Chapter Eight

Annalee's P.O.V

A few hours later we pulled up in front of a house at the end of a small cul-de-sac. The house was big, but not flashy, just simple, nice, homey. There was a large porch out the front with a table and chairs, overlooking a beautiful rose garden, with every type of colour you could think of, and the green lush grass looked so soft. Another lifetime maybe I could have seen myself laying down out here looking up at the stars at night. It was night and the air was cold, the only light was the soft glow from the street light overhead and a few homes had dim light coming from there windows through the drawn curtains. No one would even know we were here or the horror I had just left behind. Once we got out of the car, I noticed a woman had come out of the house and was standing on the porch waiting for us. Suddenly I was extremely nervous, would they treat me the same way the pack did? Would they hurt me worse than the pack did? It was then I realised when contemplating all the possibilities of how they would be, I never once considered they could be nice. Walking up the driveway I took in her features, she looked middle aged and very beautiful, she had long deep red hair the kind that was so beautiful, you could not get that colour unless you were lucky enough to be born with it. She had large soft green eyes with lines just starting to frame them and a genuine soft small smile placed on her round face. She looked like someone I could trust but I would not make that mistake too soon, not after everything.

“Evelyn, this is Annalee, the girl I spoke to you about” Luna Sophia, place a hand on my back and I flinched in pain. Not wanting to go into the extent of my injuries just yet I just pretended like I didn’t flinch away and looked down. Fiddling with my nails, while they exchanged looks of concern.

“It is really is nice to meet you Annalee, we are very pleased to have you stay with us, will you both come inside?” her voice sounded like she looked, soft and warm.

“I have to get back Evelyn before they realise I am gone, I said I was visiting my sister and if they call and I’m not there they might figure out I had something to do with her escape, they can’t find her Evelyn, please keep her safe” Luna Sophia started to sound panicked.

“I will, I promise she will be safe here with us” Evelyn said handing Luna Sophia something in a small bottle “drink this you will forget you brought her here they won’t be able to get information out of you that you don’t know”

“You won’t remember me?” I sounded sad, the two women exchanged a look

“of course, I will remember my dear, how could I forget you, you are the daughter I always wanted I just wish things could have been different, this is a memory potion I won’t remember where you are, that way if they ask me, I won’t be able to tell them, and you will be safe” and with that she drank the clear liquid, hugged my one last time and left. Leaving me standing on the porch looking confused.

What happens now? Before any other thoughts could cross my mind Evelyn embraced me in the warmest gentle hug, I had never felt anything like it, well since my parents died, no one else would hug me except Axel. Well Maddox had in his intoxicated, whatever the hell it was, state on his birthday. This was different it felt nice, warm and loving, I had forgotten about my injuries and my physical pain and I threw my arms around this strange woman I didn’t know. She had shown me more kindness in 30 seconds then anyone in the past 10 years.  

“Come on my dear let’s get you inside, here let me carry your things” she said after a short while, looking around for my bags and scrunching her brows together.

“I don’t have anything” I said softly and tears filled her eyes momentarily before she blinked them away.

“Well, we will have to change that” patting me gently on the shoulder, as we made our way into the house. It was beautiful, the living room was open and had large couches, carpet that was softer than my mattress at the packhouse and flat screen TV on the wall. The kitchen was visible and had a big marble island in the centre with bar stools around it. The colours were creams and beiges with a bit of blue and brown, it looked like an ordinary home, lived in, with love. A small cough brought me out of my thoughts, searching around for the source of the sound.

Sitting on the bar stools were two men, one was an older man with salt and pepper hair, deep brown eyes and olive skin. He stood and I could tell he was tall maybe 6’4 and muscular, his tattoos ran up his left arm leading all the way up his neck. He was a werewolf, I had been around enough to know how to spot one, I moved back instinctively and he froze with his hands up in surrender.  

Next to him was a guy who looked about my age, he was almost as tall as the other man, when he finished growing, he would probably be even taller. He must have been Evelyn’s son because he had the same hair and eye colour as her, but held the same height, build and jaw as the man next to him who I’m guessing is his father. They both just stared at me making me very uncomfortable.

“This is my husband Walter Jameson, and my son Zeke Jameson” Evelyn gestured to the two now standing looking at me confused and concerned. All I could manage at this point was a slight nod.

“it’s nice to meet you” Walter said low and calm, resembling someone trying to sooth a small child. Evelyn placed her hand on my back and tried to escort me forward and I instantly cried out in pain unable to stop it. When she moved her hand back it had blood covering it.

“I’m sorry” I responded putting my head down, covering my mouth, not know what else to say. She just looked at her hand and then back to me as tears began to fall from her eyes, “I didn’t mean to upset you, please don’t cry I’m fine really, I’m sorry” I said quietly not wanting to cause her any trouble.

“You didn’t upset me my dear, here let’s get you sitting down and we can take a look” she cooed. As I started to walk and Walter noticed my limp.

