'Not yet,' was the only response.
Zach knew he must look like a complete idiot. Good thing all conversation was in his head. People would think he was insane if he talked aloud to someone or something that no one else could see or hear.
"So, how's it going so far?" Zach broke the silence that was between him and Emily.
Emily shrugged. "Everyones been nice so far. Alex and Madison have helped me out a lot today." Her eyes searched for them at the lunch line.
"Yeah, it looks like you guys are getting along pretty good," Zach mumbled as the rest of the crew came back to the table.
"Food's here," Madison announced as she plopped herself down at the table.
"Zach, did you keep Emily company?" Alex questioned him but focused on Emily for confirmation.
"Um, we talked," Emily murmured, glancing from Alex to Zach
"Everyone, grab your pizza from my tray. And Danny, where'd you put the drinks?" Madison smacked Danny on the back of his head to get his attention.
"Oww! That freakin' hurt. They're over on the next table." He pointed to where the drinks were.
"Let's eat," Madison grabbed a slice of pizza and stuffed it in her mouth.
***
Emily sat and listened to everyone talk. It was a relaxing time in the day. They were all eating their pizza and drinking the juice they'd brought back from the lunch line. She cautiously peeked over at Zach, who appeared to be more at ease with all his friends around.
I don't think he likes me much. He seems so tense when I'm around.
She looked at Madison and Danny, bickering back and forth about something she had no clue about.
"Zach...Zach...Zachary, are you still in there?"
Alex reached over and smacked him across the arm to let him know that Madison spoke to him.
"What?" He sounded irritated.
"We were wondering," Madison pointed to herself and Alex, "why you weren't eating. We all know you eat like a freakin' horse." Madison smugly questioned him while grabbing a napkin to wipe her mouth.
Zach gave them a snarl that had the definition of 'looks that kill' written under it.
"Dang. Sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Crab-ass on the first day of school. You better not act like this the rest of the year." Madison threw Zach a dirty look to match the one he'd been giving her.
"Anyway, we were wondering if you were going to the game next Friday." Alex intervened, trying to smooth out the tension.
"Don't I always." Zach once again sounded irritated with the questions.
Madison turned toward Emily. "Zach's brother, the school's man-whore, is the big, bad football captain. So, we all go and show our school spirit." She sounded a little cynical and was waving her hand in the air like she had a pom-pom.
"Madison, you don't have to sound so non-supportive." Alex scolded Madison, then turned her attention toward Emily. "We usually all go and cheer the team on, including Jacob." She emphasized Jacob's name and glanced over at Madison, who rolled her eyes.
Stunned by Alex's comment, Madison gasped and placed her hands on her face like she was shocked. "We have a whole team. I thought Jacob was the team," she sarcastically muttered under her breath. "According to his personal close friend 'ego,' he is the team." Madison was now doing her football stance and flexing her arm muscles. "He passes, he runs down the field to catch his pass, and goes in for a touchdown," Madison yelled and threw her arms up. "He is Jacob Lovell, the West Lakes football team." She finally ended her rant and sat back down.
Emily tried to control the smile wanting to poke out. She didn't want Zach to think she was laughing at his brother. But the way Madison was portraying Jacob was hysterical. Emily glanced over at Zach, and his face was blank, as in no emotion. Either he didn't see the charade Madison did of his brother, or he was in deep thought.
Danny's voice brought Emily back to the present and not solely focused on Zach. "Madison, don't you sound a little mean today. The way you always talk trash about Jacob, it's like you're crushing on him or something." Danny winked at Madison after that comment.
Madison about choked on the juice she was drinking. "Danny, you better go have your mouth blessed or sprayed with holy water or something like that. You have all that evil shit coming out of it." Madison placed her hand over her heart like she was pledging. "I will never be a Jacob Lovell hoe-bag slut, one-night tramp, I-got-to-do-the-bad-boy fuck."
The whole table sat with their mouths opened wide after her little outburst, then busted out laughing. Yep, even Zach.
