(PIC TO SIDE OF ROSE--NOW)
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~Tamara Rose
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"Rose! Rose, get your butt down here!"
I groaned loudly and shoved my face further into my pillow. Muttering under my breath, I said, "My butt's tired. You come up here if it's so important."
Thanks to his inhanced werewolf senses, Mark heard me right away. He was in my bedroom in a flash, ripping my sheets off and shoving his face close down to mine.
Growling lowly, he snapped, "Was this your doing?"
Sighing, I turned my head from the comfiness of my pillow grudgingly and cracked one eye open. Upon seeing him, I burst out laughing.
His handsome face, half of it now a bright violet, glared back at me. He narrowed his eyes. "I hate you. Who was it this time?"
I grinned, sitting up. "Jordan. He dared me to put dye in your shaving cream."
He shook his head, green eyes glittering menacingly. "That boy..."
"Oh, it's not his fault," I said, rolling my eyes.
He gave me a look. "You're right. It's yours. Why don't you just say no for once?"
I pouted my lips and crossed my arms. "Seriously? It is way too early in the morning for this conversation. You already know why--I have never said no to a dare in my entire life, and I don't plan on doing so now."
Mark snorted. "Yeah? In that case, I dare you to tell me the cure to this." I laughed, finally throwing myself out of bed and standing.
Giving him a friendly peck on the cheek, I said, "The orange bottle in the box under my bed. Rub it on and leave it there for five minutes, then wash with soap and water. See? It's perfectly harmless. Totally temporary--you should know I'd never do anything too mean to you."
He just shook his head at me, proceeding to grab the bottle and stalk angrily out of the room. I cupped my hands aorund my mouth and yelled after him, "AND GOOD MORNING TO YOU, TOO!"
Jordan, Eric, and Josh were all doubled over laughing when I entered the kitchen. I smirked at them and wagged a finger at Jordan, going over to the kitchen to pull out a bottle of juice.
"And you said I wouldn't do it," I scoffed.
He was laughing too hard to answer me, but Eric managed to snort out, "That...was...brilliant. Utterly...and completely...brilliant."
I took a long drink of my juice, watching the three boys continue laughing. A smile lifted my lips. This was my family--had been for three years now. I loved them all to death.
After that day in the forest, I had woken up to find the four of them gazing down at me with worried expression. Needless to say, I'd been scared shitless for a minute. It was only after they told me that they'd taken care of me for the entire four days I'd been out that I settled down a bit.
It shocked me back then (and it actually still does now) how much they cared. I told them that, and Mark gently told me that not all Alphas and packs were as disgusting, sick creatures as my old ones.
They really cared about me, that much was obvious.
Shyly, I asked if it would be too much trouble for me to join their pack. I remember the silence that followed for a moment, and I immediately began worrying.
But they didn't mind at all. In fact, they were happy. Extremely. Over the years, they'd become the best big brothers a girl could ever ask for.
Mark was the Alpha, and he chose to live in his own home with his Beta, Jordan, and two other Alternate Betas, Eric and Josh. The rest of the pack lived only a few minutes away in a much bigger pack house.
Mark was a sweet guy. He was the serious one in the group, but he was nothing compared to how stuck up a stickler Dylan had been. Mark was handsome, and he was a great Alpha...and a great guy. I loved him to death.
Jordan was his Beta, and the two were about as opposite as opposites could get. Jordan loved fooling around, practical jokes, and he preferred playing by his own rules. The only person I'd ever seen him follow orders from was Mark.
Eric and Josh were best friends and great guys. They liked joking around but knew when to be serious, as well. I'd always thought of them as a perfectly even mixture of Mark and Jordan. They brought balance to the duo and I loved them both as well.
As an added bonus, they were all extremely attractive. Not that I'd ever see them that way...but it sure didn't hurt a girl to bunk with a bunch of hot men!
All in all, my entire family was amazing. I still felt awed and blessed beyond belief that I'd found them. They made my old pack look like horse crap.
The pain from Dylan's rejection still lingered inside of me, even after such a long time. I'd gotten over it almost completely, but my wolf still mourned him every now and then. It helped her to be able to fight and run now. Mark had no objections towards my going outside. Just another one of his perfect qualities.
The last person who lived in the house with us (whom I also loved) would be Lizzie. She was the pretty, fiery redhead who'd befriended me almost instantly after hearing of my ordeal. Her mate was Mark, so she couldn't believe me when I'd told her my own mate had rejected me. We'd been inseperable since the day we'd met.
So, that's it. My new family.
I myself had changed.
I was no longer a pushover. My claim to fame was never turning down a dare, and everyone who'd ever seen my fight thought I was amazing talented and skilled. I thought I was okay. My looks themself had changed as well.
I had lost weight and slimmed down my figure a bit. I'd never exactly been fat, but now I was nowhere near it. My body had curves in all the right places, and light muscles in all the rest. I'd dyed my hair a different shade of brown and my pale skin was now used to seeing the sunlight. I had a light tan because of that.
I supposed I was pretty, in a sense of the word. If I thought about it, my life was pretty much perfect. I had no complaints on anything.
I loved being able to say that.
Sitting there at the kitchen table and thinking about all this, I really wish I knew how fast that was all about to change.
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A/N:
How do you guys like the Imperial County Pack? Gotta love hot, nice werewolves, right? ;D
Anyways, comment! I love you all...
*Peace, love, goodwill, and mini chocolate chips.*