KATE

"Is she going to die?" I asked when Arlis came up the stairs after treating her wounds. Everyone was confused because she wasn't healing as fast as she should've been.

Arlis shook his head. "I hope not. I need her alive. If she dies, it could overthrow the balance of the entire situation. Constance would hate me, the Dawns would hate us. Becker would..." He paused and his eyes went shadowy, the dark browns no longer like melted chocolate but instead, the sharp rocks an ocean beats up against. "Point being, I think and hope she'll live."

It's been two hours, the night was starting to descend upon us like an unwanted enemy. I wanted to go to bed, sleep through all my troubles. But I knew I couldn't do that... not with Konrad being fully risen.

However, just being here made me feel like a sitting duck.

Chleo came by, healed but still tired. He told us all about the fight that broke out, how Jonah had come thinking he could kill Konrad because he has the same blood as Arlis. How Jonah had ripped out Konrad's throat and Konrad had laughed in his face.

But it wasn't just Arlis's blood you needed, you also needed a Hunter's dagger, and Becker to bind him to Hell. Plus, you needed the Barron blood to be pierced into Konrad. Something about binding bloods together?

"I'm gunna go check on her," I said lazily and turned gracefully away from Arlis, happy to have something to do to get my mind off of the subject at hand.

I took a step and he grabbed my wrist. I turned and I saw something that terrified me beyond my wildest nightmares.

Arlis was scared. I could see it in his eyes. He was frozen in fear, petrified by something. "I won't let him hurt you. That's a promise." He kissed my hand and I leaned forward to kiss his lips. I would never get sick of this feeling. The feeling of being cared for even during the worst times. "I'll be down in a minute, I want to uh... change." He gestured to his shirt that was covered in blood.

I nodded and walked down the stairs. Halfway down the circular stairs, I saw Everly sitting up. "Arlis! She's awake." I yelled. I smiled kindly to her, hoping to establish some sort of friendship. "Hey, Everly."

She winced as she stood up, stumbling forward and clutching the bookshelf next to the couch.

She assessed the room, a pained look on her face. I wasn't surprised, there were still cuts in her body from the birds that attacked her. Apparently Becker sent a huge flock of crows to attack her and... they did a good job of it.

She looked back to me with a sad expression. "Kate, right?" She seemed confused as to who I was, even though I went to school with her. Shows how much she cares.

I nodded anyways. "Yeah. Kate."

Arlis came down the stairs and I noticed Everly's eyes widen in a good shock. I looked him up and down. Apparently he didn't change that much because he wasn't wearing a shirt at all and he had grey sweats on.

I looked back to Everly, who was quite obviously checking him out. Jealousy was apparently much easier to acquire as a werewolf because I actually almost said something to her.

But before I could, Arlis growled at her and she jumped in her skin, looking back to his eyes.

"Eyes up here, I have a mate and I do not need a fight right now." Arlis snapped, obviously pissed that she was checking him out. He wasn't the only one.

She finally came to the realization that we were mates. For a Hunter, she was really slow. "Are you— you're... lucky you." She stumbled, smirking at me. She cleared her throat and went to more serious matters. "Where's Konrad? Did you get him?"

So much for a break from this conversation.

Arlis shook his head. "I wasn't here when he attacked. Thank the moon actually, because he probably came to kill me."

She looked up at the ceiling and rubbed her temple. "I think he did kill me, at least it feels like he did."

She looked down at her arms. Most of the gashes had already healed, but they still looked painful. Becker did that. He sent a swarm of birds to kill her. I couldn't imagine that Becker would do something like that willingly, and as much as it hurt I wasn't worried about him. He was doing something, planning something. He might've been a child in an adult's body, but I had no doubts that he was smart.

She closed her eyes, sadness wafting over her in thick clouds. "Becker did this. And Constance. And— are you working for him?" She looked up and Arlis.

Arlis shook his head in anger. "I would never."

She looked at me, nodding her head up and down at my form. "What if he used Kate?"

"I'd go find him and kill him." He said straightforward. "Not work for him. Plus, he won't take her. Because I can track her and feel her and she can mind-link me. It's a downside for Konrad."

I shot him a questioning glance, confused as to what a mind-link was. Although, a small part of me already got what it was. Maybe that's how they can talk to each other so quickly without a phone.

