"So it's Jackson," I said, pointing at the guy standing in front of me on my left before pointing at the one on my right. "And you're Jasper, right?"
The two boys looked at each other, both sporting the same surprised expression. They had the same crinkle on their foreheads, the same scoff of disbelief, and the same stare. It wasn't really shocking since they were identical twins. And when I said identical, I meant they had the same shaggy blond hair, the same mischievous brown eyes, the same thin lips, and they were even wearing the same black v-neck shirt and blue jeans.
"It's definitely a fluke," Jasper said.
Jackson nodded, "Close your eyes for a second please."
"Why?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Nobody gets who's who right the first time," Jasper explains. "So it's definitely a fluke."
"Geez. Sorry I got your names right then?"
"Just close your eyes," Jasper impatiently ordered.
"Please," Jackson added.
I shrugged and closed my eyes. I heard the light shuffles of feet in front of me. I lightly drummed my fingers against my skin as I waited.
"There. Done. Open your eyes now."
I opened my eyes and saw the two boys looking at me eagerly. I raised both of my eyebrows. I turned to the guy on my left, "Like I said. You're Jackson."
I slightly turned my head and looked at Jasper's eyes, "And you're Jasper."
"Wrong," Jasper pouted. Jackson was already smiling, clearly amused at what was happening.
"No, I'm not," I said.
"Prove it," Jasper challenged.
"I-I just know," I replied.
"What are you guys doing?" Harry said, putting an arm around my waist. He handed me a cup of coffee.
"Thanks. Erm... we're playing guess which twin is which, I think," I answered. "Jasper's being a spoilsport though."
"And you're winning. You are right, Elle. I am Jackson," Jackson said.
"You doofuses know she has seer blood, right?" Louis said. He was leaning on the counter next to the fridge. A cup of tea was in his hand.
"And that she is our next lead seer?" Ally added before she resumed eating the pancakes on her plate.
"So that counts as cheating," Jasper concluded.
We were in my kitchen, having some breakfast. After Louis and I's talk in my room where he placed a protection rune on my neck, we headed straight down. Harry was immediately by my side when he saw me while Louis stood protectively in front of me.
The three of us kind of just stood there for a couple of seconds, assessing the reactions of my visitors to my scent. Harry's arm was wrapped protectively around my waist while I looked at the people standing in my living room.
There were three guys and one girl. All three boys looked like they could snap me in two with a flick of their wrists. On the other hand, the girl was really small. She barely made it past the shoulders of the guy next to her.
"Hey," Harry whispered beside me. He seemed like he was satisfied that no one was looking at me like they wanted to eat me. I guess Louis' non-tattoo was working.
I turned my eyes to his, "Good morning, Harry."
He smiled at me then kissed my forehead, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. I got a good night's sleep."
"Yeah, she was even snoring," Louis remarked. His back was turned to me but I could tell he had his signature mischievous grin on his face. I rolled my eyes as I tried pushing him but he didn't even budge.
"Now, now, my fair maiden," Louis reprimanded. "No need to get violent before our guests."
"Ignore Louis. That's what I always do," Harry said. "Let me introduce you to my packmates."
Harry didn't move. But Louis walked a little bit to my side so our guests could see me better.
"The girl's name is Ally. The twins are Jackson and Jasper. The last one's Klaus. He's one of my betas." Each of them nodded to my direction when Harry mentioned their names.
Ally had beautiful olive skin and red hair that was pulled into a tight ponytail. She had brown eyes and small pink lips. I think she's older than me - around 24 years old maybe. She had a lean body and was wearing dark sneakers, some yoga pants, and a dark jacket.
Klaus was the tallest of the three guys. He had light brown hair and blue eyes. He had a full beard on and he looked like he was the oldest too. Maybe he's in his early 30s. I looked closely at him. I felt like I've seen him around before.
"Hi. I'm Selene," I said with a smile. I took a step forward so I could shake their hands. Harry never left my side. Even Louis was close by. No one went berserk on me although Jasper held my hand longer than normal when we shook hands. I just tugged harder when I saw Harry almost popping a vein when this happened.
When Harry and Louis felt like everything was okay, we all trooped to the kitchen to have some breakfast. They told me that Gummy had already left but had prepared some food before she did so. They mostly talked amongst themselves while we ate, updating Harry and Louis on what's been happening to their pack and all that. I hardly understood anything so I mostly just ate quietly. Harry sat close to me at all times, with Louis sitting on my other side.
