Chapter 36: Chapter 36

The return to normality was strange.

Everyone around me was exactly the same as I had left them. Their looks, their personalities, their clothes, shoes, hair. The pretty houses the same, the pub, the manor. Mason.

All the same.

Mason was slightly more rugged and his eyes reminded me of someone who hadn’t slept in a year, but apart from that he was still the handsome Alpha I had come to adore.

It was just me that had changed.

And that was getting some used to.

There had been tears, laughs and plenty of snot on my shoulders as I was smothered in hugs by the girls who knew me best. Those who didn’t treated me as though I was a bomb about to explode, but I didn’t pay them any mind. They may have known of what happened to my body, all the unspeakable things Dan did to torture me; but they would never truly know or understand the damage to my psyche.

I didn’t miss the way people’s eyes darted to the side slightly too late as I caught them looking at my haphazardly cut hair, or the bruises around my throat and any other skin I dared to bear. I felt ugly stood next to the girls, though I would never voice these thoughts out loud. I could hear people’s reactions clear as day...

“What of course not!”

“You look...better.”

“You’re sobrave.”

Ugh, brave. I had been called brave by what felt like the entire population of Penshaw Lake this week alone. I was tired of it. I didn’t feel brave.

I felt tired. I felt lucky. I felt relieved.

But not brave.

It had been almost a month since Dan had been shot to death in the airport and some days it felt like only yesterday since I returned from hospital into the waiting arms of my best friends. There was a crisp, fresh feeling to the air and the trees were beginning to shed the first red, yellow or brown leaves. I donned a light jacket for the first time since the incident and somehow, the loss of the warm weather felt like a change I was more than welcoming. It was something different; like me.

I stepped into the main living room of the manor, a place I was beginning to see as another home, seeing as Mason wouldn’t let me leave his sight for more than a minute at a time. I curled the hand-knitted, woolen cardigan around myself as I stood behind the couch and let my eyes rest on the television; the news currently capturing everyone’s attention.

“We come to you now live with a story that has been sweeping the nation...”

I sighed lightly, I should have known that someone would have been filming Dan’s murder attempt at the airport. Social media went wild with the footage of Dan flying at the police, some having even counted the amount of shots fired before he went down.

Some guesses were probably right, others were a little ridiculous.

It did make everyone a little more on edge. Having taken on way more bullets than any normal human could, people were speculating and theorizing. Robot, Vampire, Government Experiment, Werewolf. They were all theories circulating the net like wildfire.

“Heidi, I didn’t even hear you sneak in!” Jane gasped, reaching for the remote on the coffee table and muting the TV. “You don’t have to be listening to any of that. I don’t want you replaying any of it.”

I shrugged, not having the heart to tell her that I replayed it every day in my mind and probably would for a long time coming. My mum leaned up from her position the couch and rubbed my arm.

“Did you sleep any better last night?” She asked, knowing it was better to distract and divert the conversation when anything was mentioned about Dan or theincident.

Now, there was a positive I could talk about, I let a real smile drift across my face, “Yeah actually. Those sleeping pills are a miracle, I haven’t had a nightmare in two nights now!”

“Oh good, you need lots of sleep to get better,” She replied, her face relaxing from its worried position.

Mum had changed a little bit too.

Now that Dan was dead, she didn’t have him looming over her head anymore and although what happened to me will live with her forever, I could see that she too was beginning to heal. She could finally say ‘good riddance’ and never have to think about how he hurt her again. It would take time, but she was finally on a path to recovery.

“Hey guys,” came a voice from the doorway.

All heads turned to see the Beta of the pack, Isaac, standing there with a solemn look on his face.

“I’ve just found two men hiding in bushes by the forest, you know where those two trees twist funny? They had fairly expensive cameras, I’ve sent them packing of course, with two very broken cameras, but it’s fair to say I don’t think Penshaw Lake is going to be this quiet from now on.”

I could feel the anxiety form a pit in my stomach, all twisting and curving around like an angry snake.

“They’ve found me then,” I sighed. “I suppose it was only a matter of time, anyone from Penshaw could have taken a picture of me and told people where I live. I imagine they want to know if Dan really is a robot.”

My weak attempt at humour went unnoticed as the pack went on high alert.

“We have plans for things like this,” Mason explained to me half an hour later, carrying a large backpack and passing it to Kai. “It’s in stages, from speculation to full on secret out. Right now, it’s just speculation, but we need to prepare for the worst case scenario.”

I nodded, “How do you prepare?”

“We inform local and national packs of the threat first, so they are on alert. Then, we ensure that we have adequate warriors and support from nearby packs should things escalate. If things ever do, then we get all women and children below the manor and into the shelter. It’s fully bombproof and there are resources in there to last months.”

“I can’t let it get to that. Not after all you’ve done for me,” I gingerly placed my hand on his arm, halting his movements. “You have all been there for me and I will not let any harm come to this pack. I...”

I was cut off as Mason pressed his lips to my own, silencing me with an ‘mmf’ sound. I felt my whole body relax into the kiss as my brain went into ‘Mason mode’.

“You sounded just like an Alpha Female then,” he mumbled against my lips. “So strong, so beautiful.”

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, “I just meant that this is my shit and I want to end it once and for all. I’ll do a press conference, if that’s what they really want.”

“Is that what you really want? Heidi, it’s only been a month, are you sure you’re ready to talk about it?”

“No,” I answered honestly, “but the thought of losing you all hurts more, so I’m willing to do what it takes.”

“We have plans, it won’t even come to that...” Mason protested.

“I’m doing it,” I stated firmly, crossing my arms across my chest.

***

Stood there, waiting behind the door ready to address the public, I was beginning to regret my earlier confidence. Mason had set up a press conference in the town square, and from peeking out from behind the closed curtains in the town hall to see the turn out, I could see that my picture would be plastered in newspapers across the country, maybe even in Europe and America. Still, I knew this is what I had to do to protect those I loved.

Just as I knew they would do for me.

“It’s almost time Heidi,” came a voice I knew to be the Sergeant. Having listened to his instructions over the course of the day, I had begun to recognise his deep, gravelly voice immediately. “When those doors open you will probably feel blinded by the cameras, try to ignore them and just head to the podium. There is a large police presence surrounding you, so try to stay calm. Any time you don’t feel comfortable, you can leave straight back through these doors, ok?” His hand patted the door in front of me and I nodded, I wasn’t backing out now.

He opened the door a smidge, just letting himself out much to the disappointment of the groaning paparazzi I could hear from behind the door. I could hear a mumbling sound, the Sergeant addressing the public first, and I could feel the snake in my belly return once more. Mason gripped my hands and I jolted slightly, having forgotten he was right beside me.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“No, but I have to be. It’s ok, I can do this.”

“Are you reassuring me or you?” Mason queried, a small lilting smile on his face.

“Both I think,” I replied with a smile.

“They’re ready for you,” a lady tapped my shoulder, then whispering something into her mouthpiece.

I looked up at Mason who shook his head lightly before leaning down and kissing me softly.

“I love you Heidi.”

I smiled, having heard those words none stop since being rescued, I still couldn’t get enough of them.

“I love you too.”

-and then I stepped out into the blinding, flashing lights of hundred cameras to tell my story.