Chapter 1
“Oh, yeah. You are my favorite hot mess.” Alex murmured in my ear, careful not to let my mom overhear. I slid out of his arms and shot him a scowl while tugging my black skirt down.
“Kyra?” mom called from the kitchen, sounding annoyed.
“Ales is here. We’re leaving,” I answered quickly, hoping she wouldn’t come check. I pushed Alex to the door and literally had my hand on the doorknob when she entered the bare hallway of our new house.
“Wait,”
Goddamn.
She appraised my outfit (low-cut shirt, skimpy skirt), then snickered as she ran a hand through her wild red curls. “Looks like your ready to walk the streets. Where are you going?”
I backed up against Alex and smothered a smirk. “A party, but don’t worry, I won’t drink.” I said as if she actually cared.
She glared at me enviously. “Whatever. Just leave and don’t come back at two like last time.”
My anger flared. She couldn’t even pretend to care. I grabbed Alex’s arm and stormed from the house. “Why can’t she even pretend to care about me, Alex? It didn’t used to be like this! Ugh!” I yelled as I unlocked my Jeep and jumped in.
My mom always acted like this now. Except for around dad—when he was around, not at work—she acted all sweet and nice, like she used to when I was younger. But no, not when he was gone. She treated me like dirt. I had no clue what I’d done to deserve it.
“She’s jealous, babe.” Alex said calmly from the passenger side. He always managed to seem calm in the worst situations. It was why he got away with everything.
I pulled out from the driveway, looking briefly at the house we’d just moved into. It was a medium sized white two-story house. Nothing special. As I turned onto the street I looked at Alex. “Right, okay. Where are we going?”
He sighed. “Go back near Greyson’s. I’ll tell you where to go from there.”
I nodded. Greyson’s was this old drug store on the North side back where Alex lived, and where I used to live. It was probably the only place I enjoyed going just for the hell of it. It had these cool old fashion booths in it and had this corner in the back where they sold homemade ice cream, which was freaking amazing. I loved it.
Suddenly, I had a craving.
“Did you buy me more cigarettes?” I demanded, looking at Alex from the corner of my eye. He pulled out a pack and waved it in the air.
“What do I get for them?” he asked, raising one eyebrow above his dark green eyes.
My craving grew stronger as I stared at the pack, debating. “Oh, I don’t know. Let me think it over. Now light me up,” I ordered and stuck out my hand. I hated having to have him by them for me, but he was eighteen, I was sixteen. He could buy them without a hassle over his age. Even though I looked about eighteen-nineteen, they still asked for a license.
“Demanding little slut ain’t you?” he teased.
I flipped him off and grabbed the lit cigarette.
The house we eventually pulled up to was three-stories high and packed so full their were people on the roof. Music was blaring so loud the bass was shaking my Jeep. I swept a quick glance around the area. How had no cops showed up yet? If my dad showed up, I was dead.
“Well,” I said to Alex, getting out. “looks like fun. Let’s go,”
Alex laughed as we strode across the lawn. “You know, I forgot to tell you. Jay’s been callin’ for ya.”
I stopped and tried not to shudder. Showing weakness wouldn’t get me anywhere. Instead, I turned and glared at Alex. “Let him keep calling then. I told you, I’m done doing that shit. I don’t need the money to bail you out of anything this time, do I?” I demanded. “The last time I screwed one of his guys they tried to kidnap me. Remember?” My voice seethed. I could easily see the flashback of Jay and one of his buddies beating me up so bad I had two broken ribs and a busted lip. There was still a scar on my lower lip, effectively hidden by my lip ring. The only reason I’d hung with those assholes was because Alex had gotten into trouble with them and the only way they agreed not to kill him was if I had sex with them. All seven of them.
It didn’t end well.
Alex’s face wiped clean of emotion, but I could see pain in his eyes. “Yeah, I do. Never mind, let’s just go.”
I allowed myself a brief moment of glee at showing him up, then followed him inside.
