Chapter 2

Tyler doesn't slow down until we reach the modest house standing in the middle of the woods. The pack house is the living quarters of the alpha and the warrior. In cases of emergency, it's also the shelter for all Jason's subordinates. Most days, it's deserted so as not to attract unwanted attention. Today is no different, it seems. 

Richard was ushered into the house long before I reached it, and I'm glad. My patience is already short on a good day, and I'm sure I couldn't handle his taunting without breaking his neck. 

The two-story house is poorly kept, showing the years that rippled through her. White paint cascades down the exterior walls, showing the cement below; the windows have a layer of dust preventing the entrance of the light and bars covering them. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it had been abandoned for a few months now.

I pass a living room but have no time to stand and look as I'm rushed to the office.

My eyes quickly avert to the enormous maple table in the center of the room; this must be where the Council meets. The Council is composed of twelve elements, the alphas of every pack of the country. The assemblies are held on random dates on different territories. Only they can know when and where these gatherings occur. If the hybrids discover even one location, it could compromise the safety of all of us.

The room is uncommonly empty: no paintings or pictures cover the white walls, no papers on the table either. The only other piece of furniture present is a deep brown bookcase, only half full. The slight dusty odor confirms that this division is rarely used.  

I allow myself to focus on the dangerous situation I'm in only when Tyler sits in one of the chairs. I shift my attention to the imposing warrior. He's merely a few inches taller than me, and yet, the way he stares at me now, I've never felt so small. His glare searches the deepest recesses of my soul, trying to uncover all the cruel acts I performed to survive. If he finds any, he does not let it show.

He gestures for me to mimic him, and I hesitantly comply. 

"So, Audrey,"  he says my name as if it was a facade.  "You caused quite a chaos."

"I needed a distraction to escape," I reply.

"How many did you kill?" After Richard's vivid description of my sentences, it's not a surprise that he's suspicious. However, if I give him the truth, I'll be locked for the rest of my life. 

I frown. "Where's your Alpha?" If the law hasn't changed, only an alpha can perform an interrogation.

"Working. He'll arrive in a couple of hours." 

"Two. A hybrid and an aspirant to become a hunter," I answer evasively. It's not a lie, merely an omission of the lives I reaped while condemned as a slave.  

Tyler nods. "Are there any witnesses we should be worried about?"

I feel his eyes burning a hole in me. He knows I murdered more than I admitted, and yet, he doesn't bother to investigate further. His posture and steady gaze ascertain that this wasn't a slip, a mistake on his part. He's directing the conversation to reach a goal. What I still don't know.

"Yes. A human. She must have already described me to the police. There's not much you can do there."

"There's little we can't do with the right contacts," he replies immediately.

I'm taken off guard by his confidence. I would call it arrogance, but there's something in him that tells me that he's not showing off his resources, he's stating a fact.

His face shuts down, and I realize that we're right where he wanted us to be.

"How many shelters do they have?"

I attempt to appear indifferent, but can't deny to myself the doubt that arises. I want nothing more than to hunt down every single hybrid and punish them for the torture they inflicted until their species is completely extinct. 

Still, if I hand him this information, I give him the upper hand. If his Alpha is the traitor that condemned me to die at the hands of those mutants, he'll warn them, and they'll scatter like scared rats before I have the chance to exact my revenge.

I curse internally for being alone. If I had witnesses, I'd rest assured that he was unable to help them. The seconds that pass as I ponder my next move are excruciating. His eyes don't leave mine, and I refuse to stand down. He's seizing me up, seeking my weaknesses, trying to find a soft spot to push and intimidate me into submission. If he wants to play a game, then I make the rules.

"The nearest one is in Delaware." 

"That's not what I asked," he responds swiftly.

"That's what you get."

I see the sparkle in his eyes. It speaks of menace and demands answers that he will not receive. He leans closer, trying to make me feel cornered. He forgets that I spent most of my life dealing with cruel, heartless men, he won't succeed with coercion.

"You're hanging by a thin thread here; until my Alpha arrives you're under my command, it will only go in your favor to cooperate."

Up close, I see a scar under his left eyebrow, merely an inch long. Someone must have tried to blind him. Scars are uncommon in werewolves. Our bodies have a high metabolism and an accelerated healing process. Most of our marks are inflicted before we change because our wolf hasn't reached its full potential, nor did our bodies. 

