I do not own Blood and Chocolate.
Layla:
It was raining again. I have mixed feelings about the rain. In my room I have a bay window, when we bought our house I was a freshman and I had fantasies about reading in the window as it was raining, but I never read on it. It was too distracting. I just stared at the street curled up with my chin on my knees. The phone rang once faintly in every room, but mine. I opted to not have a phone up here since no one called me.
"LAYLA!" That scream would be Paulette from downstairs. For some reason she felt the need to scream like a banshee every time the phone was for someone else. "PHONE!" I moaned grumpily. Someone probably needed tutoring or hopefully someone calling about my college scholarships. I stood up and stuck my head out the doorway.
"Who is it?" I asked. Paulette walked up the stairs phone to her ear.
"May I ask who's calling?... Michael!" My eyes widened. Michael? The blonde jerk Michael? How did he get my number? Where I was concerned, Paulette looked absolutely pleased. Phoebe heard the commotion and stood in her own bedroom doorway. "It's so nice to hear from you. I heard my sister was a real bitch to you at lunch."
I guess it wouldn't take long for my sisters to find out about our little chat today. I narrowed my eyes at her which went unnoticed.
"Yeah, don't mind her. She's sensitive," Paulette said waving her hand dismissing me.
"Oh! Give me the phone!" Phoebe said jumping up and down.
"It's not for you," I said to her. Phoebe shrugged.
"So?"
"Uh huh," Paulette said hand on her hip as she paced. She smiled wide and started to jump up and down silently. "I'm sure she will." Uh oh, this couldn't be about me. No one even knew who I was.
"She'll what?" I asked Paulette. Paulette raised her finger in a 'one second' gesture.
"Yeah! Hold on," Paulette said. She covered the speaking end of the phone. "Michael wants to know if you want to go with him and those two others hang out at the mall."
"No way!" I said.
"Are you insane? I'll go," Phoebe volunteered raising her hand in the air and giving a little enthusiastic jump.
"He didn't ask for you, he asked for Layla," Paulette said. I rolled my eyes.
"How about you dye your hair and borrow my glasses and go as me then?" I asked sarcastically. Phoebe perked as though I'd said something brilliant.
"Do you think that'd work? We are identical," Phoebe said.
"Its a joke!" I said. Paulette rolled her eyes.
"Yes or no, Lay?" she asked impatiently.
"I just said no. It's raining. I don't like him. I hate the mall. I see no reason to go," I said bluntly. Paulette gave me a scolding look. Then she scoffed.
"You, my sister, are going to die a virgin," Paulette said covering the phone with her hand. I re-entered my bedroom at that point and slammed my door. I heard Paulette chattering a little longer in the hallway until politely hanging up. I went back to my bay window and looked outside. There was a lumpy red and white spot on the wet ground. I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and leaned forward for a better view.
There was a gutted dead rabbit on my lawn.
Jonas:
This was stupid. Tommy, Katrina, and I sat on the porch of our mansion in sweaters and sweat pants. My father had instructed us to wait in the front porch for the new werewolves in town. He was on his way home from the city and the other betas were also on their way.
A wonderful, beautiful, fantastic black Italian convertible with the drove up with the top up.
"What's she doing here?" Tommy muttered. Aunt Marille stepped out and slammed her door behind her. She had a small McDonald's bag in hand along with a small kid's sized drink. We watched her walk past us.
"Hello Jonas and friends," she said sweetly. "And your father asked me to be here," she answered Tommy's question her sensitive hearing had apparently picked up. She walked up to me and ruffled my hair. I flinched and backed away.
Here's the deal with my aunt. She was the one who suggested to my dad that I needed twenty-four hour surveillance. She was the reason I was the third wheel on every single one of Tommy and Katrina's dates. She was the reason I couldn't even talk to Layla at school. She and I hadn't been on good terms since that day one year ago. Even if she meant well, she still ruined my life.
"Why does he want you here? It's not like you're a part of this pack," I said.
"Jonas, you're so bitter," she said. I felt the urge to snarl at her. My inner beast and I both had a mutual dislike for her. "I'm a psychologist and animal behaviorist, soon to be psychiatrist, did I tell you I signed up for med school? Anyway, I have experience with liars and hidden motives." She opened the door and waited inside.
Aunt Marille opened the door again and poked her head out.
"What were their names again?" she asked.
"Gideon," all three of answered at once. Almost every beta who passed by us had asked us. But Aunt Marille's brow furrowed as she sipped her drink thoughtfully, then went inside the house.
I sighed.
"Geez, she's a junk food addict," Katrina said as soon as Aunt Marille was inside out of earshot.
"Not like it matters to werewolves. We need those extra calories," Tommy said.
"Yeah, but is it just me or does she always have a McDonald's bag in her hand?" she asked. I thought about it.
"I guess so," I said. My father was the next car to pull up to the house. He parked in the garage and came walking out. He stepped up the steps of the house with his secretary, Jillian, also a beta of the Carter pack close on his heels with a blackberry in hand.
"They're not here, yet?" he asked.
