Hey!

I apologize for the slow updates! I've been very busy! Anyways, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter! I'm curious to know your opinions and just so you know, I purposely made all friendships/relationships complicated! Not everybody gets a happy ending ;) Feel free to check out my other book, Monsters Among Us! :D

- Lissa

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Rather than attacking the Torment, I attacked Ethen.

As soon as he noticed the shocked, yet furious expression on my face, he reached for me. When his hand grabbed my upper arm, I defensively swung my fist out, striking him in the cheekbone. A minute of silence drifted between us while everybody exchanged looks, not sure how to react. A frightening sound came from the back of his throat and his hands moved to my shoulders, almost reassuringly. But, I was fuming that he had allowed a Torment around, especially when he knew what one had done to me. I swung my fist again, striking his jaw, but he was unfazed. It was as if he was allowing me to hit him; he wasn't fighting back and that infuriated me even more. Caine opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped when I suddenly charged at Ethen, swinging my fists.

My fists connected with his skin multiple times, before he suddenly grabbed my shoulders and shoved me backwards. I crumbled to the ground, pathetically falling on my ass. A guilty expression crossed his face as soon as he realized what he had done and he moved towards me in hope of helping me to my feet. I gritted my teeth together and staggered to my feet on my own, immediately fighting once again. "You brought one here?!" I kicked my leg out and nailed him in the knee, only receiving a hiss in response. Suddenly, he snatched my wrists and whirled me around, holding me against his body. I thrashed and thrashed, not really thinking about defense. "How could you?!"

His brothers watched with sullen eyes while Drew rubbed his chin, looking down at the floor. I stomped on Ethen's foot and his grip on me weakened. Taking the opportunity, I twisted and brought my elbow back into his stomach, his fingers completely slipping from me. I stumbled away from him, heaving from the frantic minutes of thrashing, and raised my hands, protectively. It was that moment when he had snapped; I knew it by just looking at him. His shoulders were hunched forward, his nostrils were flaring, his hands had curled into fists at his sides, and his emerald eyes had flashed a murderous red. As he strided towards me, every step of his was heavy, filled with anger. He rolled his neck, squeezing his eyes shut, almost as if he was fighting against a transition.

As soon as he was in distance, I swung my arm out. With a growl, he snatched my wrist with his super speed and painfully twisted my arm back. Then, in a matter of seconds, he drove his foot into my stomach, sending me hunching forward - which was exactly what he had wanted. His knee rammed into my nose, sending blood pouring down my face. The awful metallic taste was the least of my concerns. Still gripping my wrist, he used his strength to easily throw me towards the nearest wall. But, literally inches from the wall, I found myself hovering in the air, eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to brace myself for the pain of the ram.

The Torment blinked, his arm extended with the palm of his hand facing me. He had stopped me from flying into the wall. Caine and Ryker were at Ethen's side, appearing shocked that he had lost his temper, especially with me. I continued floating in the air, ignoring the Torment's hazel eyes that were studying me, curiously. Ethen ran his fingers through his hair, still upset. "I'm trying to help you!"

"Calm down," Caine said, quietly.

"I'm just trying to help her!" Ethen hissed, his eyes wide. "She needs my help! Don't you see?" He gestured towards me, almost exasperated. The angry expression slowly disappeared from his face, replaced with a desperate and saddened one. "I need to save her. . .I have to help her. . . she needs me, brother." Sullenly, Ryker patted his shoulder and started nudging him towards the exit in hope of separating us for the time. "I need her."

"Well, isn't that romantic," Ryker commented, dryly.

Caine gave him a dark look. "And, I'm sure you haven't been romantic to Emma." Ryker pinched his lips together, still patting Ethen's shoulder. "Come on, brother. Lets go outside." As Ethen's emerald eyes met mine, I licked my bottom lip, tasting my blood.

"I hurt her," he whispered, looking at my busted nose.

"You both need help," Caine murmured, dropping his head. "You two need to deal with your own problems, before involving yourselves in each other's. You need time - apart, okay? Thea is going to get some help, as will you." My eyebrows knitted together as I listened to his words, feeling my heart grow heavy. "The Torment is going to help her and I'm going to help you, brother. Then, hopefully before the war starts, you'll both be better and reconnect." Processing his words, I opened my mouth to speak, but no words escaped. The Torment was preventing me from saying anything; I scowled at him, feeling my stomach coiling.

Ethen frowned. "I can't leave her."

"It's temporary," Ryker said, nodding once. "It's for the best."

Ethen looked at me, a strained expression on his face. Even though I was angry at him, I didn't want him to leave me, especially with the Torment. He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaled loudly, and turned around, leaving the room without another word. His brothers followed, leaving only Drew, me, and the Torment in the room. As soon as they were out of listening distance, the Torment released his 'magical' hold on me and I dropped onto my feet, taking a deep breath. "He's right - you do need help."

