Annie:
When I was younger, I always thought the rain was God's way of telling me that he was pissed. I mean, I used to cry when I was angry so I thought that he did the same. The night before, it was really raining. I hadn't seen rain like that for a good few years. So what was I thinking when I was lying there, bleeding like there was no tomorrow and willing myself not to close my eyes? I was thinking about the boy whose arms were wrapped around me, telling me not to die. I was wondering why this complete stranger would do that. I must have looked awful, styling the much coveted hobo chic. And yet he didn't stop checking for my pulse. Part of him wanted me to be alive.
I was discharged the next morning. The nurses came to change the dressings and they couldn't believe that they were the same marks. Radleigh snickered and dad told him to leave the room. I just stood while they cleaned the area and put on new dressing, even though there was hardly anything there.
I walked down the corridor, dad and Jase flanking me like bodyguards with Radleigh bringing up the rear. The air was chilly when I stepped out into the car park. The concrete looked like it was frozen over. I resisted the urge to go and have a skid on it. I thought that dad might have wrung my neck if I fell five seconds after being discharged.
Jase's Jeep, as I was told, was parked in the far corner. It was white, complete with a roof rack. White? What was it with white cars? Why would you go and purposely buy a car that was just going to show dirt. It was ridiculous. Boys and their toys; they just never learned.
Radleigh and me sat in the back, with dad and Jase in the front. This was going to be the quietest car journey I'd ever had.
"Did you tell Cal and Flint to change the bedclothes in the spare room?" Dad asked, looking at Radleigh in the mirror. Radleigh nodded, but his face said different.
You forgot, didn't you? I thought. Radleigh bit his bottom lip and suddenly became very interested in his fingernails. I stifled a chuckle and looked out of the window. We were speeding past tall buildings and skips, the greys and browns merging into one big blob of dull colour.
"You'll get to meet Sierra today," Jase told me. "You'll love her."
I nodded. I doubted that highly. In fact, I already had my reservations about her. From what he had said last night, I already had this pre-conceived idea of some tall, blonde bimbette who was missing more than a few plates from her full set. I hoped I was wrong; Jase deserved someone who was better than that. But I suppose, she was his mate and he was obviously blind to all of her faults.
"And the boys," Radleigh threw in helpfully. I grinned at him.
"You'd better have them well warned, Radleigh," dad growled. Again, Radleigh took great interest in his fingernails again.
Did you do anything you were told? I asked him. He subtly shook his head, still looking at his grubby little fingernails. It was like nothing had changed. Well, nothing had changed; we were all just a little bit older and apparently more mature. I hoped that dad was like cheese and was nicer when he was older, otherwise this was going to be short stay.
After an hour, I saw a familiar flash of trees and we turned down a bumpy track. The Jeep navigated really easily down the twisty road. We turned a final corner and the house came into view. It seemed different from what I had seen last night. I hadn't remembered it to be this grand and...huge. It was painted white, with a set of stone steps leading up to the spectacular doors. The house was practically made from windows, which struck me as slightly odd for a household trying to keep their secret. But then it struck me that they were surrounded by thick trees and therefore didn't get many peeping Toms.
When the car stopped, I jumped out, slamming the door of the car. Jase winced but said nothing. Dad lead me up the steps and opened the front door for me. I would have told him that I could open it for myself, but I thought that it was a bit too early in the morning for an argument.
The hall was round and tiled. A sweeping staircase led to the upper storeys. I wanted to whirl around like they did in the movies but I didn't because I didn't feel totally at home yet. The door shut and I jumped. Dad, Jase and Radleigh stood behind me, observing my expression.
"It's nice," I admitted, nodding and looking at the same time. There was the sound of scraping chairs and a load of tall men filed out of a room to the side of the stairs. I looked at them all, trying to figure out which one I had fallen on top of last night. It was almost like trying to pick them out of a police line up. I felt my face flushing at the very thought.
"Did you two change the bed?" Dad shot at the two furthest away, who were trying to have a conversation behind their hands. I giggled. They looked like two naughty school boys who had just been caught passing notes.
"Change the bed; what the fuck do I look like, a maid?" The one with blonde hair asked. He was tall and broad, with a shock of yellow hair that looked like he had been plugged into the mains.
"Flint," dad snarled. I scowled, angry with him for being such a bastard.
"We'll go and do it now," the other one sighed. He walked towards the stairs. He had light brown hair and stormy grey eyes. He glanced at me and I felt my heart trying to escape from my chest. I watched in slight awe as he climbed the stairs, his friend, Flint, following him.
She's a girl; she can change her own bloody bed, Flint thought. I nearly snorted out loud before remembering that I was listening to his thoughts.
You're such a knob, Flint, the other one thought back.
There was an empty silence, with none of us knowing what we should say to each other. Personally, I wanted to go to my room and sleep.