As we walked in, someone turned down the music enough so people didn’t have to shout at each other, and the sudden noise made my ears pop. I shoved against bodies, wondering who’s house this was. Alex knew everyone, so we were always at parties. I usually had fun.
I slowly made my way through the crowd, snarling at anyone who bumped into me. I lost Alex, but that was just as well, I was still ticked off at him anyway. Beside the fact that he’d conjured up the memory of Jay, he’d been acting more and more like he owned me. And that was pushing boundaries.
See, Alex was my best friend, but also someone that, on occasion, I screwed because I felt like it. It was my greatest control over him. And I was going to keep it.
Eventually, I found the kitchen and fought my way to the alcohol. I wouldn’t drink much, I didn’t really admire it’s taste, but I would drink enough to push the memory’s back down.
I filled a paper cup with an amber liquid and looked around, feigning interest. This wasn’t as much fun as I had hoped. It had been my last day at my school and I’d start new Monday. I had wanted a great ending—not this.
With a sigh I drained the cup and ran my fingers through my long auburn red hair.
“Well, hello there. Who are you?” a voice crisp with confidence asked from beside me. I turned to see a guy, maybe twenty or so, with straight brown hair, side swept bangs, and brown eyes, grinning at me. He was cute.
“Hmmm. I think I’d rather know who you are.” I said with a flirtatious smile.
“Oh, but I asked first.” he replied, mimicking my smile exactly.
“True, but I don’t know you. You could be a mass murderer, right?” I raised one eyebrow and flicked my lip ring with my tongue.
“No, drug dealer actually.” he said, his eyes watching my reaction intently. He seemed disappointed in my lack of caring. “But you could be a mass murdered too, ya know.”
Oh, if you only knew.
I snickered. “No,”
“Well…fine. My name, for all intents and purposes, is Kane. With a k.” he winked and laughed with ease.
I studied him warily and took a step back. “Kane, all right then.” I giggled—ugh—to hide my discomfort. Being flirty and stupid is how you draw them in. Only after you have them in your grasp do you show your true colors. At least that’s what Alex taught me.
Kane threw a quick glance down my shirt then had the decency to look me in the eye as he asked, “So how old are you? I’ll ask that since you won’t tell me your name.”
I sighed impatiently, reminding myself that the only reason I hadn’t stormed off yet was because he was really hot, and rolled my eyes. “Old enough to know not to tell strangers my age.”
I knew how to evade all his questions and more. That was obvious in my face. Kane watched me with amusement and curiosity. I wondered where Alex was.
“Hmmm. Well, you are sure hard to get to know. There’s something intriguing about it.” Kane was studying me, like he was trying to find my weakness.
Good luck with that honey, I thought wryly.
“Really?” I asked, just to make conversation. This party was pretty boring, I hadn’t done much, and this hot guy seemed to like me.
A blond girl that was already stumbling from too much to drink and lip gloss smeared across her face smashed into the counter next to me, almost dumping Jack Daniels all over my clothes. I struggled not to punch her.
Stupid bitch! Go home or go suck someone else’s di—
“Yeah,” Kane said, interrupting my silent fuming. “So…mysterious.”
I glanced back at him, taking a step closer and away from the blond mess, and smiled. “Why, thank you. I guess,”
Kane cocked his head to the side, watching my still seething expression from the blond girl, and then his entire face seemed to light up.
What the hell?
“Hmmm. You know, your pretty hot.” he said, pausing briefly.
And…?
He stepped so close to me that I could smell the beer on his breath and took on a daring expression. “So, I was wondering, am I such a stranger that you wouldn’t kiss me?” His smile was so taunting, almost like he was daring me to kiss him. Not like I didn’t want to, but it was more of my thing to dangle the carrot, not the other way around. And I realized…he’d stumbled upon one of my weakness’. I hated being dared. I had to follow through.
I don’t think we really kissed that long. What with the frantic screaming of the people around us, the music hurting my ears, and the various bumps and shoves from people walking by. I do know we kissed long enough to be practically fused together and way out of breath. But it couldn’t last forever.
“Kyra?” Alex asked, his voice clearly angry.
I groaned slightly—he would show up now—and gripped Kane’s arm.
