Hey!
Sorry for the slow update! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter - I'm not sure how I feel about it! Thanks for reading!
~Lissa
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The next day, it was my favorite weather.
The whooshing of the rain against the windows and the trembling shingles of the roof awoke most people. It was one of those days where when you peeked out your window, the cement was soaked and covered with squiggly worms, mini pools were created in potholes, and the smell of nature lifted everything off your shoulders. While everybody shuffled around the place, preparing for another long day, I was seated at one of the granite counters in the kitchen. I stared out the nearest window, admiring the dark clouds hovering above, reminding me of the mud-fights with my brother when we were younger. Speaking of him, he was seated next to me, chewing a piece of bacon as he watched the people around him, cautiously. Whenever somebody dared to look his direction, he tensed up and scowled.
I cleared my throat. "Nobody is going to hurt you."
"You may trust them, but I don't," he responded, swallowing. "They're werewolves - they're known to be unpredictable." I exhaled loudly, realizing he was starting to talk like our father again. I picked up my glass of orange juice and took a sip, hearing him chewing vigorously away at his bacon. Honestly, I was surprised he even accepted food from them, considering how untrustworthy he believed they were. "Nora, we can still fix this; everything could go back to the way it was if we leave tonight. I mean, we'll - "
"Drop it," I interrupted, harshly. I faced him in my stool, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "I understand that you're trying to look out for me, but I want you to just shut the f*ck up about leaving, okay? It's not happening - while you don't like the people here, I do. Something big is coming and I'm not abandoning them; I'm not abandoning Drew." I stared at him for a long moment, anticipating his response. At first, he seemed surprised that I had snapped at him; he gripped the fork in his hand and sucked in a deep breath.
"I don't think it's safe for you here," he said, quietly.
I frowned. "And, where's safe? Home? The place where our father is waiting to kill me? The place that reminds us of Mom every second of the day - the place where she was murdered?"
"I'm not saying we have to go home," Noah replied, shrugging his shoulders. "We could leave town; go anywhere! You've always said you wanted to go to Florida - what's stopping us now?"
"Drew," I blurted, narrowing my eyes. The excitement in his eyes disappeared at the mention of his name; his shoulders slouched forward and he turned his attention back to his plate of breakfast. "I can't leave him, Noah."
"Yes, you could," he muttered, shoving another piece of bacon into his mouth.
I shook my head. "God, I don't even know why I bother talking to you about him! You'll never understand how I feel - you'll never understand the position I'm in! I've accepted him and if you were a good brother, you'd accept the fact that I'm with him." He turned his head, looking at me with narrowed eyes. He opened his mouth to argue, but he was stopped by somebody prancing into the kitchen with a smile on his face. Forcing a grin, I looked at the person, instantly recognizing the floppy, dark hair and brown eyes. Brody leaped onto the counter in front of us, knocking off some papers with an innocent shrug. His battered sneakers rested close to Noah's plate and he pulled his food closer to him with a scowl.
"I knew I smelled bacon," Brody said, snatching a piece of bacon off my plate. I slapped his knee and he flinched, shoving the greasy food into his mouth. Noticing the unfamiliar person next to me, he eyed my brother up and down, rubbing his jaw. "Uh, is this him? You know, you're lunatic of a brother who will probably kill us all in our sleep? Dude, just saying, if you're going to kill me, don't use anything made of steel - it gives me hives."
Noah looked at me with a raised eyebrow, giving me the 'who-the-hell-is-this?' look. Poking my scrambled eggs with my fork, I nodded. "Yeah, this is my brother, Noah. Um, and this is Brody."
"We're homies," Brody added, patting my shoulder. Noah cleared his throat, suddenly feeling awkward. I shoved some scrambled eggs into my mouth in worry as Brody turned his attention back to my brother, eyeing him with a curious gaze. "You know, I expected him to be scarier. . . taller and bigger, maybe some scars on his face. . ."
Noah frowned at him. "Would I be scarier holding a gun at your head?"