“Have you also hurt your foot?” he asked with his eyebrows drawn together.

Shaking my head slowly, I answered “my ankle” he just nodded. After slowly making my way to the kitchen table I sat sideways on the chair with my back to them and Evelyn reached for my shirt, to examine my injuries, and I flinched slightly holding my bear tight.

“I won’t hurt you I promise” she whispered and I believed her. She Lifted my shirt and I felt the cold air on my back I didn’t know what they would see, but it was followed by loud gasps. Evelyn dropped my shirt and covered her mouth with both hands, Walter swore repeatedly and Zeke just clenched his jaw and remained mute.

“I need to take her to the practice and look her over properly, I have a feeling these aren’t her only injuries” Walter was talking to Evelyn but she wasn’t looking at him just staring at me and shaking her head. Shaking her shoulders, he attempted to get her to pay attention to him “Evelyn, sweetheart you need to hold it together she needs us to help her, I know it looks bad, and she doesn’t have a wolf yet so if we don’t help her then things could get worse, please baby look at me” finally she snapped out of whatever trance she was in and nodded.

“How could they do this to a child” she asked him while wiping the tears from her cheeks and rushing to my side. 

Looking at her tear-soaked face I didn’t want her to be sad, I reached out and wiped her cheek dry with my thumb “I’m sorry I upset you I didn’t mean to make you cry” my voice was barely a whisper but she heard and shook her head a look of determination fell on her face.

“Sweetheart you have done nothing wrong! you hear me! nothing, you did not deserve this no one does and we are going to help you, you are okay now, you are going to be okay” she pushed my hair back from my face. Hearing the her speak the words, I normally spoke to myself to comfort me whenever bad things were happening broke something inside me. My hands covered my face, and I cried, I cried for my parents, for all the pain I have suffered over the years, all the loneliness, until my entire body was shaking and I couldn’t breathe. Strong arms lifted me and I was being carried to a car. Clinging on to his shirt I held on like my life depended on it, I never wanted him to let me go I didn’t even know who it was and at that point I didn’t care I felt safe and that was a feeling I hadn’t felt in such a long time.     

It turns out that Walter was a werewolf and a doctor, he had a small private practise in town, for consultations and a small emergency treatment facility at the back. Normally used for immunisations, stiches, casts, and things that could be treated without going to the hospital. Since he was a werewolf, he also treated the supernatural population, which I was unsure what that meant and right now I didn’t care. Finally, I could feel all the pain of my injuries, it said the brain goes into survival mode and turns off until you can handle it. Apparently feeling safe with these people came with the drawbacks of the pain returning.

“I am going to set you up with a drip, it will help with the dehydration and I will give you something to help with the pain as well, is that alright?” I could only nod at him, Walter had a nice smile which was welcoming, and his eyes were warm and genuine, I could tell he was someone who wanted to help me and I could trust him. He set the drip up and asked me to remove my shirt, I couldn’t lift my arms above my head so he had to cut the jumper off. Evelyn was in the room and squeezed my hand the entire time. Zeke, was waiting in the corner staring at the ceiling looking angry. He had been the one who carried me to the car and held me on his lap the entire time till he placed me on the doctor’s bed. When Walter touched my ribs, I screamed and he cursed and apologised, “I think you have a few broken ribs” he informed me and I wasn’t shocked. He moved on to looking at my ankle, it was still swollen and completely black and blue from bruising, he tried to move it but stopped when he realised how much it hurt me. “We need to take some x-rays to see what’s going on I will set it up and Evelyn will bring you through when its ready”, he softly spoke to me before he and Zeke walked out. The pain medication was starting to work and the me eyes were getting heavy.

“He is a very good Doctor he knows what he’s doing you’re in good hands” Evelyn said while brushing my matted hair out of my face and patting my hand. Again, I just nodded and looked at the floor I really just wanted to go to sleep.

After reviewing the x-rays, we discovered my ankle was broken, so were a few ribs, and I had a hairline fracture in both my wrists. The open wounds on my back were the most concerning because there were so many, they were beginning to become infected. They needed to be cleaned stitched and dressed and I will need a course of antibiotics. Walter had a small bathroom attached to his emergency procedure clinic which I was grateful for, I needed to wash all the dried blood and dirt away before he could treat the wounds. Detaching the IV, Evelyn pushed me in a wheelchair to the bathroom and closed the door. After helping me wash she had gotten a spare pair of sweatpants for me, and a hospital style gown to cover my front with an open back so Walter could stitch my wounds. Once he was finished and satisfied, he had done everything he could he looked at my face and nodded once. 

“Thank you” I spoke in a voice so small and quiet if he didn’t have his werewolf hearing he would have missed it.

“No one will ever hurt you like that again we will look after you. You are part of our family now and we protect our own” with those words he squeezed me knee gently and left the room it felt so strange to have someone acting like they care about me. Zeke offered to carry me back to the car, growling at his father who offered to take me from him and I fell asleep in his lap, letting the darkness finally take over.