Hunting Their Enemies

Osprey (Freshman year)

I walked out of the gym after changing back into my school clothes from my practice uniform. My teammates patted me on the back as they joked with me about how I was going to be such a great lineman with my ferocity on the field. They had already predicted we would have all wins and no losses this year with me protecting our quarterback, Silver. It was nice to have something to take my aggressiveness out on.

“Hey, ‘Sprey, do you want a lift home?” Beanie asked as he caught up to me with his cheerleading girlfriend hanging off his arm.

“No, my dad is supposed to be picking me up. Thanks, though.”

I stood amongst the other after-schoolers, scanning the cars waiting to pick up their students. I looked down at my watch and pulled out my phone to call my father to see where in the hell he was. I was anxious to get home to see Scarlett. It was the same when I moved from elementary school to middle school. We had one glorious year being back together, and then I was doomed to start high school this year while she had another two years in middle school.

“OSPREY! OSPREY! HEY!”

I looked up from my phone with the same goofy smile on my face that I had every time any of my senses detected her presence. It took me less than two seconds to find where she stood, jumping up and down while waving at me. Before I could take a step toward her, Silver whistled, and I tensed as I turned in his direction to see what he was whistling at. I bared my teeth at him when it was Scarlett who held his attention.

“God, Osprey, who in the hell is that? She is sexy as hell! Please, tell me she is not your girlfriend,” he said hungrily.

“Watch what you say about her,” I hissed.

He ignored what I said to grin at her. “Tell me, beautiful, what’s your name?”

I spun around to see that she had run up to us. Her eyes were lit up with excitement, and her developing chest heaved as she panted.

“Osprey, we-”

I smelled Silver’s arousal for her in the air. I turned back to him.

“Go back to the car,” I growled as I glared at him.

“Osprey? What’s wrong?”

When she touched my back, I saw curiosity ignite in Silver’s eyes.

“So, she is your girlfriend,” he said with laughter in his voice.

“Girlfriend? I’m not his girlfriend. We’re related,” she replied softly.

I shrugged her hand off as I swung on him. My fist connected with his jaw, and I rubbed my knuckles as I stood over him threateningly.

“She is off limits,” I told him.

He sat up, holding his jaw. “I will have you thrown off the team!” he threatened.

“Then have me thrown off the team. I don’t care. Even if I don’t get thrown off, see if I block for you.”

I grabbed Scarlett’s arm before dragging her away towards the car. She struggled in my grip, but I kept moving.

“Osprey, stop. You’re hurting me,” she cried.

I loosened my grip on her, not letting her go until I had shoved her in the back seat of the car. Father Raul watched me in the rearview mirror.

“Want to tell me what that was about?” he asked.

I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at Scarlett who sat with her head down.

“No!”

“Scarlett?”

“I don’t know. He talked to me and then Osprey hit him.”

“BECAUSE HE LOOKED AT YOU! I DON’T LIKE IT WHEN GUYS LOOK AT YOU! HE WANTED TO FUCK YOU, LETTI! YOU’RE NEVER HAVING SEX WITH ANYBODY! YOU’RE NEVER DATING! YOU’RE GOING TO STAY IN TOWN WHERE I CAN PROTECT YOU!” I exploded.

She paled before a blush colored her cheeks pink. “He just asked my name.”

I pulled her against my body as I forced her to meet my eyes. “He was flirting with you. I didn’t like it, so I hit him. Don’t let anybody flirt with you,” I growled. “I don’t want to have to kill someone over you.”

“Osprey, let her go,” Raul warned me.

My grip loosened on her chin, but I didn’t let her go. “Promise me, Letti. No one flirts with you,” I repeated softer.

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I-I promise. I’m sorry.”

As my eyes dropped to her lips, I longed to kiss her before letting her go because Raul would have my ass if I did.

“How was school today, Letti?”

She scooted backward as she looked out the window, not answering my question for a while. “If I tell you, are you going to be mad at me?”

