Lena Matthews

Something was wrong. The moment the car rolled to a stop before the gate, a twisted feeling in my stomach warned me that everything was off. The security booth was there, its light projecting into the darkness, but it was empty. Makaya was gone, and the gate was left open.

The moon was only a sliver tonight, but that was exactly what I wanted. I wasn't here for the werewolf, but the cold woman in white. I put the car in park and walked towards the booth. The light flickered inside, but I didn't let that bother me.

The door to the booth was unlocked, so I let myself inside. It was cramped, yet generally unassuming. I wasn't sure what I had expected to find here. The desk was littered with papers, and as I shifted through them, I noticed a crayon drawing. I pulled it out, recognizing it as Charlie's. It had been stapled to another paper, which was much more official looking. It was the autopsy report for Joshua Rodriguez.

Cause of death: hypothermia.

I frowned at the report, searching the booth for another clue. Next to an old radio, I found another envelope that someone had already opened. It had been addressed to Atalka Security, from Johnathan Eaton, Atalka Medical Examiner. According to his letter, the transaction had been completed and results of his most recent autopsy had been adjusted accordingly.

I did my best to leave everything the way I had found it before sprinting out of the security booth and into the car. I switched the gear to drive and accelerated as fast as I could.

I swerved into the parking lot of Atalka Trail, my hands slippery with sweat. I closed my eyes and tried to get everything out of my head. Makaya was a part of this. Of course she was. I made sure to leave my phone in the car before grabbing my flashlight. I didn't need Makaya tracking me if I couldn't trust her.

Earlier, I had tried to get some of the weapons that the Agency had supplied us, but it had been locked away in a safe. The only way to unlock it was with our Agency IDs, and being an associate, I wasn't qualified. I had tried to steal Dad's, but he guarded his way too well. I couldn't even get anything from Finn without raising his suspicions. I was going into this without any defenses, but I wasn't trying to kill anything tonight. I just needed evidence.

I still didn't know what Forbidden I was dealing with, but the Agency could probably figure it out when I sent them some evidence. Then it would be one down, four to go, and maybe a promotion for Lena Matthews. But that wasn't what this was about. It was about Rowan, and I guess Joshua too.

My car was the only one in the parking lot, assuring me that I would be alone. I pointed my flashlight in the direction of the woods, identifying the beginning of the trail. "This is fine." I muttered to myself as I began to make my way towards the entrance.

I could hear the sound of a river rushing nearby, reminding me that the gate wasn't too far away. When I finally crossed into the woods, the sound of the river didn't fade. "This is fine." I repeated, ignoring the strange anxiety the rushing water was causing me.

Each step I took was tinged with a bit of regret. I could have brought Finn with me, or better yet my Dad. Then, I would have had weapons. But bringing either of them defeated the purpose of proving that I could do this on my own.

A loud snap shook me out of my thoughts. My heart stopped as I turned my flashlight to the source of the sound. It turned out to be me breaking a twig. I shook my hands, trying to bring my heart rate back down to normal. My flashlight danced around the woods, mirroring my movements.

I could hear another sound, a distinct rustling. I turned the light in the direction of a small bush, and allowed myself to get closer. It was probably a small animal, but I had to know for sure. The rustling got louder, and I could see the bush move, but there was nothing there. Then, for a split moment, I thought I could see the shadow of something running away from the light.

Without giving myself a moment to think, I sprinted after it. I could have sworn that I heard the invisible animal make a panicked sound, and picked up the pace. The flashlight beam drunkenly swayed with my arms, sometimes momentarily capturing a shadow of something. I stopped at the base of a small tree, which sported some claw marks.

My hands traced the ridges indented into the tree, fascinated. But the wonder pooled away quickly. The marks looked old, and there was no way that it could have been done by an invisible creature just now. I had seen what I wanted to, which was an invisible Forbidden, not some woodland critter. When I stood back up, I realized how odd the silence felt. I couldn't hear the river anymore, or even crickets. Just a dull nothingness.

