Beonnie

Hild came back, happy as a camper, as her interview had gone really well. The job was as an assistant to an accountant with only a tiny bureau used by almost all vendors in the town, making him overloaded with work. As the town was a bit of an isolated location, finding someone with the proper education had proven difficult until Hild called. He was delighted to have found her, and she was thrilled that she found him, and also overjoyed by the fact that he was completely uninterested in her or any woman, making him all the more appealing as an employer. The papers were to be signed on Monday, which was also her first day of work. Things had indeed worked out for us here.

We decided to celebrate by getting all pampered up, and having a fine dinner at Patty's. So in our finest clothes, admittedly the selection was scarce, we walked down the stairs and over to our booth in the corner. Eager to celebrate, we managed to show up just before the rush again, and again there was a dark presence in the other corner. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed that Vidar was sitting opposite the.. uhm.. presence, with his back against us.

Hild was chitchatting about her new job, beaming at how well it had all turned out when she suddenly paused. As always, when thinking happy thoughts about the future, memories of what has happened before come, and I could see the light break in Hild's eyes before the tears came.

I took her hand across the table. Being inexperienced with human contact, I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there holding her hand while she cried for the first time. The tears were silent at first, but soon they became a self-fulfilling prophecy, pushing her emotions onto a cliff and then over. She sobbed, but then her anxiety level went over the cliff and she had to gasp for air in between, her hand to her chest and throat. 

I was just about to get up and get a plastic bag for her to breathe in, when suddenly the man from across the room came over in a blur, sat down next to Hild, and scooped her up in his arms.

I should have protested; I knew that. I should've snarled at him like Hild always did, but I didn't. I should've done something, but I just couldn't. I was dumbstruck by the expression on his chiseled face. Like a victim of Medusa's stare, I was unable to move, frozen in motion by the love that emanated from the man. He looked at Hild with such care in his dark eyes and held her with such tenderness as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him, and I just couldn't take my eyes off him. Admittedly, I was also a bit shocked to see Hild's reaction of complete submission into the embrace, as if there was no power or strength left in her. He "Shh" -ed and rocked her, and she cried into his neck, and there was something so fragile over the scene that I held my breath to not disturb.

Eventually, I had to breathe, and with a, for the situation, completely unsuitable gasp, I at least managed to break the enchantment placed upon myself. Vidar was now standing behind the man's back with an annoyingly empathic smile as if he had more profound knowledge about the sincerity in the scene. But he couldn't have, we didn't know him, and he didn't know us, so he couldn't possibly know what had happened to Hild just a couple of days ago. I did understand that my irritation probably originated from the fact that I was extremely unsure of what to do, and it annoyed me that he seemed so content with the situation.

The man still kept Hild in his arms and started to pat her on the back to calm her down. He murmured into her hair, and I could only make out a word or two now and then. So, I just sat there watching until I finally managed to make out what he said.

"It will be alright, Hild. Don't worry. It will sort itself out."

I stood up with such haste that I managed to tip a glass of water over, causing some of the other guests to glance in our direction. Seeing only a clumsy girl standing up, they quickly resumed their meals. I, on the other hand, was now fuming. Working up a rage. However, not wanting to draw attention, I hissed instead of yelling.

"How.. do.. you.. know.. her.. name?! Who are you?!"

With his arms still around Hild, his eyes darted towards me for the first time.

"I am Jack. The question is rather who you are?"

He made it sound like I was the one under scrutiny, and it only managed to annoy me even more. What if I risked Hild's life by not preventing this man from touching her? I was now convinced that this was a stalker from her earlier life and that she, in some sort of Stockholm syndrome-ish haze, was unable to push him away. White flashes danced before my eyes. He offered a surprised frown and narrowed his eyes as if I was a great mystery he needed to solve.

"Calm down. I am not an enemy."

My eyes darted between him and Hild, and as I again was unsure of what to do, I sat down. I looked at Vidar in some sort of plea for help, and he gestured a "calm down" motion with his hands. Finally, I decided not to just sit and wait for information, so I scooted over and then patted the empty seat next to me, motioning for Vidar to sit down and not just stand there like an idiot. Heat radiated from him, and it worked to calm my nerves but not my temper.

"Ok. Fine," I gritted through my teeth. "If you are not the enemy, then who are you? And who are you? I turned to Vidar, who offered nothing but an amused smile at my tone.

The man, Jack, gave me a scrutinizing look. His dark brown hair was tousled, and he had a stubble that was more than a couple of days old. Almost a beard. He was big, I would have taken him for an alpha, but I didn't even know if he was a werewolf. He wasn't scary. There was a warmth in his eyes, and his mouth was used to laughing. The care with which he held Hild told me that there was a big soft teddy bear inside him somewhere under all that gruff exterior. Gaining confidence now that I had his attention, I crossed my arms over my chest, stuck my chin out, and raised an eyebrow myself.

"Yes?"

His lips twitched, and I could see that he was suppressing a smile as he gave Vidar an amused glance.

