“There aren’t just wolf shifters here,” Parker explains. “There are all kinds of shifters. They send us here so we can make alliances and hopefully get along.”
“The wolves do not get along with the cats.” Aiden snickers.
“Cats?” I ask.
“Panthers, lions, cheetahs,” he says. “There are more, but you get the point.”
I nod.
“There are also other shifters,” Liam adds. “We get along fine with most shifters.”
“Isn’t it cliché for wolves to not get along with cats?” I raise a brow and a smile tugs at my lips.
“Nobody gets along with the cats,” Cole says, disgust clear on his face. “Not even the other cats. They have to keep the lions and tigers separate because the alphas got into a huge fight and almost killed each other.”
My mouth falls open. “Seriously?”
This school is crazy.
This world is crazy.
If only humans knew the truth… nobody would be able to sleep at night.
“So, what are we doing now?” I ask.
“We are going home.” Liam nods his head towards the front door of the school. “Dean Westwood is going to deal with the situation here and we are going to prepare for this weekend.”
This weekend…
When I am going to be introduced to the entire shifter community.
I swallow hard, butterflies filling my stomach.
I worry… what if it’s not just the students that think poorly of me? What if everybody hates me? What if they demand that their alpha take a different mate? What if they don’t want me with any of the guys?
“Not going to happen,” Liam says. “I promise.”
His words comfort me, but I still worry.
This world is a scary one.
AIDEN.
When we got home, Penelope said she wanted some time alone and she went up to her room.
But her thoughts are loud.
I can feel every bit of her pain.
She’s hurting.
And it kills me.
A shifter usually can’t feel the emotions of their mate until they are bonded. I don’t know why it’s different with Penelope, but I’m glad it is. I’m glad she can’t block me out. And even though I said I would teach her, I’m not going to until she can be fully honest with us about what she’s feeling.
Liam paces back and forth. “Somebody needs to go up there.”
All four of us are on edge.
“Aiden should go.” Parker turns towards me.
“We should all go,” Cole says.
“No, I don’t want to overwhelm her.” Liam stops pacing and focuses on me. “Parker is right. Aiden, you should go talk to her. You’re the best at talking. You can calm her down. Because I can’t take much more of this. I’m about ready to get on a boat and leave this island. I want to run away and hide with her.”
Which wouldn’t solve anything.
In fact, that would just cause more problems.
“I’ll go talk to her.” I stand up from the couch and call out to the guys as I reach the stairs, “Things are going to work out. She’s our mate.”
I’m right.
They know I am.
Fate isn’t always easy, but it always knows what it’s doing. It chose the four of us as Penelope’s mates for a reason.
I do worry, though.
Why did fate give Penelope four mates?
I have a feeling we will find out soon.
I head up the stairs to Penelope’s room and knock on the door. A few seconds later, she opens it. Her eyes are red and her face is puffy. My heart completely breaks when I see it.
She’s been crying.
Her eyes are gray, but they turn more of a blue gray when she looks at me.
I make her happy.
I should’ve come up here sooner. I knew she was hurting. I should’ve…
But she asked for privacy.
“Hey,” she murmurs. “You want to come in?”
I nod.
I don’t trust myself to speak out loud just yet.
Penelope opens the door wider so I can walk in. As soon as she shuts it I can’t help myself. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight against me. She is surprised for a second, but then she squeezes me back.
“Forget what that guy thought,” I tell her. “It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks. We know the truth.”
“What about that Bridget girl?” Penelope asks. “She didn’t like me either.”
“She’s just jealous.”
In her mind, I hear her agree with me. She thinks she’d be jealous if we were mated to somebody else. She thinks that Liam, Parker, Cole, and I are the hottest guys she’s ever met and that even when she thought we were crazy, she was insanely attracted to us.
I pull back slightly and grin at her, and her face turns red.
“You really have to show me how to block my thoughts,” she grumbles, covering her cheeks with her hands.
Her eyes are fully blue now, meaning she is happy.
“Your eyes are fascinating.” I voice my thoughts aloud, trying to ease her embarrassment. “I could watch them change colors all day.”
“Why do you think they started doing that after I met you guys?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure. It might be because we’re your mates, or maybe it’s because of your age. There are some supernaturals that don’t fully come into their powers until they reach a certain age.”
“Ah,” she drawls. “And I’ll be eighteen in February.”
I’ll have to remember that.
February is still five months away.
“When is everybody’s birthdays?” she asks. “I feel like I barely even know all of you. I don’t even know all of your last names. I mean, I know Liam’s last name is Mutatio and your last name is Wolfe.”
“Cole’s last name is Felix and Parker’s is Belmont.” I pause as I think over when everybody was born. “All of us are eighteen already. My nineteenth birthday is March 27. Cole’s birthday is February 4. Liam’s birthday is April 17. Parker’s is August 5.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“I have a two-year-old brother.”
