There's silence and the air feels heavy once again.
So I whisper into the silence, "Nine, nine, nine."
Everyone looks at me in confusion.
"It's six six six in disguise, bitches!" I shout.
With that, I proceed to jump out the window to escape from the intense atmosphere and immediately regret it since I land in a thicket of rose bushes. I roll out from the bush and start rolling around in the dirt while everyone stares at me from the window.
"Ow, the pain. Fuck! Why did I do that? Oh, fuck the thorns, the thorns."
Someone walks over in an attempt to help me but when they pull out one thorn I scream at them.
"But we have to pull it out," The random person says.
"No, it hurts, just leave them. Oh God take them out, take them out! No! Leave them." I start crying.
Eventually, everyone comes outside to hold me down and remove the thorns. All while I yell some choice words at them but they do it quickly and release me. It takes me a moment to realise that Lilith is still inside. I walk back into the house but not before glaring at them all and rubbing my arms. I find Lilith hugging her knees sitting in the corner facing the wall.
"Lil?" I say as I walk towards her.
She sniffles, "No one ever tells me anything."
"You're being dramatic." I roll my eyes.
She gives me a look over her shoulder before twisting around and stretching her legs out, she drops her hands into her lap and turns back to look at me.
"What?"
"How are you doing, I mean this is a lot to deal with." She frowns.
I shrug, "I guess, but I feel fine. It's kinda cool, I mean as long as I don't die."
"Yeah death would be pretty shitty, so your not allowed to," She says as she rests her arm around my shoulders.
I snort, "Yes because I can total control that, anyway... are you guys like werewolves?"
She laughs, "Please don't call us that, werewolves are myths. It's something people came up with, there are no werewolves or any other type of were. We're all shifters, very simple it was taken from the word shape-shifter but that term is more for someone who can turn into multiple forms, so since we only change into one it was shortened to Shifter."
"Kay... but from what you guys said though it doesn't sound very much like how an actual wolf pack functions. Like Omegas are supposed to be the weakest and picked on in wolf packs. I'm pretty sure it isn't a good thing to be an Omega in a pack."
She nods, "Well yeah, that's because we're not wolves, well, I mean its complicated. Essentially yes, we turn into wolves, have their instincts and are given advanced sense and such but we're still human, at least most of us. All shifters are similar to their animal counter parts but ultimately different, it's what separates us from the actual animals. Like Lion shifters spend a large portion of their life asleep like their animal counter parts but a Shifter Pride is made up of several males and females."
"Wow."
"When shifters were first created I assume that most of them were more alike to their animal counterparts but over time we evolved, like all humans. Wolves kept the pack loyalty and heritage but unlike actual wolves, anyone can take a mate and have pups. Likewise to Omega's in an actual wolf pack, in Shifter packs Omega's were considered the weakest but as a human they didn't survive and refused to be reduced to that status, so they evolved to be to be the peacekeepers in the pack, to be more important than most believed."
"That's true, I thought it was weird. But there are so many books that have werewolves and such but nothing is close to how actual wolf packs function."
"Yeah, I know that it annoys people but we're still human at our cores even if we do share our form with a wolf counterpart. Humans are notorious for evolving in order to survive."
I let out a hum and we continue to sit on the floor, people come in and out. Some of them give me a glance but otherwise everyone is busy with something.
"Everyone seems really busy," I note.
Lilith nods, "Yeah, we're trying to track down the rogues before they hurt someone. Usually when they form packs they wouldn't be so still like this, they'd terrorise a town and kill without mercy until the closet pack would come to step in."
"How many Packs are there out there?"
She thinks for a moment tilting her head, "Maybe thirty or so. There are lots of shifters out there with prides or skulks and such but wolves are the largest Shifter community. At least to the current knowledge."
"Are they situated everywhere around the world?"
"Of course, I mean depending on the animal kind of depends on where the shifters will be situated. But sometimes like our pack our ancestors moved around before settling in a certain place. It's very rare for a group of shifters to move now due to the ever growing population of humans."
"So humans outnumber supernatural creatures?"
She nods, "Yeah I'm not sure the actual figure but along the lines of twelve to one. It use to be more of an even number but with time supernatural beings like us have lowered in numbers and humans have just continued to grow."
"That's scary," I mumble.
"It is, but shit happens. Now my ass is getting numb do you want a tour of the house?"
"Kay..." I agree standing up, mostly because my butt was going numb too.
First she takes me to the next section which is the dinning room with a nice fancy table and then into the kitchen. Its on the larger side with a big oven, stove and fridge and plenty of bench space. Some dishes are stacked beside the sink and some bits and pieces scattered everywhere. Next she takes me up stairs to all the bed rooms, we left my bag downstairs but she points at the room I'll stay while things get sorted.
The room is painted a light yellow as much rooms are and done in mostly neutral colours and only has a bed, a bedside draw and a decently sized wooden closet in the corner. Most of the rooms are similar to that one since they're guest rooms, this is the Beta house so if people don't want to sleep in the Alpha's house, which is next door, they'll come here.
