Bloodlines of Old Ch. 02

I closed the door and turned towards him, "I'm sorry, Ethan?" he nodded. "But I'm not a leader, I never have been, and you all deserve more than I can give you." I barely heard his words as I exited the car.

"That's why you are perfect for her," the slamming of the door solidified his confession. I strode up the steps to my apartment as all of the realizations were hitting me hard. I stumbled in through the door and collapsed on the floor and cried the snotty kind of ugly cry that no one should witness. I awoke a few hours later, not as confused as I had been before. But the first thought in my head was of Charlotte. I hated myself that her expertise in sex was getting to me. That I wanted her, more than I ever wanted anything or anyone before. But I couldn't let that sentiment trickle into my decisions when she took so much from me, even if it were things I wanted to give her.

When I left my apartment for work the next morning, I knew putting on makeup was useless as I was prone to break out into tears at any moment. When I got to work, Jared called me into his office.

"Listen," I sat down at the chair opposite his desk, "if you say you are ready to come back, you're here. If you need more time, just let me know ok?" His sincerity threatened to break the damn tears in my eyes.

"I think," I took a breath to stop the tears, "normalcy would be good for me." He nodded understandingly as I envisioned his paternal nature for the first time.

"Well if you change your mind, just let me know ok?" he stood and opened his office door for me to exit.

As I went through my daily routine of preparing for and handling customers, the weight of missing Charlotte was eating into me. If this is what independence felt like, I wasn't sure it was what I wanted anymore. I wanted her, but I wanted to feel as if it was my choice too just a little more. I didn't make a great amount of tips like I used to, but I wasn't worried about my income for the lack of surplus. As I trudged home in the rain, I thought it was soothing that I would be soaking wet in the worst way as I got to my apartment. I clutched the mistakenly made order that I was given for free out of pity. I couldn't relent to the grumbling of my stomach over the churning of protest at the loss of Charlotte.

I collapsed against my closed door and let the tears of sadness follow me into sleep. I fell asleep against the door without even taking off my bag or clothes, still clutching the meal in my hands.

************************

There was a banging against my door that woke me. I was confused, but the banging on the door was radiating through my chest as I laid against the door.

"Fuck off!" I screamed at the intruder. I was met with a growl that threw me to my feet and I stepped away from the door. Before I could even think to put more space between me and the door, it burst into several pieces and shattered at my feet. I tried to run towards my bedroom but I was cut off by hands on my waist. I tried to scream but another set of hands clutched over my mouth. There were several people who were holding me as I tried to clutch at them.

I felt my eyes burn over and threaten to turn as I knew my wolf would be more likely to combat these intruders than my human form. Suddenly a pressure was in my face with a hissing of air. I breathed in when the hand let my mouth go and I felt a burning trickle down into my throat and lungs. It felt as if I had breathed in sawdust as it tackled each and every cell in my respiratory organs as I struggled just to focus on breathing slowly so I didn't suffocate. I felt something burning placed on my wrists as someone clutched my face harshly.

"We've got you now, baby alpha, think you have the bloodline, think again," this new stranger squeezed me into submission as I watched the walls of my apartment fade out beneath my tunnel of existence.

***********

Waking up in unknown locations was getting old fast. I tried to sit up quietly but a clanging of metal and burning in my wrists stopped me from continuing. I looked up to see old, rusty, stained, handcuffs around my wrists chained through a metal bed frame. There were already bruises and burn marks around my wrists. I lifted up my head to assess the situation. I was in a basement like room, every wall was stained dark cement and there were various other contraptions of control adorned in each section. If the burning inside my chest wasn't warning enough, the set up around me was. I was in trouble, big trouble. Someone strode down the stairs leisurely as he smiled at my awareness.

"As if I need to tell you, that metal has been soaked in holy water for your," he sneered as he approached me, "comfort." I thought it best to remain silent as I stared at him. Everyone makes a mistake at some point, right. I just had to wait him out. He roughly pulled my shirt up as I was helpless to his advance. He stroked my stomach, "This abomination," he squeezed into my belly as I gasped out, "must be dealt with." I wasn't sure what he meant, but I wasn't going to let anything out. A few others came down the stairs now carrying several things I couldn't quite make out. They all seemed medieval, the people and their tools.

