Beranda / Werewolf / Winter / 5. Word of Warning

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5. Word of Warning

Penulis: MishanAngel
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-12-24 02:00:58

I sat next to Krista in the high school office. She was smirking, her arms crossed over her chest, and her head leaned back against the wall behind us. Another one of our classmates came out of the office and winked at us before heading out. Principal Miles stood outside his door and motioned me in. Sighing, I got up and walked over to his office.

“Well, this is the first time this year I’ve had you in my office.” Principal Miles sat down behind his desk. “I’d hope we didn’t need to do this until the official meeting at the end of the year.”

Chuckling, I sat down across from him. “I mean, you know I love this office.”

It was true. He’d turned his office into a bit of a dark academia vibe. The walls were painted a dark blue with gold accents everywhere. There were black bookshelves lining two of the four walls and most were filled with leather bound editions. He’d added in a few more mystical pieces to complete the look. Plus, his desk was a huge dark wood centerpiece that was intricately craved with multiple wolves on the front.

“Winter, your sister is blaming you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course she is. I didn’t talk to Krista. I didn’t throw it. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even know Maverick asked for it. I’m on the other side of her. Mrs. Cross was talking and she was giving us a wonderful speech.”

“And?” He’d already heard this from everyone else.

And…Rebecca may have said that she hoped the next teacher was hot because she didn’t want to learn from a fat teacher again.”

Principal Miles rubbed his face with his hand. “She’s only gotten worse this year. I’ve had multiple complaints from teachers and students. I’ll need to speak with Beta Caleb but I know what he is going to say.”

“If they are too weak, then they need to fall in line?” I offered.

There were a few sayings my dad had. They tend to go on rotation but considering how tired he has been lately, he might need to retire this saying before it came back to bite him. Principal Miles sighed and shook his head.

“I will bring in Krista, her parents, your parents, and Rebecca, since they are the main culprits of this. They can work this out. I just wanted you to be aware that your sister is putting the blame on your shoulders.”

A warning. He was giving me a warning. One of the few things he could do without alerting my dad. Or putting his job in jeopardy. I nodded and got up, grabbing my backpack.

“Be safe, Winter.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Principal Miles. I appreciate it.”

Stepping out, my dad and Hannah were in the office already. Krista was sitting further away but her parents weren’t here yet. She gave me a strained smile as I walked into the main office area.

My dad saw me and growled. “Of course it’s you. It’s always you. You are the problem…”

“Beta Caleb.” Principal Miles stepped out of his office. “If you don’t mind coming in with Rebecca, we can wait for Krista’s parents.”

“No need. We are here.”

I was always floored by Krista’s Mom. She was gorgeous. Today, her hair was combed out in a natural afro, much like Krista’s. She carried herself with such elegance and grace. Right now she was wearing a suit with high heels. From what Krista tried to explain from what little she knew, her mom worked for the Council of Elders. They were the overseers of all the races. Her dad was the trophy husband but he loved it.

He was handsome and strong. I knew he was one of the warriors of our pack but I didn’t know at what level. He was darker than both Krista and her mom but his smile made him more approachable. They had always been very nice and welcoming, despite the few rough interactions with my dad over the years.

“Come, Krista. Let’s see what Principal Miles needs to speak with us about.”

I stepped out of the way as Krista shrugged on her backpack and walked past me. She winked and mouthed out , ‘You owe me Friday’. Groaning, I shook my head and headed out of the office. Since all my classmates needed to be spoken to, everyone had emptied out of the halls already. The school was pretty empty, but I decided instead of disappearing into the library that I’d just head home.

It was rare, but getting to step into the house without anyone home was heaven. It felt completely different. Putting my backpack in my room, I headed back into the kitchen to make dinner. At least, I would eat what I could while I made dinner for the family. If it was going to be as bad as I thought, then there would be a chance I wouldn’t get to eat.

A half an hour later, the door slammed open and then slammed shut. Rebecca was wailing and flew up stairs. Her door slammed shut before either my dad or Hannah got into the kitchen. Hannah got to me first, pulling me away from the counter and throwing me against the wall.

“How dare you! How fucking dare you! She is your sister!”

I shook my head. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You think my daughter is lying? That you didn’t tell your best friend to pour juice all over her?” My dad stood in the kitchen, glaring at me.

“I’m your daughter too. I didn’t do it. The entire class told Principal Miles what happened. Even Mrs. Cross did. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t even…”

Hannah screamed at me. “My daughter was bullied! She was bullied! You think that is okay? She is going to be the next Beta!”