Being a pack Lil explained that sometimes people feel the need to be closer to the leaders of the pack. Especially teens who've fought with their parents or other situations. Apparently, the Alpha house has more spare rooms in case of peace meetings or other pack meetings.
After all that the two of us go to sit down on the couch, she specifically puts me beside Dean who was on the couch with Logan and Fang. I look at the two of them but decide it's been a long day and I don't particularly want to open that can of worms yet.
"So Alex how are you doing?" Logan asks me leaning forward to see me.
"I have a sense of déjà vu, I'm alright. Shit happens."
"Shit happens as in you get bitten by a Wolf and find out that you might die in a few days. Just a normal day right?"
"Yep. Being serious though, it's not like I can change anything, we'll just have to see how things turn out. Beside panicking isn't really my thing."
Lil snorts, "Yeah, anyway Logan has Lisanna's punishment been decided yet?"
"Not yet, everyone wants to get rid of the rogues before they decide the punishment. They're not taking it lightly, everyone's busy at the moment and until we see how the bite effects Alex we can't really properly decide her a punishment."
"Right, I know. I'm still pissed off."
"Yeah, that's obvious." Dean says looking at her.
She looks away from him and I frown at her. Not touching that, I feel like I'll get a bigger headache than I already have. So instead I turn towards Logan.
"Punishment?" I ask.
"Yeah, biting someone breaks one of our biggest laws. There really are three large ones that you don't break. Don't let a human find out about you, don't kill a pack member or human and never bite a human. If these laws are broken your punished, usually you'll be banished and become a rogue. However if you survive the bite it will lessen her sentence but that doesn't mean she'll be let off the hook by any means."
"Is she going to be banished?" I ask.
"It's a possibility but I'm not sure, if you die most definitely but otherwise she'll just receive severe punishment. She's still young and being young we're all still victim to our animal instincts but it doesn't excuse her actions," Dean explains.
I nod and look out the window, thankfully when I jumped out it, it was open. I really wouldn't have liked if I crashed though a closed window. That reminds me I look down, all the little scrapes I'd gotten from the roses were no longer on my skin. I guess along with the heightened sense you also get fast healing.
"So how come you guys aren't helping out with the rogues?" I ask.
"What Rogues?" Fang frowns at me, "The rogues? Aren't the rogues dead?"
Logan lets out a sigh, "Fang no, they're still alive, we're still tracking them."
"It's best you ignore Fang, he isn't always in the present," Lilith mumbles to me.
I frown at her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"We don't know, Fang's always like this. He must have a memory problem or something but it's not something doctors have been able to pick up on."
"Anyway to answer your question," Logan says to me, "We're still young so we're not really involved in this part. We've been out most of the day attempting to track the rogues in order to get rid of them. But they're covering their scents."
"It's unusual for rogues to do it, everyone seems to believe that they have help or they've taken on an Alpha that isn't insane. But those options aren't too logical, rogues lose their senses and don't give two shits about staying hidden," Dean explains.
"So you what are they doing now?"
"They're mapping, trying to figure out where they could be hiding, where they've been spotting and where we've found their scent trails. The biggest clue that we found was when they were at your house. Otherwise we're going in circles so the adults are gathering to talk out possible strategies, so we're not really invited."
I tilt my head, "But aren't you guys to be in charge of the pack one day, shouldn't you be learning this stuff now?"
"Normally yes, but we can't right now. Our next Alpha, the one to succeed my Dad isn't here, in order to ensure that our bonds are strong we learn together. It's essential to pack life, the age groups need to have some harmony and that's best found through learning together."
"So who's the next pack Alpha and why isn't he here?"
Logan exchanges glances with the others before shaking his head, "That's a story for another day. It's nothing to worry about."
"Alright..."
'You guys are so shady.' '
Regardless I shrug it off, I mean their unease was pretty easy to pick up on. Tabby walks downstairs with the other adults, everyone immediately gets off the couch, I take a moment before doing the same. Most of the people leave after a nod to Liam, Tabitha and a women that I assume is Lasagna's mother.
Wait where is Lasagna? I look around and spot her coming out of the kitchen lowing a phone, when she spots me looking at her and gives me a wink.
'Yeah she's real worried about me, I mean it's totally not a problem that I could die in a few days. Geez this day has been long.'
I lean over and whisper to Lil, "Why did we stand up?"
"It's a respect thing, we're younger and still technically under the adults. After the next Alpha takes over then everyone other than you and Dean would stand. Truthfully you didn't have to stand now either, pack dynamics are different to Omega's they're trusted to be the most logical of the pack and only follow an order if they believe it's necessary. It also ensures that if another Alpha would attempt to order you to leave the pack you wouldn't be forced to, every pack wants an Omega, they're very important too shifter peace. We're an aggressive shifter and Omega's bring peace mainly though their presence and actions."
"Why wouldn't Dean stand?"
"Dean is the next Beta, it's something that was apparent as our next Alpha. He's the next strongest and he works well with our next Alpha and when he was still here they were good friends as well. But due to some circumstances that I'll explain later, he was sent away."
"Oh."
I look around and I'm distinctly aware of how fucking hungry I am.