"You're going, aren't you, Emily?" Alex peeked around Danny so she could see Emily better.
"Um, I guess so." Emily hadn't put any thought into going. Maybe this would be the best way to get to know everyone better.
"Good." Alex appeared happy with Emily's answer. "You live over past Gibsonia Road, right?"
Emily nodded she did. Well, she thought she lived over by that road. She hadn't gotten the chance to memorize all the street names yet since she and Aunt Maureen hadn't been there that long.
Alex looked away from Emily and over toward Zach. "Madison and I will pick Danny up. Maybe you can swing over to Emily's house and bring her to the game since you only live right through the woods from her." Alex sounded happy with herself figuring out what to do with the ride situation.
Zach looked like someone just punched him. His face was all flustered as he glared at Alex. "Yeah, whatever." His tone reeked with annoyance. He stood and moved away from the table.
Before anyone else could say anything, the lunch bell rang.
Alex grabbed Emily's arm. "Hey, we'll all talk tomorrow about the game night," she said as they all gathered their trash to dump and went out to the main hall.
Emily walked toward the nearest set of stairs to get to the classrooms.
"Em, you're going the wrong way. We have the same class next period. C'mon, let's go before we get in trouble," Alex yelled at her as the group walked a little faster down the hall.
Emily turned and followed.
***
Zach watched as Alex grabbed hold of Emily's hand to show her where their next class was located. He didn't understand what the hell his problem was at lunch today.
'You don't know how to act around our mate yet. Let me deal with this,' his inner beast rudely commented.
'Oh, so you think you can handle this, Mr. Been Around the Block a Few Times?' Zach subconsciously asked his wolf, who was getting on his nerves today. 'Okay, I'm done talking to you. I have class, and people are starting to look at me strangely.' Zach enlightened his wolf as he tried to shut him out. The wolf let out a deep sigh and went back to being silent.
The rest of Zach's classes flew by. Once again, Emily wasn't in any of them. After last class, he bolted so he could catch up with Danny at the lockers.
"Zach. Zach." It was Paige. "Hey, how was your first day?" she asked, finally catching up to him. She was doing that irritating twisting hair around their fingers thing that girls always did.
"Not bad," Zach quickly answered her while looking around for Danny.
Paige eye-balled him like he was supposed to say something else. "Oh, good." It was like she didn't know what else to say or had no reason to talk to him. "Um, would you like to--"
She was interrupted by Danny yelling down the hall. "Hey, are you gonna stay overnight here, or are we going home?"
"I gotta get going." Zach gave her a fake smile.
"Maybe we can talk tomorrow," Paige mumbled as Zach walked away.
Zach was finally able to erase his fake smile. He was happy Danny showed up when he did. Paige was one girl who he had no interest in what-so-ever. It was like he needed to place a sign on his forehead that had illuminated lights flashing, 'Not interested.' Okay, maybe that didn't apply to everyone. It had been a difficult first day, and he knew it would get even more complicated whenever he got to talk to Adam.
"Let's go, bro'." Danny put his arm around Zach's neck and pushed him forward. They were walking d
own to the parking lot to meet Madison and Alex when an Escalade went past them. "Isn't that the new girl, Emily?" Danny questioned as he raised his hand in a quick wave.
Zach already knew who it was without even seeing her face. His stomach was tense, his heart was racing, and he felt his temperature rise too. He tried to avoid the situation with a simple, “Yep.” He watched Emily go past in the SUV. As soon as the vehicle got out of sight, the feeling subsided. Zach still had no clue why he was reacting to this girl. He hoped Adam had some answers.
Chapter Nine
Zach dropped Danny off at his house, which was like five minutes from his own. Now he had the task of pulling up their never-ending driveway. His father wanted a piece of property that was way off the beaten path. So, he bought a house with a mile-long driveway that weaved in and out through the trees. The house sat on one hundred and fifty acres of woodland. So yep, you could say they were pretty secluded from the world.
