YARA ROSEWOOD
Yara stands near the kitchen door, looking out at her restaurant, the soft noise of various conversations and utensils clanking filling the floor. In the kitchen her head chef shouts out orders to his staff, the team rushing up and down to deliver meals to their tables.
Although everything was fixed to its former glory, the events that took place in her restaurant were still fresh in her mind. Her friends, the hunter...Kellan.
It was a lot and Yara found that it was hard to put those memories aside. She hadn't spoken to Darla since the stunt she pulled on them but her heart remained conflicted. She felt betrayed by Darla, angry about being drugged by someone she trusted...yet again. But she also knew it was grief and anger that drove Darla to do what she did. Kellan did nothing to deserve his fate, and now she was alone and pregnant.
Yara goes through the day, regularly coming down to the main floor of her restaurant to survey the scene, keeping an eye on her customers. Her paranoia was at a high, seeing as hunters were a problem whether or not.
~
At the end of her day, Yara is the last to leave, pulling her newly installed rolling shutters down and locking them herself. She'd taken extra measures since the incident, making sure it was damned near impossible to break into her restaurant.
Getting into her car, she begins the drive home, looking over her shoulder the entire ride, just in case.
As Yara enters her home, she is enveloped by the warm scent of a freshly cooked meal. A smile graces her features as she walks straight to the kitchen, Finding Clayton at the stove with his back to her - sprinkling shredded cheese into the meal.
"Mmm, smells amazing in here!" She exclaims placing down her bag. "You're home early, thought you and the crew had to pull overtime tonight?'
"Yeah, change of plans, I'll tell you about it over dinner. You go ahead and freshen up, dinner will be ready soon." Clayton replies to her.
~
The two eat their meal, recounting their day to each other before heading out to their gallery to look at the night sky.
Yara stands in Clayton's embrace, his arms wrapped securely around her. She sighs in contentment, snuggling further into his person, her hand coming to rest on his.
"Such a peaceful night, tonight." Yara murmurs, watching the stars twinkle.
"It is," Clayton agrees, "Feels like these days our peace doesn't last for long." He comments.
"Can't argue there!" Yara scoffs, "We've been through so much...lost so much."
The two fall into silence at this before Clayton moves to hold Yara's shoulders - Spinning her around to face him.
"Marry me." He says looking down at her.
"You asked me this question already, babe. I said yes remember? I have the ring." She chuckles raising her hand showing her engagement.
"And we've waited too long. As you said, we've been through so much and we've lost even more! Just look at Darla. Nothing is certain and I want to make sure we make the most of what we have. I want to call you my wife, not my fiancé!" Clayton says passionately. "So let's make it official. Let's finally get married. We could start the planning or just drive to the courthouse. Anything you want, but either way, Yara Rosewood... I will be calling you my wife before the year is done."
Reaching her hand around his neck, she brings Clayton closer to her, kissing him. "Yes," she whispers, pulling back slightly, "I'll marry you, Clayton Reynolds."
"I love you, so damn much!" Clayton whispers to her.
"Love you more," Yara replies, going in for another kiss. Mouths joined in heated passion, Clayton lets out a growl as he lifts Yara off the ground. Yara wraps her feet around him as she lets out a laugh, "Let's head inside." She says to him, breathing heavily.
Not needing to be told twice, Clayton walks them into the house, slamming the door shut with his foot; heading to the stairs.
Just as his feet touch the first step, the two of them hear the roar of a motorcycle's engine getting louder as it approaches the house.
"What the hell?!" Yara exclaims in confusion as pulls out of Clayton's hold. The telltale rev of the motorcycle's acceleration sounds as Yara looks at Clayton. "What could this possibly be?"
Before Clayton could give a response, the two find themselves reflexively crouching as their living room window is shattered, the loud mechanical crash of the motorcycle accompanying the noise of glass shattering.
With yellow eyes, Clayton stalks toward their living room, Yara close behind him.
