One giant-looking guard bowed his head at us. His dark eyes met with mine only for a second. I saw the shock on his face and his eyes went wide as he has seen a ghost. I didn't do makeup so there was no possibility that I scared him. Jace growled next to me, glaring at him.
He lowered his head. "Welcome, madam." He bowed his head, almost showing his shoulder blades.
"Er, thanks." I smiled, keeping the awkwardness away.
"Relax, kiddo. They have seen you out of your castle for the first time." Luke came with Everly at her side. "Dave is just excited to see you." He clapped his hand over his shoulder.
"Yes, Beta." Dave nodded, his eyes on the ground.
"Stop scaring him, Luke." I stared at him in annoyance. When Ava came from Canada. They did this to me. I hated it.
He chuckled and strolled in. After a few steps, the corners of his lips turned down.
"Are you angry, little sister?" Jace arched his eyebrows at me.
Everly held my hand. "Stop teasing her." She tugged me in. "My friends are here." She smiled at me over her shoulder.
"Er... they aren't any better than Bullying Ava," I said over the soft-playing music.
"I'm glad she's mated. Otherwise...." She trailed off. Leaving my hand she waved it in the air at her friends. Laura and Ash. Both were beautiful with athletic bodies and they were wolves like them.
"Elder sisters," I rolled my eyes, murmuring.
"Hey! I'm your elder sister, too. Don't say it like I'm the bully one too. " She thinned her lips looking over her shoulder.
I chuckled, meeting her gaze. "Were you ever bad to me?" Tapping my index finger on my chin I pretended to think. "Oh! Good thing! Never." I kept my voice low. It wasn't helping much as everyone could hear me whispering from a distance too.
"Hey, girls." Laura and Ash said in unison, almost singing it. They were grasping the flute glasses, red liquid shook with their dancing moves.
We might have the same faces and heights but we weren't alike. Our hair color described our differences. Our choices, tastes, likes, and dislikes, everything was different.
I nodded my head and drifted my eyes around. I had seen some faces from the pack meetings. I wasn't allowed there until I turned eighteen. Rules were different for me. My mother set all the rules. I could understand she lost her daughter years ago. She was more human, less wolf. She was the queen, reborn to break the curse. We weren't equal in any way. Still, my mother gave me her name.
Jasper never interfered until today. According to him, it was Queen Reina's plan. It doesn't sit well with me. Why would she need a person like me in her academy? I wouldn't be any help in war or anything compared to powerful creatures. Perhaps she wanted us to feel safe and important. Well, there won't be any war. I have heard Daddy C repeating it most of the time.
"Here you go, Queen." Laura smirked at me, shoving the same drink in my hand. They nicknamed me after the first day they came to our house to meet Everly. There was a function at my school. My mother dressed me like a queen. They were still stuck in that day.
"Ember, my name is Ember," I told her gazing at the glass.
She waved her hand at me not caring that I did not like this and tugged my sister to the dance floor where Ash was swaying her hips.
Sighing, I raised the glass to my nose and sniffed it. No odor. It would be safe to ignore drinking it. I whirled on my heels and paced over to the counter. I placed it down and waited for the bartender to pay attention. So, I could order juice. That would be good for my digest system.
"That's a special punch." Luke said, halting next to me.
"Where's your girlfriend?" I asked.
I haven't seen him with any girl ever. I tried to dig in to find anything but nothing.
"I'm here for a meeting, Em," He said.
"I don't know you do business too." I thought he's just the beta of the pack.
"Just don't go anywhere." He told me strictly.
"Are you here to babysit me?" I pursed my lips.
Not showing the irritation on my face, I waited for him to chide me. His behavior has always earned him a rebuke from father, mother, and Jasper.
He lifted his eyes to the VIP hall. Jasper and Jace were already looking at me.
"Er.. got it, half-brother." I smiled.
He scuffed and turned. Taking the stairs, he reached the hall, joining them.
These brothers-less-more-bodyguards are irking me. I nodded at them before turning to the counter again.
Before I could place my order, the bartender placed it in front of me. I couldn't hold the shock from my face and turned to look at them again.
Jace smiled at me. Jasper scanned the area. With a satisfied look on his face that everything was under control, he strode over to the couch. The transparent mirror wall was making everything visible.
Perhaps I'm the youngest one in the family.
Shrugging my shoulders, I grabbed the glass. I looked back at my sister. She is my only friend. I didn't remember going to a different school. That changed a lot of things for us. She made friends. Real friends. They love her as I do. I might not like them, but my sister was happy among them. Happiness is all that matters in our life. I mean... we're sisters, I think being in a different school took a big part of us being together. I wouldn't blame my mother's insecurity. She must have a strong reason to do this. Separating her twin, decided to send them to different schools that wouldn't be on her list.
I took a sip, my eyes darted on the bottles resting on the top shelves behind the bartender. Alcohol.
"You should try this." A whispering voice sent trembles down my body.
A bolt of fear ran through me. My head snapped to my left. My eyes were slightly big in shock. No one ever tried to talk to me.
He was tall, very tall but lean. He must be senior to me. He was cute, his long dark hair was falling over his head, hiding his thick eyebrows. But I haven't seen him before.
My eyes drifted around one more time. No one was paying attention to me. Why was he talking to me? I couldn't part my lips to speak. I did the simplest thing. I shook my head and lifted my glass to take another sip.
