Chapter 15

"You know they're looking for you," the man stated as I look to him and confusion, "the firsts." I fought myself not to attack him. He gave me a crude smile as he chuckled and put the cigarette back in his mouth. "Don't worry, I'm not your enemy. I am also a traveler and I do not enjoy the pack."

"So who are you?"

He stretched his arms slightly before leaning somewhat closer, "I'm the 73rd. You are the 11th?"

I nodded as I looked to him again, "they're looking for me?"

"But not many lychanthropes around here know. I just found out from a friend with good connections." He put his cigarette back in his mouth, "you will never stay hidden while looking like that."

"I was just trying to decide how I would change my looks."

He suddenly pulled himself off the railing and touched my hair. I leaned away from him as he let go. "No worries, I just want to help out a fellow traveler. I know a place that could help you, if you can trust me."

I scoffed and looked him in the eye, "I have no reason to trust you, but I also have no reason to distrust you. Where did you have in mind?"

"One of my half-bloods owns a place that could help you out." He turned away from me before looking over his shoulder, "we don't want you to get lost so you better follow close."

I cautiously followed him away from the water as he led me down the streets of the city. He stopped at a place that looked like the others on that street. He walked inside to show a small boutique with a hair salon in the back. Inside was a small woman that smiled brightly up to the man, "how rare of you to bring a friend, Ivan. What do I owe the honor?"

"I forgot to ask your name," The 73rd, apparently going by Ivan, stated and I just shook my head.

"I have not thought of one yet, the last one didn't suit me."

"Angie," Ivan sighed as he looked to the woman, "treat her as my guest. Traveler must help each other." He winked at me as I felt uncomfortable, but smiled back.

The small woman came and grabbed my hand, "A total makeover?" I nodded, "what do you have in mind?"

I smiled sadly towards the woman, "anything that looks nothing like this. I leave it in your hands, you are the expert."

The woman jumped up and down slightly as she squealed. "Leave it to me," she stated before taking me to a room in the back hallway.

Angie, as I found out through three hours of discussion, was a half-blood from the late 19th century. She had been helping Ivan for many years but did not tell me much about him. As we talked, she did many things to my hair but did not allow me to see it. As she finished, I tried to turn the chair, but she stopped me. "We need to do something about those clothes, or you will never fit in."

"I leave it in your hands."

She requested that I take off my shirt, so I handed it to her. She used her scissors and cut off one of the sleeves. I slipped it on as she asked me to present her with the ends of my jeans. I did so and she used those scissors to fringe the ends. She then walked away and brought back a pair of flip flops, requesting that I change into them.

Angie took my hand in hers with a broad smile. She led me over to a full-length mirror, "traveler, meet Ava." She said as I finally got a chance to see myself.

I was amazed by the new woman standing before me. Short, shaggy brown hair, modern clothing, and a demeanor nothing like my own. I certainly was no longer a housewife of a minister. I was now Ava and Ellen was dead. We both looked up as Ivan walked in.

"My, now you fit in."

Angie smiled towards him, "I'd like you to meet Ava, our new comrade."

I looked over to Ivan, who chuckled, "it is nice to meet you Ava."

"I should probably get back to my pack."

"Let me walk you there. You probably don't know these streets just yet." I stared at him curiously before nodding, not entirely sure what his intentions were. "Do you know where you're staying?" He asked as I followed him outside and started walking beside him on the sidewalk.

"No clue."

He snickered, "then I guess we will continue walking and hopefully find it." I stared at him for a moment before looking back to where we were walking.

"So I have to ask," I began as he looked to me through the corner of his eye. "Why do you feel inclined to help me, at all? What are your intentions?"

He smiled sadly but never looked my way directly. "The Prince killed my soulmate when we were in the process of leaving the pack. He did so personally. Never in my wildest dreams would I think I could come across his soulmate."

"So you plan to kill me also?"

He shook his head, "he does not deserve death and neither do you. You have done nothing wrong; you left him for a good reason. The true way to get revenge on that man is to aid his soulmate in hiding from him. I have also heard all the stories about you. You're like folklore in the pack. I heard you have been gone for a long time, but nobody can say exactly how long."

I sighed as I looked to the people passing us by as we continued walking. "Just over 3 centuries, so it has been a little while."

He chuckled as he finally made eye contact with me, "I will tell you my intentions directly, as I do not like to hide things from comrades. You and I have the same intention, to avoid being caught by the pack and to bring misery to that man. I view you as an ally, a comrade that I can also depend on and one that I can give assistance to." He looked directly in front of us as we continued walking. "So who is in your pack? I was always told that you worked alone."

"Over time, I have picked up strays along the way. They're all dedicated to me or to one of my followers."

"Since you have been away from the pack for so long, I expected you to be a lone wolf."

I noticed familiar buildings and knew we were going the correct way, "there is another of us that follows me. I have tried to leave him multiple times, but it never lasts long."

"I have heard tell that you have a familiar. They are so uncommon nowadays. Most of the firsts have either left theirs behind or ended them."

"I have picked up two of them along the way."

"They must be very special people for you to choose two. And for you to keep them this long shows your dedication and their dedication to you." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it as we continued to walk. "I am more than happy to aid you in beginning your life here. Have you begun any of the process?"

I shook my head, "we only arrived a few hours ago. Our departure was forced and done rather quickly."

"I heard that you have slaughtered two of the firsts. How did you manage that?"

I did not look to him this time, "they backed a wolf into a corner."

He chuckled slightly as he continued smoking his cigarette, "you certainly are a unique one."

"There is the hotel," I stated as I pointed to a building in the distance.

"Well, I will offer you this. I currently live alone, except during the full moon, and would enjoy having you at my side. This way I can assure that he does not find you and that he suffers. You also personally pique my interest, as you are a legend and interesting on top of it. Have you gotten any type of communication?" I shook my head without looking to him. "I worry that if you don't get settled quickly, you may be met with problems. You can depend on me as a fellow pack member defect and a fellow traveler."

I nodded as we got closer to the building. "I intend to leave them, and they intend to stop me, but they will not. No one has before."

He paused as he noticed that I stopped walking once we were in front of the building. "Since I have no way to contact you nor you to contact me, how about I meet you here tomorrow morning?"

"I appreciate your assistance, although I'm still wary of your intention."

He smirked, "I'm sure we will figure it out together, in time."

I put my hand out to him, "thank you for assisting me."

He shook my hand but did not let go, "whether you decide to become my comrade or not, I do intend to follow my word. Now that I've met you, I do not intend to allow you near him again so that he may suffer."

I smirked, "I accept your challenge." I said as I let go of his hand and pulled mine away. "See you tomorrow at eight."

He gave me a large smile as he began smoking again and watched me go into the building. I became sluggish as I went up the stairs as I felt my internal injuries beginning to ache. It had been almost 3 centuries since I had indulged myself in primal instinct and lost control so it still affected me. I opened the door using my key and was not surprised to see that all the men were still waiting in the room. They all looked up to me in shock as they saw Ellen was no more.

"El, what have you done?"