Neaera-“We are going to be late if you don’t hurry!” My older brother Stryker yelled from the other side of my door.I was already dressed and ready to go, but as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I wished I could go back to bed. For the past two weeks, I have been free of my tormentors at school, living life to the fullest with my family. Now that winter break was over, I dreaded returning to school.It wasn’t that I hated school, I just didn’t like dealing with the other kids at school. I was smart and at the top of my class. The teachers loved me, and I always did my best to help the teachers out.If it weren’t for them, I think that my existence at school would have been much worse than it already was. If only I had been born with the werewolf gene just like everyone else in this pack. Being the only human granted me a lot of people that made it their life goal to make my life a living hell, not to mention I was also overweight, which only added to my misery.Unlike the ot
Neaera-I hadn’t been lucky as I had hoped for, because they admitted to waiting until after my brother left. Stryker has made it clear that if he saw them mess with me, he would step in. He thought they stopped picking on me, but that wasn’t the case.I just became better at hiding it. It wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful that he was protecting me, I just didn’t want to feel like a burden. He had enough to deal with right now and he didn’t need to worry about me.All morning the kids that openly picked on me made sure to make things harder for me. One of the girls that picked on me was named Chloe and she was the ringleader of the group. I knew it was because she was in love with Stryker but didn’t want me around.If she thought that he would ever look twice at her with the way she treated me, she had another thing coming. My brother couldn’t stand her, not only because she picked on me, but because she continued to throw herself at him. The worst thing she has done was try to set me up
Neaera-After stopping by the school office, for Stryker to inform them he was pulling me out of school for the rest of the day, he led me outside. I thought we were headed home until he took a detour that would take us in a different direction. Afraid to say anything because I could tell he was extremely pissed right now; I kept my mouth shut.Letting him drag me away, I did my best to keep up with him. His long legs were no match for my legs, which made it challenging to keep pace with him. Practically running, my legs and lungs burned, proving I was out of shape.By the time we reached a secluded area in the forest, I had no choice but to pull my wrist from his grasp. Bending over, I placed my palms on my knees so I could take a couple of deep breaths. Once I felt a little better, I stood up straight and saw Stryker looking at me with a frown on his face.“You should have told me right away when they started messing with you.” Stryker directed his anger at me.I wanted to calm him
Neaera-At Stryker’s words, I dropped my phone, that I was holding. It crashed on the floor, causing everyone to turn to look at me. A look of pain flashed over their faces and they each tried to take a step toward me.Holding my hands up, I shook my head and took a few steps back. Feeling betrayed, I couldn’t stand to look at anyone right now. Needing to get away, I stumbled back before turning to run out the front door.“Nea!” Stryker called after me.As I ran away from the house, I looked over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being followed. Our parents were holding Stryker back. Actually, no, they weren’t my parents. The realization that I was truly alone in this world hit me.Once I was sure I was out of sight of them, I took a detour and made my way toward the forest. With tears in my eyes, I ran as fast and as hard as I could. My lungs were on fire as I ran, and I still felt as if I was on fire.At this moment, I wished more than anything I was in better shape. No matter what
Neaera-“I can tell from the look on your face that you are in shock. Why don’t we go somewhere a little more secluded and I will tell you everything I know?” Zach said as he reached for my hand.While he didn’t seem threatening, there was no way I was going to go anywhere with him. Pulling out of his reach, I backed into the tree, ignoring the bark that was scratching at my back. For all I knew, he was going to take me somewhere and kill me.It didn’t matter that my world was spiraling out of control right now, I had no desire to die. Looking around at my surroundings, I noticed a total of six others with Zach. Other than that, the place looked secluded enough.“Just tell me now. I am not going anywhere with you.”His eyes moved from mine, and he released a sigh. Following his line of sight, I noticed he was looking at the man that was standing closest to him. Unlike the others surrounding us, Zach was the only one that didn’t have red eyes.“Create a perimeter and make sure there ar
Stryker-After an hour, Neaera still hadn’t returned. My parents tried convincing me to give her more time to calm down, yet I couldn’t do it. It was bad enough that I gave her an hour. I couldn’t believe my own stupidity for arguing with them where she could hear us.I knew she must be upset, which was why I needed to find her. She needed to know the truth about everything. I have been holding it in for two years because my parents thought she wasn’t ready. Now that she was eighteen, she needed to know we weren’t related and that I was her mate.Running around the territory like a madman, I checked out every hiding spot I knew about. Since we were children, we have always been close. I didn’t know she was adopted until I was older. My first instinct has always been to protect her, but I always thought it was because I was her older brother.After learning the truth, I realized my feelings for her were more than just brotherly love. Harboring my feelings for her has been difficult. Wh
Neaera-“You have a new mission.” Alpha Zach said, not bothering to knock as he entered my office.Looking up from the paperwork I was working on, I raised my brows at him. For the five years I have been here, I figured he would be better at communicating with me. Not that I could really complain, considering I wouldn’t be who I am today without him.“Hey Neaera, how are you? I know you just returned from a mission, but I have another one for you if you’re up for it.” I said in a mocking tone, deepening my voice to make it sound similar to his.“I think you have known me long enough to know I don’t care for unnecessary pleasantries.” Zach moved from the door and came to lean on the edge of my desk.“As you should know by now, I don’t like being told what to do.”Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms over my chest. My eyes narrowed on him, as I silently challenged him to argue with me. He might be the Alpha, but I was done having others attempt to control my life.It wasn’t that
Neaera- Seeing the name of the Alpha, I sat up straight in my chair. My hands tightened on the folder, as shock reverberated through me. I had to blink a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly and I wasn’t just imagining it. “No.” I stated simply before throwing the open folder on the table. My eyes remained glued to the folder, but my hands now felt as if they had been burned. It took me a year to come to terms with my past. Another year for me to let go of it fully, enough to move on completely. “This isn’t open for debate.” Zach said, picking up the folder from my desk. I wanted to throw something at him enough to knock him out cold. He knew about my past and for him to ask me to return there was beyond my understanding. Looking up at him, I noticed he was hiding his emotions well. “How can you stand there and ask me to go back?” Disbelief filled me as well as betrayal. “It isn’t like anyone would recognize you. You aren’t the same person you were when you left. As