"Mom, what's going on?" My fifteen year old asked my mother.

She didn't answer me, but, instead, grabbed my wrist, dragging me out of my bed. That's when I smelt it. There was a fire. It was burning the walls, floors, basically anything it could touch.

"Where Dad?" I yelled.

"I'm right here, sweetie," my father's voice said behind me.

"Ben, we have to go," my mother urged.

"Hold on," Dad said, grabbing us.

He was about to super speed us out of here. We were almost to the front door when somebody tackled us to the floor.

I was ripped away from my parents, and I hit a wall which wasn't burned up yet. I looked up to find a man standing over my mother. He picked her up by her throat, and she clawed at him.

She was weak because of the silver that was laced in the smoke.

"Mom!" I screamed as the man inserted his hand in her chest. My mother's eyes widen, and she mouthed 'I love you.' Then the man ripped her heart out.

I screamed in pain. Tears fled from my eyes as the man started to walk over to me. He didn't get close to me when he was knocked down by my father.

"Dad!" I screamed.

He came rushing over towards me, but before he could make it to me, a wooden stake went through his chest.

"No!" I screamed.

My father's body fell to the ground, and the man stood where he was standing.

"No! No! No!" I screamed over and over.

"Brooklyn!" Melissa's voice woke me up.

My eyes widen, and I took deep breaths to calm me down. I was covered in sweat to the point I looked like I ran a marathon.

"Calm down, sweetie. It was just a nightmare. It's just a nightmare," she soothed as she hugged me against her chest.

"I-It wasn't a nightmare. I-It was a m-memory," I said as tears rolled down my eyes.

"About your parents?" Melissa asked me.

I nodded,"About the night they died."

Her mouth widened, and she pulled me closer to comfort me. I looked around the room to see that I didn't break anything. Last time I had a dark nightmare, I broke almost everything in the room, almost hurting Aunt Riley.

"How about you get a nice warm shower and I'll make some eggs and bacon?" Melissa asked, rubbing my shoulder.

I nodded while she said,"Okay."

I stood up, and I walked into the bathroom. I shut the door, locking it, before looking at myself in the mirror. Sweat was dripping down my face, my hair was in tangles, and I had black rings around my eyes from the lack of sleep.

I stripped from my clothes, and I stepped into the freezing cold water. I stood there for about fifteen minutes before washing my body and hair.

Then I switched the water off, and I stepped out with a blue fluffy towel. I walked out of the bathroom to see that Melissa was nowhere to be seen.

She's probably cooking breakfast.

I walked into my closet to pick out an outfit. I picked out a pair of underwear, a black bra, a dark orange cropped sweater, and a pair of dark blue jeans which have rips at the knees.

I changed into the outfit before starting on my hair. I brushed through it, and I pulled it into a high ponytail. I sprayed the potion over my body. Then I put on my white converses before grabbing my stuff and leaving my room.

Walking down the stairs, I heard two heartbeats in the kitchen. My eyebrows furrowed, and I walked into the kitchen to see Melissa and a man.

He had dark brown hair with hazel eyes. He was tall and he had some muscles. Melissa looked over to me and smiled.

"Brooklyn, this is Troy; one of my close friends," Melissa said.

"It's nice to meet you, Brooklyn," Troy said, handing me his hand.

I shook his hand,"Likewise."

We stared into each other eyes for a solid minute. Something in my gut is telling me that this guy is hiding something.

"Here's your breakfast," Melissa said, interrupting our staring contest.

I smiled at her, and I took the plate,"Thank you."

I sat down before digging into my breakfast. Troy and Melissa started to talk about something that was on the news while I was eating.

"Well, I have to go," Troy said, showing his phone which was ringing,"Work never takes a break."

"Believe me, I understand. Bye Troy," Melissa said, waving bye.

"Bye, Mel," Troy said before leaving.

I gave her a side smile, and she was still smiling. Then she looked at me with innocent eyes.

"What?" She asked, wiping the counter down.

"Don't what me. I see the way you look at him. You gotta crush," I teased, putting my plate in the sink.

She scoffed,"On Troy? I do not. We are friends."

"Hmph. Right, and unicorns are real. Why don't you tell him how you feel?" I asked her.

"You make me sound like a teenager," she said, tilting her head.

"You're dodging my question," I said, biting my bottom lip.

"I lost my husband in a plane crash four years ago. He was a werewolf, and he was also my mate," she said, sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Melissa. I didn't know," I apologized.

