Mated To Four

ALEJANDRA.The mall is crowded today.Too crowded for my liking.I walk fast to keep up with my mom and older sister, Dahlia. You’d think being nine months pregnant would slow my sister down, but I swear she has more energy now than she did before she got pregnant.My youngest sister, Amara, complains about her legs being too short to keep up with them, which makes me roll my eyes.I am the short one in my family. While everybody, including Amara, who is thirteen, is over five feet eight inches tall, I’m not even five feet. I’m four eleven. And a half. Can’t forget the half. It totally counts, even if my older brother, Zaire, says it doesn’t. He says that because he’s lucky enough to be six feet four inches tall.“Think about Little A back there,” Katherine, my twin sister, says. Little A is my family’s nickname for me. I grind my teeth in irritation every time I hear it. It’s the most frustrating nickname on the planet.Even my twin is five feet ten inches. Clearly, we’re fraternal a

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.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. 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.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