“Kyra,” Alex growled, wrapping his fingers around my arm so tight I winced and pulled me away from Kane roughly, still gripping my arm.
With a snort of anger I yanked my arm out of Alex’s grasp, not looking down at the red marks I saw out of the corner of my eye, and instead glared at him hotly, licking my lips.
“What?” I snarled. “Your being an ass.” I kept my glare level to his until he finally looked away. Ha. Instead his gaze went to Kane, where he sort of snorted and looked at him matter-of-factly.
“Hello, Kane.”
“What, Alex?” Kane looked displeased.
I shouldn’t have been surprise they knew each other; like I said, Alex knew everyone around. Especially the low-life’s.
“She your girlfriend?” Kane asked, not looking at me. Nice of him to acknowledge the girl he was so in to a few minutes ago. I instantly marked him as someone to blow off in the future.
Alex threw me a disbelieving look and snorted, “No way, man. She belongs to no one and never will. She prefers to roam, if you know what I mean.”
I clenched my jaw and snickered. “Talk about me like I’m not here, I sooo don’t mind.” I glared at both of them.
Kane chuckled and looked at me again. “Okay, as long as you don’t mind.”
Oh, your just asking for me to kick your stupid, stuck up ass. I switched to a scowl, happy no one had ever told me to not mess up my pretty face like that.
Kane looked back at Alex, and I suddenly felt the rivalry there. The history. I wondered why Alex had never told me about this guy. I wanted to spit really bad, because I could still taste the beer from Kane’s mouth.
Alex looked thoughtful, never good. “You know…she’s only sixteen.”
My heart flipped. “Alex!” I hissed, hitting his arm. I didn’t want to seem so young.
But, it was almost worth it actually. The look of shock on Kane’s face was instantly satisfying. Shock quickly turned to anger, then to horror as he looked between Alex and I back and forth. “What? Only…aww, crap!” he settled his eyes on me, then half-turned to leave.
“Seriously. Sad, huh?” Alex’s eyes gleamed, and he shook his head as Kane darted off.
I shoved away from Alex, pissed again. I climbed over the grinding, drunk, and half-naked bodies until I was outside, where I dashed into my Jeep. Once inside, I took a deep breath and lit up a cigarette.
“Holy shit,” I breathed, watching the smoke curl in tendrils as it left my mouth with the words.
Alex took ten minutes to get to my car. He slid inside and locked the doors.
“Kyra,”
I ignored him and blew smoke from my third stick out the window.
“Kyra,” he repeated, more forcefully.
I tapped the end of my cig and watched ashes fall to the ground.
“Why are you acting like a bitch?” he demanded, hands in the air.
My heart pounded angrily, but I tossed the cig and rolled up my window calmly.
“Kyra!” Alex yelled and grabbed my arm in the exact same spot as before, it still throbbed from earlier. I yanked it out, trying not to let tears form at how much it hurt.
“Alex, your acting like you own me. You don’t,” I said quietly, deadly. It was a lethal voice I reserved for when I was almost at my breaking point. I turned to look at him coldly; guarded. His expression was morbid, with a hint of tolerance.
“I own you about as much as you love me. Zero.” He delivered his words carefully, thought out.
I was so stunned by what he said that my anger was overshadowed by it.
“When did…love,” My expression twisted. “come into the picture?” My voice was sharp with high emotion. Alex’s lips twitched and his face softened.
“Ah, Kyra. You are so…” he trailed off, looking thoughtful.
I swear if you say something bad, I will ri—
“Beautiful,” he couldn’t keep a straight face, he was smiling so wide both rows of teeth were showing.
I was in disbelief. He sure knew how to distract me.
“Beautiful? Inside or out?” I smiled tauntingly, determined to get this back on my level. I flicked my lip-ring the way all guys seemed to like.
Alex leaned forward and whispered into my ear, his breath warm. “Out,”
I grinned. “Asshole. Let’s take you home.”
wow this is way different than your werewolf story! i love it so far, not much to say except that I can't wait for more. keep me posted!