Chapter 0004

"It's not fair," Aiden whispered to me in the back of the taxi. Living in downtown Phoenix, most of the places we needed to go were nearby, owning a vehicle and paying parking fees wasn't exactly feasible when the Council apparently thought it imperitive to dress me in an ensemble that altogether probably came close to ten grand. If the dress alone was five, I could only imagine how much the handbag and shoes had cost them.

"Shh, they'll hear you. And I'm doing this for the future of our kind," I assured him, picking a piece of hair off his shoulder.

"Liar. I know they use me to threaten you, I've heard them." 

I paused at that, looking at the guilt on his face. I grabbed his ear and yanked him lightly toward me, "Don't you dare blame yourself for any of this. I don't. So you can't either," I warned before I released him. His hand shot up to rub the side of his head.

"I can't help it, I do bl-" 

"No. You don't." I argued heatedly, our voices still hushed.

"Why do you think they don't ever leave me alone? Ever?"

I looked at him in horror, the meaning behind his words settling on my chest like a lead weight as he continued.

"If I wasn't around to force your hand, they'd have nothing to hold you," he said softly and my eyes began to sting. I grabbed his arm roughly, my fingers biting into his skin so he knew how strongly I was receiving his message since he couldn't see my face. He cringed a little.

"One, don't ever think that again," I said, fighting to keep my voice firm. "And two, what other choice would I have? From the day we were born, they've controlled everything we do. If you weren't a factor in all of this, you still think my outcome would be any different? I'm not being sold into slavery today, I'm just changing ownership," my voice was pure venom and I could see Aiden clenching his jaw, fighting back the same emotions that I was. "We've always been slaves with the dressed up titles of Daughter and Son.

"But at least this way, I know you're going to be safe. That you're going to be taken care of. That alone makes this worth it," I nudged his shoulder with mine, trying to diffuse the tenseness that had settled in the back seat. A tear leaked out from beneath his glasses.

I didn't comment on it. Instead, I just looked ahead in time to see the taxi in front of us pulling off to the side of the road just as ours followed suit. Lenny was sitting in the front seat with the cabby while Leanne and my father road in the taxi ahead of us. 

"Out," Lenny said with no preamble and he pushed his door open.

Aiden worked his way out with me right behind him as I gripped his arm to make sure he didn't miss a step anywhere. I looked up to gather my surroundings and halted, yanking Aiden to a stop beside me. "Whoah," I breathed out.

"Describe it to me?" He asked, looking around as if he wished he could see everything I was seeing.

"The buildings are all taller than I ever realized was possible," I began, looking up at the one directly across the street from us. "The sides look like they're made of nothing but glass. The surfaces catching all the different colored lights like thousands of dazzling fairies. There aren't any stars, but the reflections from the buildings look like its the city's way of filling the void their absence caused. There's a fountain in a courtyard that I swear is bigger than the Council's house. Also adorned with lights that make the water look like flowing streams of blue flame... And the statue is-"

"Get over here, now," My father's voice cut in from beside us and we both jumped.

"Yessir," I muttered, pulling Aiden along beside me. Glancing ahead of us and back in front of Aiden's feet repeatedly as we walked, entering the large marble building in front of us. I began wondering if anyone would do the same for him when I was gone? Would they make sure he didn't trip and fall? Would they help teach him to be a little more independent?

As if he could hear my worries, Aiden's grip tightened on me. "I can feel you fretting. I'll be ok. I can walk just fine with a cane. I'm only using your arm right now so that I can spend as much time with my sister as I can." He said calmly and my throat tightened. My lips quivered, but I fought down the tears that threatened to come loose. I could only imagine the meltdown my father and Leanne would have if I ruined their makeup job.

"Lenny, Leanne, cover the boy," my father ordered as he reached for me and yanked me away from Aiden's grip. Our hands held onto each other as long as we could before I was pulled too far away. "Stay behind and out of sight. Don't bring attention to him." He growled. I could feel their auras already covering them behind us just as I felt my father's aura pull back from me, leaving me exposed while he continued to suppress his own. 

Just then, three men approached us and, seeing my father, all three nodded their heads in greeting. So, they were the "muscle" my father had hired for the night. I looked at the men; all tall, muscular and intimidating. One was shirtless, his defined abs more impressive than those of the models from the pornos Leanne had made me study. I reached out with my aura to probe theirs to assess if they were a threat or not.

"Werewolves," I breathed out.

The man closest to me looked down at me and smirked as he nudged the shirtless one in the arm and he nodded, stripping out of his pants quickly and before I could even register his nakedness, his skin bagan to ripple, his face becoming unrecognizable as his skull changed shape. I heard bones popping as his stance changed. In less than a minute, I was staring into the eyes of a massive brown wolf.

"Brody, Jessie and Clyde, at your service," he said, gesturing to himself, the other male standing beside him and then lastly at the wolf.

"Don't speak to her," my father said simply, pulling something out of his briefcase. Something wrapped in a forest green velvet cloth. He unfurled it and what dropped out into his free hand made my stomach drop.