chapter 7

I stood frozen from the stair case. John was back but he wasn't alone. He had come in with someone else, a lady. I was sad, and I couldn't hide it.

“Brother!” John shook hands with Jake. “This is Stephanie.”

I swallowed hard, wondering what he was doing with this lady whom he had introduced to Jake as Stephanie.

I felt threatened by her striking beauty. She wore a ponytail and she had a smile that made me feel she was having something with John.

“Steph,” Jake grimaced. “Where did you meet her?”

“I'll tell you all about it later, but for now she'll be staying with us.” John brushed past Jake. He was yet to notice my presence, and I was waiting for him to ask after me.

“Where's Ryena, and how's her training going?” John finally asked.

“She's pathetic!” Jake’s reply didn't come as a surprise to me.

I stepped down from the staircase, and I noticed the smile on his face. He closed me in a warm embrace, pressing his lips against mine.

“I've missed you,” I whispered into his ears, and he smiled..

“You can as well take her to the bedroom, and quit kissing in front of your guest,” Jake said in contempt.

John pulled away and I took in a deep breath. I felt guilty that I had kissed his brother in his absence, and not just once.

My eyes met with Jake's and he looked away. He didn't seem to bother and didn't look like he was going to tell John that we had shared romantic moments together in his absence.

“Feel at home Stephanie, and be careful with my brother. He can be brutal,” John smiled, pulling me away, his arms wrapped around my waist.

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“How did your training with my brother go?” John asked, as he poured some brandy into his glass. “I hope he wasn't too rash with you?”

I sat on the bed watching him, but deep down in my head, I was playing a game of comparison. John was handsome, but Jake… he was just something else.

“Come on, Reyna,” I hit my head, feeling guilty for being so naive.

I felt even more guilty as the scenes of me and Jake kissing, replayed in my head. I contemplated telling him about it, but I shove it away. I didn't want to hurt him, nor break his trust.

“Are you okay?” He probably had noticed my unease.

“Yes I am,” I shrugged. “Who's that lady you came home with?”

“Her name is Stephanie. She's a loner like you too.” John moved towards me and sat beside me on the bed.

“A loner?” My eyes widened. My thoughts began to race. First it was Jake who had come home with a lady, and that was me, and now it was John.

“Yeah. Her pack was attacked and she's the lone survivor. She needs a pack and that's why I have brought her home.”

“You're my soul mate,” I could still hear Jake's voice in my head. It had been like that ever since the day we both kissed, and I was beginning to wish I didn't let him kiss me.

“Stop!” I yelled.

“Reyna, are you okay?” John shook me, jolting me back to the consciousness of my surroundings. I was shaking and John looked at me. I could tell the surprise looks on his face, wondering what was wrong with me.

I, too, I was surprised. I didn't know when I yelled, but with the voices playing in my head, I had to. Maybe Jake was right after all. Kissing one's soul mate creates a binding, and that was probably what had happened. I didn't experience that when I kissed John for the first time.

“You've been acting strange since I came back. Is everything okay?” He placed the back of his hand on my skin, to check if I was having a fever.

I kept shaking, and I could feel the cold slowly building up within me, even if it was a sunny day.

“You're having a fever,” John rose to his feet and moved moved towards the drawer. I kept shaking while trying to make sense of what was happening and what exactly John was looking for.

“You're not wanted here, and you'll never be part of us!” I could also hear my father's voice, all playing in my head at the same time.

I could feel my head bang, my body temperature increasing and my breaths getting short.

“Hold on Reyna,” I heard John say, as he rushed to my side with a glass of water and some tablets.

I managed to take the tablets from him, but my hands were too shaky to hold firm the glass and it came crashing on the ground.

The shattering of the glass was the last thing I heard and then everywhere went black.