Slain

Hide from the mirror, the cracks and the memories

Hide from your family, they won’t know you know

For all the holes in our souls host no thrills

-Screenager, by Muse

I blink up at my father. He stares down at me in amusement, a fond smile tugging at his lips as he offers me a hand.

“What are you doing on the ground, Jack?” He asks as he heaves me to my feet.

I dust myself off and laugh, looking up at the tree above me. “I fell.”

“What have I told you?” he asks teasingly. “Slayers are nimble and light on their feet. If you want to be a Slayer, you have to be more graceful than that!”

I shove his arm and he laughs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

“I’m teasing. You’ll be the best Slayer ever.”

He begins to lead me back to our house. We walk slowly, kicking rocks as we go. “Dad?” I ask.

“Yes?”

“Can we go to the woods tonight?”

He chuckles, ruffling my already ratted hair in endearment. “I don’t see why not.”

The bells chime, urgent as they barely have time to ring out before they’re struck again. My father turns to me grabbing my shoulders firmly. “Jack, go home immediately. Do not leave until I return, do you hear me?”

I nod and he leans forward, giving me a kiss on the forehead before straightening up and running off toward the armory. I watch him for a second before turning on my heel and sprinting for Zane’s house. Just as I reach it and bang on the front door I jerk awake, sitting up with wide eyes searching the room. Remembering where I am, I close my eyes and place a hand on my damp forehead. A dream. It’s just a dream.

Taking a few moments to compose myself, I breathe slowly, shoving the dark memories deep into the crevices of my mind. Why do I keep dreaming about that? I haven’t dreamt of that day since I was twelve and now, all of a sudden I dream about it twice within a few weeks?

I groan in irritation, wishing to keep those memories buried deep within me. Slipping out from under the blankets, I notice the pillow and neatly folded blanket sitting in the chair beside the door.

Not leaving me alone, huh?

I change quickly and run a brush through my hair before throwing everything into my bag and swinging open the door. Whether it be from waking up from bad memories or my strange feelings last night, I feel in a tormenting mood and hope to cause some trouble. The hope is short lived. Akira pushes himself off the wall to my left as I step into the hallway.

“I should have known,” I grumble with a roll of my eyes.

Akira gives me a cheeky grin. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” I say flatly.

He gestures for me to follow him as he starts off down the hallway. “Ajax had to speak with Alpha Slate before we left this morning.”

“I’m so glad he found the time to tell me himself.”

Akira glances at me as if he’s trying to figure out exactly how I work. “He didn’t want to wake you. He said you needed to rest.”

My eyes flick to his. “He woke you.”

“I’m not the one who’s been missing for a week,” he says with raised eyebrows. His grey eyes meet mine for just a second before he averts them and suddenly, I feel the need to confide in him.

“I accused Fluffy of abducting me,” I blurt before I can think about it.

Akira falters in his steady pace, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “You did what?”

“I just...I don’t know, it made sense at the time.”

“That’s what you guys argued about yesterday?”

I nod. “You couldn’t hear us?”

He shakes his head. “Pack houses usually have sound barrier spells on them. Once the door was closed, we couldn’t hear anything.”

“Oh,” I mutter, watching my feet as I walk. “Well, now he’s mad and I kinda feel bad but I’m just so confused and I wanna be mad at someone.”

Akira’s silent for a few seconds, probably mulling over what I’ve said. “You should talk to him,” he finally says and of course they’re the words I don’t want to hear.

“Easier said than done.”

He shrugs as we come to the same dining room as last night, nodding for me to go in. I step inside, immediately assaulted by the smell of salty meats and wheat meal. Dehlia sits at the table with another woman; she smiles at me as I walk in and waves me to her.

“Jack, come eat with us.” I take the seat beside her while Akira takes his place up against the wall behind me.

“You aren’t discussing things with Fluffy and Slate?” I ask as I fill a bowl for myself, trying to hide my bitterness.

She lets out a small laugh at my question. “Fluffy?”

“Oh,” I mutter, remembering that’s not his actual name. “Yeah, I like to call him that. He hates it.”

“I see,” she nods, her smile wide and warm. “I thought I’d let them speak alone. They’ve been good friends for a long time but since they’ve both taken up such high positions in their packs, they haven’t seen each other much.”

I hum in acknowledgment, taking a bite of the wheat meal in hopes that they’ll go back to talking and I’ll be ignored. Dehlia doesn’t catch on.

“I was so happy to hear Ajax found you,” she chirps in another attempt to get me to talk. “He seems happier.”

I want to laugh at her statement, thinking back to all the times we’ve argued. “You think so?” I ask instead, hoping it doesn’t come across as mocking.

She nods eagerly. “I do.” Then her delicate brows crease in curiosity. “Did your parents not allow you to attend the tours? I’m certain I would recognize you if you had participated.”

