"What do you mean you don't belong to any pack? What do you mean that you've been raised among humans your entire life?'' one of the girls asked as she stepped down from the bed. she placed her hands on her hips and she looked at me as if this was such a big deal.
" My mum just prefer to raise me among humans.''
" Why?" she asked more with annoyance than confusion. and I could feel the judgment in their eyes as they looked at me. I didn't see what was so wrong with that. Everyone was allowed to do what they pleased with their lives. provided it did not hurt anyone else.
" I don't know why. but my mum wasn't comfortable with anything else so I've been raised in New York City my entire life.'' I answered and I gathered a few more gasps from the rest of them as they looked at me as if I had grown to heads. I didn't understand what the big deal was. and it certainly felt like they were blowing the matter out of proportion.
" But why?'' Michelle, who hadn't even spoken to me again suddenly asked. " you're a rogue?''
I furrowed my eyebrows with confusion as I looked at her.
"A rogue?'' The rest of the girls remain staring at me. making me want to disappear and not be seen again. What the hell was going on?
"You don't even know what that is?'' one of the other girls asked. I shook my head and I gained a few judgemental looks from the rest of them. I felt like the black sheep.
For a while everyone was silent. no one said anything. no one asked any other questions. Some of them were standing and the rest were sitting. and they just stared at me from time to time before getting lost in their own thoughts. I didn't know what to do or what else to say. anything that would make me look slightly better than how they already saw me. but I didn't see what the big deal was. I was raised among the humans but I was still a werewolf. nothing has changed.
" It's time to go to bed.'' Cecilia said as she glanced down at the Watch crust around her wrist. among the other girls had noticed that she was also the only one wearing a watch.
" Jessica," She said as she turned to me, " I'd like to welcome you to the family again. this right here is Riley,'' she said as she pointed to the girl at the edge of the bed. " and this is Simone and Haley.'' She introduced me to the other two girls sitting next to Rachel and Emily. " then that is Rachel the one you came with and this is Emily.'' I shook my head politely as they stared at them.
" It is very nice to meet you all.'' I wasn't sure the feeling was reciprocated. As none of them really said anything. they just got down from the bed and slowly began disappearing into other rooms. and I was left there confused.
" You can take this room.'' Cecilia suddenly said. I nodded my head before sending her a polite smile. she as well walked into a different door at the corner of my room before closing it behind her. and I was left there in my own silence wallowing in self-pity. there wasn't a thing I could do that could make any of this better. and my experience so far has been uncomfortable and unbearable. I felt like I was losing my mind. I felt like my very soul had been ripped out of my body and I had been left to survive on what was merely a fraction of a person's existence.
As I lay my head on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling my mind so I'm around with questions. A thousand questions that have no answers to them.
and I cried. I cried so much that it seems to be the only thing I did ever since I came here. I just wanted to be free. but I was in a maze. This entire compound was a puzzle I could barely solve. and I didn't know what waited for me out there. or where I was to begin with. transported inside that trunk meant that I could barely count the hours that are Brought me Here. or the amount of time it took to get here. or where we were to begin with. I wanted to scream out loud. I didn't understand what I have done so wrong to deserve this kind of treatment. this injustice.
"You cannot be from brooksberry Pack.'' Emily's words Echo in my ear from stop and suddenly that question pops in my head. There was a Pack in New York? A werewolf pack? I can't help but feel frustrated with myself. All this while I've always wanted to meet other werewolves like me. and I've never gotten that chance. to discover that there has always been an entire Pack right at the heart of New York scares me. What else was out there that I didn't know about? How did our species hide? None of the humans even knew about our existence. and we were good at hiding in plain sight and feigning vulnerability and weakness.
Perhaps that was why the other girls were so shocked when I told them that I had lived among humans. Maybe it was because they thought it was impossible. to keep that secret hidden why living among the weaker species. that had to be eaten right? it couldn't be anything else.
I turn and toss on the bed early, finding him asleep. How was I going to sleep? this was not my Safe Space. it certainly wasn't a space I wanted to be in. I wanted my bed. my clothes. my room. my boyfriend.
I missed my boyfriend.
Suddenly the doors opened, causing me so much fear that I screamed out loud while jumping out of bed.
'You!' the guard called out as he pointed to me, as if there was anyone else in the room. 'The King has summoned you.'
A dreadful feeling takes over as I step forward.