Walking Wild

Chapter One: Pilot

A/N:
Up top/to the side is Miliana, played by Kristin Kreuk.

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At what seemed like the crack of dawn, my alarm woke me with a jolt. Morning.

"Mom! Kani!" I tacked on my older sister's name as an afterthought. "Get up!"

A sigh leaves my lips as I slip from the satin embrace of the bed sheets. Nimbly, I climb to my feet and prepare for the long day ahead of me.

It's only a short fifteen minutes later that my sock-embraced feet sink into the plush white carpet of the staircase right outside my room. The ivory walls seem to gleam and cast gold across the black-framed pictures hanging to my right.

Mother, Kani, and I all seek out various destinations with only one thing on our minds; get the job done.

I seek out my brand new high school so I could finish the last two days of my senior year, Mum longs to stretch out on the beach for hours to work on her tan, and Kani and Adam are going to get her engagement ring resized.

Stepping out into the expansive front yard, I can't contain a smile as the sun peeks out from behind fluffy white clouds every few seconds. Off in the distance, darker, more ominous clouds bark and growl with their ill temperance and water-bogged particles.

As a dusty red pickup truck pulls up into the driveway next to my matte black Thunderbird, I pause in the shadows of the car door.

Cocking my head to the right, I listen carefully. Shape of You by Ed Sheeran is playing. Who knew the tall, dark haired man with a dimpled smile climbing out of the car would have a soft side to him?

"Hey, brat!" his deep voice rumbles as he ruffles my carefully curled hair.

"Oh, you'll pay for that!" With a scream, I tackle him to the asphalt driveway beneath our feet.

"Oof!" he exclaims as his back connects with the porous blacktop. Gazing past his left ear, I can see the minuscule creatures crawling into and out of holes smaller than needle-eyes.

"C'mon! Get off'a me, Mil!" His arms are pinned to his sides, trapped between my thighs, with me perching on his torso. His exclamation brings me out of my reverie.

"What's the matter, Adam? Ana got you trapped?" Kani dances around the corner of the house, an amused smile on her face. Adam merely grunts in response. Don't get me wrong, I'm not fat. I am merely stronger than the average male and much stronger than the average female. At seventeen, this is generally quite the advantage.

As Kani passes the kitchen window, I can hear her soft footsteps on the plush pine-green grass as it crackles underfoot. She brings with her the clang and bang of the noisy kitchen; Mom is pulling sizzling lemon tarts from the oven, hissing in pain when she accidentally touches the 350-degree metal. Dad chuckles in response as he flicks the newspaper in an attempt to straighten it out. He clears his throat in a nervous sounding way.

"Honey..." he begins, the tone of his voice making my unusually-warm skin run cold.

"What do you hear, Mil?" Kani demands when she notices my distraction. Mum is setting the tarts on the cooling board that Dad built on the windowsill. Everyone relies far too much on my 'super hearing;' even whispering, I can hear Kani across the expansive yard.

"Shh! I think mum and dad are arguing."

"She's getting older. What happens when she starts to...? You know... Change? Shouldn't we tell her now?" Dads raspy mumble echoes in the small kitchen.