The next morning I woke up feeling dizzy. Rubbing my head I looked around confused. This wasn't my room at Bennett's place. The events of yesterday came rushing back to me and I screamed. I tried the door and the windows, but they were locked and I didn't think I would get very far on my ankle if I tried to break to the window and jump out.
I pounded on the door "Please just let me go". I was just about to start throwing things when the door opened. Grayson was laughing at my wild expression and I realized that I probably looked crazy with my bed head and rumpled clothes. I smoothed my hair back trying to look like a reasonable person. "It's good to see you up firecracker" he smirked, "Your dad wants to see you downstairs".
"He's not my dad" I growled as he gently grabbed my arm and lead me downstairs to a lavishly decorated study. The man who claimed to be my father sad in a large leather chair behind a thick oak desk. While Bennett's house had boasted of wealth this house even smelled like old money.
"Please take a seat, Britney," He said calmly pointing to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. "Grayson I'll call you back in when we're done," he said dismissively and to my surprise, Greyson bowed his head slightly and left. "So Grayson tells me that you think that this is a meth-dealing operation" he said wryly and I nodded. I don't know why but something about this man told me that he wasn't to be messed with if I wanted to walk away in one piece. "Well I can't say I blame you. It's actually quite a clever deduction although I would never expect anything less of my daughter" he smiled.
"Please don't call me that" I said not looking at him.
"I am your father Britney and I will expect you to address me as such," he said not unkindly, but sternly. It was clear he was used to having his orders followed.
"Look you weren't there for me and Brandon growing up, and that's fine I've accepted it, but that doesn't mean you get to swoop in here at the eleventh hour and act like a dad. Now I just want to go home" I crossed my arms over my chest.
"This is your home now Britney and I have spent many years looking for you and your brother," he said remaining calm.
"Don't bull shit a bull shiter. You were looking for Brandon. You didn't know I was alive until I ran into you at my mother's grave" I growled "And now for some reason, Brandon's dangerous even though he tells me the same thing about you and all everyone's doing is lying to me. So once again please just let me go" I said attempting to keep my cool although I lost it slightly towards the end.
"I can't do that Britney, but will tell you the truth," he said slowly and I looked at him for the first time "There are two types of werewolves the ones who were bitten and the ones who are born. We are the later. You are descended from a long line of Werewolves. I'm one and you're brothers one" He said amused.
"Let's suspend reality for like a second and pretend the at all of this could possibly be true wouldn't that make me one too?" I raised an eyebrow warily.
"It doesn't work quite like that with weres who are born. Females can be turned, but there is less than one female Were born in a century and they are still different from normal weres. They can't shift form and lack the speed and strength that regular weres do. Instead, they have some control over the elements and most importantly they are the only ones can ensure that the Were genes are passed on when they mate." He said
"Ok, this is officially the most elaborate Punk'd ever. You can tell Aston to come out now" I said sarcastically although I kind of wished that was exactly what would happen right now. I started to stand officially over getting jerked around
"Sit down," he said his eyes flashing gold the same way Graysons had. I lowered back down unable to stop myself.
"How did you...?" I gasped unable to finish the sentence.
"I'm an alpha and you are my daughter which gives me a claim to you and makes you part of my pack. That is why you can't stay at Bennetts with Brandon. They are a rival pack of rogue wolves. Your brother chooses to join them rather than me so there is nothing I can do to help him, but I can still protect you." He told me.
"I still don't get how me staying at Bennetts would be a bad thing. Brandon would never let anything happen to me" I glared at him. Bran had protected me for a lot longer than this absentee father had.
"He wouldn't mean to, but the rogues have no discipline. Bennett lets them run wild and since all of them have been turned except for Brandon their control is tenuous at best. Brandon can't be around to watch you every second of every day and eventually you would end up dead. Here we are the best of the Were. Our line is the strongest and most noble which makes you a princess among our kind. I have made it clear that if anyone were to harm you they would regret it." He said stonily "Granted there are those who would still try to use and hurt you which is why I am going to issue you a protection detail and for now you'll stay here except for when you're at school".
"Wait school?" I asked dazed by the amount of information I was getting.
"Yes, I have arranged for you to attend the Flint Hill school as soon as it starts in a couple of weeks. It's where all the children in the pack go. It's a fantastic school. I'll make sure you get your uniform before the start of school" He said. I just sat there dazed. "Grayson I think we're done in here," he said not bothering to raise his voice.
I heard footsteps coming down the stairs before Grayson entered the room. It was incredible that he had actually been able to hear that from all the way upstairs. "Yes sir," he said and smiled at me.
"We're done here and I have some business to attend until dinner so would you show Britney around the community. Introduce her to some of your friends and have her back by six for dinner" He said waving his hand dismissively.
