Jay's thoughts were gnawing at her insides as she exited her room. She had been thinking for so long she didn't realize the time. Her thoughts had consumed her, one leading to another in her whirlpool of emotions as she fought back the urge to say what she was thinking out loud. This only led to more concerns to build up. And with no one to talk to, she felt like she was drowning in everything. She felt alone.
She reached the kitchen, where she heard Brennan rummaging through the fridge. He was cooking some food on the stove, causing her stomach to grumble with hunger. He looked to her with humor in his eyes. "Someone's hungry."
Jay looked at the food that was being cooked. "But this is actual food. Don't you only drink blood?"
Brennan shook his head while smiling, pulling out some garlic from the fridge. "We can still eat. But we also need to have a healthy balance of blood in our diet."
"Garlic?" Jay eyes the bundle of cloves warily.
He merely chuckled at her skeptical behavior. "You read too much into folklore that isn't real. Garlic is not our weakness." He broke open the cloves and diced them into fine pieces.
Jay sat on a stool that was underneath the kitchen island, watching as he maneuvered around the kitchen. Her thoughts swarmed her once again, distracting her from what was going on in front of her. There was too much to think about as she riffled through her concerns.
"You look like you're thinking hard on something," Brennan said as he stirred something in a pan. It sizzled, and the steam rose in deliciously scented clouds. "Want an ear to listen?"
Jay thought about it. She would have to voice her concerns eventually. And she would rather do that now than later.
"Well," Jay started, thinking on what to say first. "I..."
"Go on," Brennan said as he moved to another pot that was bubbling ferociously.
Jay pursed her lips, realizing what she had to say would sound completely irrelevant to him. "It's nothing."
"Liar," Brennan said, meeting her gaze. He threw a piece of lettuce at her, which landed on her chest. Rolling her eyes, she threw it back at him, to which he caught it in his mouth.
"I just," She started again. "I'm concerned about my schooling." She cringed, hating what she said. "I don't want to become a highschool dropout. I want good grades." She was mumbling low, but she knew he could hear her.
"That's what you're thinking about." She regretted saying anything at all as she looked into Brennan's humorous eyes.
She glared at him. "Forget it. It obviously doesn't matter."
He shook his head, stopping what he was doing to fully look at her. "It does matter. I just didn't think you'd be thinking of your schooling with everything that you're dealing with." She remained silent as Brennan moved around in the kitchen. "We have just under a month until your next semester begins." He turned to her. His eyes showed that he was thinking of what she said. "If you think you're ready to go back by then, I won't stop you. But Jay," He said with a new seriousness reaching his expression. Trills of heated ice rolled around her skin as she looked into his eyes. "You have to hide what you are. If too many people know, then word will travel fast about you. It could put you into far more danger than you even know."
Jay unconsciously nodded her head at his words. She was just happy that he was thinking about that idea. At least she had someone on her side. Her hope was ruined as Kieran entered the room, his face supporting a scowl.
"You honestly think that's a good idea?" His eyes went from Jay and back to Brennan. "There's no way that you're going back to school." Kieran's words caused Jay to growl. Kieran gave her a pointed look. "See. You don't know what control is."
"She'll learn."
"In less than a month?" Kieran shook his head. "There's no way. Absolutely no way. You're not going back."
"That's for her to decide if she's ready." Brennan's jaw tightened as he looked at Kieran. Jay hated the feeling of having things decided for her. She was glad for Brennan's support, but she could also tell he wasn't thrilled about her idea. It was like she had two parental figures in front of her, which made her cringe internally. She found them attractive, in a darker, brooding kind of way. They were mysterious and had a dark past, which added to their personality. She didn't realize she had a type until now.
Looking at the brothers as they bickered, Jay analyzed them, enjoying how their eyes darkened with their words and their muscles clenching with the strain of their emotions coming forward. She especially enjoyed Kieran's way of using sarcasm and dark humor with her. It got under her skin and ticked her off, sure, but it also did other things that made her insides warm and tingly. Jay had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what he was doing to her. He drove her crazy in all the right ways.
With Brennan, he seemed to be able to show his affectionate emotions more clearly than his brother. The day he brought her back to his home, she noticed it right away. He was more gentle but also reserved with his expression of it, almost like he wanted to show her that he could be nice and more than just a blood-sucking vampire.