“The only bully in that entire school is Becca!”

I slammed my mouth shut as Hannah’s hand hit my cheek. Unlike Rebecca, Hannah did have some power behind her swing. It snapped my head to the side and I almost hit my forehead on the refrigerator. She was livid. Her wolf evident in her eyes.

“I will take care of this.”

Dad grabbed my hair and pulled me out of the house. I stumbled after him, trying to not fall. My eyes filled with tears as my head felt like it was getting pulled a part.

“Dad…please…I didn’t…”

“Shut up! You are lucky I kept you around. You are lucky that when we took the blood test you happened to mine. I wouldn’t believe it and I still hardly do. You are worthless. You dare treat your sister, my real daughter and your future Beta, like that? You aren’t even worth the oxygen you breathe, the food I provide you, or the roof over your head. Somehow your mother still managed to carry you to term and I will forever hate her for that.”

He threw me into the back shed and I let out a small squeak as my back hit the wood. His boot was first. Over and over he kicked me but just as yesterday, there wasn’t the same power behind it as there had been. I curled up in a ball as he continued. Eventually, he switched to the piece of wood that might have been an old handle to a shovel.

There were a few times I had to cry out. I couldn’t hold it back. Still, I did my best to protect face and anything else vital. His wooden stick actually cracked and he tossed it away into the shed. Squatting down, I heard the crackle of his knees. He grabbed my neck and lifted me up to look him in the eyes.

“You are nothing, Winter. Know your place. You better change your attitude regarding your sister or you’re going to find yourself in a world of hurt when she takes over as Beta. No one is going to save you. You will be all alone. Once you’re eighteen, I no longer have to be responsible for you. I don’t need to see your face again. I’ll never need to see your stupid mother’s face again.”

Tears spilled over but I didn’t say anything. What could I? This was my dad but at the same time, he killed my mother. Their mate bond withered into nothing and it killed her while he was perfectly fine. She died of a broken heart because her fated mate cheated on her with her younger sister. Because he chose Rebecca over me.

He looked like he was going to say something else but he didn’t. His hand finally let my neck go and my head hit the floor. Gasping for air, I couldn’t help but be happy when he turned away from me. Leaving the shed, he shut the door behind him and locked it. Lying there, I could hear his footsteps fall away before I heard the back door slam shut.

Sobs broke out as I curled up into a ball. I couldn’t understand it. Why he hated me so much. Why he hated my mother so much. It didn’t make any sense. They were supposed to be fated. Even if they didn’t know one another, their mate bond should have pulled them together. Should have helped a little. Why did he even mark my mother to begin with if he hated her? Instead, he pursued her younger sister after they were mated? He would even be denying Hannah the fated mate she probably had.

All those questions didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I survived. Another night, I survived. I wondered if, deep down, he knew that Rebecca wasn’t Beta material. If he knew she was lying and all of this was just to appease Hannah. It would be too late though. Even if he turned around tomorrow and told me was sorry. That he wanted us to be father and daughter again, I would still kick him out.

I hated that I hated him. I hated that I wanted them to feel the same pain I did. It was an ugly feeling. One I knew my mother would scold me for. One I scolded myself for. It just hurt. All of it just hurt so bad. Sometimes, I wanted to give up. Sometimes I felt like this wasn’t worth it.

But it was all I had left. All I could hold onto. All this time would have been a waste. So, I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep on the floor of the shed, hoping that it wouldn’t be too cold when I woke up.

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Eulinda
Yikes, what a horrific brutal life.
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  • Winter   6. Distraction

    My eyes fluttered open and I shivered. It was cold. Not freezing cold but way too cold to be wearing just a shirt. Slowly, I pushed myself off the floor of the shed. Everything protested the movement. All my muscles were locked up and I felt sore everywhere. It was still dark outside and I couldn’t hear anything but the wind whistling through the trees.Pushing on the door, it was still locked. It was probably too early for the door to be opened or my dad intended on leaving me in here all day. Not that it would be a first but I really didn’t want to miss an entire day of school.Grabbing one of the thin sheets of metal that had been used to patch the roof of the shed, I stuck it right under the lock. It wasn’t a key lock but a latch that swung into a latch to lock it in place. With some effort and enough finagling, I managed to tap it so it swung up and around. The door opened and the cold wind sent goosebumps rushing over my body.They did say a storm was going to roll in today. It d

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-25
  • Winter   7. The Truth of Rumors

    My alarm went off and I groaned. Getting up, I hit the alarm and rubbed my eyes. I sat up from the chase lounge and stretched. For some reason, I felt even more locked up and in pain than before. I grabbed my backup backpack and everything I needed for the day. It was a serious debate whether or not I wanted to just sleep in and not show up to Statistics.In seventh grade, one of the times it got particularly bad, the older librarian who worked here gave me a key to an unused office. It had some old books that were needing to get donated but other than that, the space wasn’t used. Over the years, I made it into a mini version of Principal Miles office. A safe haven away from my house.The walls were a dark green with silver accents. My bookshelves were also black but these shelves held my own collection of books. After I brought home books and woke up the next day to them being trashed or burned, I stopped bringing home anything other than textbooks. Instead, I filled my little office.

