by CY Jones
“You stupid, stupid girl. Your little prank cost me a couple of good wolves. I was training the twins father to be my Beta, and his sons would have made good soldiers once they got older. I swear if you didn’t have that boy in your arms I would have dropped you back into the lake,” he growls, and I shrink back into my covers at his hateful words. I’ve never seen my father this angry at me before.
“She’s just a child,” mum shouts, jumping up from her seat ready to defend me at all cost.
“You shut up. You’re just as useless as she is,” he shouts back before stomping out the room, slamming the door behind him.
“What is father talking about?” I ask in a small voice.
“The twins father has asked to be transferred to another pack, and your father couldn’t deny his request since you’re the reason why they almost died,” she answers bluntly.
“I didn’t know the ice would break,” I whine, feeling awful about what I done for once in my life.
“I know, and you were brave to go out there to save Logan. One day you will be an Alpha yourself. You will have wolves to run, and you will have to make very important decisions for all those you look after. The kind of decisions you make will define the kind of leader you are. I want you to be better than your father, better than me.”
I wish I could say I turned my life around after the twins left, but I didn’t. If anything I got a whole lot worse, proving to my father that I am just as useless as he thinks I am.
13
Aspen
I wake with tears in my eyes. That was the last time I saw the twins before coming here. I never got to apologize to them about the part I played in them almost dying. Out of all the mean things I’ve ever done in my life, that was the only thing I regretted. It’s not quite time to get up yet, and I know I won’t be able to go back to bed, so I pull my diary from behind my dresser and write.
Dear Diary
Is it possible to go back in time? I still get nightmares about the day I almost killed the twins. It doesn’t matter that it was an accident and I never meant for the ice to break, or that I risked my own life to save Logan. All anyone saw is that I’m the reason why Ethan was put in danger in the first place, because of another one of my stupid, careless games. If I could go back in time, I would have never dared him to do it. I wish I was able to tell them I’m sorry. After they left, I lost a piece of myself. A piece of my soul that was good enough to try to save both of them. When they left, they took that goodness with them, and it spoiled over the years, tainting them, turning them into the monsters they are today. I deserve their hate. I wish fate didn’t have such a sick, twisted sense of humor by making the two men I love more than anything my soul bound mates. Two men that will never love me back.
Placing my diary back into its hiding spot, I get ready for school, showering both Mekka and the twins’s scent off me. As much as I didn’t want to, I know it’ll cause more problems, and I already have enough of those. Glancing at the mirror I’m glad my shifter healing has healed the hickies on my neck, and the bruise on my arm. Ready to face the music I dress quickly and go downstairs to the dining room. Mum is already there drinking coffee.
“You’re up early, figlia,” she says as I sit down.
Scooping some fruit and bacon on my plate I answer, “I didn’t sleep well.”
“I find that hard to believe with how late you have been coming in.”
Ignoring her spot-on observation, I dig into my food. I’m surprised she even cares if I come home. With me out of her hair, she can keep pretending marrying Tyler is a good idea. “I’m surprised you noticed. I thought you will be busy with planning your mating ceremony,” I finally say.
“Aspen,” she huffs. “Stop acting like this is the end of the world. Tyler will make a wonderful father for you.”
“Stepfather,” I murmur.
“Fine, stepfather,” she huffs, rolling her eyes.
“I’ll never understand why you continue to hold that stronzo of a father of yours on such a high pedestal. He’s never gave a shit about either one of us,” she yells with so much pain in her blue eyes.
“Are we interrupting?” The twins says from the doorway, and immediately mum wipes the look from her face and straightens in her chair.
“Not at all, Aspen and I was just having a friendly chat since I missed her at dinner last night,” she answers smoothly.
“And now it’s over,” I say, getting up from my chair.
“Why don’t you guys ride with Aspen on the way to school? It’ll be a waste to take more than one vehicle,” mum suggests, and I look at her like I want to choke her. The guys were right. Our parents will be pushing us together every chance they get.
“I can take the twins to school,” Kassie, volunteers excitedly coming out of nowhere.
“See? All settled. The twins can ride with Kassie. I need to make a stop before class anyways.”
Before mum can volunteer me for anything else, I make a break for it. I really did need to make a stop. I want to hit Starbucks before class. I’m starting to turn into a coffee addict. Maybe I’m feeding one addiction instead of another.
For the rest of the week, I end up avoiding any more incidents with the twins. For whatever reason they both seem to have ceased fire. It also helps I’ve been avoiding them for the most part. At lunch, instead of trying to make it to the back door, after we get our food April and I leave through the same door we come in, and eat out in the courtyard next to the library. I’ve gotten super close to April, and it’s safe to say she’s my best friend. I even broke down and told her why the twins hated me so much. I thought after telling her the truth, she wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore, but I was wrong. If anything, it made us closer. Now she makes it her mission to remind me I’m not the same person I was once before. I also told her about Lanely, and she seems really excited to meet her. We plan on meeting up with her Saturday at the house party after mums and Alpha’s mating ceremony. April agreed to come to the ceremony for moral support. I wish I can invite Lanely, but a human on shifter lands is not a good idea.
