Protecting Hope: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Bloodmoon Series Book 1)

by Briana Alisandra

  Aria spoke up. “Her mom is the mayor and her dad is a lawyer.”

  “We live in the big mansion on Prescott Street.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t say I have.”

  She looked peeved at that.

  Lexie rolled her eyes. “She just got to town yesterday. How would she have known that?”

  “Well now she does.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Perfect just walked in,” Aria said.

  I looked in the direction she was looking. It was the guy from the hall this morning and some other girl.

  “Ugh, I hate those two,” Hayden said.

  Tegan laughed. “That’s just because you see Elizabeth as your competition. And Christian won’t look twice at you.”

  So his name was Christian.

  “No,” Hayden protested. “It’s because they’re too perfect. No one is that perfect unless they’re fake.”

  It sounded more like Hayden was just jealous. I could see why. Looking at Elizabeth, I felt inadequate myself. She was tall, blonde, and gorgeous. Even the way she walked oozed perfection.

  “Elizabeth is actually nice,” Lexie said. “Maybe if you get to know her, you’d feel different.”

  “I doubt that.” She glared at me. “How about you? Are you perfect, Hope?”

  I cleared my throat. They were all looking at me again. “Far from it. I don’t think anyone is perfect.”

  “I am.”

  Lexie rolled her eyes again. “Sorry. Hayden’s, Hayden.”

  Hayden looked pissed. Her eyes darted to Lexie. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know what it means.” Lexie was glaring at Hayden. It looked like she knew how to hold her own against the mean girl.

  “Guys, can we not fight in front of Hope,” Tegan said. “I’m sure she thinks we’re bad enough as it is.”

  Hayden laughed. “You two should take that advice.” She looked at me and pointed at Tegan and Lexie. “They used to date.”

  Lexie’s face turned red with rage. She glared daggers at Hayden. If looks could kill, Hayden would be deader than dead. “Shut up Hayden.”

  Hayden made a face. “Someone is being a witch today.”

  Did she mean bitch?

  Yeah, I was pretty sure these weren’t my people. I liked to avoid drama, not run towards it.

  These girls were barely friends. They seemed more like frenemies to me. Hayden seemed like the type of girl that liked to be feared.

  With a friend like Hayden, I wouldn’t need any enemies.

  Chapter 12: Hope

  After school let out, I made my attempt at walking home. Gemma was still at the hospital. She offered to come give me a ride home, but I told her I’d be fine. I was used to getting around on my own. The house was close to the school and it was a straight ride.

  Other kids were walking home as well. It looked like a lot of students walked to and from school. Bonus of living in such a small town. It was easy to get around on foot.

  “Hey.”

  A girl with long blonde wavy hair came up next to me and walked alongside me. “Hey.”

  “We haven’t met yet. You’re in my physics class.”

  “Right.”

  I honestly hadn’t focused on the other students in physics. I was too busy trying to catch up. I had a lot of reading to do tonight.

  She smiled. “You don’t remember me. That’s okay.”

  “No, I just had a lot on my mind.”

  “Totally understand.”

  We walked in silence for about a minute before she spoke again. “I saw you sitting with the gang today.”

  “Is that what you call them?”

  “You’re right. They’re worse than a gang.”

  I couldn’t help laughing at that. That wasn’t an overstatement. They were pretty brutal. I don’t think I wanted to sit with them again. “I take it you don’t like them.”

  She shook her head. “Not so much. Lexie’s okay. She just follows her sister too much. And her sister kisses Hayden’s ass every chance she gets.”

  That made total sense. Lexie didn’t seem like she was like the other girls. I kind of felt bad for her. She didn’t seem like she belonged at that table.

  “I’m Jade by the way.”

  “Hope.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Hope. Welcome to Salem Point. From one outcast to another.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “What makes you think I’m an outcast?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me and smiled. “I know the signs.” She pointed to the house on our right. “This is me. Hey, if you ever want to chill, hit me up.”

  “Thanks. I’m getting a phone later today so I can’t really hit anyone up yet, but once I can.”

  “Cool. Later Hope.”

  “Later.”

  Jade was perceptive. I did tend to be a bit of an outcast. I might actually take her up on her offer. So far she was the only girl that made it a point to introduce herself to me. Well, the only nice girl.

  I could use a friend. A real friend. Not a frenemy.

  * * *

  After I got some of my reading done, I went to sit outside for a while. I needed a break. I had been going nonstop since I got home two hours ago.

  Gemma still wasn’t home, but she called the house and told me she would be home in an hour and she was picking up dinner on the way.

  The neighborhood was so quiet. I was used to noise. Kids screaming at the top of their lungs, playing outside. The streets I grew up on were usually packed with people. Kids on those streets didn’t have parents that could afford iPad’s and video games so they did the old fashioned thing that most kids today wouldn’t even think to do. They played outside.

  Someone next door opened the front door and slammed it before walking out onto the porch.

  I looked over and recognized him. It was Knight from this morning. I didn’t realize he was my new neighbor.