"I'm Macca." I looked to see who had spoken. He was older than the others, maybe the same age as Jase, give or take a few years. His head was shaved, but I could tell that he used to be blonde. He had the same grey eyes that...Cal, I think his name was, had, which made me presume that they were in some way related. I smiled at him as warmly as I could. There was no point in being anything less than civil.
"Ade," the ginger one said. He had round cheeks and brown eyes. He was wearing a green polo-shirt. He looked at bit like a leprechaun which made me like him more than any of the others so far. "And this is Eli."
I turned to the last boy. He had black hair and the bushiest eyebrows I had ever seen. They were like dirty great caterpillars stuck to his forehead. He was really, really skinny and I could see all of the bones sticking out of his wrists and elbows.
"The two charmers upstairs are Flint and Caleb," Macca said unnecessarily. I grinned at him and turned back to my brothers.
"Where am I sleeping?" I asked. "I wouldn't be so rude but..." I faked a yawn to emphasise how sleepy I was.
"Jase, show your sister where she's sleeping," dad sniped, beginning to walk away. "I've got work to do. Only disturb me if it's life or death."
And that was that. That was my welcome to the clan. I let out an exasperated sigh. I had remembered why I hated him so much. And was it any wonder? Really? I was just glad that he had left now because I would have had a vent, whether it was voiced or thought, he would have known about it.
Cal:
Flint was still moaning about changing Annie's bedding. I didn't really care; it didn't really detract much from my day.
"I'm a werewolf," Flint ranted. "I'm a pure-blooded werewolf and he's got me putting a bed together for his daughter, who I'm not allowed near in case I corrupt her."
I laughed and continued to put the sheets on.
"It's fucking madness, Cal, madness!"
"Well, is it any wonder you're not allowed near her?" I asked reasonably. "It's not like you're known for your long meaningful relationships."
Flint was determined not to lose this debate.
"I would if she was my mate," he protested, throwing down the duvet in a fit of inspiration. "But how am I meant to be able to find out if he won't let me go after her?"
I wasn't prepared to get into a conversation about mates. I wasn't even going to go there because every time I thought about finding one, my wolf snarled and snapped. Soon, it would be too hard to control and I would go crazy. Well, perhaps that was a bit over dramatic but that was what happened to Macca. Before he had met Georgina, he had been running up the walls. He would go out in the morning as a wolf and not come back for days. When he did finally return, his paws and muzzle were bloody from too much running and fighting. I didn't want that to happen to me but I equally didn't want to have a mate.
It was a choice I was going to have to make.
We put the rest of the sheets on and Flint left, leaving me to make the bed. I could have left it but I wasn't too sure how Daddy's Little Princess got on with her dad and if she would go squealing if I didn't do it right.
"You didn't have to do that," a voice from behind me said. I looked around and saw Annie standing in the doorway, her arms folder across her chest.
"It's fine," I replied. She moved into the room and sat down on the desk chair.
"How're you feeling?" I asked her, putting the pillows at the top of the bed. "I didn't think you'd be looking so...well, to be honest."
"I'm fine." She shrugged. "There won't even be any scars."
"That's good."
I finished her bed and looked at her. She definitely looked better; a pale pink flush had returned to her cheeks and she was no longer wearing her bloody parka. I smiled.
"What?" she said, running her fingers through her hair. She looked up at me, her eyes shining under the artificial light.
"None of knew Gordon even had a daughter," I told her, taking a seat on the bed. "We just thought that it was Jase and Radleigh."
Annie let out a bitter laugh.
"Yeah, he'd probably prefer that," she muttered venomously. "I'm just disappointment of the family."
I didn't know what to say to that so I just kept quiet. I seemed like Annie didn't really get on with her family. That was something we had in common; before he had died, I had told my dad that I hoped he rotted in hell. And my mum was somewhere in Australia spending his legacy.
"It was you, wasn't it," Annie whispered. I looked up and she was staring into my eyes. It was very off-putting. "You were the one who helped me."
"Erm...yeah, that was me," I said. She gave me a small smile.
"Thank you," she murmured. "I owe you."
"No, really it's fine; I wasn't going to let you bleed to death in the driveway."
Annie laughed and then yawned, rubbing her eyes. She stared at the bed longingly and I decided that it was best that I leave her to sleep. I stood up and she did the same.
"I'll leave you to get some rest," I said, walking to the door.
"Thanks, Cal," she yawned. My heart leapt when she said my name because I hadn't been expecting it. I watched as she flopped down on the bed without taking off her shoes. I shut the door behind me and stepped out into the hall.
It was only at that point did I realise how how it had gotten in that room.
Annie:
The bed was so comfy. I kicked off my boots and crawled underneath the blankets, falling into a deep sleep.
