"Good morning beautiful!" I hear a voice say in the middle of my dream. I wake up and crack open my eyes to see my brother's staring right at me.
My brother is a very handsome man. He is 18. He has tan skin with brown hair and brown eyes. He is pretty tall for his age, 6'4". People always comment on his height. They say, "Oh, you are so tall!" or "You have grown a lot!" I am used to it.
I open my eyes more and stretch. My name Jasmine Johnson. Yeah, I know JJ! How funny. Anyway, I have stage four-pancreatic cancer. I have been in this battle for a year and a half. When the doctors first found it, they did all they could to say I was going to be ok. But they didn't know if that was true. They did do surgery and took out the tumor. I have been on Chemo ever since.
I would describe what I look like, but I am sure you will figure out it out. I am on a special Chemo that doesn't kill my hair cells, so I got to keep my hair! (A/N: This type of chemo treatment is real) Thank God! I love my blonde hair. My hair isn't just any blonde; it is three shades of blonde, all natural!
I am 17. "So, you are a senior in high school right?" you ask. No, I am a gifted girl that graduated really early. Plus I take collage classes online.
I love to read! I read about 3 books a week, and that is a slow week. I guess reading takes my mind off of all the bad stuff in the world. When I am reading a book, I can be the characters. I can be a 18-year-old girl with long black hair and a smoking hot boyfriend, instead of a 17-year-old girl with long blonde hair, no boyfriend, and cancer.
When I was a little girl, I had two brothers. One older and one was my twin (I was born 10 minutes before him!). I also had a mom and a dad. I was a daddy's little girl, and he treated me like one. We did everything together. We ran, we trained, we ate, everything! One day when I was 11, my mom and I decided to go to the mall. When we were driving there, a car came racing through the intersection when we were going through it. The car hit us. My mom was killed instantly. I was badly injured. I was rushed to the hospital. My insides were bleeding out. Lucky, the doctors saved my life. I also had a few broken bones, but they healed right away.
After that, my dad looked at me different. He blamed me for my mom's death. After that he stopped caring for me. He would hit me and call me names. My brothers tried their best to take care of me, but it wasn't enough. One night when I was 13, my dad went drinking and then picked me up at a friends house. On the way home, he started yelling at me and say bad things. Next thing I know, he is pulling over to the side of the road and he got out. He opened my door and told me to get out. As soon as I was out, he started kicking and punching me. I blacked out from the pain. When I woke up, my dad was getting in the car and pulling away.
I was in to much pain to move. I lied still, waiting, waiting for my time to come. I was almost dead, when I saw a figure in the darkness. The figure came over to me and crouched next to me and said "It's okay! I got you Baby Girl. You are going to be fine!". He picked me up and walked me to a house. Once inside of the house I saw the figures face for the first time.
He had short brown hair with brown eyes. He had high cheek bones and a rigid jaw line. He looked to be an older man, late 30's. He set me down on a couch and called for someone. Another boy that looks to be my age comes into the room, as soon as he sees me he mouth drops open. "Call the pack doctor and the Alpha,"
After a long night of pain and black-outs, I finally was stable. When I woke the next morning in was in a bed, a women came into the room with a pair of clothes and then talked to me.
"It hurts!" was all I could say.
"I know honey! You are going to be ok! May I ask who did this?" the women says.
I shake my head yes. "My dad," I say trying to hold back the sob.
She comes over to me and runs a hand through my hair. "You can forget him now. You have a new family. A new brother. A new nice dad and mom. Don't worry," and just like that I had a new life.
I have never seen my dad again. But I see my brothers. They come and visit me at my new house.
Oh, there is one more thing you should know; I am the future Alpha of my werewolf pack.
* * *
"Good morning Beautiful!" I hear my brother say while I am in the middle of my dream. I open my eyes and see him standing there.
"Hey," I say and stretch out in my queen size bed with black sheets, and a teal with black flower comfier.
My room has all teal walls. One wall has a build in day bench in the middle, with to white built in book shelves. On the wall in front of my bed, there is a flat screen TV. On one side of my bed there is a white nightstand. On my nightstand there is my alarm clock, my phone, and pictures of my family.
My brother walks around my bed and lies next to me. I reach over and grab his hand and squeeze it. Ever since we first met, we have been really close.
"I don't want to go to school! It sucks," my brother- Derek- says.
"I know! Not everyone can be as smart as me!" I say with a smile.
