Natalia’s P. O. V

Heart pounding, I let out a whoosh of breath as I heard three sets of feet exit my house, followed by the sound of the front door closing.

I waited for the sound of their car’s engine to fade before leaving the library and going downstairs to get the cleaning supplies.

‘That was close.’ Candy stated.

I picked the mop, broom and bucket up, ‘Too close. What was that, Candy? I could feel you under my skin.’

‘I guess your anger brought us close to shifting.’

I threw the cleaning supplies down, uncaring about the fact that they landed in my blood, ‘Then what about those times I was being beaten into a pulp at the pack? Why didn’t you come out then? Keily’s snobbishness is nothing compared to what they put me through! What Clark put me through!’ I paused, taking a deep breath to calm myself, then asked the question that had been nagging on my mind for almost three years, ‘When Clark was about to rape me, where were you, Candy?’

She was silent for a long time. When it was evident that she didn’t have an answer for me, I busied myself with cleaning the bloody mess on the kitchen floor. After that, I put the throw pillows back to the way they were before the surprise visit that ended in mayhem.

‘I slipped up again.’ I thought to myself as I looked at my newly healed hand. It was a bad idea to get hurt around them but, despite being aware of this, I’d let my anger get the best of me and had shattered a plate in front of Keily.

I sighed as I put the last thing away and made my way to my room. I opened my door and paused, catching a familiar scent drifting from my bathroom. Sniffing, I realised that it belonged to Trevor.

Eyes narrowed, I scanned the bathroom and my room for anything missing or out of place. There were no signs of foul play. I even checked my closet only to find nothing.

‘Why would Trevor be in your room? Keily, I could understand, but not Trevor.’ Candy asked.

Despite being mad at her, I replied, ‘I don’t know. I told them not to go into my room and I know I didn’t hear my door open.’

I stared at the recently used Jacuzzi for a while before I realised another slip up I’d made.

‘Great.’

‘What is it?’ she asked, confused.

‘The bathroom was still steamy when I said Trevor and Greg could show Hailey and Keily around. Trevor probably came in here before the place cooled down.’

‘Why is that a problem?’ she asked, still not understanding

‘It’s a problem because I told Greg that I was already baking cookies before they arrived. I’m pretty sure they left some minutes after I did so if I’d taken a cab, I wouldn’t have had time to bake cookies and use the Jacuzzi. ’

‘I see how that can be a problem but you can’t do anything about it now. The more important question is why Trevor was here. What are they up to?’

I nodded, ‘Don’t you think it’s strange, how Trevor didn’t use the door to get in? I didn’t hear any doors leading outside open till they left so he couldn’t have used a window.’

‘This has been bothering me for a while. When Greg cut himself, he didn’t make a sound. Normally, a person would have hissed or yelped or something to indicate they were in pain but he didn’t. He just watched your face intently, like he was looking for a reaction as you helped him then he looked confused, like your reaction was unorthodox.’

I walked back to my room and sat on my bed, ‘You’re right.’

‘I think they’re on to you. They were also trying too hard to see your cut. I think we should move before the pack gets word of this.’

I shot up, annoyed at her suggestion, ‘No. We can’t move now, not when we’re so close to finding mom. She’d want us to stick through it, not to leave just because of the possibility of them finding me.’

‘So, what should we do then?’

I thought for a moment. The blood, the way Trevor hadn’t used the door to get into my room. It was like he’d teleported or passed through the wall.

‘They don’t think I’m a werewolf,’ I stated, ‘they think I’m a vampire.’

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She was silent for some time, thinking my theory over, ‘That makes sense, but that means they could be supernatural as well.’

‘Possibly vampire hunters since Trevor probably phased through the wall.’

Vampire hunters were created by witches that believed vampires were a parasitic curse to the world. It was close to five hundred years ago when vampires were carelessly feeding on everyone and anyone and more humans were keenly aware of their presence than not so a coven of witches decided to take action, creating vampire hunters.

‘So, what do we do about it?’ Candy asked.

‘You said he looked like my reaction was unusual and because I’m not a vampire, Trevor didn’t find anything to prove that I am so they probably won’t act without concrete proof. All I need to do is make sure I don’t give them the evidence they’re looking for.’

‘That means no more running faster than an average human, you use a cab to get anywhere you know they’re going to be and you do things normally when they’re around.’

