Alyson's drive wasn't all that exciting. She thought about how he's going to react to her just showing up. She spent most of the time overthinking about her dad and his pack.
Would his pack accept her? Would she be an outsider? Would they reject her being there since she couldn't shift?
Alyson's stomach flipped and flopped even more as she got closer and closer. When she was only about half an hour away, she stopped to let Kai out to use the restroom.
Alyson let out a loud yelp as her foot sank into the snow. The snow reached all the way to her knees. She yanked her leg out from the snow heap. She's lucky her car even made it this far. She was surprised that she didn't need to switch her wheels out for skies yet.
Kai hopped across the snow, unbothered by its presence. Alyson glared at him, how dare he be able to just ignore the snow like this? She yanked trotted her way back to her car and read over the directions she'd gotten from someone at the gas station she stopped at about a mile away.
Turn left at the fork, keep on that street until it turns into gravel. Once it's gravel take the first right and keep going until she sees the sign for the city. It's a small wooden plack on a tree. It's easy to miss so the dude told her to drive slow there. If she got to the next fork she missed it. And to turn around.
Thank god the guy knew where this place was or else Alyson would never be able to find it. The towns name was Illortalik. She had no idea what it meant or how to say it. She was glad the guy knew what she was talking about.
The hair's on the back of Alyson's neck stood up on end. She felt eyes watching her.
"Kai!" Alyson yelled frantically for her pup. When he didn't respond instantly her heart rate spiked.
"Kai! It's time to come back! Kai!" Alyson said hoping her pup would come bounding through the snow. Nothing. Alyson's heart started to sink.
She ran into the knee-deep snow. There was no way she could fight Skinwalkers in snow this deep, but she'd sure as hell try.
She ploughed through the snow following Kai's footprints. Panic made her senses heighten. Her hearing listening to any sound of snow crunching. She pulled out her hunting knife from her backpack.
"Kai! I swear to god if you are tracking a rabbit or something right now. I'm going to fucking skin you!" Alyson said desperately as she trudged through the snow. She heard low growling coming from where Kai's paw prints led.
"Kai!" Alyson screamed as she moved faster through the snow. She groaned in frustration she lept up and grab hold of a tree branch. It was coated in ice but it was better than trudging in the snow.
She heard more growls as she got into the tree.
"I'm coming! Don't do anything Kai! Just stay there!" Alyson said jumping from frozen branch to frozen branch using her slippery surface to leap from one tree to the next faster.
She saw Kai's tail up high in alert. She jumped down from the tree next to him.
Alyson looked around and listened. Nothing moved, no sound. Alyson shivered it was eerie that there was no sound that usually means there are Skinwalkers around and the animals have fled from the area.
"Kai, we are in no position to fight. Right now. I can't move properly because of the snow and you still haven't learned how to fight without your eyes. We need to just go," Alyson said petting Kai lightly on his neck. He stood there growling lowly as if not hearing her.
"Kai, please. We need to go," Alyson begged, "We are disadvantaged here. Let's. go. right. now." Alyson said putting emphasis on every word. He finally looked up at her and whined softly.
"I know baby, but we can't right now. we need to go," Alyson said pointing back towards the car.
He huffed and whined one more time then walked back toward the car.
"Good boy, I know it's hard but we gotta pass on this one," Alyson said petting him as they walked back. The hairs still stood on her neck.
"You're alone little one," The voice of the ancient skinwalker echoed in her mind.
"No, don't do this to me right now! I've been driving for nine hours straight and I left behind my old pack. I don't want to deal with this right now," Alyson said walking away from the voice.
"Oh but there's no ignoring me, little one. I'm inside your head. I'll just follow you everywhere you go," He chuckles.
"I don't care I'm leaving! I can't handle this right now!" Alyson said trying to escape through the snow.
"When will it ever be the right time, little one? You can't even walk in the snow here. It's pitiful. You should just turn back now," It mocked.