"Yeah," Brody muttered, gulping loudly. He turned his attention back to me, a little nervous of my intimidating brother next to me. "So, I was searching up some funny jokes on the internet last night. Want to hear one?" Glancing at my brother, I nodded, hoping it wasn't something inappropriate or offensive. "What do you call a fake noodle?"
I shrugged. "What?"
"An impasta!" he laughed, his shoulders trembling. Noah rolled his eyes and shoved a mouthful of pancakes into his mouth - obviously, he wasn't amused. I forced a grin, not wanting to hurt his feelings for how lame his joke was. I knew a few people who would've found it hilarious, but I wasn't the type of person that enjoyed jokes and cheesy pick-up lines. Brody wiped underneath his eyes and snatched another piece of bacon off my plate. I groaned and slapped his hand, nearly knocking the strip out of his hand. He plopped it into his mouth and smiled at me, deviously. "Do you want to hear another one?"
"Can you go bore someone else with your jokes?" Noah asked, annoyed.
I pinched my lips together and flicked his ear. His hand shot up, cupping his left ear - he whipped his head around, glaring at me. I gave him a look, one that shut him up and forced him to return his attention back to his breakfast. Brody inhaled a deep breath and spoke, "What did the ketchup say to the hot-dog?"
"What?"
"It was nice to meat you," he cracked, amusing himself. "Get it? The hot-dog is meat, so the ketchup said - "
"We get it dumba*s," Noah interrupted, rolling his eyes. Gritting my teeth together, I punched him in the arm, receiving a yelp in response. I knew my brother wasn't happy to be tolerating these werewolves, but he didn't need to be rude, especially to Brody. Rubbing his upper arm, he looked at my homie seated on the counter, chewing on a piece of bacon. But, his attention shifted to one of my least favorite people in the pack. Cole came waltzing into the kitchen with his curly, blond hair sticking out in all sorts of directions and his hazel eyes narrowing on Brody. A smirk came on his face and Brody huffed, scooting closer to us.
"Ah, is this idiot entertaining you with his lame jokes too?" Cole questioned, stopping near the refrigerator.
I scowled at him. "The only joke I see is your face."
An ugly expression came across his face. "Careful." I folded my arms across my chest, defensively. Brody snatched a piece of bacon off Noah's plate when he wasn't looking. Leaning against the cabinets, Cole looked at my brother. "So, you must be Noah - I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I'd be lying. I'm pretty sure you're the one who killed my Aunt."
Noah shrugged. "I would say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying."
Cole smirked. "Wow, you two really are siblings." He looked between the two of us, fascinated with the similar mouths we shared. "You have the same attitude."
"And, who are you?" Noah asked, curiously.
"I'm Cole," he introduced, taking a small bow. Brody huffed and scrunched his nose up in disgust at the gesture, looking away from him. "I'm Beta."
"A sucky Beta," Brody drawled, shaking his head.
Cole frowned. "Like you could ever be better, faggot." I opened my mouth to defend him, but Brody glanced at me, shaking his head. I clenched my hands into fists and forced myself to keep quiet, keeping my eyes locked on the pancakes in front of me. Brody looked down at his clasped hands, a saddened expression on his face. Cole snatched an apple from the bowl next to him and pointed at him, before speaking to my brother. "Be careful or else his weirdness will rub off on you - just having him around is hell; we don't need another weirdo here."
Then, Cole walked out of the kitchen, chomping into his apple. Brody licked his bottom lip and looked at Noah. "He's a jerk."
"I couldn't tell," Noah mumbled, sarcastically.
I shook my head. "Okay, seriously, what the hell is up with you two? Why do you hate each other so much?"
He nibbled on his strip of bacon. "It's stupid."
"No, it's not," I said, leaning closer. "Tell me."
He hesitated, before shaking his head. Then, he scooted off the counter, hopping down onto his feet with a quiet thud! I whispered his name and he held up a hand, shoving the last of his bacon into his mouth. "I don't want to taco about it." Before I could stop him, he took off out of the kitchen, his brown hair flopping with each step.