So after almost all of us had finished breakfast, I started clearing up the plates but the twins insisted that they'd do it. I guess that's how I ended up playing their little game.
"What am I supposed to do, not guess right?" I confusedly asked.
"Sorry, Elle. They're great warriors, but they're not very bright sometimes," Klaus said as he slapped Jasper at the back of his head.
"Erm, Klaus, have I, err... have we met before?" I asked.
Klaus grinned at me, "Not really. You've seen me in my wolf form. Didn't mean to but you caught me by surprise. I had just come from here but and you spotted me on your way home. I had to apologize to Sybil for days."
"Who's stupid now?" Jasper muttered as he put the dishes in the washer. Klaus heard him and slapped him again.
"Oh. That was you? Yeah, I think I remember. Light brown wolf with patches of white, right?" I nodded. "And you're Harry's... beta?"
"Yeah, I'm one of his second in command. I lead in Alpha Harry's stead for the pack members located in Northern Europe," Klaus explained. "It's mostly to handle the pack land there though, since barely a hundred Northwaters wolves live there."
"How... how many betas are there?" I asked.
"There's around seven of us around the world," Klaus said. "Alpha Harry has complete rule over Western Europe. It's home pack land for Northwaters Pack and where most of our packmates live."
I frowned and took a sip of my coffee, "How does that work?"
"Look at it this way: Harry's president and he has seven vice-presidents – who are the betas. Each beta has a designated area wherein they are responsible for the pack members and the pack land there. The other three packs also own land and have members in, say, Northern Europe. It's not an area that exclusively belongs to a pack. However, Western Europe is exclusively Northwaters," Louis explained. "No other pack owns land there. So that's what they call home pack land."
"Erm, okay. I think I got it. So do the other three packs have a home pack land as well?" I asked.
"Yeah, Southfire's on Australia, Eastearth's on East Asia, while Westwind owns South America," Ally answered.
"The other places, each pack has territories in. Alphas live on their respective home pack land, while the betas handle the pack lands outside their home. We tie with Southfire with the most number of pack lands. They have seven betas too. Eastearth has around five while Westwind only has four. It really depends on how much members each pack has," Jackson added.
I nodded, "I get it, I think. So... if Klaus is a beta, then Jackson, Jasper and Ally are?"
"Jackson and Jasper are warriors from my own army," Harry explained. "Ally's my best tracker."
My jaw dropped, "You have your own army?"
Harry shrugged, "It's a necessity, Sweetheart."
I blinked a couple of times and made a mental note to ask why it's a necessity later, "Erm, okay. So Ally... you're a tracker? And you track what? I mean, these are all new to me so..."
"It's okay," Ally grinned, her hair swaying along as she stood up and handed the dirty plate to Jasper.
"I just loaded the dishwasher. You're such a slowpoke for a tracker," Jasper whined.
"Just leave it in the sink, Ally. I can wash it after I finished my coffee," I said.
"Let whiny Jasper do it, Elle," Louis said.
"Wash it, Jasper," Harry ordered.
Jasper grumbled but did what Harry told him to. Jackson was sniggering beside him.
"Thanks, Jas," Ally sweetly smiled at him then turned to me. "Anyway, yeah, I'm a tracker. I... well, I track people or things. Anything really. Anything or anyone Alpha Harry needs."
My eyebrows shot up, "So say there's a person I'm looking for, you'll find him? Like... just like that?"
Harry glanced at me, as if he had an idea what I was really talking about.
"Yup. Although, it depends on the clues or whatnot. Some take longer while others are done in a snap," Ally explained as she sat back down.
"Sounds... fun," I smiled.
"I imagine with your seer blood, you'll be a perfect tracker yourself," Ally added.
"These four will be staying in Seralune and help us while we figure things out. Jasper and Jackson will be taking turns guarding the house at night," Harry said. "And consider them your personal bodyguards."
"Come on, Harry. It's not like I haven't placed protection runes around the house already. And who would even attack the lead seer's home?" Louis rolled his eyes.
"I don't care," Harry said. "Selene was missing for two days and we still don't know what truly happened then. That's what I want you to look into, Ally. Help Sybil any way you can. Find anything that might be related to Selene's disappearance. Klaus, I want you to coordinate with all other betas so that everyone is ready. We'll hold a video conference with everyone in the pack house tonight. "
"Where exactly is your pack house?" I asked. "Is it in Louis' house?"
