Birthright: Book 1: Know Thyself Page 2

  “Bu..but…, I’ll be late.” I stammer as I stand up gingerly.

  I know immediately, by the look on his face, that I should have just shut up and taken another tardy. He covers what little distance was between us in less than a second and backhands me across the face. Stunned, I awkwardly use the nearby wall for help in staying vertical.

  “Did I ask for backtalk?” He screams while spittle lands on my face.

  I'm struggling not to gag, but he has such rancid breath. I fight off the tears and force myself to breathe through my mouth. I can taste the familiar coppery tang of blood from my split lip. He must have used his left hand where he wears his and his dead wife’s wedding rings.

  “I’m…I’m sorry; I’ll get right on it.” I manage to stutter out. I quickly turn my head away from him and down to the floor, as the tears start to fall.

  I am thankful that I turned away in time; tears will only make it worse. Not glancing up, I quickly shuffle into the small kitchen to grab eggs and bread as I struggle to get myself under control.

  “That’s better.” He says while watching my every move.

  He finally sits down in his battered old recliner in the living room. I finish making his breakfast as quickly as possible spurred by my urgent need to get out the door and away from him. I keep my eyes downcast as I hand him his plate.

  “Is there anything else I can do before I go?” I ask to avoid having a repeat occurrence of earlier.

  I can feel the swelling in my lip and cheek already. It is made more noticeable by the throbbing that is in sync with my rapid heartbeat. Bob inspects every piece of his breakfast as I stand there. I have to wait for at least five minutes before he says I can go in a haughty tone.

  I finally make my way out the door and look back at the crappy two-bedroom duplex in which we live. Derrick and I have our own rooms; the only perk here. Bob sleeps on the couch since he is generally too drunk to make it any further into the house anyway. I pull my hood up, so it blocks my face from the cold November wind. Even though the wind feels like a cold soothing balm, the hood serves the purpose of hiding my new injuries as I start the fifteen-minute walk to school.

  I'm a loner at school, which suits me just fine. I don't mind being alone, I actually prefer it. I only need to deal with this joke of a public education for a few more weeks. I have been taking extra classes at night, and on holiday breaks so I can graduate early.

  A few minutes into my walk, I finally feel the fear and pain of the morning’s ordeal begin to sink in, and I let the remaining tears fall as rage fills me. I hate that he makes me feel so fucking weak and helpless.

  I am a few yards from the school gate when I realize that I have cried almost the whole way to school. I decide, since I am already late, I might as well take a few more minutes to compose myself before walking into the office for a tardy slip. Another ten minutes go by before I feel like I’m calm enough to walk in the gate. When I am right in front of the office door, I hear tires screeching from the student parking lot. Turning around, I realize that the car is a 2012 black Dodge Charger SRT8, with dark tint on the windows. The only reason I even know the type of car is because Derrick is obsessed with cars, specifically this one. For a total douchebag, I must admit he does have good taste in automobiles.

  I wonder who owns the Charger as I watch it park smoothly before I go into the office. I wait for the school secretary to get done with the morning announcements when the office door behind me opens. I turn around to see who entered, but the secretary calls my name at that exact moment.

  “Amara Smith, late again, I see.” She says in her annoying high-pitched voice that makes every student’s ears bleed. I would personally rather listen to nails on a chalkboard.

  Mrs. Briggs, the school secretary, is a few inches shorter than me. She has salt and pepper hair and a thin nose that supports gold wire-rimmed glasses.

  “Yes,” I answer quietly, looking down, while she writes the pass for me.

  “If you’re late again you will have to serve a Saturday detention.” She says, smiling as she hands me the slip.

  I hear a noise, sort of like a low growl, coming from behind me and then a feminine cough before silence. The rumble cuts off so abruptly that I am not even sure if I heard it in the first place. Bob must have smacked me a little harder than I thought. I shake my head to try and clear it before nodding at Mrs. Briggs as I turn and walk out.

  Suddenly, my face is smacking into a solid wall, and I am falling to my ass, for the second time this morning. I hear a manly chuckle that sounds oddly sexy; that’s a weird first thought for me to have, I muse. I glance up quickly and realize it isn’t a wall. It’s a massive solid man.

  “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I mutter as I avert my gaze back to the ground.

  He offers me his hand, and without thinking, I grab it, so he can help me up. The second his hand comes into contact with mine, I feel an electric jolt going from my fingertips, up to my arm, and to my heart. A weird warm feeling radiates out towards my head and limbs. I look at his face, and I notice he’s mirroring my confusion. I think he must be the sexiest man I have ever seen. He is tall, a little over 6 ft’. I have to crane my neck just to see his face. He has light-brown medium length hair, a sharp nose, high cheekbones, and a dimpled chin with light stubble growing. He is rugged looking, in a way. Especially with his bronzed skin and beautiful dark-green eyes that contain little yellow flecks. As I catch his gaze, I start to feel an uneasy pull in my stomach. Forcing myself to look away, I sidestep around him and make for the door. It feels like his eyes are burning into my back as I hastily exit the office and head to my first class.