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-26
  • Winter   8. Out of Control

    *** Caspian’s POV *** The marker squeaked against the board a little louder than I meant it to. I frowned, looking at the words I was writing. Was I seriously just called a bleeding heart by a teenager? Part of me wanted to take it as an insult, which it seemed like in this case, it was meant to be. Being called a bleeding heart was definitely a first for me.Taking a deep breath, I put the marker down and turned around to the class with a smile plastered on my face. “Good Afternoon! I am Mr. Penn and I will be Mrs. Cross’ replacement for Latin.” Walking around the desk, I leaned against it. “A little about me if that I have a Masters degree in Linguistics and I’m currently working on my PHD. So you could say I’m a bit of a nerd for languages.”As with every class, the majority of the girls laughed while the rest just rolled their eyes. Crossing my arms over my chest, this was my only Latin 3 class. The other two were Latin 1. Which meant that their teacher before me was with them thr

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-30
  • Winter   9. Simple Request, Hard Acceptance

    I grabbed the three notebooks from Delilah over the three different classes. There were also the two textbooks, my own notes for the day, and then I grabbed a couple extra notebooks that were empty. With everything that I gathered today, I could easily set up a lesson plan for each class now. While I wasn’t quite comfortable being in an official teaching position, if I looked at it that I was only teaching someone a language, it lessened the feeling of imposter syndrome.‘You’re coming over for dinner.’Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my leather messenger bag that had somehow survived all of my college years with me. ‘I have work I need to do.’‘You little…you’re coming over for dinner. You didn’t even stop by when you came in last night!’Closing the door and locking it, I headed down the stairs and to the office. ‘I got in late. I needed to be up early. I wasn’t going to wake you or Ember up. You’re too old to be missing that kind of sleep.’I held back my laugh as my brother yelled in my

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-30
  • Winter   10. Years Gone By

    “Em, we’ve talked on the phone and through texts. It’s not like you haven’t talked to me all this time.”She frowned. “Cas, that doesn’t count. Those are just words. I want to really know how you are. You okay coming back? Is the apartment okay?” Reaching out, she rubbed my arm. “Are you taking care of yourself? Are you sleeping well? You might have grown into a towering monster but you’re thin too.”This is who Ember really was. Something that kicked in the moment we found out my parents were dead. She was a nurturer. A mother at heart. I couldn’t understand why, after all these years, they hadn’t had pups but Ember stepped up into the mother role for me even though she was only twenty. At the time, I was nine and rebelled against her something fierce but she never gave up. Not even after I left the pack.“I’m okay. Really. I am really happy where I am. I’ve found something I love and pursuing it has been the best and most fulfilling thing I’ve done. There are times where I miss havin

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-31
  • Winter   11. Like Father, Like Son

    ‘It was not that bad.’I sighed and flicked on the lights of the apartment I was staying in. Onan wasn’t wrong. I was expecting it to be worse. Damian was still Damian. Even after all these years. Though, a little more grown up. He’d weathered some storms and it settled him down to an extent. He always had a bubbly personality and was a complete extrovert. He just fit the Alpha role now.Placing my bag on the smaller kitchen island, I looked around the room. This seemed so different than Ember’s usual style. This was far more modern of a place than I expected but she also was only investing, not actually living in it. It was above a shopping center on the West side of town. It had its own little community feel and there were two stories of apartments above all the stores.There were massive windows and a balcony but I’d found out today that the windows were one way. It felt a little more private and I didn’t feel the need to always be closing the blinds now. I would have been fine with

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-01
  • Winter   12. Strength And Weakness

