"Do you drink? I don't mean alcohol or anything, I just meant drinks like water or a soda. Do you drink normal . . . liquids?" Blake trailed off awkwardly.
"Yes," Grim said as she settled on the couch, waving away the dust that surrounded her. The entire place was covered in it.
The sparse furniture had a grey quality because of all the dust that had settled. Grim eyed everything and frowned. Nearly all of Gregory's things were gone.
His photos and artwork that decorated the walls had disappeared, and nothing had replaced them, leaving walls sad and empty. His rugs, end tables, sculptures and flowers were all gone. As Grim looked around all she saw was the couch she was sitting on and a small armchair that Blake occupied, and a coffee table which was empty.
There wasn't a single other thing in the room. It was quite a lonely place.
"Do you want something?" Blake asked, bringing her back.
She eyed him. He looked uncertain and fidgeted constantly, unsure and confused. Grim took pity, "No, I ate before I came here."
He nodded and looked her in the eyes and Grim could feel his eyes searching for something. She didn't know what he was hoping to find but she did know that he wouldn't.
Blake took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but Grim interrupted him.
"Where's Alpha Gregory?"
She couldn't hold it in anymore. She needed to know where he was and why he wasn't here.
Blake looked stunned for a few seconds before shaking his head, "I'm sorry, he died three years ago."
Grim froze and stared at him uncomprehendingly.
"He fell off a ladder repairing the roof; he landed badly and broke his neck," Blake continued gently.
Grim swallowed her grief and turned to him, "Why are you here then?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "Because this is my home."
Grim laughed out loud. In fact, she couldn't stop laughing; the thought of it was simply to absurd, to unbelievably cruel. Not only had the man who'd been like a second father to her died, but he had been replaced by the man who single handily ruined her life. Oh god, that was just too funny. Well, it wasn't funny at all, but if she didn't laugh she would have started screaming.
When she finally calmed down it was to Blake staring at her in wonderment. Grim realised he'd never seen her laugh or be happy, how could he?
Grim settled back down in her seat and stared at him. He did the same, not moving a single inch as his eyes canvassed every inch of her. It got a little annoying after a full five minutes of utter silence. Grim shifted and looked pointedly at him, and he shook his head once again, as if having to shake away the thoughts clouding his mind.
"How- how are you here?"
"What do you mean?' Grim asked easily, having expected this and already having the answers in her mind.
Blake placed his elbows on his knees and locked his hands together, staring at her intently. "How is it that I'm looking at a girl I saw die ten years ago. How is it that she is sitting before me unchanged and looking exactly like she did when she died, even to the point where wearing the same clothes?"
"How do you know this is what I was wearing?"
"Because I've relived that night a thousand times."
That made Grim's mouth clamp shut. She sighed and begun to tell him the truth.
"I cannot tell you much; the living are prohibited from knowing about the realm beyond this one. What I can tell you is that I am a death reaper. When I died I didn't go into the 'light. I became this," she said gesturing down to her cloak. She didn't mention that it didn't exactly happen like that. It wasn't so fast.
"Why are you here?"
This is where it got tricky. "Something . . . something has occurred in my realm. It has upset the process of death and I have been sent to right it."
Blake's gaze was piercing. "What's happened?"
In normal circumstance, there was no way that she would have been allowed to tell him anything. He wouldn't be allowed to know anything about how death had stopped. As she was struggling with a way to make this clear to him, she just suddenly knew that it was alright to tell him.
"Something horrific, death has stopped and if I don't fix it then the world is in trouble."
He nodded and sat up, regarding her with weariness. He seemed more focused on her than the fact that death had completely stopped. "So you say you're Anya Royce."
"I'm Grim now, but when I was alive, yes I went by the name Anya."
"I don't believe you."
Grim rolled her black eyes. "So I've turned up identical to Anya and you say I'm not her."
"There is magic in this world," Blake said simply.
