1

"Have you read what happened at the superiors?"

Devin sat across from me at the kitchen table, looking intently at his phone while I got busy pouring us both a cup of coffee to perk up.

"No, what is it?" I asked, yawning and briefly closed my eyes to take in the wonderful smell of the coffee before I took a strong sip and turned my gaze back to my brother.

Looking thoughtful, he put his phone down, ran a hand through his brown, curly hair, and then took a deep breath. That worried look in his sea blue eyes was once again typical of him. Ever since our parents abandoned us 2 years ago, he had taken on the role of minder and often drove me insane with it.

"Their school burned down," he then explained, looking at me intently. "We might have problems if they come to your school."

"If..." I said with a certain emphasis and tried to take some of his worry away, which of course didn't work.

"Jady, you stay away from them!"

He got up to put on his blue sports jacket while I just rolled my eyes in annoyance at his stern tone. His eyes met me immediately.

"Stop it! You know how much I hate that."

"Then don't treat me like a kid. After all, I'm 17 and you're only 2 years older, so don't let the nanny hang around here."

I stuck my tongue out at him and then gave him a provocative wink, which made him grin stupidly and throw my denim jacket at me.

"Get dressed, we're going."

He grabbed his cup of coffee, drank it all down in one gulp, then grabbed his phone to turn his mind back to the fire.

Still slightly tired, I also got up from the round wooden table and put on my jacket to grab my light-colored backpack afterwards.

How I would like to look at my cell phone now, just like him, but I had lost it on my trip in the forest, which my brother wasn't allowed to find out.

I told him that it had been stolen from me because it was forbidden for us lower classes to stay in the forest. If he knew all the laws I was breaking behind his back, he would almost certainly lock me up in this little cottage.

"Ground to Jady," he snapped me out of my thoughts and then put his arm around my shoulders to leave the house with me.

Arriving at his old, silver VW, he obligingly held the passenger door open for me and, smiling, I collapsed onto the seat to buckle up and take a look in the mirror.

I was immediately happy about my long eyelashes, which saved me from having to spend hours in the bathroom in the morning like the others my age. My green irises flitted over my long, straight brown hair, which I wore loose as always and which I arranged well for the time being.

"Who are you making up for? You know not to attract attention."

Devin looked over at me worried and I immediately dodged my reflection to turn on the radio in annoyance.

"Just for me," I snapped at him while listening to the soft RnB music. I knew it was dangerous to be noticed as a woman, especially an untagged one, but that didn't mean I had to act like a scarecrow.

He turned back to the front, drove down the street and when we got to the parking lot in front of my school, where it was already busy, he got out with me, which made me roll my eyes again in annoyance.

"Does it always have to be?" I whined and stood next to the car while he ran over to me.

"Do you think I like doing that? I just don't want to take any risks! Especially not when these idiots are coming to your school now."

In front of the stairs to the entrance I saw my friend Aleya, who had a close look at me and Devin.

She and my brother would have made a great couple, but no one here knew he was my brother because that was our little but important secret...

"I'll pick you up later." He pulled me close and closed his eyes to plant a quick kiss on the lips that just felt completely wrong.

He looked really good and his lips were soft and just tasted delicious like coffee, but the thought that he was my brother sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine, which forced me to break away from him immediately.

"See you later," I sniffed, wanting to wipe my mouth, but Devin was right. Our cover couldn't be blown, or I'd probably be in constant danger.

So, smiling, I watched him get back in the car and screech out of the school parking lot, feeling the other students' eyes on my back.

Yes, it was unusual to have a partner before the age of 18, but at least that way I was protected from....

Shaking my head, I banished the gloomy thoughts and turned to face Aleya, then walked towards her. Barely standing in front of her, she pulled me into a friendly hug.

"You're so lucky with your boyfriend," she murmured somewhat brokenly, and I took a deep breath.

If she knew...

"Oh yeah, I'm lucky," I said with exaggerated irony and then quickly broke away from her while her scent of cinnamon enveloped me.

She tossed her black hair over her shoulder, smiled confused at my sarcasm, and then walked into the school building with me.

"Have you heard about the heads up?" she asked excitedly when we arrived in front of our classroom and our mutual friend Sawyer joined us.

"Yes, I heard it," the blonde politely answered Aleya's question and before I could join in the gossip, I heard them both take a deep breath while their curious eyes fell past me.

***

Curious, I turned around and immediately saw several young people I didn't know running down the wide aisle.

