Short Flashback:
It had been a few nights since I ran away. My parents probably still knew nothing of my disappearance. Their main priorities back then were maintaining the relationship between them and the Riders in order for they themselves to be safe if anything were to happen. So at times when I needed them the most, they were always stuck sucking up to their superiors wherever that may be, leaving me alone at home to ‘practice’ with my brother. Sometimes it’d take days for them to return home and other times its weeks.
At first, I wasn’t bothered as long as I had food to eat, guns to play around with and my brother to lean on… but after the night of Lucas’s first shift, everything changed and I began to plead for the days to come when they were actually home…. that way, I wouldn’t have to suffer at the hand of my brother.
But breathing a word to them would mean the end for us all –as Lucas would always say— so I did the only thing I could….. RUN.
That was how I ended up meeting him…. another werewolf.
Frankly, I didn’t think things through when I decided to run away. If he hadn’t helped me through the woods that night, Lucas would’ve definitely caught up to me. And even afterwards when we took refuge in an abandoned building, if he hadn’t been there with me, I would’ve undoubtedly starved to death or fainted from fear.
The nights were cold and still inside the empty place but the furs that tickled my skin always kept me warm enough to feel cozy. It was astonishing how in human form he was a small puny boy and once he turned, he became a giant furry wolf large enough to be used as my personal pillow.
Of course, my experience with Lucas made me believe that werewolves should forever be regarded as a cunning specie to beware of… but he was one small exception.
Throughout our time together, I didn’t miss the hatred and the torment caked in his ebony eyes, yet I sensed that he had no hostility towards me at all.
That’s what made him different from my brother.
So for the few days I had been with him… I felt free, safe even.
But it didn’t last.
My brother soon sniffed us out… and unfortunately, I had to leave his side if I didn’t want Lucas to hurt him. I didn’t have time to even say goodbye, but I left him the one valuable thing I had with me: my necklace.
Werewolves were said to be associated with the moon so even though it was old, a silver necklace with a moon-shaped pendant was still enough of a parting gift. The only downside was that a name was already engraved at the back in bold letters: ‘Terra’.
I can’t remember where I got it nor who this “Terra’ is… but I somehow knew it belonged to me.
… And I passed it on to him.
(End of flashback)
But my necklace… how come Kasan has it?
I’m sure I gave it to the boy who was with me that night, so why is it here in front of me right now?
Could it be that…. he found it?
No. Even if he did find some useless junk, why would he keep it? And why would he give it to me of all people?
Could he have bought it instead?
But then, who’d buy something so old? And he didn’t even get rid of the pendant with the name on it either. No one is that dumb.
Then wh—
Wait….
‘Its just something I’ve been keeping for the past few years’
He definitely said those words when he gave it to me.
So then, he’s been holding onto it for years?!
D-Doesn’t that mean Kasan was the o— Nope! That absolutely can’t be it!
If that was the case –which it’s NOT– it wouldn’t be hard to just tell me! Why wouldn’t he?! If he had just told me—
I paled at my thoughts, my sweating hands fiddling together anxiously. “If he had told me before now what would I have done? W-Would it have changed anything?”
My mind’s in a confused muddle. I have no idea what to think nor in what direction my assumptions were to go, but the uncertainty was surely killing me from the inside.
Am I right…. or am I wrong? That’s the big question.
Now that I’ve given it a thought, I do admit that they’re both the same… in one particular aspect. I remember even now strong emotions still gather in those eyes of his at a few rare vulnerable moments but just like back then, it was never directed at me…
Does that still make him better than my brother? Does that make him different?…. different enough for me to consider him an exception once more…. without feeling completely naive?
“But why would he hide something so important? If he was trying to get on my good side, wouldn’t that be the best way?!” Equally baffled and annoyed, I shuffled upwards in the bed and the droplets picked up speed as they slithered down my skin, soaking into the white towel that was wrapped around my naked body. Another smaller towel masked my wet hair, making my head feel heavy as hell while it kept the strands together.
The necklace thing got me so distracted that I barely even noticed when I got out of the bathroom much less showered. I haven’t even dressed yet!
I’m thinking too hard on this without knowing anything! I need answers… now. My brain might just explode if I don’t fucking know for sure!