"Yes, what?"

I leaned back, arms still crossed over my chest.

"You were going to tell me who you are," I swallowed. This was all the ammo that I had, and it really wasn't ammo, was it? More like David trying to order Goliath around.

Hild had now calmed down, and the man let his grip on her go just enough to be able to lean towards me.

"Now, little one. Here is what we are going to do.."

"I am NOT little. And I am NOT yours to boss around," that rage again. It was ever there these days, it seemed. But it worked. He sat back with furrowed eyebrows over confused eyes. Even Vidar looked surprised. He grasped after my hand, but I withdrew it.

"Come on, B. This is.."

"Do not 'come on B' me. I don't care how.. how cute you are – you also have some explaining to do!"

Jack's head snapped up towards Vidar, and his eyes darkened in a glare that I don't think I would have survived if I was the one under such scrutiny.

"Cute? Really Vidar?"

"Here," Vidar pointed at his cheek. "It was only once and here."

"What was only once and there?" Hild was now engaging too. "Vidar.. ?"

Vidar threw up his hands.

"It was only because that Johnson boy was there.. and Harry was.."

"What?!" that was Hild.

"Who?" that was Jack.

"Henry Johnson and his friends."

"Henry was here?" Hild again, and I gave her a curious glance.

"Who's Henry?"

She gave me a guilty glance but also slightly shook her head. Not now.

"Why are we talking about this Henry?" Jack leaned back and turned towards Hild again. "Are you feeling better?"

She blushed a little but nodded.

"I am fine, thanks. It has just been a long day.. or week or month."

An awkward silence followed, broken only by Patty, who had realized that this was the perfect moment to come take orders. No one opened their mouth in reply to her, though, so Jack ended up ordering for all of us, apparently deciding that we were all going to have dinner together. When Patty had left with her notebook full of dishes, Jack put his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

"Ok. Clearly, there are a lot of things that need to be shared today, so let us do it in an orderly fashion," he gave each one of us a stern look. "I bet that there are also difficulties with trust, so I will start."

He turned to Hild.

"You have a tattoo on your arm. Yes?"

She looked at him, then at me, then at Vidar, and then back at Jack and nodded.

"It says your name."

She nodded again.

"I know this..," he took her hand. "I know this.. because I put it there."

She gasped in shock. My hand flew over my mouth in shock. Vidar was.. not shocked.

"You.."

He took her other hand too. Squeezed them.

"I.. I am sorry, Hild. It was.. it was to protect you.. I.." he trailed off. He averted his eyes from her and looked down into his lap.

I could tell this was not easy for him; his big frame was slumping as if he was trying to hide from the eventual rage that would follow his announcement. He was ashamed. Embarrassed. Scared.

Hild leaned towards him and made him lift his head.

"I don't understand.. who are you?" she gave him a reassuring squeeze with her hands to push him over the edge he seemed so hesitant to jump from. He opened his mouth and started to speak.

"32 years ago, you were born. Your mother Mona almost died giving birth to you and.. " he trailed off again. "And it was decided that you could be in danger so we.. I.. I needed to hide you."

"Mona.." Hild tasted the name in her mouth. "My mother's name is Mona," she smiled.

Jack smiled too.

"Yes, you look just like her."

He swallowed and continued.

"Uhm, so I sent you here.. or I came with, but then I left you with.. and..," he stopped and sighed. "No."

We all looked at him in confusion. No?

He shook his head.

"No. I can't.. I must.. there are so many things to say, Hild, so I beg you to just let me say the most important things and then.. well, let's just take it from there," he looked at her with an earnest expression. She nodded.

"So, you were born 32 years ago. You and your twin brother."

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but he had the most heartbroken look on his face, and I guessed she decided to let him continue. My head was already spinning from all this information, and my eyes were welling up, my right hand falling from my mouth down between Vidar and me accidentally touching his hand. I didn't care at this point and grabbed it. Vidar and I were, in any case, only supporting actors in this story.

"Your older brother was also with you and tasked with looking after you. It seems though.." Jack's gaze was again tilting down into his lap, head hanging and voice down to a murmur. "That he was tasked with something too big for him, and.. he slowly succumbed to his paranoia."

He now wiped a tear from his eye, and I wiped one from my eye. He gave me a surprised look at my reaction. I couldn't offer any explanation for why I was moved, but I was. Even if it was not my life story we were going through right now.

"For your safety, you were placed in the human child care circuit to prevent no one ever hearing of you in our.. circles. You slipped into that system and out of our sight. But never.." he almost sobbed. "Never out of our minds or hearts."

The tears were now flooding my eyes, Hild's eyes and Jack's eyes were unusually watery. Even Vidar cleared his throat.

"Your twin brother.. I told your older brother to place him with a werewolf pack and not let anyone know which one, not even me."

Something clicked into place in my head. Two pieces of a puzzle I didn't know how it looked like yet, came together. Something about directions. Something about running. I furrowed my brows, trying to connect the dots in my head. I started to fidget with my necklace, as a calming mechanism to all the nervous energy floating around.

