Firstborn Female

A New World

Sophia watched her father quietly now as he gazed at her. She could see in his eyes that he was not happy that she was here and that she was more of a liability than anything. A fact that seemed to make her lose her appetite. She let her fork drop to the plate and sat their staring up at Jeremy Danvers. He was her father by blood, but she didn't know him. To her, everyone in the room happened to be strangers, and she was more than uncomfortable in this whole situation. Her first thought was to leave, but that wasn't likely now that they knew each other's secrets. Furthermore, if this 'Nick' wolf didn't quit gazing at her like that she might literally go nuts. 

The silence in the room was nearly deafening as she waited for something to happen. Anything. She lowered her eyes after a moment in submission. Somehow, the wolf inside of her was backing down to her father's wolf. She knew better than to cross him and she knew that her actions might be viewed as aggressive. She had read the books on dogs and wolves. Eye contact meant confrontation. She wasn't sure how it worked with werewolves. But she knew that at this moment she was the lowest on the totem pole and she had to be submissive.

She heard Jeremy sit down and then glanced up momentarily. When Jeremy spoke, she knew that she had to listen and do what she was told. To Jeremy she must seem like some sort of time bomb. She was seventeen. A girl and a wolf that had no control over her shifting. She knew that must strike fear in him at some level. 

"Elena, you Clay and Nick will be responsible to train her. Someone must be with her at all times. We need to get Page to come over here as well. We cannot have an untrained witch and wolf living in this house. Even if she doesn't mean to, she could ultimately be set off and we don't want either magic or her wolf to get out of hand." Jeremy spoke as if there was no question on what there was to be done. Everyone nodded and Jeremy stood and walked over to her. He reached out and lifted her chin so that they were gazing into each other's eyes, a feature that they both shared. 

"It isn't that I don't want you here, darlin. I just need some time to process all of this. Cain is burying your mother and I will be in my office. When I am ready, I will come to you." 

With that he let her chin go and stalked out of the room. She took a deep breath as Elena spoke to her calmly. 

"It's going to be okay. Don't worry. He has accepted you into the pack. That is a start. Come on let's eat and then we can go pick out a room for you." Elena sounded as cheerful as she could under the circumstances and Sophia understood perfectly. She was trying to cheer her up. 

The rest of breakfast was uneventful, except for Nick still gazing at her as she ate. She had no idea what was going on. That the age old myth of soul mates among werewolf stories was about to hit them head on. They were both in uncharted territory and Sophia had not had an interest in boys and dating. Though, she was not interested in girls that way either. She still held on to an innocence that would soon be destroyed. 

When she was done, she helped Elena clear the table and wash the dishes, though Elena said she could do it herself. She had seen the maids do it a thousand times when they lived with her grandfather. It was quite a different thing to actually do it herself. Well...help someone do it. She knew that she would not be coddled here. She had to pull her own weight and help out where she could. 

With the dishes done, she soon had a suitcase in her hand and Elena, Clay and Nick carried the rest of her things up the stairs. Elena showed her which rooms were taken. Clay's, Elena's and Jeremy's. Nick and the others also had rooms. So that left four to choose from.  She found one that overlooked the woods and had a balcony on it. Most of the rooms did have balconies. This one had a trellis beside it. 

"Don't get any ideas. Clay will remove that trellis if you use it as a ladder." 

The room was large, but had a bachelor feel to it, a few minutes before, she had seen Elena's room. She love the way it had been decorated and she made up her mind that, that was what she wanted hers to look like. A canopy bed and everything. She already had the canopy bed. But the canopy had been removed due to the material getting old and rotting, according to Elena. She had chosen the room next to her father's and across from Nick's. Though she didn't even think about it, even though she knew. 

Clay and Nick had to take off and do some business in town. Of course they kept it quiet for now. She was new to the pack and they were already in protective mode. She watched Clay and Nick leave. The latter a bit more reluctantly than Clay. She could see the love between Clay and Elena and knew that they had a strong bond. But, she also saw the trust in each of their eyes as well. Once they had left, Elena turned to her and smiled. She could tell that Elena wanted to talk. Sophia was a bit shy around others and as she watched Elena sit on the edge of the bed she heaved a heavy sigh. Elena was about to open her mouth when they heard Nick and Clay down the hall. 

"Mine!" 

Clay responded, "No....Jeremy's daughter. You don't touch."

She glanced over at Elena with a confused look on her face. Was Nick saying what she thought he was saying? Sure he was cute and all, but he was old. Like twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She knew wolves looked young for their age. She was told her father was in his sixties, but he looked like he was forty. 

Elena took a deep breath and then began to speak. 

"Are you okay? I know that this has been a lot to take in and with everything that has happened so far, I know that you must be a bit scared right now." 

Suddenly, everything seemed to surface and she burst into tears. she had tried to hold back and not cry, but that was impossible. 

"I don't understand any of this. I have read plenty of books on wolves and the supernatural. I know about the pack mentality, but how can it be real. My mom lied to me about dying and my own father looks at me like I am an evil being. everything is falling apart." 

She had not meant to cry in Elena's arms, but she needed the comfort. Elena reminded her of her mom and a big sister. She knew that they would get along well, eventually, but right now, everything seemed so mixed up. 

"Then there is that Nick, wolf. Why does he stare at me like that?"

Elena, chuckled at her last words. "He likes you, Sophie. Can I call you that? It seems to fit you better." 

She nodded at Elena and then listened as Elena wiped the tears off her cheeks. 

"I have never seen Nick do that before. He likes women., but I have never seen him so focused on just one. It is like he is now off the market. Jeremy will skin him alive if he doesn't stop obsessing over you. I saw the look he gave Nick when he left the room."

Sophia was unsure how to handle all of this. Like her father, she had a lot to process at this point. She was a werewolf. Apparently, the only one in existence that was a natural born female. Though she could see a sense of relief on Elena's part as they discussed the topic thoroughly. It seemed so strange to her her. All of it. She had heard her mother talk about having magical powers as well. She herself had read about all kinds of supernatural creatures. The one thing that she had thought she had known was out the window. She had not really believed any of them existed. Now she was both. 

She sighed and looked down at her hands as Elena tucked a strand of flaming red hair behind her ear. One of Sophia's best features was her hair. She had been told many times how beautiful she was, but when she looked in the mirror all she was was just plain ole Sophia. She never saw herself pretty. Just ordinary. Though, now she knew one thing for certain. She was not ordinary. She never had been and she never would be. 

Suddenly her eyes widened. She glanced up at Elena full of questions. 

"What were Jeremy and my mom saying about a prophecy? What prophecy?"