Almost a week went by, without us talking much about what had happened. It took us a whole day to get the apartment in order. This was partly due to a memorable duffel battle in the middle of the living room, which allowed us to relax effectively despite its somewhat forced nature. Since then, we both tried to find our place and get back to a normal life, without much success. I think we were realizing, she and I, that nothing would ever be the same again. We may have kept our little rituals and habits, but there was something... broken between us.

Since her confession at the police station and our two wild liberating laughs, Cassie seemed to be avoiding me more and more and closing herself every day. A terrible silence and unspoken words was inexorably growing between us, without me having the slightest idea what to do about it. It hurt me, I felt consumed by an indescribable sadness, further amplified by my forced inactivity. I had escaped the blood test, but could not avoid the x-rays, required by the police, which revealed that I had two broken ribs and two cracks. I was therefore under house arrest for three weeks on the doctors' orders, with mandatory rest and pain medication. In short, I had plenty of time to brood.

Moreover, as if that wasn't enough, since I was separated from Feline and the other shapeshifters, the psychological aggressions seemed to increase day by day, causing me horrible migraines that didn't give me much respite. My natural defences and ramparts were shattered and all my efforts to erect them again were in vain. My depressive state seemed to increase at the same rate as my exhaustion, reinforced by the horrible nightmares I had every night.

The sad truth was that, although I managed to save Cassie and she was back with me, I hadn't felt so alone in a very long time. This loneliness was eating away at me, eating me from the inside! We had parted on bad terms, but I had still tried to contact Jude several times on his cell phone, without success. In a desperate attempt, I even tried to contact Charles to check up on Feline and spend some time with her, hoping that it would help me control my increasingly chaotic powers, without any further result. I strongly suspected them of screening my calls.

I sank deeper into a kind of paralyzing depression every day and my concern for Feline kept growing. I was thinking that if I couldn't reach the community by the end of the week, I would go there, with or without their permission. On Thursday morning, as I was getting out of the shower, the phone rang. Being alone in the apartment, I was forced to run all dripping in the living room, to pick up the phone before the answering machine started.

- 'You have to come quickly, you have to tell them...' a barely audible voice whispered quickly.

- 'What should I say to whom?' I replied in a somewhat panicked voice in response to the panicked tone of my interlocutor. 'Adam, is that you? What's going on? Is Feline all right?'

- 'It's Jude...'

I heard like a door opening in the distance, then nothing.

For a moment I remained paralysed, the handset still in my hand. Jude was supposed to be away from Charles, or so he told me. Obviously, he had lied to me and now he was in trouble. But why did Adam think I could change anything about it and especially why was he calling me in secret?

Realizing that I was wasting time foolishly asking myself questions, I hurried to dry myself and dress in jeans and a sweater. Then I took the time to call Cassie and tell her where I was going, but I got her answering machine and left her a message. It was a habit we had developed since the beginning of the week. If one of us left unexpectedly, she would notify the other orally or, if not possible, by answering machine. I made the journey as quickly as possible, wondering with increasing concern with each kilometre I drove, what was going on and what I was going to find there. I parked in the alley leading to the main house without trying to be discreet. Anyway, they probably spotted me a long time ago. As I arrived at the bottom of the porch, the front door opened to let Hannah through. To my surprise, she didn't even try to stop me.

- 'As you know, I don't particularly like you!' she told me, her cold eyes stuck in mine as she walked down the steps of the porch like a supermodel in the middle of a fashion show. 'But since I'm against what's going on here today, I'm going to let you through. Even if it might cost me a lot,' she continued in a lower voice as she stopped in front of me. 'I don't know who warned you... or if it's a good or a bad thing, but please don't mention his or her name. Otherwise, he or she will be in big trouble.'

It was the first time I heard her speak for so long and it surprised me almost as much as her words. For her to disapprove of what was going on inside and especially to tell me "please", it must have been serious.

- 'What exactly are you risking, and is there a way to prevent it?' I asked.

I didn't like her much either, but that wasn't a reason for me to accept that something bad could happen to her because of me. She stared at me with a surprised look. Apparently, she wasn't used to being treated kindly.

- 'Nothing that concerns you. But let's just say that if I could attest that I tried to keep you out... it might be enough to save me the most trouble,' she said in a detached tone.

- 'So in short... you want me to hit you?' I asked her incredulously to make sure I understood correctly.

She just nodded. Not having time to procrastinate, I rushed at her, without any delicacy or technique and threw my fist in her face. I had put so much strength and enthusiasm into it that she was thrown backwards and went down in the middle of a wooden garden seat, smashing it in the process. I was going to walk up to her to make sure everything was fine, when she gave me a dark glance and tried to sit down. I quickly swallowed the words of apology I had on the edge of my lips. She wanted proof? Well, she was served, probably even beyond her expectations! I couldn't help but smile as I walked past her to get inside the house.

I thought that if something important were to happen in this community, it would probably happen in the central square or in their kind of meeting room. Once in the lobby, I went to the door leading outside, to the back of the house. As soon as I got to the middle of the room, I heard a sudden slamming sound. For a second I stood still, looking for what it could be, when a muffled moan echoed, followed by a scream. Unable to believe what my brain suggested, I rushed to the door and opened it at once. I started running to cover the short distance to the square where a wooden post had been erected in its centre.

As I feared at the first whipping sound - for that was what it was all about, Jude was tied by his wrists, his chest bare, Charles standing behind him, armed with a whip. His back was already covered with four nasty slashes and his face expressed his suffering, although he tried to hide it. When our eyes crossed, my eyes filled with tears while his own expressed only pain and resignation, with a hint of anger when he saw me.

Seeing him like that made me very sad, but also put me in a terrible rage. Mainly against Charles of course, but also against Jude, for lying to me and deliberately keeping me out of what was happening. If he had told me, I could have helped him. We could have tried to find a solution, but instead, he didn't trust me and preferred to play the tough guy. I was so pissed off! I preferred to keep this anger alive so as not to let myself be frightened by the horror of the scene I had in front of me. It was in this more than precarious state of mind that I approached Charles with as much confidence as possible.

Aucune info sur l'identité de son père dans tout le texte. Aucune référence avec Aria ou autre.