The next week that passed was testing and worrisome for me. Although Xain promised that they'd write, I didn't receive any letter from them at all. Katrina and Emily could do little for my aching heart and restless mind, but they did try their best regardless.

Katrina had continued to train me little by little in hopes of distracting me some. In the end, it did work. And, of course I ended up completely sore.

Victoria and Faye Grayson also came over every other day against their husband's wishes to keep me company and talk to me.

Victoria was always graceful, even with her child on the way. She was always shown respect and even those busy would go out of their way to assist her if needed.

Faye was also treated with respect, always being showed new jewelry or beautiful dresses, or sometimes even a delicious pastry.

The other day while I was with Emily in the market, I saw Miles easily take down a dozen werewolves or so. It was almost horrifying to watch, as if he was a monster more than a wolf.

When Justin approached him looking for a spar, to my shock he was almost able to go toe to toe, but eventually was taken down as well. Of course, Miles was in no proper shape to spar anymore and padded away from the market.

Afterwards, Katrina helped Justin up and the two also walked away from the scene. There was so much blood stained along the ground that a few unlucky weres had to cover up the mess.

Later on that same day, Charlie, Michelle and Katrina seemed to have gotten into it again, leaving Emily and I to defuse the situation.

That didn't work out well when Michelle started snapping at me. Then she mentioned the brothers, and went on and on about my "lost" child and the women before. I ended up going home in tears.

I didn't leave the house for three days, wandering around aimlessly and unable to think properly. I was lost in need for my mates and for answers. When Katrina tried to get me outside on the fourth day, I just let her, too defeated to do anything else.

Katrina held my hand gently, almost dragging me across the snow. As we walked, I just stayed quiet. She didn't bother trying to get me to talk at first. She then said, "We got a message from the brothers." My heart thumped loudly as I looked up at her in surprise.

"A message? When, what does it say?" I asked.

She glanced at me, smiling softly. "Good news is what. It looks like they've approached two packs already. We're going to the rest of our family to talk about this." I blinked in confusion. "Family?"

Katrina chuckled. "When will you get it in your head, human? We never try to separate you from anything. Garry, Jean, Emily, Justin, and even Charlie are our family. Sometimes Michelle when she's in a good mood." She stopped walking and turned to me.

"You are family, Lyra. The boys want nothing more than to protect you, but they hide the wrong things from you." She sighed, gripping my hand harder. "That's why we took you to the pub. We don't want those boys hiding anything else from you."

I nodded a little, returning the firm grip she was giving me as we walked.

We eventually came to Justin's house, which I found to be surprising once I looked at it.

The place was larger than the rest of the houses. There was a lot of open area and everything, thanks to the snow, was white.

When we went inside, the first person I saw was Garry. He grinned at me and hugged my small frame gently. "Hey, how's the short sprout coming along?" he asked teasingly. I huffed a little. "Okay, I guess," I stated honestly.

He nodded, smacking his curly hair out of his face. "Everyone is waiting for you in the living room."

I smiled and walked with him and Katrina. I took that chance to look around and noticed that despite the house being large, it was mostly barren. I didn't know if the house was new or not, but based on the wood, it seemed like it.

My curiosity was pulled when we made it to the living room. There was a table, four chairs, and an opening leading to the kitchen to the right and a few couches on the left. Everyone had gathered on the couches; Emily bundled up in a blanket. When our eyes met, she grinned at me.

"Come, come," she said, scooting and patting an empty space next to her. I sat down, looking at Jean and Justin, who were silent, as usual.

Justin then looked at me and gave the barest of smiles, holding up a letter. "Now that we're all here, are you ready?"

I nodded swiftly, almost unable to keep still in my seat. Garry stood beside Justin, looking at the letter. Katrina leaned up against the couch Jean was laying on.

Justin cleared his throat and quoted, "To Lyra and our brothers and sisters: We've finished at the first smaller pack. It seemed as if the women were pleased to see us, but that aside, they were hostile towards us until we spoke of our Darling.'"

I blushed a little, biting back a giggle. And from the looks of it, Emily was trying to do the same.

Justin continued. "'We spoke of Miles and the tribeand found that the problem was miscommunication. They had sent out a distress signal inquiring us of medicine. Thankfully, we'd brought a few supplies of our own. We could treat the sick and send others down the path of healing. The tribe's chief allowed us free pass to come back at any time and are willing to one day meet the human we care about.'"

I exhaled, feeling a ton of weight lift from my shoulders. However, Justin didn't look too pleased. "'Do us a favor and keep a tighter eye out on Lyra. I fear that there are more who are loyal to Miles than we had first thought. We will write to you again soon when we can. Love, Xain and Connor.'"

Katrina growled. "Great, that means a few were at the bar that night. Lyra, I think it would be wise if you moved in with one of us. Nothing has happened so far, but I'm sure that's to change."

Jean gave a slight nod but said nothing.

