“I’m here to talk about you, Roxanne… as well as Asher.”
Roxanne’s eyes widened as soon as she heard that. How did the strange woman know about all that?
“Who are you, Katrina?” Roxanne repeated her question, now narrowing her eyes as she stared at the woman.
“Is it so suspicious that I know of you and Asher? I can see the future, you know? Plus, I can read your mind.” Katrina laughed.
Roxanne was flustered by her words. But they were true. Still, it was strange that they kept bumping into each other like this. She was sure she wasn’t overthinking things. This woman definitely had a keen interest in her… Roxanne just didn’t know what it was.
“Well, who I am isn’t very important. What matters is the message I have. So, Roxanne… do you want to listen or not?”
Faced with such options, how could she decide not to at least hear the woman out. The last warning she gave ended up being true, anyway. As much as she didn’t want anything more to do with the werewolf world, she had to at least listen for her own sake.
Either way, she wasn’t going back.
“I had a vision, Roxanne. It’s the reason I approached you in the first place. It’s about the Rockwood Pack… no, the entire Oregon werewolf community.”
Roxanne sighed. So it was about that. She had thought it was something personal, but to think it was the whole werewolf affairs.
“I’m sorry, Katrina…but I’m really not interested in that anymore. I don’t want to get involved in any werewolf business.” Roxanne said calmly, trying to end the conversation.
“Oh? Even if it concerns Melissa and Linda, uh? They’re your family, aren’t they? Are you saying they don’t concern you?” Katrina responded nearly immediately.
Roxanne was surprised by Katrina’s comeback, she had at least gained a little more interest in her story.
“How do you… what does that have to do with my family?” Roxanne asked.
Katrina smiled, ready to begin what she had told Asher a while back. It was only right that Roxanne be informed of what was happening, and the relevance of her joint fate with Asher.
“N-no way…” Roxanne spoke, feeling the weight of Katrina’s words on her.
“The while community… gone?!”
“Perhaps not anymore. The future should have changed dramatically by now.” Katrina responded quickly before Roxanne fell into despair.
“U-Uh? What do you mean?” Roxanne asked.
“I mean, the future has been altered due to my interference, just as I wanted.”
It appeared Roxanne was still not following, so Katrina went into even more detail.
“After approaching you, I altered the order of things. By killing of those Hunters, including your Coach, as well as the ones who assaulted your family in the woods, we’ve dramatically changed many things, Roxanne.” Katrina stated.
“T-then- that means… my family is safe?”
This time, the older woman made a sigh.
“I’m not sure. There’s only so much I can see, not everything. Bit, Roxanne… there is one way to fully ensure that this horrid future doesn’t even have a little foothold in reality. You need to return to the pack.” Katrina said.
Roxanne shook her head violently. She was still so bothered about what she had just heard, yet hearing about throwing herself into such a mess was added to the mix.
“Not you too… I can’t do that. It’s bad enough I have to stay hidden from Asher while waiting for my flight, and now you-” Roxanne mumbled as she gritted her teeth.
“Hiding from Asher? Why?” Katrina asked.
“Why? Because he’s a stalker that doesn’t know when to give up and when to hear accept a ‘no’.”
“I see. It seems you’re out of touch with your inner wolf if you don’t know this much.” Katrina sighed, shaking her head upon learning of Roxanne’s ignorance.
“This much? What do you-”
“Asher has returned to the Pack, Roxanne. He’s no longer in town.”
Katrina’s words stunned Roxanne. She had certainly been hoping that was the case, but the fact that she was now hearing it as a fact shocked her a little.
“He… left?” Roxanne repeated, feeling a bit of relief and disappointment in her voice.
“Yeah. He did. I told him about what was going to happen, and he chose to return to the pack to prevent the disaster.” Katrina revealed.
Upon hearing this, she smiled. Finally, Asher had common sense enough to abandon her and return to his duties.
“That’s great then. As long as Asher’s there, the Pack will be safe. There’s no need for me to return.”
Katrina’s face looked grim all of a sudden, making Roxanne wonder of she said something wrong.
“You’re right. As long as Asher remains in the community it will be safe. However…”
There was a short pause between the woman’s words, giving Roxanne time to wonder what her next statement would be.
“… I never said anything about him staying, did I?”
Roxanne’s eyes widened immediately she heard this.
“W-wha-?!”
“That’s right. After he’s done doing what he needs to do… Asher is leaving the Oregon community as well, and coming for you.”
This was too much, too sudden. What the heck was Katrina talking about.
“Asher… leave the pack? Why? He’s the Alpha, he’s the Wolf King? He can’t just leave and-”
“He can, and he will… because, according to him, he won’t be at rest until he’s with you. You complete him, and he’d rather live with you, than have his position without you beside him.”
Roxanne was feeling her heart throb once again. The feelings she had somehow managed to cage in began to resurface.
“Stop it. I’m not going back. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind!” Roxanne said, standing her ground as she banged her hands on the table.
Katrina glared at her brazen action, causing Roxanne to instantly return her hands to her side.
“I’m not here to get you to do anything. The choice is ultimately yours. I’m just being honest with you, answering your question. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Roxanne couldn’t argue with that.
“Asher is leaving the pack for you anyway, so even if you decide to go to New York, I’m sure he’ll find you, and you can both live out your lives there. As long as you both have each other, that’s what matters, no?”
Roxanne couldn’t refute. Everything the woman said was spot-on accurate. Yet, Roxanne felt like they were all driving to a point. It was as if an invisible force was telling her to return.
“You feel it within you, don’t you? The urge to return.”
Roxanne stared hard at the table, not wanting to meet the woman’s eyes.
“Well, it’s up to you to decide what to do. As long as you’re able to live with your actions, then make your choice.”
“Well, then… you should think about it, Roxanne. Either way, you should own up to it…”
Katrina’s voice faded, and suddenly she disappeared from Roxanne’s sight and senses
“She’s… gone…?”
And so, once again Roxanne was left all alone, with nothing but her heavily thumping heart and indecisive mind filled with even more questions.