Authors: Sam Crescent
“You can’t see him for a long time. His father and I
both agree you need to harness your new skills. If you don’t, it could get you
killed.”
“I could just flunk out of high school.”
“We’ve got a lot of power, but magic isn’t one of
them. You still need to keep your presence a secret from the human world.”
“Why don’t you say I’m being homeschooled?”
“You wanted the same life I had, Marshall. I studied
amongst humans and learned to be with them. I’ve kept us all safe, and I’m
passing that legacy onto you.”
Marshall nodded, inhaling the fresh tomato soup smell that
came to him. His mother was walking close by.
The door to the basement opened seconds later.
The tomato scent intensified, and his stomach growled
with hunger.
“Hey, honey,” Carla said.
“Hey, Mom.”
He offered a smile. Marshall couldn’t give her anything else. He was
still too exhausted from the transformation into his wolf form.
“I’m so proud of you.” She crouched down, gripping his
head to lay a kiss against his temple. “Here’s some food. I know, I know, it’s
not your favorite and there’s no chocolate, but trust me when I say, you do not
want chocolate right now. It’ll make you vomit.”
“I feel great.”
“You won’t,” Luke said. He glanced over to see his
father smiling back at him. “I remember when I turned for the first time. I
convinced your grandma to give me cake.”
“What happened?” Marshall asked, dipping his bread
into the soup.
“I was sick as a dog.”
Marshall chuckled. He started to cough, and his
stomach turned over. Grabbing his stomach, he took several deep breaths until
the wave of sickness left him.
“Are you okay, son?”
“Yeah.
Sick as a dog, right?”
Carla ruffled his head. “You’ll be okay.”
He truly hoped he would.
****
Scarlett stared out at the pool in her backyard. She
wore a pair of shorts and a vest shirt. The idea of going in a bathing suit or,
even worse, a bikini had her sick to her stomach. Summer vacation was going
really well. Her parents had decided to vacation along with her and after their
trip to Italy, they’d come back, and her parents were called away to work. She
didn’t mind. The house was quiet, and she’d spent a lot of time with her nose
in a book.
The thought of going into the pool in a bathing suit even
home alone, scared her. They had neighbors who could easily see into the back
yard.
No one cares.
Dropping her shades down, she made her way outside.
She heard the sound of kids playing in the neighbors’ gardens. Sitting on the
lounge chair, Scarlett opened up the latest paperback book that had come in the
post, and started to read. It was a romance book as they were the only books
she liked.
Grabbing her bottle of water, she rested the book on
her bent knees as she took a sip of her water. She screwed up the cap and
placed the bottle between her thighs before picking back up the book.
Scarlett lost herself in the story, wondering if true
love was really that easy to find. She truly doubted men were as charming in
real life as they were in the book. Her own parents didn’t seem to share a lot
of romance. Scrunching her nose, Scarlett jumped as someone shouted.
“Hey.”
Dropping the book she looked around her yard to see
she was still alone.
“Over here.”
Turning left, she saw a blond guy around her age
hanging by the fence.
“What’s the matter?” Scarlett asked, expecting
something horrible to happen. He was a good looking guy, but then a lot of
bullies were good looking.
“My brother booted the ball over the fence. I don’t
suppose you could hand it over.”
She frowned, looking around until she found a single
white and blue ball in the corner. “Sure.”
Putting her water and book aside, she made her way
toward the ball. Bending down, she picked the ball up, carrying it over to him.
She held it up, and he took the ball from her hands. Their fingers brushed, and
she couldn’t help the tingle of awareness from his touch alone. He was the
first guy she’d ever really been close to who hadn’t hurt her first.
“Thanks.
Good book?”
“Yeah.”
She held her hands down by her sides, staring up at him. “Well, bye.”
“Wait, I didn’t catch your name.”
Scarlett was pleased she still wore her shades as she
didn’t want him to see how embarrassed she was. “I didn’t tell you my name.”
“We’re new around here, moved in a couple of weeks
ago.”
When she was in Italy with her folks and told him so.
“Ah, that’s why I’ve not seen you before. I’m Trey
Decker.”
“Scarlett Fields.” She held her hand up, which he took.
“It’s nice to meet you, Scarlett.”
“And you.”
“How old are you?” he asked.
“I’m, erm, I’m seventeen.” She wasn’t eighteen until
next year, making her one of the youngest in her year.
“I’m eighteen. Maybe I’ll see you in school when it
starts up.”
She was getting more and more uncomfortable by the
second. “I, erm, I’ve got to go.” Pointing behind her, she hoped he didn’t find
her rude. Her book offered her a hell of a lot more protection than talking to
him. She’d never been able to talk to guys her own age or in her year. Marshall
and Jack entered her thoughts. She didn’t like either guy. They were the worst
kind of bullies she’d ever encountered.
“Well, it was great meeting you.”
Nodding, she waved a hand, walking back to her lounge
chair. She grabbed her book, and water, making her way back into her home. It
was still too hot, and she opened windows, hoping to cool the house down. The
air-con was broken and wouldn’t be fixed until next week. Walking upstairs to
her room, she started to draw the curtains closed but stopped when she saw Trey
wrestling with his little brother.
Her window was open, and she caught some of their
conversation.
“I heard you.
My
name’s
Trey,
and I’m so hot. All the girls love me.
”
His little brother was laughing.
“Shut up.” Trey grabbed his brother around the head,
knuckle rubbing his head.
“Get off.” His little brother pushed him off and
started moving his hair back into place. “No one messes with my hair.”
