The song to the right is a song that could relate to how Emmett feels and it helped me write this chapter. This chapter is in the POV of Juliana, the heroine of the story. Most of the chapters, from here on out, are in her perspective. Enjoy!
This chapter has been rewritten & edited as of October 22, 2013.
**
Chapter 1:
School isn't Safe Anymore
Clack!
My eyes snapped open, and I jumped out of bed, alarmed.
"Dad?" I called out as I opened the door to my room.
No answer.
With a sigh, I shut my door and walked towards my bed ready to let its warmth welcome me. It must've been part of my nightmare, I lied to myself. Ever since they moved into this town, I've grown weary and cautious about every suspicious thing. I don't even know why they came. Was it because they knew about me? Or was it simply a coincidence? Either way, I surely did not want to take the risk of revealing myself to find out.
Giving in to my frightened curiosity, I snuck a glimpse at my window and caught the sight of a man's silhouette, only adding more to my already paranoid state.
Grabbing my jacket, I briskly made my way out of my house and found myself ignoring my earlier concerns on taking risks.
Go back home! Go back now!
I made sure to be quiet, so I wouldn't wake up my dad. I knew that I would regret this later on, but I had a bad omen about the silhouette. Whoever it was came to my house for a reason, and I was willingly taking a risk to find out despite my concern about it just moments ago. "I know you're out there!" I said, my grip on the flashlight tightening in my hand.
As I walked out of my street, I couldn't help but feel watched. My heart beat quickened as did my pace. What did I just walk myself into?
Glancing around, I noted that there was no soul in sight. My eyes couldn't sense it, but my ears and nose sensed it. Someone else was here. I silently prayed that it wouldn't be a hunter, but as I thought about it, I shrugged the possibility off. If my own kind doesn't notice me, then hunters don't either.
I'm exquisite when it comes to hiding my wolf scent, but being a shifter does not lessen my fear of being watched or stalked by someone. My hurried pace sprouted into a full run as I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't know exactly where I was running to or who I was running from but I knew I had to get back home. But how?
I came to a stop in a small secluded forested area right by our town's playground, catching my breath. Trees, twigs, shrubs, small insects and fallen leaves surrounded me, obscuring me and I hoped that I had lost my pursuer. The only light in the area was the full moon's and a street light -that I could see from where I was hiding- but even then, it was dark.
"So it is true...Samuel had a little disgraceful mutt after all." A deep voice spat from behind.
I jumped, startled at the voice but hastily recovered myself and turned to face where it came from. Due to the darkness, I couldn't see his face clearly. All I could make out were two brown eyes and a toothy, devious grin. There was something about his eyes. As I stared into them, I saw a light significant glow that let me know he was a wolf, a shifter.
Stepping forward, he allowed himself to be revealed. I watched him warily, my eyes not leaving him. His hair was a shade of brown, cheek bones definite, straight nose, and at the moment, his jaw was tensed. He looked vaguely familiar...
He knew. How?
My scent was always masked, and so was my father's. It's been years since we've last encountered shifters who sensed us. The only person who knew about us was Miranda, but she's not even alive.
There was another possibility; Alec Sanders. But the guy standing in front of me was definitely not in his forties. Alec Sanders!
My eyes widened as realization dawned on me. The young man in front of me strongly resembled Alec Sanders. He must be Alec's son, Zeke Sanders. The enemy. I guess the Wolfe Pack did move into my town.
My father had told me all about the Sanders family. They're nothing but a bunch of liars, a family of betrayers. Amaya Sander's, Zeke's aunt, is the whole reason why my family's name is a disgrace to the Wolfe Pack. She's the whole reason on why my father and I live on the run, excluded from any pack.
Amaya and my father had a brief relationship that was ended when he found his true mate, a human. Humiliated and infuriated, Amaya told a lie that would sentence my dad's life into ruin. My dad resigned from the pack before matter could get worse, leaving his beta position to fall unto the Sanders. He thought that leaving the pack would let him live a peaceful life with his newfound mate. He was wrong. They went after him to execute him, but found my mother instead hopelessly pregnant with her second child. They killed her brutally, leaving a warning note to my father that stated that if they ever found my father ever again, the same fate that had found my mother would fall unto him.
I'm the only one my dad has left, the only one he lives for. I was also the only reason why we lived on the run until we came across a small town in California where we knew we would settle down in. Oh how ironic it is now...The one thing we ran away from for years has come back to haunt us.
The Wolfe pack never found out about me. If they did, I would be on their hit list. My mother was human but my father was a shifter, making me a hybrid between a human and a shifter. The shifter gene is dominant, but my human side helps me obscure it from others and myself. I haven't heard from my inner wolf since an incident occurred. I've never felt so incomplete in my life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I hate wolves and would rather feel empty than feel every dreadful emotion that comes along with shifting into a wolf.
"If you're calling me disgraceful, then what do you call yourself?" I snapped, smiling when I realized that he was the only one here. That meant that he had come alone, and if he came alone, then that could only mean that no one else knew about me.
His eyes turned pitch black, a sign of a pissed off wolf. It was obvious that he was asking for a fight, judging by the look he was giving me. A fight that I was prepared to give. Living on the run, my dad trained me and taught me a few skills so when I found myself in a dangerous situation, I'd know how to defend myself. I was more than willing to try out my skills on someone that was actually an enemy.
His hand came into contact with my cheek. I stumbled back, regaining my balance. My hand lightly grazed my throbbing cheek and I laughed, smirking as I looked up at him. "Is that all you can do?"