"Do you know that I love you?" Derek asks me, and then looks over at me. I meet his eyes.
"Yeah, love you too! Come on you need to get ready for school!" I say.
"Ugh, I left my car at Kayla's last night! I need a ride and I don't want to ride the bus!"
"Good luck with that!" I say and then jump up from the bed. I walk out of the room and then down the stairs to the kitchen.
My mom is standing in the kitchen making pancakes. I sit down at the counter. "How did you sleep?" my mom asks.
"Good!"
My brother comes down the stairs and my dad follows. Derek sits next to me and my dad comes over and kisses my head.
"How are you today, Baby Girl?" my dad asks.
My family all has their own nickname for me. Derek calls me 'Beautiful', my dad calls me 'Baby Girl', and my mom calls me 'Sweet Pea'.
"Besides the cancer, pretty good!" I say.
"Hey, don't say that!" my mom says as she is putting a plate of pancakes in front of me. She watches me as I push the plate away. "You need to eat!"
"Why? I am just going to puke it up!" I state.
"But you still need nutrition!"
"Besides, I'm not even hungry!" I say to start another mom and JJ fight. But before she can say something back, Derek changes the subject.
"So, how come JJ isn't going to the big meeting today?" He asks. A new pack is coming to day. We are the most powerful pack. They want to combine our packs. But they have told us that they already have a future Alpha (more like Alpha's) to run the new pack. But the only way they can do that is fight the Alpha or the person for their position. The future alpha is me and I am not going to let that happen.
"Because she is the secret weapon!" my dad answers for me.
"How?"
My dad walks over the counter and stools and sits down. "Because they have no idea that the future Alpha is a girl,"
The reason why I became the future Alpha is that current Alpha saw me fight and saw my leadership skills. He came up to me and told me that one-day I am going to run the pack. Usually the Alpha's kids take over. But the Alpha's son died a few years ago. The pack just found out a few months ago that I am taking over.
"And they don't know that I can kick their butts!" I says and Derek high fives me.
"NO fighting! You are a very-" my mom starts to say but I cut her off.
"Yeah, I know! 'No fighting! You are a very sick girl!'" I say in my best mom voice. She gives me a stern look.
"I just don't want you to hurt yourself! You don't need to go see Dr. Bailey any more than you have to!"
"Whatever! I am going to get dressed!" I say and start to get up.
"You have to eat! I am not letting you go anyway without eating!" my mom says.
"Fine!" I say and shove a bite of pancake in my mouth. Then I run up stairs and into my room. Once in my room, I go to my bathroom and take a shower. After I clean off, I step out of the shower and dry myself off. I walk out of the bathroom and into my walk-in closet. I pick out my flower leggings, with my black top that says 'Early mornings, Messy hair, Big shirt, Strong coffee' and my black beanie.
I start walking out of the closet, but stop and slip on my black moccasins. I walk out to my bedroom and then over to my nightstand. I grab my phone and see I have a text from one of my best friends- James (I call him Jamie)
Jamie- Hey, what are you doing today?
Me- I have an doctors apt. What about You?
Jamie- School. Then my parents have the party for the new pack. Are you coming?
Me- I have too.
Jamie and I have been best friends since I was 13. We do everything together. I was at a new school one day, and I was getting picked on and he came over and protected me. We call each other pre-mates.
If you are a werewolf, you have a mate. It is the only thing that makes you stay alive. You will do anything, anything just to see them. A mate is a soul mate to humans. You will do, be anything for them. Even if that means not being in their life. When you meet your mate, you just know that they are yours. You know that you will love them till the day you die. The first time you see them, your wolf is already in love with them. You are made for them. When you meet your mate, you can either reject them or accept them. If you accept them, then you have to finish the mating process. Which is you accept them, then the guy marks the girl, then they (to say it in a nice way) they hook up.
But if you reject your mate, then you both go through a lot of pain. You basically die. You can't live without your mate.
I grab my bag on the way out of my room. I walk down the stairs and see my brother getting his shoes on.
"Sweet Pea, can you give your brother a ride?"
"Sure," I say to her and then grab my car keys and walk out to my White Hummer. I jump into the front seat and then turn on the radio. A few seconds later, my brother comes out of the house.
"Do you want to go to Kayla's and pick up your car or do you want me to drop you off at school?"
"What time is your doctors apt?" Derek asks.
"It is in two hours. I should be back no later than 1:00."
"Do you think you could pick me up after school?"
"Sure, so to school then?" I ask and he shakes his head yes.
