‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ 𝓐 ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
I eyed the sheriff as he lowered his gun and stepped closer to me.
"What's your name?" He asked me.
"Amara... Aldrich." I said and watched him pick up my backpack.
"Do you have any identification on you Miss Aldrich?" He asked.
I thought for a moment and sighed, Roxy had gotten me an ID when we went out on our shopping trip and It was back home on my dresser in my wallet which I also stupidly did not bring.
"No." I said. "I left it home."
The sheriff eyed me skeptically.
"What brings you out here so early?"
"I've been out here all night actually.." I replied and the look on his face told me that was a stupid thing to say.
"Do I get your name?" I asked. "And can I have my backpack back?"
"You seem a little nervous Amara." The Sheriff replied. "What's in here?" He asked holding up my backpack.
"I'm nervous because not seconds ago you were pointing a gun at my face. All that is in there is some clothes, a couple sandwiches, some water, and a picture of my mother and I...am I in trouble for something?" I asked.
"I don't know yet. So far, you have no identification, a backpack full of things probably meant to last a while, you have some very suspicious bruises around your neck and face. Are there any weapons in the backpack?" He asked.
"Not in the backpack." I replied and again got another look that told me I was a bloody idiot and should just stop speaking.
"Let me rephrase that. Do you have any weapons on you?" He asked. "If you do, I need to see them."
I sighed and lowered my hands and pulled up my shirt and untucked the two throwing knives I had hidden in the waistband of my pants and tossed them on the ground in front of him. I rolled up my pant leg and took out the dagger I had hidden in my boot and tossed that one too. He bent down and picked them up looking at them and then looking at me.
"You mentioned you left your ID at home. Where is home?" He asked.
I knew at this point, telling him where I actually lived could be dangerous, and not only that, I really didn't want to end up going all the way back home now.
"In the City." I replied.
"Where about in the city?" He asked. "What is your address?" He specified.
I thought for a moment I only knew one address in the city.
"3701 Lockwood Street." I replied.
The Sheriff gave me an almost amused look.
"So I'm to believe you live at Granny's then?" He asked and then shook his head.
"I'm going to need you to come with me."
"But I haven't done anything wrong!" I argued.
"You are out in the middle of the woods, armed to the teeth with knives, and a backpack full of belongings, you are also covered in bruises. Which tells me one of two things, Someone beat the hell out of you and you are running from them and if that is the case I can help you. The other idea is that you are running from something you have done. I have four, possibly five counting you, missing girls from Newvale so I'm going to need you to come with me.. And answer some questions."
"Just answer questions?" I asked "And then I can go?"
"If your information checks out and you can manage to tell me where you live, yes, you will be free to go."
I knew that if I were to resist, it likely wouldn't be good for me and riding with him to the city would save some time. However. What if he thought I had something to do with those missing girls? Would I be arrested? Who the hell would bail me out?
"As of right now, you aren't in trouble, Miss Aldrich.. I just need to ask some questions. Help me.. Help you." The Sheriff said and gave me a small smile, obviously picking up that I was getting a little scared.
"Okay... I'll go with you." I said and cautiously stepped forward.
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I sat at a desk in the Newvale police station. The Sheriff had gone to get something, and left me sitting here. I could have easily picked up my backpack and left but that would likely make me look even more like I had something to hide.
The sheriff finally returned with a case folder tucked under his arm and a couple cups of coffee. He sat across from me and slid me a cup of coffee.
"Thank you." I said and sipped at it.
"So you say you live here in Newvale..do you attend Newvale High school?"
I almost choked on the coffee and set the cup down.
"How old do you think I am?" I asked
"To me, you look around 17." He shrugged.
"Try 20." I smirked. "And I was home-schooled." I shrugged. However, the ID Roxy had gotten me said 21.
"My mistake." He chuckled. "You look much younger than you are."
"I get that a lot." I shrugged.
"I have four missing teenage girls that I am trying to find. Rebecca Thomas, Emily Dewitt, Mica Colt, and Anna Tate. Do any of these names sound familiar to you?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No, I'm sorry." I said. He opened the case file he had on the desk and pulled out four pictures and laid them out in front of me.
My eyes scanned over the pictures of the girls and they kept stopping at the same one. She had tawny skin, and light brown eyes. Her hair was straight and a dark brown that faded into a red brown at the tips and there was just something familiar about her smile but I couldn't place it.
"Do you recognize her?" The Sheriff asked. I shook my head.
"No.. I don't. Which one is she?"
"This is Mica, we get a lot of trouble out of her. She's constantly running away from home."
