Kirstin's P. O. V
My hands trembled as I shoved things into my bag. I was a mass of tears, tremors and terror. I could barely see what I was putting in the damn thing through my tears, but only one thing rang through my mind as I dashed around my room.
Get out.
The evidence I'd gathered and some essentials had been the first things to go into the rucksack, so everything else was just a formality. I picked a thick enough jacket for the chill I expected, and a few other pieces of warm clothing, then I zipped it closed with all the finality I felt.
I couldn't do this.
It was the dead middle of night. Most of the house was fast asleep, and anyone who wasn't was thoroughly engrossed in one activity or another. I turned my shower on, zipped my boots up and threw my hood over my head, feeling the bristled edges of my uneven haircut graze against my neck and shoulders.
The window opened with a muffled click, and I climbed out. The bricks of the building were poor ledges for my already unsteady hands to hold on to, but I strained to hold on, fighting back the tears of pain and distraught that threatened to spill over.
I dropped the last few feet, not landing nearly as softly as I'd hoped to, and scrambled to my feet. My legs ached from work and their wounds as I sprinted away from everything I'd ever known, and I refused to give them reprieve till I was well into the forest and out of anyone's sight or hearing range. Only then did I contact Ari, sending her only three words:
'I need out.'
Hailey's P. O. V
Months had passed since summer ended and we'd returned to the city but I missed it all the same. I hadn't realised how constantly my senses were bombarded by an array of harsh human sounds, scents and sights till I'd spent a stretch of time without them. Or how tranquil I felt being so close to nature for so long.
I knew Ari would never agree to it, out of guilt or duty, but everything in me was telling me to go back to our pack to live my days out there. Save for the matter of missing Kaelin and my turmoil surrounding Tim, I'd probably be content there.
Kaelin, smart as he was, had started prepping for the December exams weeks ago and I'd spent the day with him in an attempt to find some motivation to read mine, being three weeks away. I was walking to Ari's place after a day of staring at the same page of a pdf on my laptop, hoping for a nap, a distraction, or both.
When I turned the corner, Ari's mansion came into view, along with a girl, a Werewolf, exiting a taxi in front of it. As I watched her begin the walk up Ari's driveway, the only thing I could think was that she looked... tired. World weary and wide eyed, her short, awkwardly cut hair brushed her neck as she looked around in muted awe.
I hurried the rest of the way to the house, getting to the door as Ari was gently welcoming the girl. She looked up at me as I approached, and the girl followed her gaze to do the same, her brown eyes filled with a mix of surprise and suspicion.
"Good, you're here." She said as she ushered us both inside and out of the nippy November weather. Not that she needed to, radiating warmth as she always did, "Hailey, this is Kirstin, our inside person. Kirstin, this is Hailey, my half-sister."
Surprise overtook suspicion on Kirstin's face, "That means she's..."
"Also Clark's child."
Kirstin flinched at the mention of his name.
"Nice to meet you, Hailey."
"You too..." I said, then couldn't stop myself from asking, "Are you alright? You don't look too good."
My question was the straw that broke the camel's back, I realised, as her eyes filled with tears that quickly overflowed. Her sobs were heart-wrenching, her breathing ragged in hiccups and hyperventilation. I took her bag off her and Ari guided her to the living room, sitting with her in front of the fireplace. She flicked two fingers towards the fireplace, sending a small ball of flames that ignited on the waiting wood and I went to get a blanket and start up some hot chocolate.
Kirstin didn't stop crying for well over two hours. Several times, she tried to wrestle her composure back, only for the tears to begin anew with more ferocity in their anguish, triggered by memories I was sure I never wanted to live.
Eventually, her tears abated, and she was silent with the occasional sniffles and sips of now room-temperature chocolate as she stared blankly into the flames.
Ari had brought pillows and cushions for us to rest on, some of which ended up being hugged to our chests, and blankets to wrap around ourselves. With the early winter night that had fallen, we were illuminated with the soft, shifting light of the convulsing fire.
Neither Ari nor I uttered a word, only sitting with her in silent support. Our silence continued as she spoke.
"That monster is no Alpha." Her voice was hoarse and barely there, "He has to be stopped. Someone has to make him stop."
She turned to Ari, her puffy, bloodshot eyes pleading for retribution, resolution... something to make this awful wrong less wrong somehow.
Ari tenderly took Kirstin's hands in hers, "That's what we're working on. I promise, once everything's in place, we'll stop him- we'll stop them all."
Kirstin was crying again, "You don't understand, Ari. He-" She choked on a sob, "I-"
She broke down, crying once more, this time into Ari's arms.