    I tapped the papers straight that my last class turned in before vacating the classroom. It was my first Friday and it was about as hard to get the students to focus as I thought it might be. With how the rotation ended up today, I had one of my Latin 1 classes at the beginning of the day and then the second one at the end. My Latin 3 class was skipping this Friday. The rotating schedule was something I needed to get used to as well. After so many years in college, it was jarring.My Latin 1 class was a cute class full of Freshman. They also were counted the lucky ones who managed to sneak into the class with the “hot teacher” first year. They were chatty and excitable but they seemed to have chosen Latin because they wanted to, not because they had to.This school offered three other languages; French, Spanish, and Chinese. Latin was the outlier and it was obvious with only having three classes for the size of the school. While this was the private school, there were still a lot of st

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-21
  • Winter   13. Someone I Used to Know

    We pulled into the pack house and I turned off the car. Looking over at my impromptu passenger, I watched her unbuckle her seatbelt. Winter was much less tense than when she got in. Giving me the same soft smile as earlier, she nodded her head.“Thank you for the ride. I appreciate it.”“Of course. Happy to be of service.” I realized my own smile might have looked a bit strained.Opening the door, she stepped out and swung her bag over one shoulder. Ember threw open the door and smiled.“Winter! I’m glad you…” Her words stopped and her smile fell.“I’m fine, Luna.”Ember growled low. “I’m sure you are. Come on, I’ve got an ice pack with your name on it.”Winter chortled and nodded, heading inside. Ember raised an eyebrow at me as I closed my door and shoved my hands in my coat pockets. Walking up to her, I gave her a peck on the cheek.“I was driving the back way and I saw her walking on the side of the road. I offered her a ride.”Her eyes narrowed for a moment but she nodded. “Thanks

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-22

Bab terbaru

  • Winter   77. Flower Girl Energy

    I wondered how long I could get away with ignoring Damian’s shouting in my head. We had another half hour or so to the end of the pack territory. If I could make it that long, then I would be fine.‘ANSWER ME! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?’This time I winced. Onan growled, it echoing just as loud for him. Winter must have caught my flinch since she looked over at me. I gave her smile, but winced again when Damian mind linked me again.‘YOU DID NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO TAKE HER! DO NOT MAKE ME REPORT YOU FOR KIDNAPPING, CASPIAN!’“Alpha, I’m assuming?” She looked back to see if the car was still following us.Nodding, I looked in the mirror as well. They hadn’t stopped, but they had backed off quite a bit. I wondered what Damian was thinking. It didn’t make sense to pull them only to yell at me. Not to mention that his accusation of kidnapping would be on shaky ground. At least within the pack laws.“I’m wondering if I can just ignore him until we get to the border. His mind

  • Winter   76. Loosely Considered Kidnapping

    ‘Just go in, Caspian. No one is going to think it’s weird you’re there.’ Onan was at his limit with me and I could feel his irritation at my hesitation.“I can’t just…go in. One, I’m not a teacher anymore. Two, I’d be picking up Winter. Which would end up raising flags.”He let off an annoyed sigh. ‘Outside the fact that she is our mate and it’s not weird. You are now Caspian Herne. The wolfs out of the bag. You can’t hide anymore that you are the Alpha’s brother. Both good and bad.’Rubbing my face, I let out a more exasperated sigh. Damian and Ember had been using that to their advantage. Every time I went into town, went shopping, or even at home, they had a wolf watching me. I didn’t know what they expected me to do, but apparently, it was something.Whether or not I wanted to let them be at the mercy of the Council, I worried that Winter would end up in the crosshairs. I worried that I would lose her simply because I wanted to spite my brother and didn’t wait to think about how I

  • Winter   75. Anger

    The kitchen was quiet for a moment. My brother and I stared at each other. Ember was looking at me as well, but she turned to her mate. He didn’t look at her. His focus was on me and I wondered if it was because he was still deciding if giving me the truth was worth it. My hand curled into a fist.“Yes, we made the decision to lock Winter’s wolf away!” Ember was the one who answered, the words tumbling out of her mouth.My eyes continued to watch my brother as he sighed and rubbed his eyes, his back falling against the wall. He pulled his leg up and frowned. Damian looked exhausted, but not from the blooming bruise on the side of his face.“We…we made the decision. A choice. To protect her and the pack. Especially after Linny passed…” Ember sat back on her knees, looking up at me. “Yes, we made the choice. I’m sorry, Cas.”“Why? Why would you do that? What could a young wolf do to pose such a threat that you brought in magic, forbidden magic I might add, to seal away her wolf? You can’

