Chapter One

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.