This is the difference of me writing on actual paper than digitally. I end up with much shorter lines and it's probably a lot better. Alas, I couldn't give up typing for anything. And it kills me to transcribe anything but nonetheless.
Okay, so I just finished this book called Girl Online and it has got to be one of the most amazing things I have ever read. It's about a British girl named Penny who runs an anonymous blog called Girl Online. Her life begins to get rough when she starts having panic attacks and has one in front of her entire school. Then the video is posted on facebook and youtube and the whole thing goes viral and the next morning so does a blog she made about fears. And then she ends up having to spend Christmas in New York where she meets her souldmate, Noah. Don't read any more if you don't want spoilers.
So basically Noah's this famous musician guy who's in a fake relationship with another musician to boost sales and all of that and he's so deeply in love with Penny but has no idea how to explain that he's famous and supposed to be dating someone and all that. He's terrified to.
Naturally, Penny's former crush Ollie ends up having spied her anonymous blog and let lose that a UK blogger called Girl Online is actually going out with this famous musician in a fake relationship with another musician and so the whole world falls apart. Both feel betrayed by the other, Penny for not having been told that Noah was a musician and Noah for believing that Penny sold him out. Penny's also blaming her best friend, Elliot, for maybe having leaked the blog but then she figures this out and it all ends happily. It's so cute!
Ethan, as always, awoke first with his nose pressed against his twin's neck. The smaller Bishop yawned, prepared to snuggle deeper and fall back into a deep coma with his arms wrapped around his brother. Alas, before Ethan could fall back to his deep sleep, he took note of the strange surroundings. The room was cold and blank, a dulle colour that not even Ethan's werewolf eyes could turn to brightness.
"Aid," Ethan asked, curling closer to his taller brother.
"Mmm?"
"Where are we?"
Aiden instantly jerked awake, rolling to the floor and landing calmly. He was dressed in nothing but his boxers. Nostril's flaring slightly, Aiden inhaled the crisp air. he had that attentive look of a werewolf listening to a far off sound. Ethan listened, too, the gentle human conversations filling his ears.
"When do you think Rae'll get up? Or did she die in her sleep?"
"Let's prank Marc!"
"I'm sleepy."
And most worrying, "When do you think the new boys will wake?"
Now unbelievably worried, Ethan turned his gaze towards his self-appointed protector. Aiden's breath was coming in quick, ferociously angry gasps. His eyes flashed the innocent gold they had held for ten years.
Ethan slipped his hand to Aiden's. "Hey Aid, shh. Don't freak.
Near instantly, Aiden's eyes turned back to brown. "I'm sorry."
"There could have been cameras!" Aiden turned his gaze, sadly, to the older twin with his shy eyes point at the ground. A silent understanding passed between them. Here, in this strange place, the young werewolf twins were human; normal.
Orange shirts and khaki pants had been left on a table nearby. As a single being, the twins pulled the shirts over their heads and khaki pants up their legs. Slim shoulders brushing, they banged the door open and walked, proud, into the hall with the wood slab behind them banging against the wall.
As an immediate reaction came, Aiden stormed towards a broad teen of perhaps fourteen, Ethan following a step behind him.
They moved with the fluid grace of cats, paw steps silent against the cool ground beneath their feet. A boy at the side parted to give the identical pair a clear path towards their target. Each child was wearing a different coloured shirt. Some were red whilst others were blue, gray or navy. There was a single black shirt at the back of the crowd. The boy Aiden was after wore grey, clashing terribly with his ratty brown hair and dull eyes. Whilst easily several inches taller than either twin, Ethan could see his flaws. Proud, based on his carefully styled hair. Superfluous if his flailing limbs were any indication.
Quite frankly, an easy fight.
Aiden attacked first, slamming a palm against the boy's collar bone. Ethan was calmer, snatching the boy's wrists to pin them against his chest.
Merely amusing, the boy smiled slightly.