"As if we could let Charlotte have a child, there must be balance!" he was coming unhinged now.

"Ch-child, what?" I stammered out. They all laughed in unison.

"Surely you don't think you could lie to us about that, our senses are much more present in our human forms because of the purity in our blood. We can all smell the child brewing your womb," the disgust was evident on his face. "We cannot allow another Alpha to continue tainting our species' blood." Was he trying to tell me I was pregnant? How was that even possible?

"H-how? Wh-what?" I couldn't even get the words out of my mouth. He leaned down and gently stroked my face even as I tried to pull away.

"Oh darling, she tricked you hasn't she? You aren't even aware, what a pity. Perhaps I should show mercy on you." I wanted to nod my agreement but he continued. "But I cannot show mercy on the thing inside you." Tears were coming down my face now.

One of the men handed him a needle, "I will also concoct something for the memories. I think she raped you into submission, therefore you will not be placed under duress. We are, after all, civil beings." They all let out a thunderous roar as he stabbed the needle into my neck and my breathing slowed. I could only allow my vision of him smiling to burn into my eyes as I fade out again.

************

My alarm was blaring and I knew if I hit snooze one more time, that I would be late for work. I was never late for work. I showered quickly and wondered why I felt sore everywhere. I didn't remember working out more than usual yesterday, in fact I don't really remember what I did yesterday. But there were several empty bottles of liquor on my way to the bathroom. Maybe I had gotten much more drunk than I realized, or even remembered. I was putting on my makeup as I noticed bruises on my wrists and shoulders. I grimaced at their tenderness but quickly covered them up. I must have been fighting my dreams again. I hadn't lashed out in my sleep like that since I was a child.

When I got to the diner, I felt off, but I chalked it up to the heavy drinking. Hearing Nana's confused confessions on her death bed really disrupted my life. I would never want to go out like that. Maybe my family really was right about staying away from her while her mind withered away. I wish I hadn't been there to see it, but I also knew that I was glad she was around at least one loved one when she did finally kick it. Well at least now I would have more time for extra shifts and maybe I could even go back to school on my own. As far away as that goal was, I knew I could do it. I had been getting by for so long on my own now, nothing could stop me.

I never noticed how loud or smelly the diner was. I never gave it much thought before, but now the sensations were nauseating. I could smell the burnt fragments still cooking on the grill, the bathroom that was screaming for bleach, the moldy booth seats that gave our guests nostalgia, the overworked air conditioning that felt stale as I inhaled. I never thought this diner was particularly disgusting or unkempt until now. The sloshing of dishwater, the shuffling of guests, the bell ringing for orders, the crunching of vegetables under a knife, the clicking on the keyboard in the office, this had to be the worst hangover I have ever had. The lights were also assaulting.

Two hours into my shift, I had to wretch into the disgusting toilet. I tried to wipe my mouth out with water and downed a soda, but the grimy slipperiness of my insides was still coating my whole mouth. I was never going to drink again. As I counted out my tips at the end of my shift, I didn't even really take notice to the amount only focused on sleeping off this headache. I rubbed my forehead walking out of the dinner but stopped dead in my tracks when a black SUV was idling across the street. I stared at it and clutched near my neck. Strangers never made me nervous, why was I so on edge? I needed to get home and away from everyone.

Not wanting to subject myself to more confines with others, I opted to walk home. At least then the assaulting noises and smells could be slightly avoided. Or so I hoped. I hadn't realized when I left this morning that my door seemed coated in fresh paint. Maybe the maintenance did it while I was gone. I shrugged off my clothes and started a hot bath. I needed to relax.

As the water drained, it seemed to echo through every wall in the apartment even through the closed door as I sat on my bed and clutched at my ears. My phone dinged with a text which was weird. The only people who had my number were work, and Jared would not text me if he wanted me to come in. I knew my family had shut me off and even blocked me so it couldn't be them. And Nana was buried, along with anyone else in her care unit that might want to contact me. My finger hovered over the screen as I thought about who it could be. I clutched my towel to my chest and clicked open the message.

