I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer because it was all I could do at this point.

Chase hadn't been to school since Valentine's Day and that was two weeks ago. Other than dodging my feelings, he had also evaded every message I sent. He didn't even answer the phone when I called. The other guys gave me a half-way believable answer of "I don't know" every time I asked. Even though Wes explained once before that if Chase commanded them to do something it had to be obeyed, there was knowledge stirring behind his blue eyes every time he claimed not to know anything. I didn't press it any further because there'd be no point if Chase swore them to secrecy. And regardless to my unreciprocated feelings that I guess I had to accept (because some soul mates were only meant to be friends and no more), I was still concerned about Chase. That's why I went to his house to drop off some of his class work and check to see if he was still alive at least.

Moments later, Carina opened the door.

"Hey, Alicia," she greeted suspiciously. It wasn't questioned in a I'm-pretty-sure-my-brother-broke-your-heart-so-why-are-you-here-way, but it was cautious because I hadn't talked to her since she told me Chase was Alpha and maybe she thought I was mad at her. I honestly had no problem with the only girl in the Cane family. But I wasn't here for make ups with her.

"Where's Chase been? I have some school work for him," I replied.

"What subject?" she asked.

"Science," I answered. That was the only class I had with him anymore and we had been partners up until he did his disappearing acts. I guess Wes or Eli got the work for his other classes. I didn't know because he was adamant on switching out of classes with me.

"Ah, I was wondering where it was. He finished all work for his other classes and I was wondering—"

"He finished two weeks of work just like that?" I asked doubtfully. "He hasn't even been at school..."

"And that is why computers make the world go round," Carina sang. And then it clicked.

"Why are you stalling?" I asked. I should've asked why she was covering for him. Even though I hadn't talked to her, I knew they probably weren't on that good of terms and I had heard of enough stories about how seriously she took her school work, so I doubted she'd just let her brother ditch this much. "Where's your brother?"

"He's not here."

"Chase, not Grayson," I elaborated.

"Same with him," she insisted. I narrowed my eyes and then shrugged before I totally took out my frustrations with Chase out on her sister.

"Then just give this to Chase. It's due on Friday," I said, transferring the materials. When it was in her hands, I bumped her out of the way to dash into her house and up the stairs to Chase's room. The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't there and then I noticed that his room was decent but different. His clothes were absent from the floor. His closet was open and they were missing from there as well.

Carina arrived behind me with an unsure expression on her face.

"Where's Chase?" I asked. His clothes weren't on the floor or in his closet because they were probably packed up somewhere...wherever he was.

"Not here," she answered. I narrowed my eyes. "They said I couldn't tell you! I'm really sorry! I really wanted to tell you!" she suddenly rambled in a guilty cry.

"Tell me what?"

"Chase and Dane left," she informed.

"Left?" I choked out.

"You wouldn't know where," she assumed. "But yeah, they packed up and left because of a family obligation. I don't know how long they'll be gone, but hopefully not for very much longer—"

Her sentence was cut off when I left the room, trotted down the stairs, and down the street.

Of course I called Wes.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Why didn't you tell me that he left?!" I yelled.

"You didn't ask." Somehow I knew he was shrugging on the other end of the line, acting as if this was nothing and acting as if I hadn't asking him and the guys at least half a dozen times weeks ago.

"Yes I did. I asked where he was after a couple of days," I recalled.

"Well maybe if you asked me every day, I would've eventually told you," he responded. I glared at my phone hoping the visual daggers would reach him.

"Or you could've just told me," I suggested.

"I didn't know that you cared," he informed.

"Of course I care. After—"

"After what? His little Valentine's Day stunt? You think I was supposed to assume you thought you were still important to him enough to know where he is after he used you for that one day? Yeah right. You're not that dumb, Alicia," Wes spat with coldness in his voice. It had been two weeks, but Wes and I never mentioned the whole Valentine's thing to each other. "He didn't tell you for a reason and we weren't allowed to tell you, so stop throwing a fit all because Carina told you partial truths again."

I looked past his outward anger for the real cause of this. He was right that I was dumb in the sense that if I was important enough to know Chase's whereabouts, I would've already known. So I calmed down and accepted the inevitable so I could focus on the rooted cause of Wes' harshness. "Okay, forget Chase. What's wrong with you?"

"Oh me? Whatever do you mean?" he asked sarcastically. "I'm just pissed and going crazy having to run a pack of two dozen werewolves on short notice while also keeping my eye on an annoying new wolf. But who cares?" He ranted. When I opened my mouth to respond, he quickly apologized before hanging up. This was all too strange. Sure, I wasn't told about Chase leaving, but Wes said he was put in charge on short notice meaning he didn't really know ahead of time either. Maybe I just had to trust Carina's words saying it was a family matter, but wasn't Wes family too? Why was he stuck with the short end of the stick in all of this?

***

"You are very cute," someone commented on Tuesday morning. I turned around and saw a tall boy with beautiful hazel eyes, short black hair, and a cute smile talking down to me.

"Thank you?" I replied, shutting my locker.