"Well… maybe you should take that as a sign that things are not okay at home." I said defending the girl I didn't even know.
"You speak like you know her."
"I speak from experience." I stated.
"Mica is adopted. Her parents are gone a lot, but they are not bad people. Mica runs off all the time, looking for her birth parents."
"Who are her birth parents?" I asked.
"No one knows. She was dropped off at the police station 16 years ago with only a first name and middle name. "
I frowned. No wonder she always ran off, I'd want answers too.
"I'm really sorry.. But I don't know any of these girls. I don't know how to help."
The Sheriff sighed and sat back in his chair and rolled a pen between his fingers watching me.
"You know, in this line of work, I see a lot of people who are hiding things from me and you are definitely hiding something. It may not be about these girls but things about you are just not adding up."
"You asked me to answer questions about these girls, who I clearly do not know. I have nothing to do with them or their disappearance so why am I still here?"
"Why were you in the woods all night?" he asked.
"I was camping." I shrugged.
"Sure. We'll go with that. Were you camping with friends?"
"Not just by myself."
"Uh huh." The Sheriff eyed me suspiciously. "Where did the bruises come from? the ones on your face can easily be blamed on a fall, but that one on your neck is in the shape of a hand."
"I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned I have answered your questions about the four missing girls anything else, is none of your business." I said and stood up.
The Sheriff put his hand out.
"Easy.. perhaps I was too aggressive. I'm only concerned with your safety. Something happened to these four girls, something bad I can feel it and if you are running from someone because you are afraid, you don't have to be. I can help you."
"I'm not running from anyone. I'm running to someone." I said.
"Who are you running to?" He asked.
Before I could answer, the door to the station opened and two men walked in. I recognized one of them instantly as Nick Cassidy from the bar and the other man.. I recognized him too but it took me a minute to realize where I had seen them the first time.
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I scooted back on the floor to the bar in Granny's weighing my options. The two hunters that were holding Roxy back had a knife to her throat and I was begging her with my eyes not to move. She was the only friend I'd ever had and if something were to happen to her because she was trying to help me. I was beyond tired of people coming to my rescue.
What happened next, I could only describe as the feeling of being charged with static electricity. Something deep inside of me came to life. I put my hand around the leg of a barstool as the hunter crouched down to me.
"Such a timid little thing." He fake pouted. "Usually your kind have a lot more fight. I've killed Rabbits that put up more of a fight." He snickered.
"Come on Tom. Just let them go."
I glanced over at one of the other men who had already been in the diner when Roxy and I arrived as he stepped forward to try and save the day.
"You can't just kill them here, its a public place and the sheriff is right around the corner." The man said.
"Christ,Cassidy you are a damn disgrace. You are nothing like your old man." the one called Tom snorted.
"Well.. I don't see how that's a bad thing." the other one shrugged.
"Make yourself useful and keep a lookout for the sheriff."
Wait..he's one of them? Why is he trying to help?
The man looked at me, with apologetic eyes. I gave him a very discreet nod letting him know I'd be fine. He started walking out, and looked at one of the men holding Roxy and nodded. That man, nodded in return and let go of Roxy and followed him outside. There was something very strange about the two of them.
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"Well, look who it is." Nick grinned. "Fireball girl."
"Bar guy." I smiled.
"Wait.. you two know each other?" The Sheriff asked.
"Yeah her and her friends came to the Rabbit Hole one night, the girl handles fireball like a champ."
"No.. no she doesn't." I chuckled remembering all too well the taste of it coming back up later that night. "However, I actually just remembered where we met the first time. Seeing you and your friend together helped jog my memory."
"Ah! Its magic hands!" The other man snapped his fingers and pointed at me.
"Excuse me?" I asked and gave him a look somewhere between offended and confusion.
"He's talking about when you put your hands out and blasted Tom into next year." Nick chuckled.
"Again.. Excuse me?" I asked.
"At Grannys.. God the guy never shuts up about it. He swears you put your hands out to shove him and without even touching him you knocked him backwards." Nick said.
"Wait.. you remembered me? Why didn't you say anything at the bar?!" I asked.
"Because I didn't want to bring any unwanted attention to you or the other girls." Nick explained.
"Okay.. Hold on. I need someone to stop for a second and explain what the hell is going on here?" The Sheriff said.
"This is Amara Aldrich, She's the wolf that knocked Tom on his ass, and off his pedestal." Nick said.
My eyes widened and I went to say something but Nick stopped me.
"Don't worry about it, Gareth knows about your kind." he said and nodded at The Sheriff.
"Oh.. Um well.. So I may have lied a little." I said giving Gareth an apologetic look.
