1

 

 

“You might as well start eating,” Mum said with a strained smile. She’d called Adrian multiple times, but he’d yet to reply.

‘Probably thinks he’s too good to be summoned so casually,’ Scarlett thought, trying not to roll her eyes.

The atmosphere in the dining room was heavier than usual. Scarlett, her mother, and her best friend began to tuck into their food, the strained silence broken only by the scraping of forks on China.

She picked at her salad, trying to spear a particularly robust tomato with her fork. It exploded into a mass of green seeds and goo, making her grimace and drop it to the plate.

The clatter of her fork grabbed the attention of her mother who looked over with a concerned frown.

“Is everything okay?” She asked. She’d asked this question roughly a thousand times since her stepfather Ron and stepbrother Adrian had moved in. Both women sensed the shift in energy. The scent of an Alpha was a powerful thing; something the previously all female household would take time to adjust to.

"I’m just not hungry," Scarlett lied, looking down at her food.

It wasn’t the new housing arrangements on her mind, but the comments of her very much human best friend. Earlier that day, Sienna had pointed out the inch of fat around her middle, pinching it between her finger and thumb before telling her to sort it out.

"I can't have a fat best friend," Sienna had declared with certainty, curling up her top lip in disgust. Scarlett poked at the flesh around her midriff and looked across the table at Sienna, recalling her friend’s cruel barb. Scarlett could hardly blurt out the truth—that as a werewolf she had a very different metabolism, and it was hard for her to fit in and eat her preferred diet at school. A plate of rare steak and nothing else was hardly a menu option, even with the popularity of this new ‘caveman diet.’ Instead, she had averted her eyes and nodded.

"Adrian! Dinner!" Mum shouted for the seventh time. She caught Scarlett’s eye and flashed a thin smile as she fumbled with the napkin in her lap. The low hum of music from above disappeared, replaced with thudding footsteps. The guy seemed to be incapable of walking down the stairs without creating the sound effect of elephants tumbling down a cliff top. The house wasn’t built with a creature of his strength and power in mind.

He sat down at the table, looking at the dinner her mother had made for him with a confused frown for a moment before picking up the cutlery.

"Thanks, Sam," he said only once he’d felt the weight of her expectant stare. He usually neglected the pleasantries, but they had one rule in this house and indeed this town that they didn’t break—act like a normal human family at all times. Fitting in to the human world was more important than following their own etiquette and traditions. That was something Adrian needed to get through his thick-headed skull.

"You’re welcome, Adrian," she replied. "Your Dad is just getting the last of the boxes and then he has to return the van to work."

Scarlett watched as Adrian nodded with disinterest and attacked his salad, salmon, and potatoes with the same lack of enthusiasm as Scarlett. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her mother, who had taken the time to cook a meal from scratch to see it go to waste.

Sienna, who used her house as a second home, was picking around the fish, just eating the salad. To Sienna, being fat was just as bad as having fat friends. She was very self-restricting when it came to food and fastidious about her exercise routine.

Scarlett was about to apologise for not eating all her food when she felt a sharp pain in her shin. Looking around the table with accusatory eyes, she found it was Sienna who had kicked her and was now giving her a very pointed look and signalling toward Adrian.

"Oh, sorry," Scarlett gasped. "Adrian, this is my best friend, Sienna. Sienna, my stepbrother Adrian."

"Hi, Adrian, it's nice to meet you," Sienna said with a wide smile.

He looked at her and frowned. "Hmm. Sienna and Scarlett. Is that a coincidence or did you two decide to be friends based on your names?"

Sienna turned to Scarlett, grabbed her hand, and flashed him one of her dazzling smiles. "We bonded over our names and have been inseparable ever since."

"Oh," Adrian grunted. He rolled his eyes ever so slightly as he turned back to his plate, indicating the end of the conversation.

Sienna didn’t take this as a hint to give up. Taking hints had never been her strongest suit.

"So tomorrow will be your first day of school. I’ll let you sit at my table at lunch if you ask me nicely," she said. It was clear she was trying to be flirtatious, but it came off sounding arrogant. The way she said, 'my table,' as if Scarlett and her other friends were esteemed guests of princess Sienna.