As Zach got to the driveway's end portion, he noticed Adam showed up on time. He wasn't outside, so he must have already let himself into the house. The front door was unlocked, so he must have gone through this way instead of the garage. Although technically Adam still lived at home, he didn't sleep or hang out there much. He was usually with the rest of their pack, the ones around his age. But he had full access to the house whenever he wanted.
"Anybody here?" Zach yelled into the empty hallway when he walked in. There was no answer, so the next best place to check would be the kitchen. He went down the hallway, heading toward the kitchen, passing the dining room, den, office, and library with no sign of his brother in any of those rooms. He got to the kitchen but found it empty also. Maybe he was in the backyard by the pool and flower garden.
Zach looked out the window overseeing the backyard, and yep, there he was, just as he'd thought. As usual, he was seated on the recliner by the pool, staring off into neverland.
"Hey, what's up?" Zach said as he got closer to where Adam was sitting.
"Not much. Same old stuff as always." Adam glanced over at Zach as he stepped up to the deck surrounding the pool. He'd changed from the last time Zach had seen him, which was over a month ago. He was edgier and angrier, but that stemmed from losing his mate. "And the reason I had to come over was?" Adam's tone was filled with bitterness.
Zach wasn't sure how to approach or what to ask him about this whole Emily situation. So, he decided to take the easy route. "Have you heard from Dad lately?"
Adam sat up from his reclined position and looked over at Zach before standing up. "Two days ago. Why?" He fiddled around with his car keys like he was getting ready to go somewhere.
"I haven't heard from him in a while. Marshall is going to our school now and said his dad and brother were back also. What's going on?" Zach felt he was like out of the whole loop as far as what the pack was doing.
Adam shrugged. "Dad said they might have a lead on the offspring. Guess they're looking to get everyone together so we can take them all down once and for all." Adam's expression showed one of genuine anger, as it should. It was this particular family of vampires that killed both his mate and their mother.
"So, everyone will be coming back then." Zach kept questioning Adam about the scouting issue going on.
"Zach, what's the real reason you called me over here?" Adam sounded irritated with Zach's nonsense questions.
Zach rubbed his face and tried to think of where to begin. "When you met Rose, how did you know she was your mate?" Although it had been four years since Rose and his mother were killed, he still hated bringing up their names, especially with Adam.
Adam's facial expression softened at the mention of Rose's name. "Well, first, your wolf will let you know she's the one. The human side of you will try to deny it and probably fight it, but he will always know his mate when she's around. Why? Did something happen?" Adam glanced over at Zach, waiting for him to answer.
Zach let out a deep sigh. "There’s this new girl at school today, Emily. My wolf somehow got into his head she's our mate, but she showed no signs. How did Rose act?"
Adam got a pained expression with the mention of his time with Rose. "Well," he started, "we were a little older than you, and I had gone through the whole initiation the right way to invoke my powers and bring forth the wolf." Adam looked at Zach accusingly like he knew he did something wrong.
Like I haven't been punished enough since that night, Zach remembered the day like it was yesterday. Adam's eighteenth birthday was the day of initiation for his wolf powers to be brought forth. The elders of the group held a ceremony, as they did for every pack member of age, to ignite the wolf's powers within the man.
No one else besides the initiate and the elders was allowed to attend the ceremony, but Jacob, Danny, and Zach watched from afar as the induction ceremony unfolded around the bonfire that late summer night four years ago. Zach and Danny were fourteen, and Jacob was only thirteen when their life-changing experience happened too soon.
Even though they knew they were forbidden, the boys followed the elders and the two inductees going through the ceremony that night to the selected secluded site. The bonfire had been lit, and the vases that held the fallen elders' sacred ashes were placed in the circle.
Adam and the other boy were seated in the center by the fire with the alpha, who began reciting the mantras bringing forth the beast from within.
As they stayed hidden behind a brush pile, each of the boys began to recite the words spoken by the alpha; they didn't know they were calling forth the wolf inside of them. As the last word was spoken and recited, each boy felt a stirring inside they had never felt before, like something wanted to get out of their body.
