, but they’re more than human. They’re shifters. Shifters that could probably rip me to shreds in two seconds flat if I pissed them off.Still, they’re staring at me. They’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. That is a question I wish I knew the answer to myself. Yet, here I am, in a castle where I’m about to attend school.“Do the stairs change positions?” I whisper to Forrest, since he is the closest to me.He raises an eyebrow. “Why would they do that?” “Never mind,” I mumble.Right.I forgot.They don’t even know what Harry Potter is.“Explain yourself,” he demands, not leaving me room to argue.I roll my eyes.Forrest truly is the “alpha.”“It’s from this movie,” I say, waving my hand. Though, it’s much more than just a movie. It’s easier to explain it this way though.“We will watch this movie with you.” It’s not a question.Great. Glad we settled that.When you first walk i
ALEJANDRA.Forrest comes back into the oval office to get the rest of us after he’s done talking to his dad.Oval office.I giggle.We’re halfway down the stairs when I bump into the back of Forrest. He and Desmond have both stopped and they’re looking at me. I look behind me and see that Puma and Phoenix are also staring at me.“What?” I ask.“We’ve never heard you laugh before,” Puma says, voice filled with something I can’t describe.“Oh.” I drop my gaze, uncomfortable with them all looking at me right now. Forrest and Desmond start walking again, so I follow behind them.I’m honestly kind of worried about falling down these stairs. They’re so tall, I’d probably fall forever.“Don’t worry, I’d catch you,” Forrest is quick to assure me.Ah, right.Forrest is in my head now.Or has he always been?“You guys have a lot of things you need to tell me.”“We will. Soon,” he promises. “We just need to get through the next few hours first.” The next few hours.I can do that.“Why did you te