"Heck no! Don't want a bunch of weres crammed in my house," Louis answered.
"It's in the northeast corner of Seralune. Each pack has a designated pack house," Harry answered. "I just stay with Louis because it's closer to the town."
"And did you know this house here is at the center of that pack house square?" Louis said.
I pursed my lips, "It's not like I know anything at this point, Louis."
"Aw, didn't mean it like that, my fair maiden," Louis smiled.
I shrugged, "Anyway, I wanna go somewhere."
"You know you should be resting, Sweetheart," Harry immediately said.
"I've had plenty of that already. I want to help find out why I went missing. Or where I was even," I said.
"And how do you suggest you do that?" Louis asked.
"Go to where Harry found me? Maybe there's something there," I shrugged. "Or go with Ally wherever she's going to start tracking."
Harry leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Can I talk to you for a second, please?"
I was pretty sure that everyone else heard him though because they all kind of shifted their gazes away from me. Except Louis who was smirking at us.
I nodded and Harry pulled me out of the kitchen and up the stairs. We went inside my room and I immediately walked towards the window and leaned on the shaded wall beside it.
"Sweetheart, the reason you're not in school right now is so you can rest," Harry said as he sat down on my bed.
"That's all I've been doing since you found me, Harry. I just want to go out and stretch my legs. I mean, look at me. I'm already so pale because I've been cooped up inside for so long."
I could see movement from my peripheral vision. I glanced out the window and saw Zayn walking outside carrying a big box. He was on the narrow strip in the middle of our houses like he was on his way to his backyard. Sweat glistened on his forehead and I wondered if the box he was carrying was heavy.
"It's safer for you to stay in here. There are other wolves out there, Selene. Wolves that aren't from my pack," Harry insisted.
"The protection rune is working, Harry. I mean, my scent hardly affected your pack mates. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be alone. I can go with Ally. And Jasper and Jackson can come too. We both can't stay cooped up here forever. I know you have things you need to do too," I reasoned.
"There's only one thing I want to do here," Harry grumbled.
"What was that?"
Harry grinned at me, "I'm not leaving your side, Sweetheart. If you want to go out, then fine. But you're still stuck with me."
"Then does that mean we're going out?"
"Let me just grab a few things. Wait for me here."
Harry left the room, leaving the door wide open. I remained leaning on the wall but made a mental note to grab a large hat on my way out.
I glanced outside just as Zayn was passing by again, this time without the heavy box. It looked like he's on his way back to his house. He looked really tired but he still managed to look gorgeous. He lifted his shirt to wipe off the sweat on his face and I saw that his chest was also filled with tattoos. My eyes slowly made their way down his chest to his abs. The tattoos only covered his chest. Unlike Harry who had tattoos on his stomach too.
I shook my head and frowned when I realized I was checking him out. Why was I even interested in him, I didn't know him, right?
I finally looked away and saw that Harry was standing by the door. He was already looking intensely at me, like he knew what I was looking at. He looked slightly pissed too, his mouth almost letting out a low growl.
I immediately felt the blood pool on my cheeks and lowered my gaze. I felt ashamed that I was even staring at a person I didn't even know when Harry had been with me this whole time.
Harry walked closer to me but my eyes remained glued on the floor like it was the most interesting thing in my room.
"Look at me," Harry demanded. I gulped but my eyes remained on the floor. I just felt so guilty that he even caught me staring at some guy. I mean, there were other pressing matters we should be worrying about and I was checking out my neighbor.
Ugh. There was nothing I wished more than for the floor to swallow me whole right now.
Harry walked even closer that there was barely an inch between us. And it wasn't like I could go anywhere else, I was already against the wall as it was.
"Look at me," Harry repeated as he placed his hands against the wall on either side of me.
I was breathing so heavily as I stared at the rise and fall of Harry's chest. I could smell a hint of cologne mixed in with his scent. Like it was the first chilly day of fall and you go out your backyard and breathe in that heavenly autumn scent. It was seriously making me a bit dizzy. Harry leaned in even closer, his long hair tickling my collar bone.
I felt his warm cheeks as he lightly snuggled against my nape, and I felt him slowly breathe. As if he was savoring being this close to me.
"I promise I'll make you look at me, Selene," Harry whispered, his raspy voice sending a shiver down my spine. "I'll make you look at me and only me."