Colette had her eyes squinted shut as her bow glided furiously across the strings of her violin. She sat on the lowest branch of the tree that dominated most of their backyard. She had only a couple of hours before her training would begin, so she savored every moment she had with her music. She was playing 'Antonio Vivaldi's Storm' Oliver had found the sheet music for it and had given it to her as a gift for her sixteenth birthday, which passed a couple of weeks ago. She originally learned it for the challenge, but she never played it much because of how ballistic it sounded, but today it matched her dark mood.
Unlike the other wolves, she would not get to celebrate a shift, she was the only wolf in existence that did not get that privilege. Colette had to accept a long time ago, that those things would never be allowed to her. But Oliver's birthday would be in a few days and he would have his first shift. She wanted to be happy for him but getting past her jealousy was getting harder the closer his birthday came. He was so excited to invite her to his party, hoping this would be the one time her father would allow her to come to celebrate, but her maturity had only made her father more paranoid of all the other male wolves around them. This only made her growing annoyance worse.
She desperately tried to not dwell on it and allowed her thoughts to be drowned out by her music. Finally, when the piece was over, she put her instrument down and began to jump out of the tree. She hadn't got much taller, another glaring fact that showed how different she was from all the other wolves. All the she-wolves she had met were at least five-eight to six feet. She hardly broke five-one. Even with all her training, her skin was very delicate, except for her hands where there were calluses built up from playing the violin. Her hair grew faster than everyone else's as well, it had more bounce and shine that made the other female wolves glare. Where they surpassed her in skill and fighting ability, she made up for her natural beauty. Not that it was doing much for her hiding out in the woods.
"Do we have to train today?" she asked with a heavy sigh. "I mean it's not like there is much point. I never get better.." She did not mean to sound so upset, but her mood had been darkening by the day.
"Something on your mind?" He asked even though he already knew the answer. The tension between the two had been palatable as of late.
"Yes, but it's going to cause a fight."
"What?" He asked putting down the little wooden bear figure he had been working on.
"I want to go to Oliver's birthday party on Saturday."
"No."
"Come on! I am sixteen years old! I'm not a little kid anymore and it's such a big day for Olive!"
"All the boys that will be there will also be sixteen. That includes Oliver," He kept his tone calm, which only annoyed Colette more.
"It's not fair! How am I supposed to prove I can handle myself if you never give me the chance?"
Slowly Vincent stood to his feet and walked to Colette. He had such a severe glare in his eye that it made her take a step back. Usually, he only looked at her like this when he was about to teach her a harsh lesson. She had spent the last few days arguing about this that her father was finally reaching his boiling point.
"Stand still," He ordered and she obeyed.
"Touch your toes," he ordered again, and just as before, she obeyed.
"Dad!" she yelled, getting annoyed.
"Be quiet," his words had such a hard slap to them, even if the order did not hold any power over her, she would still have obeyed.
"Do fifty push-ups!"
She groaned as she got on the ground and began doing the push-ups. She hated these most of all, and he knew it. Once done he would not allow her to rest, he had more orders ready. "Get up." She slowly stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow. What was he trying to prove?
"What? Not going to try and fight back?" He asked. She glared defiantly at him but made no move to disobey him. "Fine, forty squats." She did the squats as she screamed inwardly, wondering when he would stop. He was not being fair and he knew it.
The next hour was grueling. Order after Order, he made her do the hardest drills he could think of and forced her to keep running laps till she was near her breaking point. Till he finally showed some mercy and ordered her to rest. She fell on her back and panted heavily. Even after all those years of training, her body was still not up to the rigorous activity. She rolled over on her side and threw up all she had left from lunch.
"You can't even handle a simple training regimen, yet you think you are a match for a horny male wolf? I'm not the only one who can order you around like this Colette. If you were alone with someone who really wanted to take advantage of you, you would be almost powerless."
"You... won't ... be around forever... what am I ...supposed to do ...then?" She asked in between breaths. "It's not like... I can avoid men completely..."
"Your right," He said. "I had hoped all the training in these last few years would be of some help, but at this rate, you won't even be able to outrun Oliver anymore. Perhaps a change in tactics."
She furrowed her brows and looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
"Starting tomorrow we will work on your stealth, and I am going to teach you how to use daggers."
"Daggers?"
"Yes, if you are forced to fight a wolf you will need some kind of edge. I think daggers will be perfect for you."
"If I do this...can I go to the party?"
"No." He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. "I know you are angry. But you can't change what you are so there is no point in crying about it. You have to learn to work with it."
She knew there was truth to his words, but she wasn't ready to be over her anger. So she walked past him to get ready for bed.
On the way, she stopped at the door of Vincent's room that had been left wide open. Normally she would keep going but she saw a beautiful hair comb, that had fallen on the floor. She looked to see if her father was near, but he was still outside calming down from their fight. Slowly she walked into his room and picked up the hairpiece. She marveled at how beautiful it was. It appeared to be coated in silver, with a ruby resting decoratively on the top. It was far more elegant than anything she owned, she almost envied the owner. Then she wondered what life her father lived, did he get to take whoever the owner of this comb to beautiful places? How cruel, he got to live his life while keeping her locked away never to live her own.
