Jude
I'm so over this.
This constant power struggle between Quentin and I. Ever since we discovered that we're both in contention for the Alpha position, his behavior shifted in such a way that he only sees me as an opponent.
We were so close growing up. Twin boys who did everything together. I hate that our relationship has turned into an endless competition.
Ironically, I don't even care about being Alpha.
I know it's my birthright or whatever, but this is not the throne of England. I don't really care so much about leading our pack.
Of course, I do care about our pack and what happens to it. But not in the sense that I want to lead more than twenty thousand people.
I don't need the hassle, to be honest. Quentin can have it for all I care. I just wish he stopped seeing me as the enemy.
He is my only brother. There is no other sibling after my mother's difficult childbirth. It is said that after I was born, the doctors spent almost an hour trying to get my brother out. Surgery was necessary, my mother almost died.
Unfortunately, a hysterectomy had to be performed to get the bleeding under control, therefore she can't have any more children.
My father insists on this silly confrontation between his sons to determine who's gonna be the next Alpha.
Honestly, I'm dreading this like an omega fears their first heat. Not because I'm scared of my brother - far from it, actually - but I genuinely don't see the upside in this conflict.
Though my father won't let me get away from it, as far as I'm concerned, my brother can be the next Alpha. I'm much more excited about my college prospects and getting the hell away from Ruckerford Falls.
I would kill to live in Austin or one of the bigger cities. Maybe even New York or the West Coast. The further the better.
I'm counting out the days until high school ends, though I have the entire senior year to look forward to. Which I don't, by the way.
High school in a small town wasn't built for people like me. And I don't mean werewolves.🙄
The entertainment options are very limited, so I have to debase myself by going to the waterfalls to cool down. The temperature is hot and the river is very nice.
The problem for me is the people who crowd the shore in search of the same thing, the cool kids of school.
You'd think being the Alpha's son would warrant me a higher social status, but my brother casts such a huge shadow as the school prince that it leaves little room for me to enjoy any privilege.
In fact, I'm privileged just for not being bullied or picked on. Not that Quentin doesn't tease me at school, he does. But I don't let him get away with it.
We're evenly matched in just about everything from height to strength. He can't take on me on his own, though I'm sure that brunette devil Dragomir would love to help.
Fucking teenagers. I hate his whole entourage of enablers who taunt people at will and rule the school like somehow they're better than anyone else.
I'm so over this, I almost wish I was homeschooled. But then again, how would I ever find my soulmate when I turn 18?
He's not gonna knock at my door looking for me. That's not how it works. Though I'd love for that to happen.
Oh by the way, the only real difference between Quentin and I is our sexuality. While he drools over Cassandra like a love sick puppy, I'm yet to find my knight in shining armor.
Though I'd settle for a good boy from a nice family who has college plans to match my own. That 's the dream.
But for now, I go to the river because I refuse to let them win. I refuse to be inclausurated in my own home like I was recovering from an illness.
I should enjoy the waterfalls too. I'm worth it just as much as everyone else is. And I'm not making excuses for occupying spaces. At least not the public ones.
After my brother took off with OUR car to go to literally the same place I was going, I went back to my room to get changed and pack a swimsuit.
In the meantime, Lay was coming to get me in her car. The waterfalls are located in the outskirts of our little city. It's impossible to go there by walking - unless you live nearby and nobody in this pack does.
Layla Hobbs is my very best friend. She has a complicated family history, so she struggled to find her footing in our community.
I guess because she always felt like an outcast, we kind of drifted to each other's orbit. It's ironic because our backgrounds couldn't be more different.
I'm the son of the Alpha, descendant of a werewolf bloodline dating more than a century ago.
Her father took the better part of a decade trying to find his mate. He travels a lot on business since he's a sales representative for a drug company.
In one of these trips, he met Layla's mother and had a fling with her. The problem is that her mother is human and more importantly NOT his mate.
Werewolves are not forbidden from having sex with humans, but you can't procreate with one of them outside of the sacred mate bond.