"Oh, no you don't. You know I'll get stronger here and you don't want me to do that. Since, every time I try to fight you, you run away. You're a pussy," Alyson says her anger rising.
"No, I am no 'pussy'. You just simply aren't ready to face me yet. I want you to be stronger before we fight, little one."
"Well then leave me alone! I just want to go home," Alyson says.
"Then why are you going to this pack isn't home back with your mate?" The creature says.
"No! Stop it! You have no right to lecture me! I don't want to hear it. I'm tired of being walked all over back there! It isn't my home! Leave me be!" Alyson screamed into the empty air her anger increasing.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're starting to get quite the temper, little one," the voice said. Alyson growled and created a thick metal wall around her own mindscape making sure that thing wouldn't be able to speak to her anymore. She didn't want to hear it! She was done. She didn't want to think about the Maikohs. She just wanted to meet her dad that's it!
She felt her body temperature warm-up as her anger increased. Those assholes didn't want her! They only wanted her when she was the only answer! They made her do all their dirty work! She was their tour guide, then discarded when she wasn't needed anymore. But when they realized they still needed a tour guide they called upon her again! When they needed someone to kill the annoying alpha to be she killed them! When they needed someone to report on skinwalker camps, she found them! But when they went to kill the camp they left her to fucking babysit so she couldn't go fight!
She made the right choice leaving, she needed a clean slate. She needed a new place to call home, she needed new friends.
This time she wouldn't let them leave her behind or force her out of things. She wouldn't take it anymore. She strong on her own even if she didn't have a wolf form. She could do other things instead!
Alyson huffed as she spoke to herself in her mind. Soon the car came into view. She froze as she saw that her car was swarmed with skinwalkers. She mentally groaned! Of fucking course these assholes would do this.
"Kai, wait here. I'll take care of them. Don't move, until I tell you to," Alyson ordered. Kai growled in protest.
"No! You can barely walk around the house without hitting the wall. You aren't ready for a fight yet. If I start to get overwhelmed. Follow the road. It'll lead you somewhere eventually," Alyson said holding tightly to her knife. Kai whined.
"I know boy. I'm sorry. Don't worry. I can handle this," Alyson said with more confidence than she felt.
She walked into the area with less snow.
"Hey, assholes get away from my car!" Alyson said leading their attention away from her car and to her. One of the skinwalkers growled at her.
"Come on then," Alyson said taking out the other knife in her backpack so she could duel wield. There were at least ten in the clearing. She'd taken on more than that before, but her stomach was in knots remembering the last time she'd fought skinwalkers. Mason...the look on his face haunted her. She shook it from her mind.
"Come on, Acherson! You've got this!" Alyson muttered to herself under her breath. The first skinwalker came rushing at her she killed it with one precise stab to the head. As she jumped up to attack the second skinwalker, she dug her knife deeper into the first's head by using it as leverage. She sunk her other knife into the second one's head with ease. Yanking both of them out with great force.
She danced around the claws of another skinwalker as it tried to get her from behind. She whipped around and stabbed him under the jaw straight through into his brain then pulled the knife toward her and ripped a hole in its jaw.
She danced around claws and teeth stabbing and killing skinwalkers with ease. She was covered in skinwalker blood. She didn't have time to focus on the wet red substance as she tore through the skinwalkers.
Soon all of the ones that had surrounded her car were dead. Alyson's breaths were coming out short and rugged, the cold air burning her lungs as she gasped for air. She stomped over to her car and opened the back seat.
"Come on, Kai, let's go," Alyson said trying to even out her breathing as she leaned against the car. Kai dashed over and sniffed Alyson as if checking if she were okay.
"I'm okay boy, none of them even came close to touching me," Alyson said petting him gently. he whined softly.
"I promise, I'm okay. You wanna sit in the front seat?" Alyson asked trying to get him to realize she was fine. He barked softly.
"Okay, come one then," Alyson said closing the door to the back seat and walking around to open the passenger's seat door.
