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Chapter 6 - Shady

An hour later, the class was over. We did teamwork instead of working as partners. Mrs. Julies didn’t seem to mind since we were getting things done. Before we left the classroom, the principal had called an emergency meeting. So our last class got cut short, and they allowed us to go home early.

“Matt, can you go find a coach and see if training is still on?” I asked, and Matt grabbed his bag and walked towards the coach’s office.

Erik and I walked towards our locker to pack up for the day. I pulled out the stuff I needed for homework and got rid of what I didn’t need.

“Alex, they canceled training. You wanna go home and practice a bit?” Matt came back with his training bag slung over his shoulders.

“Oh man! Yeah, okay, let’s go then. No point in staying around here.” I grabbed my bag and closed my locker.

Esther and Natalie walked up to us before we got to the main door.

“Erik, you and Natalie wanna join us?” asked Matt.

“Nah, man, we gotta get home. I have work at five, so I need to get my school stuff done before I go. Thanks for the offer, though,” Erik said as Natalie looked at him and turned paler than before.

What was going on?

“Well, how about we drop you guys home? You won’t have to take that stinky bus,” I offered.

“Oh, I guess that would be great. It gets really hot on the bus, and the damn windows won’t open,” Erik laughed.

“Alright, lemme go swap cars with Ash. He brought his Jeep. We won’t fit in my car,” I said and walked out to the carpark towards our cars.

I spotted Ash with Esther and Ethan near Ethan’s ranger rover. I walked up to them.

“Ash, I might need to swap my rapid for your jeep,” I told him and placed my bags on top of Ethan’s van.

“Why?” he asked.

“Matt wants to go home and train a bit since training got canceled, but we’re gonna drop Erik and Natalie home on the way.”

He put his arm around Esther and pulled her close to his side, and it looked like he did it subconsciously. Esther stared up at Ash. She was used to his daily flirts, but this time, it looked like she felt something. Her posture went rigid and then calmed down. I noticed that because I always had my eyes on them. I didn’t want Ash to do anything that got him in trouble with Esther’s parents.

“Bro, I don’t think she likes the way you’re holding her,” said Matt in a playful way as he walked up with Erik and Natalie. Ash froze and slowly removed his arm.

“Actually, brother, I liked it,” said Esther. Ethan and Matt’s jaws dropped, and Ash just looked at Esther with an awe expression. Then it hit me. The full moons this weekend; therefore, since Esther had reached prime age, she might make her first change. I smiled at that thought.

“Someone might get lucky this weekend,” I blurted out.

“Huh?” asked Matt.

“Nothing, don’t worry. Ash, you can take Esther home in my car.”

Ash threw me his Jeep's keys after I chucked my keys at him. I picked up my bag and walked to the Jeep. Then I remembered something, so I stopped and walked back to Ash. I grabbed his collar and pushed him against Ethan’s rover.

“Let me remind you that the car I have given you is my baby. If I see a single scratch on it, I will make sure you can never reproduce, ever in your life. AM I UNDERSTOOD???” I hissed. Ash nodded and gulped. “Good,” I said and let go of him and walked towards the Jeep.

The boys all burst out laughing, and Erik and Natalie joined them.

Erik and Natalie had already taken their seats in the back. After I got in, I adjusted the rearview mirror and glimpsed Natalie’s expression in it. She looked scared. Did I scare her?

"Matt, why does Natalie look scared?" I asked through our mind link.

"I don’t know." He replied and shrugged.

I started the Jeep and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Alrighty, which way is home?” I asked.

“Do you know where the Rangers club is?” He asked, and I nodded.

“Well, head that way, and it’s the first right turn after that.”

Wow, that was super close to the woods. That area wasn’t very safe cause the local junkies loved to party around the forest boundaries. There were lots of homeless people living amongst the trailer parks along with some really run-down houses. I thought back to my dream where the house I found Erik in was very run down too.

As I turned at the lights towards the rangers club, I remembered, “Hey Erik, you said you had work tonight. Where do you work?” I asked. I remember hearing him say something about a bar.

“The local bar. Indigo.” he replied.

I looked at Matt, and we both burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Erik asked, looking shocked.

“No, no, nothing.” Matt said. It was funny because we knew the bar owners and why it had a name like that. But Erik didn’t need to know just yet.

As I turned the first right turn, we saw all the miserable-looking houses. I had grown up in this town, and I was not too fond of this area. It was the trashy side of the city, and I just wanted to turn back around.

“You guys live out here?” Matt said. I could hear the concern in his voice; concern for Natalie’s wellbeing

This place was disgusting. Trash littered the roads; the houses were run down and there were trailers with broken windows and doors. The grass looked like it hadn’t been cut in ages, and there were overgrown trees and shrubs everywhere. Random people we drove by looked as though they hadn’t showered in weeks, possibly months. This environment was depressing, and no one seemed to care or know any better.

As the houses got smaller and smaller, panic in me started to build up.

"Matt, we’ve got to get them out of here. They can’t live here. This place is disgusting." I mind linked him.

"I know! Why the hell would they come here? I’m sure there were other houses in town they could have rented." He sounded angry.

