Chapter 1 Of OUT THE BOX

"Can we switch sections? Please I don't wanna carry that heavy ass pet food, man! I just wanna do produce!" Zira tossed the dirty rag she was using to wipe off an empty shelf at her brother. But he dodged it with a cackle, his wild curls flopping all over the place with every rushed step he took. Just like his adoptive sister, he just liked setting up the produce section so it could be color coordinated. Zira never organized it like he liked, and neither did Odina, his twin sister.

Ohanu and Odina's parents had adopted Zira when she was just a baby, and since they were old enough to understand... They welcomed her with open arms. They had five years on her, and always reminded her whenever they got the chance. Because Ohanu was the more.. Impulsive of the twins and she was always trying to get him out of trouble. Odina on the other hand wasn't as... Lively. She was more quiet, calculated. Because she took their parents' training much more serious than her brother did. She was the protective older sister, and Ohanu? The annoying younger brother.

"That's too fuckin' bad, 'cause Mama said you have to! You need the workout anyway, you got weak ass arms!" He teased, making his way into the isle he'd been assigned to arrange and restock. He was assigned to the magic section, one of the easiest sections to work in if you actually paid attention. All you had to remember was not to put anything flammable close to the candles. And to keep certain ingredients away from each other, because things couldn't touch or there magic would be canceled out. Zira learned that the hard way.

"She could've just told me to do push ups." Zira complained, practically falling on the stool behind the counter. Right now? She was on register duty while he stacked shit up, their sister was off bartering. Trying to get better magic items for the store, because she'd said she saw a Cleric that was selling some good shit the next town over.

It wasn't the worst job, she just had to talk to customers and ring them up. She was the most friendly of the trio of siblings. Her sister was weary of everyone, too tough to get past her shell. Her brother is too mischievous, and he'd rather argue or debate than be someone's friend. But Zira? She didn't mind sitting down with someone and having a friendly conversation. But... that wasn't always a good thing.

The bell that was above the door chimed when it was pushed open. And Zira had to stop her pouting to look towards the door, putting on a small but friendly smile on her pretty face. She didn't wear any make up today, but her brown skin was still dewy from the moisturizer she'd put on this morning. And her long lashes framed her brown eyes so well, it almost seemed like eye liner by itself. Only her lips had a layer of lip gloss on, that made them look more plump than they already were... She was the face of the store, really. And the main thing people remembered? Her afro.

"Welcome to Benally's!" She chimed, trying not to grimace at the look she'd been given by the man who entered. He wasn't alone, but he was the only one she made eye contact with. He came with another man who seemed to be distracted by something he'd seen in the window.

He ventured off into an aisle, not giving her much of a chance to see the entirety of his face. All she could really see was that he was over six feet tall, dark skinned, with a low cut and a broad ass back. But the man who she made eye contact with? He made sure she saw his whole face. Everything about him.

He was tanned, and looked like he was probably some kinda of Spanish but she wasn't sure what kind because of the short curls on top of his head. His eyes were swimming with curiosity, and an intense amount of what she would describe as... Mystery. His sharp brow quirked up when she sat there, lips parted for a moment just staring at him even after he'd already stopped in front of the counter. He had his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans, his leather jacket open and revealing the black t shirt underneath that seemed to fit just right.

"It's rude to stare." His voice was deep and smooth, and she had to snap her lips shut so she wouldn't say whatever came to her mind first. Of course he was right, it was rude to stare no matter what background you came from. Elf, werewolf, Cleric, Orc... She had to look away and towards the register while she cleared her throat, blush rising on her cheeks because she'd been caught staring. How fucking embarrasing.

"S-Sorry. You're new.. I've never seen you around before." She laughed awkwardly, her eyes glanced back up when she heard the sound of leather rubbing together. He'd reached up, a hand grasping at what looked to be a joint that was tucked behind his ear. She didn't even notice it there because of his hair, until he'd pulled it off to bring it to his lips to let it dangle almost haphazardly. She stared at it a bit too long, brows furrowed and concern in her eyes when she swore it looked like it was going to fall from his plump parted lips.

"That's 'cause I ain't from here." It was a smart ass answer, she knew it was. But it was okay, because she was good at pretending to not notice when people were trying to be mean.

"Oh.. Well.. Welcome to town! I'm Zira Benally, my parents own this place." She said it almost too cheerfully, and the man removed the joint from his lips to he could purse his lips the slightest bit and nod. His hazel eyes were shining, and she swore she'd never seen eyes twinkle so much. He was scanning her face, sometimes his eyes would drift to her collarbones and throat that were exposed from the tank top she was wearing.. But they wouldn't venture further, thankfully.

"Zira.. Zira's a pretty name. I'm Qamar... You might be seeing a lot more of me." He sounded so sure of it, that she smiled shyly down at her lap. Trying not to let him see just how much her blush had spread or her smile. She didn't even care that she could see tattoos littered across his fingers, because she usually hated tattoos.

"Good, I wouldn't mind that." She said, voice becoming just as shy as her body language. But she blanched when the voice of her brother was heard.

"Zira?! We got anymore of those silver bullets in the back?! Papa said that he ordered more but I don't think he put them out." He came speed walking down his aisle, old ass converses squeaking against the floor with every step that he took. Being followed by the man that Qamar had entered with, who had a small smirk on his face behind him. The confusion on Ohanu's face was replaced by curiosity and suspicion at the sight of his youngest sister looking so... Bashful. Like she was flirting. Now, she'd dated before so it wasn't like it was something new but... Never this kind of man. Hell, she barely dated men. Women were more of her demographic. And this dude? There wasn't anything feminine about him.