"Where are we," Aiden snarled in a wolfen undertone. Cliché, yes, but the fact that the twins looked about ready to kill anything they came upon was usually an excellent factor in scaring the crap out of the various characters they came upon.
The boy laughed. "Can't talk to orange," he sing-songed.
Aiden's arm tightened against his throat.
"Jace is going to get his ass kicked."
"I wonder if they're any good.
"Those two are doomed."
Ethan tuned into the different discussions, smiling creepily at the first comment and frowning at, "I'll grab Mac."
A girl in the back darted off towards the end of the hall.
Aiden's thoughts outwards, for the words rang clear in Ethan's head as though they were speaking aloud.
'Jace, eh?'
Ethan responded unhappily. 'Yeah. If we miss something we lose advantage.'
'Just keep listening.'
The youth in red shirts all seemed nervous. A little girl with red pigtails shifted closer to a similar looking boy with equally red hair.
"They shouldn't be awake already. It's too early." (Wolf metabolism did wonders to human drugs.
"They're adorable!" (Wolf thing again. Fate couldn't deal with scarred pack-members. Only omegas were prone to that sort of thing, real omegas.)
"Where's Mac?" (No comment.)
Ethan applied more pressure against the boy's, Jace's, arms. He looked mildly amused at most.
Words forming on his lips, Aiden glared. "Where. Are. We?!" Tension was palpable in Aiden's words, dripping from each syllable like thick honey from a lengthy spoon.
"Oh he's scared!" One girl, maybe fifteen, cooed.
Ethan practically growled at the suggestion.
Alpha didn't allow fear.
'Eth,' Aiden thought internally. 'No, don't think about Alpha. He's not here.'
'But he'll be mad.'
'I know but we can explain. Don't think, shh.'
Whilst Aiden's internal cooing was comforting, it didn't sooth the underlying fear of returning home. Alpha had the right to do anything he wished with the members of his pack.
Ethan and Aiden were still on the outs, but they were, technically, part of his pack.
Their mother said that pack meant family and that family didn't harm family.
Ethan loved his mother, but he had read the Percy Jackson books which were all about family fighting family.
But he did love his mother.
Alpha wouldn't kill them.
Ethan tilted his head back. "We need to go home."
"Can't talk to orange!"
Fangs bearing, Aiden snarled. "Why won't you talk to us!"
"Can't! Talk! To! Fucking! Orange!"
The twins exchanged a glance, the message passing clearly.
"Speak sign language for all I care! We just want to get home."
A large, booming voice echoed through the hallway. "What on Earth is going on here!?"
At the man's side was a nervous girl and the youth parted ways.
'Mac' was around six foot and seemed to have gone bald long ago. His eyes were blue.
He looked like Alpha.
Next to him, Aiden tensed like a drawn bowstring.
'Fight, vents or talk?'
'Vents!'
In an instant, Ethan was off, darting through the crowd with his supernatural speed. Ethan followed quickly, remaining low to the ground.
Several yards father along, Aiden disappeared up a vent. A second later, Ethan followed.
Crawling through the vents, time moved sluggishly.
At first it was desperate and quick but soon it turned to a long, dull crawl.
They're speed and strength was useless in this confined space. This was a dirty, cold job.
Aiden came to a half at a large intersection, one that had a little more headspace.
'This will work. For now.'
Despite his heightened body heat, Ethan was shivering in the cold.
'Come on ya great lump, get over here.'
Nodding slightly, Ethan hesitantly agreed. He crawled towards his brother and wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a one-armed hug.
He nosed his brother's jaw sleepily. Aiden purred in response.
"Why are we here?"
"Scott. I heard him talking on the phone."
Ethan rolled his eyes. Of course his equally paranoid twin had been listening in on Scott talking on the phone.
Easing fingers through Ethan's hair, the elder twin, too, began to purr.
Then, both relaxed and exhausted, Ethan fell into a haphazard sleep.
