Three months had passed after that horrific night. Three months and yet Larentia's absence still felt fresh; the wound was still bleeding. And it would never close. Not until Andrew could put an end to the nightmare Lauren had brought upon their family.

Three months. And yet his mother was nowhere to be found. Lucious hadn't returned. Hidden mind messages and conversations, meant only for Andrew to listen, were being sent ever rarely. It wasn't safe, he knew that. So he knew only what the Ielele and the Council were communicating to one another.

"Bits and pieces. That's all we know," he said that cold, January morning to Accalia. "We can't keep doing that. And it's not like we're making progress with the potion either."

"They say they got this. I'm not willing to mess with those nude, freaky Faes any time soon. What if they decide they have to butcher us, too, to make this thing work? That Mirela fairy took Tia's blood and look where this got us!" Accalia snarled, looking at her brother. She started fussing with her fur coat. Though they didn't have such needs when turned into Loups Garous, their human selves were close to freezing to death.

"They're not the ones responsible for Tia's death," Andrew murmured. "And what the hell are you doing?" he hissed, staring at his sister who started taking her clothes off.

"I don't understand why we need to freeze up here. It's not like people climb that high on Mount Logan. It's just us and the Faes," she hissed. "Well, and a bunch deers and lesser wolves."

"So, what are you going to do?" Andrew asked, still puzzled with what Accalia was doing.

"I'm just going to become a vegan. Since there are no people to hunt around here..." she murmured. An instant later, the ginger-hair, naked woman had turned into the great, white wolf once more.

Andrew saw her running towards the edge of the cliff, where they stood a couple of seconds prior, and jumping over the grand canyon under them. He couldn't stop her. He wouldn't. He had a pack to put back in order, two seemingly friendly Faes and two deathly assassins he had to find. Soon!

***

Pearl stood right outside the wolves' dorm, staring at the burned, yet brand new building. Little stalactites had been formed over the windows and the drain-pipes the night before, the fresh snow painting everything white around her, after last night's snowstorm.

It's been years since the last time a fairy's glamour had caused confusion inside her head; even that night at the hospital, she was wide awake. And since pretending had become a part of her everyday life, that's what she had done that night, too, desperate to find out what was so special, and still deathly dangerous about her sworn enemy.

She could still recall the huge fight she had with Owen and her father that night, when they both claimed that they knew nothing of the Loups Garous' true identity until she had told them herself. She could still recall how betrayed she felt, being left in the darkness like some lesser part of the Silver family. Because that's how her father was treating her for the past few years; like she wasn't strong, tough, cruel enough to maintain the Silvers' legacy.

And even now that her father was nowhere to be seen, even after having searched every inch of the campus after that dreadful night, she could still recall the way he looked at her when she placed the old, leather journals inside his palms, demanding answers for everything that had been written inside them; both form her ancestors and the people she thought they were her enemies her whole life. She'd found hidden in her mother's office, buried deep in her dusty drawers that hadn't been opened for ages; apparently, less than Pearl thought.

Would you care to explain what those little treasures are, Father? Pearl remembered asking Professor Silver, irony and fury pouring out with every word she mouthed, as if those Romani Faes had taken control over her mind and body.  Her father was looking at her, sitting behind his mahogany desk in his office at the University.

Professor Silver had probably the most extravagant office inside the campus; a complete and utter contrast compared to the plain and blank face of his, as it looked in Pearl's memory. Three grand bookcases were standing proud and bulging with hardcover books at the left side of the office, two vintage, leather armchairs, inlaid with grey and silver paisleys in front of the old, mahogany desk, that was covered with all sorts of papers, Gweir's laptop, a coffee mug and two picture frames.

Pearl knew all that. She's been in her father's office countless times. She's been used to it. It was the grey walls and those grey, hungry eyes that were freaking her out every single time though; because they were as cold and lethal as silver could be to their enemies.

It was like she was reliving that memory. Instead of trying to cover his lies and secrets one more time, Gweir confirmed what Pearl was trying to deny; the fact that her family was the beast all along. 

I'm not going to deny it, my little gem. They are monstrosities and they need to be eliminated! Pearl heard her father's words once again inside her mind.

Do you hear what you're saying, Father? We're the ones who tortured them all those years ago!

And they're the ones who tricked us. I'm not going to let history repeat itself. Especially now that for the first time we're the ones having the upper hand!

Pearl had thrown the old journals on her father's desk, causing an even greater mess than it already was. The coffee mug had fallen, spilling the hot liquid over Gweir's papers and upon the laptop's keyboard.

She didn't even stay long enough to listen to her father's yells, calling her back inside the office to explain herself. For although she had thrown the journals to her father's face, she had kept a special one for herself; the one written by this wolf's point of view, Louvel's. And she was holding it in her palms right now, the old, leather  texture feeling gritty at places, the colour faded after so many years inside her mother's dusty drawers.

For once, she felt grateful for her curiosity, that characteristic of hers Owen claimed it was always causing trouble to the entire family. For once, she didn't feel like the young, delicate, naive girl her father and brother claimed she was; that ostensibly dangerous assassin, with the big, fragile, untested heart. And for once, she wasn't taken aback when her brother appeared, walking almost silently upon the snow and standing right next to her, as he used to do for the past few months.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Owen murmured, staring at the renovated building. "Father was right. Those fairies have improved after all those years. They leave no traces. Or so they think..."