Her eyes light up. “Really? Will I get to meet him?”
“Of course.” I grin. Happiness fills me with the knowledge that she wants to meet my brother. “My parents are coming this weekend to meet you, but they won’t be bringing my brother. Maybe we can go visit them one weekend or something.”
“That would be awesome.” She smiles at me softly and takes my hand, pulling me along behind her.
Penelope and I sit down on her bed and just keep talking. She asks me questions about my life and family, and I ask many about her as well. We’ve all been so busy that we haven’t taken the time to get to know our mate.
This changes now.
It’s time to show Penelope what being mated to a wolf shifter really means.
Chapter Eighteen
Against the rules.
PENELOPE.
It’s finally Friday, which means I’ve been at the school for three days now.
After Parker punched Daniel on Wednesday, everybody has stayed clear of me and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s good because I don’t want people accidentally bumping into me. I don’t want to hear their awful thoughts about me. But maybe it’s bad because I don’t have any friends.
At all.
I never really had friends back home either, but at least I had my family. I had Mom, Paige, Alyssa, and Alexis. I had girl time. But here, I just have…
Liam.
Cole.
Parker.
Aiden.
All the time.
And I like them. A lot.
But…
It would be nice to have a girl to talk to.
I can’t even call Paige and talk to her because how could I explain the love triangle… pentagon? Is it even that? I guess technically it’s a backwards
harem. Instead of a guy having a lot of wives, I have a lot of boyfriends.
Boyfriends.
I grin.
They’re not technically my boyfriends. I mean, we’ve never established that we are. But they’re my mates, and I’m pretty sure that means they’re more than just my boyfriends, right?
Wait, do shifters even get married?
These are things I could ask a girl if I had a friend. But I don’t.
I suppose I could ask Cole’s older sister.
Hannah is a teacher. She teachers wolf shifter history, which is by far my favorite class. She’s a good teacher.
But she’s also one of my mate’s sisters, which would make it awkward if I talked to her about Liam.
Maybe if I had a girl friend, I could ask her how to block my thoughts from the guys. Every time I bring it up to them, they change the subject, which is super frustrating. Don’t they understand that a girl needs her privacy?
Tonight starts my weekend of… meeting parents? Meeting the wolf shifter community? Being introduced as the alpha’s mate? I don’t know. I guess it’s kind of complicated.
Part of me is worried my mates’ parents won’t like me. What if they think I cheated their sons out of a beautiful life with a mate they don’t have to share with three other shifters?
Liam’s dad seemed cool. But then again, I haven’t seen him since that first day I arrived at school. Maybe he’s upset. Liam wouldn’t tell me. None of them would.
As I curl the last piece of my hair, there’s a knock on my door.
I figured I’d actually try to look cute today. I don’t think I’m going to have time to get ready before I meet the parents after school, so I want them all to like me.
I walk over to the door and smile when I see Cole on the other side.
“Hey.” I open the door further so he can walk in, and I close the door behind him.
Cole isn’t smiling, and his eyes don’t have the normal spark in them.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
He smiles at me, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You look beautiful. I like your hair like this.”
Cole reaches out and grabs the end of my hair for a second, then let’s go.
“Thanks,” I say, but I’m studying him. “Cole, talk to me.”
He sighs. “I need to tell you something.”
My heart races.
Nothing good ever comes after a sentence like that.
Is he going to break up with me?
Can he break up with me if we’re technically not going out?
He smirks, shaking his head. “You’re so much more than my girlfriend, Penelope. You’re my mate. My soul looked at yours and decided it couldn’t live without you. So, no, I’m not breaking up with you. I don’t know why you’re so insecure about our relationship, but I will remind you every day how special you are to me until you finally believe me.”
Now my heart is racing for a completely different reason.
Cole is slowly stealing my heart and I’m okay with it. I want him to have it.
“Let’s sit down.” A serious look settles on his face once again.
I walk over to my bed and take a seat. He sits beside me and we both angle our bodies toward each other.
“What’s going on?” I ask him.
He sighs. “This weekend is a big deal. You’re going to be meeting everybody’s parents. It’s a really special time in our society.”
I nod.
I know this. It’s why I’m so nervous.
“Do you think your parents will like me?” I ask.
“I think my parents would’ve loved you.” Cole’s voice is soft as he speaks, and a small smile graces his lips. “In fact, I know they would have.”
Would have?
“When I was ten, my parents passed away,” he says, after only a moment of hesitation. “I don’t want you to think bad about the world we live in, it’s why I’ve been so scared to tell you, but they were murdered.”
I gasp at his words.
My chest hurts for him.
I try to imagine ten-year-old Cole. I wish I had known him then.
