A/N: Looking for a good paranormal read? Check out “The Survivors” by Amanda Harvard. It’s completed and AMAZING!!!!! I loved every second of it and absolutely HATED putting it down. Dedication to her because of the AWESOMENESS of the aforementioned novel <3
Chapter 16
Iliana’s POV
I sat there in complete shock. All my life I had grown up an only child, the only notice I received was from my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin, with the occasional remembrance of my birthday by my parents and one or two gifts on Christmas. Suddenly there’s these two guys standing in front of me claiming they have been looking for me for twelve years and ONE OF THEM IS MY BROTHER!!! How is this possible? I mean, I know how it’s possible, obviously I was adopted. He had said as much, right? My father…. I mean, OUR father gave me up because he didn’t think he could raise me. But he was able to raise Marcus. What’s the difference?
“Ana? Are you alright? You look a little pale.”
I looked over to Cassidy who was sitting on the edge of the couch eyeing me with concern. It seemed I was unable to find my voice just yet so I simply nodded. Trinton sat on my other side attempting to comfort me but obviously worried about Cassidy’s reaction to someone other than her comforting her mate. I smiled at him and turned back to Marcus and Gerald.
“So, if you’ve been searching for me for all these years, why are you just now finding me? I mean, I was there, in New Jersey. Actually I only lived a few miles from the Tribal Grounds. How could you not find me then?” I asked, a bit of annoyance in my voice.
Gerald had the decency to blush, but Markus just kept a blank look. “I’ll be honest, Iliana, we knew exactly where you were, but the timing wasn’t right. By the time we were ready to reveal ourselves, you had disappeared and we had to search for you yet again.”
This just annoyed me more. I seriously wanted to slap him right then and there. Apparently Cassidy had the same idea because she beat me to it. We all looked on in shock as her hand connected loudly with his cheek, leaving a red handprint in its wake. Alpha Grayson appeared at her side and pulled her back away from the men.
“Well, to be honest, I expected that from you, Iliana. But I suppose, seeing as she’s the one you chose, she would feel the same. After all, it’s not every day you find out that you’ve been ‘stalked’ practically your entire life. You must understand, though. We kept a distance for your safety. You weren’t ready yet.”
“I wasn’t ready? How do you know I’m ready now? Wouldn’t all of this been easier if I had known at an earlier age?” I asked him.
He just looked at me sadly. “We were to inform you on the night of your sixteenth birthday. Each Shaman has their first shift thirty-five days after their sixteenth birthday. That would have been plenty of time to explain everything and give you the necessary training for your first shift. No doubt you were confused during that time.”
“Confused? I thought I was dreaming. It never once dawned on me that I wasn’t asleep.” I confessed. “And would you please stop calling me Iliana. I prefer Ana.”
“Actually, your name is Dawn, as per your birth certificate. Your adoptive parents wanted to pick a name for you, but father insisted on your name being what mother had chosen. It seems as if they got their way after all.”
“Dawn,” Cassidy and Trinton voiced at the same time.
“I like Ana. It suits her much better,” Trinton exclaimed which earned him a small growl from Cassidy. “Chill, Cass. She’s into you. I wouldn’t dream of stealing my Beta’s mate, especially since I know I have one of my own out there somewhere. I was simply saying that the name her adoptive parents gave her fits her personality better than Dawn does.” This brought a smile to Cassidy’s face and she gave Trinton a quick hug before we all turned back to Marcus and Gerald.
“So, do any of you have any other questions?” Marcus asked, looking at each of us individually.
Trinton raised his hand as if waiting on a teacher to call upon him to answer a question. Marcus gave a swift nod of his head and Trinton pulled his hand back down to his side. “Yes, sir. I was wondering if you know…” He paused for a moment before a big grin spread across his face. “How many licks does it take to get to the chewy center of a tootsie roll lollipop?”
“THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW!” Cassidy called out before they both fell into a fit of giggles.
*** Three days later ***
After having missed school on Monday (Alpha Grayson had called Aunt Chel and convinced her to call the school saying I was sick), having to wake up early on Tuesday to attend really put a damper on my mood. The only thing that got me up and out of bed was the strong sense of change in the air. Something was coming and I had no clue what it was. I grabbed my new cell phone (a gift from Cassidy. “Only the best for my girl,” she had told me as she handed me a brand new Motorola Droid Razr Maxx) and it seemed to vibrate against my hand instantaneously. I looked down and realized that I had a text from Alpha Grayson.