"Let me move my backpack," Alyson said grabbing her bag she caught herself in the mirror of her car. She was covered in blood, no wonder Kai was so worried. She moved her bag into the floor of the back seat. Alyson also took off her outermost layer in hopes of keeping blood from staining her car. She found a plastic bag and stuffed them in there. She tied her hair up to keep it off her face.
She was instantly 10 times colder.
She patted the seat telling Kai to jump up. He did so. As Alyson closed the door he whined softly.
"It's okay, sweet boy. I gotta get in on the other side. I gotta drive," Alyson said petting him softly.
"I promise, I'm not going to leave you. That must've really freaked you out not being able to see me," Alyson said petting him softly. She pulled away and shut the door. Kai whined high pitched until she opened the driver's door.
"Hey, it's okay, boy. I'm not hurt. I'm right here," Alyson said petting his head lightly. He wiggled over so he could put his head against her.
"I'm not going anywhere," Alyson said petting Kai with one hand as she drove with the other. She turned left at the fork, kept on that road until it turned into gravel. Then she turned right. She slowed down to search for the sign nailed to a tree, She almost missed it.
It was a little brown sign that blended into the tree. You really had to search for it. As she went to pull into the snow-packed road four wolves hopped out she held onto Kai as she slammed on the breaks.
What was up with weres and making her check if her breaks worked!
Alyson let out an annoyed growl. She turned off her car and opened her car door.
"Come on, boy, stay behind me they might be stupid enough to attack me," Alyson said rolling her eyes. They must've heard her as they let out a chorus of growls.
"Clearly you all can hear me, so one of you shift so I can speak to them like a normal person!" Alyson said as Kai hopped out of the car. Alyson slammed her door shut annoyed that Weres were always so pretentious.
One of them lanked away into the forest and the other three stayed there on guard as Alyson got closer their growls got louder.
"Oh shut it, if I wanted a fight I would've just hit you with my car," Alyson said rolling her eyes as she came closer. The three wolves growled deeper. There was a black wolf, a dark brown wolf, and a pale sandy red wolf.
The black wolf got hunkered down and looked ready to leap.
"I'd heavily advise against that," Alyson said rolling her eyes at the wolf. She got within 5 feet of them.
"Do you greet all you're guests so kindly?" Alyson said offhandedly. The black wolf growled even heavier. Kai whined softly, looking up at her out of instinct even though he couldn't see her.
She petted him softly. "It's okay boy. If they're stupid enough to actually attack me. I'll simply have to put them in their place."
Alyson watched the three Were they came closer and started to circle her and Kai.
"Wow, really? What are you all feral or something?" Alyson joked unafraid. Dustin was a million times scarier in his human form than any of these pip-squeaks.
"Jeez, the one shifting sure is taking a while. Don't you guys think so?" Alyson asked starting to get annoyed that they were circling her like a bunch of feral wolves.
The black wolf sneered at her about to pounce. Alyson bounced on the heels of her feet.
"Nicolas! Stop that! I left you in charge because you're the only one who can control your wolf form! A girl with dirty blonde hair almost burnet hair but around the edges there were bits of blonde, she had natural highlights and lavender eyes.
The three stopped circling Alyson and froze.
"What are you doing here, stranger?" the girl asked.
"I'm here to see my dad," Alyson said her tone indifferent.
"And who would that be?" the girl asked coming towards Alyson.
"Mathew Archerson. I'm Alyson Archerson, his daughter," Alyson said meeting the girl's calculated stare. Her face deadpanned as Alyson spoke her father's name.
"Oh, shit," The girl says rubbing her temples trying to prevent a headache from setting in.
"Oh, so you know him great! I am in the right place!" Alyson said with a smile.
"Yeah," the girl said wearily, "Can you please not tell him we threatened you?"
"Why would he care? Is he the alpha or something?" Alyson asked joking when the girl didn't correct her Alyson lost her cool for a second.
