Revelations (Separate Worlds Book 1) Read online

  Revelations

  Separate Worlds Book One

  By

  Izzibella Beau

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, or other status is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever known, not known or hereafter invented, or stored in any storage or retrieval system, is forbidden and punishable by the fullest extent of the law without written permission of the author.

  Chapter One

  Zach stood still and watched the horrific scene unfolding in front of him.

  Jacob was whimpering over the lifeless body of their mother.

  Adam hovered over Rose, his mate of three years. Her eyes would never shine with excitement ever again.

  Their father, the alpha of the pack, had an eery calmness as his eyes took on a midnight black coloring. Zach knew he was plotting and planning an act of revenge.

  Blood was everywhere.

  This was a massacre.

  The start of a war.

  Dread filled the once peaceful garden.

  The slamming of a car door wakened Zach from the nightmare that had haunted him for the past four years. Sweat rolled down the sides of his face as he shook the engrained, detailed memory from his thoughts. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon as his tired eyes squinted at his cell phone beside him on the bed. The numbers read seven-thirty.

  "What the fuck!" Today was the last day to sleep in before the start of school tomorrow. Running his hand through his golden-brown bedhead, he rolled his six-foot all-muscle frame out of bed. He walked over to the window to see who decided to make this loud disturbance and saw his younger brother Jacob walking up the house's front path. "What the hell is he doing up so early?" Throwing on a pair of shorts over his boxers and grabbing a T-shirt, he headed downstairs. Jacob entered the front entryway when Zach bounded down the last step. "Hey, where'd you go so early?"

  "Early? I'm getting in from last night." Jacob brushed back his collar-length blond-streaked hair, peeled off his shirt, shorts, and shoes, kicking them to the side, leaving only his boxers in place.

  "So, you went out with Will and Anthony?" Zach tried to keep the conversation going.

  "You could say that." Jacob walked into the kitchen.

  Trying to talk to Jacob was like trying to carry a conversation with a three-year-old sometimes. He gave answers that had many different meanings.

  "What did you guys do last night?" Zach attempted one more time for an answer that had more than five words.

  "We met up with Brindle and her posse and did what normal teenagers do. You should try it sometime." Jacob let the refrigerator door shut rather loudly as he finally found what he was looking for, a cold can of soda.

  "Were Heather and Rachel with you guys?" Zach grabbed bottled water out of the fridge.

  "Oh, does Zach got the hots for the amazing cheerleading threesome?" Jacob turned toward Zach with a wide smirk on his face.

  Zach shook his head, dissing Jacob's comment. "Nah, just curious as to who was all out. I think my taste in women goes a little above the leg splitting cheerleading trio." He walked back towards the staircase.

  Jacob got right up into Zach's face, egging him on for some sort of argument. "Oh c'mon, a little threesome or foursome fun might loosen you up some."

  Zach kept his cool and sidestepped Jacob. "I think I'll pass." He paused going upstairs before he made his following remark. "School starts tomorrow. You can't be staying out late tonight." He waited for the uproar that Jacob usually did when someone told him what to do.

  Jacob stood at the stairway landing, glaring up at Zach."Well, Zach, you're not my parent. Do we have one anymore? When was the last time dear father was around?" He was going off on a complete tantrum. "Big bad brother Adam is always too busy with his pack of misfits, and you're barely an adult yourself. So fuck off and quit trying to tell me what to do."

  "Just saying. I didn't think you'd wanna be reprimanded the first day by being late or sleeping in class. And, Dad is off doing business. He should be back in a week or two."

  Jacob chuckled to himself. "Like I would ever get in trouble at school. Where would that place be without me? Ahhh, let's see, no state championships for football or baseball. Do you really think any teacher would risk that? Fuck, the whole community would fall apart if we didn't win any championships."

  Zach thought about what Jacob had said. Okay, so maybe he did own the school. Since his freshman year two years ago, he played varsity football and baseball, had almost every girl falling for him, and guys, even seniors, wanted to be his best buds. Yep, guess the school would fall apart without him.

  Jacob climbed up the stairs, marching past Zach with a bump to the shoulder. "Hey, I'm gonna go catch up on a little sleep since, you know, last night was sort of busy." He gave Zach a look, signaling he should know what and whom he was talking about. "I guess wake me up in about an hour or so." He finished climbing the rest of the stairs.

  Zach walked back down the stairs and put his half-empty water bottle back in the refrigerator.

  What to do and where to go on the last day of summer. He went into the family room and stretched out on their overstuffed sofa. Come to think of it, Jacob had the right idea. A little nap would feel good right about now. He turned on the TV and, in time, surrendered back into dreamland.

  Chapter Two

  Well, another new town to start another new year of school. Emily unpacked some of the boxes in her room. How could anyone be excited about going to another new school?

  It was inevitable Aunt Maureen would make them move again since she had her big company to run, and they happened to open another office in Pittsburgh. But why couldn't she wait another year until after graduation?