Grim sighed and gritted her teeth, hating to recount this tale. "I have proof I'm Anya. Ten years ago, when I was sixteen and you were eighteen, you found out I was your mate. You ran up to me and kissed me full on the mouth and smiled at me. You told me you were so happy, blah blah blah. I bet you didn't know that at that moment I forgave you, I forgave you for the three months of pain and torture you put me through. But you had to go and ruin it. You told me to meet you at the fountain, the one that was in the middle of the school yard. And I did."
Blake had gone very pale at this moment, and maybe even slightly green but Grim wasn't about to stop.
"I went there and I was so very happy. I was practically skipping. I sat there and nearly bursting with happiness waiting for when you arrived. You had your group with you – did you know I gave you guys the nickname the Hellish Six?—and you came up to me. Mary was grinning, and I think that's when I knew that everything was going to go wrong. Do you need me to remind you what happened next?" Blake shook his head so fast she was surprised his neck didn't crack. Grim grinned and continued, filled with such anger her hands were trembling.
"It started off with Mary and Eva- didn't it? - Jessica was supposed to join in but she couldn't. But Mary and Eva were strong enough on their own. They took my backpack off me and threw me in the fountain. I think that's when they begun to hit me."
"Stop," Blake croaked out. Grim ignored him.
"Then they actually ripped my clothes off if I think about it. I actually thought that they might have mercy at that point. I mean everyone was laughing and staring. Every single student either worshipped you or was petrified, which meant they just sat back and watched. After I was nearly completely naked except for a pair of underwear, and screaming for help, you helped drag me to the tree. I think it was you who pulled out the duct tape, but by that time I was so hysterical it could have been anyone. I do know you helped wrap my hands, leg and neck to the tree. Do you remember what you said to me then?"
Blake slowly nodded his head, while tears streaked down his cheeks.
"You said," Grim said slowly, leaning forward. "You said that you didn't even want to be seen with me, much less want to be with me forever. The last thing you said was that I was nothing, and then you turned and invited everyone to take pictures. I was tapped to that tree for half an hour before a teacher came and cut me down."
Blake buried his hands in his head. Grim leaned back, satisfied.
"So," she asked casually, "Do you believe I'm Anya now?"
The airport teemed with humans. They rushed around dragging screaming children or clunky luggage. Mary watched them all with her lips tilted in a smile.
She loved watching the sheep. They amused her greatly. She wondered if they even knew how foolish they were, how powerless they really were in this world. Of course they didn't, their minds were too small for such thoughts.
Mary picked up her small bag and begun walking. It felt good to be home, it felt right. She knew that it was time that everything had finally fallen into place.
It had taken a good ten years but she'd found them all.
It had been incredibly difficult tracking everyone down. In her eighteen year absence they had scattered like smoke in the wind. Many she found sleeping under bridges or in caves. They were living like humans, hunted by the reapers and lost without their leader. Mary had saved them and was, finally, back in her rightful position.
It felt wonderful to be powerful again. How she had managed eighteen years without knowing who she truly was still baffled her. She now knew why she hated the werewolves, why she didn't like the wolf inside of her and had never felt like she belonged in her pack.
But now she'd found her place. She had taken her rightful place as queen.
The only terribly sad part was that the humans and all the other creatures had yet to realise this. When they looked at her they saw nothing but the delicate doll, the persona she had crafted so painstakingly, but she'd used it to death. She was sick of delicacy. She was sick of playing the damsel, of swooning at blood, screaming at spiders and to all the gods was she sick of pink. It wasn't even a good pink, too bright and fluffy looking.
Mary looked best in blood red.
That would have to wait unfortunately. There was still so much planning to do.
First thing on her list was of course Blake. How delighted she'd been to learn of his new position of Alpha, it was meant to be. With him everything would fall into place, even if he didn't want to.
Mary was floating in ecstasy as she made her way to her limo. That was until a man rudely barged into her, hurrying off and chatting into his phone without so much as a glance towards her.
Mary's nostrils flared, committing the scent of expensive cologne and leather to memory. Outrage burned inside red hot, but on the outside she was fluffy pin. She smiled softly as she walked turning and following that scent.