Pearl didn't even blink at the sound of his words. She knew what her brother was trying to achieve. She knew he wanted her to ask him what he meant with the "or so they think" part, but she most certainly wouldn't give him that kind of satisfaction.

"Where's Father anyway? I still don't believe he is just ashes now. I don't believe he got burned that night," Pearl spitted the words out, feeling the gall rising up inside her throat.

"Me neither. But he's been gone for almost three months now. We've looked everywhere for him. We even faked his request for a sabbatical. There's not much we can think of other than that he's dead or..." Owen breathed.

"Or...?" Pearl asked, her voice remaining steady despite her curiosity flaring up with every passing second.

Instead of getting an answer from her brother though, Owen remained silent and so Pearl started straying from the building and him.

"Pearl, wait!" she heard him say, after having taken only a few steps.

The snow crunched under her boots, as she turned around to face her brother. Grey eyes, she thought. That's all she had in common with her brother; the same eye colour. For where her eyes were warm, reminding her of pewter when she looked herself in the mirror, Owen's eyes were cold and ruthless; exactly like the Silver!

"What?" Pearl hissed between her teeth, avoiding to look directly into her brother's eyes.

"I know that Father and I have been hard on you lately, but we were only trying to protect you," Owen said, moving closer to her, almost silently as he had done before.

"Protect me from what? From the truth? From what our family truly was? From what we truly are?" Pearl growled at him.

She wasn't sure whether it was the fact that they had hidden the truth from her that was infuriating her, or the fact that, even after all those revelations, Owen and her father were still pretending like there wasn't anything that seemed to be completely off with the way they were both behaving.

"Pearl..." Owen started, moving more cautiously than before towards were, measuring his sister's reaction. "I care about you! You're my little sister! How could I not care? I would never hide something from you if it wasn't for your own protection, for your own good," he said, placing his hands atop Pearl's shoulders, squeezing her lightly.

Pearl stayed still for a moment, staring at her brother, his seemingly sincere expression, as his eyes glowed the moment he said she was his sister. Something that seemed like tears was glistening on the tip of them, threatening to flow all way down his face. But it was indeed his eyes, those cold, ruthless eyes, that brought her back to reality.

She pulled away and peered closely at Owen, as he started transforming back to what he truly was, at least inside her mind; the heartless assassin of the Silver family.

"You know what, brother? I'm done! I'm done with your lies, your manipulations of the truth, your murders," Pearl snarled, her face turning into a mask made of stone. "People care only when they have something to gain. You and Father made that pretty clear to me. Those monsters on the other hand stayed together, united as a pack, as a family. Something we totally forgot in our pursuit for vengeance!"

"Vengeance? That's what you think this is about?" Owen asked her, not moving an inch from where he stood. "You surely have forgotten who's the best one in the family at keeping up pretences, sis," he said, tilting his head, his crooked smile spreading slowly upon his face, his eyes warming up for just a split second.

At the sound of those words Pearl froze. She knew that look; the look of pure, genuine merriment her brother rarely took those past few years, when their father first asked them to maintain their legacy as Silvers, and initiated them to all the fragments of truths and lies he thought they were important.

A chill, much different than the one caused by the freezing cold and the snow around them, went all the way down her spine, making the hair at her nape rise.

Pearl started walking closer to her brother again, as hesitantly as could be expected, after all that's been hidden and revealed. She stood across him, a fair distance of snow and ice still separating them.

"What is it then? What do you know?" Pearl asked drily, that acid taste of bitterness burning the back of her throat.

She had lost her faith and trust in her brother. He'd need a whole of a revelation to earn both back.

"I know what you want to do. I know where you want to go," Owen stated, his eyes fixed upon his sister's, sparkling as the epiphany of what he had said hit her.

"But how...?"

"That's not important," Owen cut Pearl off. "What's important is that I know where the pack is now. And if we wanna find them, we have to move quickly. It's one hell of a journey until Mount Logan!"

***

Accalia was lurking hidden behind the enormous, deadly rocks of Hell's Hole for over an hour now. She wouldn't waste her energy on some lame herd of deer. Even with her thick, white fur, Mount Logan was still deathly freezing at this time of the year, and running after herbivorous animals wasn't going to allay her hunger for long.

She needed something bigger than just a fragile deer, a carnivorous animal preferably; an animal that would think itself strong enough to put up with this white wolf. She needed a challenge!

And it came! For her heightened senses caught the scent of two predatory animals approaching the herd and lying in wait, much closer than she would've hoped for. She could hear their blood pulsating through their veins, that acid, metallic, mouthwatering scent of it overwhelming her, awakening the predator inside her.

They're not human, but at least they are better than nothing, Accalia thought once she jumped out of her hideout.

The bobcats turned around instantly but they weren't fast enough. For before even having the chance to reveal their fangs, Accalia had already jabbed her sharp claws inside their necks, snapping them both in the blink of an eye.

She could vaguely hear the herd running away in a frenzy, but she couldn't care less. She had a much more ambrosial meal in front of her. It wasn't the kind of feast a human's juicy flesh could provide, but she would settle for that, at least for the time being.

She started stinking her pointed teeth deep inside the gristly flesh of the first bobcat when the compelling, irresistible sensation she had only felt just once before consumed her whole body, mind and soul.

He was coming for her. Owen. Her mate.

And he wasn't coming alone.

© Victoria Moschou. All Rights Reserved 2016-2017.