"You'll like it, darling." He whispered, leaning in. His nose brushed my hair. The goosebumps rippled through my neck.
Somewhere in the corner of my head, I listened to a faint voice that was asking me to run away.
I gulped as I saw his dark eyes. They shone sparkly and disappeared immediately. My eyes bulged out. I had never seen any wolf doing this. It felt like he was calling me, asking me to do things. I forced myself to stay still.
" Dance with me, darling." His voice hypnotized me.
He's forcing me. My hand advanced without considering anything. He could be dangerous. He was a complete stranger.
His hand was warm around mine. He took me away from the hurdle of people. From inside, I was struggling to break the spell. He must be a fae. They knew the spell of hypnotism. Thanks to my sister for letting me borrow her books at night. But it was something else too. How could I struggle against unknown things, but I could feel it? Dread made my heart pound in my chest.
Alarming bells rang in my head. He was taking me out of the club through the back door. The alley was divided into dark and light under the street lights.
He pulled his hand away, smirking at me. His eyes shone again. I stumbled back. I froze in dread, staring at him with big eyes. I couldn't find my voice. How could he do this? Panic raced through me as worst-case scenarios flooded my mind. He could murder me, rape me. Why didn't anyone come to deter me?
"Still not saying a word, Queen?" He asked, his mocking smirk didn't smudge off his face.
He must have heard Laura talking to me. He must have kept his eyes on me, waiting for me to be alone.
Pulling myself from my shock, I spun to the metal door. I tried the handle. My heart literally stopped beating before pounding in my ears.
Scared I pulled the handle knowing it wouldn't move. A crude squeal through my throat in dread. My body was covered with goosebumps when I felt something crawling on my legs. I glanced down, squealing. It was pitch black. I looked up, jerking my feet to get rid of the thing which I couldn't see. The street lights were off.
"Turn on the lights. My brothers will kill you." I sobbed, jumping away from the door. But it stayed crawling on my legs. "Jasper! Jace!" I shouted their names. I ran my hand on my legs again and again rapidly.
"Everly! Luke! If this is some kind of prank. Stop this. I'm gonna tell Daddy L." I whimpered.
I tried to look for something. But there was nothing but dark, all around me. The thing went crawling my body, grasping my legs, going up my knees.
"Just get off me," I yell-whimpered, jerking my feet one after another, strongly. My hands were shivering in fear. I couldn't see anything in the dark. I was also certain there was no one. That boy, he did some magic.
I have to go away. The temperature increased suddenly. The crawling sensation began to fade. The vision came to my eyes. The lights were very dim at the start. There was nothing around my legs. The crawling sensation began to lessen.
Whatever it was. It was terrifying. I blinked, and tears dripped down, making the sight clear. My hands were still trembling, and my teeth were chattering.
Lifting my chin, I looked around. I shouldn't let my fear take hold of me. The aisle was lit up with street lights again.
That boy wasn't around. Where did he go? My inside shuddered in dread when something moved under the dark. My eyes stayed glued on him.
Another boy stepped out of the dark. His back was on me. I could see his dark long, silky hair. They were shining under dim lights too.
"There's no danger." His voice was gravel but soft.
My mouth stayed sealed shut. My eyes stayed on him. An unknown part in my chest felt alive. My heart was beating fast but it wasn't because of fear.
He started to stride away. My mind jerked seeing him leaving. "Don't go." I blurted out loudly.
His feet halted in the middle. Time seemed to freeze. But it vanished when he placed his foot down and plucked another.
The space that was feeling alive was filled with pain. Without another thought, I ran after him. Why didn't he reply to me? Didn't he hear me?
He turned, disappearing. Fear crawled inside me at the thought of being alone in the aisle. I didn't want to feel the fear of a nightmare with my opened-eyes again.
I ran to catch up with him. He is spry. I saw him getting in a hot black car. I hadn't seen this many black cars before.
"Hey!" I rushed forward.
In a blink, he was gone in his car. The road was empty and his car sped away. My feet halted. He must be a wolf.
"Ember, what the heck? I'm finding you in every fucking corner of the club." I heard Everly shouting at me in exasperation.
"I was looking for the washroom. I lost my way and I ended up here." Shit! I never lied to her.
She rolled her eyes. "I know you're lying. Ash saw you waving at that car which disappeared in the dark. Did he break up with you?" She stared at me, folding her arms. She was giving me the look which told you-did-not-tell-me.
"Did you tell him that you wouldn't be around? That must have upset him." Ash asked.
"Isn't it okay? You'll get a better one there. Don't trap yourself in a long-distance relationship. It will be nothing but a problem. Just a piece of advice.'' Laura shrugged her shoulders.
What were they thinking? I considered not correcting them. I had no reply for my tears if they would ask me. If they knew the truth, I would never see the academy ever. Mom wouldn't let me out of her sight.
"We should go in." Everly said, shaking her head. She is looking pretty disturbed. What was she thinking? Whatever it was, I didn't want her to tell this to anyone. She spun to the door.
"Don't tell anyone, please." I perceived anxiety brewing inside me.
She nodded and paced over to the door. I breathed deeply and tried to wrangle in my nerves. Ash touched my arm and offered me a soft smile.
I returned it immediately. Her friends aren't bad. I scurried my feet behind them. Silence fell at once. Instantly it was filled with music.