A deep growl erupted from within him, a 'warning' to me that he could so much more. I was the least bit fazed by him. I steadied myself, preparing to attack. Taking a deep breath, I froze. A new scent was in the air; another shifter.
My eyes widened in fear. Did he tell the others about me?
A smirk plastered itself onto Zeke's face, but he was not the one behind my sudden change of attitude. By the looks of it, he didn't even seem to sense the other shifter nearby and I let myself breathe, relieved. I gulped, knowing that I had to swallow my pride for this one, because if someone else found out about me, it wouldn't be a pretty situation.
"How would you like to be my snack?" Zeke asked as he stepped forward and roughly gripped my chin with his hand. My jaw cracked a bit at his firm grip, but I still managed a strangled laugh.
"W-what kind of k-kinky shit are you into?" I stuttered and instantly regretted it because speaking brought a horrid pain to my mouth.
"You'd be surprised." Zeke's smirk widened as he roughly shoved me to the floor. I winced as I felt his knee applying pressing on my spine. It wasn't until I gave out a small cry that I saw the other shifter's presence.
He stepped out from behind one of trees nearby. Our eyes met and a small spark ignited in me, my heart skipping a beat. It was him. He caused the spark. Desperate, I pleaded for help silently. His eyes never left mine as he stepped forward. A sharp pain in my wrist ripped my eyes away from him and snapped me back into reality.
A choked cry came out from within me followed by a menacing growl that was not from me. It was no ordinary growl. This growl was powerful and demanding just like an Alpha. My eyes widened for what seemed to be the hundredth time tonight as I realized that the future Alpha of the pack was coming to my rescue. I watched as he got closer and closer to us, but Zeke was too caught up to even notice.
Not bothering to turn around, Zeke chuckled. "Go catch your own human."
The future Alpha growled blatantly and sharply this time, "the girl is mine."
Zeke finally turned around. Zeke tensed up before his future Alpha, who was glared daggers at him. "Sorry, Emmett. She's all yours." Zeke muttered and then ran off.
The future Alpha, Emmett, watched him, his eyes wide in bewilderment. His gaze then landed on me, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. I watched Emmett -who was still deep in thought- cautiously, wondering if he knew too. But if he did know about me, then why did he defend me?
As soon as his gaze averted from me, I took the chance and ran.
**
When I woke up, I dreaded getting out of bed. My back and jaw ached, but I couldn't miss school. If I did, I'd have to explain to my dad why and at the moment, that was definitely not an option. I may be on Zeke's radar, but that doesn't mean I'm on the Wolfe pack's radar. If I was, I would've been dead by now and so would my dad.
"Good morning," I greeted as I entered the kitchen, placing a small kiss on my dad's cheek as I rushed past him. I took a bacon strip from his plate and munched on it, grabbing my bag from the kitchen counter. "Running late I got to go!"
"I love you, too!" My dad called after me as I ran out the door. I smiled, already picturing the look of disapproval in my head.
Unlocking my car, I went in and ignited it instantly as my phone began to vibrate. I picked it up, not having to look at the caller ID to know who it is.
"Juliana! D-"
"Do not fret, for your dear friend is on her way!" I exclaimed, cutting her off. She let out a sigh of relief and hung up. I laughed, driving my way towards her house.
Annabelle is the best friend I could ever have. She's one of the only two closest friends I have, yet both of them don't know about my wolf side. I sighed. I wish I could tell her. I wish I could tell Brandon, my other friend. It's not that I don't trust them; they're the only ones I trust in this small town. I just don't want to pull them into the mess of a world that I'm in. After last night's events, I'm kind of glad they don't know.
Who knows what sort of a mess I'm in right now...
The only one who I can talk to about last night is no other than my dad, but confiding in him, is definitely not the same as with a friend.
"Hey! Sorry if I was being pushy; I just can't afford another tardy and my mom's car-are you alright?" Annabelle asked, watching me carefully as she sat in the passenger seat.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." I mumbled, shrugging.
Her light hazel eyes lingered on me for a moment, knowing that there was something more than me just being tired. She tore her gaze away and she didn't question me further. She knew me too well.
When we finally arrived at school, there was only one minute to the tardy bell. Anna's eyes widened and she ran. I followed shortly after, chuckling at her. Anna is what you would call a goody-two shoes. She hates breaking rules, no matter how big or small, which I find ironic since I'm the complete opposite.
Both of us made it to class and into our seats with three seconds to spare, leaving our first period teacher astonished.
Annabelle huffed out a breath and smiled at me as if to say, "we made it." Leaning back into her seat comfortably, she looked at me with a curious smile. "I heard we might have a new student."
"Well, that's no surprise. I mean a whole small village practically just moved into our town," I replied, referring to the Wolfe pack.
Anna shrugged her smile sprouting into a grin, and she began to slap my arm repeatedly in an excited manner. "What if it's a guy? What if the guy is hot? Oh my gosh...I call dibs if he is!"
Before I could reply, the door opened and I heard the footsteps of someone walking in. Everyone except for me bothered to look.
"Students," Ms. Greene began, asking for our attention. "We have a new addition to our homeroom. This is Zeke Sanders. He moved here to Bryton, California along with his family and a few others. Please make him feel welcomed."
No.
Glancing up, I realized I wasn't hallucinating. This was actually happening. My enemy is in my homeroom.
What the hell is he doing here?
He caught my stare, shooting me a sinister stare, and for the first time in my life, I didn't feel safe at school anymore.