They both showed her that they cared about her, but in different forms and in such a subtle way that she almost couldn't see it. Maybe they hoped that she couldn't see it, but she could. Through the dark humour, sadistic comments, and controlling nature, she could see that they were fighting for her wellbeing, for her safety. Even now, when the two bickered over her future, she could see that they were only vocalizing their concerns about her security and welfare, even if it was in two different forms of the words.
One wanted her to be happy and live a normal life, while the other wanted her to be safe and protected from the world, but also learn about what she was capable of. She still didn't enjoy how they fought about the decisions she should be able to make on her own, but she sat back and watched them further.
Jay came to the realization that she could possibly be creating chaos by living here. The two of them weren't only fighting for her; they were fighting over her. Kieran's words from the night before crept up as she thought of it more. About their competition of who got the girl. They really were fighting over her, even though she's known them for maybe a week. She would need to put an end to this soon because if she didn't, they might fall apart from one another. She may find them attractive, yes, but she wasn't about to fall for them. Even if she cared for them, caring is not the same as loving.
"How about we talk about it later?" Jay asks, cutting into the conversation. She could see that Kieran and Brennan were not going to back down from each other's throats. Her attention turned to Raegan, who was leaning against the entryway to the kitchen. She was glaring slightly at Jay. Not this again. Jay wondered what she had done now. She thought they had made progress.
Brennan grumbled a few words under his breath. She could see that Kieran heard them as his jaw clenched. His eyes became slightly redder. Jay gave Kieran a pointed look, and he backed down from saying what was on the tip of his tongue. More fuel to the fire, she presumed.
"Eat," Brennan ordered as he placed a plate of food in front of her. She smiled graciously and dug into the food as the others moved to grab some as well.
"You're a good cook," She told Brennan, swallowing her food. "Really good."
He smiled, keeping his head down as he focused on grabbing the food in front of him. The four of them ate in somewhat of a more relaxed silence.
She was helping Brennan with the dishes along with Raegan, who was still not looking happily at Jay. Kieran had left, saying he was going to find another meal to eat. Jay had felt the urge to go with him, but instead, she thought it would be better to clean up the messy kitchen.
Once everything was cleaned and put away, she sat back down on the kitchen stool. Brennan had left Raegan and her alone, saying that they would train in a couple of hours.
Jay felt the need to leave Raegan's presence as she scrutinized her more as time went on. But before she did, Raegan finally spoke to her. "Do you realize what you're doing to them?" Her voice was hushed as she turned on the tap. Running water echoed throughout the kitchen as Jay tried to make sense of what Raegan was implying.
Raegan breathed heavily and sat on a stool beside Jay. "Please tell me you're not that naive." She said bitterly. She then pulled a hand through her straight hair. "You're driving them crazy. Which is making me crazy."
Maybe Jay did know what she was talking about. "I'm not trying to do anything," Jay growled lowly.
"Well, you are doing something, whether you're trying to or not." Her glare was pointed toward the kitchen wall. "I don't want to see them torn apart."
"I have no desire to be won over by either of them. They made up this silly competition on their own. I'm just stuck in the middle."
"They're brothers. They're always competing. But this is something you can control." She gave Jay a pointed look.
She furrowed her eyebrows together while looking at Raegan. "I haven't done anything to insinuate that I want them."
"You also haven't done the opposite either," Raegan shot back. She dragged a hand through her hair again, squeezing her fist tight. "Look, I get we had a rough start." Jay saw Raegan cringe slightly. She was surprised to see this. "A really bad rough start," She mumbles. "I'm just trying to protect my brothers. My family. Can you understand that?"
Jay nodded her head. Of course, she understands. She wouldn't want anyone getting in between her family. Even though I might be the one to do so. She pursed her lips at the thought.
Raegan nodded her head as well and went to turn off the running water. She went to leave the kitchen but paused before doing so. She turned to look back at Jay, her eyes showing her every emotion. Jay smiled reassuringly at her. She understood. Raegan smiled softly back and left Jay alone in the kitchen.
She breathed out heavily through her nose, her hair flying in different directions. She brought her hair into a hair tie and pulled it into a loose bun, keeping it out of her face.