"Come on," Grayson said grabbing my hand leading me out if the study. I was surprised how his large hand was compared to mine. "So how do you feel about the wolf being let out of the bag?" he asked grinning like the cat, or I guess the wolf, that ate the canary as we went outside. I noticed that he was supporting my weight more than he should have.
"You know I can walk on my own" I protested trying to pull out of his grip, but it was impossibly strong.
"No, you really shouldn't be walking on that ankle. Honestly, if it were up to me you would still in bed, but it's not up to me. Yet" he shrugged "But you never answered my question".
"I don't know I guess I still don't really believe it. I don't know I feel kind of numb right now. I honestly think I might be in shock. I mean a lot has happened in the past couple days and I'm starting to feel like this is all a very strange dream and I'm going to wake up back in that foster home in colorado" I shrugged.
"Wow so you really must have had it rough growing up" he looked at me pityingly.
I shrugged. "Sure, but Bran and I had each other and foster care was better than when we lived with Jamie-Lynn and her ever-changing rotation of boyfriends each more horrible than the last" I looked around at the neighborhood taking everything in for the first time. It was a gated community and the houses were large with large backyards with a dense woods behind my father's house. "God this place is insane. I really don't see how someone like my father who came from a place like this and up with someone like Jamie-Lynn" I shook my head in amazement. "What's his name anyway?" I asked realizing that I didn't know hardly anything about the guy.
"Who your dad?" He asked startled.
"Yeah him. I mean I would really rather not call him dad, daddy and or any other variation and I'm going to need something to call him. I mean I don't know anything about the guy except for he claims to be a werewolf" I said feeling kind of frantic the ice holding up my tenuous calm was starting to crack.
"His names Pierre Antoine Baudin, but I wouldn't call him that if I were you." Grayson smiled. "Do you want to know what your name would have been if you had been born in the pack?"
"Uh sure," I shrugged. I would take all the information I could get.
"Antoinette. I'm surprised he hasn't pushed the issue yet. He may still just to give you a heads up since he's publicly claimed you as his daughter" Grayson shrugged "Although personally I think Britney Baudin has a nice ring to it".
I laughed "Antoinette ugh that's truly horrible".
"Your brother would have been Antoine" Grayson added encouraged by my laughter and I couldn't seem to stop.
"So what's the big deal about Piere anyway. I mean the way you treat him and from the way, I've heard him talk I'm gathering he's not just a regular wolf" I asked.
"Are you a detective or something?" he teased as we sat down at a bench in a lush park.
"Nope just watch a lot of cop procedurals" I teased back "So what's the deal?".
"The Baudin's are the oldest most powerful were lineage and they have been in charge of the Were community for centuries. The alphas of their pack and every other pack fall in line with what they want" Grayson recited "Normally your brother would have taken over as alpha, but he went rogue which is why you are so important. Any kids you have will be Baudin's so your mate will take over as alpha and then your children will after that".
"That sounds super gross" I squirmed "I'm gonna take a hard pass on that".
"Sorry princess you've been outed as a Baudin. Were's would hunt you to the end of the earth to gain the power that you offer" Grayson frowned as if he hadn't realized that this would upset me.
"I don't even want kids" I groaned " I wouldn't even know how to be a mother. I mean Jamie-Lynn didn't exactly set a great example".
Grayson shrugged "Just hire a nanny. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to. You're a princess among our people".
"Yeah complete with the whole medieval part where they get sold off as a broodmare" I grumbled.
He laughed "I mean sure there are Weres from other packs that might try to forcefully take you, but no one from this pack would do that. You'll have a big say in who you choose you'll just have to ok it with your dad".
"Oh so that's why you're being so nice to me" I groaned thinking about the unnecessary kindness he had shown me since I'd met him.
"I have to admit I would like to throw my name in for consideration, but I think that has more to do with you" he winked and I rolled my eyes.
"Can you just kill me now" I rolled my eyes sinking down on the bench already starting to feel claustrophobic.
"Sorry, no can do," A deep voice said behind me and I yelped.
"Seriously are you trying to make us all def" A higher-pitched female voice said. I looked behind us and saw four guys and three girls including the girl I had met at the stables, Olivia.
"Oh my god I've died and gone to hell" I groaned seeing Olivia and to my surprise, she blushed. It looks like she wasn't so bold now that she knew who I was.
"Looks like she's met Liv before" one of the guys laughed. While all of the newcomers were tall this boy towered over them. If Grayson embodied the sun then this guy was the night with dark hair and deep blue eyes. He looked exactly like a male version of Olivia so it was easy to tell that they were related.
"Britney this is Gabriel and Olivia Dubois they're cousins," Greyson said almost as if he was annoyed they had showed up "and then there's Ada Martin, Danielle Richard, Louis Moreau, Beau Lambert, and Adrien Roux".
"So you're Antoinette" Beau smiled.
"If you call me that I swear I will kill you," I said coolly.
