Twin Rose

Chapter 3

I got up and went to the door on the left. The bathroom was so clean and bright. Just when I was about to get in the shower, I heard a light knock on my door. My door? Am I just going to accept this place as a home? I found myself leaving the bathroom without thinking.

I walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Liam. "My parents want me to watch you and help you adjust. Do you want to take a look at the pack grounds?" I nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me. Liam led me down the stairs back into the living room. The air screamed awkward as we walked through the now empty area.

"Where is everyone?" Liam barely gave me a glance before walking towards the door. "They are probably wandering around or at home eating lunch. All those people were in here just to be nosy. We don't usually bring people back from assignments like the one we had." He opened the door and motioned for me to walk out.

"The pathway to the right leads to the pack housing. The building to the left is our hospital building since we obviously can't go to a normal doctor. There's not much to this place, just where we live. We go to the nearby schools and we shop outside of the pack. We do have a gym and a park over by the housing area." Liam didn't seem the least bit interested.

"You start training tomorrow, my dad is going to have you homeschooled for now. You do not leave the pack house without me with you." I nodded and tried to give him a smile, we need to try to get along if we are going to be spending so much time together. "Why am I going to be training? You obviously don't trust me, why make me stronger?"

For the first time Liam looked into my eyes and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "It's a way to start welcoming you into the pack. We will have you join officially tonight and then you will start training and eating with us. You are going to become a part of this pack even if you hate me, accept it."

"Strangely, I don't hate you. When you are around my body relaxes and I feel safe. Your father told me why you were given the order to kill my dad. It doesn't make me okay with what happened at all, but if you didn't follow orders you'd be in a lot of trouble." Liam had a sad look on his face, confirming my thoughts.

"I grew up thinking my father was a hero because he treated us so nicely. After hearing what he had done it reminded me of the nasty whispers and rumors towards my father, especially when we had outsiders visit. He treated those high up kindly, and the poor didn't see his nice side no matter what they did. They didn't like him and wouldn't let us play with their kids. They were scared that we would take the other kids back to our house and near the king. I thought that's just how things work, but this place is so different."

I realized I was rambling and turned around to walk back to the pack house. Liam grabbed my arm and forced me to turn around, curiosity sparkled in his eyes. "Is it really that different where you used to live? Why did they not want the other kids near your father?" I shook my head, worried about what I would say if I opened my mouth.

"You are not allowed to leave the pack house without a guard. I am here if you need to talk about anything. Let me know if the other kids... mess with you." The way he paused had me curious. "What do you mean by mess with me?" Liam shook his head and looked up at the sky. "Kids our age are not as kind as me." I smacked the back of his head, obviously shocking him.

"I'm seventeen, I can defend myself against an idiot." Liam's eyes widened and his head shot down in embarrassment. "I didn't mean that you couldn't defend yourself. You are new here and the other kids might not treat you kindly." I nod instead of arguing that I'm stronger than I look.

"Let's take you to the hospital so they can give you an exam just in case you get hurt." We start to walk towards the hospital but I freeze. If they give me an exam, then they'll find out about my arm. "I don't really like hospitals, do you think we can go another time?" Liam grabs my arm and starts directing me to the hospital.