My relationship with Mekka has also grown stronger. I’m not embarrassed to admit he has made it as an entry in my diary more than once. Every evening I meet him over at our spot at the lake where we talk and make out all night. We still haven’t done the deed yet, since Mekka insists he wants it to be special, and he wants to wait until when we don’t have to hide our relationship. I know it’s gnawing on him keeping something this big from the twins, and it’s starting to strain their friendship, but talking to the twins right now is not an option. They both have been so unstable lately, snapping at every little thing anyone does. Keeping our relationship a secret is the best thing for all of us right now. They may have stopped tormenting me for now, but I know their hate for me is far from over. If anything, the silence worries me even more because it means they have time to sit and plot something dreadful. Whatever the reason, I’ve been avoiding them like the plague. Every morning I make sure to wake early and leave out my balcony, so they have been stuck riding with Kassie, and when I am home I’m locked away in my room. Every dinner I eat at my Grand’s house which is nice, because I get to know them better, and they tell me all sorts of stories about mum growing up. Despite the rocky start, I’m actually glad we moved here. I now know what it feels like to be surrounded by love ones, and have true friends for once in my life. Things I thought I’ll never have.
“Hey, you’re Aspen right?” A cute boy says walking over to me at my locker.
“Yes,” I answer slowly.
“I’m Karter Bloodjoy. I heard you’re going to my boy’s house party this weekend, and wanted to know if you want to be my date?”
Inconspicuously I sniff Karter. His scent is sweet, like pastries, which tells me he’s a vampire. He’s also super cute with brown hair, and bright hazel eyes. His offer may be sincere, but I have Mekka, and I don’t think he’ll appreciate me going out with other guys, even if our relationship i
s a secret.
“I’m actually going to that party with a couple of friends,” I finally answer.
“That’s cool. I’ll see you there then, and maybe you’ll save me a dance,” he says hopefully.
“Yeah, sure,” I answer, taking my bag out for gym.
I’m running late, and when I get to the locker room I have to change so quick that I forget to put my lock on my locker. When I make it outside with the rest of the class, I'm damn near breathless from rushing. Track and field has been the theme for the whole week, and today we’re working on the hurdles and hundred yard sprints. As usual Kassie is acting like she’s too good to participate, and is up in the stands with her friends gossiping about who knows what. I don’t know if her father being Alpha will get her out of flunking gym, but I for one, am not taking that chance. Besides, I like gym. My wolf craves exercise from all the stored up energy I have from my extra abilities.
When the bell goes off signaling the end of the day, I’m the last to leave the track. I always make sure I spend extra time outside so I can take a Kassie free shower. I don’t think I can stop myself from choking her a second time if we get into another altercation. As I hoped, no one is in the locker room and I shower quickly. When I leave here I want to stop by the mall and see Lanely. She has been so busy with her classes that she’s only been able to send me a quick text here and there.
Exiting the shower in a cloud of steam I realize that I was in such a rush I left my towel in my locker. Not minding my nakedness since no one is around, I walk over to my locker and freeze. I know when I put my clothes in there I closed it, but now it’s wide open, and my clothes and towel are nowhere in sight. The only thing in there is my bag with my books and car keys. Fucking Kassie. Immature pranks like this is right up her alley, or maybe this is another one of the twins grand schemes. I’m sure it wasn’t that hard to convince Kassie to be an accomplice. I should have known the peace was nothing but a big setup to get me to lower my defenses. What am I going to do? I can’t go out naked. School may be out, but I’m sure there's after school activities going on. I can shift, but a giant wolf walking around won’t be any better, and I can’t drive that way, nor is it safe for me to run home in my wolf form.
“Fuck,” I mutter. Why does that bitch keep putting me in this position?
Putting my bag down on the bench, I have no choice but to shift. Once I’m in my wolf form, I take my bag in my mouth and trot outside. Kassie better not be out here, because it will take a miracle for me not to rip her throat out, and my wolf growls in agreement.
14
Ethan
“Kassie’s fucking late. Tell me why we keep riding with her again?” I ask my brother while I pace behind Kassie’s car.
“Aspen’s mom keeps hoping Aspen will show up to breakfast to take us to school,” he answers.
“Well that’s not going to happen. She’s been avoiding us the whole week,” I mutter. I don’t know why I’m so agitated, I mean isn’t this what we wanted?
Hell, if I didn’t know better I would say she doesn’t even live there. Every morning she’s gone before we wake, when we see her in class she’s always so absorbed in her drawings in her notebook that she doesn’t even notice us, she doesn’t show up for lunch anymore, and every dinner she eats at her grandparents' house, and doesn’t come back until late into the night. I don’t want to admit it, but I actually miss seeing her, and our interactions, even if most of them were bad. I also hate to admit I miss her lips on mine, and haven’t forgotten how her lush body felt in my arms. I can tell the distance is also getting to my brother, even though just like me, he won't admit it. Not to mention Kassie is driving us both bat shit crazy. With Aspen not around, she makes it her mission to bother us at every turn, even though she’s been told more than once by Aspen’s mom to back off and give us space. Unlike everyone else, Aspen’s mom isn’t afraid to tell her where to stick it. It makes me ashamed that I judged her so harshly. She’s always been nice to me and my brother, and will make a great Alpha mate for Tyler.
