Northwood

Wandering the mansion the next day Adline couldn’t stop thinking about what Frosty had told her. It gave so much insight in to why Kane was the way that he was. It made her feel that somehow she needed to change that and help him get past his past but she didn’t know how or where to begin.

During her exploration she had found a room that looked like a lot of fun, she’d seen a pool table and a dart board, a television with a few bean bags sitting in front of it and there was no doubt in her mind that there would have been more in the room had she been able to peer in through the door properly.

Heading in the direction of the room she’d seen all she wanted to do was have a little fun. Things seemed to be going well enough that she saw no harm in trying to find the play room so she could feel a little bit normal. Adline scoffed at her own thoughts, normal. What was that? Everything about her life so far had been more than a little abnormal that anything she could do to find any kind of balance was a welcome distraction.

Poking her head around corners she wondered quietly if shed imagined seeing the room but soon found her way again. Sauntering to the partially open double doors she pulled it open carefully and poked her head in with a smile. She marvelled at the size of the room as it ran almost the entire length of the hallway outside and held a bar at the far end and what looked like a movie theatre at the other end, in the middle there were games tables and the items she had seen when she’d passed the room before.

It was a huge space and she was floored that the mansion held such a magnificent play room, the more she thought about it the more she realized it shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it did.

Walking towards the television she noted the many rows of movies and games that lines the shelves around it, a feature she’d not noticed the first time she saw the room, walking right up to it she was impressed with the titles she found everything from classic movies such as Cleopatra all the way to modern movies like Twilight and Harry Potter. She couldn’t help but cringe at the Twilight titles as they stared her in the face, it was a terrible representation of their world. It was a terrible representation of any world.

With a giggle she let her fingers wander across the spines of the many movies gently, she didn’t know what she was looking for or if she even wanted to watch a movie but she needed to do something to make herself relax and feel at ease.

“Find everything to your liking?” Came a voice from behind her that made her jump in surprise. At first she thought it was Kane but as she turned her head to look at the person she found herself a little startled. Instead of a familiar face she found one that evoked fear and hatred within her and as those feelings swirled around in a giant pool of doubt and distrust she found herself frozen to the spot.

Why was he in the Northwood pack? Why had he come to Kane’s home? Did he recognize her, could he smell her fear and reluctance? So many questions ran through her mind at once that she didn’t know what to do. The man that led the charge against her pack stood there staring at her like it was the first time he’d seen her, did he even remember her or her family? She wondered quickly if he was playing some sort of game, why else would he be there.

“You look familiar,” he said before Adline could say anything, “Where do I know you from?” He questioned her lightly with a cheeky grin on his face. Her eyes focused in on his as she realised he really had no idea who she was.

“Abigail,” replied Adline with a hoarseness to her voice. “My name is Abigail, Abbi to those around here,” she lied easily. When he was gone she made a mental note to quiz everyone she knew about his presence in the mansion. With a second thought she decided to maybe leave Kane out of the equation. “I don’t believe I’ve met you before.” She concluded rather concisely, being around him made her skin crawl.

“I swear I know you, are you sure we have shared a bed before, or perhaps I’ve brought you drinks somewhere?” He really was having a hard time placing her.

“I doubt she’s shared your bed Tobias! She isn’t that kind of woman. Are you Abbi?” From behind the guest stepped Myrna, she wore a sideways smile and had a questioning stare directed at Adline and she knew instantly there would be many questions for her as soon as he left.

“She looks familiar Myrna, a face that beautiful and I can’t place it, must be going senile.” He countered with a laugh.

“You’d do well to remember never to call me by my first name boy.” Growled Myrna with a growing fierceness in her eyes, “the next time you see Abbi around I expect more respect than you have so far shown her, she is after all Kane’s true love.” Quickly Myrna pushed passed him and in to the room turning back to Tobias again, “now if you excuse us we have business to discuss and you have strayed from your meeting with my son for far too long,” Myrna was about to turn to Adline when she remembered something and turned her head to smile sweetly at Tobias, “remember where you are Mr. Farlington, any attempt to stir trouble within our borders will surely result in your death.”

Adline couldn’t help but stand agape as Myrna blatantly threatened him at the door, they were speaking in hushed tones but she could clearly hear what was being said.

“Is that a threat Myrna?” He replied defiantly.

“Not at all boy,” teased Myrna quickly. Adline loved that she was so witty and smart and quick with her responses, “I am merely putting you in your place. Good day,” and with that she turned and slammed the door in his face while turning towards Adline with a questioning look, “we have something to discuss it seems.” She smiled sweetly.

“Won’t he hear what we say?” Questioned Adline with some apprehension. She was still reeling from her encounter with the man that took everything she loved from her. She couldn’t get over how casually he greeted her and how he’d implied that she was a floozy, there was no way Adline would ever be a floozy!

All Myrna could do was smile as she walked towards the bar at the far end and poured herself a drink. She rarely visited the games room and she knew it was where her son and his friends kept some of their liquor. Knowing Kane however she knew that he’d cached liquor all through the house so there was no use in her tipping anything out when he’d just hide more in more obscure locations.

“My dear, you could murder somebody in this room and no one would hear them scream.” With a smile Myrna remembered when she and her husband used the room for very different purposes, karaoke. “Now tell me Abbi, how do you know him?” In an instant Adline froze, if it was that obvious to Myrna it must have been obvious to the man she now knew as Tobias.

Twiddling her fingers gingerly she couldn’t help but fret about what she was about to say, all the painful memories of what had happened in the very near past came flooding back to her in an instant. She felt her head spin and felt the ground move beneath her, reaching out for a seat she fell hard in to one of the bean bags, it was all too much. “He is the reason why I am here and not with my family.” She managed to blurt out as tears clouded her vision quickly. She couldn’t help but let them roll down her cheeks as fear gripped her body. “If he knows who I am then he’ll kill me too,” he was ruthless in taking down her family. Her brothers had managed to hide her good but she wasn’t blind to what he’d done, she managed to escape only with the help of Levaud and a few others that ran with her till they hit the Northwood borders.

A glass soon appeared before her face, Myrna insisted she take it from her hands. “Come Adline, stand.” She motioned carefully, she really felt for the young woman but crying when it got hard wasn’t going to fix anything.

“You listen and you listen well Adline Hutton, you are safe here. If he does anything to harm a single hair on your body my son will be having very serious words with him. I have seen Tobias here before, he fears my son above all else. If he does anything to hurt you then Kane will kill him.” She made it sound like such an easy thing to kill someone. Her threat to Tobias even made Adline shake in her boots. “Don’t you dare shrink in fear when he is around, it gives him power and dominion over you and for someone like him that is winning, that means he can and will take advantage of you and we can’t let that happen.”

Myrna was wise and all-knowing to Adline, there were things she said that Adline had never thought of, and she had never had to think of the bad things in life until everything she knew was taken from her.

“I will teach you how to be mentally strong but that is only a small part of it. You need to be physically strong as well because there is no doubt in my mind that you will come up against many assholes in your life. I mean look at that one that just left! Biggest asshole of the lot!” She grinned mischievously as she sipped the amber liquid in her glass and urged Adline to do the same. With a cough and a splutter Adline found her eyes water for a completely different reason, “it’ll put hairs on your chest and fire in your soul.” Winked Myrna playfully.

There was so much to the woman that intrigued Adline but she didn’t know where to begin! She knew she would take any help in overcoming her fear of Tobias and facing him with courage, he had taken everything she loved and now? Now Adline wanted to do the same.