Thinking about it, this was fairly accurate, though Sienna was more the queen than a princess. Queen ruler of the school.

'Why is she flirting with Adrian, though?' Scarlett wondered. He was most definitely not her type. His style looked similar to the alternative kids she was always ragging on at school, with black hair, piercings and dark clothing. He did have a pleasant face, but it was mostly hidden behind his hair.

Maybe it was his animal magnetism. His scent most likely worked on humans as well as females of his kind. This seemed the only logical conclusion.

"I think I'll manage to find my own friends." Adrian screwed up his face. "But… erm, cheers for the offer."

Sienna stared at him for a moment, open-mouthed and gawking, as though she couldn't fathom his response. She wasn't used to rejection.

The plates clattered as Mum passed out the dessert—a tempting chocolate mousse cake. Both Sienna and Scarlett decided a little slice couldn't hurt, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the fluffy chocolate desert.

Adrian picked up his plate, turning to her mother to make a face behind Sienna's back. "Mind if I take this to my room?"

"Of course," Mum agreed, bowing her head slightly before catching herself. "Erm… just make sure you bring your plate down after."

Usually, the pair would hang out in the living room after dinner, hoping Mum would open a bottle of wine and let them have a glass. Sienna loved to hang out with her Mum. She was young, pretty, and fun, according to Sienna, whose mother was in her fifties, divorced and, according to Sienna, boring. Scarlett couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the woman, who was at a disadvantage when it came to aging. Her own mother would be well into her eighties before the aging process began… not that many wolves made it to such a ripe old age.

Today Sienna grabbed her by the hand and yanked her upstairs, meaning she had something private to discuss.

'I already know what it is,' Scarlett thought with a weary sigh. 'She's going to bitch and moan about my rude stepbrother as if it's somehow my fault.'

Everything was Scarlett's fault, even if it wasn't. That was a reality she had learned to live with from an early age.

"Oh my God," Sienna started. "Your stepbrother."

"Yeah, he's..."

"Perfect!" Sienna cried.

Scarlett did a double take.

"Eh?" She frowned.

"He is so freaking gorgeous! How could you not tell me about this?" Sienna said.

'Here comes the blaming and moaning...'

"Erm, well, I don't see him that way," Scarlett explained.

"Really?" Sienna seemed dubious. "How can you not see it?"

Scarlett had to explain how her stepbrother, aside from the fact that he was indeed a family member, did not fit her type—a type Sienna should be familiar with since they often both had the same crushes. They both went for the tall, toned, and tanned guys, the more athletic the better.

Adrian was not athletic. He didn’t need sports or gym equipment to become strong or fast—he was born that way. He hated most sports besides football, and he was about as far from tanned as you could get. Aside from the fact he was much taller than most human guys his age, he did not fit the criteria.

For the next few hours, Sienna garbled on about all of Adrian's amazing qualities, both real and very much imagined, and mined Scarlett for information about his likes and dislikes.

When it was time for Sienna to leave, she had a last request before going home. As she gathered her things, placing her schoolbooks and make-up into her bag, she flashed a sly look.

"You have to ask him out for me," Sienna demanded.

"A—are you sure?" Scarlett asked, unable to disguise her horror.

"Why not?" Sienna asked, her pretty face turning dark. "Don't you want me to date your stepbrother?"

"Oh it isn't that!" Scarlett gasped, terrified of upsetting her friend.

"Well, what's the problem then?" Sienna asked.

"I just don't see how he's good enough for you," Scarlett said. It was a tactful move, flattering her and putting her off in one fell swoop.

"I think I can decide who is good enough for me," Sienna scathed.

After taking a deep breath, Sienna smiled and jumped up onto her feet. "Okay, I'm off. Message me when you've done it."

Her blonde ponytail bounced as she did an excited little jig and waved.

Once alone, Scarlett turned to her mirror and made a horrified face at her reflection.

This situation was a mess and, let’s face it, it was only going to get messier. There was no way Adrian would be interested in entertaining Sienna’s little crush—he'd left the table to get away from her.

'But if he says no, I will somehow be the one to blame,' she realised.