Noah cocked an eyebrow. "Did he say 'taco'?"
"Yeah, he did," I mumbled, wondering when in the hell I was going to get answers. Noah frowned in confusion and shook his head, picking up a piece sausage. He started finishing his breakfast and I opened my mouth to mention our earlier argument, but judging by the grim expression on his face, it wasn't a good time to discuss the topic of leaving at the moment. Knowing that if I didn't leave the counter, I was going to say something unnecessary, creating another argument between us, so I hopped off my stool.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Drew," I answered, honestly. "Just finish your breakfast and come find me when you're done." With that, I hurried out of the kitchen, not sparing another glance at him. I crossed my fingers that he wouldn't attempt to do anything stupid, like attack a pack member. My brother was notorious for his temper; he inherited his short temper from our father who snapped at the smallest things. Running my fingers through my hair, I started down the hallways, ignoring the looks from people who passed by me. A lot of people had grown comfortable around me, but with my brother now staying around, they worried - this morning, I overheard two women whispering about how they believed I was going to turn on them and attack with my brother.
I was relieved when I spotted Drew leaving his office, stepping out into the hallway ahead. The last thing I wanted to do was hunt him down in this large house. Seeing me, a goofy smile came onto his face and he approached me, opening his arms. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest, hugging me. Sparks shot through me and I breathed in his scent, realizing is was the combination of expensive cologne and decaying leaves. "Did you eat breakfast?"
"Yeah," I answered, pulling away. "Where were you? I woke up this morning and you weren't in bed."
"I had to make some phone calls to the neighboring packs," he answered, exhaling loudly. "I'm trying to get some allies against the red-eyes, but as of right now, nobody wants to get involved with these creatures." I pinched my lips together and watched as he ran his fingers through his dark hair, stressed. "So, how's your brother doing? Has he hurt anyone? If he's harmed a pack member, he's going to be in a lot of trouble, Nora. I don't care if - "
"He's behaved," I interrupted, rolling my eyes.
He nodded. "Okay, good." I licked my bottom lip, praying Noah wouldn't screw things up. So far, he hadn't harmed anyone - as far as I was concerned, his ugly scowls scared off everybody. The smile returned to Drew's face as he draped his arm along my shoulders. "How do you feel for a game of soccer?"
I cocked an eyebrow. "In the rain?"
"Perfect weather for it," he responded, pulling me closer to him. "Plus, the whole pack has been stressed from the red-eyes and hunters. . .I figured it's time for everybody to have some fun, huh? Come on, I'll go easy on you."
"You're on," I said, slapping his abdomen. I pulled away from him once again and looked at him, a cocky smirk on my face. "Brace yourself because you're about to get your a*s handed to you, Mr. All-Mighty Alpha."
"All-Might Alpha?" he repeated, grinning.
"Don't judge me," I replied, taking a step backwards. "I'll meet you downstairs, okay? I'm just going to go change." He frowned and glanced down, realizing I was only wearing one of his T-shirts. He nodded in understanding, probably thankful I had thought about that. I guaranteed nobody wanted to see my underwear; I turned around and rushed down the hallway, remembering where our bedroom was located. When Katie went shopping for me, she purchased a lot of clothes, six large bags to be exact. I was surprised when the clothes weren't all pink and sparkly; the majority of them were plaid and darker colors.
Stepping into the bedroom, I closed the door behind me and walked over to the nearest dresser, which was occupied with most of my clothes. When Katie brought back all the clothes, I took a lot of Drew's space, though he didn't complain - I knew he was happy to have me even staying in the same room as him. I rummaged through the drawers until I produced a black T-shirt with 'crazy' scribbled across the breasts, a pair of running shorts, and some socks. I stripped out of Drew's shirt, instantly missing the smell of his cologne; a part of me just wanted to take his cologne and spray it all over me.
I slipped on my shirt, followed by the shorts. I turned around and took a step forward to flop down on the bed and shove my feet into my socks, but I was stopped when I spotted somebody standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Sh*t, I thought, swearing in my head. Standing in the doorway was a person that I thought I would never see again, a person who felt nothing, but hatred for me. His dark eyes narrowed at me and his auburn hair was tousled.