I nodded, ‘And no more visits to Killdrain when they’re around, not till we figure out a way to go there without feeling pain.’

‘And how exactly will we do that?’

‘Let’s think of how to cross that bridge when we find the town it’s in.’

‘But for now,’ I got up and found the bag I’d taken with me to Palace Homes and took the paper with fallen pack names out, ‘let’s fine tune our strategy.’

Kirstin’s P. O. V

Humming, I wrapped a towel around myself and stared at my reflection. The dye around the roots of my hair had begun to fade, revealing my actual hair colour. It was a very dark brown with strands of black scattered through it. My dad always told me it looked like dark chocolate and it was the reason he loved the stuff.

I wanted to let it fade. I wanted the dye to fade away just as I wanted to fade away from Brittany’s group. But I didn’t. I re-dyed my hair as I took a shower then dressed in something Brittany-approved.

As I stared at my now fully blonde reflection, I remembered when Brittany had decided that I should dress more proactively.

“Are you sure?” Fifteen year old me asked as I frowned at the clothes Brittany had picked out for me – a short, sparkly blue crop top and a barely there, black jean skirt.

She’d nodded enthusiastically, “Of course! Don’t you want your mate to think you’re hot?”

I’d nodded.

“So you need to start dressing hot now so you’ll be used to it when you meet him.”

I’d wanted to say no, to tell her that my mate would love me just the way I was but I couldn’t. I couldn’t argue with her because I’d looked up to her back then.

“Alright.” I’d agreed.

She’d smiled like the Cheshire cat and walked away.

“I left some blonde dye in your bathroom. Use it.” She’d commanded over her shoulder and closed my door behind her.

The next day, I’d arrived at school, blonde, barely covered by my clothes and uncomfortable. That was when I’d become a member of what Ari referred to as the slut squad.

She’d been wrong. I wasn’t used to it and despite the fact that I’d dressed ‘hot’ every day since then, it hadn’t made my mate find me more attractive. Kylie could testify to that… that is unless she was occupied by said mate’s tongue in her throat.

My role in the revenge plan was going to be harder than I’d thought. How I was going to survive watching Harry and Kylie be a couple and stand by as she took over as Luna, all the while refraining from ripping her to shreds, I didn’t have a clue. But I had a job to do and I didn’t want to disappoint Ari just because I wasn’t strong enough to do what I’d agreed to. She was going to complete her part and I didn’t want to pull us behind. Plus, I had a feeling it would not go well for me.

I shook my head to rid myself of thoughts of our plan, not wanting it to show on my face. I slid into my heels, grabbed my bag and left my room, making my way to the front door.

I’d cut my trip short, staying at the Jackal pack for only three days after I’d seen Ari, eager to get started on our plan. I had a lot to do if I was going to get dirt on each of our targets.

I smiled at one of the targets as I descended the stairs.

“What took you so long? Hurry up, I don’t like to keep my boys waiting.” She whispered once I was close enough.

“Sorry, Brittany.”

“Come on.” She grabbed my wrist and dragged me to her car.

We got in and I buckled my seat belt as she started the engine. In seconds, we were tearing out of the pack’s parking lot and almost exceeding the speed limit.

“You know,” she started, eyes on the road, “I was surprised when you asked to come with me to meet my guys. I didn’t think you’d be interested.”

I plastered a smile on to hide my disgust, “I wasn’t at first but you’re always in such a good mood and so relaxed when you get back from meeting your guys, so I was curious.”

She laughed, “You’re right, it always puts me in a good mood. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”

I highly doubted that but the evidence I was going to get would definitely put me in a great mood. Her, not so much. I daren’t speak my thoughts as I grinned down at my bag that held my camcorder and phone. I was going to have to slip away from her and her guys to set it up then I’d have to make sure I wasn’t in the camera’s view during the visit. I’d also need pictures of each guy and their full names. There was also the matter of digging up information on the guys later.

There was just so much to do. I wanted to fill the file on Brittany and possibly start on Callum’s before my next meeting with Ari. Despite how daunting it seemed, the thought of everything I could uncover excited me.

I took my phone out and opened the voice recorder app, keeping the screen from her view, “So, tell me about them.” Before she began rambling, I pressed the record button then sat, silently, as she told me everything I needed to know.

She’d always loved to show off and adored the sound of her own voice. Now, that would be her very spectacular undoing.