Chapter one
“Oh, really?” I asked Vincent as I put my backpack on the living room floor, beside the couch. “Yes, I could take you down in…less than fifteen seconds.” He mused, the purple ring around his green eyes catching the eastern sun.
“Fifteen!” I scoffed, pulling my fingers through my wavy black hair and into a pony tail.
Above, I heard the familiar quick pace of my older brother coming down the stairs. Vincent cursed under his breath, so I knew he heard him too. Finn’s step on the bottom floorboard creaked as he rounded the corner.
“What are you harassing my little sis for Vincey?” Finn rumbled in the doorway, glaring at Vincent.
“Harassing her?” Vincent snarled, disgusted. “Please! I only came to see Marshall. He wants to speak to me.” He smiled smugly.
I clenched my fist. “Oh? And I wonder why, Vincent? Is it because you’re a total disgrace to this pack—“
“Kara?” Finn interrupted, looking like he was proud. “Don’t you have to be somewhere? Uh, school maybe?” His brown eyes were hard, yet teasing.
Ugh, what a drag. Finn always ruined—or stole—my fun.
“Yeah, damn.” I muttered, slinging my backpack on my shoulders. The weight settled comfortably, not heavy, as it would have been on a human.
“Ha ha. Uh-huh, yeah get on to school now. Don’t make me chase your tail all the way there.” Finn laughed as I walked out into the cool damp morning air.
“She’s grown quite pretty these days, eh Finn?” I heard Vincent say as I walked down the sidewalk, my feet barely brushing the pavement. I heard Finn’s growl and a thump before even my acute hearing couldn’t hear them anymore.
Shit, I hated this body. I longed to change, to pop my back and stretch my claws, to run, but couldn’t; normal life needed doing first.
School, school, school! Why is it soooo important? Well, I know why, but I hate pretending that I’m like them.
I growled under my breath and continued past my neighboring house, which was still a good quarter of a mile off from my own, and into the more crowded city limits where apartment buildings lounged casually. I took a deep breath and drank in the humid Texas air. Why we moved here, over a month ago now, I had absolutely no idea.
I walked slowly, not really enthusiastic about another boring school day, and entertained myself by listening in on peoples’ conversations as I walked by their homes. “No, I’m serious man!” a young guy yelled to someone in a condo two floors to my right.
“What?” another guy asked.
“That guy was five-hundred pounds! F-in wigglin’ like Jell-O, dude!”
They cracked up.
A tiny giggle escaped my lips as I imagined it.
There was a small rustle of branches above me in an oak tree. My breath caught and my nostrils flared. The musky scent of canine covered heavily with perfume filled my nose.
“What’s so funny, hon?” Zena’s voice whipped, as she dropped effortlessly from the tree to land beside me with barely a sound as her heels hit the concrete.
“Zena, why are you stalking me?” I demanded a little harsher than necessary. I was aggravated. I had let my guard down and not known another member of the pack was near. It made me look like a pup, or omega. Not good.
“School sucks, ass.” She responded, ignoring my question. She kept stride with me easily as we walked. Zena was tall—taller than me—with platinum blond curls that hung to her shoulders, and hazel eyes ringed with black eyeliner all the way around. She was wearing mostly black, a black v-neck shirt that was cut so low her boobs almost fell out, a skimpy black skirt laced with red, and short black heels.
I rolled my eyes at her and laughed a little, forced sound. “Duh,”
She made a face at me and flipped off a truck of senior humans that were driving by us, whistling. “I hate human men. So…arrogant.” She spit, turning to look at me again.
I actually laughed this time. “Oh? And our kind are not? Please. I think maybe we are more arrogant than them.”
“Really? Hmmm. Maybe.” Zena shrugged.
“No, think about it.” I insisted. “We are under the impression—don’t lie—that we are somehow better than they are. Correct? I bet so. I mean, we have this awesome beautiful power and they do not. So does that make us better? Or do we just think we are?”
Zena stared at me then grimaced. “Whoa, Kara! You just sounded exactly like Isaac.”
My steps faltered. I did sound like him. Ewwwww.
“Okay then,” I swallowed my worry. “Nevermind. Let’s hurry.”
We walked in silence until the school parking lot came into view, and Vincent was on my mind.
“Vincent challenged me this morning. Said he could take me down in…less than fifteen seconds.” I informed Zena, snorting.
She faked shock and rearranged her shirt a little higher. “Again? Surprise, surprise Kara. Like he doesn’t already do that five times a day. He’s annoying. But…mmmm, cute.”
I groaned, “I know! He knows we can’t decide who’s alpha till Isaac steps down.” Then it hit me. I shoved Zena so she almost fell on top of a red headed kid getting out of a car next to us. “Cute?! No! Ewww. Well…no.”
She grinned deviously. “Yes, now you know you can also challenge Isaac. So can he.”
We entered the front doors of the school and headed towards the restroom.
“Or Antony.” She added as an afterthought.
I lowered my voice. “But Vincent—or Antony—wouldn’t do that, Zene.”
She sighed, “But would you? I mean, if the feeling gets too intense. You know more than I do.” She shoved past me into the bathroom and fully inspected herself in the mirror.
So vain, I thought staring at her. She really was. She would have been considered my best friend, but we fought too much.
And I knew I was just trying to distract myself. I bit my lip and carefully thought over her words. Sheesh, did I know. I pretty much snapped anytime Isaac gave an order. The alpha instinct went too deep. And it didn’t help that I had to war with Vincent and Antony for power either.
Zena lathered on half a tube of lip gloss then sauntered over to me.
“After all hot stuff,” she winked and leaned down to my ear. “We are werewolves.”
