Okay guys, so I have Sats this weekend, then finals, then ACTs. So for you guys, that unfortunately means no update for about a week and a half. But........ after that I'm semi-free for two weeks! And semi-free about ten times the amount of free time I have now, so I should be able to write a lot :]
Hope you like the chapter, enjoy, comment vote, al lthat fun stuff. Dedicated to MissTrouble123 becasue she made me an awesome cover, thanks! :]
Chapter 3
Charlie and Chris couldn’t believe dad let me have the room. They said it was used for when Alphas or Betas from other packs came to stay to work out negotiations. But still, they help me move everything into my new room before we ate dinner. Which was amazing. I mean, I guess I’m not the best judge because I never got a lot of home cooked meals growing up, but Susan was an awesome cook.
It was a simple spaghetti dinner, and yet she made it seem like we were at a five-star restraint. I voiced this opinion aloud, and she said that was because she used to be the main chef in a major restraint in Chicago. So yeah, she was good.
After dinner Susan gave me an actual tour of the house, not just, as Susan said, “here’s the living room, now find a bedroom,” like my dad did.
And like the rest of the house, it was gorgeous. There was a dining room with a long table that help up to 30 people, used mostly for meetings and stuff with higher up members of the pack. Besides that, there was a large sun room that led to the back deck, which then led their huge pool. In the basement there was a pretty much an entire Gym, with bikes, treadmills, weights, and all that “fun stuff.”
Overall, it was a beautiful house inside and out, and I knew I would love living here. Hannah has been by my side all night, asking all about my home back in New York. Some questions got a little complicated like, “Do you have a boyfriend?” and “Who’s your best friend?” but for the most part I gave her truthful answers.
And then there was Ryan, who was absolutely adorable. Susan let me hold him after dinner, and I was already in love with him. It was weird to think that he was my little brother, but I had a feeling I’d come to think of him as family, just like how I already thought of Charlie and Chris as my brothers.
They all did a great job at making me feel welcome here and I got to spend a lot of time with them for the week before school started. I got to run through the woods for miles and miles and it had been amazing. The steep incline of the mountain made me actually tire out after a few hours of running around, which was new for me. But one thing we didn’t do much was socialize with many of the other pack members. So when the first day of school came, I honestly had no idea who I would meet today.
“Now remember, this school has shifters and humans at it, but stick to the shifters. We can’t let the humans around here know what we are,” Chris said to me on the drive to school.
“I know,” I said immediately. They’d been telling me this all week, but something did bother it about me, and I finally voiced my concern. “But how will I know who is a shifter?”
“You’ll be able to smell the difference. I know you haven’t been around a lot of shifters yet, but think of the difference between me and Susan, and you’ll be able to tell who is who.”
I nodded my head and thought about Susan’s scent compared to the others in the house. When I thought about it, I realized there was a difference I could probably recognize, even in human form.
After the thirty minute drive (we really did live in the middle of nowhere), we pulled up to the front of the school. It was nothing special, just a brick building, two stories high. A sign in the front by a flag pole said “Rocky Mountain High School.”
“Well that’s an original name,” I said with a smile.
“Yeah, they didn’t get too creative with it. Have a good day at school, I won’t be able to give you a ride home until 6 tonight, so you’re probably better off finding a ride home. People are really nice, and I’m sure everyone will be excited to meet you, so finding a ride shouldn’t be hard. “
I nodded and tried not to show my nervousness at that. First day of school and I had to rely on someone I didn’t know yet to get a ride home. Yay.
I got out of the truck and started walking into the main doors of the school, which led into the office. There I waited at the desk for the lady there to get off the phone. As I was waiting, a boy walked out of the principal’s office in the back, which who I’m guessing was the principal right behind him.
“I want this to be a good year Ian, please don’t start it off the wrong way,” the principal said in an exasperated voice.
The guy, Ian, mock saluted him and said, “Yes sir, Principal Sanders!” The principal sighed and waved him away and headed back into his office. As the boy started walking away though, he caught me looking at him.
“You see what you like?” he said in a cocky voice.
I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “You wish.” Although, I had to admit he was good looking. He had midnight black hair that reach his shoulders and dark brown eyes that almost looked black to match, and since he was only wear a t-shift with the sleeves cut off, I could see he was very muscular. But still, not my type.