~
NAOMI REID
"I don't understand, how can she get away with this?!" Avery exclaims immediately after Calvin finishes explaining to them the situation.
"The Kennedys, that's how," He sighs. He wasn't looking at them, instead staring at the ceiling from his slouch position on the couch - Taking up half the space while Avery sat crossed-legged on the other end. Naomi sat on the armchair in a sideways manner, her feet hanging over the armrest.
Having showered upon their arrival, Calvin wore some of Sean's clothes Avery picked out for him. They delved right into stories the moment they'd all taken a seat, Naomi starting first with her Josh Kennedy situation.
Calvin followed after, filling them in on what Quinn had done, drugging and kidnapping him. Keeping him slightly sedated at all times and using him to get to Dean.
"She bragged about it, how she was practically untouchable. How we can't take any action against her because of her position with her organization." Calvin elaborates. "She also went on and on about how the Kennedys will rule the city once Luke gets elected as Mayor. He's already a crowd favorite."
"I still find it fishy that she took you when she wanted answers from Dean, which is a total overreaction to be told no... but then lets you go when she has no guarantees or anything when she finds out Dean is linked to Arrow Berlin and she comes face to face with her!" Naomi voices. "I'm not saying kidnapping you is a good plan or that you're leverage....but wouldn't have that been the time to... I don't know, turn up the crazy? Again, Cal, I'm glad you're safe and away from that lunatic." She adds at the end in a rush.
"I get it, I wondered the same," Calvin replies. " I thought Dean had gotten something against her at first...or that she got an answer that was satisfactory enough. But when she dropped me there and then tried to negotiate with Arrow... didn't make any sense."
"Maybe, you weren't her only leverage," Avery voices.
"Or she realized she didn't need leverage anymore," Naomi adds.
"But she was actively trying to get Arrow to work with her," Calvin responds.
"A ploy?" Avery asks.
"Maybe?" Calvin answers with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Speaking of Arrow, I can't believe I didn't meet her when she was right on the other side of the door. I've been hearing about this girl...would've been nice to put a face to the name. See what all the buzz is about." Naomi says casually.
"She seems alright, though I was out of it for most of our time together," Calvin replies. "She started acting weird when you came for me though. Like she saw a ghost sort of...don't know what that's about. Guess it could be the chang-uhh"
"The what?" Avery presses.
"Uhhh, I feel like this bit of info is not mine to share..." Calvin supplies guiltily.
"Wha, no, come on. You've got to spill. Besides, who are we going to tell? Hunters weekly? The Kennedys?" Avery says to him.
"Alright, alright!" Calvin says sitting up straight. "So, she... she got bit, by a Lycan!" Calvin whispers to them.
"No way!" Avery whispers back in response.
"I forgot about that!" Naomi comments making their heads snap to her.
"Come again?!"
~
The trio spends the next hour talking about every hunter-related fact they know about, leaving no bit of information out. They tried brainstorming solutions to their Quinn and Josh problems their efforts proved futile.
At six p.m., after Calvin wakes from his nap in Avery's guest bedroom, the three decide to have a big dinner together. With the addition of Sean who would be getting off work late along and Jensen and Dalton.
Making a list of snacks and drinks they wanted, Naomi heads upstairs for her phone while Avery orders their food. She fires off a quick text to Jensen, asking him to grab the items and informing him of their plan.
~
Naomi headed to the front door at the sound of Avery's doorbell. Looking through the peephole she sees their delivery driver, opening the door for her.
"Here you go," The woman says handing the numerous bags to Naomi.
"Uh, hold on a sec," She says speed walking to the kitchen, "Calvin, I need a hand here." She calls for him.
"Sure," He replies heading to collect the remainder of the bags. "You know we might have overdone it with the order." He mumbles coming in with his hands full.
"Oh, I forgot one last bag, would you walk to the cat with me?" The driver asks, her eyes landing on Naomi.
