Loved By Danger

Chapter 2

    Josephine, who liked to be called Jo, was on her way back to her new home from her new school.  Instead of looking at her books she decided to look out of the window and was annoyed as to why someone had to sent to get her in the first place.  The car was automatic, but as usual, she kept her mouth shut because she didn't feel like dealing with the scolding of her parents again.  She already argued with them about moving to this place and now all of the students were looking at her like she was some kind of alien.  In all her classes she was starred at and whispered about it, it was going to be an annoying week.  Most of the time people would stay in their perspective places from birth till death during these days, but not her family.  Her father was so arrogant and rich if he decided to live on the moon he would and he would drag Jo, her brother, and their mom along.    

    "Nothing exciting happen today?" asked Adam.  He was Jo's personal bodyguard and trainer, and all-around spy for her father.  He annoyed Jo whenever he had the chance.  Jo thought it came from when she was younger she used to take him through hell so now that she was older and her father way more strict, he was her father's spy and whenever Jo didn't follow the rules, he would tell.  So most of her life she was placed on a tight leash.

    "No Adam," Jo continued to look out the window to show she wasn't interested in anything he had to say.

    But like the nag he was, he continued to talk, "I know this whole thing is a bother but give your parents a little credit.  If it wasn't for them and what they do for us we wouldn't be safe.  And you know they only want the best for you."

    "So then why don't they pick Derrick?  I'm sure he has no problem being a kiss ass to them."

    "They want the best for you and your brother."

    "No, they want the best for him so he can continue to make them money.  Me, I just want to be left alone.  I didn't choose this life, I don't think it's fair."

    "Careful of your words.  I don't think your father would like to hear doubts in your voice."

    "Doesn't matter...you will tell him anyway."  The rest of the car ride was quiet between the two of them, pulling up to the large miniature mansion Jo was already out of the door before the door servant could open her car door.  She stormed through the house until she reached the dining room where her mother was busy having her afternoon wine and cigarettes'.  Jo looked at her with heavy annoyance on her face.

    "Do I have to have the henchmen come and pick me up and bring me to school?  I mean this place already suffocates me, does it have to follow me out there?"

    "Please Josephine I don't feel like going through another battle with you today.  You have been making it difficult since we got here."

    "And you have been making it difficult most of my life but I'm not complaining."  Mrs. Terrell tried to ash in the astray but missed, it was evident the wine was starting to kick in.  Jo stood there with her arms folded and contemplated pressing the issue but instead just sucked her teeth and went to the training room.  Throwing her bag down she pressed a few buttons on the hologram training program and she chooses her weapon of choice.  She concentrated on the hologram beast that was before her, taking the silver blade in her hand she heard the voice over the intercom give the start order.

    The large werewolf launched itself at her and she dodged to get out of the way and did a killing blow on the base of its neck.  After that beast was killed another soon took its place.  Again she dogged and did another blow but this time threw the heart.  Over and over the program got faster and faster, harder and harder, and every time she managed to kill the beast.  On the final test she looked around but still couldn't see it, her thoughts started to run through her mind wondering why she had to be compared to her brother on a daily basis.  While she was lost in her thoughts she heard a growl from behind her and before she could react it was on top of her bearing its fangs, but this time it wasn't a hologram.

    The beast disappeared into thin air and she could hear a sigh from the door, "You see the new program we installed," it was her father.  He was wearing one of his expensive suits, he probably had another one of his special meetings today, "It's the latest in hunter's training technology.  I wanted it to be a surprise for both of you.  Your brother completed the training in a matter of minutes.  Looking at your time I still don't see you breaking his record anytime soon."

    "What do you want?"

    Mr. Terell wiped the sudden anger from his face and was replaced with a sympathetic expression as he walked down the large stairs from the observation room, "Your mother has some concerns.  You keep arguing with her these past few days about the rules.  We are in another city, we don't know who is friend or foe here so we have to take some cautions."

    "I can handle myself you know."

    "I can see that...but your brother won't be starting school yet, we have him on a mission right now so we will have Steve bring you to and from school for right now."

    "What's Derrick doing?"

    "Just some inside intel.  We have a strong intuition that there is a rogue Lycan in the city.  Too many people have been turning up dead or with heavy wounds.  But until he's finished you will be escorted."  Jo didn't press the issue any further.  She knew she wasn't going to win this argument with her father.  He was a difficult man to deal with.  For most of her life, he was away hunting and making sure the Lycans didn't get out of control.  Now that he has made a name for our family he's the head and they all traveled all around the different cities to make sure the peace still reigned.  Derrick was just like their father, both were tall, dark, and handsome and had a taste for blood.  Jo on the other hand just wanted to live somewhere long enough to call it her home.  She was by far the black sheep in the family, only a year younger than her brother, and was always compared to him from her schooling to her skills in combat.  Her mother said that they still loved her but she felt as though they wished they had two sons instead of one.