"No, sir," Tommy said respectfully. He sighed.
"It's rude to show up on one's territory uninvited and then be late introducing themselves," he said clenching his jaw.
"In all fairness, they didn't give us an exact time, sir," Katrina said.
"It's almost dark. Doesn't make them any less annoying," my father muttered. I smiled, surprising myself that our mutual dislike of these people was a similarity between me and my father I didn't mind. He stepped through the screen door.
A few more moments passed. The rain pattered lightly on the roof. Tommy and Katrina were huddled together on the porch swing rocking gently, the supporting chains squeaking in rhythm as they swung back and forth. I leaned against the post trying not to stare jealously. The rain, their closeness. It was a little too familiar.
Finally an unfamiliar car pulled down the dusty road that led up to our manor. Tommy and Katrina immediately sat up straight. I felt my instincts kick in as I knew who was inside that white Mercedes Benz that rolled around. What was strange though was that it was just one car. It was just an entire pack, it was just a few people in a four door. There were twenty people in the Carter pack, not counting Aunt Marille. There were only about four people in the car.
"Odd," Katrina agreed with me as if reading my thoughts. The four people were predictable for the most part. Three of them were the ones we'd been introduced to at lunch, Michael, Bridget, and Anthony. The other one was a middle aged man no older than my own father. He had natural black curly hair and tan skin. He glanced at us showing striking light green eyes.
I almost shivered. He looked vampiric.
But that's stupid, there's no such thing as vampire and he smelled of pure werewolf. He stepped up the porch smiling politely at us. Michael and I met gazes. His smile was exaggerated. I opted for not smiling at all.
"Sir, they're here," Tommy called from the doorway and held the door open for them. Various beta members went to the our living room where we were meeting. My father stood up and shook hands with the man.
"Mark Carter, Alpha, Carter Pack," my father introduced.
"Victor Gideon," the man said. That was all he had to his introduction which was suspicious in itself. This guy didn't even have a pack, that or he was refusing that information to us. Betas stiffened uncomfortable with the situation. Then Aunt Marille came out of the kitchen brushing the salt from her french fries off her hands.
She nearly choked on her food she was swallowing.
"Vic?" she said. Victor smiled.
"Carter! I thought I smelled you," he said light heartedly. Aunt Marille and him laughed genuinely and gave one another a hug. There was a baffled silence as the two greeted one another.
"Marille?" my father interrupted in a low voice. Aunt Marille pulled out of the hug.
"Oh! Where are my manners? Mark, this is Dr. Gideon. Victor, this is my brother, Mark. Victor was my colleague when I was going to school in San Francisco. He helped me with my Lone Wolf research," she said. My father slowly nodded his understanding, more at ease that someone he knew was acquainted with the trespasser.
"Its a pleasure to meet you," my father said politely. I felt myself shrink into the crowd. Great. Even this group of werewolves from across the country knew I was a lone wolf. Was there any werewolf who didn't?
"Likewise, of course," he said and introduced Michael, Bridget, and Anthony.
"What brings you to our neck of the woods?" my father said as soon as everyone was settled. Victor gave a sigh and swallowed hard before starting.
"I am from the Lucas Pack in San Francisco, as are these pups. Our entire pack was wiped out by hunters," he said. An uneasy silence fell over the room.
"Hunters?" my father echoed.
"Yes," Victor said. "There is a small group of humans in California that has dedicated themselves to killing werewolves, vampires, and... I don't know. Whatever else supernatural they can find. One of our pack members, the one I suspected to be a Lone Wolf..." He directed a look to Aunt Marille. She nodded, obviously knowing what he was talking about.
I felt myself shrink back into the crowd a bit more.
"She slipped up when the one she was attracted to started to date someone. She killed a human and the hunters tracked us down from there," Victor said sadly. I was looking at the floor, not daring to look up at see the eyes I felt on me. A Lone Wolf had revealed their secret. I truly was a threat to my pack, my family.
"Our house was burned to the ground. We are the only survivors. I was the only one left to take care of these pups, so I brought them with me," he said. I looked up seeing matching looks of sorrow on all three of their faces. Even Michael. It didn't take a psychologist to see what he was saying was true. Tears had formed in Bridget's eyes, but refused to let them fall.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," my father said.
"Thank you. I hope you don't mind us moving into this territory. I knew Marille lived somewhere in this city, but I wasn't sure where. She had told me she had no pack," Victor said.
"I don't," Aunt Marille said.
"She's decided to stay within the area, but she's not technically part of the pack," my father explained. Victor nodded.
"Well, we welcome you all to town. If there's anything we can do for you, please, let us know," my father said. Victor smiled and shook his hand.
"Thank you," he said. We offered the Gideons to stay for dinner, but they politely declined though they agreed that it may be a good idea to go for a run later. With that the meeting was done. There were still some things that bothered me about them though. Tommy and Katrina still didn't feel right about them either, but my father said we had to play nice with them at school.
"Perhaps, as long as they leave her alone," my inner monster told me.
I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration.