Lily woke with seventeen knots in her back and a sticky sweat covering her skin. Flinging a few stray hairs off her forehead with a groan she blinked sleep away, staring above her. She kept blinking, wondering if what she was seeing was real or another dream, but the plant on the starry ceiling was very real.
Its long, green vines had snaked its way up the walls, nudging aside picture frames. It clutched onto the ceiling, flicking chipped paint into Lily's eyes, and when it reached directly above her head it sprouted downwards. Leaves shot out of the vine, stranglers twirling in the air.
When the vine's end was between her eyes, inches from her forehead, the bud at the end sprouted to reveal a glistening, bright lily. It was as white as milk, spinning as the plant strengthened its roots on the ceiling. Captivated, Lily reached out with a hand and hesitantly brushed the petal.
It was smooth on her fingers. The star-like petals closed itself off and shrivelled back the way it came, the trellises merging back into the stem. Lily followed the movement, perplexed by the magic happening around her.
The plant ended at the fingers of Frieda, who was peaking around the doorway with sharp broken nails piercing the plastered wall. Her eyes were madly drinking in the sight of Lily, who was now incredibly awake.
"The little river springs the lilies..." Frieda whispered, the magic glow fading from her eyes but the insanity remained. "The lilies of the Lily of the river of the wind of the sky of the world..."
Lily didn't move. Didn't speak. She couldn't stop staring at Jack's mother.
"The storm is coming. The inferno is brewing. The cyclone is swirling. The earth is roaring." Frieda raked her nails down the wall, plaster coiling and a shrill rang in her ears. Jack shot upright in alarm. "Destruction is coming. The cleanse has begun. The typhoon approaches."
"Mama!" Jack snapped.
"The flames shed their leaves. The earth burns. The winds drown. The water-"
Jack's pillow landed squarely in her mother's face.
"Mama!" Jack leapt out of bed to fetch her pillow - and check if her mother was okay. Frieda stumbled back into the doorway with a dazed look, a hand on her temples.
"Did you just throw a pillow at me?" Frieda said quietly.
Jack sighed. "I'm sorry. You were rambling again."
"Rambling?"
"Talking about...burning earth and drowning winds? I dunno Mama, have you had your morning tea?"
Frieda scratched her head, yanking her hand back through several knots. "No?"
"Go and have your tea, Mama." Jack said gently, despite the sheer adrenaline pumping through her veins. Frieda hobbled off, muttering something about how winds don't drown, and Jack turned towards Lily.
"Sorry." Jack scratched her neck nervously. "She's..."
"Like that?"
"Yeah." Jack frowned. "You okay?"
Lily shrugged. "I've woken up to worse - my aunt and I found a spider in the kitchen last week."
Jack pursed her lips. "We don't kill the spiders in our house so you might find some hung about."
"Pardon?" Lily blinked rapidly.
"It's worse at the pack house apparently - Claire says they keep chickens. Can you imagine waking up to those creepy things?" Jack rubbed her arms.
"You don't like chickens?"
"Hell no! Have you seen their eyes? Beady little foghorns with feathers, ugh!" Jack waved her hands about, putting her pillow back on her bed. "Stupid birds."
Lily smiled a little before she got up. They were both in their pyjamas. All of Lily's things were still in her emergency duffel bag, but somehow all of Jack's belongings were thrown across the floor. It was like her wardrobe had exploded.
Jack followed her eye. She scoffed, her rings catching the morning sun as she pointed around her room. "Don't know how they got there... Probably the goblins."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. Crazy little things. Horrible nail hygiene. Like to spit on you when you sleep." Jack spouted off random facts, Lily all the more aware of the sweat she'd woken up in. It was due to the heat of the room she was sure, it was on the eastern side of Jack's home. But she had the image in her mind nonetheless.
Lily shook her head at Jack's sarcasm and grabbed her things to get changed in the bathroom down the hall. The bathroom was egg-like yellow tiled and had mustard towels and trinkets. There were plants in here like the rest of the house and Lily blinked away the blinding yellowness of the bathroom.
Removing the gauze scattered around her body her dread returned as she glimpsed what was underneath. With the old bandages thrown onto the yellow counter top, Lily noticed how pale she'd become in shock.
She was completely healed.
There wasn't a single bruise on her - no scabs and wounds from the glass shards and the bark from yesterday's attack. Only faint silver scars remained, the only proof she was injured at all. She gently stroked the new scar on her cheekbone from the fragment of bark in wonder.
After cleaning herself up and ignoring the anxious knots in her stomach, she focused instead on the breakfast she was having with Jack, Freida and her aunt.
Ollie was fresh and awake, ever the morning person. It seemed Freida was too because they were the only two talking. Lily and Jack both had half-lidded eyes and a sway of fatigue.
Jack was just staring at her breakfast bowl of fresh berries from their homegrown garden in confusion - she didn't remember making this bowl of fruit up, let alone getting out of bed. She needed more sleep.
Freida narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "How much of your gift did you use yesterday?"
Jack scowled. "It's too early Mama..."
"It's eleven o'clock."
"Like I said, too early." Jack groaned, tipping her head back on her chair. Lily raised an eyebrow at her aunt.
"It's really eleven?" Lily asked, finishing off her berries.
Ollie nodded. "Well, quarter to eleven, actually. You two slept through our first breakfast."
Freida scoffed to herself. "Breakfast... I won't be confined to schedules that dictate when I eat. I eat when I please."
Ollie ignored her. "We decided you two needed the rest."
Lily pursed her lips. "What about school?"
"It's not open today. Alpha Andrew said it'll be back on Monday." Ollie pointed a spoon at her face. "Doesn't mean you don't have homework to do, Lily."
Jack grinned, pumping a fist. "No school for almost a week? We should have lock downs more often!"
Freida hissed between her cracked teeth. "People were injured Jacinta. It's not a wish to wish frequently."
Jack shrugged. "Everyone's fine Mama, it was just a joke."
The witch grumbled under her breath about her dislike of jokes and not understanding Jack's humour. Ollie frowned at the witches before gently tapping Lily on the arm.
"I did get a private email from the alpha - he said you had a meeting with him today?" Ollie inquired with a tip of her head.
Lily flushed. "Yeah, Ryan messaged me last night. He said Andrew wanted to know more about the attack yesterday from me and Jack."
Jack leaned forward, her eyes sparking in amusement "Ryan?" She smirked. "And what else did you and Ryan talk about?"
If Lily wasn't blushing before, she was now. "Nothing else." She mumbled.
"Did you dream about Ryan?" Jack laughed seeing Lily's ears go red. "You did!!"
"No I didn't!"
Jack cackled. "Oh yeah, sure. I totally believe you."
Freida frowned at her daughter again. "The little river dreamed of a night with the clouds blown away by strong winds to reveal the stars." Her voice was hollow. "She didn't dream of the werewolf."
Lily paled. Jack just sighed at her mother, ruffling up her dark hair that was still spiky after her restless night sleep. "You're no fun for a wind up, Mama."
Ollie looked between her niece and the witch seer, deliberately throwing her messy napkin on the table enthusiastically. "Okay! Let's get this all cleared up and you can get yourselves to the pack house for that meeting!"
Lily moved automatically, placing her plate on the counter and heading to grab her phone. Jack shoved all the berries in her mouth at once, her lips a bloody red from the juices. She grumbled something at her mother as Freida and Ollie cleared the table and washed their bowls.
Jack squawked with her mouth full, waving the keys in her hand as the two left the house and hopped into Jack's rusted car. She kept chewing, loudly, as she drove out of her neighbourhood with the wonky fences back into Lily's with the two story homes.
The fancier and richer homes were on the other side of Nova High, a whole forest surrounding them like a bowl. Lily hadn't been on that side of town before and wasn't too fussed about visiting. If Claire or Karen invited her around it would be the only time she'd venture into the upper class district.
Jack gulped down the rest of the berries by the time they'd arrived at the pack house. Lily directed Jack on where to go - passing the smaller houses that lined the dirt road once they got through the main gate. When they set eyes on the large mansion at the end of the road, Jack's jaw dropped. It was a good thing she'd finished eating or her lap would be covered in food.
"Woah," Jack whistled between her teeth. "Quite the place."
Lily nodded in agreement as they parked at the edge of the road and walked up the stairs to the main door. Lily knocked and waited. Jack was too perplexed, taking in the wooden beams and the scaffolding at the side of the mansion. She scowled at some of the plants.
"They don't take care of their flora here." Jack mused. Lily took a second look at the scenery, noting the brownish tone of the leaves and the drooping flowers.
"I guess they don't care about it as much." Lily didn't know what else to say but Jack nodded nonetheless.
She heard the patter of feet on the other side of the opening door. A small smile came over her face when Alice peered out, her little fingers gripping the wood tightly. Her bright brown eyes glowed against her dark skin but they weren't as bright as the smile that came over her face.
"Lily!" She cheered, opening the door for her.
"Hi Alice." Lily stepped through, Jack hot on her heels as she took in the inside of the house with a sweep of her eyes. "How are you?"
"Good!" Was all Alice said as she noticed Jack staring at their home. "We opened windows."
Lily noticed the difference immediately. The light was slowly smothering out the darkness of the mansion. Dust still coated most of the furniture but a soft breeze rustled the sheer curtains kissing the floor. Lily smiled at Alice. "Your home is so lovely."
Alice bobbed her head, dark curls springing everywhere. "Come and see the paint!" Alice grabbed Lily's hand and started to drag her down the large corridor but Jack quickly spoke up.
"Actually, can we chat to your brother first?" Jack asked nicely.
The little girl stopped smiling. "Oh, yeah he's this way." She murmured and lead the way to the stairs, still holding Lily's hand.
"Thanks kiddo." Jack said, following the two of them. Alice didn't respond, following the familiar route to the library. Lily gently squeezed her hand when they reached the door.
"Hey, I'd love to see some of your paintings soon," Lily smiled. "I just have to talk to your brother about school first, okay?"
Alice's grin returned but not as wide as before. "Okay." She let go of her hand and almost ran away back to her room, or the art studio, if it weren't for her shuffling feet.
The two watched her go, Lily felt a familiar sadness echo in her heart. Jack sighed next to her. "She seems sweet."
"Yeah." Lily agreed but she knew better. Alice needed someone to be there for her and all she was getting was people passing her by. When Lily was grieving her parents, Ollie fought to be there for her even if she pushed her away. Even as Lily was coming to terms with her losses, Ollie read her better than anyone and was always there to help, to hold her hand. Lily felt sorry for Alice, wishing she could be there for her like her aunt was for herself.
Jack didn't bother knocking on the door and walked into the library. Lily was still gobsmacked at the sheer amount of books on the walls but she drew her attention to the two werewolves who jumped to their feet in surprise.
Andrew was staring at Jack with anger. "You should knock before you enter someone's office, you know."
Jack stared him down. "You invited us, remember?"
"How'd you even get in?"
"Alice let us in." Lily interrupted. "How are you guys after yesterday?"
Andrew ignored Lily and scowled at Jack. "I need to have a chat to her about answering the door." He muttered, rounding back to his large table. He wasn't sitting at it, but on his desk, fiddling with pieces of paper.
Ryan, though, was still staring at Lily. "We're fine, thanks." His black eye was non-existent, just two sky-blue eyes intensely watching her . "How are you, more importantly?"
Lily shrugged, rubbing her covered arms. She didn't regret wearing the longer clothes to hide her noticeable lack of wounds. "I'm fine, thanks."
Jack looked between them and looked at Ryan. "I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for asking."
Ryan rolled his eyes at the witch and looked to his alpha. "Do you have all your information?" He asked.
Andrew pointed a finger in the air, shaking it. "Almost. Just a few questions about what happened yesterday and I should have all of the records."
Jack rolled her eyes this time. "We heard the alarm, we ran out, I lit up the path for you guys, you found Lily and we saved the day. You can call me a hero now."
Lily sat down in one of the free chairs, staring at Andrew. "What do you want to know?"
"Can you start from when you heard the alarm?" He asked, ignoring Jack. She huffed and landed in a spare seat.
"I need to have a sarcasm sign when I'm around you guys." She muttered.
Lily looked at her friend. This wasn't something she had to be here for, she could have ignored Andrew's request for a meeting, but she was here nevertheless and Lily was grateful for her being there. She eased up the tension in the room.