  He looked so pissed. Not at all like the cool, calm, collected nice guy he was to me earlier in the day.

  His eyes met mine. When they did, his look began to soften. I think he was embarrassed.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He didn’t seem fine. He seemed pissed.

  “Okay.” I wasn’t going to press him on it. I didn’t really know Knight yet. Though, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to get to know him. He seemed sweet. This morning anyway.

  He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m acting like Christian now.”

  “That would be pretty hard to accomplish. You’d have to make your face a permanent frown.”

  “Oh, yeah, and the eyebrows. I’ve definitely got to work on keeping them closer together so I always look like I’m thinking about something intense as hell.”

  I laughed and moved closer to the end of the porch to get closer to his house. “Someone should tell him to chill or he’s going to have premature wrinkles.”

  He laughed. “Yeah.”

  Knight was funny. And he was so easy to talk to. I felt like I knew him for a while, when I just met him this morning.

  “So are you really okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I just got into an argument with my dad is all. I don’t really want to talk about it. I’d rather talk about you. How was your first day? Hate it here yet?”

  “Not yet. But it’s only my first day. There’s still time.”

  Salem Point wasn’t so bad. There were mean girls anywhere I lived, so Hayden and her little gang weren’t going to ruin this for me. I had a chance at a good life here with Gemma. I had family. For so long that’s all I wanted. Now that I had it, I wasn’t going to let anything or anyone ruin that.

  “Give it til the end of the week, you’ll be dying to get out of here.”

  “I doubt it. Gemma’s the only family I have. I’ll be sticking around so long as she’s here. At least until college.”

  He cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you live with your aunt?”


  I paused. I hated telling strangers about my past. “My mom died. And my dad was never around so I was in foster care for the last seven years. My social worker finally found Gemma. Turned out I had an aunt. Luckily she took me in.”

  “I’m sorry about your mom. I understand how you feel. More than I’d like to. My mom died when I was a kid.”

  That made me so incredibly sad. Knight was so kind. No one deserved to lose a parent so young, but Knight especially didn’t deserve it. “How old were you?”

  “Five.”

  “Wow. I’m sorry. I was nine and it was just the two of us so I got a lot of time with her, but I can’t imagine being so little and losing her.”

  “Still, that must have been really difficult. You know to lose her and have to go through all that without anyone to help you through it.”

  It was the hardest thing I ever had to go through. I tried not to think about that time in my life. It only made me depressed and angry. I didn’t like feeling that way.

  The front door to Knight’s house opened. A middle-aged man came out. When he saw me, he froze. He groaned before looking at Knight. “Get your ass in the house now.” He didn’t wait for a response. He walked back in the house and slammed the door.

  I could tell by his slurring words and the look in his eyes that he had been drinking. I looked at Knight. He looked mortified.

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t really know what to say to him.

  Knight smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow Hope.”

  I wanted to ask him if he needed help. If there was anything I could do. But I didn’t want to push him.

  I’m not sure what I would want someone to say to me if they just witnessed that.

  “See you tomorrow Knight.”

  He walked back into the house.

  I just hoped that wasn’t what his dad was always like.

  Based on how sweet he was, you’d never know his homelife wasn’t so great. That just made him even more amazing in my eyes.

  I couldn’t wait until Gemma got my phone. It would have been nice to be able to text him and make sure he was okay after what just happened.

  I sighed and walked back inside the house.

  Tomorrow couldn’t come faster.

  Chapter 13: Knight

  I hated that look on her face. Pity.

  I hate being pitied by anyone, but especially by her. She was new and she didn’t know about me yet. She didn’t know about my screwed up dad. Thanks to Dad, she did now.

  Everyone in town knows my dad is the town drunk. She was the one person that didn’t know how fucked up my life was.

  I was mortified by what just happened. Dad spoke to me like shit all the time. But I didn’t want her to have to see it.

  I really liked Hope and I couldn’t explain it, but I felt this huge connection with her.

  I heard the front door slam again. Hopefully Hope went back inside and didn’t have to witness my father stumbling down the street.

  The liquor store was a five minute walk from the house, so at least there was that. He didn’t run the risk of hurting himself or someone else.

  I shook by head, trying to focus on my schoolwork. Didn’t he have enough already?

  He was infuriating. I swear sometimes I just wanted to punch him in the face. I was big enough now. I knew I could take him. But I also knew it would disappoint my mother. I know she loved Dad. He wouldn’t be so fucked up if he hadn’t lost her. He loved her more than anything in this world and losing her sent him off into the deep end. Even I couldn’t compete with the love he had for Mom.

  I closed my book and laid back onto my bed. I looked up at the ceiling, my mind drifting to what happened earlier today.

  When I touched Hope, I felt something. It was hard to explain, but from what Asher told me, it felt like what he described when he met his mate.

  It’s how I was supposed to feel with Hayden. But I didn’t feel shit with Hayden, aside from annoyance.

