35Chapter One (Shane's P.O.V.)
My life hasn't been very easy. In fact, I can't think of a single time my life has ever been easy. But that's what it's like when you're different. And boy was I different.
You may have heard of werewolves. And if you believe in the sort of the thing, then you would be right. How would I know? Because I'm one of them. But if you believe in the whole "When the full moon is out, I turn into a wolf and I can't control myself," thing, then forget it. My pack and I live just like regular people. Don't go thinking were all primitive, living in the forests and eating raw animals. We're civilized people, just like you. And we don't do the whole halfway thing either. We turn into full, entire wolves.
Anyway, my name is Shane Silver. I have three brothers and a sister, which only makes up a small fraction of our pack. My brothers, Brent who's sixteen, Seth, and Bryce who are both seventeen, and my sister, Jayden who's sixteen, and I all live with the rest of my family in a small slightly run down community. It's not much, but we make do. It's useful because no one wants to come here, so no one ever finds out.
I'm eighteen, the eldest of the children in my family, although we all live separately. Each family gets a separate complex, and each member of the family gets a separate condo (which they share with their spouse), starting when you turn fifteen. And I'm ok with that. I have a job, and it provides enough for me to feed myself. What is that job? Probably not something you want to know about. But you'll soon find out, whether you want to know or not.
"Shane!" I heard Willow, my mother (and the alpha female), call from outside.
My eyes parted sleepily and I slowly sat up. I glanced warily at my clock. 5:30. I stretched as I yawned, and then creakily, with a groan, I got off of my less-than-comfortable- futon. She was hitting the door so hard, for a moment I was afraid it was going to break.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" I called groggily.
I finally reached the door, and when I opened it, her face would've been purple with rage, if it hadn't been white with fear.
"Come here, now," she demanded, firmly grasping my wrist and dragging me out the door, still shirtless and in my plaid pajama pants. It was still dark out, and the air was cold against my bare chest.
"Willow, what's wrong?" I asked, worried about whether or not I could still move my fingers. She was surprisingly strong for a woman in her thirties.
"Your father. He's done it again. He's-"
"What, he's told another human?" I groaned, almost pleading her to deny it.
She sighed, and her grip loosened around my wrist.
"This is a human who needs our help. I just don't know what to do anymore," she ended in a whisper.
"Ma, what happened?" I asked, concerned.
Her deep gray eyes fell to the floor.
"You'll see."
We soon reached the condo that held Silas (my father) and Willow. The alphas. She quietly opened the door and quickly directed him to a dark room in the very heart of the small house. Inside it was Silas, a girl who was maybe sixteen, and a man who I had never seen before. The girl was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, one leg folded against her, her elbow propped up on her knee. The two men were speaking in hushed tones in the corner. Once I entered, they stopped speaking and looked at me.
"What's going on?"I asked.
The girl's deep blue eyes found mine, and I suddenly remembered I was only half dressed. Her face reddened and her eyes shot back to the floor, hesitating for a moment on my chest. I looked back at Silas, my face questioning. He beckoned me over.
"What's wrong?" I asked, moving closer to where the two men were speaking in the corner.
"David, this is my son, Shane," he said to the man in front of me. I gave a polite nod in his direction, and then turned my attention back to Silas.
"Leisha martona deshataka mero?" I said in servian, our natural language.
"Why is he here?"
"Because," he replied in servian, "the idiot messed with the demons. The vampires are after him and his daughter."
I felt my eyes widen as I looked back to the man named David. His eyes were wide and afraid.
"What are we going to do? How are we supposed to help?"
He took a deep breath, and didn't look at me.
"Papa, what's going on?"I asked when he did not answer me. Still, no answer came.
He turned back to David.
"David, I'm not sure there is much we can do for you."
David nodded. "I know, I don't want anything for myself. All I want is my daughter's safety."
Silas sighed and turned back to me.
"Shane, go sit with your mother in the living room. Take Lacia with you," he said, gesturing to the girl on the floor. I nodded slightly and gestured for Lacia to follow. Lacia rolled her eyes.