I dreamt that I was back in the woods, blindly running through the dark trees. They were after me. They were going to kill me. I had had my warning and I had ignored it yet again. I turned a corner and came face to face with a pair of bright red eyes. I screamed as Dante stepped out of the blackness, standing tall in his wolf form. He bared his teeth and snarled at me, specks of saliva spraying over me.
You're going to die, Annie Knight, he hissed, taking a step in my direction. I turned and ran, glancing over my shoulder every so often to see where he was. If I could only get out of the woods, if I could only get into the safety of a crowd.
I ran into something hard. At first I thought it was a tree but when I looked up, I saw a pair of grey eyes.
Cal pushed me aside and sprinted towards Dante, who was no getting closer. I whipped around just in time to see the Cal I knew, explode into a huge wolf. He growled and pounced, leaping on top of Dante.
I screamed.
My eyes snapped open and I sat bolt upright in the bed. I was dripping with sweat and my hair was sticking to my forehead. I was panting, my heart racing. The dream had felt so real. It was as if I had been living it, rather than imagining it. I looked at the alarm clock that was on the bedside cabinet. It had just gone nine and I suddenly realised that the room was dark. I had been asleep for more than eleven hours. I couldn't remember ever sleeping that long.
I stood up, brushing my hair from my face. My stomach rumbled hungrily.I looked at myself in the mirror hanging over the desk. My face was pasty, and my hair was sticking up in odd directions. I groaned; why couldn't I just wake up once, looking reasonably good?
I sighed and smoothed the hair down. I couldn't even do anything with my face on account of the fact that I didn't know where my rucksack was.
I opened my bedroom door and peered down the hallway. It was pretty much quiet. The whole house seemed pretty quiet. I supposed that they were all out catching rabbits or whatever they did in their spare time.
I tiptoed down the staircase, an old habit from my childhood creeping back to haunt me. The black and white tiles felt cold under my bare feet. I was guessing that the kitchen was where all of the boys had come out of when I had first arrived. The door handle was a latch that you had to press down with your thumb. It made a loud clanking noise as I pushed it open.
The kitchen was warm. It had a wooden floor and yellow walls. There was a wood burning stove in the corner, next to a long table. A red squashy leather sofa had been crammed in behind it. There were a lot of cupboards, all of them decorated with an intricate design.
I began to have a look in them all for something to eat. I felt a bit strange looking in cupboards that didn't belong to me but I pushed the feeling to the back of my mind. It was only when I heard the latch going again, did I pull my searching arms back and stand guiltily, pretending to look out of the window.
I turned and saw Flint. He gave me a grin and walked over to where I was standing.
I hated the way he leered at me. I could hear every little thought racing through his head. I hated the fact that he thought he could have me whenever and wherever he wanted. I glared at him, my eyebrow quirked.
"Get lonely in that big bed of yours?" He winked.
"Nope," I replied, picking a rag nail.
"Well, let me know if you ever do." I noticed that he wasn't looking at my face but at my chest. I rolled my eyes and sighed, pulling up my top as I did so. Flint burned red and quickly looked the other direction.
This was embarrassing, not for me but for him.
"Where's Cal?" I asked. Flint scowled.
"What do you want him for?" he demanded.
"Just starting up friendly conversation," I replied lightly. "Is there any food in this place?"
Flint bent down the cupboard nearest him and threw me out a packet of crisps. Well, it was better than nothing, I suppose. He took at beer out of the fridge.
"You want one?" he asked. I shook my head. If he thought that I was going to sit with him while he got drunk, he had another thing coming.
"You never answered my question," I said, sitting down at the table. Flint sat down across from me, taking swig from his beer. "Where's Cal?"
"Out with the others; it's getting near that time of the month, you know?"
Did I know? I'd grown up in a house of werewolves for twelve years. I knew exactly what the time of the month was. It was that wonderful period over the full moon when the dogs were let out and they all lost control. Well, they were sort of in control; just not very.
"And why are you here?" I asked, raising my eyebrows again and taking a bit out of the crisp I was holding.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay."
And there was a lie in itself. He thought that he would sniff out the talent without anyone disturbing him. Yeah, well, the talent wasn't impressed and she was going to let him know.
"And why wouldn't I be okay?" I asked silkily. He looked up from his beer and leered yet again.
"Well, you were pretty mashed up yesterday." He shrugged. I got to my feet. I was getting bored at this screwed up attempt at flirting. It was actually kind of painful. He got up as well and dodged round the table.
"Where're you going?" he asked, sounding really quite desperate. I didn't answer so he grabbed my arm. I spun around, incensed.
"Get the fuck off of me," I snarled. He didn't let go; he just looked at me with his big brown eyes.
And then he kissed me.
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Dum-Dum-Dum.
How's Annie going to react to that one?
Sorry it's a bit boring; I promise it'll get better! I'm just trying to set the mood and all that jazz.
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