"What are they doing?" It was Scott's voice that awoke Ethan.
Cocking his head to the side, Ethan continued to listen in.
"Well you certainly chose a tough pair," Mac said. "It's almost like the can talk in their minds." The Irish man continued.
"Probably do." Ethan could see Scott shrugging in his mind's eye. "Twin telepathy and all that jazz. Plus they're like me, Lupan's, and all that. Higher chances of alleged powers. Miraculous healing, better ears... All that."
The Glade of Lupa.
A religion.
A church.
Sort of.
They were all werewolves. Every Lupan was a werewolf living under a code that, largely, protected the general population from Hunters.
Those who would reveal the Supernatural were... Ethan wasn't quite sure yet but he knew it was bad... and the dark, out of control wolves were flatout killed.
Ethan had an iron chain with thin links hanging around his neck. It had a single silver ring hanging around his neck.
Silver, for a 'beta'. (Alpha called them both omegas but that was not so.) The ranks were as such: Omega (bronze ring), Beta (silver ring), Alpha (marked silver ring), Member of Alpha Pack (gold ring), True Alpha (white gold ring). They were all werecanines. A mixture of 'wolves, 'dogs, and 'coyotes, all living in relative peace beneath their leaders in the Alpha Pack. They'd been awaiting a leader, their true one, for centuries. The True Alpha was the one that was the only Lupan worthy to rule the others. The legends said that a True Alpha was not only kind and gentle but also fierce and protective and all at the same time. The shield and sword. The True Alpha was what they all strived to be and what none ever became.
Ethan yawned sleepily.
Next to him, Aiden was stirring.
"Aid, they're looking for us."
"Know," he mumbled back. "Wha's the time?"
Ethan glanced at his watch. "Five A.M. We fell asleep, maybe, two hours ago? You reckon those 'bloody' accents mean anything?"
"Yup."
"Bloody brilliant."
"Alpha'll be angry."
"No he won't." The voice was new and Ethan jumped.
"Hello Scott."
"I got in contact with the Alpha Pack. Reported him. Nothing to fear. Nada."
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" He gestured around at the less than comfortable ventilation shaft.
Scott shrugged. "I ran away at seven. Took Mac three years to come upon me. I've had less comfortable homes. Slept in worse places."
Ethan nodded sympathetically. "Sewers. Those are the worst."
"Not as bad as farms. God, the scents! If you're not all wolfy like us, not so bad. You know with these noses the smell of animal and manure lasts for days and weeks and at least fifteen showers."
"Point taken."
An exasperated voice echoed towards them. "Are they coming yet?"
"Give me a bloody minute!" Scott shouted in his slightly British accent that sounded annoyed. The terminology seemed to come easily to him.
"Bugger." Mac's voice was faint this time, like a distant whisper.
Aiden shifted hesitantly. "Are you sure Alpha'll never hurt us again?"
Scott nodded a reassurance, happily plonking down onto the cold metal. He looked entirely too happy. "Lord Deucalion sent me a video. I'll show it to you if ya want."
Ethan shook his head. "That's okay, really."
"We're good," Aiden agreed.
"Now?" Mac shouted.
"Let's just go," Scott offered. "Mac's gonna throw a fit if we don't. I swear he's not as scary as he looks. Worst he does is a few punishment laps and, you know," Scott gestured at his flashy gold eyes with a laugh.
Shrugging, Aiden followed the small werewolf.
Ethan fingered his light necklace, taking note of Scott's own. Copper links, a simple bronze ring and what seemed to be an old keepsake on a separate chain. It was what looked like half of a bat with the word, "Bat-" engraved on it.
Pretty clearly, it was half of 'Bat-Man'.
Ethan rolled his fingers over his own. One ring, though whether it were bronze or silver he didn't know.
For the first time, Ethan wasn't sure if he wasn't actually an omega.
"Live long, live hale!" Scott called over his shoulder.