"How's Chleo?" Everly asked.

Arlis cleared his throat and sighed. "Not healing as fast as you, thats for sure. You Dawns heal faster than even me. And I almost literally died from wounds just the other day."

Why was he lying? An hour ago he was complaining because she couldn't heal.

"Oh hey, me too!" She chuckled. "Watch out for an Atrax Vampire too." She warned. "And actually... I must have been laying on that ground for hours. This is the slowest I've ever healed." She caught on to him pretty fast.

I looked to Arlis for a reply, but he was suddenly suspicious. He looked her up and down, studying her like a science project. "You used the word "Atrax."" He said and pulled me behind him protectively. "Hunters don't associate with that word, they think it's cursed. You shouldn't even know what that word means."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm an educated Hunter, Arlis. I know what some silly little cursed word means." She was lying. Even I could tell that. For someone who probably had to do it on the basis, she really sucked at it.

Arlis told me to stay on the staircase and he walked down the rest of it, following Everly around as she looked at the house.

"So what do you know of Becker?" Arlis asked. "Considering your... familial bonds."

She shrugged and huffed out, looking at an old book on the shelf, a seemingly amazed look on her face.

"I know he'd only do this if there was a good reason. I know Konrad made a deal with him. And I know something big is going down on Christmas." She handed us more information than we got over the course of a week. Hunters worked fast I guess.

Arlis went to speak, say something, but nothing came out. He was interrupted by very loud screaming.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU BE HERE!" A familiar voice screened, Jonah. Him and Melloni walked into the house, Melloni slamming the door behind her.

Melloni looked like she was about to punch him. "I am not a porcelain doll! I'm not leaving the Pack because Konrad didn't die from some wolf bite." She argued back, glaring at him.

Jonah grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him, his blue eyes the exact opposite of Arlis's. "Melloni, it wasn't just a bite. I ripped his throat out. And he laughed." He was scared, worried, terrified of what was to come. "You're going home. To your pack." His reaction only unsettled me even more. He was telling Melloni to leave the pack.

She let out a long breath. She was giving in. She nodded and he closed his eyes in relief. "I'm not going. I'm staying here." She said at the last minute and the petty side of me applauded her for leading him on like that. This was her pack now, everywhere is dangerous and jumping ship won't solve anything.

He snapped his eyes open and turned to stomp his foot, and yelled. "I'm not arguing with you on this! Either you go back to New Mexico or I will get your father to come here and pick you up."

"He's best friends with Alpha Rylee's!" She yelled. "He's not safe! It's not safer there. I'm staying. Here. With you." She didn't sound like she would argue any longer.

But I was still lingering on the fact that her dad was best friends with Rylee, the Alpha of the pack that once wanted me dead.

"Melloni please. I can't lose you." Jonah shuddered and his eyes softened. He got onto his knees and looked up at her like she was angel, a priceless piece of art. "Please. Please just leave this place. I can't— I can't lose you."

She shook her head once more. "I can't leave, Jonah." She said quietly, almost sorrowfully.

"I say we finally come up with a steady plan." Arlis said, taking a deep breath and looking worriedly at me. Was he suddenly having the same thoughts as Jonah? Even if he was... I wouldn't leave.

Everly nodded. "I agree. We need to take Konrad down."

Jonah looked up at us. "We can't do anything! Don't you get it guys!? We lost." Jonah was so scared, not so much for him as he was for Melloni. He held her hand tightly.

"Jonah, no we haven't. I'm still standing." He said to Jonah and then looked to Everly. "Call Kasparov, get him over here, I want that Hunter here now." He cracked his knuckles and faced me. "Four days until your birthday... are you ready?" He whispered to me, careful Everly didn't hear.

"With all this going on? No." I replied earnestly. "Arlis, we should take my brother home and we should—"

"No. He's apart of this now. I brought him so you could have a sense of family again. I know you miss Vix, I know it's more painful to see your parents than it is to not see them." He walked halfway up the stairs to me, and put his hand on my cheek. "You have four more days... four. I will not let any of us give up now. Konrad has done nothing but stalled us."

