From the woods, she could see the Bloodstone mansion.
That's what it was called, but it was no more than a medium size two-story home.
It was rumored that the first Bloodstone to live in the house had no intentions of his children ever being trapped here, so he knew he'd need no extra rooms. So to this day, the top floor was still unfinished.
Not even walls. Just the joists and the windows.
The downstairs was supposedly extravagant. Or at least it had been in its day. A vast library. A large study, and a huge common area that could hold the most important of his pack.
Only a selected few had ever been invited in, and out of all those selected few they'd all had been wolf shifters.
As a little girl she could remember some of the older, cooler kids all having bets on who was going to be the first warlock to cross the entry way. Or would a bear shifter be the first?
She could remember no one ever entering the place. Maybe if anyone was ever brave enough, they never mentioned it because it would have ruined the fun.
She'd been staring at it for a while now. Waiting to see movement. Waiting for him to know that she was close by.
When that didn't seem to be the case, she continued on her way to the fort hidden within a shelter of trees.
"Rylee, it's Nevaeha. May I enter?"
"You came!" The small girl wore a smile from ear to ear.
"I told you I would, and I always try to keep my promises if I can."
The fort was every child's fantasy. Hidden, cozy, and a secret.
Inside, there was an actual floor and pillows piled high.
"I brought you breakfast and some books to read."
"Thank you, Miss Roe."
"I told you, you could call me Nevaeha. Or even Ne."
"I forgot."
The girl hadn't been a part of her class for more than five minutes when she learned the truth about Rylee Bloodstone. She wasn't the least bit shy, nor was she behind in her schooling.
By the time Nevaeha had walked her home, she'd known that Rylee's favorite color was pink. She loved to read more than anything, and she was scared.
Scared of her mother. Her uncle. Her father more than anybody. Scared of most grownups, but by the time they made it to her home, the child announced she wasn't afraid of her.
At a very young age, Rylee learned to blend in. She learned how to pretend to be shy and slow so people would leave her alone.
"Mama said when I came home, I smelled of bear. She doesn't like the smell, but I think I do. Geraldine is about the best thing I've seen in my whole life. Karev, Cody, and Johnson are cool too."
"I'm glad all of you became such fast friends."
The girl nodded. "I can trust them. Sometimes I just know right away. It's like an interwishing."
Nevaeha smiled. "I wish I had that. I have a problem of trusting everyone."
Rylee sobered. "You should never do that, Ms. Roe. There are some very bad people in the world."
"Like your mother, Rylee?"
"Oh, no. Mama isn't so bad. She just gets so loud sometimes. I try to not let it scare me, but it does. She's never hurt me, Miss Roe. She might forget about me from time to time, but I don't mind. That leaves me more time to myself so I can read and explorer. I made a friend in the pack and we both like to walk and hunt together, but mama says I can't do that anymore. She says I can't go any farther than my fort. I had to tell her about my fort, but you don't have to worry, she never comes here. She's much too busy. Mostly with boys. She likes them a lot."
"I see."
She added her books to the collection she already had. "I'll make sure you get these back. Right now, I'm reading through the comics Cato brought me." She gave a lopsided grin. "I admit I like superheroes. Captain America is my favorite and Cato favors Hulk. You should meet my friend Cato, Ms. Roe. He's about the nicest person I've ever met. Ever since I was young, he's been taking care of me. He makes sure I have food and clothes. Comics. He's also the one who helped with the fort. Do you want to hear something strange? He looks different to me. He's beautiful. More so than usual. Mama says it's a shame for a boy to be so beautiful, but I don't think it is. Someone so beautiful on the inside should be so beautiful on the outside."
"You're very smart, Rylee."
"You won't tell anyone, will you, Miss Roe?"
"Can I think it over before I make that promise, Rylee? As your teacher and your friend, I always hope to do what's best for you."
"I guess, Ms. Roe. Just remember, it's a part of my disguise."
"I will." She promised.
"Cato has always been beautiful, but now he's even more beautiful. His tattoo is gone and the scar he had under his eye. I wonder how he did that?"
"I think that since you see how beautiful he is on the inside, you also get to see how beautiful he is on the outside."
"I think it's magic, but I'm just not sure how he did it yet. When I asked him where his tattoo went, he looked all confused. A few nights ago, my uncle was in a horrible mood. As soon as I heard his growling, I slipped out of bed and hid. Mama says he's not my uncle and I should start calling him brother so that he won't forget that we have the same father, but I don't plan on calling him anything or talking to him at all if I can help it. Cato says he's not as scary as he seems and usually Cato doesn't lie to me, but I don't think Cato sees him the way I do. Maybe he sees how beautiful Vallen is on the outside and he thinks he must be beautiful on the inside."
"What does your intuition tell you?"
"It tells me he's scary. I'm glad he never talks to me. My disguise works and I blend right in. I wish mama would learn to blend in. Her and Vallen fight all the time. Mama gets loud, but Vallen gets quiet. I think the quieter he gets, the madder he is. Mama has never been very good at blending in, but at least here she never has black eyes and bruises anymore. Once she even had a broken arm. Once my father hit her so hard, she didn't wake up till the next day. I didn't like to see her like that, and I was always worried my father would do that to me too if he found me. Mama says my father hits so much because he's such a little weak man. I think so too. He thinks it makes him look stronger, but it just makes him look weak. I'm not supposed to call him my father, but mama said he is. I don't plan on calling him anything or talking to him either. Mama is always saying he killed her sister. Vallen's mama. She always wants to know when Vallen's going to do something about it."
"Rylee, I know your brother and I feel uncomfortable talking about things he might not want me to know. Do you mind if we talk about anything but him?" Nevaeha touched the girl's hand. "Unless you ever feel you're in danger from him. Or anyone. I'm going to make you a charm so that if you ever need me, you'll be able to call out to me."
"Magic? I've never seen magic. Can you show me some?"
"You won't be scared?"
"No."
Nevaeha smiled. "Okay, then put your hand in mine."
When she did, Nevaeha did the spell that would take her home.
Rylee looked around in wonder. "Is this where you live? It sure is old and smells funny."
She laughed.
"It's kind of homey. Way better than the place we're living."
"Rylee, let me ask you something. Does where you live have the largest library you've ever seen?"
The girl's eyes danced with wonder. "The biggest I've ever seen. There must be about a million books. I'm too afraid to touch any of them, but sometimes I sneak in just so I can read some of the titles."
"I bet it's amazing."
"So amazing."
"Next Sunday, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine. She's new to town too and she could use a friend."
"What if my interwishing doesn't like her, Ms. Roe?"
"I promise that she's a good person and I know you're going to love her, but if at any time you want to leave, all you have to do is give me your hand."
"Okay, Ms. Roe. I suppose I could meet her."
"I have a tire swing outside. Want to try it out?"