"Why should I tell you if I'm going to trial?" A few years after I was captured, the Alphas reformulated the law. Whereas in my time I'd only be interrogated by my leader, now I have to stand in front of the Council and proclaim my innocence and hope they believe me. Natalie told me that the trial is brutal, and more times than not, the defendants leave the chambers wounded.

He leans forward, and peeks at me like a lion eyeing his prey, already predicting my death by his hands. 

"I'm surprised you know that since the law changed seven years ago and Audrey Reed has been missing for a decade." I ignore the way he talks about me in the third person.

I've successfully erased everything that might have caused me pain. My only goal was survival, and if I wanted to live, then I had to annihilate my emotions. I did it without a second thought, discarded them as if they were nothing more than trash, something to be hated and eliminated.

Still, I can't deny the stabbing hurt that cripples me. Back in the compound, time was a feeble thing. It wasn't long before Natalie lost track of the days, confused by the endless hours of torture. We kept counting the years based on the number of allies they had: around Christmas, they would disappear, only a few remained. 

My hands shake, and I hurry to hide them. I learned from a young age that in order to stay alive, I couldn't show vulnerability. I was raised as a weapon, crafted into the perfect steel. I'm made of sharp edges and vengeance, and I will not crumble.

"Eleven years. You should be more informed," I snap. It's a foolish mistake to irritate a Warrior, but I'm tired of being undermined and treated as a disposable toy.

He clenches his fists. He's the perfect impersonation of danger, and for the first time, I wonder who exactly I'm dealing with here.

"Careful," the word barely escapes his gritted teeth. 

"We're done here. I will only answer to your Alpha," my voice comes out cold and detached. 

The silence stretches as he analyzes me, trying to decide how to respond. "Just one last question. You understand that if you're lying, you'll get banished, right?"

I startle at his strange question. "I couldn't care less."

He presses on. "What do you want, then? The reward? Because that is long gone."

I glance around the empty room to contain my anger, keeping my gaze focused on the white wall in front of me. He labeled me a charlatan from the moment that he saw me. What could I have done that would raise such doubt?

"What is your problem with me?" Adrian warned me that the werewolves would be rough with me, but even he believed that I'd receive a warm welcome, not this chilly, humiliating reception.

Tyler trembles with intensity, and I prepare myself. At his age, he should be able to restrain his wolf and not transform based on petty factors, but some never gain that control. Yet, his voice remains calm and serene.

"A lot of girls attempted to trick us, trying to pass as the missing Warrior for the money, the title."

I gape at him, trying to process this new piece of information. Someone stole my identity for money and status without caring about the damage they're inflicting.

He rambles on in a solemn tone. "And every time Gabriel and Rachel come filled with hope and leave empty-handed. They already lost their daughter, they don't need any more pain."

I bow my head, letting down my guard. I told Natalie that this was a bad idea, that it had been too long, that they were better off without me. She insisted this was the right decision. I couldn't be more uncertain.

"Is it so hard to believe that I'm the real one?" It feels incredibly absurd to ask such a question, but all this suspicion is draining me of energy and hope.

He sighs deeply, and it's only now that I notice the crease between his eyebrows from frowning too much. It isn't easy to be a warrior, to spend your life in the shadows fighting, protecting a pack from all types of threats. He walks around as if he is bearing the world on his shoulders, he probably is.

"It's been too long. No hybrid would let her stay alive, not with her rank." His eyes are downcast as sorrow marks his features. 

I blanch and swallow dryly. I lift my head. "Then, you're seeing a ghost."

Tyler rushes me into a small bedroom with a single bed in the center and a closet covering a corner from floor to ceiling. There's a window overlooking the side of the house where a vast forest extends as far as the eye can see. The trees outstretch towards the sky, their branches standing proudly as their leaves dance to the wind. 

I spend hours in that room waiting for the alpha to arrive and proclaim my fate. The necklace seems to throb against my neck, beating to a rhythm of its own, getting heavier as time ticks by. The compound appears to be so distant when I'm here safe and finally in the light.

Sometimes, I hear voices just outside my door. Alpha Jason must have arrived, though he doesn't attempt to disturb me. 

A knock on the door startles me into motion. I follow Tyler down the spiral staircase, its steps so small that I'm afraid I'll slip as I walk past. I focus on these small details as my chest fills with anticipation. 

"No, Jason. You had no right to do this," the powerful tone irradiates through my body.

I had forgotten his voice over the years, but it's so familiar, so mine. A lump forms on my throat.