“Erik, which once is your place?” I asked out loud.

“Keep going right to the end. It’s an old cottage,” he said in a small voice.

I looked in the mirror, and Natalie had sunk into her seat. She looked terrified.

As I got to the end, the cottage came into view. It was at the end of a long driveway. The driveway had overgrown grass covering it with a car parked in front of the main entrance.

"Matt, it’s the cottage from my dream"

Matt looked at me and then at the cottage. His face was as pale as Natalie’s. If my dream was correct, we knew what was happening to them behind the walls of this run-down cottage. I heard Erik and Natalie shuffling in the back and their door opening.

I couldn’t move. Everything from my dream was coming true. The boy, the girl, the house. I’m sure if I walked in, the furniture and the stairs would be the same as well.

I put my window down.

“I’ll come to get you guys before school in the morning. Be ready by eight,” I managed to say.

“Oh, Alex, thank you, but you don’t have to,” said Natalie. For the first time since we left school, she had spoken.

“Nat, I’m not asking, I’m telling you. I’ll see you at eight, okay?” I used my firm voice, and she and Erik nodded.

“See you at the bar tonight, Erik,” said Matt as I pulled away.

“Matt, what do we do?” I asked him.

“I don’t know, Alex, but we gotta do something. They can’t live in that shit hole. Especially if the guy in your dreams is their uncle.”

I thought back to my dream. I could never see the face clearly of the guy that was hurting them. It was always blurry. Erik and Natalie’s looks were crystal clear.

I drove towards the packhouse and parked Ash’s Jeep in the garage.

“We may have to start taking your Jeep now, buddy,” I said to Matt as we pulled our bags out.

“I am more than happy to do that. First, I hate your driving, and second, anything to make sure Natalie never gets into that school bus again,” he said while scrunching his face. Our jobs were to make sure we looked after our mates and had the best of everything.

“Fuck, I didn’t ask much about his uncle. We could have done some digging on him,” I said as we walked into the house.

“Who’s uncle are you talking about?” Came a loud voice. Shit! I keep forgetting everyone can hear us around here!

“Daddy!” I said and walked up to him. He opened his arms and hugged me just like this morning.

“How was your day, sweetheart?” He asked as he released me and looked closely.

“Interesting, actually,” I said, and chuckled. Matt, behind me, chuckled as well. Dad looked at us both like we were crazy.

“I’m gonna go see mum, Alex,” he said, bowed his head to my dad, and walked away.

“So, what’s this interesting thing that’s happened?” Dad asked as we walked towards his office.

Once inside, I closed the door and sat on the couch while he poured himself a drink.

“I found my mate,” I whispered, looking everywhere but at his face.

I heard him gasp, and the next thing, he was sitting next to me.

“You what?! Alex, honey, that’s amazing,” he said, his voice ecstatic.

“It is, dad, but we have a problem” I looked at him, and he nodded for me to carry on.

“Well, he’s human to start with. The Moon Goddess has some explaining to do, and he also is the same guy that’s been haunting me in my dreams.” Realization flashed across dad’s face as he leaned back on the couch.

“Everything is the same. He has a sister. It’s the same house, and it’s in the dodgy Angel Falls neighborhood,” I continued. “Turns out his sister is Matt’s mate. There’s something about her that screams pain and torture.”

Dad just listened. I could see his brain ticking. He looked like he was solving the world’s most complicated puzzle in his head.

“Dad...”

“Honey, I’m so glad you found your mate, but it sounds like there will be difficulties. He’s human and obviously won’t feel the same way you do right now. Once you’re mated, it will be different, but till then, you’re going to have to keep him from getting into a relationship with someone else. For you, no other guy holds the same importance as your mate, but for him, until you mate or even tell him about you, he will still seek a companion.” Dad looked at me with sadness in his eyes. “Honey, you are a woman. Female Alpha. Male werewolves will find your dominating nature attractive. They will understand why you are the way you are. You have the instinct to stay in control, to want to be in control. Human males don’t like that. They don’t like the female being dominating and controlling. In werewolves, having a high-rank female mate is appealing. In humans, it’s not. So you will have to keep in mind that you gotta level with him, sweetheart. You gotta lower your expectations and remind yourself that you have to give in sometimes instead of trying to control.”

Every word dad said rang in my ear. I knew what I had to do. Sitting in the bathtub filled with hot water and lots of bubbles, I could feel my muscles relaxing. I felt like I was sitting on a cloud. I kept thinking about Erik and what dad said. Dad said he would find out more about Erik and Natalie and see what he could find out about his uncle.

While lost in thought, a familiar scent filled my nose. I looked up, and Matt stood at the door of my bathroom.

“Eight hours ago, I would have made some nasty dirty comment about you like this. But now I won’t. Every time I even think of something, Natalie’s face pops into my mind, and I think, would she appreciate me talking like this about another girl? Because hell, I wouldn’t want her talking or thinking about another boy,” he said casually.

“Wanna go get a drink?” I asked him. He nodded, knowing exactly what I meant.

“Well, go get dressed. Indigo makes some really nice margaritas,” I said, and we burst out laughing.

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