"What of the older brother?" Hild whispered as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

"He.." Jack glanced towards Vidar. "We don't really know what happened to him. The three of you were separated when coming here, and he was tasked with looking out for you at a distance. He did that every year, and I got yearly reports back, but.. then something happened. He found his mate, and I still got reports, but they were scarcer. He had a son eventually, but I never met him. I was supposed to; the last time I met him, I expected him to bring his son. But he didn't. That was five years ago, right Vidar?"

Vidar nodded. Jack drew his hands through his hair and rubbed his eyes. With perfect timing, Patty came over with our plates, and we all started to eat. I glanced at Hild, and she gave me a faint smile back. It was a lot to take in.

"I went back and forth home to the North, and Vidar stayed here with the rest of.. us, and your brother became more and more elusive towards Vidar, who I tasked with looking after him. I'm afraid that he a couple of years before our meeting had become.. enraged and killed his mate, and perhaps that was why he was so secretive. About a month ago, I felt.. it felt like something was wrong, but now we can't find him," Jack sighed. "I don't know what has happened to him, and it is not like we can ask, really. The pack of his mate is not the most welcoming one. And to be fair, considering what he did to her, they probably wouldn't care what happened to him either."

I swallowed. The puzzle pieces were starting to form a picture, but it was still out of my ability to grasp it. My throat hurt. Everything hurt. I was suddenly reminded of my dad and how I actually didn't know how his last time alive had been. I hung my head and looked down. My throat ached by now; I didn't know if it was because I was trying hard to suppress a sob or what it was. I didn't want to draw attention to myself; this was not my story to be sad about. This song was not about me.

"So, how did you find me then?" Hild stopped eating and put her cutlery down, and murmured. "I thought I was careful with traces.."

"When we started looking for.. we also wanted to see if everything was okay with the rest of you. Or with you. We don't know what happened to your twin brother. So Vidar went looking for you about two weeks ago when we had given up on finding your elder brother."

Vidar cleared his throat.

"It was hard tracking you, but after your first moves, when you weren't so careful, I could see a pattern and a direction too, so I just followed that, and that led me to your most recent place to live.." he trailed off and swallowed. "I.. found it about a week ago. It was a mess."

He looked down, shaking his head.

"There was blood everywhere, and the whole place reeked of death and decay."

I stared down into my lap, unable to breathe. I could feel Hild's gaze at me, but I didn't dare to look up. I didn't want to give anything away.

"I found a body."

A body. A body. Not two, not three, only one. I held my breath.

"He was in the bedroom, neck broken and thousands of cuts and bruises on him. I couldn't stay. It smelled awful."

I tried to exhale slowly and not in a relieved manner, but I did a poor job. I could feel Vidar glancing towards me, and Jack turned his head in my direction. I didn't move. Kept my head down. Don't see me. Don't look at me.

Vidar raised his head and looked at Hild, almost defiantly.

"I burnt it down. I.. I didn't know what had happened, but I thought perhaps you.. well, in case you.. I didn't want any evidence left. I could smell that there had been other people there too, leaving in bad shape."

"You thought I what?!" she snarled, then immediately stopped, realizing that the things she was upset about being accused of doing I actually had done.

Vidar sounded both guilty and upset.

"I.. I didn't know what happened. I assumed you.. killed that man, and I wanted the evidence gone," he looked at Jack in a plea for help, and Jack nodded affirmatively.

"You did good, Vidar."

Vidar calmed down, and he continued.

"I thought I had lost you since your leaving obviously wasn't a planned thing, but managed to find werewolf scents again. I lost the scent by a road, but since the road led to the other town, I went there. I scouted all the hotels, motels, and hospitals, asking for an injured woman but no luck until I found the motel you were staying at. I saw the dog outside a cabin. And then you came out, and I didn't know what you looked like, but I saw you.." he turned to me. "And you kind of fit the description of what I was looking for, blonde, blue-eyed, and injured werewolf. But you were too young."

I huffed.

"For being 32, that is," he smiled and winked at me, much to the dismay of both Hild and Jack. Vidar looked at Hild.

"But you had another woman with you; also blue-eyed and also injured and also a werewolf."

He gave her a faint smile.

"I hinted your tattoo when you dismissed me the other day."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"I see."

She sighed.

"Phew, that was.. that was a lot to take in," she turned to Jack.

"You still haven't told me why you did all these things, but perhaps that can wait until another time. I.." she took both his hands in hers. "I.. am not angry with you if you thought that. I believe you did this.." she waved her hand around. ".. with the best of intentions and because you for some reason thought I was in danger."

He nodded gratefully towards her and lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes.

"I did, Hild. I really did what I thought was the best for you. For all of you."

She stared back at him, raised her hand, and caressed his cheek.

"Yes. Fathers do that, don't they?"

He leaned into her palm and smiled and sighed at the same time.

"We do."