"Another new face? Is a snow storm comin' or somethin'? Fucks goin' on around here?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips so he could look between the two newcomers. Bringing a hand up to his head to scratch at the top of his curls. Genuinely looking like he wasn't sure what was happening. Truthfully, it wasn't often they got new faces in their small town. Everyone grew up with each other, knew everyone's family secrets and what they were. A small town filled with nothing but werewolves, Sirens, Clerics, and a small percentage of Tricksters. She couldn't even tell what these two new people were.

"Oh uh.. Nah. We've got a job here." The dark skinned man said, a smirk stretching into a friendly smile that caught Zira off guard. Because he looked so big and scary when he wasn't smiling, and that probably had something to do with the small gap in his front teeth.

"Shitty job if you gotta come here." Zira teased, not noticing the subtle glance between the two men. Or the smirk that came onto their faces at that, because truly.. It was a shitty job. One that puts them in a sticky situation. So this town? The perfect place to lay low. But not everyone had to know that....

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Let me check on those uh.. Bullet for you." Zira stood up from her seat with a friendly smile, rushing to the back of the store in search of the product in mind. While Qamar watched her leave, his friend watched him with a smirk on his face. But Ohanu narrowed his dark brown eyes on the man. His lips pursing and sharp face twisting with judgement.

"Don't check out my sister." He couldn't help but spit the threat out, baring his teeth like the wolf he was. But neither men were threatened at all, because he was a few inches shorter than them both. He was also scrawnier than the both of them. The dark skinned man looked like he worked out regularly, with a bulky frame that was somewhere between muscular and chunky. He was built like a fucking warrior. Qamar on the other hand was just as tall and had more of a muscular and lean figure.. Either way.. Ohanu didn't stand much of a chance.

"He can't help it, she's marked."

"Shut up, Jaime." Qamar spat at his friend, his lips twisting into a scowl. It made his goatee and mustache even more prominent, casting a bit of a shadow over his lips. Ohanu scowled right back, bristling at his tone even though it wasn't even him that he'd spoken to.

"What are you talking about? He's never met my sister before." Ohanu snapped, ignoring the confused look on Zira's face when she came back holding a box of silver bullets. Her perfectly plucked brows furrowed together in confusion, lips puckered a bit as she bit back her questions at all the long faces.

"What's wrong, Ohanu?" She asked hesitantly, putting the box on the counter and looking between the two men with suspicion brewing in her eyes. It was only because of the look her brother had on his face, like he was ready for a fight. He had a sneer on his face, and his teeth were still showing just a bit because of it. She was sure that if he were in wolf form his neck would be bristling and he'd be snapping his teeth.

"You know this guy Zira? Like you got somethin' goin' on I don't know about?" Her brother asked his sister, becoming frustrated with not understanding what was happening. Jaime literally just said that Zira was marked.. But Ohanu was sure he'd know that. His sister would've told him if she got marked.. Right?

"What? No, he just got here!" She laughed awkwardly, shaking his head at the accusation and becoming even more nervous under the burning eyes of Qamar and Jaime. They didn't even seem threatening, but it felt like they knew so much more than them... And that in itself was dangerous.

"It was a joke." Jaime said awkwardly, and slowly Ohanu blinked. He let his lips fall into a straight line, and he untensed his body to scratch at the back of his neck. Letting out a chuckle that was just as awkward as he pretended to check the price of an item not too far away.

"Right, right, I knew that." He muttered before clearing his throat. He then looked to the box of bullets on the counter and pointed them out much too excitedly, happy to change the topic. "There goes the bullets! Our dad's always hiding the good shit in the back, y'know? Don't know why. That's an old wolf for you though.." He trailed off sounding even more awkward than before. Zira was the one who finally laughed out, pushing at his shoulder towards the aisle he'd come from in the first place.

"Just go finish your section and I'll ring them up, idiot." She demanded, and he listened... For the first time in his fucking life. "Was this all? Or is my brother just useless and didn't help you find anything?"

Her brow rose with the question when she looked toward Jaime, and he had to look to Qamar for help. His lips opened and closed like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to speak. It was only when Qamar met his eye for a moment and nodded once did Jaime let out a barely there sigh and answered.

"He ain't useless, that was all. " He muttered, but it was a lie. That wasn't all they'd come here for. But that was fine, because it gave them both more reason to come back. But again.. She didn't have to know that.

"You and your brother.. Look just alike." Qamar joked, but his voice was so deep slow he almost sounded bored. But she understood what he meant, and she giggled into one hand while she used the other to scan the bullets and ring them up. She told Jaime what could be traded for them, and while he pulled his little black book from his back pocket she turned her attention to Qamar.

"Yeah, people can't even tell I'm adopted." She joked right back, smiling wide when finally.. His lips pulled up into a barely there smile. He pulled a lighter from his pocket, and when she thought he was going to spark his joint right in the middle of the store she rushed up to snatch the lighter from his hand.

Jaime's jaw dropped a bit, and he looked between the two. One hand coming up to cover his mouth, looking like a grandmother clutching her pearls in the background. But really, he was just surprised that Qamar had even given her the chance to snatch the lighter... That he was even standing at the counter staring at her the way that he was.

"Sorry! Sorry! No uh, no smoking! We have a pet bird... Little lungs." She said meekly, shrugging her shoulders just a bit as she slid the black lighter back towards him on the counter. He hadn't even said anything the whole time, just stared down at her with that glint in his eye that was making her more and more nervous.

"You like birds?"

"I love birds."

~*~

Word Count : 2,506

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May 4th, 2025

Author's Note : This is one of my first original works on Wattpad! I hope you guys love it just as much as you love my fan fics!