She put her hair up in a bun and inspected herself in the mirror as she slowly placed the comb in her hair. She lifted her chin up and admired and imagined herself as an elegant lady, who actually had a reason to wear such beautiful accessories.
She felt her whole body become numb, and the world around her begin to dissolve. She tried to move her body, but it would not obey her. She closed her eyes tight, trying to will the feeling away, but when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in her father's room or in her house. She was not even in her own body. She stole a glance at her reflection before the body began moving to some unknown location. She was seeing through the green eyes of a tall vivacious woman, with long red hair. She walked with such confidence and purpose, as she entered the beautifully decorated bedroom.
She had never seen a room so luxurious. The bed sat in the middle of everything with a curtain cascading around it. By the wall was a vanity that held all kinds of extravagant jewelry. The woman she possessed sat on the cushioned chair and pulled out her best perfume, and sprayed her neck lightly with the scent. She was expecting someone, and she knew this would drive him mad.
Without knocking the door flung open, "Valarie..." the familiar voice sent an exciting chill through the woman. She slowly turned around, hiding the way he aroused her beast just from saying her name. Vincent stood before her, with a pain in his eyes that almost broke her heart. He was so much younger in this memory. His once greying hair was now a vibrant auburn brown. He stood taller and straighter, and his face had a youthful glow to it. He could not be more than thirty years old, but Colette could not be sure.
"Vince? What's wrong?" The woman asked feigning ignorance.
He slammed the door behind him and walked to her, his eyes switching between sorrow and anger. "Don't," he growled. Whoever Valarie was, she liked playing with fire, seeing him worked up, excited her. If she could only push him a little further.
"I see you heard the news?" She asked, unable to fight back a smirk.
"You promised me, you wouldn't go on this mission. You swore that after the last job we were done!"
"I know, but Luna Selena needs me. You know I can't refuse her."
"To hell with Selena!"
"Quiet before someone hears you! Look I had planned to let the last job be it, but this one is very important."
"They are always important!" His eyes changed from their usual dark black to a dangerous yellow, then back to black again.
Valarie did not falter as she slowly walked up to Vincent and kissed the tender spot on his neck. He pushed her away and glared, "No. I'm done." Her eyes became wide as he started going towards the door. What did he mean by that? She quickly ran and blocked him from the door, "What do you mean you are done?! You still owe Luna Selena your life!"
He picked her up with ease and threw her on the bed, "And who's fault is that?"
She glared, "I never asked you to help me. We may be mates but I don't have your mark!"
Her words cut him deep as he dug his claws into the frame of the bed, "I can fix that right now if you wish." His voice took a dark tone, that Colette had never heard before. This was not the grumpy old man that had raised her, this was someone dangerous, and Valarie knew just how dangerous Vincent Lapin could be. Most days Valarie relished this, but now she was afraid she took it one step too far.
"You wouldn't dare," She said in a shaky voice.
"You should really stop testing me, woman."
She gulped her next words down as she reformulated her approach. Slowly she got on her knees and gently ran her fingers up his chest. Colette tried her best to block this image out. She prayed the vision would end before Valarie could go any further.
"Vince, I know you are angry. I broke a promise, you have every right to leave me. But please, just this last time. One more job, so long as everything goes according to plan, I will leave the pack and be a rouge with you. I will let you mark me. I know, you are still hurting from losing Colette, but just abandoning everyone won't bring her back."
Vince took a moment to think as she gently played with his hair. Usually, this was all she needed to do to get her way, but Vincent was unwavering. 'Really, how long does he need to mourne, Colette knew what she was getting into.' Valarie thought. Slowly he pushed her away, his face was unreadable, and that was more troubling to her than his anger. "I told you, the last job was it. I will pay back my debt to Selena some way or another, but till then I'm done."
"Done?" she asked. "So you are just going to leave everything?! Leave...me?"
"You are free to come with me any time you wish," he said as he walked to the door. "But, I am no longer foolish enough to think you will." With that, he left her alone in her beautiful room as a stray tear escaped down her cheek. He had never refused her before, she did not think he would actually leave this time. She wiped away the rebellious tear and began to harden her heart, he knew how important her position in the pack was, how dare he force her to choose. It was not like she could have children anyway, did he really think he could be happy living as a rogue away from everything he knew? No, Val knew Vincent better than he thought she did. He would come crawling back to her, eventually. If he didn't die first.
Colette pulled the covers tighter to her as she adjusted the pillow. It was then she realized she was not in her room, nor was she in the vision. Slowly she opened her eyes and adjusted her eyes to the dark. She was in her father's room, laying on his bed while he sat on a chair next to her. "Dad?" She asked, her throat was so dry and horse, it hurt to speak.
Vincent leaned up and felt her forehead, "Your fever is going down it seems. How are you feeling?" He asked as he handed her a cup of water. She slowly sat up and drank it greedily before answering, "I don't know...I'm sorry I saw the comb on the floor and I was curious..."
"It's OK. It's not really mine anyway."
"It belonged to Valarie didn't it?"
He stiffened at the name, "Where did you hear that name?"