‘You are now a part of this pack. As Alpha, I find it necessary to inform all of my family of any newcomers. There is a new female wolf that just moved to town with her older brother. If you could look out for her today, I would greatly appreciate it. Since you and Cassidy have yet to complete the mating process, all I can do is ask this of you. I’m asking the same of Cassidy and Trinton. They’ve had it rough enough as it is. Please make them feel welcome.”
The entirety of the text was actually two and a half messages long. It actually gave me a great since of pride to know that Alpha Grayson held me as dear as he did every member of his pack, or family, as he called them. I jumped out of bed and quickly started going through my closet. It’s starting to get warmer and I had to dig out my box of clothes that was labeled “summer”. It’s a habit I had picked up from my adoptive mother. She always boxed up the clothes according to season. I had boxes for winter, fall, and summer, since most of my spring clothes were a combination of winter and summer clothes… You know, a tee shirt with a light coat over top for the still slightly chilly breeze that blew. But, it’s much warmer than that now.
I pulled out the dress Cassidy had bought me on Sunday. She claimed it would bring out my “gorgeous chocolate eyes”. It’s a creamy, off-white color and fell just below my knees… She knows me so well. I paired it with my white ballet styled flats and pinned half my hair back with a pearl barrette, a gift I had received from Lily (she made it in art class! Can you believe that! It’s gorgeous!!!). I looked down at the alarm clock on my bedside table and let out a small gasp. I can’t believe it took me that long to get ready. I hurriedly applied my light make-up before rushing out my bedroom door and into the kitchen. I grabbed a pop tart, waved a quick good-bye to my aunt and Lily before bolting out the door to my baby.
Ten minutes later I was pulling up at school with the last bite of pop tart in my mouth. As soon as I shut off the engine, Trinton’s car pulled into the spot next mine and Gentry’s on the other side of him. I exited the car and entered Cassidy’s arms immediately. I held her close and breathed in her scent. She had a habit of wearing sexy, a perfume you can get in Victoria’s Secret and I absolutely LOVE that smell.
“I missed you too,” Cassidy chuckled in my ear.
We headed into the school and I had just finished gathering my books for my morning classes when the first bell rang. We all said our good-byes before Cassidy and I headed off to our first class.
***
“Did you hear about the new blonde paint? It's not real bright, but it's cheap and it spreads easy,” Gentry said as he took his seat at our table. Lunch had just started and we were still waiting to find out who the new girl was. Apparently none of us had any classes with her.
“Well, did you hear about the new blonde store? It’s open all the time,” I stuck my tongue at him and we all laughed at the cheesiness of our jokes.
We sat around the table, munching on our food and chatting. I glanced over at the door to see a short brunette walk in. She glanced in our direction before grabbing an apple off the fruit tray and bolting out off the cafeteria without paying for it. I stood instantly and Cassidy followed me. I waved my hand at her to get her to sit back down and walked over to the cashier who had a pretty upset look on her face. I paid for the apple that she had obviously seen the girl take and walked out of the cafeteria after her.
It took me a couple of minutes, but I finally found the girl. She was sitting on the bottom step out in front of the school. As I took a seat next her, she visibly stiffened and stole a few glances at me out of the corner of her eye.
“Hi,” I said as I leaned back against the brick wall railing the steps.
She glanced over at me again and continued to eat her apple. Ok…. So, she’s shy.
“You’re new here.” It wasn’t a question, but at least I got a nod as a response. “My name’s Ana.” I held out my hand to her.
She glanced at me again and slowly put her hand in mine for a quick shake before pulling it back and tucking it between her knees as she continued to chew on the bite she had taken. “Kyra.”
“That’s a lovely name.” I smiled at her, trying to seem as friendly as possible. “You know, I’m new here too. I just got here a few weeks ago. If you want, you can hang out with me and my friends.”
She looked at me and finally let a small smile out as she nodded her head slightly. “That’d be nice.”
I stood and she followed me back into the school and back to the cafeteria. I made a beeline for our usual table only to see a guy I had never met before sitting in my seat next to Cassidy. He was rubbing his hand up and down her arm and she kept trying to shove him off. I knew he had to be a wolf, because if he were human, he would have been thrown off the chair with the force she used to shove him away. It seemed to amuse him that she was playing “hard to get” but it just infuriated me. She’s my girl, how dare he touch her. It took me a moment to realize why the entire cafeteria had gone quiet and that the guy that had once been sitting by Cassidy was now across the cafeteria in a heap on the floor. Cassidy turned and looked at me before jumping up and throwing her arms around me. At the same time I noticed Gentry look up and lock eyes with Kyra. A blush crept across her cheeks and they stared into each other’s eyes and Cassidy let out a chuckle.
“Guess Gentry found his mate.”