"Hey, Cassidy, it's Anne from Carble Homes, there is something you need to see, call me." I frowned at the words on the screen. Nana didn't have anything else, she couldn't even afford her care, that was how I got into this mess of a job in the first place. Not that I minded, but she didn't have any savings left over, at least that's what I was told. I glanced at my screen then looked at the time, six thirty. I could still manage a bus one way. The thought of being crammed into more small spaces with strangers still grumbled in my nose.

I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt. Pulled on a light jacket and threw my keys into my pocket, "I'm on my way," I texted Anna back before shoving the phone into my pocket as well. The return to Nana's old home was unnerving. I hoped to never see it again, especially if she wasn't going to be there. I trudged towards her old hallway, hoping that Anne would be somewhere in that vicinity. I practically ran into her when I turned the final corner towards Nana's old room. She clutched me with a smile, "Woah, oh hey, yeah I'm glad you're here." She glanced around.

"Can you go wait in the break room, I just have to give these charts to the head nurse," she pointed to a room behind her labeled as such. I nodded, "Sure."

"Great just one second," she waltzed off as I shoved my hands into my pockets and shuffled nervously on my feet. I didn't have to wait long.

"Ok great, I didn't think you would come so fast, then again, everyone here knew how much you cared," she opened a locker and produced a small metallic looking shoe box for me.

"I found this, a couple days after cleaning out her room. Apparently your Nana was quite the cheeky woman. Only realized there was something to be found when we had to take the radiator off the wall. It wasn't working proper, and now we know why. No idea how she managed to hide it there, that thing was a piece and a half to take off." Anne was always a genuine person to me, she truly was born for her job. I lovingly stroked the box.

"Wait how do you know it's from-" she turned it over in my hands gently. My name was engraved in gold on the bottom. "CASSIDY" There was also a pin pressed picture of a wolf beside it. I touched the image gently as something inside me screamed as my eyes had trouble seeing more than three colors.

"Dear God, she was right," Anne had her hand over her mouth against a nervous chuckle, "this whole time she wasn't making up stories, she was sharing them." I pressed my hands into my eyes as the colors swirled back slowly.

"What are you talking about? She's been spouting stories to me since I was a kid," I shook off her assessment as I turned the box in my hand back over and met her watery eyes.

"You know," she chuckled again as she fell to a chair, "she always seemed too sincere to be pulling my chain when I would humor her with questions." I didn't want to see the contents with an audience so I placed the box on the table and gave her my full attention.

"So it's all true isn't it? The story of fighting over bloodlines? The story of your lineage, of your power? Have you met Charlotte yet?" she was smiling with excitement as the word brought a throbbing to my head and I had to sit down.

"I don't know anyone named Charlotte," it felt wrong even as I said it, but I knew it was true. Anne stood excitedly, but stopped herself from taking a step closer.

"Can you, I mean, can I," her excitement was surprising, "Can I see you change, is that like too personal, does it hurt?" I furrowed my brows at her and stood. This woman was buying into fantasies.

"I don't know what stories Nana told you, but there isn't anything special about me or her or anyone else in our family outside of how ragging of assholes they are for treating her like they did," I needed to get away from here. She was only tarnishing the memory of Nana and it was boiling my blood.

"But, but your eyes, I saw them," she was gentle yet still confused.

"My eyes what?" I tried not to spit out, but the intent lingered.

"Shit," she bit her lip. "FUCK!" she screamed now and I headed for the door, clearly her time in hospice had taken a toll on her.

"No wait please I made her a promise but I didn't believe it," she dug back into her locker. "She told me, if the worst thing ever happened, that you would," she looked at me with permission to continue as I lifted a brow and put the empty hand on my hip.

"That you would need a little push, a little nudge into the right side," she was coming towards me slowly with sadness. "I don't want to hurt you, she said it wouldn't hurt." I was still confused when she sprayed something in my face akin to bleach in a can. I dropped the box and fell to my knees clutching my throat and my eyes. The colors swirled away again as I made out Anne's form locking the door. I tried to breath in and out slowly but was drowned out with growling protest. I fell to my hands and watched in horror as they shrunk and cracked while sprouting fur. I tried to get away from myself, but my legs were also breaking with electric submission. As the claws flexed at the tips of my toes they scratched at the bleak linoleum underneath. When it all stopped I was breathing heavily, the smells and sounds overwhelming.

