Avery's paws crunched the dry leaves on the forest floor as she quietly sneaked up on her hiding prey.
She enjoyed the chase, poor deer had no idea that the big bad wolf heard its rapid heartbeat.
With a mighty leap, she jumped over a big shrub, accurately jabbing her teeth within her prey's neck, pinning it to the floor till she was sure the heart had stopped beating. She dragged it out to a clearing and devoured her hearty breakfast.
"Audrey! Audrey!" The wolf's ears perked up at the voice calling from a distance.
"Ewe! That's gross," Maria said, standing a few feet away, not wanting to smell the raw blood from the dead animal. She was disgusted by the sight of blood.
"No! No! Please! Not with your bloody mouth." Maria backed away as the wolf advanced toward her with the tongue sticking out and teeth bared, taking slow deliberate steps toward her.
"Avery! No!" Avery pounced on Maria, pushing her down to the floor, and attacked her face with her rough bloody tongue.
"Oh, Mummy! Help! no! No! please, not my lips, humph! Stop!! ha-ha ha-ha Please, I'm begging!" Maria screamed and laughed at the same time as Avery licked her face with her rough tongue.
Avery gave one final lick to Maria's eyes before moving away from above her.
"Ewe! Disgusting!" Maria wiped the saliva from her eyes, wiping her palms on her clothes.
She cleaned off some blood stains from her clothes, but it was useless as the print of bloody wolf paws was seen everywhere on her clothes.
She was used to this; it has become a routine for one year now. One year ago, she had followed Audrey out during one of her haunts, and when the wolf was done feeding, it pounced on her and started licking all over her face and body.
Avery loved playing around after haunting, and Maria just seemed to always be the available option for a chew toy.
Audrey had become stronger. One year was enough for her to hone her combat and magical skills. She just needed to find her amulet as soon as possible and unlock her full potential.
She hated to, but she had to go back to the Grey Blood pack and retrieve her amulet, hopefully, she would find the other half of the amulet too.
"Ugh, come on, change. You have a big day ahead." She threw a pair of clothes to a now-naked Audrey.
Audrey rolled her eyes as she pulled the black shirt over her head and dragged the black joggers to her waist.
"Let's go, grumpy," Audrey outstretched her hand to her cousin.
Maria took the outstretched hand and Audrey teleported them both back to the house.
"Come have breakfast with us, Audrey," Miranda called from the kitchen.
"Morning, Miranda. Juice will be fine."Audrey went over to Miranda and gave her a peck on the cheek before going upstairs to take a shower.
"Trust me, Mom, She's not hungry." Maria plopped down on the dining chair and dragged a plate of lasagne to herself.
Eat first, shower later.
"Where are your table manners?" Miranda frowned at Maria for talking and dragging dishes over the dining table.
"Probably with Cody," Mary replied as she entered the dining room, smiling mischievously at her sister.
"What's Cody?" Miranda asked, confused.
"Who Mum, it's Who's Cody?" Mary replied with a cocky tune.
"Her boyfriend," Audrey said coming into the kitchen as she packed her hair into a pony.
"Don't believe them, Mom. You know me," Maria said in a defensive tone.
"I know you dear child, and... that's why I don't believe you," Miranda patted Maria's shoulder and went to pour Audrey a glass of Apple juice from the fridge.
"Mom! Come on!" Maria pouted.
"Tsk, I sent you to college for a year and you already got yourself a boyfriend. That's why I told you to study online like Audrey." Miranda shook her head, sighing.
"Cody, Cody, Cody, Cody," Mary sang the name out loud, teasing her twin sister.
"Shut up, you hedgehog!" Maria threw a piece of lasagna at Mary, but, before it could land on her White shirt, it suddenly stopped mid-air.
three sets of eyes turned to Audrey who was leisurely drinking her apple juice.
"Whoa! She doesn't even lift a hand anymore." Mary said in awe.
"Tell me! Tell me! tell me! When did you learn mind control?" Mary stood up and ran over to Audrey, shaking her from side to side.
"Since." Was the only reply Audrey gave her.
"Since when?" she continued shaking Audrey vigorously.
"Ewe! No!" Audrey made the piece of lasagna fall on Mary's leg.
"Oops! You probably shook me till I lost concentration." Audrey faked her concern.
"Serves you right." Maria snickered.
"You'll pay for this!" Mary balled her fists and walked out of the kitchen, sulking.
"Awesome!" Maria whispered and gave Audrey a thumbs up.
"Are you sure you can get in without being noticed?" Miranda took Audrey's hand as they walked to the living room and occupied a sofa.
"Don't worry, Miranda. Alpha Lake won't notice a thing, he might have his doubts, but he won't find a shred of evidence. He could swear on his life that I'm dead, the whole Pack could." Audrey said firmly.
Her plan was a hundred percent perfect. Two months ago, she had been raking her brain on how to go back to the Grey Blood Pack and retrieve her amulet, but she could not come up with a trusted idea.
Not long after, her boss sent her an email to prepare for an upcoming gala which was held by one of their company's greatest suppliers.
She had been surprised, happy, and angry when she saw the Venue of the gala and the name of the host.
"Maria will drop the bag at my apartment, I'll come pick it up when everything works out." She hugged her aunty tightly.
She knew she was stronger now, but she still had a very small part of her that dreaded going back to that place.
The place where she was born and brought up, but was never accepted. She stood up and zipped her gray hoodie, wiping the tears from her eyes. She felt two pairs of arms hugging her from behind. She felt loved and accepted.
These were her people. She could give her life for them. She turned and hugged her cousins back. This was home.