I begin to grow nervous. Her questions are becoming more personal and I’m unfamiliar with wolf culture. If she digs any deeper, she’ll know I’m not a wolf. Relaxing my shoulders, I nod, hoping she’ll drop it.

“Where did you and Ajax meet? Did you know each other as kids?” She leans forward, propping her chin up with her elbow as she waits for my response.

I glance at the other woman across the table who watches me with the same level of curiosity and clear my throat. “Uh...not really. We met in the woods. Kind of just ran into each other and he’s held me captive ever since.” I laugh nervously.

She laughs at my words about to ask another question when Fluffy and Slate saunter in. Her eyes brighten.

“Good morning ladies,” Slate says, his eyes briefly taking us in before locking on Dehlia.

“Come sit! Jack was just telling us how she and Ajax met in the woods.” I look to Fluffy, pleading silently to save me.

Fluffy takes the seat beside me, a smirk on his face. “Ah yes, the woods. She’s what you would call adventurous.”

“Did you know instantly?” Dehlia asks, her large eyes making her appear almost child-like.

I look at Fluffy, curious to hear his answer. “Yeah, I did.” He meets my eyes and I feel frozen by his earthy gaze and soft voice. “I knew as soon as I saw her. It was almost painful, it happened so fast.” There’s a moment’s pause before he looks away from me casually.

My cheeks go warm. Did he really mean that? Or was it just to cover up the fact that this is all fake?

I finish my breakfast in silence, thankful that I don’t have to speak anymore, but irritated by the constant wondering about what Fluffy had said. I shouldn’t be worrying about it, I know it was a lie. We aren’t mates so there wasn’t anything for him to know when we met. But still, the way he said it has me second guessing myself.

I try my best to draw as little attention to myself as possible throughout the rest of breakfast, only speaking when I have to. Fluffy picks up on my behavior and finally excuses us from the table. He leads me back to our room in tense silence.

“Where’d you go this morning?” I ask, addressing him directly for the first time today.

He’s silent for so long that I begin to think he’s not going to answer me. Just as we’re walking up to the door of our room, he lets out a breath and mutters, “I need to talk to you about that.”

I glance at him warily as I step into the room. I’m unused to this cold behavior. I suppose it’s my fault for accusing him of being behind everything, but can he really blame me? It’s all just so suspicious, what else was I supposed to think.

He closes the door behind him but doesn’t move any farther into the room. I note the tension in his shoulders and the hard expression on his face. I’m guessing this isn’t going to be a pleasant conversation.

“I went to speak with Slate. He has agreed to lend me some wolves so I can go back and take the wolf who took you into our custody.” He looks away from me, his jaw tight. “You’ll stay here.”

I knew it was coming, but still, it angers me. “After everything that’s happened, you want to leave me alone in a random pack?”

His eyes snap to mine, dark and cold. I can see that no matter what I say, he won’t change his mind. “Akira and some of my other wolves will stay here with you; you won’t be alone. And this isn’t a random pack, I know them well. Slate and Dehlia will make sure you’re safe.”

“I want to go,” I argue. The sudden need for revenge, to make Damon hurt the way he made me hurt, takes hold of me so viciously that for a moment I forget my fear of him entirely.

“No,” Fluffy snaps. “You think I would willingly bring you back there? The wolf won’t get that lucky.”

“His name is Damon,” I spit.

“I know. I could smell him on you.”

Deep down I know that it’s best if I stay here. “How long will it be?”

“I don’t know. A couple of days at least.”

“What will you do with him once you have him?”

He looks at me long and hard, his face emotionless. “He will stand before the alphas and they will decide his fate.”

Fury surges through my veins like molten lava. “What? Why should they get to decide?”

“Because if I go to Damon’s pack and challenge him I will start a war between packs. Damon never actually set foot in my pack and I have no proof he was actually involved. A trial by alphas is the only way to resolve this with minimal bloodshed.”

“That’s bullshit,” I sneer. “You said you could smell him on me, isn’t that proof enough?!”

Fluffy shifts his weight impatiently. I can see that my anger and questions are getting to him. “Apart from me, my pack mates and a close friend of mine, no one else smelled it. The alphas won’t just take my word for it.”

“Then take me with you and let me deal with him!”

“You can’t just go around killing alphas, Jack. Despite what your people believe, we aren’t beasts, we have rules and punishments when they’re broken.”

“Aw, poor little wolfy might get banished and have to live outside of the cushy werewolf pack, boo hoo,” I mock, rubbing at my eyes as if I’m crying.

Fluffy’s expression hardens. “You’re staying here.” And with that he turns and leaves the room. I hear him begin to tell Akira, who’s now outside the door, something before the door shuts, the room silencing instantaneously.

