Chapter 1

Nolan

       I really loved my sleep, so I especially hated being woken up whenever that stupid alarm blasted through the house. Most of the time, I tried blocking it with my pillow, but it was way too loud. Mom and Dad never turned it off until all of us were out of our bedrooms.

       I pulled myself out of bed and because I was still very tired, I stumbled out of the room and into the hallway. "Why does this always happen early in the morning?" I asked.

       "Morning?" Dad asked as he turned off the alarm. Like always, I was the last one out of my bedroom. "Nolan, it's one in the afternoon."

       "Are you sure?" I asked. "Because it's still dark in my bedroom."

       "Yes, because you insisted on having black curtains for you're bedroom for the purpose of sleeping in," Dad said. "Hurry up, get changed. We have to head down to the HQ."

       "Can I take a sick day?" I asked. "Is that a thing?"

       Dad just gave me a flat look, so I sighed and headed back into my bedroom, closing the door behind me. Just once, I would like to sleep in without being woken up. Although, sleeping until one was technically sleeping in.

       I should have been used to the alarm waking me up. It has been for years, ever since my brothers and sisters were starting training in the Protector Circle. The sudden calls in the mornings, afternoons, and even nights were a perk to being a Protector.

       We had a duty to protect humans and supernaturals.

       After I was changed, I walked out of the bedroom and to the kitchen where the rest of my family was. I was about to get something simple to eat, but Dad stopped me. "No time for that," he said. "HQ, now."

       "But I'm hungry," I whined.

       "Then how about you stop trying to sleep in," my older brother Ryder said as he was putting on his shoes. "How can you even sleep in until one? What, do you stay up until like four in the morning?"

       "If you must know, yes, I do," I said. "I'm a night owl. I still want something to eat."

       "You can grab something at the HQ," Mom said. "My dad texted me and said that the meeting is urgent. He needs everyone there as soon as possible."

       I sighed and headed to the closet by the front door to grab my shoes. Afterwards, Dad and four of my siblings walked to the elevator so we could head underground of the apartments to the Protector Circle HQ. If my grandpa said it was urgent, then my guess was there was an attack going on in Miami.

       Grandpa was waiting for us when we got to the HQ entrance. "Ah, there's my most trusted Protectors of humans and supernaturals," he said.

       "Are you saying that because we really are the most trusted, or because we're family?" Dad asked.

       "Are your questioning my authority?" Grandpa asked. 

       "No, sir," Dad said. "Just wondering why you were put in charge of the HQ."

       Grandpa chuckled. "Go, take Tulip to the training ground. The rest of your children will be able to handle what's going on."

       "Children?" Ryder asked as Dad took my nine year old sister to the training ground. "I am an adult."

       "Wow, twenty years old, so adult," my other brother Alan said. "You're still Dad's child."

       Ryder glared at Alan as Grandpa gestured for us to follow him to the main part of the HQ to show us what was going on. "Three people have been found dead by attacks last night not known to mankind," he said. "I've had someone on the police force confirm to me that it was a werewolf attack."

       "Werewolf?" my sister Orchid asked. "No way. The werewolves are peaceful creatures. They know not to kill anyone."

       Alan snorted. "Right. They've done it in the past. They can do it again."

       "You're forgetting, Alan," Ryder said. "Orchid is very well-acquainted with the werewolves."

       "Shut up," Orchid said. "I'm just saying that there's only one pack in Miami, and there's no way they would kill innocent people."

       "Orchid, the evidence is there," Alan said. "It was werewolf attacks, there's one pack in Miami. It's obvious, and you're just being blind to it."

       "I'm not being blind to it," Orchid said before looking at Grandpa. "Nolan and I will go talk to the pack and see what they say. It's not fair to accuse that pack of attacking those people when we haven't even heard what they have to say."

       "Uh, if anyone's going to go there, it shouldn't be you," Alan said. "Ryder and I can go."

       "No," Grandpa said. "I agree with Orchid. She and Nolan will go."

       "But she's too close to them," Ryder said. "She won't think straight."

       "I'm a lot tougher than you think," Orchid said. "Besides, if you two go in there, you'll just be throwing around wild accusations. Nolan and I will actually listen to what they have to say and see if they had any part of it."

       I knew Alan and Ryder were still going to protest, so it was my turn to speak up. "She's telepathic, remember? Orchid hasn't told anyone outside of the Protector Circle what her ability is, so they won't be able to lie to her. She'll read their brains and see what they're truly thinking."

       "Exactly why I'm sending you two," Grandpa said. "Go now. We don't have any time to lose."

       As Orchid and I walked away to head out of the HQ, she said, "Thanks for taking my side."

       "Of course," I said. "You were right. You're the best one for the job. Ryder and Alan are better at fighting, not interrogating. I just hope you're right about this."

       "I know I am," Orchid said. "I know the pack. They would never attack humans at all, under any circumstance. There's something else going on. I can feel it."

       Orchid and I left the HQ and headed up to our family's apartment. "So, what is it this time?" Mom asked us.

       "Werewolf attack, apparently," Orchid said. "Three dead. I don't believe it. I know the pack, and they wouldn't kill humans. Nolan and I are going to go talk to them."

       Mom sighed. "Orchid, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment."

       "She's not," I said. "Don't worry. We're the ones going because she would be able to tell if they're lying or not. Trust me, I know my sister, and if she has to, she'll put being a Protector over her feelings."

       "Alright," Mom said.

       We left our house and headed out to the car Orchid, Alan, and I shared. Ryder got his own car, of course. It would make more sense if Alan and Ryder shared a car, and me and Orchid shared one. But of course, being triplets meant we had to share.

       Then again, I didn't like driving too much, so it was technically Orchid and Alan sharing the car. I rarely went anywhere on my own, so I didn't have to drive.

