Pregnant and Rejected Book 2
Автор
Heather Federow
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Chapter 1
HANNAH
I slide my knives into the sides of the tall black riding boots that Isabelle forced me to wear, saying I have to look like a normal person on our first day at the high school.
I sigh as I think about going, dreading it. I’ve always been more of an outcast. I only had one friend as a child before my parents died.
They didn’t really allow me to do much, always saying that they needed to keep me hidden. From what, I have no idea.
Isabelle came barging into my room about an hour ago, ushering me out of bed and into the shower. Of course, I threatened her a few times before I actually did.
She then forced me into a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, the boots, and a black blazer. At least she let me wear black today.
I pull a gun out of my duffel full of my weapons before zipping it back up and putting it under the bed.
I slide the gun into the secret compartment in my backpack that Estiel left me in the room, along with other school essentials in it.
Not like I care enough to pass or anything. I already have my diploma. Being at the academy does have its perks.
I lift the bag up onto my shoulder, lock my bedroom door on my way out, and go downstairs. Kai and Isabelle are sitting at the kitchen counter eating some breakfast, but Garrett is nowhere to be seen.
“We made breakfast for you as well. It’s in the microwave,” Isabelle says, shooting me a dazzling smile. Her hair is pulled back into a simple ponytail and a flowing white dress cascades over her perfect body.
I grunt in reply before dropping my bag near the garage door and grabbing the food out of the microwave. I turn and walk toward the study and sit down at the desk, looking over the map of the territory as I do so.
The territory itself is huge, due to it being two packs that combined many years ago. The pack house is located directly in the middle, away from the town and in the woods.
Around it is the surrounding houses of the pack, and about three miles away is the Alpha and Luna’s house. I wonder why they chose to live there. The leaders always live in the pack house in case something were to happen.
Our house is at the edge of the border, on the pack’s land, but due to us being humans they can’t touch us.
After finishing my food I get up and go back into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. Kai and Isabelle are fighting over who is driving.
I pick my bag up and grab my keys off the counter before walking out the door to the garage. I notice Garrett’s car is not around. He must be trying to find a job already, a way to fit in.
I hop in my car, place my bag beside me, and open the garage door before backing out. Kai runs in front of me to their gray Passat and jumps in the driver’s seat, and Isabelle stomps over angrily.
The way to the high school is quick and simple; it’s right on the border of the small town. We pull into the parking lot and I see it’s a typical high school. Teenagers are everywhere hanging out before class, laughing and having fun.
A pang of sadness hits me at the thought that I never will be able to have the normal life they do, but I quickly shake it away. I gave up that dream a long time ago when I agreed to be what I am.
Parking my car, I see everybody starting to stare as they see the unfamiliar car. As I grab my bag, Kai and Isabelle park next to me, their heads moving as they sing along to whatever song they are listening to.
I step out of my car and look around. All eyes are now on me.
I push my long mid-back dark brown hair, which is hanging in loose waves around my shoulders, out of my face, annoyed that Isabelle would not let me put it in its usual French braid.
Kai and Isabelle meet me at the back of the car, and we all walk together toward the front door.
Kai smiles at the girls as we go by. As usual, they swoon at the sight of him. I scoff under my breath and hold my head up high.
Isabelle is just loving the attention on the other side of me as she flirtatiously smiles at the guys.
As I walk, I notice people staring directly at me. One in particular catches my eye, but all I can see before he turns and storms away are two beautiful sea-green eyes.
I shake my head, trying to forget the piercing eyes, but they won’t budge.
Entering the building, we find the office right off to the side and go in.
“Hello, ma’am. We are the new students,” I say as the old lady behind the desk looks up, pushing her glasses up her nose. The shiny gold nameplate at the end of the desk reads “Mrs. Switz.”
“Ah, yes, the Johnson family. You must be Katerina?” she asks, looking at me. I nod.
“And you two are Emma and Kent?” Isabelle and Kai nod their heads as well.
Estiel has us posing as relatives. He said that our parents had died and Garrett was taking care of us.
Handing us our schedules and a school map, Mrs. Switz bids us farewell and good luck, and we make our exit.
“I’ll see you later, guys. Since I’m a year younger, I’m stuck with junior classes,” Isabelle says before walking away, guys staring after her.
I look down at my schedule, sighing as I realize I’ll have to take classes that I already know how to do. English, math, biology, lunch, government, and then gym. At least gym will be easy.