    "I think the program needs some tweaks taken care of," said her father snapping her out of her daydream, "I think you can go get some schooling done for the time being."  Jo walked past her father not giving him a second look and headed up the large stairwell to her room.  She slammed the door and was greeted by one of her favorite people.

    "Hey wild girl," it was Amy.  She has been around the family when she was a teenager and Jo was only five years old.  Her family was killed by werewolves and so my family took her in as an inhouse maid for me.  But I found out that the real reason they took her in was that they didn't have the money to pay for the famous Terrell services and once they realized there wasn't a trust involved, they took Amy in as a slave in my eyes, making her pay off her debt through caring for the family.  She could've left years ago, but she decided to stay on account of how close she got to Jo, they were inseparable.

    Amy was busy making Jo's bed up and putting things up in the closet.  Her fiery red hair glistened every time she moved making it look like it was almost on fire, "How was school?  Any cute boys?"

    "What?  I didn't have the time to check," J slumped down on one of the couches and closed her eyes still thinking about how real that new program looked, "I was too mad at the lack of independence they're giving me.  I mean before we moved I was able to have a bit more freedom, now I'm a prisoner all over again."

    "Well, you know that's only because the family ran that town, owned mostly everything in it.  Here, not so much clot."

    "What do you mean," Jo sat up, this was the most interesting thing she's heard since she been here, "So, he wasn't lying about friends or foe here."

    "Yea, Megadonna was actually one of the great cities that split into two from the war.  There are a lot of old families here from the before.  Too many people know the secrets of the Terells'."  Jo loved the way Amy talked with such expression and openness.  She didn't mind the fact that she was treated differently because of her class, she just wanted to spend time with Jo.  On the other hand, Jo's mother didn't like the closeness they shared, she thought it taboo.  A servant should do just that, serve the family.  But both of them ignored her.

    They sat at the window while Jo looked out into the city, the evening was coming to a close as the pink clear sky was beginning to show, "This spot is the only thing I like about this place Amy...this spot right here where I get to see the skyline of the city with all of the lights."

    "You get to do your creepy people-watch thing here too," she joked.

    "It's not creepy...I just like to guess where they're going and where they've been.  If their life is a struggle just like mine is."

    "Girl, nobody has your life.  Not even you...it's more of your parent's life honestly, and your good-looking brother's."

    "Eww, Amy please."

    "Oh yeah a scandalous match like me and him would have your mother drinking vodka instead of wine."  They both laughed a hearty laugh that reached the stairwells.

    "I did do some people watching today though.  I saw this guy."

    "Ohhhh...due tell, and spare the details."

    "Well, he was kind of weird, both he and his friend seemed like they were following me all day.  I didn't feel threatened in any way, it's just that I felt like they were curious."

    "Are they in your grade?"

    "Yeah, but they seem to be out of place in the school.  I notice they only stick to themselves and kind of avoid everyone else."

    "Sounds like someone I know."

    "Oh please, you would be like me if you moved around as much we did."

    "You forgot that I was with you?  It's just that I already found my friend, I don't need to necessarily look for others."  Jo smiled at her comment, it was nice to have someone around for as long as Amy has been around.

    "True, but I don't know I want to paint the larger of the two boys.  He seemed kind of angry and humbled at the same time if that's a thing.  I caught him starring at me from time to time it annoyed me mostly."

    "Maybe he's interested."

    "No, I doubt it's that.  Once people hear what my last name is they tend to distance themselves unless they have the money to match my family."

    "I have a feeling your parents will be marrying you off when you turn eighteen."  One tradition that took place in the new cities are arranged marriages.  Most of the rich do it to keep the money in the family, but the hunters association liked to link genes.  They tend to pin one strong hunter with another so that their children can gain the necessary skills.  Mrs. Terell has been hinting at this for months now but the good thing is Jo still had a year.  She promised Amy on her eighteenth birthday she was leaving and never coming back.

    "I won't be here to go through that.  Like I told you before, nobody will choose my destiny."

    "You're still trying to figure that part out.  Well, I left you some new easels and painting gear near your bed.  You should try to paint this mysterious boy so that the thought can stop nagging you.  It might take you out of your funk.  Dinner is canceled tonight, your parents are having dinner out.  Ta ta."  And with that Amy had left her alone with her thoughts.  Jo starred out into the evening light and wanted to just fly right out of the window.  She was suffocating in that overly sized mansion.  If it was up to her she would choose to live somewhere smaller, among the community.  They were located on the very outside of the city.  She closed her eyes thinking about the time Amy took her to the beach.