Reece.
"What the hell are you doing back?" I asked, breaking the silence.
He took a step towards me. "What? You didn't miss me?" He started stalking towards me and on instinct, I tensed up and started walking backwards towards the door. "You know, living the life of a Rogue is tough - when I was out there, I was attacked so many times. Good thing I know how to defend myself, right?" He laughed, his laugh trembling through the walls, sick and twisted. "Man, there was this one time I was completely surrounded, but guess what? I defeated them all, ripped them all to shreds."
"How sweet of you," I responded, sarcastically.
He tilted his head to one side. "Word has traveled around that you've finally accepted Drew. Who would've thought - an Alpha and a hunter? Fate has a great sense of humor." I was nearing the door, getting closer with each step.
"If you're here to kill me, get on with it then," I told him, harshly. "You're boring me with all this talk." He growled, his eyes flashing back. He's p*ssed, I thought, realizing I was always the one to push werewolves to the edge with my mouth. He stomped towards me, his muscular arms swinging at his sides. I whipped around and grabbed the door handle, prepared to sprint out of the bedroom. But, before I had the chance to open the door, an arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me away. Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, twisting around until my back connected with the wall, leaving a large dent. After hitting the wall, I dropped to the floor below with a groan, suddenly having a flashback of when I first encountered Reece in the hallway.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment," he growled, stomping towards me. Quickly, I crawled to my knees and used the wall for support as I clambered to my feet. Just as I turned my head to look at him, I saw his large fist heading straight towards my face. Without a second thought, I ducked, hearing his knuckles ram into the wall, creating a hole. Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t! I thought, before nailing him in the lower region with my knee.
I swung my fist around, punching him in the right cheekbone. Though, I was pretty sure the punch hurt me more than him. His eyes flashed black, except this time, it remained that color. Wheezing, he pushed me away with enough force for me to fall backwards onto my a*s. I flinched and gritted my teeth together, glaring at the monster in front of me. Werewolves had a great advantage with their strength and speed, which was why hunters used stronger and faster weapons. Without a gun or crossbow in my hands, I was at a disadvantage.
"You b*tch!" he shouted, lunging towards me.
When he was close enough, I shot my foot out, kicking him in the stomach. His eyes bulged and he stumbled backwards in surprise - hurriedly, I jumped to my feet and headed back towards the door. I needed to get to Drew; believe it or not, but he was who I was thinking about at the moment. Suddenly, a hand grabbed a chunk of my hair and yanked, causing a small scream to escape my lips. What the f*ck was up with people pulling my hair? Before I could react, the same hand encircled my throat, cutting off the oxygen traveling down to my lungs. My feet dangled above the ground and I scratched at the hand, desperately seeking air.
Reece smirked. "You're not so strong now, are you? What happened to the bada*s girl I remember before I left? All I see now is some pathetic, weak - "
He was cut-off by somebody wrapping their hand around his neck, choking him. Instantly, Reece released me and I dropped to my feet, gasping for air. What the f*ck!? I thought, before looking up at the new guest. Standing there - choking Reece as if it was nothing - was the one and only, Caine. Shock overwhelmed me at the sight of him; I didn't think he would return for awhile. His black hair hung loosely, rubbing against the top of his shoulders. He wore dark clothes, as usual, and when his emerald eyes shot towards me, I gulped loudly. "I told you I'd protect you, Nora. . . I promised your mother. . ."
Then, he twisted his wrist, snapping Reece's neck with a sickening crack! I watched as his body tumbled to the floor, his neck at an awkward angle. Caine brushed his hands together, then wiped them down the front of his shirt. He faced me, a gleam from the lights in his captivating, emerald eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but I was stopped by the shouting my name and the bedroom door bursting open. Stumbling into the bedroom was Drew, followed by Noah and Brody. Their eyes looked me up and down, worriedly.
Then, they all looked to the person next to me.