I huffed. "Not from you."

"You need my help," the Torment said, slowly. "This may be hard to believe, but not all Torments are bad, Thea." I brought my hands to my nose, feeling the blood gushing down my lips. No, it was harder to believe the fight that I just had with Ethen; while I had brought it upon myself by attacking him, I was shocked that he had harmed me. "My name is Orphelos."

Drew stepped forward. "Let him help you."

My chest tightened when I looked at Drew - my mind instantly went to the memory of me murdering his brother. Suffocating him with a pillow. I had taken away the last of his family. His whole family was dead and I was lucky enough to still have mine. Would they have liked the change? Would they have liked me? Was this me? I wiped underneath my nose, considering the idea that I had completely lost it. I had blood on my hands now. Temp hated me. I had just attacked Ethen. This wasn't me and as I stood there, I assumed that all of the stress and fear that started when I met Ethen sparked this horrible side of me.

My eyes watered. "How can you help me?"

"I believe the Torment that got inside your head left some damage," Orphelos said, seeming relieved. "I can heal that damage by wiping it clean."

"Wiping it clean?"

Orphelos hesitated. "Wiping your memory." My breath caught in my throat and I shook my head, stumbling away. "Listen to me, the only way to help you is to wipe the memory of your attack, but it's a possibility that I could wipe your entire memory. You'll have to let me inside your mind; you'll have to trust me, Thea. This is the only way for -"

"No, I'm not risking my memories," I interrupted, licking blood from my upper lip. "Feel free to leave." Orphelos looked over at Drew who opened his mouth to speak, but I was already walking away. I was consumed with several emotions and thoughts - this was all insane. I used to be just a scientist studying the Supernatural and now, I was in the supernatural world. By involving myself, I had hurt myself and those I loved. Impulsively, I hurried to the room where Temp was tied up, praying he had calmed down. When I entered, he raised his head and blinked at me, seeming surprised that I had returned.

Quietly, I shut the door behind me and approached him.

His eyes fixated on the blood on my face. "What happened?"

"I got into a fight with Ethen," I answered, dropping to my knees in front of him. "He, uh, there's a Torment here. . .he contacted one and um, I-I lost it." My hands started trembling in front of me and I placed them against his knees, feeling a tear slip from my eye. "I can't do this anymore. I-I don't know who I am a-and I can't do this." His expression softened and he shifted, tilting his head. "I just don't know! I want all of this to be o-over. . ."

"Untie me, Thea," he whispered, his gaze warm. "We can leave."

"Leave?" I croaked, frowning. "Where would we go?"

"Does it matter?"

"What happened to hating me?" I questioned, straightening to my feet. "What happened to the whole not feeding the bad wolf thing?"

He licked his bottom lip. "I didn't mean any of that. I was just angry." I hesitated, staring at him for a long moment. He was my best friend and yet, he was tied up because of me. I had betrayed him, which was the first wrong thing I had done. It was probably the start of becoming the person that I was. Shakily, I walked around him and I played with the rope, holding back the tears when his hands came loose. He rolled his shoulders with a groan and leaned forward, stretching. He rose to his feet, popping every joint and stretching every muscle. When he turned around, his eyes locking with mine, I gulped loudly. He moved towards me and I braced myself for it all being a trick, for him attacking me, for him releasing his anger on me. But, instead, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. "You're going to be okay."

For the first time, I broke into tremendous sobs. His arms tightened around me and I wrapped mine around his waist, hugging him back. "You d-don't hate me?"

"No, I don't," he assured, rubbing my back. "You're going to be okay. It's going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you." All of the memories, all of the steps of getting to where I was, flashed before me. Working at the facility, escaping with Ethen, seeking out Emma's brother, being left alone in the forest, fighting against a werewolf of Kolton's pack. . . Temp moved his head, his lips right next to my ear, when he whispered, "I forgive you, Blue."

"Thank you."

"Come on, lets go," he murmured, pulling away. "We can leave through the window and make a run for it through the forest behind the cabin. The pack is still only living in the front, right? They won't catch us leaving."

"But, they're following orders from me and - "

"You are not a werewolf," he interrupted, calmly. "It's never been your duty to lead a pack of rapid werewolves. Maybe it wasn't even your duty to be scientist because well, look at where we are." I pinched my lips together, wiping at my face. "You shouldn't be here, neither should I. This was never where we were supposed to be, Blue. You need to leave behind the pack and everybody else. You have me." He grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the window, a soft expression on his face. "You have me. We can go. Now."

I squeezed his hand and nodded, silently. Relief washed over his face and he opened the window, peeking outside. He gestured for me to crawl out first and I remained frozen, overwhelmed. Was I seriously going to runaway? His hands grabbed my shoulders and he looked into my eyes, forcing a grin. "This was never our war to fight and if it was, this is not the right side." Processing his words, I moved towards the window. "Trust me, Blue."

With that, I crawled out the window.