“I would have thought she’d be tougher from her exposure to the pack,” Alfred said mockingly.
Dad rushed forward and held Alfred off the ground by his throat. “Do not insult my daughter.”
Alfred’s eyes widened, and I could see the fear in them. That actually made me happy. Dad released him and turned away. I looked around and realized we were on our front lawn and the Alphas were all there. I grabbed Dad’s hand, but he just clucked his tongue once, letting me know to relax.
“I saw him,” I whispered. “He wants me to…” as soon as I thought it, my body took over. I sprang away from Dad and started to run. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t alter my course. I couldn’t even speak. I didn’t even know where I was going, except that it was towards the weird pain.
Nick tackled me, wrapping his body around mine to keep me from being hurt. “Stop. Where are you going?”
I struggled against him, getting an arm out, and punched him in the face. My hand hurt incredibly, but I ignored it as I continued to try to get away from him.
“She punched me!” Nick yelled, shock in his voice. He twisted me around and slammed my back into the ground, sitting on my hips and holding my hands up above my head, successfully immobilizing me. “Look at me, Sarah!”
I pushed and pulled and bucked, but he was too strong.
“Kitten,” he whispered. “Look at me.”
Something inside of me cracked, like ice melting and my eyes found his. “Nick?”
He smiled. “Kitten, stop struggling. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Come to me.”
“Dad!” I yelled in shock and fear.
Dad shoved Nick off of me and assumed the position Nick had just been in. “You can fight him, Sarah. Just focus on me, the pack, the smells around you, and my voice. Just fight him and then we’ll figure out what we need to do to break the mark.”
“Come to me!” yelled the angry vampire in my head.
Nick crawled to me, putting his hand against my cheek. “Don’t leave me.”
I leaned into his hand and stared into Dad’s eyes. I could fight this. I wasn’t a victim; I was a fighter. “Pack,” I whispered. Gary dropped down next to me, touching my other cheek and staring at me. I hadn’t even known they’d come, but soon every part of my legs, arms, and head was being touched by the other pack members.
I fought against the vampire’s hold on me, refusing to give in to his demands, despite the pain it was causing me. The vampire’s voice slowly faded as I breathed deeply and fought to ground myself, focusing on the smell, feel, and sound of those around me.
The sound of the vampire’s voice slowly faded as I focused on the feel, smell, and sound of those around me. I exhaled as it disappeared and smiled at Dad. “I’m okay now.”
Everyone moved away from me. “Can I tackle her next time?” Gary asked. “That looked like fun.”
Dad kissed the top of my head. “You sure you’re okay?”
I nodded. “Yep. I don’t feel him in my head, and it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
The other Alphas were all staring at us in shock and disbelief. Why? Were they shocked at the pack’s reaction towards me? Or that I’d stopped the vampire’s voice?
“We need to go back to school,” I said as I brushed my outfit off.
Dad sighed. “Alright. I need to discuss this with the others. I’ll see you tonight.” He turned to Nick. “If she tries to run again, you have my permission to tackle her.”
Gary smiled. “Me too?”
Dad smiled. “Any of the pack.”
Seven pairs of eyes swiveled toward me. I took a small step back, and they all tensed. “Dad, you’re a jerk,” I said as I stopped moving.
He smiled wider. “Boys, give her a five-minute head start and then run after her.”
I knew he wasn’t joking, so I spun and ran as fast as I could back towards school. I counted in my head as I ran, knowing the others were counting in their heads, waiting for their chance to tackle me. I jumped into the ditch to avoid getting hit by vehicles and hopped over fences like Nick had taught me. I was almost to the school parking lot when I heard the first yell of joy. Damn. They would be on me soon. I ran through the parking lot, weaving through cars with my head down low to confuse the scent trail. I could hear them talking and laughing, but I was at the school’s entrance, so I ran into the courtyard and squealed as I dodged Mason’s tackle.
Kids were outside since it was a passing period and I had to dodge around them to make it through. Cherry stepped into my path, “What is going—”
I pushed her out of the way and yelled, “No time!”
Two others tried to tackle me, but I leaped over one and stopped quickly to make the second misjudge. “Sorry, Keith and Bryan.”
I was almost to my second period when Nick tackled me. I yelled and laughed as we rolled in the dirt and then came to a stop right in front of the door with me on top of him, his arms wrapped protectively around me. He and I laughed loudly, but I could hear some of the other pack groaning in disappointment.
“Dang! He got her again!” Gary said in exasperation.
Nick brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear, and my fast beating heart began thumping wildly for a whole other reason. Nick’s nostrils flared as he took in my scent and then his eyes widened when he realized what I was feeling.
“What are you two doing?” asked Coach Brown angrily.
I stood up off of him and brushed myself off. “Sorry.”
Nick brushed off his pants and adjusted his tie. “We were just playing.”
“Go to class,” Brown ordered us with a scowl.
I kept my face hidden from Nick’s as I walked inside my classroom. As the door closed, I heard him sigh loudly and say, “What the hell am I going to do?”
That was exactly what I was thinking.
Class went by slowly, but it gave me time to calm down. With the Alphas coming to town, Alfred’s weird behavior, and now the vampire, I was freaking out. Plus, the fact that I might have realized I did view Nick in a more than friendly way was not helping matters.
What was I going to do about…all of it! If Nick did like me, then why wasn’t he telling me? Or trying to date me? It made no sense to me, but then again… guys, in general, didn’t make a lot of sense. And how was Dad going to remove the mark? I hoped it wasn’t going to be painful.
The bell rang, and I shuffled outside to find Mason and Bryan waiting for me. I smiled at them. “I’m not going to run, so get those smug looks off your face.”
They laughed, and I walked between them towards the cafeteria. A lot of people were looking at me strangely, and it made me sad. We’d kept the fact that we all knew each other a secret from junior high until now, but it looked like the cat was out of the bag.
Cherry stepped in front of me, and both Mason and Bryan pushed me backward. I rolled my eyes at them and stepped forward. “Hey, Banana.”
She stared at Mason and Bryan, eyebrows raised. “What’s going on?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. Just testing out the muscle around here.”
Mason and Bryan smiled but refrained from laughing. Cherry grabbed my elbow and pulled me to the side. “Sarah, what’s going on?”