Amma drag my sorry ass out of here and demand an explanation for this obviously stupid act! How dare he return my own necklace as a gift!? A failed romantic attempt, is it?! Or…. was he actually tryna give me a hint?!
Whatever. Let’s get some clothes on and then I—
“Donna?”
My eyes bulged at the sudden call. Who the fuck?
That voice definitely didn’t belong to Kenley, Lucas, Nate nor Kasan for sure. And that fact immediately made me recall the tons of werewolves running up and about this place like ants.
On second thought, I’m not going out there. Not a chance!
“Boss wanted me to give you some stuff. I would let Kenley hand it over but he isn’t here at the moment so….”
Let Kasan bring it himself then…!
“Food is at the door…. incase you’re hungry.”
I kept silent.
“I’ll come back later then.”
Later? Don’t come back AT ALL.
His presence lingered behind the door for over a minute before I heard his footsteps retreat back down the hall.
I actually thought he’d come back pestering me to let him in every few minutes but to my surprise, no one came knocking for the rest of the day nor the following day either. It was not until the third day of my internal misery… that he finally showed up again.
“Donna?”
Startled, my fingers that were tucking a towel under my armpit ceased their movements and I almost tumbled over my own two feet as my neck snapped towards the bathroom door.
All I’ve been doing these pass few days is eat, sleep (barely) and shower, and when I’m not doing any of those, I’m stuck thinking about all the shit that’s happening in my life.
And this guy just happened to interrupt me as soon as I finished my shower…. again! Who even is he?! One of the twins? The blonde? A new guy?
“If you don’t open up this time, I’m afraid I’ll have to force my way in.”
What?!
“Waiiit!” Alarmed, I literally skid over to the bathroom door on slippery feet and quickly cracked it open, my head peeking out for any sign of him entering my room. “Why the fuck!? You can just leave the food outside!”
“It’s not food though…. I told you, Boss gave me a few things to give you.”
“A few things? What do you mean?”
“You’d have to open the door to see. And I’d kinda be in trouble if you don’t… so…. do me a favor, yeah? I won’t step a foot inside if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Huh?
Well… considering how polite he’s being, I doubt he means any harm… for now.
I guess I could see what he has…
I reluctantly inched over to the door and reached a hand out to twist the knob, swinging it open after moments of hesitance. I expected to be greeted by someone unfamiliar but instead, a duffel bag was shoved into my freaking face.
“Everyone knows that wolfsbane is lethal to werewolves, yes? This bag contains a variety of ‘specially prepared’ weapons: knives, bullets, drugs and so on… each one has its own dose of wolfbane and can be deadly depending on how you use it.”
What? Wolvesbane?
Why the hell is he giving this to me? Are they planning on throwing me into the wild!?
“These are all yours.”
He flopped it beside my feet when I didn’t make any move to reach for it and then his grinning face came into view.
Dark blue eyes, brown hair, thick eyebrows, perfect nose and chiseled jawline.
He’s one of the twins. Chase was it? The other twin has auburn hair similar to mine so it’s kinda easy to tell.
He looks nice… not on par with Kasan though.
“And uhh…” I glanced down at the bag warily. “… why exactly do I need this?”
“Since they’re weapons that can kill us in a jiffy, I suppose Boss wants you to have it so you’ll feel a bit safer around us?…. I think.” He scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat unsure.
My jaws instantly touched the floor. So in short, he’s giving me stuff to use on them? He can’t seriously be serious?!
Without much thought, I kicked the duffel bag with my foot, flinching in surprise when it connected with something hard and a clanking sound was heard.
What the—!
“You should only use these if and when you ever feel threatened. And… if you want, you could maybe test one out… on me.” His lips pushed outwards into a frown as he said that. He seemed displeased by his own words. “But we don’t need to go that far, do we? You’re satisfied with this, are you not? I really wou–”
The rest of his sentence was suddenly stuck in his throat and in less than a second, Chase’s expression completely changed. His ears perked up and he looked just about ready to skedaddle.
Huh?
“… Satisfied with what?”
A familiar voice came from behind me.
K-Kasan?
Wait… behind me?!