Olive tried as hard as she could to think back into time but the name Jonathan did not ring a bell in her mind. She didn’t remember all the names of the people she was sent to harm but, at least something should be able to ring a bell.
“Was he from Balendin Pack?” she asked after about two minutes of racking her brain. Next, she heard the lock of the door turning so she stood upright and faced it. The door swung open slowly to reveal a swollen, red eyed Dolly. Her face was wet but still red despite her just washing it in the bathroom.
“Dolly,” Olive called in both relief and sympathy as she ran and embraced her. Dolly didn’t hug her back but leaned onto her for support. She was really weak. Olive patted her back for several seconds until Dolly stood upright.
“Come, let’s sit,” Olive whispered and held her hand. She pulled her along gently and they sat on the sofa opposite the television. Dolly’s room was really big and was the combination of a living room and a bedroom. Her queen sized bed was at the end of the room while her sofa set, television and other furniture were towards the other half of the room.
“Gosh, Dolly. You look pale already,” Olive cried out as she took a proper look of her mate’s sister. She felt really bad and scared for her. She needed no soothsayer to tell her that this Jonathan was something to Dolly. Something special.
“Do you need water?”
Dolly shook her head and hugged her arms. She had been crying for hours.
“I brought noodle cups. Would you like to have one? I can tell you’re famished,” Olive stated and began to remove the cups from the plastic bag. Dolly watched her intently without a word.
“Jonathan was…,” she began to speak and Olive pursed with the juice box in her hand. She looked up at Dolly and became attentive.
“He was my… he was my first love. He loved me. He loved me so much,” she stated and cleared her throat because she could feel a lump coming.
“He was my everything and I called him my second home. But he was murdered. And when we found his body, the seal of The Vrek Cult was on his head.”
Olive could feel her heart freezing up. The Vrek Cult always placed a seal on their victims forehead after a successful operation in order to let the world know that they were responsible. It was a way of instilling fear and reverence in other people.
“I… I’m sorry about that,” Olive croaked and Dolly chuckled.
“A few people had said they saw him with two strange women at a pack a bit close to Balendin. He had told me he needed to attend a seminar for architects. But he didn’t return. Jonathan didn’t come back to me,” she said and burst into sobs again. Olive shifted closer to her and hugged her tight. She patted her back and straightened her hair. She was appearing to be calm, but she was so scared inside. What if she had truly had something to do with Jonathan’s death? How would she face Dolly?
“When was that?” she asked and Dolly sniffed before wiping her tears with her fingers.
“That was… six years ago,” she answered and a certain relief washed over Olive. Six years ago she was sixteen and had been in the cult for two years. But she had not started to go on solo missions yet. She was always following the big assassins and they were all men. She went on her first solo mission when she turned seventeen. And that was even in New York, human territory.
“Tell me, Olive. Do you have anything to do with Jonathan’s death? You were in The Vrek Cult and you said you were one of the best. Then definitely you were sent to kill him because he’s not one to easily go down,” Dolly rasped. She was out of breath but was still managing to talk fast.
“I had nothing to do with it, Dolly. I was sixteen years old six years ago. I was not permitted to go on solo missions yet,” Olive said calmly. She was both embarrassed and worried.
“Sixteen and already part of the cult. Ha!” Dolly scoffed sarcastically and looked away from her. Olive pinned her lips together as she stared at the lady beside her.
“You think I joined The Vrek Cult on my own accord, didn’t you?” she asked and Dolly blinked repeatedly. She turned her face to look at Olive.
“Of course you did. How else would you join?” she questioned with a frown.
Olive laughed dryly and relaxed on the sofa.
“Why are you laughing like a maniac? You’re pissing me off!” Dolly nagged. She got on her feet and began to walk away but-
“I was kidnapped from my parents at fourteen and initiated against my will. Then, they washed off all my memories and left only a blurred version of almost everything. You have no idea what I went through over there, Dolly. You won’t even have an idea,” Olive explained and gulped down painfully. Dolly stopped walking and looked back at Olive who was still sitting peacefully on the sofa.
“Kidnapped at fourteen? You… you lost your… memories?” she stuttered. Olive shrugged.
“I’ve learnt to live with it,” she answered. Dolly’s mouth fell open.
“What about your parents? Your family. Where you come from. You don’t remember anything?”
“I remember that I have parents and they loved me. I remember my birthday and how they used to spoil me. I remember the events of the day I got kidnapped. But I forgot my parents faces, their names, our pack. I forgot those.”
“But now that you’re out of the cult aren’t you supposed to remember them all? And forget everything relating to the cult?” Dolly questioned and Olive peered her eyes at her. That was true. She was supposed to forget the important things of the cult. Almost all her memories of the cult should be wiped out so as not to spill their secrets after being free. But, she had even forgotten that there was such a law. She remembered everything about the cult clearly. Everything. And, still not a thing about her parents. Could it be that… that she was not truly free yet?
“I… I don’t know. I remember everything concerning the cult,” she mused confusingly.
“That’s strange. Really strange, Olive,” Dolly said with as much confusion as Olive. The weird tension between them earlier had vanished.
“I would have to talk to Wayne about it. Gosh, why didn’t this even cross my mind?” she held her forehead and closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Olive,” Dolly said after a minute of silence. Olive opened her eyes.
“Sorry? Sorry about what?”
“For judging you wrongly. I… I shouldn’t have,” Dolly stuttered while looking down at her feet.
“It wasn’t your fault. I too should have reacted that way if I was in your shoes,” Olive replied.
“I always suspected your life was rougher than I thought but… this? I had no idea you went through this and even at a young age. The Vrek Cult… I’ve heard how they molest their own just to make them bend to their rules. You must have… you must have gone through a lot,” Dolly stated and Olive felt she was going to start crying again. So, she walked up to her and held her hands.
“Don’t worry. It’s all in the past now. I found my mate so I’m free,” she smiled and Dolly chuckled.
“I’m happy for you,” she said then hugged her.
When they disengaged, Dolly thought for a few seconds then asked, “Did Vanessa know about this?”
“Ah, yes. She knew. She was my only friend outside of the cult,” Olive answered with a smile. Dolly returned it sweetly.
“Let’s eat, Dolly. I know you’re starving,” Olive said and pulled Dolly along back to the sofa. They sat down and opened the noodle cups. As Olive was picking up her chopsticks, she saw a photograph under the glass table. She bent over and picked it. It was Dolly and a young man. A man she knew very well.
“Oh, that’s Jonathan,” Dolly said with a smile at the picture. Like it was alive.
Olive gulped down painfully as she stared at the smirking face of the man in the picture.
“He’s not dead,” she mumbled and Dolly furrowed her brows at her.
“What do you mean?”
“This man is alive. But, he might not be the Jonathan you knew and loved.”