"It's okay. That's why I stopped doing magic. It reminded me of the supernatural world and him."

"How are you still here? Majority of time when a person looses their mate, they die."

"I almost did. Your uncle helped me. If it wasn't for him, I probably would be 6 feet under right now," Melissa said, licking her lips.

I walked over to her, and I hugged her. When we broke apart, I noticed the time.

"Shit. I'm late," I said, running over to my book bag.

"No cussing," Melissa scolded.

"Sorry. Thank you for breakfast. I'll see you after school. Bye," I said, quickly, before running out of the house.

"Bye, Brooklyn," Melissa shouted behind me.

I started to run, using a little bit of my super speed, and I made it in the building just as the bell rang. Now I had five minutes to stop by my locker and get to class.

I ran to my locker, and I quickly put in my combination. When it popped open, I threw my book bag in it before grabbing my stuff for first period. Then I shut the locker, and I ran to class.

The door was shut, so I opened it before walking inside. Everybody looked up, and I looked at Mrs. Jackson, and she nodded, typing away on her computer.

I sat down at my seat, and I looked over to see Grayson taking deep breaths like he's trying to calm himself down.

I saw the boys talking to him, trying to calm him down. When Mrs. Jackson started teaching, I used my super heading to understand what they were saying.

"Gray, calm down. She's perfectly fine," Tyler whispered, looking at me.

I looked at the board, pretending that I wasn't paying attention to them.

"I'm trying here," Grayson replied, clenching his fists.

"And so class, get into pairs, and write an essay on whether love or hate is stronger. It's due at the end of class tomorrow," Mrs. Jackson said before seating at her desk.

Before I could even open my book, Grayson was standing in front of me with a smile.

"Would you like to be partners?" He asked me.

"Aaah, sure," I replied, opening my textbook.

Grayson pulled a desk beside me, and he sat in it. He opened his textbook like me before looking back at me.

"So what do you think? Is lover stronger than hate?" He asked me, seriously.

I shrugged,"I think both are equally the same."

He licked his lips before saying,"Well, I'm going to say that love is stronger than hate."

"Why?"

"Well, love always wins in the end like in the movies or fairytales. Hate never wins, ever," He answered, making me surprise.

"Well that's not true. Hate can beat love from personal experiences," I told him, tapping my pen on my notebook.

"Were you running late this morning?" Grayson asked, changing the subject. He must have noticed that I didn't want to talk about my personal experience.

I nodded,"Yeah. I woke up late."

"Oh," he replied, but his face held relief.

We wrote our essay before the bell ringed, and I turned it in to Mrs. Jackson as I walked out the door. Grayson, of course, followed behind me.

"Hey, Brooks, would you like to sit with me and my friends at lunch?" Grayson asked me, walking beside me. "I noticed yesterday you weren't in the cafeteria."

"I was at the library," I said,"looking for a book."

Not really. I was hiding from him, but he didn't need to know that.

"Oh well is it a yes or no?" Grayson asked.

"It's a yes," I told him, and he smiled.

"Great I'll let the group know," he replied before we walked into our next class.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I walked into the cafeteria alone, which is actually a surprise since Grayson is in all of my classes. I walked to the food, and I picked out a slice of pizza and a salad. Before I could reach the salad, somebody stood in front of me.

I looked up to see it was a guy with dirty blonde hair and light green eyes. I think he is in a few of my classes.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked him, rudely.

Yes rudely. He is in the way of my food. And one thing you never do is stand between me and my food.

"Brooklyn, right?" The guy asked, pointing at me.

I nodded,"Yes. And you are...."

"Aidan," he answered with a side smile.

"Well, Aidan, what do you need?"

"I know you're new and all and there is going to be a party Friday night. Would you like to go with me?" He asked me.

"Um...." I started, but somebody behind me cut me off.

"She can't. She is already going with me and my friends," Grayson's voice said behind me.

"My bad dude. I didn't know you already got to her," Aidan said with wide eyes before walking away.

I grabbed my salad, and I put it on my tray angrily. Then I looked at Grayson.

"What did he mean?" I asked Grayson who was watching me.

"About what?"

"The whole 'sorry didn't know you already gotten to her.'"

He made an uneasy face before answering,"The guys here are scared of me so when I started talking to you, they know that you are off limits."

"Uh, well, first off this is my second day here," I said, a little bit angry.

"It's not like that. I never said I agreed with them. This is just what they think is all," Grayson said with an apologetic look on his face.

Stupid emotions.

"You're right. I'm sorry for overreacting," I said, paying for my food.