"I was in the girls bathroom," Lily went on to explain. "I heard three people walking to the door but Jack's magic scared them off. I thought it was a light to lead me out so I left the bathroom to follow it and...the rogues rounded the corner."
"How many were there?" Ryan asked, leaning forward in his seat. Andrew was holding a notepad, taking notes.
"Three." Lily remembered. "They looped around through the cafeteria to get back to the halls."
"Why?" Andrew asked, looking up from his notes. He was frowning. "Why did they not just leave?"
Lily paused, fiddling with her hands. Her fingers still hovered over her bare wrist but she was slowly breaking that habit. "We spoke when they rounded the corner."
"What did they say?" Andrew growled.
With a glance at Jack, who gave a nod of encouragement, Lily spoke through the churning in her belly. "One of the rogues was the one who got away last week when I saved Alice."
Andrew's eyes flashed his wolf black, ever the alpha defending his family. "Was he the same one who got away as well?"
Lily paused, seeing the anger in his eyes, but nodded. "He said he wasn't after Alice."
Ryan's head snapped up, eyes flashing gold briefly. "He was after you."
Lily didn't know how to respond to that, so she dipped her head - her red hair hiding her face. "He said that Yuric was looking for something like me for a long time." She rubbed her arms as a chill rattled her bones.
Jack frowned. "Yuric?"
Andrew put his notes down slowly. "Yuric is the rogue who led the attack on us." His words were clipped. He clenched his jaw, staring at the wall as he got his anger in check.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I thought rogues didn't have leaders. Hence, you know, rogues."
Ryan shook his head. "They don't, but Yuric's the fiercest rogue we've seen around here. Other rogues we've seen in the past have kept to themselves, but it's like he rallied them all for the attack last week. They all seem to follow him like he's a great white shark, or something."
"Well we just need a scuba tank and a harpoon and boom he's dealt with." Jack smirked, but it faltered at Ryan and Andrew's blank expressions. "You guys haven't seen Jaws? Jeez I'm wasted here. I'm better off doing damn homework!"
Lily smiled. "Do you know where we can get a scuba tank and a harpoon?"
Jack threw her hands up, rings flashing in the light streaming through the open windows. "I don't know, a fishing tackle store might be a fair guess."
Andrew waved her off. "Enough of that - why would Yuric want Lily?"
It was the question that kept Lily up most of the night. "I don't know." She admitted.
Jack pursed her lips, her brows furrowed in thought. Ryan cracked his knuckles and looked up at his alpha. "Could it be revenge based? She did knock out three of his wolves last week."
Andrew held up a finger. "That would only be plausible if he leads the rogues."
"Wouldn't he?" Jack interrupted. "He's the biggest fish, as you put it - he's going to control what everyone does to a degree, right?"
Andrew scowled. "That defeats the point of them all being rogues. That's saying he has a pack and he's an alpha."
The witch leaned forward. "It's nature. You have the top predator in an environment and the rest follow them, adapt to them, and everything they do leads back to the top dog's lifestyle; food, water, shelter, mates? He's the centre of that, if Yuric is leading the rogues."
Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose, fingers lightly tracing his just healed eye. "I don't like the idea of a pack forming right outside our borders."
Andrew crossed his arms. "It'd explain the attack last week - it was coordinated and quick. Knowing Yuric was pulling some strings, it kinda makes sense that he's formed a pack. Or at least a pack-like structure."
"That still doesn't explain me." Lily chipped in, tucking her loose hair behind her ear. "What use would I be to a pack of werewolves?"
Ryan pulled his leg up to drape his foot over his knee. "Your creature is a fighter and can take out a few wolves without breaking a sweat. It's twice you've evaded them - maybe it's a power thing? Yuric wants you just so we don't have you."
Lily's stomach turned sour. She wasn't a pack member, the pack didn't have her. She wasn't something to have anyway. She ignored the comment and let it slide. "I don't have control over her though."
"It doesn't matter. You're a powerful card and Yuric wants the upper hand."
Jack rolled her eyes. "How poetic." She murmured.
Lily's stomach was churning. Her mind was panicking at the idea of a pack of rogues coming only for her. They invaded her school just to get to her, so they have to want her badly. But what could she do? What use was she to them?
"Do you think Yuric knows what Lily is?" Jack asked, a brow raised at the alpha. "It could explain his desperation, in a way?"