Covering her mouth, she tried to contain her chuckle.
His brother was adorable.
“Did you like her?”
Trey glanced toward her house, and Scarlett hid behind
the curtain hoping he didn’t see her.
“She’s pretty.”
“Oh, Trey fancies a girl. Trey fancies a girl.”
Stepping away from the curtain, Scarlett didn’t want
to hear anything more.
Mate!
Freezing, Scarlett glanced around her room. Over the
summer she’d been hearing that word everywhere she went. Late at night she’d
woken up after having nightmares of a wolf, intent on hurting her. She’d not
even had a break from the word when she went to Italy.
Mate!
“Please, stop,” she said, whispering. Covering her
ears, she tried to bring some focus to her little world. Getting to her feet,
she moved toward the curtains and was about to close them. She froze in place
when she saw Trey looking up at her home. He lifted a hand waving to her. She
waved back, feeling utterly silly.
Closing the curtains, she stepped away, trying to put
some distance between her and the new neighbor. It wouldn’t be long until it
was the first day of school and she could move on with her life.
Chapter Three
Summer vacation was over, and it was time for school
again. Marshall sat beside his father as he drove him into school. It had been
a long summer vacation, and there hadn’t been anything vacation-like about it.
In fact, it had been fucking awful. He’d spent all summer trying to control his
senses. Not once had he seen Jack or any of his other friends. He’d talked with
Jack on the phone only to discover his friend was having the same problem.
Neither of them had any control over their heightened senses.
They were meeting up for the first time in the parking
lot. Jack’s father was also bringing him.
“Tomorrow you can bring your own car. I just want to
make sure you’re focused.”
“I’ve been driving all summer, Dad.”
“No, you’ve been driving all summer away from human
distractions. I’m driving you today because you’re going to be too distracted
to drive an automobile.”
“I’m sure I can handle it.” Marshall ran his fingers
through his hair. He was so damn nervous. Both his mother and father had each
warned him about his first day back at school. The smell was already getting to
him. He scented the need coming off his peers in waves. “Why can I smell them?”
“You’ll smell everything. You’ll also notice that each
emotion has a scent as well. Arousal, hate, greed, jealousy, fear, pain, it
will all combine together. You’ve got to learn to keep focus and ignore the
scents.”
“How did you do it?” Marshall already scented the
excitement. They were only a few yards from the school, and already he could
hear the squeals of excitement. He wanted sex and needed it. Not once this
summer did he get a chance to sink into a nice willing
pussy.
Being at school would also provide him with girls who were more than happy to
have him.
“I thought about your mother. She helped to focus me.
When you find your mate, you’ll know what I mean.”
“Dad, there’s no guarantee that I’ll find my mate in
high school. We’re not all lucky like you.”
“You’re an alpha, Marshall. You’ve got my blood
flowing through your veins. You will have the focus of the pack, the need to be
a leader. If you’re a leader, you’ll help Jack if he struggles to deal with it.”
Blowing out a breath, Marshall fisted his hands.
“If you’re lucky enough to find your mate and she’s
within school, you’ll need to control the need to claim her. I know all you
want is
sex ,but
be careful. You’re different now. Rein
in those needs.”
“What do I do if she’s human?”
His father chuckled. “It has been a long time since
we’ve mated with humans who don’t know about our kind. You shouldn’t worry.”
“Okay.” He didn’t want to meet his mate or even think
about settling down. Marshall had seen all the mated couples, and they wouldn’t
stray from their woman. He didn’t want to settle for one woman, at least not
yet.
“We’re about to enter the grounds,” his father warned
him.
The sounds had already gotten louder. Marshall gritted
his teeth as the smells increased along with the noise.
“Jack’s already here.”
His father pulled up beside Jack’s father and stopped
the car.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked.
“Yeah.
I’m fine.”
Sweat beaded his brow at the sudden wash of emotion
that was coming over him.
“Shut it out. It can’t hurt you. Focus, Marshall.”
Closing his eyes he thought about the pack, his
mother, the forests, the world that took care of him. Slowly, he started to
bring some focus to his little world, and everything else faded away.
“That’s it.”
Opening the door, he slid out.
“If you can’t handle it, come home.”
“I will.” Marshall waved to his father as he pulled
out of the parking lot. Jack’s father followed as well.
“Wow, I thought they’d never leave,” Jack said.
Looking at his friend, Marshall quickly embraced him
in a guy hug.
“It’s good to see you, man.”
“And you. I thought this summer was the fucking
worst.” Jack had gotten huge, but then, so had Marshall. “Fuck me, Marshall.
You look like a bear.”
“I grew.”
The scent of arousal came to him, and he turned in
time to see Cheryl, a cheerleader whom he’d fucked last year.
“Hey, Marshall.
You’re looking good. The summer did wonders for you.”
He wasn’t interested. Cheryl smelled of other men and
jealousy. When he fucked her last year he’d not scented anything on her. Now,
she smelled rotten. Glancing at Jack, he saw his friend smelled the same.
Ignoring her, they started to walk toward the school.
“Fuck me that bitch is hot, but she stinks now. Is
this what it’s going to be like?”
Marshall started to laugh. “It looks like we’re going
to need to get used to the new smells of people.”
They entered the school, and Marshall closed his eyes
as the scent of the pack surrounded him. When he opened his eyes, he saw
several new people from their pack. Giving them a nod of his head, he
acknowledged their presence. Within the pack, you took care of your own, and
the new arrivals would be under his and Jack’s protection. They were the
highest ranking in the high school, at least from their pack.