It's prohibited to disclose our secret to any human unless they are your Goddess assigned pair, but that wasn't the case. If she was a fellow werewolf, it wouldn't be that big of an issue but alas...
Naturally, when he found out about the pregnancy he panicked. Layla had a fifty percent chance of turning out to be a werewolf just like her father.
But if her mother discovered the secret, her life would be in danger. She doesn't live here, but if any pack - including our own - got word of an unsanctioned "disclosure", she would be executed for it.
Yes, really.
Knowing this danger, he kept in touch with the woman and co-parented his daughter like any decent human male should.
When Layla turned the age in which she would have her consecration to the Moon i.e. her first shift into a wolf, he brought her to his home here so he could explain everything to her.
Except for the fact that he couldn't say anything until she actually started shifting into a wolf, otherwise she would be in danger as well.
He practically sequestered his daughter after she turned 10, 11 and 12. He couldn't explain why she had to spend the first full moon after her birthday with him, but fortunately he's a salesman so he came up with some bullshit excuse for her to come every single time.
Thankfully, the two parents maintained a good relationship all through the years. He makes a good living, so he made good on child support and always gave his daughter everything she needed.
When she turned 12, Layla shifted into a wolf and that's when things turned sour. Her father had to coach her through the scary transformation and then he told his young daughter that if her mother learned her secret, she would die.
That's not exactly something a 12 year old is equipped to hear from her father. After that, he sued the mother for custody and Layla was forced by the court to pick with whom she wanted to live. She was old enough to be heard by the judge.
With her mother's life on the line, the little girl had no choice. Who would want her mom's death in their conscience?
She was forced to move to Ruckerford Falls under her father's care.
Except by now he had already found his mate and had another family of his own. Yeah, it was a clusterfuck.
If this was a big city, no one would bat an eye to a new child starting to live here. But this is a werewolf town where NO ONE has children outside of the mate bond.
She has been discriminated against since the day she moved here. Not by adults, though they tend to give her a 'look'. But when she started school, she was a pariah.
This forced her to develop a thick skin because the bullying was heavy. Seeing her ostracized by the very community who should accept her, I felt bad for the girl and we quickly became friends.
And now I cannot even imagine my life without her, to be honest. We got each other through so much. I really love Layla.
She arrives at my house and knocks at my door. At this moment, I was ready and waiting so I opened the door and exited the house.
"Good morning, Lay." - I greeted her, walking towards her car parked in front of my residence.
"Morning, Jude. Are you okay?" - She inquired, noticing me sulking.
"I'm fine. You shouldn't have to drive all the way from your house to pick me up if my brother would stop thinking the car is exclusively his." - I replied in a sour mood.
She's very familiar with our sibling rivalry, maybe too much. But so is the entire school.
"It's not a problem, little J. I welcome the distraction, actually. The brats were getting to my last nerve." - She said, walking to the car. Her father has two other children with his mate, a 9 and a 6 years old.
It was quite an adjustment for her to come live with him and his new family 5 years ago, but once she first shifted her father didn't leave her a choice. Not with the whole: 'if your mother discovers you're a werewolf she's gonna be put to death'.
"Why are you calling me little J if I'm taller than you?" - I rebuked, rolling my eyes.
"Excuse me, Mr. Alpha. I can still kick your ass!" - She snickered, getting into the car.
Layla had a lot of anger issues to get through as she was forced to live here, unwanted and unwilling. Her father had his brother who is an enforcer to teach her how to channel that anger into a proper skill.
She became such a badass that she even signed up for the school wrestling team, even though she's the first female to do so. Facing a lot of hostilities, she proved herself in a 'boy's club' and is going strong till this day.
"Of course you can... Try that is. You do realize that my father had me training with warriors since I was 10 years old?" - I challenged her. I do respect her fierce talent, but I was trained for Alpha - even if I didn't want to.
"Yes, Jude. But you're still no match for me." - She teased me, starting the car.
"Good to know. Maybe you can protect me from the mean crowd." - I said, humorously.
"You know I always got your back." - She said, smirking.
We arrive at the famed waterfalls and the place is packed with the who's who of high school. There are several clicks of teenagers talking, drinking and having fun under the beaming sunshine.