Exiting the kitchen, she wandered around the house until Brennan came to get her to train. She observed the multiple paintings hanging on the walls. Some involved the entire family that Kieran had introduced before, and some held just the three siblings. They wore different clothes than they did now.
She began to wonder about their past, thinking of all the history lessons she had taken. They had experienced a lot if they were born centuries ago. She wondered if they would share some of the stories that they had.
She sensed Kieran walking up behind her. She kept her gaze pointed at the painting as he stopped behind her.
"You seem very interested in these old things." His voice sounded humorous yet slightly off.
Jay shrugged her shoulders while turning around to face him. The corner of his lip had a small smudge of blood. "You have a little..." She pointed her finger toward the side of her mouth where she saw the blood.
He raised his hand to wipe his mouth, but it was on the wrong side.
"No. The other side." She smiled while shaking her head.
"My bad," He smiled as he wiped his mouth.
Jay rolled her eyes. He had missed it again. She brought her thumb to his lip and wiped the spot until it was gone. Jay was aware of the close proximity between the two of them. She felt the heat from his body against hers as she brought her hand down to her side. She was going to take a step away from him, but his hands gently held onto her arms. Physically, she could get out of his loose grasp, but he was holding her there with so much more than just his hands.
She needed to get a grip on her emotions. She was not about to let these boys think that she was interested in them. That would only make situations worse and Raegan would surely hate her more.
"I'm going to have a nap before I train with Brennan." Jay pulled her arms away while taking a step back. Kieran's smug look made her look away down the hallway.
"Have a good nap, Wolfy." Kieran walked away from Jay. As she watched him leave, she could only think that Kieran had purposely missed wiping the speck of blood from his mouth so then she would help him. That sneaky, conniving, dirty vampire.
Jay awoke the next morning flowing with energy. All throughout the day, she was moving constantly. Brennan became annoyed with her so they started their training early, but instead of going into the backyard where Brennan would be burned alive, they trained in the house.
"That's enough for now," Brennan panted as he straddled Jay's waist. His body weighed her down as he pinned her to the floor beneath them.
She blew hair from her face, loose tendrils escaping her ponytail. The more she looked into Brennan's multicoloured eyes of brown and green, the more heated her cheeks felt. The bright light casting against his face perfectly outlined his sculpted features. His defined jaw was hanging slack as he breathed through his mouth, taking in lungfuls of air at a time.
Hours had passed by as they trained today. Jay felt like her progress was slow with the training he was providing her.
Brennan got up and extended a hand towards her to take. She grabbed onto it, conscious of the sweat coating her hands. She wiped her hands on the leggings she wore and looked around at the room they occupied. She was unsure if Brennan could see the red tinging her cheeks, but she could blame it on the exertion they went through tonight.
Brennan grabbed a towel from across the room. "There's someone else coming here today."
Jay turned her head to watch Brennan as he used the towel to wipe his face. "Who?" She asked curiously.
"The friend I talked to you about earlier. She'll be training you alongside me for the next few weeks." Brennan discarded the towel he was holding onto the floor. He sat down on a mat and stared at a wall. "She doesn't know about your situation. I only told her you were a werewolf."
Jay nodded her head. "That's probably for the best." She sat beside Brennan. "As you said before, it's dangerous for people to know about me."
Brennan didn't move a muscle to acknowledge what she said. His eyes were focused on the wall behind her as she stared at him.
"Is your ex as crazy as Kieran's?" She laughed softly as Brennan gave her a distasteful look.
He shook his head. "No." He cracked a smile. "But she is pretty vicious."
"So Kieran only attracts the crazy ones. Gotcha." Jay smiled at Brennan. He chuckled while getting up from his seat. He extended her a hand once again. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she refrained from doing so. It's not like she couldn't get up on her own. She took his hand anyway, and they went back into the main part of the house.
Kieran was sitting in the living room with a glass of alcohol beside him. In his hands, he held a newspaper. His nose scrunched up, and he gave the two of them a disgusted look. "Shower. You two stink."
Jay frowned at the harshness of his tone.
Brennan gave her a mischievous grin as he spoke up. "Together? It would save on water." He winked at her.
Jay's jaw dropped faster than she could blink. She expected these kinds of words from Kieran, but not from Brennan. She didn't know if she could handle two of these types of attitudes.