“Hey, we have gym together! See you there, loser,” Kai says before smirking and walking away. A growl slips out as I think about how annoying he is. Some people give me a weird look, but I just shake it off.
At my locker, I throw in some stuff I won’t need before closing it. I don’t even flinch when I see some girl standing behind the door, a glare on her face.
“Who are you?” she asks blatantly. Her light brown doe eyes narrow, obviously trying to figure me out. Her light brown, almost blonde hair is short and in curls around her soft petite face, her height somehow smaller than mine.
I put a fake smile on my face, trying to keep up appearances, and stick my hand out.
“Katerina. I just moved here.”
She looks at my hand for a moment before a smile spreads across her face, and she happily takes it.
“Hello, Katerina, my name is Jennifer, but you can call me Jenny!” she says very enthusiastically. She looks down at my other hand and sees my schedule.
“Ooh! Let me see if we have any classes together!” She snatches the paper out of my hand before I can even reply, and I hold back the urge to punch her.
Don’t get me wrong, Jenny is great. I could probably get along with her easily if I wasn’t so antisocial. My life, I grew up surrounded by people, but I always found a way to exclude myself. If I was a normal eighteen-year-old, I would probably find her a great friend, but I’m not. I’m a killer, a killer of her kind—werewolves.
I knew what she was the moment she showed up near me.
One of the alphas must have sent her to check me out, and I bet the others must have the same thing happening to them.
“Well, it looks like we have exactly the same schedule! I already know we are going to be amazing friends, I just know it!” she says as she links arms with me.
My body stiffens a little at the contact with another person. I quickly relax before she can notice and put a fake smile on my face as we walk down the hall toward our first class.
The first half of the day goes by pretty fast. Kai and Isabelle message me everything they find out, obviously using our secure line nobody can hack.
Garrett also tells me how he found a job working as a mechanic in town, and that he checked over the borders last night and found no unwanted supernatural creatures anywhere.
At lunch, Jenny and I walk into the cafeteria, where people everywhere are talking and laughing while eating.
She leads me over to the line, and I make a face at the disgusting food, thinking to myself to start packing lunches. I might be here on an important mission, but I am not killing myself with the food.
I grab a salad. Thank heavens it is store-bought and not made here.
Jenny leads me over to a table of people. It seems some of the higher-class pack are here. Kai and Isabelle sit among them, looking up and smiling at me.
I sit down in between Jenny and Kai and look up, meeting the most beautiful sea-green eyes I have ever seen.
“Hey, everyone, this is Katerina. She just moved here, along with her relatives,” Jenny says, gesturing to Kai and Isabelle—obviously, they were already introduced.
“Katerina, this is Joe and Abby,” she says, pointing to a couple holding hands. The guy is tall and built, with blond hair and brown eyes; the girl is small and lean, with dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes. Obviously mates.
“That’s John and Jason, they’re twins.”
The two brothers are identical, but one has a scar going down the side of his face, faint but noticeable. Shaggy brown hair and green eyes, tall, muscular, obviously werewolves themselves.
“That’s Mary.” A tall girl, blonde with blue eyes, sneers at me, not even bothering to offer a smile or anything.
If it wasn’t for this fake identity, I would punch that sneer off her face. I despise disrespect, especially from supernatural beings.
“And that is Luke,” she says, pointing right at the piercing eyes that look like they are looking right into my soul.
Looking at him, it feels like something is pulling me toward him like I am supposed to know something, but I just shove it aside.
He is tall and very fit, obviously a werewolf himself, but of a higher ranking from the way he positions himself. Power just oozes off him.
He definitely is not the alpha’s son. The Alpha and Luna have two children, both younger. Along with the Beta, they have a daughter.
Luke’s brown hair is short but long enough to have some drop down onto his forehead. He is the first one to offer a hand to me; the others just smile or wave.
I hesitantly take it, offering him a smile as I reach over. When our hands meet, he quickly pulls away like he has been burned.
I give him a confused look as he gets up and quickly walks away, without uttering a word. A frown spreads across my face as I watch his retreating back as he makes his way out of the cafeteria.
The twins shoot me an apologetic smile before following him.
“Sorry, I don’t know what got into him. He has his moments, though. I’m sure he’ll explain later,” Jenny says, a confused look on her face.
The rest of lunch goes by smoothly. I keep up with the conversation as I take in the cafeteria, trying to figure out if anybody looks suspicious.