Ari's eyes widened slowly in horror, and I got the sinking feeling that, contrary to what Kirstin had just said, she did in fact understand.
Many would say that a year and a half doesn't count as a long time of knowing someone. After all, there are people that have known each other for decades. For sisters, we'd spent precious little of our lives around each other. But in the time we had, we'd been close. Close enough that I could say with measured confidence that I could tell what she was feeling with above-average accuracy, even if only slightly.
But in this moment, as her expression shifted from horror to something else, I would bet my first-born child that I knew what she was feeling.
It was in her eyes, glowing with the stoniest, coldest rage I'd ever seen in a person.
It was in the way the temperature went up several degrees in an instant.
It was in the way the lazy fire roared to life.
Ari was livid.
Kirstin pulled away as if she'd been burnt. Thankfully, she hadn't, but she stared at Ari in confusion. Ari didn't address her power, and instead uttered a statement that had all the weight of a vow and nearly had me bending my head to her.
"I'll kill him myself."
....................
Tim had his hands full with spearheading the growth of our pack and Ari, Kaesha and I had imminent exams to contend with, so there was no one immediately available to take Kirstin to our pack. Granted, Kaesha could have taken her and been back in under a minute, but her identity as a Witch was still undisclosed and on a need-to-know basis. And according to Ari, nobody else needed to know.
So, in the mansion she stayed.
After she'd fallen asleep, Ari had carried her up to one of the spare rooms and taken her things there for her to get set up. She'd also scheduled for a hairdresser to come over to the mansion, so that by the time Kirstin had woken and eaten, she was set to have a haircut to turn the haphazard cut she'd arrived with into a style of her choosing. She opted for a sleek bob that stopped at her chin level.
She took tentative trips into the city, stocking up on clothes and things she needed at Ari's insistence. She was always accompanied by either Ari, Kaesha or myself for these trips, and we always brought noise cancelling headphones, spelled to keep up with Werewolf hearing. After a few weeks, the darkness in her eyes began to lighten.
Soon enough, exams were over and our winter vacation begun. So we packed and jetted off to the pack to handle things, introducing Kirstin being the first of them.
I ignored the knots forming in my stomach as we walked onto our territory. I continued to ignore them as we were greeted warmly, and introduced to the new members that had joined in our absence. Through his introduction to Kirstin and our meetings on our progress and plans for the Mate Ball, I kept my focus on the meeting topics.
I turned a corner on one of the hallways, then saw them.
He was leaning on the wall, and she was standing near him. Nearer than she needed to be.
Stop it.
I had no right to my discomfort, or that increasingly unignorable knot in my stomach.
My gaze locked ahead, I powered on, fully intending to walk right by them.
"Hi Hailey." Poppy called out as I approached, with a smile full of warmth, "I've barely seen you since you got back. How was the semester?"
I offered her a smile, trying to match mine to the warmth of hers, "Hey Poppy. Sorry, I had to catch up with everyone. The semester was alright, just glad to be done."
"That's always how school is, isn't it? I really don't miss it." She turned to Tim, "Do you remember Mr Jarvis? You were always such a troublemaker in his classes."
Tim smiled at the memory, "And you were always his favourite."
"I was not." She laughed, waving off the mere notion then turned back to me, "This one absolutely could not sit still during any of the man's lessons. Damn near drove him mad."
"I can imagine..."
"I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how much of a pain in the ass he can be." She continued, "I hear you guys spent a while together when preparing for all this."
"You could say that..."
"He only responds to snark, so please feel free to tell him to fuck off when he gets on your nerves. I know I have." She said with a laugh, elbowing him lightly.
Antsy and increasingly irritated, my mouth moved before I could bite my tongue, "Yeah, I'm sure you've told him to fuck something."
My eyes widened and darted to him, seeing his face for the first time since I returned. His expression bled shock and anger as he looked at me with eyes that made me want the ground to swallow me whole.
Poppy, on the other hand, looked hurt and entirely taken aback, "Hailey, I'm sorry if I did anything to hurt you or-"
Tim put his arm out in front of her, making himself a wall between the two of us. Almost like he was protecting her... from me.
It stung.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Poppy." He declared, his eyes narrowed at me.
The back of my eyes prickled with tears and my face was on fire, from embarrassment, from guilt, from shame.
"I-I'm so sorry Poppy. I don't know why I..."
But I knew.
I knew why. The bitterness at their closeness that I'd been bobbing and weaving away from acknowledging had reared its ugly head in the worst possible way. With vitriol and in front of him.
"I think it'll be best if you just leave." His voice was piercing cold and his eyes were repelled from me, landing on everything but mine.