"Sorry, but you are the least qualified person here to be giving death threats" Beau laughed.
"Well someone needs to do it" Ada smiled warmly at me. She wasn't as striking as Olivia, but she was cute with long chestnut hair and a tall athletic figure. I smiled at her liking her almost instantly.
"Thank god there's now someone here who can take all of these alpha wannabes down a peg" Danielle added. I raised an eyebrow at the statuesque redhead. While she was attempting to be friendly I got the sense that I had just unseated Olivia as the top female and Danielle was scrambling to try and get in good with me.
I shifted uncomfortably realizing that I was being sized up by these newcomers and everyone was trying to figure out the new pecking order. I really hoped that every social interaction wasn't a constant power struggle like this one was turning out to be. It was exhausting.
While I had been analyzing the changing power dynamics the conversation had shifted towards talk of school. "So what extracurriculars are you going to sign up for once school starts for?" Louis asked bringing me back into the conversation.
"Oh ah I wasn't really planning on signing up for anything" I shrugged self consciously. I hadn't even gone to school regularly let alone signed up for any extracurricular activities.
"I would suggest you think of something before Mr. Baudin does. Having impressive extracurriculars is the key to getting into the Ivy's after all" Adrien added and I bit my lip to keep from groaning. Did Pierre really expect me to go to an Ivy League because I hadn't even been planning on attending college? Now on top of everything I had to pick an extracurricular activity.
"What do you guys do?" I asked hoping for some ideas.
"I'm the captain of the football and lacrosse teams" Grayson smiled and the others went on to list an impressive list of athletic accomplishments.
"Isn't it kind of unfair that you guys participate in sports against normal people?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
They all looked confused "No besides it gives us a chance to hone our skills outside of combat situations" Beau smiled. "If you want I can show you just how athletic our kind can be" he waggled his eyes.
"I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon" I smiled saccharine sweet and everyone hooted at Beau who held up his hand in surrender.
"You can't blame a guy for trying" he laughed goodnaturedly accepting defeat and I laughed. Maybe Beau wasn't as bad as I thought.
"I have to get Brittney back for dinner," Grayson said helping me up.
"I'll walk with you" Beau smiled. "Anyone else in?"
Ada, Gabriel, and Olivia joined us because they're houses were near Pierre's house. When I asked if Ada and Olivia were like me rather than the traditional werewolf he told me that Ada was a local girl who had been bitten and taken in by the pack and Olivia had been turned by her aunt and uncle after her parents died. I felt kinda bad for her after I'd heard that. Olivia hadn't said one word to me since I'd seen her and would barely even look at me. I couldn't tell if it was just a complete loathing or embarrassment from our earlier encounter.
As it turned out Gabriel and Olivia's house was next to Pierre's and I stopped her before she went in. "Look I'm sorry about before I have been under a lot of stress recently and I don't want any bad blood between us or anything," I said. To be honest I felt kinda bad for her after what Grayson had told me.
"Save the pitty princess. It's fine I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand" She said flipping her hair.
"Excuse me? I think I can understand just fine. Growing up with a neglectful mom and her series of abusive boyfriends until I ran away and ended up in the foster care system which isn't exactly a walk in the park. Then I get this steaming pile of crap dumped on me so yeah I think it's safe to say that we've both had it tough".
"Look before you came here I was the big thing and now I'm just another one of the pack. I worked hard to gain that respect and it was all for nothing just cause you're here" She said sitting down on the steps leading up to her house clearly defeated.
"If it makes you feel any better I didn't even want to be here. I got dragged kicking and screaming into this whole mess" I sat down next to her.
"I did too" She chuckled "I mean sure it's great now, but when my aunt and uncle told me what they really were and changed me I didn't want any part of it".
"At least you get super strength and speed and all of that. Plus you get to turn into an actual wolf. I get absolutely no cool stuff and my reproductive system is the only thing anyone seems to care about" I laughed humorlessly.
"True it's too bad you'll never get to experience running with the pack. It's the most incredible feeling ever." She said with a wistful look in her eye "But supposedly you can control the elements. Plus you don't have to worry about silver or wolfsbane like everyone else".
"At least you have a fighting chance if some guy decides to toss you over his shoulder and drag you off like the cavemen they all feel the need to act like" I joked trying to make light of the situation.
"I don't think you need worry about that. As long as you stay in the community you'll be fine" She smiled "Hey I was thinking that maybe since you're new here Ada, Danielle, and I could take you shopping tomorrow".
"That sounds great," I said relieved "You guys should come over after".
She smiled brightly "That sounds like a lot of fun. Ada's great and Danielle is really sweet once you get to know her. She can come off a little phony but it's just because she's not as fast or strong as the rest of us so the only power she can get is political power".
"Oh, thanks. I should get going, but I'll see you tomorrow" I smiled glad for the inside information. It looked like Olivia and I might be becoming friends after all.