A Wolf's Nightmare

Chapter 4

  Brenda
School has been crazy ever since the loss of several students. After several moments of silence, so many funerals, and so many rumors finally died down, life was finally turning back to normal. I walked into the hallway with Taylor by my side, holding my hand with ever step we took.

"Does this mean Taylor's taken? When did they start going out?" some girls whispered as we walked by.

"I don't know, but he could have any girl in the school. Why would he choose her?"

That must have caught his attention, because he turned to the girls and said "maybe it's because she doesn't waste her time talking about other people's lives. Now, why don't you girls do us all a favor and shut your mouths?"

They stared at him, obviously embarrassed to be overheard. As we turned to leave, a voice called out Taylor's name, making him freeze in place. Under his breath he whispered, "this can't be happening. Not now."

I looked back to see Shawn walking over to us with a goofy smile on his face. "Hey little brother, are you happy to see me?" he asked, before turning to me. "Hi, what's your name?"

Taylor turned to his brother and said, "words can not describe how I feel... This is my girlfriend, Brenda Hernandez."

I could tell with one look at Taylor that he did not want to talk to his own brother, even though this is their second meeting.

"What are you doing here, Shawn? Don't you live with your grandmother?" I asked as all eyes fell on us.

All around girls were saying "no way, there's two of them? They're both soooo hot! Those Garcia brothers must come from different places. Just look at way they act."

Shawn shrugged and said "grandma thought it would be best if we moved here, so Taylor and I could learn about each other. Well that, and so Taylor can meet the rest of the family."

Taylor glanced at his brother. "No. I don't want to meet the rest of the family. I'm not interested in meeting anyone else, because I already have my own family."

Shawn frowned at him, a bit disappointed. "You really don't want to meet the rest of our family? This is your chance to learn about mom and dad, not to mention see how you could've grown up. It wasn't our fault that you were put up for adoption. We would've kept you if we'd known where you were."

I gestured for him to drop the subject, but it was too late.

"You don't know anything about me! I didn't choose to become an orphan. I didn't choose to have parents who wanted to sell me off to strangers. The only thing I know is true is that you are not my brother! You never will be my family, even if we're related by blood. That role is taken, so stay outta my way!"

Everyone stared at us, watching, waiting for a fight to break out between the two.

"Taylor, calm down. Don't make a scene here." I told him as I pulled him away from his brother. "Sorry about his behavior, Shawn. Maybe we'll see you again next time."

Taylor took the lead and dragged me towards the door leading up to the roof, knowing it would be private. As soon as we stepped inside, he turned back to me. "How did he know where I go to school?"

From the tone of his voice, I could tell he wasn't asking a question. He already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry, Taylor, but I think your grandmother was right. Don't you want to know how life would have been like without the association?"

He shook his head no. "Without the Hunters Association, I wouldn't be who I am today. I would probably be a rotting corpse lying six feet under."

"You don't know that. You could've been happy."

He sighed as if I didn't understand. "I am happy, Brenda. I have gained everything I lost back and more. I have parents who love me, a family willing to fight for me, friends who risk their lives to save me, and a girl who keeps the human part of me alive. I don't need anything else, not to mention all the trouble I could bring to Shawn's family."

I know what he was saying was true, but shouldn't he at least give Shawn a chance? Or maybe his visit came just too soon. After all, our job has to come first.

"Fine, I guess you're right. Let's go find Hailey or Jason. Where's Parker?" I asked him.

"A meeting. Being a substitute teacher has to suck by now. I'm just surprised the school kept him for so long."

I smiled a bit, already knowing the answer to that. "They like him, that's why."

He chuckled a bit, almost as if he forgot he was angry just a couple seconds ago. "It's too bad he has a thing for Madeline. Someone could have been a very lucky teacher," he joked.

It didn't take us long to find Hailey leaning against a wall, listening in on some girl's version of Taylor's little melt down. "Hey Taylor, is it true your brother's here in the school?" she asked, causing the girls to look up at him.

"He's not a brother to me, but yeah, it's true."

She walked over to us now and asked, "have you seen our targets anywhere? I haven't seen them around yet."

I started to shake my head no when Taylor suddenly said "they're here."