He laughed and walked over to me. “You’re the new girl, right? Riley.”
I nodded in confirmation but didn’t face him even though he was right next to me. “I’m Ian. Ian Sanders.”
I turned my head to him then in confusion. Didn’t he just call that man Principal Sanders.
He laughed again. “Yeah, principal’s son.” He leaned closer then, close enough that I could feel his breath on my cheek. Something in me said I should move back, but my pride kept me standing still. He whispered in my ear, “But don’t worry, that doesn’t make me a good guy.”
His breath sent chills down my back, but I could tell if it was in a good way or not. Hopefully not.
I put my hand on his chest and pushed him away from me. But as soon as my hand touched his chest I felt a shock go through my arm. I brought my arm back immediately and gasped.
Ian looked shocked too, but easily recovered. “What, am I too hot for you babe?”
I growled lowly, so only he would here. “I think you should leave now Ian, if I’m not mistaken that was the warning bell, and if you don’t go now you’ll be late for class.”
Actually, I had no idea if the bell that just rang was the warning bell, but I was hoping like crazy that it was.
He laughed again and rolled his eyes, but took a step back. “I’ll see you later, little wolf.”
When he turned around my eyes widened in surprise. Crap, I’d just growled at him before I had even registered that he was a shifter too. What if he had been human? This was not a great start to my day.
“Ah-hem,” I heard someone say from the desk. They lady was sitting there giving me the death glare. “Now that you’re done with the flirting, may I help you?”
I wanted to correct her and say that I hadn’t been flirting, but I could tell by her glare that it wouldn’t matter. “My name is Riley Parker, and I’m a new student here. Can I get my schedule please?”
She stopped glaring at me for a moment to pick up some papers on her desk. She handed them to me and said, “Here,” then went back to her work. I looked at the papers in my hand, then back at her. Yeah, she wasn’t giving me any more help. I sighed and headed out of the office to the empty hallways since everyone else was already in class.
I looked at my schedule and saw my first class was AP U.S History in room H204. Okay… maybe the 2 means seconds floor. So I headed up the stairs, looking around for a sign somewhere that would tell me what room are which, but found none. I sighed and just started heading aimlessly down a hall, looking at the room numbers to see if I was going in the right direction.
Finally, after 5 minutes I found the right room, but I was terrified of going in. I took a deep breath though, closed my eyes, and opened the door.
I heard the voices in the room quiet down immediately and everyone turned to see who the person coming in late was.
I looked to the front of the room where the teacher was standing, thankfully though she didn’t seem very mad about me being late.
“You must be Riley,” she said with a smile.
“Um, yes, sorry I’m late, I wasn’t sure where to go…” I said as a lame excuse.
The teacher just waved her hand though and said, “Don’t worry about it, first day is acceptable. My name is Mrs. Henry, go ahead and choose an empty seat. There’s plenty of them.”
I looked around the room more and saw that sure enough, there were only ten people in the class. One girl caught my eye as I was searching for a seat and patted the one next to her. I smiled gratefully and headed over to her.
“Hey, I’m Macey,” the girl whispered as the teacher started to talk again. This time I checked right away to see if she was a shifter too, and was glad to know that she was.
“Riley,” I whispered back, although I guess that was sort of obvious since the teacher already said that. So I added, “Nice to meet you,” and then focused on the teacher talking about the expectations in her class for the year.
Thankfully she only talked for about 15 minutes, leaving us to do whatever or the rest of the period. Macey immediately turned towards me.
“So, what’s is like being the long lost daughter of Alpha Fuller? Or well, old Alpha Fuller. Wait, I don’t mean old, he’s not old but I mean-”
I chuckled and interrupted her with a wave of my hand. “I know what you mean. And its… weird. All of this… shifter stuff is. And to find out a have a father after years of not having one… well, that was weird too.”
She gave me a sympathetic look. “It must have been terrible, going through that on your own. But at least your mother had to of known, right?”
I shook my head and she gasped. “My mom didn’t know about me being a shifter.”
“Oh my gosh… so you really were all alone.” Macey looked absolutely devastated right now, and her eyes were actually misting over.