I start the car and pull out of the driveway and on to the rode. We live in the middle of no where. Our house is surrounded by trees. Our whole pack lives around here. Each house is at least a few miles apart from each other. I drive the ten minutes to my brothers school. I pull into the small parking lot. There are a bunch of people standing by cars or heading into the school. I swing around the parking lot and stop my car close to the front doors. As soon as I stop Kayla is at the door. My brother and I get out of the car. Derek goes over to Kayla and gives her a kiss. They have been dating for a few mouths now. They are also mates. I love Kayla! We are really close. But I like hanging out with guys instead.
"Hey JJ! How are you this morning?" she asks as she gives me a hug.
"I am good. I have a doctors appointment in a couple hours."
She looks at the school and then back at me. "Well it is the last day of normal until we have invaders." She says with a sigh.
"No, you are wrong! They are already here." I said and with that I got back into my car and drove away.
Once I left the school, I drove through town and onto the highway. As I drove I listened to the radio.
"I don't care if the whole world knows what my secrets are!" I sing,
I sing for a while until my phone rings from it's spot in the cup holder. I pick up my phone and look at the caller id. Alex, my other best friend.
"What's up?" I say as I answer the phone.
"Not much!"
"So what do you want?" I ask him.
"To tell you how much I love you!"
"I love you too!"
"So, are we still on for tonight?" he asks.
"You know it!" Tonight a bunch of teens from the pack are driving up to my cabin. We are spending all weekend up there. Since we have another pack joining ours, we thought that it would be more dramatic if we go away and then come back. I know, I know. Dumb. Not my idea.
"Make sure you pack your swim suit! You are still coming to the rock quarry, right?" My parents own some land in northern Washington, and there is a rock quarry with water in it. They named it after me.
"Of course, I would never miss swimming there!" he answers.
"Even if you had a girl?" girls are always throwing themselves at Alex.
"Well..."
"Oh, shut up!!"
"Hey, you asked for it! Have you talked to James yet?"
"A little bit. But I had to give Derek a ride," I tell him.
I keep talking to Alex until I see the sign for Settle and get off of the highway. I drive through downtown Settle until I get to the hospital parking lot. When I had my accident, my pack couldn't help with all of it. So we came here. I have known these doctors for 6 years.
"Ok, Alex. I am at the hospital!"
"Ok, good luck!" Alex says and then I hang up and start walking into the hospital.
20 minutes later, I am sitting in a room waiting for the doctor to come. The door opens and Dr. Bailey walks in.
"Hi Dr. Bailey!" Dr. Bailey is a black woman with short hair and brown eyes.
"Hello JJ! How are you?"
"Well I would be better without cancer, but what can we do?"
"We can fight the cancer with chemo. Today we are going to run some tests and hopefully we can get you out of here by 12:30. Ok?"
"Ok, lets start!"
"We are going to head down to C.T. But right now you need to change into a gown."
"Ok," I grab the gown and walk into the bathroom. I change into the gown and come out and get into a wheel chair. As we go down to the C.T. area, I see familiar faces.
When we get down to C.T. there is someone already in it, so we have to wait.
"So, Doctor B what have your been up too?" I asks as we wait.
"Um, nothing just work."
"That is a lie!" says Dr. Samson coming up from behind Dr. B.
"Dr. Samson! How are you man?" I asks him.
"I'm good! Wow you have grown a lot since last time!"
"Oh, stop! You act like I am a little kid. I am 17 for god's sake."
Dr. Samson is about to respond when the door to the C.T. opens, and Dr. Green steps out.
"The C.T. is open, oh hey JJ! I didn't know you were coming to day!"
"Yeah, just a check up! Fingers crossed!" I say. He smiles at me and then opens the door to the scan room and says something. He looks back and me and shakes his head as to say 'Nice seeing you!'
I look up at Dr. Bailey. She nods her head and then pushes me into the room. In the room there is a nurse and a patient getting into a wheelchair. The patient is a boy with long blonde hair. His skin is pale, but not creepy pale. When he looks up I see that his eyes are green.
He looks at me with the forest green eyes but doesn't say anything. Once he is out of the room, I climb into the scanner.
"I am sure you know how this works," Dr. Bailey says and I shake my head yes.
After a couple hours of tests and waiting, Dr. Bailey comings into the room to give my the news.
"Well I have good and bad news. The good news is the there is no new growth, but the bad news is that we still have to continue with Chemo." She says and I just shake my head.