"What, am I a dog?" she spat.
I winced at the word "dog", then turned to glare at her. I opened my mouth to say something, but her father beat me to it.
"Lacia, you get up right now and follow the young man to where you are expected to go."
She rolled her eyes. I hadn't even said a word to her yet, and already I didn't like her.
I herded her out the door, and began to close the door, then stopped.
"Papa," I called, speaking once again in servian. He turned to look at me. "Does she know?"
He shook his head slowly. I gave a slight nod, and then pulled the door shut.
I brought her to the small room we called the living room, which contained a couch, two chairs, a loveseat, and a very scared-looking alpha female.
I dropped myself onto the loveseat, but Lacia just stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do.
Humans.
"Sit," I ordered. As if she were a dog.
She raised an eyebrow at me, daring me to say something else. I folded my arms and waited for her to sit down. She drifted towards one of the chairs, and then looked at me for approval. I made a pained face, as if I actually cared whether she sat there or not. She frowned and sat down. I was about to go on about how it was Silas's chair, and he wouldn't be very happy if he caught her in it, when he poked his head around the corner.
"Shane," he called. I got up and walked over to where he and David were now standing.
"Yes, father?"
He took a deep breath, and then took his eyes off the floor, forcing them to look me in the eye.
"She will be staying with you."
I blinked uncomprehendingly, as if I had not heard him.
"What, Silas?"
He cleared his throat. "You heard me boy. She needs a place to stay, and here is the first place they'll search, so it must be with you."
"Silas," I seethed, my tone turning angry, "I haven't said more than two words to her, and she already hates me. How can you ask me to put up with that?"
His gaze turned steady and his voice was flat and controlled when he spoke.
"Because this is a matter of life and death. You will obey me, Shane."
The anger melted away, and I sighed.
"Yes, Father."
He turned to David, and then nodded.
"Do not worry. Shane is one of the best we have. Your daughter will be safe."
David nodded as my father went over to explain to Lacia. David then turned to me.
"Just… just keep her safe," he whispered to me. I nodded quietly.
"Do not worry sir; I will do whatever I can to keep her safe. As long as I am still breathing, I promise you no harm will come to her. No matter how much she irks me…"I added in a whisper.
He smiled gratefully. The smile of a dead man walking.
I glanced over to see Silas still talking quietly to Lacia, while her face had become red and puffy. She got up and hurriedly walked over to her dad, but he shied away.
"Do not touch me Lacia!" he demanded. She paused mid-step, without saying a word, her eyes pained and confused. "They'll find you," he whispered.
So instead, she just waved shakily good bye, and then dropped herself onto the floor, her back rising and falling heavily. She was crying.
David took one last regretful look back at his daughter, then thanked us he again. And with that he left.
"He knows what must be done, doesn't he?" I asked grimly in servian.
Silas nodded solemnly next to me. "I'm afraid so. He walked here, so we will give him some time. In the mean time, take Lacia back to your quarters."
I nodded without taking my eyes off the weeping girl.
"And Shane?" he called. I turned to look at him. "She cannot know."
After giving him one last look, I turned back to Lacia. I gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder, and waited for her to look up. When she did, I wished I hadn't been looking. Her previously ornery, defiant face had shrunken into a small, sad child. Her eyes were wet with tears and they contained so many emotions. But the one that showed the most was fear. She looked…lost. Being naturally empathetic, I held out my hand to her, offering to help her up, without really realizing I was doing it. I waited for her to shy away, or refuse to take it and just get up on her own. But instead, she did what I least expected. She took my hand. I pulled her up, feeling how light she was as I did.
I nudged my head slightly in the direction of the door. She shuffled over towards it, her eyes glued to the floor as still more tears rolled of her cheeks, momentarily staining the carpet. I looked one last time at Silas, and then shut the door, dreading what I would have to do as soon as I got Lacia back to the house. But David knew what had to be done, and he knew I was coming. He knew I was coming for him.