  Chapter 2: Declan

  “So, are you excited for your first day of public-school Brianna?” I ask my sixteen-year-old baby sister.

  “Oh my gosh, heck yes I'm excited!” she answers back, her blond shoulder-length hair practically bouncing in the passenger seat of my Charger.

  Her long bangs are combed to cover her left eye. Her visible hazel eye stands out against the heavy black eyeshadow and liner she wears. She has pixie-like features with a small nose, and her lips are painted a dark red. She is dainty for a wolf. I would never tell my sister this to her face; there’s no way she would let me walk away unscathed. She is of average height for a normal human woman, with her tapping out at 5’ 4’.

  Most would think that I would have better things to do than chauffeuring my kid sister around, being the future Alpha of our pack and all. But I don’t. Truth be told I wanted to be the one to take her on her first day to a human school. She is only five years younger than I am, but her spirit and childlike innocence are still intact. Brianna is my only sibling now, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she is protected from the dangers to our kind. I have no idea how she got my parents to agree to let her leave the pack school and come here. I have zero desire to interact with others outside of the pack, so I don’t know why it was so important to her.

  “What do you think it will be like?” She asks.

  I’m distracted, thinking about how to answer her when I almost miss my turn into the school. I slam on my breaks, causing my tires to squeal loudly as I barely make the sharp turn into the parking lot and casually park in a visitor space.

  “Are you okay?” I ask removing my right arm from in front of Brianna.

  Instinct had me reacting before my brain registered the possibility of an accident.

  “Yep just peachy, you really shouldn’t think while you drive if it distracts you!” she says with a big smile before laughing hysterically.

  I think she's a little nervous because that was a hell of an adrenaline shot to my system. My heart is still racing, and I’m barely concealing the tremor in my hands.

  “Get your bag comedian, and we’ll see about getting you registered,” I say, smiling back.

  I get out of the car and shut the door. The most alluring aroma immediately assaults me. It smells like maple and pine trees
. It is warm and sweet, yet fresh and wet, like freshly bloomed plants misted with morning dew. Inhaling this most intoxicating scent gives me the strongest urge to track down its source. Luckily, the smell only grows stronger as I walk on the concrete path leading to the office door. We walk in, and the smell overwhelms me as we enter the room. Looking around the small outdated office, I immediately notice that there are three people in the building aside from us. I see who I assume to be the Principal. He is hunched over his desk, with a phone to his ear, in an office set to the left of the main reception area. He is an older man with grey hair balding in a u-shaped pattern. His thick bifocal lenses stand out on his thin face. His nose and cheeks seem to have to put up a fight to support such heavy glasses.

  The next person I notice is an older woman with salt and pepper hair and wire glasses; her voice instantly raises my inner Wolf’s hackles as I hear her speak into a microphone. The final thing I notice is a small, almost entirely shapeless, hooded figure in front of me. I take another deep breath only to realize this person is the owner of the intoxicating scent. The realization has me momentarily addled.

  ‘Mate!’ My inner Wolf slurs, growling in my head.

  I am annoyed because Wolf is hindering my ability to hear the conversation, but then I hear the secretary say, “If you’re late again, you will have to serve a Saturday detention.”

  I feel a low growl make its way up my chest and exit my mouth before I can stop it. This woman is getting joy from our mate’s punishment. Wolf is pushing at the forefront of my mind and attempting to take over. Luckily, I'm still in control when Brianna coughs to get my attention and cover up my growl, and I Instantly stop.

  The hooded figure nods in response to the secretary, while not looking up, and turns to walk out when she bumps into my chest and falls before I can catch her. I chuckle a little as she takes a glance at me and then looks immediately back to the ground and mutters “I’m sorry; I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  I don’t like that she doesn’t look me in the eye. It’s like she is avoiding everyone looking at her. I offer her my hand, and as soon as she takes it, I feel it! A shock goes through my arm straight to my heart where warmth and, what can only be described as pure happiness, reaches to the ends of my extremities and beyond.

  Before seeing her, I thought I was smelling someone’s food, but this! This smell is one of the three signals to help us know when we’ve met our true mate. It's a little different for every person, but there are common signs. Most commonly, the first to occur and usually the most definite sign is the scent. No other scent will be as alluring. We feel a compulsion urging us to seek it out.

  The second sign is like an amplified static shock at first touch. This shock is what jump starts it all. It kicks the mating hormones off in both mates. The third and final sign happens when the mates kiss. They will experience sparks, almost in a literal sense. Or so I’m told. I remember the Elders used the term “fireworks,” but I have always thought that they over-romanticized it. The jolts felt between mates, from the first kiss on, only gets stronger until they are fully mated. This occurs when the females are claimed entirely by receiving the male’s mark.