"I knew something was off when you gave me the address to Granny's as yours." Gareth smirked.
"Its the only address over here that I know." I shrugged and then looked at Nick and his friend.
"So.. you two are not actually hunters right?" I asked.
"Right." Nick nodded. "I'm kind of a double agent. My father is a hunter but I promise you I'm one of the good guys."
"And you?" I asked, looking at his friend.
The man smiled and extended his hand.
"Jericho Booth. I'm actually a writer, I'm writing a book about your kind."
"And.. you thought pretending to be a hunter... Was that the best way to do that?" I asked.
"Well.. I can't pretend to be a wolf." Jerichochuckled.
"No. But.. you could come knock on the door. My Alpha would more than likely tell you anything you wanted to know about our kind providing you didn't tell the wrong person. Why are you writing a book about us anyways?" I asked.
Gareth stepped forward. "We are a part of a small organization of humans who are seeking to protect your kind." He smiled.
"I..didn't know humans knew.. Let alone care about us." I muttered.
"It's not a lot of people.. There's possibly 50 of us. We are hoping that with Jericho's story, we can let more people know."
"I'm not so sure that's the best idea. The more humans that know, the more Hunters we end up with..The more our kind disappears."
"The plan is to educate people on your kind so that they know you aren't a threat." Jericho said.
"Okay… but there are those of my kind that aren't so friendly towards humans. My father is not fond of you guys."
"Well we want to change that. Hunters give us all a bad name. My father especially." Nick sighed.
"And your father is?" I asked.
"Steele." Nick replied.
I felt at that moment as if my heart was going to come out of my chest. I froze in place and I could actually feel the color draining from my face.
"Bastian?" I gasped
Nick now looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"Where did you hear that name?" He asked.
"My Alpha.. My mate. Kieran."
Nick sat down and ran his hands over his face.
"You are Micheala's son?" I asked.
"I am." He said sadly.
"Kieran.. He didn't do what you think he did It was-"
"My father. I know that now. That is why I changed my name, I haven't seen or spoken to him in 5 years."
"How do you work with hunters and avoid him?" I asked.
"I don't work with them as often as you think."
"I remember Tom, he said you were nothing like your old man..He knows."
"Yeah he does, he had just figured it out. However.. Whatever you did to him has turned him into a rambling madman no one understands or believes a word he says." Nick shrugged.
"How did you do that?" He asked.
"I didn't do anything. I don't know what he saw but I pushed him. I didn't send him flying with some invisible force."
Of course now.. I wasn't so sure about that. I remember being unsure about it the night it happened, but quickly brushing it off. Now however, I didn't know what to think.
"You know… Kieran thinks you hate him." I said.
Nick sighed heavily.
"I know. I was 13… I said things I didn't mean and the hurt in his eyes...I just don't know how to face him after accusing him of murdering my mother.. And his unborn child."
"I think he'd surprise you. I've found that he is very forgiving." I smiled. "But first I have to go and get him and bring him home." I sighed.
"What happened?" Nick asked.
"It's a really long story, involving a deal made between a wolf from my pack and your father." I said.
"My father made a deal with a wolf?"
"Twice actually." I said and shrugged.
"The wolf I am speaking of, Kenneth made a deal with your father in order to get rid of Kieran because he somehow thought that with Kieran gone, I would be his mate."
"Creepy.." Jericho muttered.
"You're telling me." I agreed and looked up at Nick.
"You're father shot me with a poisoned crossbow bolt and Kieran went out looking for what the poison was made of so Jake could make an antidote. However he was running out of time so he was desperate. Your father offered him the antidote in exchange for him turning his back on the pack and me, and leaving, and if he took the antidote, and didn't leave, your father would kill me. He had no choice. At least he thought that way."
"No.. he had no choice. My father makes good on his promises. What you are doing is extremely dangerous, Amara if he finds out.."
"I will face that when I come to it. My pack is falling apart without Kieran and now we face a threat from the inside. Kenneth. He knows I know about his deal. He did this to me." I said and gestured to my bruised face. "And said that if I spoke of it, he would do worse to those I care about.. He threatened the pups. I can't do this without Kieran and I have to hurry because the longer I am gone, the more time it gives Kenneth to figure out where I went."
"Where do you think he is?" Nick asked.
"The wooded area by the beach. It's where he lived before He found your mother." I replied.
"There is known wolf activity over there." Gareth said. "I've been trying to contact the alpha over there for permission to search his land for the missing girls he won't respond."
"I can talk to him for you." I suggested. "I don't know anything about that side of Wolf country. But I can give it a shot."