"Yeah, sure." Naomi agrees, filling her to the car out front.
"It's right back there, you can grab it," She states, gesturing to the backseat door.
"You want me to get it myself? Can't you just hand it to me?" Naomi responds slightly confused.
"Opening the driver's side door she leans in over to the glove compartment, "I forgot I have something for you to sign, sorry! It's my first week doing this." The girl calls out.
"Alright," Naomi sighs, slightly unsure but wanting to end the exchange and head inside. Opening the door, she peers into the backseat before moving to turn toward the driver, "There's no bag back here- WOAH!"
Naomi finds herself reacting on instinct, her arm coming up to block the girl's hand that was about to insert a syringe into her neck. Realizing that if she had turned a second later she would have been injected and subdued.
With wide eyes and adrenaline pumping through her, she tries to duck and run from her assailant, effectively throwing herself onto the lawn. "What the shit!" She exclaims scrambling to get onto her feet as the girl comes at her again.
"AVERYYY!" Naomi screams out as she crawls onto her feet stumbling, heading to the house.
"Dammit, stop!" She whispers harshly, running suddenly and throwing herself onto Naomi, sending the both of them to the ground.
Try as she might, Naomi wasn't able to throw the girl off, opting instead to scream for help again.
"DROP IT!" She hears Calvin shout, "HEY! I SAID-" Calvin doesn't repeat himself, instead, Naomi finds herself hearing the all too familiar sound of a gun going off.
She hears a gasp before the weight on her back slides off of her. Calvin runs up to them, pulling her to her feet and pushing her behind him.
"Naomi, are you okay?!!" Avery shouts approaching, Naomi spotting the firearm in her hand as well.
A groan from the ground brings her attention back to her attacker. Calvin checks her for more weapons as the blood spot on her shorts grows wider.
"What the hell, are you alright?" Avery asks, now standing at her side. Looking up, movement in the distance catches her eye, Naomi only now realizing that they had an audience. Avery's neighbors.
"One of them has probably called the cops already," Naomi voices, nodding her head at the woman standing on her front porch next door.
"Who the hell is she?" Calvin asks.
"Hell if I know!"
~
JENSEN CARTER
"Hey, everything goes okay, took you longer than I guessed it would," Jensen says to Dalton as he walks down the stairs.
"My office, real quick," Dalton responds with a head jerk to his door. Jensen nods before turning back to his trainee. Leaving him with a couple of corrections and instructions to continue practicing the jabs he'd just taught him.
Jensen heads over to Dalton's office, closing the door behind him as he looks at his friend. "Well?"
"We took a detour, on the way to her loft. Man, I'll give you a chance to guess whose house I ended up parked in front of."
"Who?"
"Our old friend, Arrow Berlin," Dalton answers with a disbelieving chuckle as he shakes his head.
"D, what?"
"I'm not kidding. Naomi got a call, her friend...uh...Kevin,"
"Calvin," Jensen corrects.
"Right, Calvin! He calls, asking her to come get him. Tells her the address. I drive us there, she heads to the door and I look to the window of the house and there she is. Staring back at me, just as surprised before running off, out of sight."
"You're shitting me."
"No, my friend, I am not," Dalton chuckles leaning back in his chair. "Naomi didn't know whose house it was, she was just focused on her friend. I swear it's the paramedic in her, she runs in first and asks questions later."
"Why was he at Arrow Berlin's house?" Jensen asks trying to understand the story.
"He was kidnapped by another hunter whose plan was to use him as leverage against his partner." Dalton fills him in. "He didn't go into detail, he looked like he had been through it though. I supposed Naomi will fill us in later, I dropped them off at Avery's."
"If another hunter kidnapped him how did he end up at Arrow's?" Jensen wonders.
"No idea," Dalton shrugs. "But I don't think she's the menace in this story. The other one is."