"Jackson Scott," he greeted with his hand out. I shook it hesitantly but didn't return my name. "And you are...?"

"Off to class," I laughed. "So you might as well go find some other prey to stalk."

"You say that as if I'm a vampire or something," he snorted. I paused.

"You aren't, right?" I asked.

"Not that I know of," he pursed his lips.

"Good," I laughed.

"You don't believe in those vampires...werewolves...witches/warlocks...mythical creatures being real thing, do you?" he suddenly asked. Considering my "nice side" got me kidnapped first, I'd be more cautious this time. I wasn't going to assume everyone was attached to the supernatural world so maybe this guy was normal and simple and was just making conversation.

"Of course not," I replied in an unreadable tone. It was sarcastic yet honest in any way so that whatever he wanted to hear would be heard. "So Jackson, what are you doing here?"

"I'm relatively new here," he laughed.

"Oh. So you think you can just waltz up to me and start talking?" I asked, amused.

"Well I figured I would talk to the first pretty girl I saw because I have nothing to lose," he figured. "Plus, the worst you can do is point me in the wrong direction for class."

I laughed at the light hearted and optimistic nature of the new guy, but I was distracted when Wes walked by. He didn't exactly evade me, but I still had to grab his arm to stop him from his walk-and-glare-at-Jackson that he was doing. "Hey."

"Hey," he sighed. He glanced to Jackson and then shifted positions. Both of them did.

"I'm sorry about last night," I still apologized even though I knew he wouldn't talk about what was going on especially with Jackson standing around.

"Forget it," he shook his head. His hair landed in his eyes, but he gave Jackson another look before leaving. I sighed and watched him leave.

"Sorry about that," I said to Jackson.

"So what happened last night?" he asked with a suggestive look. I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Nothing of a stranger's concern," I assured before the bell rang.

"Well maybe when I'm not a stranger you can tell me," he smiled with a wink.

Somehow I had a feeling that maybe Jackson Scott and I would be good friends to break me away from werewolf drama. However, I noticed quickly that maybe he wasn't the exact normal boy I wanted because he received the same treatment Wes had given Riley once before and that scared me. When I was on my way to lunch after stopping at my locker, I was hit with an intriguing scene confirming that there would be no way I'd ever have hopes with normal boys.

Jackson was walking down the hall with a couple of his friends before Wes collided shoulders with him from the opposite direction.

"Hey Wes—" one of Jackson's new friends started within a sort of chuckle. I didn't know if he was greeting Wes, or warning him not to give the new guy such a hard time.

"Leave," Wes growled to them and even though their athletic builds could probably take Wes in a fight, the two boys left. Wes grabbed Jackson by his shift and slammed him into the locker. Jackson smirked back at him as they stood at nearly the same height. I had made the mistake before that Riley and the boys hadn't known each other despite their immediate conflicts, but I wasn't stupid enough to make that same mistake. They had to know each other beforehand.

"You hurt her and I'll kill you," Wes hissed across to him.

"Chill," Jackson replied, pushing Wes out of the way so he could walk around him. Wes grabbed his arm to spin him around, but Jackson arrogantly laughed at him like I had seen Riley do at least a couple of times. "You know, everyone told me you were like this, but I didn't know I'd see it so fast."

"You say they warned you, yet you act like you don't know who you're messing with."

"Meaning you or her?" Jackson retorted, prompting them to stare each other down and also for my stomach to turn. There was no way Jackson was a vampire. I had walked past him and grazed his arm with my vervain bracelet that I never took off. He had even commented on the metal charm that housed the herb and didn't react to it as a vampire would. So how else did Wes know him and have an immediate hatred?

I didn't hear Wes' response because I was focused on walking up to make sure they didn't fight.

"Hey guys," I greeted as if I didn't know anything and I had just stumbled into the same hall as them.

"Hey..." Wes said but didn't remove his eyes from Jackson's face, even though Jackson beamed down at me.

"Hi," Jackson smiled. "So I had an idea..."

"Oh no," I laughed. Wes finally stepped back from Jackson because I knew he wouldn't ruin whatever source of in-the-moment happiness I would have, even if he hated it.

"Maybe you and I can go out tonight?" Jackson suddenly asked.

Even though I had gone the day thankful I was making a guy friend who wasn't part of the supernatural world, it was platonically thinking, not romantically. I really hadn't thought of Jackson in that way, even though I knew he did because he hit on me as an introduction.

"Alicia's a virgin," Wes suddenly blurted, causing me to smack his shoulder. Why the hell was that necessary for him to say that?! Oh right, because he just wanted to embarrass me and/or scare Jackson off. "Just so you know."

"Good to know—not that it matters," he revealed and looked between me and Wes. He patted Wes' chest and contained a smirk before being condescending. "It's a first date, buddy, not some invitation to a hotel room."

I was impressed with how cool and collected he was after being previously threatened by Wes. Wes was intimidating to anyone without needing to throw them into lockers and scold them. The fact that he was so confident while also knowing how to push Wes' buttons was actually entertaining even though I knew how much Wes hated it. I was actually intrigued with how Wes would react (especially in my presence), but Jackson's phone began loudly vibrating and caused him to pull it out of his pocket to answer. Wes sent me a look before walking off.