It was difficult to find an empty spot when so many students were already flocking here. As we walked the river shore, we greeted our acquaintances and received a few peculiar stares from others. Mainly towards her.
My brother and his entourage are all around Jalesky's truck drinking. As you can imagine, they all ignored me and Layla. No, I don't want a beer, thanks for offering.😓
After a while, we stretched out a towel for us to sit under a tree. It was good because of the shade it provided.
We opened two soda cans I brought with me and contemplated the scenery. The water was actually pretty inviting and there were several teens frolicking inside. The river is shallow enough to not be dangerous but not so much that you can't take a good swim.
There were a few couples making out on my peripheral view and another one inside the river. I sighed at the unmated romance, mildly envious.
"So, who do you want to be your mate?" - I asked Layla and she practically spit her soda at the unexpected question.
She turned to look at me frowning like I was talking crazy. It's a perfectly valid question.
"Stop staring at me like you haven't thought about it! You're 17 years old. You can literally be mated any day now if your mate is older than you." - I told her in a raised tone.
Layla's features softened as she considered the question. We never talked about it because it's a sensitive issue, but with the summer coming to an end and senior year right around the corner, it's bound to come up.
This is not something werewolves can ignore, not even her.
"I honestly have no idea! Of course I thought about it, but there are too many possibilities for me to guess." - She said in a tense tone. I could feel the nervousness and anxiety in her voice.
"I feel you. Can you imagine if you were mated to my brother?" - I pondered and she slapped my arm.
"Why do you hate me?" - She protested vehemently.
"Alright! Don't need to hit me!" - I raised my hands, surrendering. Then I heard Quentin saying:
"Like I want to be mated to that freak!" - He protested, laughing it off with his friends.
Layla grimaced at the comment and I'm fuming. I got up from the towel and walked a few steps to face him.
"Really, dude? Who the fuck do you think you are?" - I questioned him, seriously pissed off.
"I already have my Luna. I don't need to be entangled with your freak!" - He rebuked me and I'm madder.
"You don't get to pick your mate, imbecile! There are literally more than one hundred girls who could be it. You don't need to be a jerk about it! She's not any less of a werewolf than any of us!" - I raised my tone, beyond mad.
"I don't care! I don't want to be mated to the freak and that's final! Maybe she'll find a human like her dad!" - He said in a dismissive tone.
"I swear to Goddess, if you say freak one more time..." - I threatened him, eyes glowing in rage. My fists were clenched, I can feel my wolf spirit almost taking over me.
"It's fine, J. Leave it alone." - Layla said, trying to get me back to our spot.
Quentin offered me a devious smile that I knew meant trouble. I really didn't come here looking for a fight. I just wanted to be left alone.
"Freak." - He provoked me. Next thing I know, I lunged towards his throat darting for the attack.
I threw him to the ground in one punch and pummeled him as the crowd enchanted:
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Quentin kicked me off of him, making me lose my balance and falling on my back. Then it was his time to hit me, I just defended myself the best I could before I counter attacked.
The fight lasted for a while before any of us would give up, giving a surprise spectacle to an audience of otherwise bored teenagers.
This is really not how I imagined my day would go. I try so hard to get out of his shadow, but it's impossible for me to get rid of him.
I'm so over this bullshit. But I'm not letting anyone mistreat my friend. She doesn't deserve it. Bloodied, bruised and battered, our father appeared after a while looking severely disappointed at us.
Everyone immediately bowed their heads and made space for him to get to us.
Trust me, dad. I'm disappointed too. Fighting was the last thing I ever wanted to do today. I didn't even have a chance to get in the river.
A|N: I like the juxtaposition of not wanting to fight to being goaded into a fist fight. I wrote the chapter with this song in mind and I loved it.
I don't know what's my deal with twins that I include them in all my books, but what will happen in this one has never happened before. I honestly hate the notion of double mates, but I couldn't pass up the idea of conflicting twins.
You're in for a treat because it's gonna be a bumpy ride from here on now.
Love,
Léo.
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