       "I feel like you're the only one who actually believes I could get the job done," Orchid said as we got in the car. 

       "Hey, I've seen you on missions," I said. "We're always partners. I know what you can do, and I know you would never let your feelings get in the way of anything."

       "Thanks," Orchid said. "It's nice to have at least one person on my side."

       Orchid drove to one of the lesser known bowling alleys in Miami. Well, lesser known to humans, that is. It was always heavily populated by the werewolves.

       As soon as we walked inside, we were approached by the alpha's daughter, Evelyn. "Well, if it isn't two Protectors?" she said. "What can I do for you?"

       "Is your dad here?" Orchid asked.

       "Not at the moment," Evelyn said. "If you need to talk about anything, I'm the one today."

       "Alright," Orchid said. "Have you heard about the three recent killings? They were apparently done by werewolves."

       Evelyn crossed her arms and glared at Orchid. "If you're accusing the pack of doing something like that...."

       "Whoa, I'll deal with this," Evelyn's younger brother, Atticus, suddenly said as he walked over to us. 

       "I can deal with this," Evelyn said. "By telling them to leave."

       "Evelyn, they're just here to ask questions," Atticus said. "I'll talk to them. You, go cool off."

       "Bite me," Evelyn said before walking away.

       Atticus sighed. "I'm sorry about my sister. Our dad leaves her in charge for less than two hours, and she thinks she's all that. So, what did you ask her?"

       "I asked if she heard about the three recent killings," Orchid said. "They were done by a werewolf."

       "What?" Atticus asked. "No, impossible. My pack would never kill."

       "Exactly what I told my grandfather," Orchid said. "I really hate asking this, I do, but is there a chance there is someone in your pack who could have killed those humans?"

       "Not that I know of," Atticus said. "When did the killings happen?"

       "Some time last night," Orchid said.

       "Well, depending on the time, it is highly unlikely it was someone from my pack," Atticus said. "We were all here last night. Besides, we all took an oath not to attack anyone. We take our oaths very seriously, so there's no way it could have been someone from my pack."

       "I knew it," Orchid said. "I just needed confirmation, but I knew it couldn't have been someone from your pack. Now the only question is who did it. Your pack is the only pack here in Miami."

       "If I ever hear anything, I'll be sure to tell you," Atticus said. "I don't want my pack getting a bad name if word gets around of the werewolf attack."

       Orchid smiled. "Thank you."

       "So, how about we go out for dinner tonight?" Atticus said.

       I sighed and rolled my eyes. There it was. I was waiting for the flirting to come.

       "Depends if I'm free," Orchid said.

       "Which you aren't right now, so we have to leave," I said. "So if you'll excuse us, we have to leave."

       "I'll text you to let you know, Atticus," Orchid said before I pulled her out of the bowling alley. "Really?"

       "Yes, really," I said. "We got what we wanted, so we had to leave. I didn't want to stand there and listen to you two flirt anyway."

       "Oh, that was barely flirting," Orchid said. "You know what you should do? Finally get a girlfriend."

       "Not happening," I said as I got into the car.

       Orchid got into the driver's seat. "Why not?"

       "Because," I said. "And if you try reading my mind, I'll kill you."

       "Whoa, someone's violent," Orchid said, starting up the car. "I only read minds if it's for a mission. Or if I'm bored. It's a good thing to do while people watching. You wouldn't believe how many affairs I've found out about. Anyway, the point is I was trained not to read anyone's minds when it came to personal business. I'm not going to read yours."

       I sighed. "Thanks."

       Orchid didn't ask anything else about it, thankfully. I wasn't ready to talk to anyone about it. I didn't know if I would ever be ready to talk about it.

       When we got back to the HQ, we headed to where Grandpa was with Ryder and Alan. "It wasn't a werewolf," she said.

       "What?" Alan asked.

       "Let me rephrase that," Orchid said. "It either wasn't a werewolf, or it was a lone wolf. The pack had nothing to do with it. And Ryder and Alan, if anyone of you say my feelings are getting in the way, don't bother. I read his mind, and he was telling the truth. He also thought I looked quite beautiful today."

       "Yeah, we didn't need to know that," Ryder said. "So, what do we do?"

       "I've gotten Protectors looking around to see if they can find a werewolf not part of the pack," Grandpa said. "In the meantime, I think we need to get a closer look at the victims to see if a werewolf actually was the cause."

       "How?" Ryder asked. "The Protector on the police force is also the best forensic in the Protector Circle. She would know what the true cause was."

       "Yes, but sometimes supernaturals have a good way of hiding things from Protectors," Grandpa said. "Only other supernaturals may be able to find out the true cause, which is why I have a new mission. There's a sorcerer in Miami. He may be able to help."

       "Great, Alan and I will go since Orchid and Nolan already covered talking to the werewolves," Ryder said.

       "No way," Grandpa said. "I need all four of you to go."

       "Why?" Alan asked. "Is he a cranky sorcerer or something?"

       "Oh, no, he's quite friendly, I hear," Grandpa said. "A bit stubborn so it may take him a bit of convincing. His step-sister is the reason I need all four of you to go."

       "Okay, fine, we'll all go," Ryder said. "What are their names."

       "Jerome Roy and Mae Woods," Grandpa said. "I'm serious though. I need you all to be careful of Mae."

       "Yeah, sure," Ryder said. "We'll head there now."

       "I still didn't get anything to eat," I said.

       "Oh, boo hoo, you can eat later," Ryder said. "Right now, we need a sorcerer."

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I'm way too excited for this. cx

I have to admit, it's a bit weird writing the Protector series in this setting, but I'm loving it right now. Sci-fi and fantasy used to be my two main genres, and I think I'm getting back into it. cx

ENJOY THIS BOOK.