"Well...when I put it on... I saw ... I mean I had a vision. I was her, and you were there." She then revealed the memory she saw, and Vincent sat there in complete silence. "Well?" she asked after a moment, "was it true?"
"Which part?"
"All of it?"
He stared out into the distance before slowly nodding, "Yes. That was the night I left my pack. But, we can talk about it later..."
"Dad... wait...Please don't leave?" She could still feel his pain from the vision as if it were her own. All the anger she had built up over the last few days had evaporated. She had never met this Valarie, but she hated her.
"I don't plan on going anywhere. Now get some sleep, you can relax tomorrow ok?"
She smiled weakly and cuddled back under the covers and fell into a dreamless sleep.
For the next few days, the two fell back into their usual easy father-daughter relationship. Colette did need some time to block out certain images from her vision. She could not bring herself to tell Vincent how vivid the memory was. But one thing she could not block was the pain that woman caused her father. She hoped she never would have to see her again.
Colette got one day of rest and then the next few days were filled with a new training schedule. Her father would spend all day teaching her how to use her new weapons, and show her how to walk about the forest without being seen or heard. She took to this so much better than trying to fight. She was surprised to find this was actually a little fun, and she could see the use in learning to mask her scent in various ways. She was almost angry they didn't do this sooner.
On top of the new training, they also worked on figuring out how her visions worked. Vincent had obtained some old heirlooms, that he made sure were never used during intimate moments, to try and trigger her gift. He had theorized that her turning sixteen must have triggered the ability almost as if it were her version of a shift. His theory seemed to work, whenever she tried to use any of the objects she could visit old memories that they held. Some visions took a bigger toll on her than others, and some objects would not trigger much of a memory at all. She was not able to turn it on and off at will but they hoped in time they could learn how to better control it.
Everything was going so well till Saturday, and once again she was painfully reminded that it was such an important day for her best friend. She sat on the couch and looked outside the window. She sighed as she watched the sun begin to set. Vincent placed a tray of hot chocolate on the table and took a seat next to her. "How about we watch a movie tonight?" He offered.
"Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood. I'm fine though please don't worry about me."
He was about to say something else when the sound of a car pulling into the driveway cut him off. He sniffed the air and stood to his feet, "Go upstairs," he ordered.
"What? Who is it?" She asked, but he would not answer. She sighed in annoyance and went to the top of the stairs. He never said she had to go into her room.
The door was pushed open and the familiar red-headed vixen made way into Vincent's home as if it were her own. She walked straight up to Vincent and pushed him on the couch. He looked at her with bewilderment as she kissed him passionately on the lips. It took all he had to push her off of him. It had been so long, and his body still ached for her touch even now.
"What?" He asked trying to work this out.
"A few days ago, I had the strangest dream about you," she said in between kisses. "I tried to ignore it, but I can't." She ran her hands up his shirt and bit him hard on the neck. "Vince, I don't know what's going on, but I need you. Right now." There was a pleading look in her dark green orbs as she ran her fingers through his hair. She was awakening a part of him he thought was long gone.
"Dad?!" Colette yelled from the top of the stairs, "What the hell is she doing here?!"
"Fuck..." the curse flew out of his mouth as he tried to control the growing heat he felt between him and Valarie.
Valarie snuck a peek at Colette and then tried to fix herself, "Hello, sweetie. I'm an old friend of your daddy." The glare that came from Colette gave Valarie pause. "What is wrong with her?" She asked Vincent.
Vince gently moved Valarie off of him, "Colette, now is not a good time."
"You're serious? After what I just saw the other day?! You are going to let her just come in here like she owns the place?"
"Letty, I know you are confused, but this is my business. Go to your room and don't disturb us, you can play your violin all night if you wish."
"Don't worry dear, you will understand when you are older," Valarie stated, biting down on Vincent's ear.
Colette turned around disgusted, she could not believe how weak her father was being. She slammed her door shut and turned her radio up as loud as she could. "Thank the Goddess I don't have a mate if it's going to turn me into that!!" She screamed at her wall.
She plopped down on her bed and cried on her pillow out of frustration. As she began to calm down a thought came to her. Her father told her not to disturb him for the rest of the night. What better way to do that than to go out? She bit her lip as her inner voice reminded her she wasn't to go to Oliver's party. But, that didn't mean she couldn't go to town... and if she just so happen to see Oliver on the way then that would hardly be her fault.
She quietly got dressed in her short blue dress. She put her hair in a simple braid and put it in her contacts. If her dad got to have fun with whoever he wanted then so could she. She put on her lightweight jacket and put a tape she had made of her violin playing, and put it on loop.
She then quietly opened her door and listened to hear if it was safe. It appeared the two had moved to Vincent's room. She put her new training to use and moved silently out the front door, grabbing his car keys on the way. Now would be the hard part, getting out of the driveway without alerting father.
She took a deep breath and prayed the violin tape was loud enough to mask her starting the truck. Colette had only a few driving lessons but she was sure she could make it to town at least. Slowly she backed the truck out of the driveway and she drove off. Once she was sure she was far enough she pushed on the gas and sped as fast as the truck would go, to Oliver's home.