I smiled at her though, trying to reassure her. “It was alright. I made it through it, and everything worked out in the end.”
“Wow… well, how about we go onto happier subjects. What’s your next class?”
I looked down at my schedule to see I had Pre-Calculus next. When I told her this she made a face that obviously meant she didn’t like that class.
“I am not a math person.”
I laughed. “I’m good at math; I just don’t like it much.” She gave a confused look, but didn’t go on to say anything about it. Instead she started telling me about the town and the things we could do around here.
Then her eyes widened in excitement. “We should go bowling this Friday!”
“Bowling?” I asked.
“Yes! We have midnight bowling and there’s black lights and music blasting and its so fun!” I laughed at how excited she was at the thought of going bowling. I can’t even remember the last time I went bowling.
“Do you want to go?” she asked.
“Um, sure, sounds good.”
She smiled and went on to tell about her friends that I’d be seeing at lunch, since I’d agreed to sit with her. I swear though, this girl never stopped talking! But I like it. She made me feel welcome, and throughout the morning walked me to each of my classes so I would get lost. By the time I lunch came, I had a pretty good feel for the school and knew by heart where each of my morning classes were.
“So, our school lunch isn’t really the best, but it’s alright. Taco, nachos, and popcorn chicken days are the best though, so you never want to bring your own lunch on those days,” Macey explained as we walked to one of her other friend’s locker. The girl was tall and tan, with dark brown straight hair that fell elegantly down her back. “Riley, this is Natalie Rosewood. Natalie this is Riley Parker.”
Natalie smiled warmly at me. “Nice to meet you Riley. Has Mace talked your ears off yet?”
Macey slapped her shoulder lightly, and I shook my head smiling. “Nah, she’s not so bad.”
“See, someone appreciates me.” Macey wrapped her arm around my own and started pulling me away from Natalie.
“Oh I’m just kidding Mace,” Natalie said while laughing. She linked arms with Macey and together the three of us walked down the hallway towards the Cafeteria.
Natalie and Macey started talking about someone in school, one of their friends I think. However, some of my own happiness started slipping away. Natalie and Macey reminded me and Mel and I, even if their friendship was different from our own. But still, I missed Mel and couldn’t believe how things had changed between us.
“Riley?” I head Macey ask. I shook my head and focused on them again, noticing they were both looking at me expectantly.
“Sorry, zoned out for a bit.”
Natalie smiled at me. “No problem, what were you thinking about?”
I didn’t respond immediately, thinking about how much I wanted to tell them, or more like how much I was allowed to tell them. But Natalie took this the wrong way. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be invading your privacy or anything. I just meant if you had any questions or wanted to talk about anything, we’re here.”
I smiled at her, and I already knew I could trust these two girls. “Well… I guess you guys just reminded me of one of my old friends from back home.”
“Oh really? Was it your best friend?”
I nodded without elaborating, but Natalie was good with keeping up a conversation. “Do you still keep in touch with your friends from your mom’s?”
I took a deep breath, wondering if I should go into this subject. But as I looked over at these two girls who had so easily become my friends, I realized I wanted to tell someone else. Someone who would give me real, girl opinionated advice. And so I said, “Well… it’s sort of complicated. Um…” I took another deep breath, trying to keep memories from bombarding me. “I had two best friends back home, and they were my life. But… becoming a shifter changed things, and not really for the better.”
Macey nodded encouragingly for me to keep going. But Natalie said, “If you don’t want to get into it, that’s fine, we understand.”
I looked around us to see we’d made it to the lunch line. “How about when we sit down at a table?”
Natalie smiled and said, “That’s fine.”
All three of us grabbed a tray of pizza, today’s choice of food. It didn’t look too bad, although a little thin. But oh well, beggars can’t be choosers, or something like that.
Once we sat down I started back up on my story. “So, well my friend Jackson and I started dating.” I paused to see their reactions, but they didn’t gasp in surprise like I thought they would. Instead, Natalie just raised her eyebrows while Macey’s eyes just got a little wider.
“And… he was a human?” Macey asked.
“Yeah.”
She nodded her head, a thoughtful in look in her eyes. “Well, I guess it’s not like you knew about the whole mate thing. And plus, it’s not like you’re the only shifter to ever go after a human. You father did in high school, even now he has a human wife.”