  I couldn’t see how she was supposed to be my mate. We’re both supposed to be the alpha of our packs. My uncle was the alpha right now, but that was only because Mom died. She was supposed to be the alpha after Grandpa. She went against the pack rules though and didn’t marry another alpha from the other pack. She was supposed to be the one to merge the packs by marrying Hayden’s father, but she fell in love with my dad and went against what the pack wanted.

  That left the responsibility to me and Hayden. We were supposed to merge the Bloodmoon pack and the Bluemoon pack.

  It wasn’t really fair. Why should I have to marry some bitch that I don’t even like?

  Maybe I didn’t have to stick to the pack traditions either. I knew Mom wouldn’t want me to. ‘Follow your heart,’ she’d tell me. My heart told me that Hayden was never going to be the girl I was supposed to be with.

  My uncle was the one pushing me to be with Hayden. The packs were apparently having a power struggle over territory in Salem Point and he was worried that we’d become rivals soon if we didn’t merge the packs. Then we’d be left vulnerable to attacks from other packs, or worse, vampires.

  It’s not fair.

  I shouldn’t have to be with someone just because the packs couldn’t get along and agree over who had territory over what.

  I wished Mom was here. She never would have let this happen.

  I didn’t know what to do. Follow my heart, or be loyal to my pack.

  My pack was the only family I had aside from Dad. And he wasn’t really much of anything to me. I lived under his roof and he provided me the necessities to live, but I don’t think he loved me.

  I think he saw my mother every time he looked at me and it hurt him. I was a reminder of her.

  How fucked up is that? I remind him of his dead wife, so he wants nothing to do with me? You’d think that’d make him want more to do with me.

  I was so angry. Part of me wanted to punch the wall. The other part wanted to cry.

  I missed the life I was supposed to have. I missed who my dad used to be. But most of all, I missed my mom.

  Chapter 14: Hope

  I felt terrible for Knight. The look in his eyes when his dad spoke to him like that made me want to cry.

  I dealt with a couple foster parents with substance abuse problems in the past. But most of them just didn’t even acknowledge I was there. Unfortunately, they also forgot I was a living being that needed to eat to survive. I only lived in that house for a couple months before CPS figured out something was off.

  I made it a point to get up early and get ready quickly. I had my cell phone now, but I didn’t have Knight’s number so I couldn’t text him to make sure he was okay.

  I ran downstairs and into the kitchen when I heard Gemma going downstairs. I wanted to catch her before she started cooking again.

  “I’m just going to have fruit this morning, don’t worry about making breakfast.”

  “Hope, I really don’t mind cooking. I finally have a reason to use the stove now.”

  “Really, I’m good. How about you make dinner instead?”

  She shrugged, giving in. “Okay, if you insist.”

  I grabbed a banana from the bowl in the center of the island. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Wait, you don’t want a ride?”

  “I’m going to walk with Knight. Fresh air and all that crap.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “I wish you’d eat more than just a banana.”

  I looked at the fruit dish and grabbed an apple. I held them both up. “Satisfied?”

  “Somewhat.”

  I grinned. “Cool. See you later.”

  “Text me that you made it to school okay.”

  “Will do.”

  “And text me when you’re on your way home from school.”

  “Will do.”

  She was following me out of the kitchen and towards the front door now. “And text me when…”

  “I get home from school. I know. How about I just text you every hour to give you a
play-by-play of how my day is going?”

  “I mean that might be a bit much, but that could work.”

  “Gemma! I was kidding.”

  She looked at me sheepishly. “So was I.”

  I scoffed. She was totally serious. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye. Have a good day.”

  “You too.”

  She waved at me before closing the front door. I was still getting used to having someone care about me. It was going to take longer than two days.

  But I had to admit, it felt nice. Gemma was sweet and caring. She reminded me a lot of Mom.

  I walked up to the front door of Knight’s house. The car in the driveway was already gone, so I assumed his dad may have gone to work. I knocked on the door and waited.

  A couple seconds later I heard movement inside and then the front door opened. Knight looked at me in question. “Hope?”

  “I figured we could walk to school together, neighbor.”

  He looked unsure at first, but then smiled. “Sure. Let me grab my bag.”

  Knight disappeared for a moment before coming back with his backpack. “Ready.” He closed the door and locked the top lock with his key. He turned to me and smiled. I walked down the steps and onto the sidewalk. He walked beside me.

  We walked in silence for a moment before he spoke up. “Did you get a lot of work done last night?”

  “Yeah. I still have a lot of catching up to do, but I’ll get there.”

  “You’re one of those people that like school, aren’t you?”

  “Guilty. I like learning. Most things anyway.”

  “That’s cool. Do you know what you want to do after high school?”

  “Definitely college, just not sure what I’ll major in yet.”

  “Lucky. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.”

  “Are you planning on staying in Salem Point?”

  “More than likely. I kind of have to.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why?”

  “My dad. And I have other family here.”

  “Oh, got it.”

  The awkward silence overtook us again as we walked. It was like there was this huge elephant following us around. That elephant being his dad.