Andrew frowned. "How would he know?"
"I don't know I'm not a psychic - but how do we know he doesn't?" Jack scoffed. "He seems pretty keen on getting Lily, even going to school. And look, I hate school as much as anyone else, but even I wouldn't be stupid enough to go against seasoned vamps, witches, and wolves."
"We have two of his wolves." Ryan said. "We could talk to them?"
Andrew shook his head. "They won't say a thing. Better for them to serve their sentences - but you're right Jack I wonder if he does know?"
Lily's anxiety was crawling in her chest, nausea was beginning to swirl in her belly. There was a little coffee table in front of them with some glasses of water, probably set up by Ryan or Andrew when they accepted their meeting. Reaching forward she grabbed a glass. Lily tried to ignore her shaking hands as she took a sip and put the glass back.
As the glass hit the table Andrew seized her wrist. Lily jolted, forming a fist out of instinct. Her eyes burned away their brown to the mysterious supernatural colour as she stared the alpha down. His eyes had shifted into their feral black but Lily didn't feel inferior in the slightest.
Lily flicked her gaze between her wrist still trapped under his grip and back at Andrew. He looked away from her stare first, taking in her arm. When she reached forward to put her drink down, her sleeve had ridden up.
Her healed arm was revealed for all to see.
"You've healed already?" Jack gasped. Ryan's jaw was dropped as they saw what Andrew had picked up on quickly. "Are you Jesus or something?"
Lily's eyes welled up as she was caught, literally. She blinked, her eyes changing back to their normal brown almost instantly. Andrew's brightened back to their icy blue and he let go of her wrist.
"I didn't mean to startle you." Andrew apologised, but Lily saw how bright his eyes were, how alive. He was lying. He did that deliberately. Her eyes narrowed. She'd grown up with adults pushing her buttons and deciphering her life, trying to get her to cope with her grief and see if she was going insane. She couldn't count how many times she'd been called to the principal's office after a teacher was worried for her, trying to pull her strings like she was some puppet.
Lily stood up so she was level with Andrew. She didn't need her creature to emerge to show him she was pissed. Andrew took a step back seeing the anger in her eyes, knowing he'd been caught red-handed.
"We're leaving now." Lily snapped, something calm and fierce in her tone. Jack stood up with her, immediately following suit.
"Yes we are. Call us when you develop a new sense of humour that rivals mine, or if you know the answer to question eight on this week's maths homework." Jack started to make her way to the door. Lily didn't follow just yet, she was still in the staring contest with Andrew.
Andrew flickered his gaze between Jack and Lily. "Before you go, was there anything else the rogues said to you?" He said, following Lily as she moved away from the chair towards the door.
Jack put her hand on her hip. "Wouldn't we have said otherwise?"
Andrew clenched his fists. "Anything at all; details on locations? Yuric? Any other names? The smallest thing could help."
Lily hesitated at the door. Andrew noticed. "Anything at all Lily, please."
Lily stared at the alpha, looking at Jack's curious expression, before staring at Ryan. He was still sitting down on his chair but at her stare he slowly stood. His eyes were tracing her face, trying to get a read on what she was thinking. His blonde hair was still all over the place, and Lily sighed, fidgeting with her fingers again. "He called me 'little river'." She finally said. "It's probably because he doesn't know my name, but it was still a weird thing to say. I dunno if it helps?"
Jack put her hand on the door handle as Andrew's eyes widened. "Okay we're going now. Have fun!"
"Wait!" Andrew said, locking eyes with Ryan. "Wait, I might be... Wait a minute. Little river, little river little river..." He kept muttering Lily's unnerving nickname as he sprinted to one of the shelves holding tattered old books. They looked like they should have been preserved behind glass but he hauled one out that was the same size as Jack's dense pillows. It was rough around the edges and had a tan-like stain over the pages but Andrew whipped through it without a care.
When he got to the middle, the pages opened to what looked like whorls of faint blue ink but Lily couldn't read the writing from this far away. She frowned as he slowly raised his head and stared at her. Awe filled his eyes, understanding dawning on him. He then said the only thing that would have made her stay in the dreaded office.
"I know what you are, Lily." The alpha grinned.