Chapter 8:

"Scinece, Lincoln, I want you to stay close to me. The Yule Council will be visiting tonight and I don't particularly trust them around you," their mother said, patting them on the head and giving them a kiss on the cheek. Even as children, Scinece and Lincoln knew they were different and people didn't like different. Their pale, almost white skin differed from their pack, them having tan or darker skin; their white hair shocked most people but others just assume they dyed it and heed no notice; but it was their red eyes that startled everyone they meet. The twins were ignored in the pack but they didn't mind. It was better than being pushed around or bullied.

"Aliah, where are you? We need to get going, the Yule Council will be here any minute," a deep voice said from downstairs. Aliah shouted back, "We'll be right down, Jim." Fixing Lincoln's bowtie and fussing over Scinece's hair one more time, she gave the twins a smile and ushered them out the room. They made their way downstairs where everyone has crowded, all wearing their most formal clothing. This is actually the first time Scinece and Lincoln attend the party because any children below twelve were put in the children's room, so the Yule Council don't know yet about their existence.

Everyone stared at the pair making their way to one of the unoccupied couches. Lincoln was used to the staring, Scinece wasn't. She bowed her head and didn't look at anyone in the eyes. The pair sat down and while Lincoln looked around, Scinece pulled a book from the small shelf next to them. It was a medical book and she perused the pages, absorbing the information. Medicine has always intrigued her, especially since her mother was the pack doctor. Scinece always watched her mother work on patients. She was completely into the book that she jumped when someone laid a hand on her shoulder. It was Lincoln and he seemed to be looking at someone. Following his gaze, she saw five old people talking with Alpha Faust. "Who are they? Are they the Council?" she asked, still looking at them. Then one of them turned her head and made eye contact with Scinece. Scinece froze, unable to tear her eyes away from the woman. Her eyes were a multitude of colors and seemed to draw you in. The woman smirked at Scinece and looked away, releasing Scinece from her trance. Lincoln was shaking her when she finally collected her thoughts.

"Scinece, that's the Council. I think we should go find mom and dad," he said, looking at the Council every few seconds. Lincoln was uncomfortable in their presence and even more when he noticed how two of the members kept looking at them, their expressions greedy. And when one of them connected gazes with Scinece, he was so worried and almost went to find their parents, but he couldn't leave Scinece alone. From the corner of his eye, he saw the entire Council making a beeline towards them. He bristled when he felt their presence right behind him. A raspy voice suddenly asked, "Is she okay?" Lincoln slowly turned his head to look at them and he's never felt so small. He cleared his throat and said, "Y-yes, sir. We were just going to look for our mom." He helped Scinece stand and the man who spoke before moved aside. The twins moved past them and walked toward the kitchen where their parents and the Alpha and Luna were. He felt their eyes on their backs as they pushed open the kitchen door. It was only when he closed the door that he let out a breath.

Aliah immediately noticed them. Scinece was shaking and Lincoln was clenching and unclenching his hands. She was by their side in a flash and ushered them to the counter. Quickly filling up two glasses with water, she handed them to the twins, who didn't even notice it. Lincoln was rubbing Scinece's back and offering her words of comfort. Aliah crouched beside Lincoln and asked, "What happened?" Lincoln didn't answer, still busy comforting his sister. Jim made his way through the small crowd in the kitchen and to the twins' side. He sat down and pulled Scinece out of Lincoln's hold and laid her on his lap. Jim rocked back and forth, lulling Scinece to sleep. He looked at Aliah for answers but she shrugged and said, "Lincoln isn't talking."

Lincoln looked up when he heard his name. Aliah and Jim were looking at him, silently asking for answers. "The Council were huddled around us and Scinece, I don't know what happened. She was just looking at one of the elders and then she just started shaking. I didn't want to leave her alone so I made her stand and we went here. Dad, the Council makes me uncomfortable and I don't know why. It's like they were looking at us like a predator to prey would," he said, tears pooling in his eyes. Aliah opened her arms wide and Lincoln snuggled into his mother's warm embrace. "It's okay, darling. We won't let anyone hurt you."

Seeing as the twins were out of it in fear, Jim and Aliah thought it was best if they stayed in their room. The hours flew by and soon, everyone was asleep in their rooms. Everyone except the twins, that is. The twins were wide awake, Scinece having woken up because of her nightmare, Lincoln because of a tree branch repeatedly hitting the window. The both of them were still a bit shaken up from their weird encounter with the Council. "Lincoln, do you think the Council will hurt us?" Scinece suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence. Lincoln stared at the ceiling filled with glow-in-the-dark animal stickers. He turned on his side and looked at Scinece, who was staring at him, "I don't know, Scinece. All I know is I won't let anyone hurt you." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

They were almost asleep when everyone started shouting. Their door opened and their mother ran in. She closed and locked the door behind her, panting heavily. "Lincoln, get your sister. We're being attacked." Then she went to the window and opened it. She gestured the twins to come to her and was lifting Scinece out the window when there was pounding on the door. Aliah and the twins froze and the door suddenly flew across the room. A man and two wolves walked in. Aliah pushed the twins behind her and said, "Leave us alone, please."