  I pull her up from the ground, and she looks me over quickly. I can't help to do anything except stare at her. She is shorter than me with shiny dark-brown hair that falls past her shoulders in loose waves. She has fair, almost pale, skin, and cute freckles all over. Being this close, it’s impossible not to see and smell the dark bruise forming on her cheek and the small cut on her lip. I quickly hide the anger coursing through me at the sight of her injuries.

  ‘Kill! Someone hurt our mate!’ Wolf rages at the forefront of my mind demanding to be released.

  ‘No!’ I think, taking a deep breath. ‘Not here! It's way too public, and we don’t want to scare her.’

  Taking complete control, I block him out before there can be any physical change in my appearance. The girl’s face is clean of makeup, which highlights her injuries. I guess her looks could be considered dull by some. In my opinion, she’s beautiful, in an understated way. As knots start forming in my stomach, I’m becoming lost in her dark blue eyes. I am snapped out of my reverie when she suddenly steps around me and walks out the door. I watch her figure until the door closes on the morning light and my future.

  I turn and face the secretary; whose nameplate reads Mrs. Briggs and enroll Brianna as quickly as possible. I mean, why in the hell is there so much paperwork to put a kid in school? When we finally walk out of the office, I feel as if years were wasted in there. I lightly grab Brianna by the arm to stop her from walking to her class.

  “What’s up? I am already late on my first day”, she says, while looking down at her schedule and smiling.

  I smile at her; my kid sister can always make me laugh.

  “Did you notice that girl in the office when we walked in? Amara Smith, is that what the secretary called her?” I ask with a grin. Just saying her name aloud makes me happy.

  “Yea, I noticed you staring at her. What about her?” She asks, finally taking her eyes off her schedule to look at me.

  “And how often do you see me check out women? Gosh, it’s like you don’t even pay attention to me at all!" I tease her like she would tease me if the situation were reversed.

  "That girl is my mate; that’s why I had a hard time keeping myself and Wolf in check,” I explain.

  “What? Are you serious?” She all but screams.

  Looking around, I'm relieved when I see we are still alone in front of the office building.

  “Yes! I am one hundred percent sure, but here’s the deal, I don’t think she knows about our kind. If she did, she would’ve had some kind of reaction other than confusion. And I don’t believe she would’ve left so abruptly. I mean, we wolves dream about finding our true mates, male and females alike. It’s the fairytales we’re told as pups as we go to bed every night.” I explain in a lower voice as Brianna just stares at me dumbly.

  I smell the wolf in my mate’s blood. What's odd is that there is something else mixed with it. Never in my life have I smelled anything like it before. Knowing I can trust Bri, I decide to share my thoughts.

  “I’m confused though, I know she is a wolf, but she’s different somehow. I can smell it in her blood. I want you to try and get to know everything you can about her. You must be careful though and not let anything slip about us. I will be the one to tell her and explain everything when the time is right.” I say.

  “You got it, brother! I’m so excited that I will finally have a sister! Now you can stop sulking around the house and maybe I can finally have a life too!” Brianna exclaims giddily in her excitement.

  “Calm down, get to class, and remember what I said,” I tell her seriously as I meet her eyes with intensity before she walks backward slowly.

  “What are you going to do today?” She asks, looking at me like she already knows. Which she probably does.

  “Research,” I reply, feeling happier than I can ever remember feeling before.

  I can’t believe I finally found my mate.

  Chapter 3: Brianna

  His mate? Wow, I think while walking away from my dear brother. I can’t contain my excitement. I am so happy for Declan; he’s been so anxious since the incident. I am sitting in my third-hour history class with ten minutes to go before the bell rings for lunch. I don’t know if I have any classes with his mate yet, so I have no idea how to go about getting to know her. I can’t go asking random students questions about her. That would be super creepy coming from a new student. I’m not even sure I remember her name!

  “Ugh” I grunt out loud with frustration.

  The boy next to me lightly laughs at me and asks if I need help with the worksheet we are supposed to be completing. While giving him a genuinely warm smile, I give him a good once over. He is rather cute with spiky blond hair, light tan, and big muscles. His look screams jock, but without the stigmatic arrogance and stupor.

  “No,
I’m done. Thanks though. I’m Brianna by the way.” I say, giving him another smile.

  I hope I don’t come across as a stuck up know it all.

  “I'm James. So where did you move from?” He asks while looking at the teacher who is staring intently at his lap under his desk — using his phone, most likely. The teacher is utterly oblivious to his class. Adults are always the biggest hypocrites.

  “I didn’t move from anywhere I was homeschooled up until now. It took me a while, but I was finally able to talk to my parents into letting me come to a public school.”

  “Oh, that’s cool!” James is getting ready to say something else when the door opens, and the class collectively gazes towards it. The girl from the office this morning walks in with her hood covering her face.

  It’s her, my brother’s mate! I watch her intently along with the rest of the class as she walks with her head down towards the teacher’s desk. She hands him a paper, exchanges a few quiet words and then leaves, never once looking up.