Morgan's POV:
A week went by with no more attacks. I prepared for my first day of school in Forrestwood and Cameron hadn’t been at my house since we had let my parents know what had happened. When we explained what had occurred involving myself, my parents were freaked out; they had never heard of anything like that happening before and neither had Justin and Cathy.
The Saturday before school, I woke up and peered out my window. Cameron stood leaning against a black Ford truck; his hair waved gently in the light breeze and a tight white tee fit snugly against his muscled chest. I let my eyes wander over his body hungrily until I noticed he was staring up at me.
Embarrassed I had been caught in my ludicrous thoughts, I dressed quickly and trotted down the stairs. Not to my surprise, Cameron was already in the kitchen eating the breakfast my mom had cooked. I could hear my parents talking in the living room over the sound of the news.
“Hey,” I greeted him, a smile plastered on my face.
He chuckled, “Hey. Come sit down and eat. After this we’re going to go have a meeting with the pack. I’ve talked to Jordan about it a little bit, but everyone needs to know.” Cameron’s eyes had black circles underneath them as if he hadn’t slept in a week.
He probably hasn’t, I thought grimly. I’ve barely managed to get any sleep myself.
I sighed and sat down at the table. The last thing I wanted to do was go to a pack meeting and deal with Catherine. She obviously didn’t like me, but hey, the feeling was mutual. I munched on a piece of bacon while Cameron finished up his pancakes. He stood up and indicated that he wanted to leave. I shoved the rest of the bacon into my mouth and hurried outside.
“Cameron,” I began as we got into the truck. “Did you feel the pain in your head as well?”
He backed out of the driveway and down my road before answering, “A little, yeah. But it wasn’t too bad. It felt more like I was starting to get a headache.”
“Hmm,” was all I said as we turned onto the main road and headed into town. Forrestwood consisted of a post office, a gas station, a locally-owned store where you could get your food or basically any other item you needed, and a bar. Other than that you had to drive into the city to get what you needed. I had yet to go to the city but I didn’t think I was missing out on anything. I hated cities and the last thing I wanted to do was get stuck in traffic or caught in a car crash.
We drove in silence to where the pack was to meet; it was a large Victorian style home with a large backyard. I could see a black head popping up along the fence and a deep aggressive bark emitting from behind the fence.
“Who’s house?” I asked in amazement. It was incredible. Light blue shingles with a black roof gave the house a cheery and peaceful aura. White shades decorated the windows and I could just make out a sun room to the west side.
“Mine,” Cameron answered.
“Awesome!” I said, totally amazed that he would be living in a house like this. “That your dog?”
“Yeah, for some reason we get along fine with dogs. But most other animals? Not at all,” Cameron answered my unspoken question.
I nodded my head, “No wonder my cat didn’t like my parents.”
I heard Cameron chuckle but then the door slammed open and I looked up to see Catherine standing in the doorway. I uttered a low growl but Cameron lightly touched my arm and I broke it off. She had tan shorts on with white tennis shoes; she wore a white tank top and I noticed that it covered her mid-drift this time. She had a snarky smile on her face and I could feel the hatred coming off of her.
…. Little bitch. Who does she think she is? Cameron was mine. Now she’s just his little whore.
I paused and blinked in surprise as the onset of thoughts attacked my mind. Cameron glanced back at me when I suddenly stopped. All I could do was stand there and tremble as I tried to control my anger. I clenched my fists and released them; I was so tempted to just walk up there and punch her. It didn’t bother me that she liked Cameron. Not at all; I wasn’t the jealous type. What bothered me was that she thought I was his whore.
I snarled and she stepped back in shock. She had no idea that I could read her mind.
I took a deep breath and calmed down. Cameron watched me warily out of the corner of his eye while we climbed the steps to join her in the doorway. I smiled gently at her and said, “I’m not his whore, Catherine.”
Her eyes widened in shock and this time she stumbled back into the house. She caught herself before she fell and shoot me a dirty look. I kept the smile plastered on my face as we walked by her; I could feel Cameron’s confusion and Catherine’s hatred rolling off her. I tried to keep the smile on my face but as we joined the pack in what appeared to be the living room, I could feel everyone’s emotions invade.
…. She looks angry.
…. Wonder what Cameron needs to tell us. What is Catherine –
…. Why couldn’t this wait? I had a date with Jordan tonight.
I shut my eyes and hid behind Cameron. I grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly while I rested my head on his shoulder. I tried desperately to ignore the many thoughts that protruded into my own. I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. I took another deep breath as I realized that I was Alpha, and I needed to act as one. I focused on building a wall around me. In my mind I set up a brick wall and watched as the intruding thoughts bounced against it and back into the black space surrounding my brain.
I opened my eyes and discovered that I no longer could hear everyone’s thoughts. I breathed a sigh of relief as peace once again enveloped me and I could look into one of the pack member’s eyes without knowing what they thought. If this is what it was like all the time, I had no idea how Markus and Omen could handle it. Maybe they had found a way to block the thoughts just as I had?
It was hard to maintain the barrier between my mind and the others but I managed to hold it. Every now and then a stray thought would rush past the barrier and reach me, but I quickly reinforced it and just as quickly, it was silent. I looked around at the members. Catherine was leaning against the wall looking anywhere in the room but me. Tonight she was wearing black khakis and a white blouse with black heels. I was surprised she knew how to dress fully clothed. I could tell she was still trying to figure out at how I had known she thought I was Cameron’s whore and smiled broadly as she worried over it.
Jordan stood to my right and shot me a sly smile. He was wearing a dark tee with the words “Skillet” written across them and dark blue jeans. Black tennis shoes adorned his feet.
Twins girls stood in the corner of the room. They both had brown hair; however, one had their hair down near her butt while the other was cut close to her shoulders. I saw a whiter patch of skin on their left hand and figured it was a birth mark. The one standing on the right wore a light pink sundress with brown sandals, while the other wore blue jeans, a black tee, and black tennis shoes.
A middle aged blonde man stood next to a woman that was also showing gray in her roots. The man had a leather jacket on with black jeans and biker boots. Aviator sunglasses covered his eyes and prevented me from telling where he was looking. The woman he was standing with had a white tank top on with blue jeans and sneakers. A redheaded teenage boy stood next a brunette and a blonde. His arm rested across the brunette’s shoulders in a fashion that told me they were an item. The blonde stood next to the brunette and leaned against the wall. Every now and then they would glance at me before putting their heads together. The girls were dressed in plaid skirts and a collared shirt while the boy wore a collared shirt and dark dress pants.
My eyes roamed the room searching for the only one left of the pack. I found her immediately standing in the farthest corner away from everyone else. I did notice, however, that she stood closer to Catherine. I wrinkled my nose as I tried to wonder why she would want to stand next to her.
Unless…. Catherine is the one that bit her?
“Everyone,” Cameron had started the meeting. “As you know, this is Morgan. She’s my mate.” As he said the last part I heard a quiet snarl emit from Catherine’s direction, but Cameron wisely chose to ignore it. “I called everyone here tonight because there have been disturbances. Something is happening and we’re not sure what it is. Markus and Omen are checking up on things with the other Vampires to see if they can find other information. It’s our job to make sure Forrestwood stays safe and every pack member is secure.”
“Why is there a blood sucker helping us? And not just any blood sucker, a Tepes,” I heard Catherine hiss.
Cameron simply turned to look at her and addressed in a monotone voice, “Because she is our only chance when it comes to this. Her family knows more about this than we do. If you have any problem with that, then that’s too bad. You’re going to have to suck it up for now.”
Catherine wrinkled her nose but didn’t argue with Cameron anymore; she simply went back to sulking in the corner. The pack mentioned several other issues that were in the area but I barely paid any attention to them; I was staring at the girl named Cat. I was going to try to talk to her tonight as she could speak to me now.
She glanced up and caught me watching her. I smiled at her and gave a tiny wave, hoping to not bring too much attention to the exchange. I couldn’t care less on what the pack thought, but I knew that she did her best to stay out of the pack’s way and attention. Cameron adjourned the meeting several minutes later and the members of the pack began to drift out of the house. I tried to catch Cat but I was too late and watched as she pulled out of Cameron’s driveway in Catherine’s car.
I felt someone walk up behind me and place their hand on my shoulder. I stiffened until I saw that it was only Cameron. He came up beside me and grinned.
“Why does everyone treat Cat so differently?” I demanded.
I saw his smile falter and knew he had not expected this topic to come up.
….How do I explain this to her? She doesn’t understand. She’s bitten, she’s not pure. She hardly has any control over her body. If Catherine hadn’t lost it that night and tore off into the darkness, we could have prevented this. We wouldn’t have to worry about an unstable Were. She’s not the same as us, and she never will be.
I snorted and Cameron looked at me in surprise. His eyes widened slightly when he realized what I had done. He wasn’t angry with the intrusion which had surprised me. Maybe I had been looking for a fight? I laughed at the thought.
“Just because she’s bitten doesn’t mean she’s not equal to us,” I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t even know Cat yet I was getting into an argument over her. I glared at Cameron and when he didn’t offer an explanation, I stalked off towards my car, “I’m going home. I’ll see you Monday.”
I scrambled into my car and slammed the door. Tearing down the driveway I pulled onto the main road and drove back to my house. I was not looking forward to going to school.
I walked into my house to find my parents and my brother Matt in the living room. I sauntered in and sat in the arm chair. I noticed my parents were watching Smoking Gun Presents World’s Dumbest; the show was the family’s favorite even if Matt may be too young to watch it. As soon as the commercials began, my parents started asking about the meeting.
“How’d it go?” my dad immediately asked.
“Fine, I guess. We talked about what we’re going to do with that evil presence thing and that Markus and Omen are asking everyone they know about it. They talked about a couple other issues but I zoned out. I was looking at Cat….” my voice trailed off.
My father sighed, “No matter what, she’s still different. Someone that’s been in the pack much longer realizes that. You’re new to it all, though.”
I glared at my father, “It’s not her fault though. I don’t understand why everyone is so against her. She seems so nice.”
My mother reached forward and patted my hand, “I feel the same way, darling. But there’s nothing we can do. It’s your pack, not ours. If you want her treated differently, you have to take the first step. Show your pack whose boss.”
I grinned as I thought back to Catherine; I decided to ask my parents about her. “What’s with the girl, Catherine? She hates me,” I said.
My father looked over at my mom; she sighed when she saw him looking and explained, “Catherine and Cameron used to be… an item. We thought they had been mates. Cameron shifted first and then Catherine began to shift as well. Of course she had been going through puberty at the time, but you never know. It’s been known to happen before where there’s been a mistake. However, when we arrived here and you hadn’t shifted yet, we began to wonder if you’d ever shift. There are Weres that have had children and they never shift. But you showed signs of shifting almost as soon as you met Cameron. Catherine, of course, got irate. And now she dislikes you, I guess from what you’re telling us.”
I looked at my mother, “She more than dislikes me. She hates me. I’ve read it.”
My mother smiled, “You need to learn how to control that. Maybe Markus or Omen can help you?”
“I’ve already figured it out, I just have to get used to it,” I explained, and retold what I had done and how well it had worked. Then I thought of another question I had wanted to ask. “Why did Catherine bite Cat?”
My father looked shocked that I had known.
“I read Cameron’s thoughts,” I said sheepishly.
He nodded his head, but replied, “I guess Cameron and she got in a really bad fight one night and she took off. Turned into her wolf when she knew she wasn’t supposed to; it wasn’t a full moon. Cat was walking down the side walk from her grandma’s house and Catherine found her. She bit her before we could get to Cat; tore her up pretty good as well. It took one hell of a story to explain to her parents what had happened after we returned Cat to them –“
I interrupted, “What do you mean ‘return Cat to them’?”
“We uh,” he paused. “We had to kidnap her in a way. Find out what was going to happen to her at the full moon. Luckily, the full moon was the next week so she wasn’t gone for long. She shifted with the rest of us. Of course it was hard at first, and we had to watch her to make sure she didn’t freak out. But she got used to it. Obviously there’s no wolf there to make her lose control of herself, but we didn’t want her to get emotional. She’s also not as strong or large as us; it’s much easier for her to be killed. Now Catherine has to watch over her. Cat goes home to her family every night and they are none the wiser. I don’t think they’ve realizes she leaves every couple nights surrounding the full moon; she just tells them she’s going to a friend’s house. We haven’t had to worry too much about it.”
“What about her future?” I asked warily.
My father looked down, “She has to stay here in Forrestwood. The pack will take care of her for the rest of her life as long as she remains loyal. It won’t be too bad for her,” he explained quickly. “We’ll make sure she lives in a nice home and she’s properly taken care of. One of the pack members may even marry her, and there’s a small chance we’ll get a Were out of it. However, it’s very rare and if it does occur, the baby will usually die within a few days.”
My eyes widened slightly as my father explained that, but I nodded sadly. Of course it was going to be hard for her. She wasn’t one of us, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t try to befriend her.
I stood up and bid goodnight to my parents. Matt had fallen asleep on the couch but my parents told me they would take him to bed. I nodded and trudged sleepily up the stairs. I barely kept my eyes awake while in the shower, and hardly managed to make it to my bed before I fell asleep.