"You think she had a hand in saving him?" Jensen questions.
"Who knows!" Dalton shrugs. " But man, their hunters are getting out of control. What this Kennedy guy tried with Naomi, this kidnapping situation with her friend! Hell, even before all this when those hunters were after Naomi for saving a Lycan on the job!"
"It's like the lines are blurred for them all of a sudden. They don't see regular civilians anymore... Whoever isn't on their side is their enemy." Jensen adds.
" Speaking of enemies," Dalton starts, "What are we going to do about this Josh fella? He can't just get away with that! Even if his daddy is trying to become Mayor!"
Jensen clenches his fist at the more thought of Josh Kennedy, " I want to sink my claws deep into his neck," He growls.
" That would solve the problem," Dalton chuckles, " But, your girlfriend begged us not to. So, what's option B?"
"I'm open to suggestions, " Jensen grounds out.
A knock at Dalton's office door cuts their conversation short, one of their teen employees letting them know there was a problem on the main floor.
"I'll handle it go back to your trainee," Dalton tells him.
~
Jensen stands with his arms crossed in front of him near the front desk, watching as their security pushed the young teenager out of the building. The boy had to be no older than sixteen by his guess. The teenager locks eyes with one of the other workers standing near the doors, making a lunge for him with angry yellow eyes flashing briefly.
The security guard who was also a Lycan, caught the boy mid lunge, tossing him over his shoulder. Jensen shakes his head at the scene before turning back to his previous task. He knew the guard had the situation under control from there, not needing him to step in. It was glaringly obvious that the boy was freshly turned, the emotional instability and his lack of control were dead giveaways. The resentment and anger rolled of him in waves.
He saw a lot of that In his work, people figured the gym would help them with their new high-strung emotions and newfound strength. With only three weeks until the next full moon Jensen Was already preparing himself for more instances like this
~
The rest of Jensen's day went by smoothly enough, him now walking through the snack aisle of the grocery store while Dalton browsed the freezers.
Naomi had tasked them with picking up a couple of things to bring to Avery's, while they ordered food to be delivered - An impromptu dinner hangout.
Jensen was also curious to hear the full story about her friend, his mind drifting to the topic ever since Dalton mentioned it. Spotting the items from Naomi's list, Jensen grabs the packs, tossing them into the basket.
The flyer on the isle's center post catches his attention, 'KENNEDY FOR MAYOR!" it read. Jensen walked up to it, snatching it off the column. A picture of Luke Kennedy and his children sat in the middle, all with bright smiles as they huddled together. "I'm just a family man who wants to turn Tares into a place where families can thrive!" The text under the photo reads.
"Hey, they got a great deal on this!" He hears Dalton exclaim happily, turning to see him walking toward him with four packages of frozen meat in his hands. "Watcha' reading there?" He asks coming to look over Jensen's shoulder.
"Hm, family man, huh!" Dalton grunts, "Wonder if his other two kids are as crazy as that one." He says nodding his chin at the photo.
"He resembles his brother a lot, they could pass as twins," Jensen comments studying the picture. Though Naomi had shown them what Josh looked like, Jensen felt that he and his brother could be mistaken for each other at first glance.
"Nah look at it, look closer. That one's clearly Josh. His face makes you just want to punch him." Dalton explains. "His brother's is less punch-able."
Before Jensen could reply, both their phones began to ring. Dalton pulls his out first, answering the call. "THERE'S BEEN A FIRE AT THE GYM!" He hears the panicked shout on the other end of Dalton's phone.
"SHIT! Talk to me! Tell me what happened!" Dalton says into his cell as they both begin heading toward the exit, basket discarded in the snack aisle. Without slowing, Jensen pulls out his ringing phone seeing Naomi's name on the screen.
"Naomi." He answers as they exit the grocery, heading to the car.
"Uh, listen. Forget the groceries! We have a problem! A big, big problem!"
"What happened? Are you okay?"