“Why can’t I go to school again? Why do we have to stay here?” Sophie whines as she finishes her breakfast and just stares at me for an answer. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
“I told you, it isn’t safe. We are leaving here next week and going somewhere that is safe. I am sure they will have a school for you there, with shifters like you,” I tell her, before eating another spoonful of my cornflakes. Thank god we have one box of cereal and a carton of milk that I picked up from a gas station on the way. The next job is a big shop, and I have googled the local supermarket. Thankfully they have a decent sized Tesco in the village. After not sleeping well, I got up super early and spent the time unpacking the kitchen, bedroom and lounge. There is a box of spare things to go up in the attic, and I know I need to get brave and go up there at some point.
“Whatever. I don’t want to go,” she says. “Why do we always have to do what you want?!”
“Sophie, you know we have to be safe or we will be caught and likely dead before we can even blink. Trust me, this isn’t what I want after just moving you here,” I tell her. “The hunters are everywhere, and any chance to be safe, I have to take that. For us both. Imagine a life where you don’t have to hide who you are and pretend to be human, when you are not one of them.”
“I want to believe you, but I know you believed the shifter guy last night without a second thought. Even mum would have said that is dangerous,” she states. I don’t want to admit she is right, and I might have made a mistake trusting him. The instant bond we have is strange, and it’s freaking me out, the more I think about it. The more I think about him. Since he left, I have this crazy urge to shift and run to find him. I’m sure that it is just my wolf hasn’t shifted in a while, making her clearly crazy.
“He wasn’t lying. I know it,” I tell her instead of what I’m thinking.
“How?” she asks, tilting her head to the side a little as she stares at me.
“You can scent lies on people. It’s a shifter thing,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.
“I can’t do that,” she replies. “Neither could mum or dad. Or they would have caught me lying to them many times before.” I go to say something, when I realise that I might have this ability from my birth parents, and I can’t tell Sophie any of that.
“Some wolves get gifts, remember mum telling us that? Who knows, you might get a cool gift when you change at sixteen. Anyway, unless I’m looking for a lie, watching someone super closely, I can’t always pick up a lie,” I say. Not that I got anything or changed at all at sixteen. I’ve always been able to spot lies, move quickly, and my wolf is different than my parents’ were. I don’t even really look like a wolf when I shift. Mum always said it was normal, but now I think about it, I know it isn’t.
“That’s in eight months, and I doubt it will be anything cool,” she mumbles.
“I miss us talking like this,” I state, and I know I have said something wrong when she picks up her tablet, not looking at me, and slides off the table, walking to the door of the kitchen and pausing right before walking out.
“I’m going to stay in my room for the day. I have a lot to unpack,” Sophie informs me, not looking back at me as she speaks. She opens the door and walks out, and I know there isn’t anything I can say to stop her. I don’t understand her reaction to me sometimes. She is grieving though, and no one, especially not a teenager, deals with grief well.
“Shit, I suck at this,” I mutter to myself. I shake my head and quickly clean up the kitchen after breakfast. Looking at the nearly empty fridge, I know I can’t put off shopping for much longer, so I grab my keys off the side.
“I’m going to the shops,” I shout up the stairs as I slide my flat ballet shoes on by the door. I quickly pull my skinny jeans up my hips a little, as this pair always slips down which I like, being it makes me feel thin. I pull my light grey jumper into place and make sure my hair is smooth in the ponytail I put it up in earlier. I go to shout again when she finally replies.
“Bye,” she shouts back down. Well, at least it’s a response. I unlock the front door before walking out, and shutting it behind me. I glance at the house next door, the way it looks completely silent and still, and so much more modern than mine. Someone has taken the time to repaint it, replace the windows with double glazed ones and mow the lawn, which is a nice green colour. It looks much better than the yellow, overgrown grass on my front lawn. I suppose it doesn’t matter when we are only staying here a week. There are three cars parked out front of the guys’ house. Two of them are red, shiny, new and sporty. Not that I’d know the name of the car. They all look the same to me. The last one is more practical, bigger and painted black. The fourth guy must not have a car, or he is out or something. As I stare, I start to wonder if I can trust these complete strangers. Everything my parents ever taught me was to not trust people that aren’t family. Then I remember the fact mum and dad lied to me my whole life, and never trusted me with the truth. Was Sophie right? Should I not trust these shifters? I quickly shuffle my feet to my own falling apart car, and after turning the key in the lock three times, it finally opens.
“Adie?” a male voice gently asks from a distance, and I turn a little, still holding the car door as a man walks over to me from the other house. This guy has dark blond hair that is lighter at the tips which I reckon he dyes. I don’t look at his hair long though, because I’m distracted by his lack of shirt and the work out trousers which are dipping low on his hips. A line of sweat makes his skin shimmer, and there is a pair of headphones in his hand attached to his phone. He must be a runner.
“Who are you?” I ask, keeping my hand tightly on the door for some kind of protection. When he gets closer and stops, I can smell that he is human, but I know he must be hiding it somehow like Rick did. I really need to find out how they hide who they are. I stare at the man, wondering why he seems so familiar to me. I find myself relaxing around him, even though he is a complete stranger.
“Nathaniel, but my friends call me Nath,” he says, lifting a muscular arm and rubbing the back of his neck. I stare at him speechless for a little while, not picking up his scent no matter how much I try to make out what he is. I suppose I could just ask.
“Are you human?” I ask.
“Err, no. It’s this,” he points to his wrist, and I see the thick black leather bracelet that I didn’t see before. “It has crystals in it that make me seem human.”
“That must be useful in this kind of world,” I muse, eyeing the bracelet.
“Very,” he says, grinning as he lowers his arm, and we both smile at each other until he clears his throat. “Are you going out?”
“Yeah. I know Rick wanted me to come over in the morning, but we need food first,” I explain.
“Rick wants you to have a protection bracelet on when you go to the village. Just in case. Can you come back to mine first, and then go out?” he asks. “It isn’t safe. Don’t make me have to follow you to the shops and kick anyone’s ass who tries to attack you.” I laugh, not sure if he is kidding or not because of the protective way he is staring at me.
“When you put it like that, coming to yours and getting a bracelet might be easier,” I muse, and I enjoy how he seems happy.
“Damn, I was hoping we could spend more time together,” he winks at me, making my cheeks go as bright red as my hair before nodding his head at the house. “Come on then, beautiful. Welcome to my home.”