"Okay- yeah. I'll just..." My voice was small, my feet already carrying me away.
Go, go, go.
I just needed to get to my room, tuck my tail and hide away for the rest of eternity. Before the tears fell, before my throat sealed up, before my heart burst.
Ari had had herself, Tim and I placed in different wings of the general house, each of us to maintain order in our respective wings, with Kaesha in Ari's wing. By the time I got to my room in my wing, the tears were already falling. Thankfully, no one was around as I slipped through my door, my hand over my mouth to muffle the sobs.
My room was blurry from the tears that refused to stop falling, and my head was already throbbing from the force of my sobbing. The lump in my throat grew bigger with every breath.
I wedged myself in the space between my bed and my dresser, crouching on the floor with my arms around my knees. I didn't move for longer than I could keep track of, till the flow of tears slowed to a trickle and I felt like I could breathe and think again.
Till he came in.
He didn't bother to knock, his scent being the only thing to announce him.
He strode in like he was meant to be here, closing the door behind him, and his eyes went straight to mine. His face was unreadable, an indecipherable plain that told me nothing of why he was here and what he was going to say.
My breath was unsteady again, my heart rate picking back up to the erratic pace it just came down from.
"Stand up."
Slowly, I got to my feet, my hands fidgeting to straighten my clothes as I stood.
He strolled towards me and my heart picked up the pace with every step he took. By the time he was standing in front of me, with nothing more than an inch between us, I was sure the pace my heart was going at would have killed a human.
"I don't know what came over you." He took a deep breath, "But I'm telling you now: Don't ever talk to Penny- to Penelope like that again."
I nodded, my head hung low.
"Why would you even say something like that? You've already got Kaelin." He sneered.
I did have Kaelin.
I'd never felt so secure with someone in my life. He was romantic and charming and fit in perfectly with Greg, Trevor and Ari. Our dates were progressively getting more expensive and thought out and after months of dating, he'd begun to bring up the topic of meeting his family. Logically, I should have just agreed, but I'd kept putting it off.
With Kaelin, things were perfect.
But they didn't feel right.
He wasn't my mate.
I raised my head, lifting my eyes to meet his gaze, "I know... I just- I just couldn't handle you being with Penny."
His eyes narrowed, "You don't get to call her that anymore. And I'm not with her."
"Then why are you always around her? Every second that you're not working, you're with Penelope, giggling and skipping down memory lane together."
He threw his hands up, "Who should I be around then? You? When you've spent the last few months keeping me at arms' length? Or did you think I wouldn't fucking notice?"
"I was just trying to give you two some space! You seemed like you needed it."
He threw his gaze up, his hand on his head, "Why would I need space with anyone after I told you I'd fucking wait for you?"
I rolled my eyes, "You said that before you found her in the Sanctuary. You two have history and you've spent every moment since reminding us all of that little tidbit. How was I supposed to know you still wanted me?"
His gaze hardened, "You don't get to question my feelings for you when you're still running around with that damn boyfriend of yours."
"At least he knows he wants to be with me! You just came around to the fact after a year of stringing me along, so forgive me if I don't immediately jump into things with you."
He stepped forward, and I stepped back, till my back was against the wall and I was staring up at him with a mix of anger and need.
"In case I haven't made myself clear," He said, running his thumb along my cheek that left a trail of fire in its wake, "I want you, Sunshine. I've wanted you from the moment I laid my eyes on you at that highway."
"Then why did it take you so long?" I whispered.
"I was scared. I didn't believe we could really do this without losing each other, but I do now."
My hand went up to his own at my cheek, "I want you too, but I'm the one that's scared this time. You've made me scared."
"I am so, so sorry I did." He wrapped his free arm around me, his touch light as a feather, "Please let ease your fears."
Ease my fears...
I was never scared with Kaelin. He was safe and kind and sweet in every possible way.
But Tim was mine, and every part of me knew it.
How long could I keep denying it?
"Okay..." I whispered.
He let out a shaky breath, his eyes searching mine in shock, "Y- you'll... you'll let me...?"
I nodded.
He looked like I'd just told him that he'd won the lottery. I let out a little yelp when he scooped me up and twirled me around in uncharacteristic elation. His enthusiasm was contagious and I laughed along as I wrapped my arms around him.
Finally, he let us fall onto the bed and we laid there side by side, with silent, unbridled smiles at each other.
He brought my hands to his mouth, placing kisses on them and rousing the butterflies in my stomach, "I swear I'll spend every day of my life making you feel safe, for as long as you'll let me."
"Then you'd better get started."