"It's game over, Arlis!" Jonah screamed. "He is here. We have NO plan of attack! No method, no Roman strategies, and no means to kill him. No Constance, no Becker, and no sane thinking Arlis!" Jonah was defeated, the only thing keeping him tied to the real world was Melloni. "We have a man with hormonal issues, a girl who knows nothing of this world, and a hurt little girl Hunter!"

Arlis smiled and began laughing, surprising everyone in the room. He pointed at Jonah and clapped his hands together. He wiped the underneath of his eyes. "You're adorable little brother. Absolutely adorable." He continued laughing for another long second before he looked up. "I've been planning since I found out Felix died."

Jonah took a step back and looked Arlis up and down. "What do you mean? You didn't even know Konrad was trying to rise until Leviticus told you!"

Arlis shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. Constance, Becker, me, and maybe Everly. We knew Konrad was rising. He loves his little walking through dreams thing. I've been preparing since Felix died and I watched it happen."

Jonah gasped dramatically. "And you didn't tell anyone!?" He yelled. "Why did you need Leviticus than if you already knew?"

Arlis held open his hand. I didn't realize it was clenched, holding something. "Constance and I knew this would come in handy." He held up a vile full of blue liquid.

"No." Jonah muttered. Fur sprouted from his back, his nails began to grow into claws. "You smash that vile RIGHT NOW!" He yelled.

Arlis didn't listen. "We can use this—"

"And you can go insane and kill Kate just like dad killed mom!?" Jonah spat.

I looked at Everly who was glaring at everyone in the room. She looked fully healed now. "Is that... are those Weeper tears?" She asked. "How did you get those. We banned those! It's illegal to steal those tears."

"Not if a weeper willingly gives it to you." Arlis replied and looks at the vile with fear and a broken heart. "If I do this..."

"If you take that, I will walk out this Pack and I will never come back." Jonah gulped, eyeing the vile with the same hatred and ferocity as a male lion staring at its next meal.

Arlis hesitated for a moment and then took a deep breath. "You won't. Dalia is here and she won't leave. Neither will Melloni."

"Speak for yourself, Arlis." Melloni snarled, her upper lip curling into disgust. "How dare you stand in the house that your father stood in and make the same mistakes he made. It's disgusting and honestly quite revolting. That is the cause of your parents death and—"

"Stone. Stone is the cause of their death." Arlis replied, not meeting anyone's eyes.

I looked to where my brother stood, looking out the window and probably pretending to be anywhere other than here. He always hated when people argued.

Jonah took a step toward Arlis. "You're not fit to be Alpha, you're not fit to be King, and you're not fit to be my brother. You and I both know dad died the day he drank the Weeper's tears and I want you to know... that if you make the same decision he did... no matter the outcome... you're dead to me too." Jonah looked like he was on the verge of tears. Jonah turned around and faced Melloni. "I'm sorry." He said to her.

Jonah took a deep breath and looked up at Arlis. "If you take that, consider this my leaving of the Pack, Alpha Barron. And if you go crazy, consider this my application for leadership." He bowed and walked out of the house, grabbing Melloni's hand as he left once again.

Everyone was frozen, their mouths either dropped or shut in fear of making too much noise.

Arlis was stoic, looking off into the distance.

I put my hand on his shoulder and brought him into a hug. "I'll be here no matter what you do. But maybe they're right. It's too dangerous and—"

"I should explain to you what happened to my parents. Shouldn't I?" He asked, ignoring my reach out.

I buried my head in my hands. "I don't need to know, Arlis. But judging by their reactions, you shouldn't. When your family threatens to walk out on you it's not a good sign... think this through."

"You don't even know why they're mad." He sounded angry with me. "Why is everyone telling me not to do this? Everly can go face to face with Konrad, but nobody cares. Becker can switch sides and everyone is worried about him and awe poor Becker. Constance can do whatever the hell she wants and people congratulate her. Becker does things that could get him killed, in fact I'm surprised he lived through raising Konrad, and he suffers nothing but praise. But me... I try to help and I get scolded and reprimanded. If only they knew what it was like to have the chance to do something more than wait like sitting ducks and then be screwed over by an idea that'll help." He was out of breath by the time he was done.

I rubbed my temples and shook my head at him. "You're not thinking rationally! Everly didn't volunteer for that. And people do care, we care. Do you think people won't be pissed when Becker comes back? Arlis you are helping, you're holding all these people together like glue." I put my hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at me. "Nobody is calling you useless. All this worrying and fussing about you means that people care."