The trail was out of my sight, and I was walking in a confounding wilderness. I checked my pocket for my phone before remembering that I had left it behind. My pace quickened with my breathing as the trees seemed to close in around me, casting down their doubt on the associate who had gotten lost in her game of pretend.

This was all a mistake. I didn't belong here. I tried to take another breath, but it sounded like a shudder to me. This was wrong, all of it. All I had to do was play my part. Be a normal person, make sure no one looked suspicious. Now I was lost in the middle of the woods, with nothing but a pathetic slice of moon and a flashlight to get me back.

Finn, protect your sister. The mocking words echoed in my head, refusing to leave me alone. I just needed to get home and forget all of this. The world is dangerous.

"I know." I answered aloud, but no one except the stars were listening.

It's not a competition, Lena. Lena, slow down. It's not your job to accuse everyone you meet. You don't know anything.

"Shut up." I muttered. "I get it."

Are you sure that you aren't letting your emotions cloud your judgement? Your job is to just play your part as an unsuspecting student.

Everything swirled around in my head, an incoherent blur of every mistake I've managed to make.

You were the one who refused help. Nothing gets past me. Remember that.

Nothing was making any sense anymore, but I tried to drown it out. As I stumbled in a direction that I hoped would get me back to my family, I could hear the river again.

I should have been happy to hear something familiar, but the river overwhelmed all of my senses. The thoughts continued to sift in and out of existence in my mind, trying their hardest to make themselves known over the water.

That's not your job. Let Dad do his job. Please let the real agent handle it.

"Shut up!" I finally screamed, my cry echoing into the abyss. Everything went eerily silent. I panted, my outburst taking up all of my energy. For the first time since all of the chaos in Atalka, something clicked in me.

Everything that I've done here was a mistake. I had wanted to be an agent so badly that I let it blind me from everything else. Someday, I'd prove my dad wrong. But not here, and not now.

Besides, all of the pretending in the world wasn't going to make me forget that Rowan Peterson was dead because she had followed my stupid advice.

The flashlight flickered weakly before extinguishing altogether. It must have felt just as defeated as I did. I glanced down at it, but I couldn't feel any panic in my chest. There was a special and simple tranquility that could only be found in the dark. I closed my eyes and imagined myself back at Oak View, walking with Finn to nowhere, with nothing but the crickets and each other to keep us company.

I took a breath and placed my hand on my chest, feeling a weight finally leave. I didn't even realize it was there. I sighed and unfurled my hand. A small red flower of flame came to life, nestled right beneath my chin. It danced playfully, almost reminding me of Aurelie. It wasn't sickening, but beautiful.

"Where's home?" I asked it softly, holding the flame before me. Usually, I would feel like an idiot talking to fire, but it moved with so much life that I found it hard to believe that there wasn't a tiny spirit inside it somewhere. A breeze picked up, and I moved with it to the left.

Before me, I could see white. The flame in my hand promptly vanished. I felt grounded again, the euphoria of my breakthrough gone.

"Hello?" I asked, staring at the strange figure in the darkness. Someone was sitting on the ground, cloaked completely in white. "You shouldn't be here." I said, taking a few steps forward. "It's not smart." I laughed to myself. "I mean, I'm here, but that's just because I'm not smart either sometimes."

I was right next to the figure now. It was a girl, around my age, with her hair neatly braided in cornrows. She was wearing a long white gown that had been smudged with dirt, and was presumably meditating.

"Seriously. This isn't the time to be meditating." I said, shaking the girl's shoulder. "You really need to go." The girl fell over limply. "Crap." I muttered. "Hey! I need you to wake up!" I turned the girl on her back and tried to shake her desperately. I placed two fingers on her neck, looking for a pulse. It was there, strong and sure. I inspected her again, and noticed a weird splotch on her collarbone. It looked like a birthmark. My breath caught. I could draw that odd F shape with my eyes closed. She had a Forbidden brand.

