A Cure Of Mine by D.D. Dass (summer reads .txt) 📕

“Jason?” At the sound of my name, I pivoted, storing the thoughts away to smile at my younger brother. He was alone, which meant I wouldn’t have to deal with my parents just yet. Thank fuck. “Man, you just keep getting bigger and bigger! How tall are you now? Six two?”

Jonah was seventeen now, with sandy blonde hair and my mother’s brown eyes and he stood at five foot ten.

“Close, but six three now.” He shook his head ruefully. I’d missed my brother, no matter if we fought almost every time we had a conversation. It was just that we were too alike. A clown around tomfoolery.

We started towards the lot in silence, both getting use to the one another’s heavy presences. My eyes instantly landed on my car and thankfully (for Jonah) it was exactly (well, close enough) how I’d left it. No scratches or dents. Still jet-lagged I let Jonah keep the keys, though I immediately regret the choice when he starts it up and Kanye West blares. It wasn’t that rap was a bad thing, just that I was too young to go deaf, really.

I turn the crap off and let my head fall back on the head rest, shutting my eyes. “How are Mother and Father?” I ask without much interest.

“Same as always.” I’d known that would be the answer.

“And High School?”

“It’s pretty chill actually. I got onto Varsity football, not much of a surprise though…” his voice fades when I feel the light burn at my pec. Isaac again. What the hell was he doing? I clench my teeth at that. In a week or so, I’ll be starting at the Private school I know he goes too (through reliable sources. Bastien). More to the point, if I find someone even looking at my little mate wrong, I’d snap because I’d gone to long without protecting him…It was simple as that.

“Hellloooooooo!? Are you listening?”  With a blink, I focus on Jonah, whose glaring dagger at me.

“Yeah…?” The whites of his eyes disappear and –

“Really, Jonah? Don’t start, I’d destroy you.” It’s completely serious.

“So sure of yourself aren’t you? You haven’t come at me in a whole year.” And? The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I roll my eyes without answering instead, knowing Jonah was short-tempered, like myself, the only different was that I know self-control. That’s the exact reason we’d waited so long to put him in a real school with real assholes.

We pull up at the iron gates; Jonah enters the code while I ready myself for my father’s tests, gazing sourly at the extravagant manor. It was three stories unnecessary for a family of four.  There was a pool (a duh) and two building garages that held two cars in each. I was pretty simplistic, while the rest of my pack bathed in expensive shit. My mother especially, she was all for materials, all of which my father offered. I wasn’t really sure if either of my parents were mates or loved each other, but I liked to think so.

As I enter the house, I note that nothing’s change. The well decorated inside is just as cold as it’d been a year ago. In my room, I drop my backpack, inspecting. The room is large and bare of decoration. There was a laptop on a desk, but I hadn’t bothered with a TV, it was all too fake for me: the perfect lives, happily ever afters, complete bullcrap.

I hear the footsteps of my advancer light and careful just before my Mother’s quite voice fills the room around me. “Son?”  I squeeze my eyes shut, but mask all the loss of my features to turn and face her.

“Mathine.” My Mother smiles hesitantly, walking up to me and brushed strands of hair from my eyes.

“You’ve grown so well…Taller than your Alpha.” I nod, head bowed low. “He is waiting below for you.” My Alpha, I think bitterly, brushing away from her touch to ease down the stairs. He is waiting for me. At six foot two, my Father looks like me with the same blue eyes, blond hair, and aura. Nobody would guess that we are nothing alike…That we never would be.

“Father,” I am void of emotions as I kneel. It’s tradition for an Alpha’s Beta to offer such trust.

“You may stand, Jason.” Nothing would ever please my Alpha, however. I obey anyway.

“Let us begin then,” he says, started away. I sigh, knowing what awaited me outside. My pack was going to watch me fight my own Father…And probably fail.

~~

Pain covers my body, shoving me back into reality. With a wince, I shoot up, slapping a hand over my eyes. I am going to…I am going to do nothing I think pathetically, as I shower. Jesus, I hate mornings.

I dress quickly, a black tee and jeans. Before I leave my room, I grab my bag and car keys, and then head out. As I’m about to reverse, Jonah stops me, climbing easily into the passenger, picking uninterestedly at an apple. I roll my eyes, but ignore him, turning the radio to the rap we’d left off on, trying to tune out his mental complaints about starting a new school.  

In Montana I’d mastered skills I hadn’t thought possible…Mind reading, shifting certain body parts, hypnotism…It was surreal, but hell if it didn’t make me stronger.

As I pull into the high school, people eye the car hungrily. It’s a nice school I notice unimpressed and allow Jonah to get out first. He’s swarmed by girls and I think it’ll straighten him out. I get out much the same, smirking when a few smiled at me shyly, but heading for the teenagers from the pack that’d followed us. To my pleasure, some of the Wolves from last year had transferred also…There was Josh, who apparently is skipping with Irish, Zach, Javier, and multiple others.