“There she is,” Logan says, breaking through my inner rants.
Strolling up to us like she doesn’t have a care in the world is Kassie and her harpy friends Ashley and Tiffany. I swear together they all have only have one brain.
“What the hell took you so long?” I ask as soon as she gets to the car.
“Did you miss me Ethan?” She coos instead of answering.
“No, I don’t like having to have to wait on you,” I answer, and her face falls.
“I had a little payback to conduct,” she says giggling one of her annoying laughs, and her friends giggle right along with her.
“What are you talking about?” Logan asks frowning.
“Since you two been slacking on your job of making Aspen’s life hell, I took it upon myself to take over.”
“What the fuck did you do?” I growl.
“Why do you care? You don’t even like the bitch.”
Before Aspen got here I may have let a comment like that slide, because my dad wanted me and my brother to be nice to the Alpha’s daughter, but now with our mate here, he’s not pushing her on us anymore, so I let her have it.
“No, I don’t like you. You’re a selfish, spiteful bitch, and those are not qualities I look for in a mate,” I tell her truthfully, and her face turns red as hurt flashes in her eyes. Her friends are no longer laughing, instead they’re looking between us in shock that I would say such a thing.
Before she can say anything else a giant wolf trots in the parking lot, and immediately I know it’s Aspen. When the wolf see us she growls, and even Kassie has enough sense to take a step back. Aspen’s wolf is both terrifying and beautiful at the same time. She’s huge, easily identified as a True Alpha, her coat is a luscious grey with dark markings. It’s also thicker, more suited for the colder climate where we’re from. In her wolf form her eyes are like golden lava, and currently her gaze is focused solely on Kassie. Growling, she surges forward, and I jump in the middle blocking her from Kassie which only turns her wrath on me. Holding my hands straight out at my sides, I slowly get to my knees so that I’m eye level with her wolf, which I find ironic since this is the position I’ve been trying to get her in since I first saw her again. Aspen’s wolf growls louder, and her sharp teeth are mere inches from my face.
“You don’t want to do this Aspen,” I say, trying to reason with her, which only makes her growl louder. I’m not going to be able to get to her with the object of her hate within reach.
“Logan take Kassie home, I’ll handle Aspen,” I shout.
“Are you sure?” Logan questions.
“Yes, just go,” I yell, not taking my eyes off the vicious beast in front of me.
When I hear the tires squeal out the parking lot, I try reasoning with Aspen again.
“I know what you’re thinking. You think my brother and I were part of whatever Kassie did, and you’re wrong. I don’t even know what she did to you, but you can trust I’m telling you the truth. Shift back so I can take you home. It’s not safe to go back in your wolf form, and you can’t drive naked. Let me help you.”
Her wolf stares back at me with heat in her eyes, but I can tell she’s thinking through what I said. After a while she shifts back to her human form, and I admit I take more time than necessary to pull my shirt off and hand it to her, so I can gaze at her beautiful body.
“She took my clothes, do you have them?” She asks once she finished putting my shirt on, and my wolf grumbles in appreciation. He knows she’s our mate, and he wants to throw her on the ground and fuck her into submission.
“No, she probably tossed them somewhere,” I answer.
“Here,” she says, tossing me the keys to her Range Rover before walking off to her car.
Grabbing the keys in mid air I follow after her.
She doesn’t say anything the whole way back, and that annoys me more than Kassie’s constant chatter. She’s nothing like the girl I remember. What Mekka s
aid before about her being different is true. That girl would have rip me to shreds to get to Kassie, and not care about the consequences, like she didn’t care when she almost killed me and my brother years ago. When we came to she didn’t even bother to check and see if we were alright. I never blamed her for the ice breaking, but not checking up on us did something to me. When I realized she was never going to come I became different. The love I had for her was overcome by this new feeling of hate that only intensified with time.
“Why did you never come see us after the accident?” I ask so softly I didn’t think she heard me, but I knew she did when she finally turns her body towards me.
“I wanted to, but when I woke my father was furious with me, because your father chose to leave the pack. I wasn’t allowed to leave my room till after you guys were gone, and it took me awhile to recover after saving your brother, so I wasn’t able to sneak out.”
“What are you talking about? How did you save my brother?”
Frowning she asks, “you don’t know?”
“No, I remember you staring at the ice bank, like you were in shock, but that's it,” I answer.
“The ice under your brother’s feet broke.”
“I know that,” I say interrupting her.
“I ran out on the ice, and dove in after him. We almost died after the ice froze back over, but I was able to break through.”
“No, your dad pulled my brother out, not you,” I cry. “You’re lying.”