  After three years, I got comfortable in my school, became best friends with Julia and Beth, almost had a boyfriend, and started to feel like I fit in. Now, I had to go through it again.

  Dumping out a box of her clothes, Emily began to sort through them. She searched to find something to wear that didn't make her look like she was still in middle school. And she knew she definitely had to do a little something with her hair and makeup in the morning before school. First impressions were always paramount.

  "Emily, can you come down here a minute?" Aunt Maureen hollered from downstairs.

  "Be there in a sec." Hoping not to trip over anything, Emily slowly got up from her bed and weaved through the boxes needing unpacking.

  "What's up?" she asked as she went into the kitchen to find her aunt dancing around to her favorite band.

  Somehow Aunt Maureen was still stuck into 80s music, and her favorite band was Poison. She tried to catch them at every outing they did, especially if it involved Bret Michaels. You know the whole Rock of Love thing he had going on; she used to watch it over and over.

  'Actually, Aunt Maureen is beautiful. She was of model likeness. She could've been on one of those shows or even have a boyfriend, but having to take care of me all her life and being CEO of her own company, she has no social
life. Hmm, like me.'

  "So I was thinking," Aunt Maureen danced around, opening boxes and putting dishes and cups away, "We could go out to the mall later and pick up some more new outfits for you to wear this year for school."

  Emily remembered coming through this small, in the middle of nowhere town, of West Lakes. The nearest mall was like thirty minutes away. But what else did she have to do except open more boxes? "I guess. I think I got enough, but it will get us out of the house for a while." She cautiously eased her way out of the kitchen before Aunt Maureen suggested she help unpack those boxes also.

  Chapter Three

  The sun was barely making its appearance when Zach threw on his white t-shite, dark blue button-down to go over it, and a pair of faded jeans.

  First day of senior year. Exciting, right. Not.

  He walked down to Jacob's room, knowing he would sleep in until the last possible moment. There were five bedrooms in the house, and most nights there were only two people that slept there. Jacob took the room farthest from Zach's, stating, 'I like to have guests over, and at times they may be a little noisy.' Zach knew he wasn't talking about playing monopoly with Will and Anthony. It was more like Jacob and the cheer squad going horizontal.

  Zach knocked loudly three times on the door. Of course, he wasn't going to answer. Jacob was probably dead to the world after getting home late. Zach decided to go in, not knowing what or whom he might find. The room was a mess, but that was to be expected. And Jacob's bed was empty.

  A smack hit Zach on the back of the head, and he lost his footing.

  "You suck," Jacob walked past Zach and fell face forward on his bed. He rolled over with a wicked grin. "How'd you know I didn't have someone in here with me or what kind of scene you could have walked into." He jumped up from the bed and grabbed a black T-shirt out of his closet.

  "Are those clothes clean? You never do laundry." Zach walked toward the door to let himself out after finding Jacob awake.

  Jacob pulled up the front of his shirt to his nose and took a long sniff. "I think Rachel or Heather came over and did up my clothes for me the other day. So, it's clean. Don't worry, Zach, if I put in a good word for you, maybe they can wash your clothes too." He nudged Zach out into the hallway.

  "I think I'll pass on those three doing my clothes for me. I don't wanna have to owe them anything in return." Zach turned towards the staircase. "Those are the last girls I would want to owe anything to," he muttered his last comment to himself.

  Zach went downstairs to wait for Danny. They had this habit of riding to school together. Plus, Danny didn't have a car. Zach always told him to go ahead and take one of his. He and Jacob had three cars each, sort of the same ones to be exact. A brand new black Chevy 4x4, a 1968 yellow and black Mustang, and a silver and red Hayabusa. But Danny said he would rather be the passenger, less work on his part.

  Jacob came bounding down the stairs about five minutes later and grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

  "Is that what you're having for breakfast?" Zach snatched up the orange juice bottle.

  "Nah, Brindle was stopping at Krispy Kreme for me."

  "You really have them wrapped around your finger. You say get, and they deliver." Zach checked his cell to see if Danny had texted back yet.

  "Actually, they ask if they can do anything for me, and I give them suggestions. Not my fault I am who I am. They give, so I take," Jacob was nonchalant with his words.

  Zach didn't know how to respond. The doorbell ringing saved him.

  "I'll get it." Jacob jogged out of the kitchen.

  Zach heard Jacob open the door, then automatically close it. He walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the bar. About three seconds later, the front door opened and shut again. Zach turned around from looking out the window and saw Danny coming through the doorway.

  "Your brother's a dick," Danny glared at Jacob.

  "You've been coming here for years. Why does he have to always to knock?" Jacob looked to Zach for an answer. Zach shrugged. He always told Danny to just c'mon in whenever he got to their house.

  "Fuck you." Danny took an apple from the fruit bowl and took a big bite.