I could hear a twig snap somewhere in the distance. I stood up, my attention no longer on the unconscious Forbidden girl. I scanned the dark surroundings, ready to chuck my flashlight at a moment's notice. I could see the outline of a large creature making its way towards me. Two yellow eyes illuminated threateningly, both of them locked on me. It was a wolf, its towering body rippling with deadly muscle and its teeth curled in a snarl.

"You've got to be kidding." I muttered. I looked up at the sky, just to check. Between the branches, I got another view of the moon, still a thin crescent looming above. Somebody needed to tell the werewolf that now just wasn't its time of the month.

I looked up at its menacing yellow eyes, forcing me to step further and further away from the sleeping Forbidden girl.

"I don't want to hurt you." I whispered. If I looked hard enough, I could sense an intelligence in those eyes. Maybe I could appeal to it somehow. "Please." The werewolf bared its teeth, its pearly white fangs at my eye level. I tried to summon a flame somehow, hoping that it could provide a distraction. Or even a kinship. A way to say, Look, I'm a freak too.

I frowned at my hands when nothing appeared. What was the point of being cursed with monster genetics if I couldn't use them?

Unsure of what choice I had, I threw the flashlight as far away as I could. "Fetch." I commanded pathetically. The werewolf turned in that direction for a split moment. I caught a glance at its backside, and noticed that it didn't have a tail. But I didn't let myself look for long, and sprinted away.

A terrifying howl pierced through the night, and I picked up the pace. The forest was dark and menacing, and the wolf knew its way a lot better than I did. When I turned back around, I could see the wolf stride in my direction, its paws thundering against the ground.

I tried to run faster, but my vision suddenly blacked out. I had managed to hit my forehead on one of the low hanging branches. I grabbed my head on instinct, and turned to see the werewolf lunge in my direction.

Everything slowed down. I could see claws, dangerously sharp, flying towards me. I refused to move, and watched my death descend calmly. I was waiting for the pain to hit, but it never did. A blur came from nowhere, and pushed the beast out of my path.

Cold hands gripped mine tightly, and dragged me away like I weighed nothing. I screamed in surprise, not expecting anyone to be here.

"Ivy! You're fine!" a voice called to me. I was set down gently, but that didn't stop my panic. The pain in my head intensified, blurring everything around me. I felt my face, and realized that my glasses were absent.

"Who's Ivy?" I asked, my brain giving up on processing anything.

"Just-" I could feel something being placed in my hands, and recognized it as my glasses. I put them on quickly, and recognized Carter standing in front of me.

"Carter!" I yelled. Behind him, I could see the werewolf lunging towards us. Carter shoved me aside forcefully, causing the back of my head to make painful contact with a root that jutted out of the forest floor.

I groaned and sat up despite the pain, but the first thing I saw by my foot was a gargantuan wolf paw. I let out a small gasp, and instinctively brought my feet closer to my body. The werewolf was towering over me, but its head was turned to Jessica and Carter, who stood unflinchingly, staring death in its yellow eyes. Jessica stepped in front of Carter, not breaking her stoic eye contact with the werewolf.

"Leave us." Jessica demanded. The werewolf only growled in response. It leaned forward with its ears pulled back, threatening to strike.

Jessica hissed. Her eyes glowed a menacing red, and sharp fangs protruded from her mouth.

"No." I whispered. Carter turned to me, his red eyes and horrifying fangs matching his adoptive mother's.

A/N: This chapter was a lot of fun to write for me, and it represents a HUGE turning point for this story! I pulled a lot of quotes from previous chapters for this one as the "voices in Lena's head." I know a few people predicted this reveal, but I hope you still enjoyed it. Stay tuned for more chapters, because there are some much needed answers and explanations about this town and its residents to be explored.

QOTD: Who would win a fight? Werewolf or vampire?