"I am so sorry I didn't have any better news!"
"That is ok," I say; tears pooling in my eyes.
She comes close to me and wipes away my tears and then gives me a hug. "There is no need to cry. You are going to be okay!"
"I know, I just want to be done with this. I just...want....to....die!" I say in between sobs.
"Don't say that! You are going to be fine. You still have a long life to live!" Dr. Bailey says but it doesn't help.
"I am done fighting!"
"NO YOU"RE NOT! Look at me!" she waits for me to look at her before she continues. "You are going to be ok. You are the strongest, prettiest girl I have ever seen. OK, say that you are not going to let the cancer win!"
"I am not going to let the cancer win!" I repeat a few times before I start believing it.
"There you go! Now I have to go, but you stay as long as you want." She says and I shake my head, then she goes out of the room.
I sit there for a few minutes and then I walk out to my car. I find my phone and see that I have a few voice messages. One from mom, one dad, two from Derek, one from Jamie.
I listen to a few but delete the rest.
Before I go home, I pull into the parking lot of Dot's Dinner. I park my car and then walk into the dinner. There are a few teens in the corner booth. I turn the other way and walk to my booth and sit down.
Kathy- the owner- comes over to my table. "Hey Kido! How are you today? I saw your brother over there, How come you aren't over there with him?" she asks.
"Um, I am good and I just want to be alone."
"Oh, so what do you want?" she asks me.
"Um, I will be fine with just a soda,"
"So, a burger with fries?" she asks. I just smile and shake my head yes.
After she leaves I take out my phone and start playing a game. I am engrossed in my game with someone sits down across me. I look up and my brother is staring at me with those milk chocolate eyes of his.
"Care to explain why wouldn't respond to my phone call. Or why you won't talk to anyone..." he says. He keeps staring at me like a hawk.
"Why do you care? You are with your friends! And I didn't have a chance to call you back!"
"Bull! You had the whole time driving here to call!"
"You aren't suppose to talk on the phone and drive! And leave me alone!" I tell him and then I look at Kathy- who is standing at the counter- and say "Um, make my order to go!" She shakes her head in understanding. I stand up and put my phone in my pocket. Derek stands up too. I look at him and then start walking towards the door. Kathy hands me my meal and I thank her. I walk out to my car, and I am about to get into my car when a hand comes in front of me. I turn to see my brother standing next to me.
"What do you want?" I yell at him.
"I want you to tell me what is wrong!" he yells back at me.
"I just want to be left alone! Why can't you see that I am hurt. I am hurt and I just want to be left alone!" I yell at him.
I shove his hand out of the way and open my door. Once I am inside I start the car and pull out of the parking lot. As I drive out of the parking lot I look in the review mirror and see my brother slowly getting smaller.
I drive and drive until I get to the woods. I park my car, and get out and start taking off my clothes. Once I have all my clothes off, I shift into my wolf- Stella.
My wolf is all white with some gray spots. The only thing that we get to keep when we shift is our eyes. My eyes are green, gray, and blue. Some days they are blue, some days they are green and so on.
I look out to the woods and start to focus on a point to run. I pick a direction and start to run. I run and run. I keep running faster. I build speed. My mind is telling me to stop but my body is telling me to keep going. I shut out all of the pain. I shut out all the negative things, all the stuff that makes me mad, all the stuff that makes me sad, I shut out everything. Especially my dad.
I find a field of grass and decide to lie down. The wind is blowing the grass back and forth. I listen to all the sounds around me. After awhile I start to hear footsteps. My eyes widen with shock, even though I don't know who or what is coming. The footsteps start coming toward me.
A sweet aroma fills my nose. It smells like woods, protection, safe, home.
I stand up on all four paws as the footsteps get closer. I see a two figures coming close. They are talking. As they get closer, I realize that they are guys. Twins. They both have tan skin with brown hair. Their arms are huge. The both have on tight shirts and shorts. They are......perfect.
"Mates!" Stella says.
"What! Are you sure? I can't have two mates."
When the boys get into hearing distance, I can hear their conversation.
"This is really nice land!" one says.
"It will be even better when it is ours!" the other says. This one has blue eyes, the first one has brown eyes.
"Where is that sweet smell coming from?" brown eyes asks.
Blue eyes looks around the field until his eyes land on mine. "There" he says as he points to me.
I growl and then start running back the way I came. As I am running I hear them coming after me. They almost stopped me, almost.