The pains began, and a scream escaped each of their mouths. Zach remembered Jacob withering on the ground when the elders had found them. Their father gave a command, and an elder took hold of each boy to bring forth into the circle. Although it was not of their time yet, the reciting of the alpha's mantras invoked the wolf inside of them.
Zach, Danny, and Jacob had to complete the ceremony along with Adam and the other boy of age. A paste made from ashes of the fallen was spread across the foreheads and down the sides of their face to signify they were now true man/wolf warriors. From that time on, their wolf would guide them and be a part of their everyday existence.
"Well," Adam began speaking again, "as soon as I first saw Rose, my wolf knew it was her. She brought out emotions I never knew I had. I wanted to laugh with her, cry when she cried, and most importantly, I wanted to protect her from everything that would ever try to hurt her." Adam rubbed his hands over his face and let out a deep sigh like this was hard for him to relive. "Trust your wolf. They'll never steer you wrong."
"But this girl doesn't show any of the attachment signs that are supposed to come with us being mates." Zach knew Adam probably wouldn't have the answers, but it felt good to get this off his mind and talk to somebody about it. "I saw how Mom was with Dad, how Rose was with you, and how Alex is starting to become with Danny. You know, the constant need to be by your mate. Even though the wolf says it's her, I don't see how it could be. It was like she wanted to get away from me today instead of getting closer."
Adam shrugged once again like he was puzzled by the notion. "I don't know what to tell you. Maybe she was nervous about it being the first day at a new school. Maybe she was fighting the feeling inside of her that drew her to you. It could be she knows nothing about our world," Adam motioned between him and Zach, "like who and what we are. I would just go with the wolf instinct and talk to Dad when he gets back." Adam walked off the deck and over to the side gate leading out to the driveway. "I gotta get back and see what's happening with the rest of the pack. Where's Jacob?"
"Football." Zach stared off into the deep blue water of the pool. He thought Jacob had football practice today but wasn't sure. Either way, he'd be home later that night after he got his fill of whatever or whoever was of his taking for the moment.
"See ya," Adam s
aid as the gate door slammed shut.
Zach barely waved his hand in response. He was in deep thought about his mother and Rose after his and Adam's discussion.
It had been four years since their mother and Rose lost their lives. Their dad had been out with the pack elders discussing whatever it was they talked about at their gatherings. Adam had accompanied him, but Jacob, Danny, and Zach weren't allowed since they weren't considered adults.
Even though they were as strong as the other pack members, most were still angered by how the three had disobeyed and went against pack customs that had been in place since the beginning of time.
The three had decided to shift and run along the borders surrounding West Lakes. They knew not too many people would be able to climb that far up in the mountain range, so it was a good place for them to shift and run until they were tired, not like tiring a wolf was easy. In fact, it was nearly impossible.
They’d left their mother and Rose home alone with a promise to be back within two hours. After they'd done all their running and play fighting, they started back toward the house. They sensed something wrong within ten miles of being near the property. All three boys took off running faster, still in wolf form, than they had ever done before.
The scene at home, once they'd arrived, was one of horror. The two women, who'd been outside at the time of the attack, were drained of their blood, and the corpses had been shredded. Their mother and Rose were unrecognizable as they had long gashes, which look like they'd been made with a steak knife, all along their bodies.
Adam, who was in wolf form, was bent over the body of Rose. He growled at anyone who came near him. Their dad was standing erect, in human form, over their mother's body. He had a look of despair over the loss of his mate, but also a look Zach knew. He was calculating and plotting an act of revenge.
Jacob ran to his mother's side and nudged her with his muzzle. He was whimpering and trying everything he could do to get any type of response. The whimpers turned into howls, and seconds later, Jacob was gone. Danny followed to make sure he didn't get himself caught in some type of predicament.
Revelations (Separate Worlds Book 1) Page 4