She had a skip to her step that made her look like she was over sixteen, when in actuality she was approaching her twenty-eighth year in this body. People didn't even look at the princess passing by them. She knew what they were thinking, delicate and soft, no threat at all.
Oh, how every wrong they were.
Mary couldn't wait to kill them all! Ooh, that rhymed, wait, no it didn't.
But first, the very rude man who bumped into her had to pay. He was easy to find, still speaking into a phone as he waited in line for coffee. Mary stepped in line behind him.
While he chatted away she turned to her small carry on that she hung on her back. She rifled through it humming softly before she pulled out what she was looking for.
She smiled as she looked at the lipstick, a cotton candy pink. Then she stumbled forward, twisting the bottom of the lipstick as she did.
"Watch it!" the man cried, turning around and glaring at her.
"Oh," Mary squeaked. "I'm so sorry, I was just trying to put some lipstick on and I guess I tripped. Oh gosh, did I get any on your suit?" She inspected it and let out a sigh of relief, "I didn't, but I'm so sorry?"
The man waved her away and turned back to his phone call. Mary smiled to herself and twisted the lipstick back, disguising the small needle in the centre of it. She turned and left the line.
She leaned against a wall several hundred feet away, using her werewolf eyes to watch. He got to the front of the line before he hunched over. The hundreds of voices in the airport made it impossible to hear what the cashier said, but Mary saw as the man threw up blood, dousing everything in the red liquid. The rude man grabbed his throat and fell to the ground.
Mary sighed, she would have liked to see how the poison affected humans up close, but she could wait. She turned, ignoring the rushes of people and left.
She found her bright white limousine easily, and standing outside of it was Adele with her signature forest green umbrella up to keep away the sun.
Mary gave a small wave and Adele straightened up and grinned. She opened the door and Mary slipped in, Adele following closely still grinning.
Before the door even closed Adele was gushing. "It's so wonderful to see you again mistress."
"Yes," Mary said amused, "I know." She held out her hand and let Adele kiss it, before signalling for the driver to start. Mary settled in her set and held out her hand, where Adele placed a glass of champagne.
"How was the flight mistress?" Adele asked, her voice saturated with adoration.
Mary inspected her fresh manicured hands, "Quite dull. There was an accident with a flight attendant though, could you call the airline for me, ask if she really is paralysed from the neck down?"
"And if she isn't?"
"Kill her," Mary said, looking out the window. "She was dreadfully rude to me."
Adele nodded, writing this down in a small notebook. That girl loved her notebooks, she carried around seemingly hundreds.
Mary laid her head back and smiled to herself. This was how she deserved to be treated, worshipped and adored. She'd missed this.
Without opening her eyes, Mary asked, "When are the rest of my army arriving?"
"We have them travelling in groups of five, one group on each flight. They are travelling to fifteen different airports and I imagine we shall have the entire army in the country within a month."
Mary nodded. "Anything else to report?"
There was silence and made Mary raised her head and one of her perfectly groomed eyebrows. Adele was looking at her nervously, gnawing on her thumb nail. Mary narrowed her eyes.
"What's happened?"
Adele gave her a nervous smile, "I don't know if it's true mistress, but if it is then so many of our problems are solved. There are a number of rumours going around that the reapers have lost their ability to claim the dead."
Mary spilled her champagne from sitting up so fast.
Her mind was racing, if this was true then this world could be hers in less than a month, if Blake cooperated, which she knew he would. She knew she'd felt something linked to the realm of death.
Adele was smiling again and Mary was buzzing with excitement. She turned to her assistant and gave her a small smile.
"Good work."
Adele swooned almost and looked close to tears at the compliment. Mary leant back and smiled grandly. "How long till we arrive at my old pack?"
"An hour and thirty-six minutes, mistress."
Mary sighed, impatient to get her plans under way.
Mary closed her eyes, and grinned at the thought of her plans.
Now all she had to dowas get Blake to make her his mate and then she could take over the world.