Her question made me tense, and I wanted to hit something. Again. “I won’t be mad at you.”

She hesitantly took my hand, and I immediately relaxed. “A boy held the door open for me and he sat with me at lunch.”

My fingers tightened around hers. “Who was it?” I asked, trying to appear nonchalant while I was hyper-focused on her response so I knew who I had to hurt tomorrow when I walked her to school.

“Justin,” she whispered.

I cursed under my breath. Aunt Tara’s son. Fuck. This sucked. I hated when I didn’t have school with her. I couldn’t get between her and whoever thought they could take her attention away from me.

“Do you like him?” I questioned, needing to know how she felt about him.

“No, silly,” she giggled. “We’re family. That’s just weird.”

I studied her profile. “Am I family, too?”

She blushed harder as she tried to pull her hand away from me. “I mean, technically, yes. My brother is your adopted father, and your sister is my niece and-”

“Do you like me?”

My link with Raul opened. ‘Osprey, what are you doing?’

I ignored him while I waited for her to respond.

“Yes, I do,” she said almost silently.

“Good,” I replied smugly. “I like you, too.”

“Is that why you punched him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

We fell silent, staying that way until we pulled up in front of her house in town. I got out to escort her up to her door. She shifted nervously before looking up at me.

“How was your day?” she asked, and I knew it was only an excuse to make me stay a little longer.

I leaned against the railing on the porch. “It was fine. I missed you all day.”

She blushed again, and only a blind person would have missed the happiness in her eyes.

“Did you?”

“I did. Can I walk you to school in the morning?”

“Yes,” she squealed before throwing herself into my arms.

I held her close to my body while I breathed in her scent. Goddess, she smelled like heaven. I had never craved the aroma of cinnamon so badly before she hit puberty.

“Osprey, we should go. Your mother is waiting for us.”

I grudgingly let her go, and waited for her to go inside before I went back to the car. He sighed as soon as the door shut.

“I don’t know if I’m coming to you more as a father or a big brother, but-”

I met his eyes in the mirror. “Then don’t come to me as either.”

He hit the dashboard. “Don’t do this to her. She is a human and will be crushed when you find your mate. Break this now before it gets any worse. You’re more educated on relationships, son. She is so innocent. Let her stay that way. Don’t hurt her.”

“Are you kidding me right now, Dad? There is nothing going on between us. We’re family,” I said bitterly.

A growl rumbled in his chest. “Don’t even try that bullshit line on me! I sat here and watched you two! Stop playing with her! I mean it!”

“Or what? What are you going to do?” I challenged.

“I will tell your mother! This is not funny, Osprey, and it for damn sure is not a game.”

I glared at him. “Don’t you think I know that?” I yelled. “You are wrong about what you think is going on. She is my best friend, and I just want to protect her.”

He rolled his eyes. “I said the same thing about your mother, and now she is my mate. Save those lies for someone who doesn’t know you, Osprey.”

He pulled up in front of our house, and I sat there for a moment, trying to calm down.

“So, what do you want me to do then, Dad?” I inquired icily.

“I want you to stay away from her. Let her grow up and find someone she can love. She won’t be able to do that with you in her face. You need to focus on finding your mate. You don’t have that much longer before you're old enough to know who your mate is when you see her or him.”

“Yeah, him,” I muttered angrily. “Fine! I’ll stay away from her.” I got out of the car before leaning down to look at him again. “You can explain to her why I’m not around.”

I slammed the door hard and ran straight to my room, ignoring my other parents’ calls for me. I paced back and forth, trying to figure a way out of this mess. I shouldn’t have hit Silver. I should have kept better control over my emotions instead of lashing out. My actions pointed to the fact that I cared more about her than just as a family member. I sat on the edge of my bed with my hands clasped behind my thighs. We didn’t share any common bloodlines. Raul wasn’t my biological father, and my mother was not related to his family at all. If this was so wrong, why did I want her so much?