The Alpha And The Prey

Chapter 6

Tessa pov

    The next morning was eventful. Well, as eventful as it usually is when you’re trapped in a house with a surly teenager, another teenager who cries easily, and a little boy that is shy around others but wild and loud around those he knows and loves. It was exam day, and I was having trouble running back and forth between the three of them. Addy kept switching to her f*******:, a chat messenger opened up with someone whose name was mysteriously just a single letter, but I didn’t have time to really question her as I had to deal with Sean and Avery as well. Avery was by far the smartest out of everyone, but when it came to her history class she struggled. I was jumping back and forth between her and Sean, who needed help with English class, trying to run back to the kitchen to yell at Addy for once again chatting with the mysterious letter instead of working on her test. As a result, the timer went off and while Sean and Avery finished with many one or two questions missed, Addy had only two-thirds of her test finished. After the exams were finished, everyone was helping out in the kitchen. Well, Avery and Sean were, Addy was sitting at the kitchen table doing her nails as I yelled at her. “That test was part of your midterm, Addy! You weren’t even paying attention! You probably failed the test!” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. 

    “Who cares, I’m going to be a model. I don’t need math to be a model.” She muttered, rolling her eyes. “You could be a model too, you know. But no, you’d rather stay locked up and hide in here all the time.” She mumbled. 

    I glared at her, grabbing a tomato out of the bowl and throwing it at her. She gasped, the nail polish splattering down her hand and Avery pressed her hands to her mouth to stop from bursting out laughing at her sister’s look of dismay. “I am here because I deal with three bunny shifters that are uncontrollable! Do you think when I was seven I sat there looking up at the stars wishing I would grow up to have my future like this? To lose my parents and to raise three small kids on my own when I was only thirteen? I didn’t want this, Addy, but I take it because it’s all I can do.” I was huffing, trying to control my anger as I glared at her. Did she really think I wanted to live like this? I wanted to go out, to have friends, to have a normal job where I could say good morning to people. I wanted to eventually find someone to love and have kids of my own! I heard a soft whimper and reality slapped back into me, making me fall to my knees in front of Sean. “I didn’t ask for it, Sean, but I do it very happily and willingly. But I’m human, and I’m allowed to be upset at the same time. But I love you, all of you, and I wouldn’t trade this life for anything else in the world.” I told him, placing my hands on his shoulders. He nodded, his lower lip jutting out as he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my chest. 

    “You should be nicer to Tessa, Addy. You’re the oldest twin you know. What if Tessa wasn’t there? When mom and dad died…you’d be the one taking this spot, watching me and Sean. Maybe you should be nicer, more helpful, something. Can’t you just try to understand?” Avery asked, her fingers brushing against the back of my hair. 

    Addy had a scowl on her face as Sean pulled away from me, her eyes dangerously sparkling in a way that told me she was holding back tears, and I sighed. “It’s okay, let’s just finish dinner. Maybe you can retake the test tomorrow. I’ll give you all my attention, and Avery can help Sean since it’s a subject she’s good at.” I said, hope in my voice as I looked at Avery over my shoulder. I tried not to rely on her so much, but out of the twins she was the more mature one, and tended to help me with Sean so much more than Addy did. Addy always seemed to need the extra attention, the special treatment. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that she missed our parents, or maybe she felt guilty over giving me such a hard time all the time, whatever it was, I knew I had to figure out on my own how to deal with it. 

    I tried to figure out how to deal with Addy silently as Sean and Avery danced to the soft sounds of the music coming from the radio, giving Addy soft glances to make sure she was okay as she slowly wiped her eyes indiscreetly on her sleeve. Her hand was shaking as she tried to finish her nail polish and, without a word, I set the stove to simmer and sat across from her, holding out my hand. She stared at me, a glare in her eyes, but realizing I wasn’t backing down she sighed and gave me her hand. For a few minutes, I simply painted her nails for her, humming to the song under my breath as Addy watched me. Finally, she leaned close to me, a frown on her face. “I’m sorry, I’ll try harder.” She mumbled. “I just wish I had my phone back.” She added, her eyelashes beating fast as a soft smile appeared on her face. 

    I snorted at her, rolling my eyes as I sighed loudly. “If you do dishes and clean the kitchen after dinner you can get your phone back. But no more f*******: during school.” I told her sternly. She nodded, her eyes twinkling as she grinned at me. I stared at her, chewing on my bottom lip as she grinned, and I wondered if it was my place to ask her about who she was talking to. It seemed like ever since I had gotten attacked by the wolves in the meadow she had been talking to someone on f*******:, and I was starting to worry about what she was telling them. It was clearly a boy, and I knew that for a number of reasons. The one that stood her up hasn’t been mentioned since. She normally talks loudly about how awful the guy is when it doesn’t work out and goes on dramatically for days on end, but she’s not mentioned it once, and that’s not usual for her. Unless she’s found someone else to talk to, that is. Also, the fact that she keeps smiling randomly when she’s looking at her computer screen. Plus, last night and this morning she had a dreamy look on her face when she was brushing her teeth. I raised her, I knew when she had a crush, and she was giving very big telltale signs that she did. “So…Who is he?” I asked, finishing her nails on one side and holding out my hand for her other hand. She flinched, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Avery stirring the food for me. 

