Chapter 41

Chapter 41

-Pax-

My heart was beating erratically as Rowan talked. Every time my parents had been mentioned by anyone but Kian, my body filled with a cold sense of hope and despair. Though the emotions were contradictory, I had always dreamt of my family coming back and taking me away from Kian's hold. The dreams had changed now, as I grew more realistic, but there was still a childish hope in my heart that they could be alive.

"Click on it," Farley said from my left. He leant over me to see whatever was on Rowan's phone. His shirt grazed my bare arm, creating goosebumps. "They look a lot like the pictures you showed me."

"Pictures?" I asked. I was unsure why that was the first thing my mind focused on potentially having photos of my parents, I couldn't see them anyway.

"Yeah," Farley responded. "I'll show you at some point. I should've done it ages ago."

I felt like an afterthought, but to be fair, we had been faced with a lot of danger since I started to live here. We didn't have time to reminisce on old photographs.

"Turn the volume up," Iris said.

I assume that Rowan complied, as a few clicks later, noises of rats scurrying across cement and heavy breathing emitted from where he was.

My shoulders tensed That breathing could be my parents. I would have never thought that could be a possibility. Even if I imagined someone taking me away from Kian, I always believed that I would never see my parents again.

"Are you sure this is real?" Caspian asked.

I wanted to snap at him to not ruin my hopeful mood, but since I was doing that to myself, I found it hypocritical to be harsh about it.

"You can never really tell with these things," Rowan replied. His finger tapped at the screen. "This could be recorded, or it could be someone else, or it could be a loop or something. There's really no way to tell unless you watched it for a while."

"Oh yes, my favourite show, torture house," Clementine responded.

It was as though a syringe had been stabbed into my heart and was injecting boiling water. My hand gripped Farley's in a hold which was no doubt painful.

"We'll just keep an eye on it," Iris said. "Let's not put too much weight on the situation."

I nodded and stood up, letting go of Farley's hand. I quietly picked up everyone's plates and headed into the kitchen. There was a pile of dishes next to the sink, something to take my mind off things.

It didn't work. I didn't smash any plates or cups, but I was very tempted to do so several times. It was peaceful having the backdoor open and washing the dishes at the same time. I was aware that there were people staring at me, but the stares weren't negative. I didn't blame them after everything that happened, they'd done that before the attack too. Each time it happened, I felt pressured to prove to them that I could do this without needing supervision.

People came in and out, leaving their dishes and grabbing something if they were still hungry. Randall had cheered when he rounded the corner, glad that he wasn't the one needing to do the dishes. He got a scolding from his older brother, Ralph, but Randall had sassily responded that their father wasn't there to tell them what to do.

I didn't know what to do after that, other than sitting in the living room and listening to everyone talk about the website they planned to build. They would continue to get in touch with various packs and hopefully gather enough supporters.

I didn't want to meet anyone new, but it was for the good of not only me, but for the other black wolves in the world.

I felt like a toy being passed from person to person as I got to know them. The rest of Karim's pack weren't here as they were keeping an eye on the Quartvear forest. Though, it was pleasant conversation through the morning.

Lana and Brin came over during the afternoon. They had slept like logs through the night and didn't wake up until eleven. They sounded extremely tired, but their words were cheerful.

It was nearing noon when Rowan came through the door and sat in front of the television. He ignored every question which was thrown at him as he typed on his laptop. A few moments later, the room filled with gasps.

"Where's that?" Abilene asked. I had learnt everyone's names over the past two hours, along with a little bit of knowledge from yesterday. "Who are they?"

"They're the supposed descendants of the first werewolf," Beaumont answered. "What? I like history."

I'd need to talk to him later then.

"We don't know where it is," Rowan answered. "That would save us a lot of problems if we knew."

My skin crawled due to how casual he talked about my parents being alive. Or potentially being alive. I kept my mouth shut though and tried to hear any and all sounds from the screen.

"Either way, it doesn't look pleasant," Elowen commented. "It's dark and wet. They're chained to a wall."

I didn't know if I was grateful for her description or not. My hands were turning into fists as uselessness filled my body.

"Lights, camera, and action," Finn's voice came from the screen. It was so sudden it made me jolt in my seat. "You have an audience."

A high-pitched, yet muffled, scream came from in front of me. The clanging of chains was barely audible, or at least I assumed they were chains. They were nearly obscured by the sound of heavy footsteps.

"I don't know who, but if it's who I think it is, then let's put on a show," Finn continued. "Who are you?"

A masculine grunt and a spitting noise came before flesh hit flesh.

"You could at least show some politeness for our guests," Finn taunted. "Come on, just a few words."

"Piss off," a deep voice growled. "We don't want any part of this."

"Why not?" Finn's voice sounded pouty. It was as though he were a child again. "I want this to be entertaining, causing some angst."

"Why? What have you to gain?" the voice asked again.

"Now, we're talking," Finn said. "See? Not so bad." The footsteps resumed. "You know why you're here."

"Because we're black wolves," the other voice responded. "We've been told many times."

Gasps came from various parts of the room I was in; Beaumont had been right. I wasn't sure if I heard a quiet huff come from him, or if I imagined the fake offended noise.

"Awe, but what if this time's different?" Finn asked. The screech of metal against metal made me flinch.

"Finn, why are you making them talk?" Cedar asked. "It's very unlike you."

"What?" Finn asked. "We have an audience, I wanted to put on a show."

"There's two people watching," Cedar observed. "You just want to make them talk in case one of the people is Pax."

Finn made a 'pfft' noise. "Of course, Pax isn't watching. He can't."

I was shaking by this point. I didn't know whether it was the uselessness vibrating within my veins or the anger which was bubbling inside me. The comments weren't new, but they were hurting two innocent people because of me.

"Daphne told you to leave them alone," Cedar pointed out.

"So what?" Finn said louder. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the room again, but there were no yells of pain. "We're just expected to do what she says? Why? Because she's older? Because she's from a different pack?"

"Because she's smarter than the rest of us," Cedar responded. "Clearly."

A moment of silence before a growl and metal hitting metal reached my ears. The door shut on the screen, leaving an eerie silence with nothing but the rats to be picked up on the microphone.

"So, they could see that we're watching?" Elowen asked. "Who else was watching?"

She didn't get any response. I was also curious about who could potentially be watching as well, but I had too much on my plate at the moment. The person could've just clicked on it by accident or something.

"There's a view count," Rowan pointed out. "It was just one other person, or one computer, but I don't think it's anything to worry about right now."

"You don't really have any known enemies," Ralph pointed out. "I don't think knowing who it is would help us any."

Murmurs of agreement erupted. "We should get a move on," Aiden spoke up.

"Where are you guys heading?" Caspian asked. "I never really asked."

"We're going to check up on my parents," Aiden announced. "And we've got to check up on Karim's pack. Harlow, Karim, Emi, Hollis, Elowen, and Melina are staying though."

Wow, that's a long list. It took me until now to realise how many people there actually were here. When I was talking to them, it didn't feel like much, I was enjoying their conversation.

"Safe travels," Farley said, and I nodded in confirmation.

"Thank you," A line of people filed passed, some saying goodbye and others saying it was nice to meet me. I responded with a, hopefully, polite smile and wave.

Then the house felt empty, after the noise of so many inhabitants, having around ten of us here seemed like there was something missing.

Hello lovelies!

double update this week!!

I hope that you're all doing well :D

The question of the chapter is, have you guys ever had an extreme haircut?

I'm asking because I've now got a fringe for the first time in my life, it's just a curtain fringe, but I really like it! And my hair is also kinda short, so yes! I would consider that my extreme haircut.