  • Winter   74. Rolling Up Your Sleeves

    *** Caspian’s POV ***I tried to be as normal as possible for Winter. She was already nervous going with Maddox and I to the diner. It was funny because we definitely turned a few heads. However, once we sat down, she relaxed a little. Not as much as I wished though.This had broken her. She spoke about not having her wolf but the fact that it had been taken from her. Not that she wasn’t supposed to have one, didn’t just devastate her. I was gutted. It wouldn’t change how I felt about having her as a mate. My acceptance of her wouldn’t change. This just felt so raw.I’d had Onan with me years before most wolves did. We were a team. Albeit a weird team. We didn’t think or work together like other wolves but he was the other part of my soul. My grouchy old man part of my soul.‘Hey.’I chortled. “Tell me I’m wrong.”Onan huffed. ‘Whatever.&

  • Winter   73. Who You Are

    I curled up tighter, not wanting to hear whatever was going on downstairs. There was yelling, that was for sure. It got louder for a second before I realized it was because someone was opening my door. The yelling mellowed down to a murmur again. Someone touched my shoulder and I jumped.“Winter…”Tears that I thought were done filled my eyes and I curled up tighter, trying to get away from the voice. I knew it. It was the voice I wanted to avoid like the plague. Who would want a wolf-less mate? Who would accept anyone like that? And an Alpha at that?“Talk to me, Winter. Please.” His hand brushed my arm, but I tried to scoot as far away as I could. “Look at me at least.”Squeezing my eyes shut, I lifted my head. Slowly, I peeled them open. Caspian was sitting on the bench in front of me. His face reflected the worry I heard in his tone. My tears fell and I started to shake my head.“Oh, little wolf.

  • Winter   72. What It Means to Lose

    Caleb slammed the door behind him as he got out of the car. He didn’t wait for me or even help me. He just walked into the house. Stepping out gingerly to the driveway, I slung my bag over my shoulder before slowly making my way into the house.Closing the door behind me, I was surprised to find Caleb with a beer in hand, leaning against the kitchen counter. I didn’t even know we had beer, let alone that Caleb drank it. He shook his head as he looked up at me.“You ruined years of mentoring and work.”I frowned. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”“Galen Rue, you stupid girl. I have been mentoring him and pushing him to take over for Alpha Damian. It’s time that Damian step down. He has no children and I don’t think he ever will. Galen was the obvious choice and only needed a little help.”For a moment, I stared at Caleb. I hoped he was joking. It didn’t look like h

  • Winter   71. Snapped

    Collapsing against the bed, I shook my head. For the most part, my throat had healed. My voice was still a bit soft but it didn’t feel straining to use it anymore. The issue now was walking. I’d been so weak from two weeks in bed that it was like I was trying to learn to walk again. It frustrated me that I would get so tired simply from walking down the hall and back.“You did good, Winter. Better than last time. You’re getting stronger. That’s progress.”I gave the nurse a deadpanned look and she laughed.“I mean it. Two weeks in a coma might not seem like a lot but it is.”“Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.”She laughed again but it was cut off by some commotion outside the door. It sounded like chaos until a voice rose above all the noise. A voice I knew well but I never thought I would hear in the hospital. The nurse, also confused, stepped out from the room to see what was going on.

  • Winter   70. Colors

    There something about being held by Caspian. I’d felt it when he carried me to the hospital. I felt it last night and now tonight. It felt like home. A feeling I had been working toward, but thought it would only be when I finally kicked my family out. Feeling it now, I wondered if I had it wrong all this time. That I would have been disappointed the moment I made the house mine but never really had that sense of home from it. No matter how much remodeling I did.“I want you to move in with me.”The words tumbled out awkwardly and Caspian pulled back, shock written all over his face. “What?”My face turned bright red and I stammered. “I…that’s not…I mean…shit.” Rubbing my eyes, I dragged my fingers down my face. “I just…I’ve been working towards getting the house from Caleb. And on my birthday, I’m going to kick him out. With the lawyer and everything. I just&h

  • Winter   69. Sweet Summer Child

    Krista squealed as I gave her a rundown of what I spoke about with Caspian, and also how I felt after. When I was done, I buried my face in my hands. She sat up, straddling my legs as she faced me.“You can’t be embarrassed, Winny! He’s your mate!”“Yeah but…like…this is all…I’ve never…” I could feel my ears getting red.Krista laughed. “Oh you sweet summer child.”“Winter. Winter child.”She laughed again. “Winter, you don’t need to worry about that right now. I think he will have enough sense not to push you into anything. Usually, even if mates do mate right away, there is a period of transition. They still ease into the processes. It’s not something that wham! All of a sudden you’re moved in, having kids, and showering together.” Humming, I watched her wrinkle her nose. “I guess some do. But it&rsqu

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