Chapter 1 The burn

• "Waste another second and you will be walking to school. I will make sure of that." Jared threatened fisting his car keys in his hand before storming out of the house. I rolled my eyes as I quietly uttered a snort. He glared at me.
• Oops, I must have forgotten that he was a wolf. All thanks to his enhanced hearing.
• I was ecstatic about the new term that was starting today. It felt good to know that soon, I would be done with highschool.
• Another new term meant I was another step closer to freedom. Freedom of being able to train as an older warrior in the pack. 
• I wasn't allowed to train yet since it would affect my schooling and focus.
• My parents were born into the pack but they wanted my siblings and I to grow up as human and act less werewolf.
• It was tough mixing the werewolves pack with modern day. Things that made us seem so divided but I was proud of who I was and so was the other young few werewolves in my school.
• We knew ourselves and the pack where we belonged to. It was our territory and whenever another werewolf infiltrated, well, the pack warriors were good at kicking asses. 
• And what the 'young ones' like they like to call us would do was to go and hide in the pack house. It was like a drill whenever a foreign wolf was on the loose.
• Oops, I'm rambling, right?
• Well I go by the name Umbrie, seventeen years old and the second of the three children of my parents. Jared, my older brother and Sky, my little brother.
• We were a family of werewolves, living in Ice Valley all our lives. I wondered how the pack was able to keep this up — living among humans and not being figured out by lots of people.
• There were elderly human folks that knew but had to act ignorant just to avoid problems. It was obvious that we had taken over the town.
• "Umbrie, did you hear what I said?" Jared's voice broke through and I groaned in frustration.
• I unconsciously swallowed down the piece of pancake I had been chewing on almost choking on it.
• It's so weird that I forgot he had been waiting for me but my thoughts just happen to unravel at the strangest times. 
• I downloaded the remaining piece of pancake into my mouth before rushing out of the house.
• Mom and dad had left very early with Sky since he had a dentist appointment before school.
• Jared was difficult to relate to. He grew up so fast and was practically letting his rage take over him more than his conscience. 
• The one good thing he did for me was drive me to school whenever I couldn't ride with our parents and he also helped with my homework because he's very smart. But this still depended on when he was in a good mood.
• His happy moods never lasts. There's always something that'd make his deep frown appear and you'd rather be far away from him in order not to get hurt.
• I jumped into his car like I was in a race since he had already started the car engine and was about driving off.
• "Did you lock up the house, dummy?" He asked stitching his gaze on me.
• I nervously hit my hand on the dash board before scurrying back to the house.
• After locking the door, I returned to the car, walking normal this time and not sprinting like a squirrel.
• The car was going really fast and I was silently praying we don't crash into another vehicle. I would just ask him to slow down. I would but it might result to him refusing to drive me to school.
• I can't wait to turn eighteen and finally get my own car.
• "I'm going to a concert this evening. I need you to cover up for me." He suddenly said not sparing me a look.
• "Why?" I quizzed.
• "What do you want to know? Why I'm going to a concert or why you have to cover up for me?" He asked and I chuckled.
• "You can tell me both." 
• "I'm looking for my mate." He stated eerily.  
• "Wow..." My words dozed off as I remembered someone I didn't want to think about. Someone i wanted to forget even. My skin prickled as his image formed in my mind.
• No... Not today. Not the first day at school.
• His memories can't keep tormenting me.
• "Something in me desperately wants to find her. I mean, I deserve to have her in my life, don't you think?" He asked, his eyes looking so bored.
• Wow, he is becoming weird.
• "Of course, you do. But— but what about Tiana?" I questioned recalling her extra nice and sweet girlfriend. 
• She was really good. Too good for him I guess but I really didn't understand their relationship. How a pretty dark guy like Jared would be able to have a girl like her for long.
• "She doesn't have a place. The moon goddess didn't pick her for me so I guess, she's just an asset for now." He replied 
• My throat cloaked at his words came into meaning. I felt pissed he talked about her like that. 
• Well, Jared was yet to find his mate and it pisses him off that I've seen mine before him and he was older than me.
• It was one of the major reasons he joined the warrior group of the pack so he could get chances of going to different places.
• "I really can't wait to find my mate. I'd do lots of nasty things to her while we'd be in the shower." He said and I felt like closing my ears.
• I can't be listening to brother saying such words.
• Eeww!
• "And I won't leave her hanging like your stupid mate left you. It's really not your fault" He mumbled, stopping the car and that was when I realized we'd arrived at the school drive thru.
• "Say whatever you want to say, I don't care anymore. And I definitely don't feel hurt with your words, alright?" I said grinning. 
• I gently got out of the car and shut the door like the nice lady I was growing up to be.
• I sashayed towards the school building encountering a new faces on the way and I guessed a lot of students bad transferred this time.
• Jared was right. It wasn't my fault and there was nothing I could do. He chose to leave. And I still didn't understand why..
• "Hey cupcake. How are you doing?" A deep familiar voice greeted me and I looked up to see Noah, one of the school's football players.
• I whisked my hair off my face before replying with a, "Fine."
• He had a satisfied smile before walking away. We were classmates and he was very friendly with everyone.
• I waved at Brittney, the girl that was my lab partner last term. She waved back and I kept on walking. 
• I entered my classroom and headed for the middle row where the desk I liked sitting on was. I sat down noticing the girl next to me.
• Her eyes were green. Yes, very green and her hair, talk about a super straightener. She let out a smile.
• "Hello, I'm Daphne. Are you in this class? What is your name?" She asked sounding robotic.
• "I'm Umbrie. Yeah.. This is my class." I chuckled as the effect of her voice nuzzled my guts.
• "What's so funny?" She asked snickering.
• "Just your voice." I smiled broadly. "You are a new student?".
• She was human. I couldn't get a wolf scent from her. 
• "Yes." She replied and I nodded.
• The teacher soon entered, cutting our conversation from going further.
• "Good day, class..." He started
• My morning was not so bad after all since we started with biology — a subject that I enjoyed the most. 
• The classroom looked fuller too. 
• I was still setting out my drawing materials on my desk when I noticed a scent. Far too familiar and far too effective on me. 
• Peppermint like mandarins or bergamot.
• I haven't smelt this scent in six months and now it was right around the corner. That was odd.
• The scent distracted my senses. Almost driving me to go in deep search for it.
• I was starting to fidget when the classroom door opened fanatically. 
• A cold air embraced the atmosphere as I saw him standing at the door with his hands in his pockets and his head up.
• Has it really been six months? Yes, it has.
• It has been six f**king months since I last saw him.
• His brown eyes lingered over the class until it found mine. His brows seemed to relax a bit as he stared.
• Oh geez. I couldn't feel any part of my body. It was like my spirit was floating on my seat.
• My legs quivered and my breath hitched like I had seen a ghost. 
• The whole class stirred with surprise and there were whispers.
• "Oh my goodness. Well, if it isn't Keiran Diaz. It has been so long." The teacher remarked excitedly grinning so wide.
• Keiran stayed mute and chewed on something quietly and I guessed it was a bubble gum. He took steps closer and as he walked past the teacher's desk, he caused a number of books to fall making Mrs Katherine to bend low and pick up the books. 
• Gosh! Poor woman.
• If he wasn't one of my biggest nightmares, I would rushed right over to help her. 
• My breath was still uneven and beads of sweat was making it's way on top of my forehead. I felt so hot and strained. 
• He started walking to the back row accompanied with Hillary, his human best friend.
• Oh God. Why is he back?! Where on earth did he crawl out from?
• And slowly, my muscles tightened.