I wrinkled my nose. "Where would be the best place to go? All of you are busy and I couldn't just follow you to work the whole time." Emily smiled and said, "Stay with Jean and me! My bed is big enough and I end up stuck at the house while Jean is out doing whatever."

Jean snorted. "Bringing food to the table, of course." He then looked to me in a blank manner. "Our house is comfortable, I will admit."

Garry beamed. "Why didn't I think of that?" Katrina snarled playfully and said, "Because you don't think well or often."

Emily laughed and got up. "Then it's settled. Garry, Katrina, let's go get her things!"

My jaw dropped. "Hey, wait a minute!!" Garry grinned and exclaimed, "Race you!" Before I could get up, Emily and Garry were already at the front door. I sighed and plopped back down on the couch. "Okay, never mind."

Katrina chuckled and patted my head. "They just want to help you, Lyra," she explained. "Besides, while you're waiting for the brothers to return, we can keep you company." I sighed and said, "I know, but I'll still miss them a lot." She shook her head. "Tell me something I don't know."

I giggled, curling up on the couch as I watched her leave. I then glanced at Justin, who hadn't taken his eyes off the letter. Tilting my head, I asked, "Everything okay?" He exhaled sharply, licking his fangs. "I've a bad feeling about this whole situation, Lyra. But whatever happens, just promise me something."

I sat up a little more, looking up at him. "Depends on what the promise is," I muttered.

Jean barely grunted before he stood up, walking to Justin and taking the letter, reading it. He then stared at Justin in surprise. "Justin?" The werewolf didn't look at Jean, but instead continued to stare at me.

His face was blank, his body still, even as he spoke. "If Xain and Connor don't come back, then we'll need to get you out of here as soon as possible. Am I clear?"

Frowning, I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. "This isn't a game, Lyra. I understand that you're young and you might not be prepared, but I need to know that you'll move when we say move and hide when we say hide. Can you do this for us?"

Justin's expression changed from that of a careless man to one ready to pounce, and not exactly at me.

I gulped a little but nodded regardless. "O-okay..."

He growled before hissing out a breath, glancing at Jean. Jean blinked a few times before looking at me. "They don't want us to tell you this. But they've been warned of the rumors..." His voice died on him, causing Justin to catch up.

"Lyra, they've been accused of hurting females." I swallowed thickly, already wanting to back away from the conversation. Justin tilted his head before continuing. "I'm sure you should've figured this out by now. Xain and Connor aren't exactly good men, human. At heart, they're... twisted. You don't split a soul and switch that piece with another."

His jaw ticked before he sat down next to me. Jean didn't look at me, and instead kept his eyes glued to the letter. "They left when they should've stayed. They were almost no more than wild beasts. By the time they realized what they were doing was wrong, too many a girl was affected." He growled, balling up the letter in his hands. "At one point, we wanted to put them out of their misery. It's unfortunate you're bonded to them."

My jaw fell open. "Excuse me?!"

Justin placed his hands on my shoulder. "Lyra, ease yourself. You must understand. Xain was a kindred soul at heart, but I don't know how gentle. How much do you know of Connor?"

I bit my lip and lowered my eyes to my lap. Justin almost scoffed. "They raped you, Lyra. Beast or not, that's what they've done to other women wandering around at night. Too beastly, too messed up to see wrong otherwise. It was when they bonded to you that they, especially Xain woke up."

I didn't want to hear anymore, so I tried to stand up, but Justin yanked me down and pinned me to the couch. "Listen Lyra, you need to hear this," he demanded, holding me down.

I shook my head, whimpering. "Justin, I've heard enough. It's bad enough I'm away from them," I pleaded.

He moved his hands from my shoulders to my wrists, gripping me hard. "Lyra, you need to understand something. If a pack accuses the brothers of raping a female from their own, they could be locked away forever, or worse. Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you know why I'm telling you this?"

I didn't want to understand. I wanted to leave.

Jean said softly, "We need you to understand that you may lose the boys. They wanted to hide it from you because of your age, but you already knew enough."

I shook my head, standing up and shoving Justin away from me. "I'm leaving," I announced, wiping my eyes. Justin didn't approach me, but he did look. And he looked, and looked, and kept looking.

Even though I said I was leaving, I couldn't move. "Justin..." tears started pooling out of my eyes. "I know they were bad. I know that rape is bad and they did a lot of wrong, Connor especially. But I love them and I'm linked to them by soul. What do you expect me to say?"

"Nothing," Jean stated, "just understand that the time you had with them might be all you'll ever get. It isn't your fault. But you're bonded to sinners."

I wiped my eyes again, trembling hard. I didn't ask for this. I didn't want this. I was over that fact, I just wanted to be with Xain and Connor, and watch them better themselves.

I just wanted... them. 

~*~

Yes, I am still alive. @-@ Trust me.

Don't expect anything good from any of this. These boys might be in big trouble. 

Until the next Update

~ Nimo