My secret side

Chapter 8

"You okay?" Jared asked. A shiver of pleasure washes over me as I look over at him.

"Better than ever. That helped with the craving and the pain of my moms death. Thank you. I think things will get better from here." I smiled at him and he wrapped his arms around me. "I love you, Jared Caller," I whispered as he touched his forehead to mine.

"I love you too, Sabrina Yeller," he responded. He then straightened his head and kissed me. His lips were those of an angel. How in the world, out of every single girl in this solar system, did I become his mate? He pulled away and I frowned. "So, are you ready to meet the pack?"

"Wouldn't they still be asleep?" Just as I finished the question, I heard a loud crash and a whoop of laughter. "Or not. Do I really have to be THEIR leader? My god, It's going to be like mothering 50 kids." We both laugh and start to head down the pathway.

The laughter stops as we walk in the door and the pack sees Jared. I look at the broken vase in the middle of the room and have to conceal my laughter. I need a level of authority if they are going to respect me.

'Exactly what I was thinking,' Connie agreed.

"Jared, I didn't do it." A boy with red hair said. "Ryan did!" he points to a boy with dark hair and lots of freckles.

"I don't care who did it. Just clean it up." Jared demanded.

"Who's this?" A girl a few years older than me asked, pointing to me.

"This is Sabrina." Jared looked back at me and smiled.

"Hello," I shyly nodded my head.

"She's hot. Is she available?" Asked Ryan. I can see how this is going to go. Jared's eyes go dark.

"No." He growls. "She's claimed."

"By who?" The red head asks arrogantly. "I mean, I don't smell the mark." Jared's eyes glow yellow and I can sense his anger and frustration.

"Do you need to get closer?" He grabs the redhead by the scruff of the neck and throws him my way. He stumbles for a few feet before regaining his balance, his face inches from mine. He blushes a deep red and takes a few steps back.

"Oh, my." The redhead gets down on one knee and holds out a hand. "My apologies, my Luna."

"It's okay, really. No need for this." I laugh nervously as Ryan, the girl, and a few others gasp. They all bow their heads, but don't rise.

'Do they always do this?' I ask Jared through the mind link.

'Only in the presence of their Superiors,' he responds.

'But I don't want to be a higher power. I want to be an equal.'

'You can try, but you'll always be higher.'

"Please. Don't bow. I'm not a princess or queen," I say to the pack. Only about ten of them are awake at the moment. They all raise their heads.

"Welcome to the pack!" says a little girl, who is about 8. "I'm Rosey. Nice to meet you. What's your name again? Sorry, I forgot." She smiles and I just melt. This little girl is going to be so cute.

"My names Sabrina, but you can call me Sab if you like," I say, returning the smile.

"Hello Sabrina. I'm Fionna." Says the girl from earlier. "This is Ryan and Mark." She points to the red head and, well, Ryan. "And the others are Terry, Glenn, Dylan, and Amanda." Terry is an older man, about 30 with dark hair. Glenn is about 25 with blonde hair. Fionna and Dylan look to be brother and sister. Fionna's about 20 with blonde hair and Dylan is about 23 with dark hair. Amanda is the last one. She looks to be about 20 with light brown hair.

"Nice to meet you all!" I say with a smile.

"The other fifteen are still sleeping." Terry says.

"Wait, fifteen? I thought there were fifty members. That's what my dad told me." I ask, confused.

"There are," Dylan says. "It's just that the other twenty five wanted to live on their own. Pretty funny actually. It's a 50/50 split." He chuckles a little. We hear a yell from the kitchen and we all run to see what the source of the sound was. In the kitchen is a woman about 60 holding her arm with one hand and a frying pan in the other. Fionna went over and took the pan from her while Rosey went to the freezer to grab an ice pack.

"Gloria, we told you about trying to cook. It's too much for you." Fionna says as she takes the ice pack from Rosey and places it on Gloria's arm. She guides Gloria to a stool next to the island and makes her sit. "This is why you're always watched. Where's Cherry?"

"She fell asleep." Gloria looks at her feet and is suddenly very interested in her slippers. Fionna lets out an angry huff and runs upstairs to the second floor.

"CHERRY! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WATCH GLORIA!" She yells unseen from a bedroom. We then heard a thud and a girl with bright red hair comes screaming down the stair case.

"Fionna! Will you stop trying to kill me?" She squeals as she hides behind me. Fionna Comes back in the kitchen and Cherry runs around me into the parlor.

"I have to stop my sister from killing Cherry. Be right back." Dylan says and leaves the kitchen. Everyone's silent as they listen to the screaming going on in the other room.

"Fionna, leave Cherry alone!" Dylan shouts.

"Yeah. Leave me alone." Cherry whimpers.

"Shut up, Cherry!" Fionna yells. You hear a skid and Cherry screams.

"Fionna! Put the chair-" Dylan is cut off by a loud crash and Cherry's cries of pain.

"Ow! Chairs are not weapons!" Cherry whines.

"Fionna! Stop it! Now!" Dylan yells.

"Fine! But if she gets us all killed, it's on you!" Fionna shouts, then you hear her run up stairs and a door slam. Dylan comes back in with Cherry, whose holding her arm. She must have blocked the chair with it. I get another ice pack and hand it to her.

"Here." I gently hand it to her. She looks to be about 12 with cherry red hair. I can see where she got her name from.

"Thanks. I can tell you're Jared's mate. May I ask your name?" She asks. What a polite young girl.

"My names Sabrina, but you can call me Sab."

"Okay."

"Hey, so can you tell me who's mated to who? Or whose family with who?" I ask Terry.

"Uh, yeah. Well, Cherry's my sister, and Fionna's my mate. As you can see, that doesn't work out too well. Anyway, Gloria is Rosey's Grandmother, and Glenn and Amanda are mated. Dylan is mated to Kelsey. You'll meet her when she wakes up. That's all the mates. Dylan and Fionna are brother and sister, as you can tell, and Kelsey and Amanda are cousins. So, lots of family to remember."

"Thanks. I'll try to remember all that." I state. The sun has fully risen and I remember that the funeral is today. "I'm going to take a shower. Will some one show me where it is?"

"I will!" Rosey eagerly shouts.

"Okay, let's go." She leads me up stairs, down the hall, and to the right. Such a big bathroom. I had a very relaxing shower and head down for breakfast. One made by someone who can actually cook. You have to feel bad for Gloria, though. She was only trying to help. I can see that my new life will be pretty good here. Man, mom. I wish you were here to see me now.