  Jacob decided to play along with Danny's sexual innuendo. He slowly licked his lips as he looked Danny from head to toe. "It might be a long shot, but I think we could probably make it work. Do you have time after football practice today?"

  Danny rolled his eyes and threw the core of the apple at Jacob. "You're an ass. I'm starting to question your sexuality the way you're looking at me."

  Jacob leaped off the stool and started to hump Danny's leg. "Oh yeah, I'm so hot for you. Oh please, Danny, make me yours."

  "You're sick." All three boys were laughing as Danny pushed Jacob away.

  "I'm taking my bike. Later." Jacob grabbed his keys off the key rack and left out the front door.

  "I guess we'll take the Mustang today," Zach nodded for Danny to follow the same way Jacob had just exited.

  Chapter Four

  Emily woke up and looked at the clock. It was almost seven. She threw her blanket off and silently cursed at her auntie for letting her sleep in late.

  This isn't good. I have to get ready for my first day at West Lakes, and now I'm rushed.

  She grabbed her new outfit they’d bought last night at the mall and ran to the shower. She had thirty minutes to get showered and ready. High school at West Lakes didn't start until nine, and they got out at three in the afternoon. Which kind of worked out since those were the hours Aunt Maureen usually worked. She would be able to drop off and pick up, which meant no bus riding. YAY.

  With her stomach flip-flopping around, Emily tried the deep breathing techniques she learned at some yoga place she had gone to once or twice with her aunt But, after about two minutes, she gave up.

  I know it's just nerves, and I should be used to the new school feeling, especially after having to do this twice a year because Auntie's work is constantly changing. But every time the first day rolls around, I still have butterflies in the belly.

  She put on the clothes that were picked out the night before, blow-dried her hair, and then styled it. She never knew what to do with her hair or the latest style at a new school, so she let it go naturally into its waves. Makeup was easy. A tad of mascara made her brown eyes a little darker, some lip gloss to have some shine, and that was about it on getting ready. After looking in the mirror for the hundredth time, she went downstairs to find Aunt Maureen in the kitchen.

  "Oh, let me get you something to eat before we head out to the school," Auntie took down the cereal box.

  As much as Emily loved cinnamon toast crunch, if she were to eat right now, she'd probably puke everywhere. "Nah. I'm still full from our dinner yesterday." They'd gone to an extensive buffet after the mall trip, and Emily was surprised she could still fit into her clothes after how much she had eaten.

  Auntie put the cereal box away and gushed over Em's appearance. "Oh my gosh! Those new clothes look wonderful, Em."

  Aunt Maureen had a great sense of style when it came to clothes. No, let's change that; she had a superb sense of style when it came to everything. I, on the other hand, couldn't match something to save my life.

  Thanks to her aunt's taste in clothing, Emily was dressed in an outfit that she didn't feel too self-conscious. It was basic skinny jeans and a tight cream-colored shirt with a bit of lace at the neckline.

  "That color makes your eyes and hair appear so much darker. So mysterious," Auntie told Emily as she fixed the tiny bow on the front of the shirt.

  "Well, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Emily finished putting on her outfit's matching sandals.

  Aunt Maureen sighed. "I know you think this will be difficult, but West Lakes is an excellent school. We have you already signed up for almost all the honors courses they have to offer."

  "Yeah, but sometimes starting over is difficult" Emily picked her backpack and headed toward the front door.

  "I'm really sorry, Em. Work ha
s me moving around so much. I do this to make things better for us and to keep you safe," Aunt Maureen mumbled the last part, so Emily wasn't sure if she heard her right or what her aunt could have actually meant.

  Chapter Five

  Zach and Danny entered the student parking lot after eight. They still had time to meet up with everyone and get their schedules. Zach always tried to avoid the crowds. He hated when everyone stared wherever they went. It was like take a picture; it'll last a lot longer. Come to think of it; some girls had done that already when he and Jacob were together.

  Walking up from the parking lot, they ran into a few kids they had in some of their classes last year. "Hey, Zach and Dan, what's up?" It was a kid they had in their honors English the previous year.

  "Not much," Danny replied as they walked by. Such a man of many words.

  Opening the front doors is like opening a jail cell. You know you're gonna be here a long time.

  Zach opened the front doors of the school for him and Danny to go in. He glanced around and saw Alex and Madison hanging out, talking to several guys but probably waiting for the two of them. The girls looked pretty good today, not that he had any romantic interest in either of them. Yeah, they were girls, and he guessed they could be hot to someone, but they were like sisters to him.

  "Hey," Danny nudged Zach in the side, "there are Alex and Madison. Alex is looking good today. Who's she trying to impress?"

  Zach glanced back and forth at Danny and Alex. They were both making eyes at one another. "Something going on between you two? You jealous,"

  "Uh...no, man. Why would you say that?" Danny stuttered while trying to keep his eyes off Alex.

  Zach nudged Danny's side and motioned for him to follow. They pushed their way through the crowd heading towards Madison and Alex.