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Addy said with a clipped tone, her eyes hardening as she glared at me. 

    I frowned, understanding her teenage rebellion, but wanting to make sure she was safe at the same time. “You know you can’t…date, Addy. What will he do when you accidentally shift into a bunny?” I asked, feeling the weight of our life settling down on me like a boulder. For the first time in my life, I was jealous of werewolves. They still shifted into their wolves, but they weren’t the same as shifters. They didn’t shift until they were eighteen, but we have been shifting uncontrollably since birth. What I wouldn’t give to be able to take the kids to an adult to help me raise them. Maybe get a boyfriend, one of those cute kind guys that hit on me constantly when I go into town. Someone I can fall in love with and marry, someone who I can slowly give the secret of my existence to. But shifters, who knows when one of them would accidentally shift in front of him. I might get a year before he finds out, I might get a few months, maybe even a few days. Unless I’m willing to tell whoever the guy is instantly from the beginning what we are, I’d never be able to have a guy, not until after Sean is eighteen and I don’t have to worry about the kids accidentally shifting and blowing the cover. But then what? I’d have to either never get pregnant, or tell him what would happen to our baby when it comes out of me. Babies come out human, but then they always shift into a bunny for the first week. Then they shift back and forth. It’s impossible to be with someone who doesn’t understand. The idea of having to explain this to someone…I just couldn’t force myself to deal with it. It’s better to be alone, in the end. Less work, safer for everyone. Even if it was lonely. 

    “We’re just talking, not dating. He doesn’t even live here, he’s far away, he said,” she said, her eyes growing wide as she pressed her hand against her mouth. I frowned, not sure if I really liked the sound of that. So I didn’t have to worry about her running out to meet him in the middle of the night, but was this really better? What if she feels like it’s love and sneaks out, tries to get on a plane to get to him? To think about how horrifying it would be to shift on a plane high in the sky…I couldn’t do anything but cringe at the thought of that chaos. Plus, what if it’s all a lie? 

    “How well do you even know him? What if he’s…what’s that word…catfishing you?” I asked, flicking a dot of polish on her nose. “You’re only fifteen you know, not even a lot of human families let their fifteen-year-olds date.” I reminded her. “Plus he could be a thirty-year-old man living in his mom’s basement tricking you into thinking you love him,” I said. 

    She had a horrified look on her face as Avery burst out laughing, before shifting into a bunny with a squeak of surprise. Sean nearly stepped on her as she darted out from under his feet and he grabbed her clothes for her, putting them on the counter as he continued to dance around the kitchen. She jumped on his foot, scampering up his body and jumping onto the counter to rest next to her clothes, her little pink nose twitching in frustration. “He’s the same age as me, and he’s shown me pictures!” She shouted, angry at me. Her face was red and I wasn’t sure if I should care that this person could get pictures from anywhere and show her them, hence catfishing, or if I should be worried about how naked these pictures could be. 

    I decided to worry about both at once. “What if the pictures are of him when he was a kid and he’s a lot older now? What if they’re from someone else? You should make sure, Addy. Make him take a picture doing something, like writing your name or holding a strange object, something to prove that he’s who he says he is. And just how much clothes does he have on in these pictures!?” I asked, making her face flare up in surprise. 

    She grabbed the nail polish away from me and stood, glaring down at me. “Call me when dinner is ready, I’ll be in my room!” She yelled, before stomping through the house and slamming her bedroom door. 

I looked over at Sean and the bunny Avery, and sighed in exhaustion. “Please tell me you guys will wait till you’re eighteen. I’m so tired of fighting with only one of you, if I have to fight with all of you, I might end up having an ulcer.” I mumbled. 

    “Girls are icky,” Sean muttered, his nose wrinkling in disgust as Avery nodded her little bunny head at me. 

    I smirked at them, shaking my head in an exasperated sigh as I laughed. “Oh! The food!” I shouted, standing up and running to the stove in surprise. I groaned, smelling the telltale smell of something burning as Sean gasped. I turned to look at him only to see he was now a bunny too. “Of course, everyone is a freaking bunny. Well, that’s just fine, maybe I’ll throw you all in the garden to eat dinner since this is ruined!” I said, frustrated I had been so distracted by Addy’s craziness once more. 

    I sighed as I pulled it out of the oven, Sean struggling to jump on top of the counter next to Avery, and I felt his little body climb up mine before launching himself next to her. I couldn't help but snort out a laugh as I watched him crash into her, rolling her into the sink that had a small pool of ice-cold water sitting at the bottom of it. As they growled at each other, rolling around in the water, I simply sighed as I placed the casserole onto the stovetop and started to scrape off the burnt layer. Not a bad day, but exasperated, definitely exasperated. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. I mean, how much worse can it get?