One guy in particular is dressed all in black, long, dark hair, hiding his face. Isabelle said he is her age and just moved here a week ago. He talks to no one and tends to skip out on a lot of classes.
I plan on following him after school. Kai and Isabelle will go home as normal.
I slip out of class twenty minutes early. I exit the building without anyone seeing me and head to my car, but I wasn’t expecting who I would find.
Luke is leaning against my car, head down, thinking about something.
I walk up beside him quietly, to make sure he is not holding anything. When I know it’s safe, I speak up.
“Luke, what are you doing here?”.
His head jerks up, shock making its way across his face.
“How did you do that?” he asks, disbelief written across his face. I give him a confused look.
“Sneak up on me, I mean. No one is able to do that.”
I just shrug.
“Unintentionally? I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say as I keep my distance from him. Being around him is so weird. It’s like something is pulling me toward him, but there is also something blocking it.
“Oh. Well, I came to apologize, I didn’t mean to do what I did earlier. I-I-I wasn’t feeling very well,” he says, trying to find words. A lie.
“It’s okay, I understand,” I reply, a smile going across my face, not completely forced though. It’s like being around him makes me happy.
“Were you about to leave?” he asks. His voice causes a reaction in my body. I could listen to it all day and it would never get old. The deep baritone of it…
I snap out of my thoughts as I see him grow impatient from no reply and I nod quickly.
“Yeah, we weren’t doing anything in gym, so I thought I could just get home sooner.”
“Oh. Well, see you later, Katerina,” he says and a sadness hits me as he doesn’t even know my real name.
What? What am I thinking? He is a werewolf! I’m here to kill his kind. Get your head on straight, Hannah!
I return a goodbye and watch as he makes his way toward a sleek black Mustang.
I get into my car before he can catch me staring. I change into my assassin clothes; thank heavens for the heavy tint on the windows.
I put on my black cargo pants, tight black Under Armour shirt, and my holster. I switch my knives into my combat boots before grabbing my head cover. It hides everything but my eyes.
Slinging on my tight jacket, I pull up my hood and wait for the bell to ring, so I can follow the new kid in black.
After a couple of minutes, the bell rings and people start piling out of the school. One in particular slouches around the side of the school before taking off down the road.
I quickly back out and exit the parking lot, following behind his retreating form. He is going much too fast for any human. As I watch him take off into the woods, I quickly park. We are about two miles from the school.
I text Kai and Isabelle where I am and put my earpiece in before looking around. Nobody in sight.
Growing up, I found myself to be naturally stronger and faster than anybody else. That’s probably what has kept me alive so long.
I exit the car, locking it before shooting across the street and taking cover in the dark forest.
I find the nearest tree and climb it quickly. One of the first skills we learn at the academy is tree hopping. Sure, it sounds ridiculous, but it’s a lot less noticeable than being on the ground.
After about a couple of minutes, I find the kid. He is talking to some other guy, much older, in hushed tones. The man is obviously a vampire, but that’s not what catches my eye. His eyes do.
Gold. Exactly what Garrett is looking for.
I try to tune in to their conversation, as my hearing has always been above normal. I only catch bits and pieces before they both nod and the golden-eyed vampire vanishes, using its speed.
Before the kid can do the same, I drop from my tree. The boy is startled by my presence. He is obviously freshly turned and doesn’t know much about using his senses.
He bares his teeth at me. He makes a move toward me, and I yank a wooden stake from inside my coat, stabbing it into his stomach before he can do anything else.
He drops to his knees, holding the stake. Before he can pull it out, I draw the gun I had put in my holster. It is loaded with wooden bullets.
“Move, and I shoot you, and trust me, you won’t want me to,” I say, a smirk making its way across my face—obviously unseen, due to my mask.
“What do you want? I know nothing. I was just recently turned without a choice!” he says pleadingly.
“Who was that you were just talking to?” I growl out, rumbling through my throat. I surprise myself. My growls are beginning to sound more and more realistic; I’ve gotta stop doing that.
“The guy who turned me. He makes me meet him out here every day after school, so he can find out what’s going on there. I promise I won’t tell him about you!” he says as he starts to cry.
“You’re pathetic. Don’t you know to never betray a vampire? You are already dead in his eyes, once he finds out what you have done. But I can’t let him find out I’m here, now can I?”
I rip out the stake from his stomach before plunging it into his heart. His body slowly goes pale and drops to the ground.
They must be trying to increase their numbers quickly if they are being so reckless with pathetic teenagers like him.