"I'll be back as soon as I find my amulet." She promised.
Audrey walked into her boss's office and saw another man there. It was Mr. Mark, the man she had met last year on behalf of her boss for a business, which was eventually successful.
She knew Mr. Mark had feelings for her from the way he looked and talked to her. But she pretended not to know and acted professionally with him, she did not want any man in her life, and did not want a damned mate.
She did not hate the opposite gender, but she did not just want them in her life. Less drama.
"Good morning, Mr. Russell, Mr. Mark." She greeted both men as she walked into the office to place a form on the table for her boss.
"Morning, Catherine. We were just talking about you." Mr. Russell said.
"Oh? What about sir?" She asked, putting her hands into her jeans pockets.
"Well, You know, Mr. Lake is hosting a gala tonight, right?" Mr. Russell asked, drumming his fingers on top of his table.
"Yes." She replied, wondering what these two young men were up to.
"We were wondering; which one of us would you want to go with; as a date. Just for the night." Mr. Russell gave her a charming smile, hoping she chose him.
Mr. Mark sat in front of the table, looking directly at Audrey.
"I'll go with you, boss." That was the most sensible reply she could think of, even though, a small part of her also felt Mr. Russell's feelings for her, at least, he tried his best not to act on it.
She did not want to be awkward all night with Mr. Mark.
Audrey did not want to indulge herself with these rich men. She had work to do and plans to make, so she excused herself and left the office, she had emails to reply to and meetings to schedule.
"Ha! told you!" Mr. Russell hit his hand on his table, smiling victoriously from ear to ear.
"Don't be so cocky, Victor." Mr. Mark said.
Audrey heard their back-and-front effortless banter.
The downside of being a wolf. You will never have a quiet time for yourself, unwanted whispers and discussions will always invade your ear.
She thought about the name she just heard and wondered why she felt like she had heard it somewhere before, she never knew her boss's name was Victor, not like she cared or something, she was just curious.
After one year, a lot had changed in the Grey Blood pack. It seemed like Alpha Lake deliberately wanted to erase everything she had ever seen, used, or touched.
Their car drove past the newly remodeled Pack Hospital, which probably just looked like a fancy building to humans.
They came to a stop in front of a beautiful gigantic building, she had never seen it before. It was probably built after she was thrown out of the Pack.
All sorts of emotions swirled within her as she opened the car door and stepped foot onto the ground, the same grounds she left one year ago as a loser, a prey; now, she was stepping into it as the predator.
She took a deep breath and held onto her boss's arm as he came over and stood beside her. She would play the perfect date tonight if she wanted everything to go smoothly. It would be hard before anyone recognizes her here tonight.
Her hair was dyed black instead of the natural red color, and her dressing changed too, the formal her would never have the gut to dress so provocatively or dye her hair. She didn't change her eye color though, she didn't want to. She wanted to mess with their stupid brains.
Her daring red sleeveless gown with a low back and a high slit gave off the 'Don't mess with me' vibe.
She thought about how her friends; Alex and Sandra would react to the 'new' her if they saw her tonight, they would go crazy. She thought of Ms. Bridget and wondered what she would do when she saw her again.
"Are you okay?" Mr. Russell asked, something was off about his date.
like she was not comfortable with him.
'Was she embarrassed by my dressing?' He thought.
Audrey gave him a light smile and nodded. One thing was for sure; she wasn't afraid to be back here again, they couldn't do anything to her anymore, but, she could not understand the strange feeling she had within her, Avery was restless too. She hated these kinds of gatherings, she believed it was just to show off.
Alpha Lake sure outdid himself...again. She wondered if this was where they had held the full moon ceremony last year.
As they stepped inside the building, Audrey felt like she just walked into a different world. A world of glitter, class, fashion, and sophistication.
The inside was a very big hall, it's safe to say; it could contain ten football fields.
Classy chandeliers hung on the roof, giving the decorated room a domineering atmosphere.
Everyone here was someone in the country, you had to be somebody to be able to attend the great Lake Aloha's Gala, he was the richest bachelor in the States. Ladies were in their most expensive designer gowns, and men wore customized tailored tuxedos.
Each held their glasses of Aloha's signature champagne in hand, making the whole ambiance intimidating.
But Audrey cared less, all she wanted was her amulet, and she would bear whatever situation just for that.
"Welcome, Mr. Russell. Your table is by the right." A steward in a black and white uniform directed them to a table that had a black and gold folded place card with their name on name on it.
"Thank you," Audrey said as she sat on the chair her boss drew out for her.
"My pleasure," He winked at her.
Once again, Audrey wished she could turn down her wolf hearing as fake laughter and heavily cooked-up lies poured into her ears from all corners of the hall.
She scoffed and poured herself a glass of champagne to keep herself busy.
Audrey was not much of a drinker, she just sipped her drink leisurely, studying the bustling hall.
"I'll introduce you to Mr. Aloha tonight. You remember what I told you?" Mr. Russell asked.
"Yes, I do," Audrey replied.
How could she not? It was her plan A after all. Her boss had been requesting to partner with Alpha Lake but his offer always got declined.
From the gossip she heard in the office, Alpha Lake's male secretary had quit his job due to the harsh treatment he got from his boss.
Now, her boss saw that as an opportunity to offer his sincere help by finding an outstanding secretary for Alpha Lake. She pitied her boss though, he had no idea who Alpha Lake was, and he had no idea he was a werewolf... a very big bad Alpha wolf.
But that was none of her business, as long as it got her back to the Pack environment, she would find her way around to get what she wanted.
"Good, just be extra polite, and I'll do the rest." He reminded her.