"Did he not mention that to you?" the girl asked.
"Nope," Alyson said shaking her head.
"Odd," the girl says. Alyson barely hears her as she watches as the sandy red wolf sniffs Kai. Kai sniffs him back. Kai's tail wags lightly. Where had Alyson seen that colouring before? Then a scene of a boy spitting out coffee came to mind.
Then it struck her, she felt so dumb. Of course, he was a Were, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt in the winter. She'd just thought he rolled out of bed and went to grab food after all the hallways were indoors and heated. She also didn't expect to run into a werewolf out of nowhere.
"Wait a second, did you all stat at a hotel in like mid-Quebec yesterday? A hotel 6 or something like that?" Alyson asked confused.
"Yeah, we did were on a business trip. why?" the girl said. Alyson thumped her forehead. How had she been so stupid?
"I was there too! I saw talking to Noah!" Alyson said pointing to the wolf now playing with Kai.
"You were the girl Noah kept talking to? He was convinced you were a were!" the girl said.
"Yeah well he's half right, anyway can I drive up there now?" Alyson asks.
"Oh, yes, for sure! Boys go on ahead and tell him she's coming. I'll make sure she gets up there," the girl says.
"Great," Alyson says, "C'mon Kai. You and Noah can play later. Get in the car." Alyson opened the backseat and Kai rushed in. The girl walked to Alyson's car and opened the passenger seat.
She sniffed the air.
"It smells like wendigo blood in here," the girl says scrunching her face up in disgust.
"wendigos? " Alyson asked confused.
"You know, they look like animals that have been stretched out a taffy machine. Their scratch can kill you and make you one of them," the girl says.
"Oh, where I'm from we call the Skinwalkers," Alyson says turning on the car.
"Hmm, odd. Why does your car smell like them?"
Alyson pointed to the back. "I ran into a few of them about a half-hour back. They circled my car after I got back from taking Kai on a bathroom break."
"How many?" the girl asked.
"About ten or so. Should I turn left or right?" Alyson asked.
"Ten? Did you shift to do it?" the girl asked.
"Nope, I can't shift. Left or right?" Alyson asks.
"ugh sorry left," the girl says dumbfounded, " and the wolf didn't help you?"
"Nope, he's blind. He got his eyes scratched out by a power-hungry alpha in line recently. He just healed enough to take the bandages off. So he can't fight yet," Alyson said driving carefully down the rough road.
"Why'd he do that?"
"Because he didn't like me," Alyson said focused on the road.
"So what did you do?"
"I challenged him and killed him," Alyson said coming to another dead end.
"So you killed an alpha to be?" the girl asked impressed.
"Well, I didn't really mean to kill him but he scratched my baby's eyes out. I went all momma bear and killed him," Alyson said waiting for directions. The girl nodded.
"Oh, okay then. Take a left then the next right," the girl says nervously.
"Anyway, I didn't catch your name," Alyson said following the girl's directions. Alyson felt weird as people stopped what they were doing to stare at Alyson's car.
"Because I didn't give it yet," the girl said smartly.
"Okay then, be difficult," Alyson laughed lightly, she already liked this girl.
"My name's Violet Beckett," Violet says.
"Nice to meet you, Violet," Alyson says.
"Your dad's house is the brick one on the end of the cul de sac," Violet says nonchalantly.
"Is my dad scary? Because I sure am nervous to meet him and if he's scary to you god knows how scary he'll be to me," Alyson says nervously.
"Only when he's angry and I highly doubt he'll be angry when he sees you," Violet says laughing lightly.
"You don't think he'll be angry I didn't call first?" Alyson asks.
"First how would you have his number second we only have a single phone that can call out here and most of the time it doesn't work," Violet says.
"Okay, I can do this! Nothing to be afraid of!" Alyson said softly.
"He should be afraid of you honestly. You're way scarier than any of the people around here," Violet says with a chuckle.
Alyson swallowed her nerves and opened her car door. A man came out of the house.