“So it’s not that big of a deal?” I asked, surprised. My dad had made it sound like it was extremely important for me to not be with Jackson, and I’d trusted him. And now I was hearing something else?
“Well,” Natalie started in a soft of informative voice that reminded me of a teacher’s voice, “It’s always best to stay away from humans. But yes, it does happen. And like Mace said, you didn’t know any better. Are you guys still together?”
I shook my head, trying not to let my emotions overcome me here. I’d learned so much control over my emotions this year, but ever since I got here I felt like I’d started falling apart again. Great.
“My father said it would be in both of our best interests if we broke up. So… I did,” I said softly.
Natalie nodded knowingly. “He knows the repercussions first hand of getting involved with a human. He probably just didn’t want you to have to go through that.”
“Repercussions?” I asked.
“Yeah. I think he still blames himself for Chris and Charlie’s mom dying, I’m surprised he ever let Susan have kids. But she was quite insistent on it I think.”
“What are you talking about? Why does he blame himself?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Natalie asked, her words becoming more hesitant now.
“No, but please, just tell me. I’m tired of people keeping secrets from me.”
She gave me a sympathetic look and nodded her head. “You see, female shifters can only have children with their mate. But male shifters can get female humans pregnant, however it is dangerous for the human. Shifters grow at different rates, need different nutrients in the womb that can’t be provided by a human mother. Without help, the mother will most likely die before or during birth. Even with help, sometimes there’s nothing that can be done. Charlie’s mother died giving birth to him, and I don’t think your dad has ever forgiven himself. He’d accidentally gotten her pregnant with Chris, but a second child had never been planned, specifically because of this.”
Wow, not only does my dad have children with three different women, but he also got a girl pregnant in high school. He really was a player.
I took a deep breath, trying to take everything I’d just been told in. Was that why he didn’t mant me to be with Jackson
Macey gave her shoulders a slight shrug. “It doesn’t really matter, pretty much all human-shifter don’t end well for one reason or another. The only reason your dad married a human again was because he already knew who his mate was, and couldn’t be with her, so he moved on. But that happens in very rare cases in our world.”
“But why wouldn’t he just find another female shifter to be with, instead of a human?”
Natalie answered my question this time instead of Macey.“Female shifters… can get complicated without a mate. Females are… completely dedicated to their mates. Not that the men aren’t, but its…” Natalie sighed in frustration. “I don’t know how to say this without making it all seem sexist. It’s just that, males have the ability to… not necessarily move on, but survive, if their mate is lost. This is because males are the protectors of packs, and they… oh! I got it. They protect and keep the pack together from the outside, while women are more like the intricate details of the pack, keeping it together from the inside.” She smiled proudly at me, but she still hadn’t necessarily answered my question. She seemed to realize this from my confused face. “Oh, right, you asked why he wouldn’t choose a female shifter. Sorry, I went off on a tangent a little. Anyways, because of this, women are more… attached to their mate I guess. And like I said earlier, females can’t have children unless with their mate, so if their mate is lost, they can no longer have children. This, along with the absolute dread of losing their mate, puts them into a deep depression almost impossible to get out of. Some kill themselves, but there are some who pull out of the depression, although rarely. Even those who pull out of it though, are never the same, and they will never be with someone else.”
Natalie took a deep breath. “There, did that answer your question?”
I nodded slowly, but honestly I was more confused and scared than ever. Was she pretty much saying that if I didn’t find my mate I’d become depressed and kill myself?
No way, I told myself. I wasn’t one of those girls who needed a guy in their life to survive. If I didn’t find my mate, I’d deal with it and move on.
And maybe go back to Jackson, a little voice said in my head. But I pushed that selfish thought away. I couldn’t just expect him to wait around for me for years until I finally decided I wasn’t going to find my mate. He needed to move on, and so did I.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
And now I just feel like typing part of my favorite country song for you guys :]
"And there's somethin' bout you and me and the birds and the bees and all have mercy its a beautifl thing..."
" ..... ain't nothin bout a luck, its somethin bout a truck"
Okay, yeah i tried typing this as it was on the radio but he sings alot faster than i can type so... at least i got my favorite part in there haha. this song always makes me laugh :]