"She's right, ya know. Hate to admit it but it sucks when nobody gives a fuck about you." Everly wiped her eyes and yawned. "I personally think you should do it but that's my opinion. Who cares what happened to your parents? This is your life." She felt her back pocket for something and then panicked. "Where's my phone? Oh my god my family will kill me if I don't answer the phone... or somebody else if I get lucky."

Arlis sighed heavily. "I'm taking it. Jonah can get over himself. Everly, it's on the kitchen bar. Are you leaving?"

Everly hummed and tapped her chin. "I have people waiting for me back in town. Plus... it doesn't seem like you're working for Konrad any time soon. Call me if you do though, gotta keep my tabs up. Have fun with insanity, dog." She grabbed her phone and began to walk out but stopped herself and turned. "And again, watch out for that... vampire." She narrowed her eyes and left the house.

I was tired, not just from sleep but of drama and everything that was going on. Could I have one day where life didn't screw me over?

"Take a walk with me?" Arlis held out his arm, gesturing for me to take it.

I shook my head. "I'm not in the mood." It wasn't a lie, I really wasn't. He was dodging my questions and it kind of made me mad.

"Hey, Arlis, right? Yeah so quick question, what the hell just happened?" Chance was calm, patient. On the outside. But I knew the real Chance. I saw the nervous tick in his eyes, I could point out his confusion and worry. I was his sister after all.

Arlis huffed out. "I'll tell you after I go on a walk with my lady."

"I just said, I'm not going on a walk—" I tried to say it more angrily but I was too exhausted.

"You're going. I need to tell you what happened. Because you need to know how you could be at risk." He was more like Jonah than I think he knew. Neither would give in or up, and both cared tremendously about the people that surrounded them.

It was an admirable quality. When it worked out for you. If they were against you... well it sucked. Melloni and I could vouch for that.

And as I thought about this, I barely even glanced over the part where he said I could be at risk. Mainly because I trusted Arlis, he wouldn't do something that could get me killed.

Chance threw his arms up. "I knew I should've stayed home. This was a terrible idea. I thought werewolves would be cool. I. Was. Wrong." He slammed his body onto the couch and found the TV remote, and began channel surfing.

I had questions to ask him too. How his first change went, if our parents knew. How he was dealing with all of this.

But right now, I knew I had to give my full attention to Arlis.

I took the jacket that I had earlier and wrapped it around me, Arlis being my second form of warmth.

We walked outside into the night like a normal couple, into the snow. Anyone passing by would look at us like we were the usual. But if you were to hear the conversation, you would know our lives were anything but. He began telling me a part of his life that I don't think I'll ever forget.

ARLIS
"Just kill her! Kill her and you'll be saved!" Stone turned and winked at me. I wanted to get up and rip his throat. I wanted to claw him until he was blind and deaf and everything in between.

My dad growled. "I can't kill my mate!"

Stone smiled wickedly, palming a silver blade bathed in lotus flower. "Oh I think you can. You see, Reigns, you are in a fake reality that you can't escape until you face your fear. You want your insanity to be stripped away? KILL HER!" Stone screamed. "I'll even give you my blade."

I screamed out, yelling at him to not listen, begging him. I could see it in his eyes, he was thinking about it. He wanted to be normal again, to be like we used too. But this wasn't the way.

My mom was frozen, laying on the ground, bloody and broken. Together, my parents could kill Stone. Together, they could have put down the world's best Hunter.

But my dad was in and out of sanity, half the time screaming and crying at nothing, and half the time acting as if nothing was wrong. But he knew the truth, he knew he was insane.

But my dad... my dad would never hurt my mom. He'd never hurt me. He'd never attack his own. Not my uncle, not his friends, and definitely, DEFINITELY, not my mom.

But the man that stood before wasn't my dad. It was a hollow, a shell, of a man I once knew. He had the same dark and scary eyes that I knew to be warm when the sun shined, but inside... inside his soul was corrupt and filled with shadows.

"C'mon. The normal you isn't insane? In the real world, wouldn't Rebeckah have killed me? She's so strong. This can't be real, can it?" Stone tossed the knife up and caught the blade in his hand, the silver melting his flesh, but he didn't seem to even notice. "Take it. Kill Rebeckah Barron." He whispered. "You know you want too. Don't you want your sanity back?"