“You back?” It’s Josh who asks.

“Obviously,” I tell him. “Missed the show last ev.?” He nods a bit. His blue eyes never focusing on me. If Josh wasn’t a wolf, he would not have made it in our lifestyle, he was that blind.

“I kicked my dad’s ass.” He smiles half-heartedly. Iris looks confused enough that I have to laugh. She looks more like her sister, I note. Tired, as if she doesn’t get much sleep…It was probably true too.

“Huh,” Josh mutters in disbelief. I hadn’t expected it either, but I was officially the next Alpha…Which wasn’t that big of a deal for me…I didn’t want that…

The bell rings then and I head to AP Lit, wondering where Isaac is…

“C’mon Isaac, tell me, what happened to your face?” I smile sourly at Ash.

This morning I’d woken up to a bruised cheek and swollen eye, thankfully enough, the scratches at my sides are hidden underneath my shirt. Now, we sit at his table, along with the other soccer players whose names I don’t remember.

“It’s nothing Ashton,” I tell him for what feels like the hundredth time. “Will you please just drop it?” With hard brown eyes, he shakes his head and I breathe an annoyed sigh. How typically Ash.

“If it was someone here you know you can tell me…” his voice is softer now, and deep inside, I know I should be kinder, but the defense mechanism is too strong to deny.

As I open my mouth to retort something snarky the bell rings and Ash groans in defeat. We walk in silence towards my AP Literature until at the door, he leans into kiss me. I deflect it, turning my head so that his lips brush over my cheekbone. I feel nothing, still, no matter how much I want to. It feels wrong, but I allow it, not wanting to hurt my only friend’s feelings. Ash falls back with a deep breath and I blink, leaving him in the hallway without another word.

 In the classroom, I slouch in my seat, glaring down at my tangled hands, unaware of anything but my discomfort when someone shuffles beside me. What…? I tense. Nobody has ever sat beside me in this class…That is how I prefer it.

Slowly, I peek up at the intruder and choke on my breath. There’s a boy –no, a man, who is absolutely gorgeous. His blonde hair is cropped, just reaching his forehead, but his face is strong, harsh angles, and his black eyes are boring into mine. Black eyes? I blink harshly, but when I open my eyes again, yeah, he’s real and he’s still staring with those terrifying eyes.

Okay, I think with a deep breath, act like a human Isaac. I could do that. My hands shake as I lean down to my backpack, pulling out a heavy college ruled notebook, trying to ignore him but his presence is forceful, worse than arrogant, but condescending.

“Isaac?” The seductive way he says my name sounds so…familiar. My heart flutters weirdly.

“How do you know my name?” I demand quietly.

He blinks, mouth tipping in amusement. “It’s on your notebook.” I look down and find to my deep embarrassment, that it really is, written in obnoxious bold letters. I’m such an idiot.

“Oh…” Idiot.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he says in that quiet, rough way. Oh? Oh…He’s new. He doesn’t know to avoid me at all costs yet. That explains his optimism.

I still don’t speak. Pretty-Boy frowns, obviously confused as to why I’m acting so incompetent. I smile half-heartedly at that.

“’m Jason,” the other supplies and I roll my eyes.

“Look at me, please.” I nearly groan at the soft, almost irresistible tone he uses. What is this guys deal?

“I’d rather not,” I mutter awkwardly. At this time, the teacher, Mrs. Baxter enters the room and the pressure at my head, the need to look at him, mercifully disappears, leaving behind a terrible headache.

Mrs. Baxter starts the lesson, but I ignore the chatter, wondering why yesterday had gone to complete shit. First, I’d woken up to Nathan snooping through my bags, and of course he’d found my packet. After telling my father, who’d almost had a heart attack, I’d been instructed to take him out, wherever he’d pleased, which thankfully was just for pizza and ice-cream. I love my brother, but there’s only so much pressure I can take.

Pulling me from my thoughts, the bells rings and hastily I gather my books and shoot towards the door, greeting Ash, who’s already waiting, brown eyes detached.

“Hi,” I say, trying to move as fast I can. Not fast enough apparently.

“Isaac!” Ash turns first, and I think about ignoring the voice, but I figure it’s better to get this over with now.

“Who’s your friend?” Pretty-Boy Jason questions far too defensively, completely ignoring Ash sizing him up. I open my mouth to retort but Ash speaks first. Joy.

“Ash and I’m his boyfriend.” My eyebrows shoot up. Boyfriend?

I find my voice. “You are?” Ash glares.

“And who are you?” Talk about pissing contest, really.

“Jason, a new friend,” he says this bitterly and really? At this point, anxiety is creeping into me.

“Okay, first of all, Ash