Brennan laughed hard at the look on Jay's face. Kieran's face turned even more disgusted than it already was.
"Do whatever the hell you want. But make it quick. There's something we need to talk about." Kieran's seriousness made Jay forget about Brennan's words. Brennan looked from Kieran to the newspaper he was holding. His face held no emotion as his jaw clenched. The playfulness left his demeanour as the two of them shared a serious look.
Jay and Brennan exited the living room, making their way up the stairs. She looked over to Brennan, who looked like he was deep in thought. She wanted to ask him questions, but she decided it would be best to ask her questions when they were all three together.
She entered her bathroom and showered away sweat clinging to her body. The water felt refreshing to her senses as she no longer smelt like a pig rolling around in the mud.
After a few minutes of cleaning and getting dressed, the three of them were in the living room once again. Jay was anxious to hear the serious news that Kieran found out. He held the newspaper firmly in his hands as if he thought it would fly away.
Kieran turned the paper towards Jay, showing her a page with her face printed onto it. She read the words carefully. The inky words described her disappearance and how every law officer in the county was searching for her. She held in a groan as she read the paper. Her parents had most likely gone to see how she was doing at her grandpa's farm, but when they saw she wasn't there, they must've done this in hopes of finding her.
Jay wondered what her parents must be thinking. If they would come across her dead body, mangled and crippled from the river that assaulted her. She felt the desire to reach out to them, to tell them that she was alive. Well, for the most part.
"I see that look on your face, Jay," Kieran said harshly, pulling her away from her thoughts. He threw the newspaper onto the couch, shaking his head before speaking again. "Don't go crying to mommy and daddy."
Brennan glared at Kieran. "There's no need to be such a dick." Brennan turned towards Jay with a softer expression. "If you go and see your parents now, they'll ask questions, as well as everyone else you know. You can't have that type of attention on you when you've just barely started your training."
Jay's thoughts were wild within her head. Kieran had shared enough of his position to where Jay was feeling anger towards him. She hated how he always felt the need to be blunt with his words with her. He knew he was an infuriating pain in her ass, and he knew how to push her buttons. She hated him for it. Maybe not hate. But at the moment, he had antagonized her to where she wanted to throw something at his head.
Below Jay's anger, she felt despair rising like bile in her throat. It stung her eyes and constricted her chest. She wanted her parents to know that she was alive and that they did not have to worry about her. She didn't want them to go through any more pain at the thought of losing a child. And she hoped that they did not blame themselves for this incident.
Jay got up from the couch, ignoring the two brothers as they called her name. She walked out into the backyard and stared into the forest around the house. The sun was still in the sky, but it was slowly setting behind the trees. She took a moment to absorb the sun's rays into her skin. She remembered when she dreaded the thought of going into the sun, for fear of being burned alive. She was happy that she still had the opportunity to walk in the daylight.
Jay wondered if the others missed feeling the sun.
"Jay," Brennan said from behind her. She turned to look at the two brothers standing in the doorway.
She watched as Kieran looked out into the backyard. The sun's rays were seeping through the trees, casting a thick, golden glow onto the green grass. Soon, snow would fall and everything would go into hibernation, waiting for the moment where it was safe to start growing again.
"We never said this would be easy," Brennan spoke softly.
Jay turned back around. The sun hit her eyes intensely and they began to water. She was unsure of whether it was because of the sun or her emotions. She softly rubbed the tears away.
Jay wanted to pour her heart out. To speak of her emotions and what she was feeling, but she knew they wouldn't care. They've lived hundreds of years without their parents, so they wouldn't understand her longing.
Hanging her head, she breathed in a long breath. Instantly, her beast stirred within her, coming to the surface as it caught a scent that unsettled its placidity. She drew another lungful of air through her nose as she took a step forward. Something sharp pierced through her stomach. She lurched forward, feeling a metallic taste enter her mouth as she gasped in a breath of air.
She tried to take a step backward, but she tumbled down the stairs and onto the grass below. Staring into the sky above her, she watched a pair of clouds slowly sail across the orange sky.
Jay's vision became blurry as she heard the muffled shouts of people around her. She succumbed to the darkness, and the pain followed her.
*****
Word count: 3769