"Yeah me too. Now can you please come to my table before my sister kills me with a fork," Grayson begged as we looked at Allison who was twirling a black fork in her fingers.

I laughed,"Yeah."

Grayson smiled at me as we made our way over to the lunch table. Grayson sat beside Tyler, and I sat down beside him and on the other side of me is Isabelle.

"So what did Aidan what?" Allison asked when we sat down.

Grayson clenched his jaw, and I answered,"Just asking if I was going to the party is all."

"Allison is trying to change the subject. She doesn't want to be wrong," Isabelle said, making Allison scowl at her.

"About what?" Grayson asked, looking at the group.

"About which Disney movie is underrated. Allison said Brave, and Isabelle said Pocahontas," Julian said, but his eyes were focusing on Grayson.

Grayson nodded, and the girls nodded too.

"What do you think, Brooklyn?" Zoey asked me.

I finished eating my fry before answering,"I don't know. The only Disney movie I have ever watched was The Little Mermaid."

"What?!" Zoey exclaimed.

"How could you not watch all of the Disney movies?" Allison asked, shocked about my answer.

"Um, my parents kept me busy with other stuff," I replied, taking a sip of my drink.

Stuff like training and controlling my abilities.

"You have to come over and watch them," Isabelle told me.

"But not right now because my parents are redoing the kitchen so I can't have any friends over," Isabelle added, quickly, when she got stared at.

"I understand."

"I'll be right. I want another slice of pizza," Caleb said, getting up from his chair.

The girls and I were talking about school when everybody fell silent. Their eyes were looking behind me so I turned around to see Caleb and some other dude arguing.

"Did you just push me?" Caleb asked, lightly shaking.

"So what if I did?" The guy asked, tilting his head.

Allison quickly ran over to Caleb, and was talking to him quietly to calm him down.

Caleb seemed to calm down until the guy said,"Yeah, listen to your girl like a little bitch you are."

Big mistake.

"What did you say?!" Caleb yelled, trying to get passed Allison. Allison was pushing him back, and Grayson and the boys walked over there, leaving me with the girls.

"I got this," I heard Allison say before she grabbed the spaghetti sauce spoon. She filled it up to the rim, and she walked up to the guy.

Then she poured the sauce onto o of his head. Everybody gasped and laughed at the dude.

"Oops. Sorry about that. Oh wait no I'm not," Allison said with a smirk.

"You b-.." The guy started, walking towards Allison, but Grayson cut him off.

"Finish that sentence, I dare you," Grayson said, clenching his fists.

"Whatever you guys aren't worth it," the guy said before walking out of the cafeteria.

When that happened, everybody went back to talking, but I saw Grayson, Allison, and the boys take Caleb outside.

"We'll be right back. Stay here," Isabelle said as Zoey and her were getting up.

"Okay," I lied, and they were gone.

I waited a few minutes before walking out of the cafeteria. I walked down the hallway, and I stopped when I heard them. I hid around the corner, and I listened to their voices.

"I'm trying here," Caleb said before groaning.

"Caleb, think about something that calms you down," Allison told him, softly.

"I am. It's like something is blocking it," Caleb replied, taking deep breaths.

"Blocking?" Tyler asked with a confused face.

"The only thing that can block a wolf from turning back to human is a witch, but no witch around here touches dark magic," Julian said, looking at Grayson.

"We need to get him to the pack doctor, now," Grayson said as Caleb growled.

I crouched down, and I looked around the corner to see Caleb leaning against the wall with Allison next to him. The girls were beside Grayson, Tyler, and Julian who were standing around Caleb.

"I don't think he's going to make it that far," Zoey said, putting a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I can try, but we have to go now," Caleb told them, clenching his teeth.

"Okay, Allison, take him to the car, and everybody else follow. I have to tell the principal about that we'll be gone for the rest of the day," Grayson said, and everybody nodded.

"What about Brooklyn? We left her alone in the cafeteria," Isabelle asked Grayson.

"I'll tell her that an emergency came up."

"Alright, let's go Caleb," Tyler said, helping Allison with Caleb.

When they were out of sight, Grayson turned around. I snapped my head back to my hiding spot. I didn't hear his footsteps, but he was sniffing the air.

Crap, he can smell me.

He started walking my way, so I turned and I used my super speed to disappear from the hallway.

I stopped running when I saw a bathroom close to the cafeteria. I quickly walked in there, and I locked myself in a stall.

That was too close.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

⭐️⭐️