"Hello?" Jackson asked to whoever called him. "What are you doing at home? Shouldn't you be in—Oh...Um sure. I guess I sort of have to now... No, no. It's fine. Who cares about—...I'm not...It's just—forget it...Yeah. I'll be there alright...Love you too...Bye."

"Girlfriend?" I asked with a raise of an eyebrow. Maybe he was so confident towards a writhing Wes because his intentions weren't romantic due to already having someone.

"Actually no," he answered. "But she's sure as hell more trouble than one." I frowned. "My twin sister," he clarified.

"That's cool. Does she go here?" I asked. "I mean when she's not skipping to be at home"

"Let's just say she goes to a special school downtown," he explained. "But currently, she's 'sick' at home right now so instead of going on a date with you, I'll be stuck at home with her since our dad is on a business trip."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah. It's okay," he shrugged. "How about we switch numbers and I can call you if I get relieved of duty?"

"Sure," I laughed. We switched numbers and carried off our day. We ate lunch off campus and shared last period. Hours after school ended, he texted me and we found ourselves going to the park around seven o'clock. I had a weird stomach in my chest though, because I remembered being at this park with Chase and Grayson. I had to actively push Chase from my brain all day as if there was a spirit purposely reminding me and warning me about him watching or something.

"So how'd it go with your sister?" I asked as we walked along the trail.

"Well she wasn't sick, but now she's grounded," he informed. I laughed once.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she hates her new school and wanted an excuse to be at home, but she didn't think about the unexpected return of our dad, so now she's grounded for skipping," he explained. "Freedom for me though."

"Haha of course," I laughed. He stopped walking and then hesitantly grabbed my hand.

"But enough of my sister," he said and then stepped in front of me to look into my eyes. Again, I hadn't really thought of Jackson in a romantic way until this afternoon and when I texted him tonight, but now all his hazel eyes were doing were reminding me of Chase. I looked away from him because of the memories I was flooded with and the guilt because I knew they were the wrong hazel I was supposed to be looking at. But Jackson took this as shyness and reached a hand up to cup my face as he snickered. "Hey, I just want to get to know you okay—"

"What the hell?" I suddenly heard a familiar voice ask. I looked over to see a furious Chase Cane walking up to us. His fists were clenched and only opened to rip me and Jackson apart.

"What are you doing here?" I guess now I knew why I had that he's-watching-me feeling all day. I knew there was no way he was, but clearly it indicated that I had a Chase sensor whenever he was in town.

"I should be asking you that," he retorted towards me somehow without any anger in his voice. His face actually softened before he realized there was another person here. He only looked over at Jackson with a dark gaze just like Wes.

"Nice to meet you too," Jackson said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and grabbed Jackson's hand to tow him off. He could joke and josh with Wes in my presence without worry, but something told me Chase wouldn't let that slide. He was an Alpha for a reason and he barely let me get away with being around Wes as much as I was, let alone this new guy he didn't know when he was off who-knows-where doing who-knows-what.

"Wait," Chase called. I reluctantly stopped out of respect for some reason and he appeared in front of me. "After Valentine's Day—"

"I realized a lot about you that day," I interrupted before he could apologize or explain or maybe be baffled that I was out with Jackson two weeks later. I didn't know why he was saying anything considering he put up this bullshit wall after Valentine's Day happened. He only stayed quiet because he knew I was right to feel rejected and try to move on so I continued towing Jackson away, thankful that Chase didn't follow.

"What was that about?" Jackson asked once we were far enough away. I don't even care about Chase's super werewolf hearing.

"It's a long story," I whined.

"Well, just like the Wes thing, maybe one day you'll tell me," he whispered and when I was silently grateful for his patience. He sent me a weak smile before kissing my cheek and my hesitance towards him had dissolved. Maybe he wasn't the normal that I assumed, but he was still new and refreshing. I appreciated the light he carried with him even though he pissed off everyone else in the process.

***

"It makes me feel lame that everyone, but me was out of this house tonight," Zoey commented as we were all in the living room at eleven o'clock.

"You could've gone out with Micah," Mom suggested.

"He's sick," she commented.

"Not our problem," I shrugged.

"Yeah it is," she insisted. "Because you had a date and you had...whatever you were at."

"I was on a date—"

"Excuse me?" Zoey and I asked our mother.

"Yes. The thing which requires two people to casually have fun and get to know each other," our mom clarified.

"You're dating?" Zoey asked. She nodded. Wow.

"OMG! Who is he!? How long have you known him?! This is so—"

"Weird," I interrupted his rant. She's never dated anyone other than dad.

"His name is Collin," my mom informed as she and Zoey sat on the couch. I trudged my way to the stairs as they talked about him. When I reached my room, I looked at the family picture with me, Zoey, Mom, and Dad. Sure, I wanted my mom to move on from my dad, but I didn't want her to completely replace him. As much as I wanted her to be happy, I also hoped this Collin guy wasn't totally serious.