I stand on my knees and crawl over to Cole, wrapping my arms around him. I can tell by his thoughts that he’s shocked I just did that. To be honest, I’m shocked too. I barely even hug my own family, yet I boldly hug him. It’s like I had to hug him, like I was craving it.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Cole,” I murmur against him.
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago,” he says. “The guy who murdered them is in prison.”
“Good.”
“I just wanted you to know why you aren’t meeting my parents.” He gently stokes my back with his palm. “You deserve to know. The only person that will be representing my family is Hannah. I know how important family is to you. I’m sorry it’s just my sister and me.”
“It doesn’t matter how big or small your family is.” I pull back slightly to look him in the eyes.
Does he really think I’d like him less because he has a small family?
“I am your family now,” I tell him earnestly. “I will share all of my siblings with you. All six of them.”
He grins. “I love that you have a big family.”
“Me too.” I grin back at him. “I think I want a big family someday.”
“Our children will be beautiful.” His voice softens.
My heart warms at his comment.
I love that he’s so unafraid to talk about the future.
“Why would I be afraid?” Cole shrugs. “I already know that you’re it for me.”
My heart swells.
How is it possible to feel so strongly about a guy I met less than a week ago? I feel like I’m already falling for this guy and I’m falling hard.
I look at Cole and see that he’s looking at my lips.
His thoughts are open to me and I know that he wants to kiss me.
I’ve never kissed a guy before and the thought of giving my first kiss to Cole makes my heart race. I want to kiss him more than I want my next breath.
Before I can lean closer, Cole sighs.
“We need to go,” he says, his voice thick.
Ah, right.
It is time to go to school.
Still, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Cole gets up from my bed and then holds out a hand to help me up.
“I want to kiss you more than anything,” he says, still holding onto my hand. “But if I kissed you right now, I’m pretty sure the guys would murder me.”
“It’s my first kiss. Don’t I get to decide who it’s with?”
“Of course you do,” he says.
“What do the guys want to do? Watch?”
He laughs. “Probably.”
My mouth falls open. “Won’t they be jealous? I mean… I feel like you all should be jealous.”
“I feel like I should be jealous, but I’m not.” Cole’s thumb brushes gently over my fingers and he tugs on my hand to move me forward. “Yes, you belong to me, but you also belong to them.”
“Well, my first kiss will not be with an audience,” I huff. “And you can tell them so.”
I’m pretty sure they know because I can hear them chuckling from the living room.
Wait…
I can hear them laughing.
How?
“You can hear that?” Cole asks.
I nod.
“Have you always had that good of hearing?”
“No,” I answer. “Oh, my gosh. Does that mean I’m a vampire or something?”
“No, you’re not a vampire.” His eyes are filled with excitement as he studies me. “But I think you just developed another power.”
I’m relieved that I’m not turning into a blood sucking vampire, but I’m also freaked out. Am I just going to keep developing powers? What if I develop some kind of super power that I can’t hide from my family? I already can’t hide my color changing eyes. I just… I need my family in
my life.
“We will tell them the truth if we have to,” Cole assures me.
“I thought that was against the rules,” I say.
“Rules were made to be broken.”
COLE.
“I told you she wouldn’t care.” Aiden crosses his arms and smirks at me.
In theory I knew that Penelope wouldn’t care that she wouldn’t be meeting my parents, but I still worried. She comes from such a big family, and my family is literally just me and Hannah.
Hannah is ten years older than me, so after our parents died, she continued to raise me. I’m eighteen, only two years younger than her when she took me in. I can’t even imagine how hard it must’ve been for her. I wasn’t exactly an easy kid to deal with. But Hannah is a rock star.
I love that I got to introduce Penelope to Hannah already. I also love that they get along so well. Penelope actually looks up to my sister and considers her a friend.
Penelope is my family now too. And the guys, they always have been.
Liam, Aiden, Parker, and I all grew up together. We knew from a young age what our place in the pack would be. Alpha Mutatio moved us all to be closer to Liam. We all pretty much became instant friends.
“She’s incredible,” I say.
“Yeah, she is,” Aiden agrees. “You know this weekend is going to be crazy. I know that our parents are okay with us all being her mates, but it’s going to cause an uproar.”
He’s right.
It already has caused an uproar, and that’s just with a bunch of high school students.
We already know what people are going to say—that somehow Penelope isn’t our “true mate.” Or maybe that she did some kind of magic to force a bond on us, even though it’s not true.
Wolf shifters are set in their ways—they are not going to believe it’s real because she isn’t a wolf shifter.
We will have to convince them that she is truly good.
I’ve seen her heart. There is nothing about her that is malicious. She cares deeply. And she loves deeply.
I can’t wait to earn her love.
Chapter Nineteen
Half.
PENELOPE.
I am in the middle of my wolf shifter history class when I’m called to Dean Westwood’s office.
Different (Shifter Academy Book 1) Page 11