The man shook his head and stated, "No can do, miss. We're here for them." He tilted his head towards the twins whose eyes widened and they whimpered. Aliah gasped and walked backwards, pushing the twins back as well. The two wolves advanced towards them and Aliah changed. She snarled at the wolves and slashed at one wolf in the face. The other lunged at Aliah and she brought her claw up and her sharp nail pierced its neck and the wolf fell to the ground. The man looked impressed at her. "You're not so bad, but we're still going to take them." And then he shifted. His wolf was significantly bigger than Aliah's and she knew this too. She mindlinked the twins, "Climb down and find your father. I'll deal with him."

Scinece shook her head and made to move towards her mother when Lincoln pulled her back and over the windowsill. She was shouting and struggling against Lincoln but he successfully pushed her onto a thick tree branch. She was crying and Lincoln cupped her cheeks, making her look up at him. "We need to find dad so he can help mom," he simply said and wiped away her tears. They began to slowly climb down and was greeted with the sight of half their members on the ground. Lincoln quickly covered his sister's eyes and led her to a shed behind the big oak tree. "Dad, where are you? Mom needs help, she's fighting with a big man and I don't know how long she can keep him distracted," Lincoln mindlinked his father. There was no answer and Lincoln tried again. The door to the shed suddenly opened and Luna Keller stepped in. She had a big butcher's knife in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. Her clothes were covered in blood and her eyes held anger. When she saw the twins huddled in the corner, Lincoln holding a hammer up in defense, her eyes softened. "Oh, darlings. It's okay. You just need to stay here, I'll go find your father," she said. Lincoln nodded at her but his eyes widened when the man from earlier was suddenly behind her. "Luna!" He shouted and she whipped around so fast. She threw the butcher knife at the man and it lodged itself on his arm. He howled in pain and glared at her. Keller held up the kitchen knife and held it in front of her.

"Just hand them over and we'll leave," the man grunted out. Keller spat in his face and said, "Over my dead body." The man threw a punch with his good arm but Keller swiped at him with her knife. A long gash was now present on his arm and leaking blood fast. Without letting him recover, she pushed the knife deep into his neck, twisted the knife a bit then pulled it out. The man fell forwards, dead, his blood pooling around his head. Keller sighed and turned back to the twins. In the distance, someone howled. Keller stiffened. She hugged the twins tightly and repeatedly apologized. Scinece quickly understood why. Their mom was dead and the wolf who howled was their father.

Then someone pulled Keller off of the twins. Scinece recognized the woman from earlier as the woman who held her gaze. She screamed as the woman pushed Keller against the wall, knocking the Luna, unconscious. Lincoln stood up and ran to the woman, his hammer raised. He hit the woman on the back of her knee. She fell to the ground, clutching her knee. The woman lifted her head and stuck out her hand. Suddenly, Lincoln was floating above the ground. He dropped the hammer and clawed at the invisible hand that gripped his throat, cutting off his air. Scinece, seeing the danger her brother was in, crawled quietly to the fallen hammer. She clutched it in her small hands and slowly made her way to the woman, making sure she moved quietly so she won't be seen. Then she raised the hammer and brought it down on the woman's stuck out arm. The woman screamed and while she was incapacitated, Scinece grabbed her brother and they ran past her and out of the shed. Still holding the hammer, Scinece kept an eye out for her father.

All of a sudden, there was a ring of fire surrounding them. Lincoln pulled Scinece to his side, protectively and Scinece held out the hammer in front of her. Then the fire parted and two people walked in, another two holding the woman from earlier. The twins recognized them from the party. It was the Council. "They have amazing reflexes, I must say," one man said. The woman lifted her head and glared at the twins, "They're a pain in the ass." The man holding her laughed and said, "I think you mean the arm and the knee." The woman turned her head to the man and using her good arm, she pinched the man. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "Let's just get them and get out of here. Sooner or later, someone's going to notice the fire, Kole," another woman said. The man, Kole, nodded and gestured for the other two to get the twins. "No!" Scinece shouted when Lincoln was pulled away from her. She swung the hammer around wildly and felt it hit something solid. "Oomf!" It was the man who was pinched earlier. He was clutching his stomach. Then someone wrapped their arms around Scinece, pinning her arms down. She screamed from the top of her lungs and the entire Council, save for the injured woman, covered their ears.

"Someone shut the bitch up!" Someone exclaimed. Scinece wasn't able to see who it was before something hit her from behind and everything went black.

Lincoln, on the other hand, was struggling against the person who was pulling him away from Scinece. Her scream distracted the person enough for him to bite his arm. The man dropped Lincoln and he ran to Scinece's side. He was almost there when someone gripped the back of his neck. He reached behind him to claw at the person's hands but there was none. Then someone pinched the pressure point on his neck and he fell limp.