"I don't know, I don't have a very good feeling about it." Gareth sighed. "I'd rather you keep yourself out of harm's way. Find your Alpha and get out of dodge."
"With all due respect Gareth I think I have more experience dealing with my kind than you do. At the very least I can do some snooping around on my own." I smiled. "I want to help you."
"If you insist. Just be careful about it." He nodded and passed me my backpack. I put it over one shoulder and he then handed me my knives.
"I trust you know how to use these?" He asked with a wink.
"Maybe." I smirked.
He chuckled and shook his head.
"Come on, I'll save you some steps and take you to the town line."
"That would be great. Thank you." I smiled and turned to Nick.
"Please..come by sometime once he's home. He would love to see you, I'm sure of it."
Nick nodded.
"I may take you up on that."
I turned to Jericho.
"And I highly suggest you come too if you want good material for your book. Kieran might be a grump about it at first but I think he may be the best source you can get…less dangerous too."
"We'll see." Jericho smiled.
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I looked out at the wooded area ahead of me, Gareth had dropped me off at the townline as promised and I had a strange feeling in my gut as I looked into the forest. Something was wrong. Something here...was dark. I held the straps of my backpack tightly as I began walking into the woods.
It wasn't long into my journey before I picked up on the scent of multiple wolves.. All male. That was unsettling somehow. Suddenly there was hooting and hollering all around me, an eerie chanting almost. I stopped in place and looked around me as four wolves stepped out behind the trees at me and One of them.. I knew all too well. They quickly closed in on me circling me
"Well look who has made it all the way over here. You're a long way from home, Runt."
I cringed at his voice.
"As are you..Colt." I said through gritted teeth. "Oh. wait. You don't have one."
Colt growled and stepped forward but another stopped him.
"You know Malec gets her first."
No I don't think so.
"I have a history with this one Rusty." Colt snarled.
"Malec. First." Rusty growled and Colt stepped back. "Bind her hands." Rusty ordered. I untucked the throwing knives and held them in my hands.
"Let me make one thing clear to you all, No one gets me first, and the first one of you to lay a hand on me is losing fingers." I said and then turned to Colt. "You lay a hand on me and you won't live to tell about it." I snarled.
"You've changed Pup." He smirked. "I like it."
"And you're still disgusting. So.. who's first?" I asked, looking at the group of..boys? Besides Colt, the rest of the wolves were all teenage boys.
"Where are your parents?" I asked.
"Don't have em." Rusty shrugged and swung at me. I ducked just in time and came back up and slashed his cheek with the knife in my left hand and from there, all four of them started coming at me at once.
I had done a lot of combat training with Will since Kieran had left, so it was easy at first to duck and dodge their attacks but, my already worn out muscles from Kenneth's attack, and not sleeping for almost 24 hours, I was quickly running out of energy. I dropped to my knees to catch my breath and saw another figure emerging from the trees. This was a man, a massive man who stood more than 6 feet tall. The four others stepped away from me. And the man crouched down to me and tilted my chin in his hand. I looked into his silver eyes and saw nothing but evil.
"You put up a decent fight, she-wolf. I like it."
"Malec, I take it?" I panted and held my sore side.
"The one and only." He grinned. "I think I'll take you."
"Over my dead body. I have a mate and he is an Alpha."
Malec moved my hair away from my shoulder and tugged the front of my shirt down a little.
"Hm. I don't see a mark." he taunted. "Looks like you are free game she-wolf."
A sudden loud, and dangerous growl came from the trees and a massive black wolf jumped into the clearing knocking Malec away from me and standing on his chest.
"Oh so she's your bitch then." Malec chuckled darkly.
"Kieran.." I said. My vision was blurred with exhaustion but I knew it was him.
Kieran snarled and snapped his teeth. I felt myself being pulled up and then there was cold metal on my throat.
"You kill him. I kill her." Colt warned. Kieran looked back and jumped off of Malec and stalked towards Colt.
Malec stood and signaled for his boys to fall back.
"You are an idiot Colt." Malec laughed and slowly he and the three other boys disappeared into the woods.
"W..wait!" Colt yelled
Suddenly Kieran leapt over me. I felt the blade slightly nick my neck and I was released. I quickly rolled out of the way and turned over and looked up as Kieran latched his teeth onto Colt' throat. I heard a crunch and thought I'd be sick as Kieran threw Colt' lifeless body against a tree. He turned back to me and padded over softly. I tried to stand but the sharp pain in my side stopped me and I dropped back to my knees. I was dizzy, and in so much pain I could hardly tolerate it. Kieran put his wet nose on my cheek and whined.
"I found you." I smiled before collapsing against him.