My dad nodded and then cried out like a child who lost their parent, falling to the floor next to my mom. "I can't. I can't. Not even in a fake life."

Stone shrugged. "Guess you'll be stuck. Reliving her death over. And over. And over. Again. Every day seeing you murdering your own family."

Stone was lying, but not all the way.

He was right. When you drink a Weeper's tears and see your fear, you do see it over every day. You're constantly haunted. My dad's biggest fear was killing my mom, that she'd die. And so he did see it. And the way to stop seeing it every day, is too overcome it. To face it. To do what you couldn't do. But this was the real world. And once he killed her, he'd revert to sanity for a couple moments, realize what he's done, and either die or become so weak there's no point to living.

Stone dropped the blade. "Whoops." He chuckled. "Don't you want to slice her throat? Get your life back?

"Dad no." I muttered, my legs crushed by the dresser on me. I couldn't feel my legs, I couldn't breath.

Stone faced me with an evil glint. "Oh the runt is alive still, the demon that wants to keep you here. Reigns, I want to set you free."

My dad grabbed the knife and pointed it at Stone. "I should kill you." He was scary when he wanted to be, my dad. But everyone knew that unless you were scum, my dad would bend over backwards to help you. Right now, with the look in his eyes, even my bones shivered in fear.

Stone widened his eyes. "I'd just come back. Nobody ever actually dies in this fake reality."

"Dad it's not fake! You're not in the Weeper's dream! You woke up!" I screamed and pounded at the floor, my tears mixing with my blood. "Dad. Please." I cried, my world tearing apart in a single day. I know my parents broke the law, I know they did. But they didn't deserve this.

My dad turned to my mom who laid on the floor. "And this will save me and my family?" My dad asks.

"Of course, Alpha Reigns. Of course. Just kill her." Stone took a deep breath.

My dad walked to my mom and I screamed as he held the blade up for several, long, moments, before he flung it down and sunk it deep into my mom's heart.

She took a deep breath and her body collapsed, her last breath an, "I love you." Her eyes found mine and then she was gone. Time slowed and then stopped, all I could see was her lifeless body on the ground. She didn't deserve this. She was kind and smart and always so cheerful. To know that she's never smile at me again, that my mom was gone... it was the end of the world. This was it. This was when I gave up.

"Baby? Baby. What have I done!? NO! NO NO! Wake up, wake up. Please baby. Don't." My dad picked up my mom's body, screaming and crying, his eyes looking up as he lost all sanity in a much different way than he had weeks ago.

2 blonde look-a-likes, a girl and a boy, walked into the room. Both were only 4.

"Daddy?" The girl asked, her soft voice like a time bomb in the room.

"Go, Dalia!" I shouted. The twins. They didn't need to see this. They needed to run, to leave. They needed to get out of here.

Dalia looked at me, her long blonde hair giving her an angelic look. "Ar-is?" She misspoke my name like she always had.

"Please. Go Dalia."

Dalia nodded, but made no attempt to move.

I looked at my dad who licked his lips. "Take care of them, Arlis. Take care of your pack. Find your mate."

"DAD NO!" I screamed as my dad plunged the blade deep into his own chest, falling to a crumble next to my mom, a river of red running down the floor and settling into a puddle.

Stone began laughing uncontrollably, bending over. "Oh this is pure. Goodbye, Arlis. And uh— happy early birthday." He nodded and walked to my parents, kicking my father's dead body over and taking his dagger.

He strolled out of he room, passing my siblings. He bent down to their level. "One day, I hope you come to kill me. It'd be nice to have killed all the Barrons." He ruffled Jonah's hair and winked, a bright smile on his face. "Ta ta for now children." He left and shut the door behind him.

I looked to my dad and my mom's lifeless bodies. I screamed out in agony, my blood falling from my mouth.

Everything about me was broken and everything about me hurt in a way no artist or writer could dare to conjure up, a pain that took my hand and drug me to chasms of despair.

Just days until my 20th birthday. Maybe if I had been born earlier I could have been stronger, a full grown werewolf. I could've taken Stone down. I could've saved them.

But in 1741, Stone killed my parents. They broke the law, I know. But I'd break it again to kill him.