I kick the chair beside me in my anger. It’s skids across the floor, squealing from the force. What the heck am I supposed to do for two or more days? I’m certainly not going to wonder around the pack listening to Dehlia’s never ending questions and pretending to be a werewolf.

No, I’m going to take care of Damon whether he wants me to or not.

An hour or so passes before Fluffy comes back to let me know they’re about to leave. It was long enough to let me make a decent plan.

As soon as he’s out the door and I’m alone once again, I set to work. I grab a bottle of perfume that rests on the small vanity

near the wardrobe and pop the cork off the top before dumping the contents on my head and chest. The scent is so strong it burns my eyes and nose, my stomach rolling with nausea. Pushing away the dull ache that begins in my head, I turn to the window.

Throwing open the curtains, I pull out the slat of wood I had pried from the bottom of the bed earlier. In my down time I chipped away at the wood to thin it out enough to wedge it between the frame and glass. I wiggle the slat behind the wooden frame and pull back. The window frame groans from the pressure and suddenly there’s a release. I stagger back, only to find that my wooden crowbar has snapped.

Undeterred, I place the slat back against the window and shove the wood down, taking advantage of the warping I had created before. The end of the slat barely fits, but I shove with all my strength, finally managing to get it deep enough. The window frame pops and one end springs from the wall, nearly smacking me in the face. With a grin I pull the other side of the frame off, exposing the bare glass edge.

I would just break the glass, but I’m trying not to be noticed. I don’t know how the whole enchanted room thing works and I’m not willing to chance my escape on it. Besides, I’d feel kinda bad busting Slate and Dehlia’s window after they’ve been so nice to me.

With the bottom part of the frame off, the sides are a piece of cake and it’s not long before I’m able to slide the pane of glass from its place in the wall. Setting the glass on the stone floor, I turn and grab my bag, tossing it over my shoulder before climbing from the window into the bushes below. Not to my surprise, one of Fluffy’s wolves stands a few feet to the left of my window, his attention drawn by the rustle of leaves. I guess that means the enchantment covers the outside of the window as well then, otherwise he would have heard me prying it open.

The wolf walks towards where I’m crouched, his eyes immediately going to the gaping hole where the glass used to be. I leap from the bushes, my arms wrapping around his neck before he can inspect further. He grabs my wrists and attempts to peal me off him, but I hold tight, maneuvering myself behind him as I apply pressure. I assume Fluffy instructed them not to harm me since the wolf doesn’t do much more than pull at my arms and I silently thank Fluffy for that. He’s made it that much easier for me to get out of here.

He finally loses consciousness and I lower him to the ground. Since he couldn’t fight back, I’m sure he alerted Akira and the others, so I need to move fast. My room was back up against a building, putting me and the wolf in a narrow ally way. I decide to go right, hoping that I’ve remembered the layout of the pack correctly.

Come out of the ally, I find myself amidst a cluster of houses. In the distance behind them I can see trees and what I hope to be the edge of the pack. Checking for Fluffy’s wolves as I go, I dart from the ally and past the houses. The trees appear to be roughly half a mile away, which leaves a lot of open space from me to be spotted. I pick up speed, now unconcerned with being seen and more concerned with getting there faster.

A howl echoes from behind me and my heart pounds harder. I pass the tree line and begin darting around trees in hopes of confusing the wolves. The sound of their paws thumping on the ground pushes me to run faster, nearly running into a tree more than a couple times.

Swerving around a tree, I crash into something, knocking myself flat on my back. I roll onto my side, wheezing from the impact, only to come face to…well, hoof with a set of dark brown horse legs. My eyes travel up the horse’s legs to its chest to its other chest to its roguish face. A centaur. An actual centaur.

“Where’re you headed so fast?” he asks, his thick accent nearly over powering his words.

“Uh…a wolf pack,” I mutter, distracted by the fact that I’m speaking to a centaur. I carefully scoot back from the centaur, putting distance between us before I get to my feet, dusting myself off. A howl in the distance shakes me out of my astonishment. “I really need to get going.” I try to step around the creature, but he steps in my way.

“We can help you,” he offers.

I glance behind me, passed the centaurs surrounding me and into the trees impatiently.

“You aren’t going to out run those wolves on your own,” He points out, sensing my unease. “We can out run them easily; it’s on our way anyways.”

The sound of paws pounding into the earth makes my decision for me. “Alright,” I breath. The centaur wastes no time in grabbing my arm and swinging me onto his back as he whips around and takes off into the trees. The other centaurs follow behind, their hooves thundering through the forest. It dawns on me that I never told him what pack I was going to.

“I need to go to Damon’s pack,” I yell over the howling wind. He doesn’t acknowledge my words and a sinking feeling settles in my gut. I may have screwed up.