He stands furiously, glaring at who I can assume to be Alpha Jason. He's too far away to see his features, I can only view his whitish hair, and I realize how long it's been since I saw him. Eleven years. So many things were lost that we can never get back.

Behind him stands a slender woman, looking down at the ground. I feel my heart racing. My body shakes uncontrollably. Will they recognize me? Do they still want me?

"What did you expect me to do?" Alpha Jason replies.

"You warn me. You do not call my wife and tell her our daughter is back. How cruel can you be?"

"It was the procedure-"

"I don't give a damn about the procedure." I tense. You don't disrespect an Alpha and walk away unscratched. "How many times do we have to do this? Audrey is gone. Let us grieve in peace."

His words reach my very core. This was a mistake. I can't put them through more pain when they're already in hell.

I take a step back, and the tile creaks. The sound carries itself, and the woman glances up. It's her. Her hair is so like mine, it feels like looking in a mirror. She stares at me, and I could crumble from the sheer amount of emotion. I can't take this. Does she despise me? Can she ever forgive me for being so naive? 

"Wait!" She yells. I freeze on the spot. I couldn't move even if a gun were pointed at me. 

Nothing matters but this instant. This terrible, infinite moment where our eyes collide. I'm shaking from top to bottom, I'm filled with nervous energy. I can't deal with their rejection.

She practically sprints towards me. Her wide honey-colored eyes search mine, and I wonder how I could have ever forgotten her. She's thinner now, and a shadow lingers on her features. I lose the ability to breathe. 

She cradles my face in her hands, her touch barely a brush against my skin. I can feel her trembling against me. A tear escapes the temple of her eyes as she swipes her thumb on my cheek. 

"Audrey?" She asks fearfully as if the answer might just end her. 

My mouth goes dry and I forget how to articulate the words that fight within me for freedom. I can only nod as the lump in my throat takes what little breath I had left.

"You're here," she sighs. 

A chocked sound leaves my body. I nod again.  

"You're really here," her voice catches in the end, but the soothing tune envelops me like a soft blanket.

Her arms spread for me and clutch me tight to her body. I ignore the fear, the escape, the years that separated us, and my own revulsion with touch as my weak arms find her back. My hands touch something solid, and it's only then that the entirety of this situation hits me. She's real. She's finally with me. 

I grab her with all my strength as a sob escapes my lips. God, how I missed her. Once I start I can't stop. The sobs rock my body with their violence, I've been holding on for so long that the relief of letting go is almost unbearable. She mimics my actions as her cries muffle everything else. 

I close my eyes tightly, savoring this moment. All the nights spent awake wishing for her arms, her love, to crash into me. I hold her even closer as if she would disappear at any moment. I will never let her go. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I gasp between sobs in her ear. How could I survive this long without her?

I must be hurting her with how tightly I'm grabbing her, but she's grasping me with the same intensity. We stay suspended in this emotion, and distantly, I feel a piece connecting, something that's been missing for so long, I thought I'd lost it altogether.

"Rachel," my father says quietly. My mother hesitantly moves back, stepping out of my crushing arms and I can see the happiness radiating off her. My arms fall to my side as the tears obscure my vision. 

I face my father, with no energy left in my system. He has wrinkles now, and expression lines that trace his forehead. His blue eyes stare right into mine, and I feel every last molecule quivering underneath his gaze.

Tears have left a track on his cheeks, his shoulders sag with the weight he's been carrying, but in the ocean of his eyes, something bursts to the surface. I can almost taste the hope that consumes him, and the undeniable crushing fear that accompanies it. 

His mouth falls open. I expect him to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. Time stops and stands still. This is what kept me moving forward, the hope that I'd see them again. 

My mother places her hand on his shoulder, and he awakens. "Audrey," he murmurs, so low that for a second I believe I imagined it. "It's you. It's really you."

I nod, breathless. He almost knocks me to the ground with the sheer force of his embrace. The room is filled with the sounds of our joined sorrow. I never saw him cry, I never dreamed him this desperate. 

My knees buckle as the sobs take the rest of the resistance of my bones, but it's my father that falls to his knees. His arms embrace my waist as the tears cascade faster on my already wet cheeks. No dream could show me how rewarding this meeting would be, no imagination could ever create such tenderness. It's been so long.

"My Audrey."

I lower myself to his level, and bury my head in his neck, hoping against all hope that he won't be disgusted with me, that he'll accept the monster I became, and that I can still be his Audrey. For the first time, I feel safe, alive. I might have just found my home.