They were our age, and like us, they wore normal clothes, but their charisma was different and overshadowed everything else. The smell of the forest that surrounded them also took over the entire corridor.

"It must be the ones upstairs," whispered Aleya, who was standing between me and Sawyer, her mouth no longer seeming to close in sheer amazement.

My gaze fell from her to the girl with the curly black hair, who looked shy and somehow helpless between two well-built boys. She was the only one who didn't quite fit into this picture and that's exactly why she drew my full attention.

It wasn't until the big guy next to her noticed my stare and glared at me that I looked away nervously at my friends, who seemed obsessed with them.

"Why are you staring at them like they're something special? They're just arrogant idiots who think they own this town!" I said annoyed, crossing my arms.

"Well," Aleya interjected, then gave me a raised eyebrow. "It's theirs, so to speak."

Rolling my eyes, I glanced at the girl one last time, whose dark eyes then met mine and held me captive until Aleya touched my arm and I winced.

"Let's go to class," she said, linking my arm to follow Sawyer into the classroom.

Arrived at the very back of our table, I first put down my backpack and let myself fall onto the uncomfortable wooden chair.

Then, while Sawyer and Aleya started discussing the homework, I watched the rest of my class gradually entering the classroom.

There weren't many of us and there was only one class per year group, which probably meant that the upper classes would start here soon, which I didn't like at all. I couldn't get the girl's penetrating look out of my head, as well as the big guy, who was immediately hostile to me, for whatever reason.

When everyone was seated and whispering, our teacher, Mr. Handsome, entered and placed his black shoulder bag on the table, then hurriedly left the room.

"Where is he going? I heard Aleya next to me and when I saw her she was in the process of tying her black hair into a high bun.

It always amazed me how many freckles she had. Of course, it made her look interesting, but somehow it didn't go with her otherwise dark skin.

"Maybe in the bathroom," Sawyer said, sitting next to her and fiddling with his cell phone. His blond hair fell in his face and the piercing on his lip sparkled in the bright sunlight.

"Good Morning!"

Mr. Handsome re-entered the classroom and as if I had guessed it, three of the superiors followed him into the classroom, including the girl and the big guy, who I immediately noticed was probably glaring at everyone.

"Oh man," I whispered and turned to my backpack, from which I dug out my pad and a pen.

When I got up again, the big guy was standing right next to me and dropped into the chair, then gave me another dismissive look before looking ahead at the blackboard.

"So, I'm sure you all wrote the essay on markings. I ask you to put the papers on my desk after the lesson. Today I'm going to dedicate a new topic to me."

All the attention was on our teacher who, with his curly dark hair and glasses, seemed unassuming, but still had a charisma that literally made you want to listen to him.

"We're going to talk about companionship today. It's your last year of high school, after all, and once you come of age most of you will find it."

He straightened his brown shirt, grabbed a piece of chalk, and then wrote "Soulmates" in the middle of the board.

I wanted to roll my eyes again immediately, but I bit it back and continued to listen to him, even though I found this topic just ridiculous.

"Can someone explain to me what this phenomenon is all about?"

A few of my classmates spoke up, but it was the girl with the black hair who just started talking without speaking up.

"Every wolf has a soul mate and once we come of age we are able to find him. He was created for us and we are obliged to give ourselves to him and to love him in good times and in bad times."

Okay, now I really couldn't help but roll my eyes, which unfortunately Mr. Handsome also noticed.

"Jadelyn, you don't seem to agree with that. How do you see that?"

When I felt all eyes on me, I suddenly had to think of my brother, who this morning told me to avoid drawing attention. Well, sentence with X, that was probably nothing.

"I find it quite strange that we shouldn't be destined to choose our partner in life. What if you don't even like your soulmate? Or if you don't find them until you're 40, but you're a man and If you have kids, do you have to leave your family?"

My classmates' eyes wandered back to Mr. Handsome, who nodded his head thoughtfully and stepped in front of the desk to lean on it.

"You're going to love him. There's no way you can't dislike your soulmate," suddenly came the girl sitting on the right.

"And if he's a huge asshole?" I retorted, while she scrutinized me as intensely as I did her, I heard Mr. Handsome admonish me for my choice of words.

"So, please get out your pen and paper, and I want everyone to have 500 words on this topic by the end of the lesson," he said, pointing to the board.

Then there was silence and everyone turned to their pads, but I just couldn't stop glancing over at her.