The disinfectant, the bodily excretions, the medicinal concoctions were swirling in my snout. The beeping of machines, the bustling of feet, the crying conversations, the groans of pain, and the clicking of keyboards were violently loud. I needed to get out of here. I face the door on all fours now as my primal instincts were taking over. I was a wolf. And I was hungry.

When I laid eyes on a weary Anne, I knew of her, but I also knew my stomach didn't care if prey had a name. I could hear her breathing, her heartbeat, and I could practically taste the sweat gleaming off her body. I licked my snout and wet all my teeth in anticipation. I was going to enjoy every bit of her body. My excitement was halted by a voice behind me.

"Cassie, please, baby, listen to me, don't force me to make you submit," I turned to face the one who was interrupting my meal as a woman was crouched in the window, but her eyes spoke volumes. I snarled at her and she looked to Anne.

"I'm sorry you have to see this, but you must keep that door shut, just understand I'm not hurting her," she silently leaped to the floor and crouched.

"Charlotte?" I heard a wavering question from Anne. I knew Charlotte right? Was this Charlotte? The new stranger nodded as I awaited her answer. She nodded without taking her eyes off me. I whimpered and laid on the floor with my head between my front paws.

"That's it baby, you know me, I know it's confusing, but can I talk to Cassie, please?" She never stopped crouching and I rolled onto my back and presented my belly. I felt no ill intentions from her and obviously Anne trusted her. She slowly moved towards me and stroked my belly as I licked her arm. She giggled, "Cassie, please, come back," she was smiling though. I screamed through a shift and found myself lying on my back naked and looking up at Charlotte. I instantly recoiled away and tried to cover my private parts.

"There's no need, love, I've seen it all," she didn't move, but was elated with victory. I wanted to wipe that smile off her face with a challenge, but I still didn't know who she was. I wrapped my knees close to my chest and let the tears fall.

"I don't know you, how does everyone know you but me?" I was pouting, but I was scared and unsure.

"What do you mean? I know you, we've already had our first pack run, our first time, we even had the mating celebration, surely you remember your mate?" She was being more gentle than I knew she wanted to be.

"Mate?" I breathed out.

"Do you not remember making love in both forms?" she seemed more confused than I was at that moment. I was shaking at the confession as the word seemed to mean something to me, but I couldn't understand what. She slowly crawled to me as I licked my lips with anticipation. How even under this situation, did I want this stranger so bad.

"You are carrying my child, our child," she touched my knee now as I let the tears fall, but was hit with something else.

"Abomination," I grunted out. Her eyes changed and her fingers changed into claws for a moment.

"Our child isn't an abomination, love," I could feel her heartbreak. I rushed her in a hug that collapsed us both onto the floor. Snippets of reality were painfully being wedged back into my brain as I smelled her in.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I couldn't, I wasn't able to," my sobs were making my words garbled as I remembered being locked in a basement and defiled by strangers. She stroked my hair and held me close.

"Shh, baby, I'm here now, I've got you mate," I still shivered at her confession, but I couldn't hold back anymore.

"But we lost our baby!" I screamed as snot and some spit came out of me uncontrolled and I fell into her completely now. I felt her stiffen. Then she rolled on top of me and placed a hand on my stomach as she straddled my waist. I flinched at the contact as it reminded me of my useless ability to keep a child alive. I put my hands over my face as I lost control and shook with sobs. Somehow she knew what I needed right then. She slowly pulled my hands to her waist and ground her hips into my center as I whimpered into a searing kiss. She was kissing my pieces back together as the warmth swirled through my veins. I squeezed her hips through a strangled cry, but returned her passion earnestly. She pulled back slowly with her hands holding my face as if I were fragile.

"No love, it is I who is sorry. I let you walk out that day. And while I wanted to keep you captive, I knew you would never forgive me, love me, but it is not your fault they took our child." Her eyes were shifting and her teeth threatened to break her own lips as they balanced between wolf and human. "I should have waited, I wanted to wait, but our pack was in shambles, they needed hope. They needed you, they needed us, but I need you more. I need you," our tears mingled in another kiss that made my toes curl and my throat hum. She leaned back as I played with the necklace on her neck, it shimmered in response and I gazed back at her.