Anastasia

The night is chilly as I walk down the quiet streets. Most of the wolves in this part of town are probably at the Alpha's Hunt, which explains the extreme lack of noise. Despite that, it makes me shiver.

I feel like someone is watching me, but I convince myself that it's just my imagination. I shift my backpack to the other shoulder, glancing around to see if I can spot anyone. There are branches moving in nearby trees, but that's more likely because of the breeze than anything else.

"You're just crazy," I tell myself, shaking my head. A few times, I wonder if I shouldn't turn around and walk back, and leave Jacob's place in the morning.

I want to see him when he comes back. I already miss him. At the same time, I know that those feelings have simply been getting more intense. If he's never going to love me, I don't want to have to deal with it all the time.

As I keep walking, the houses become less and less extravagant. Two stories shrink into one, and I know that I am getting closer. Most of the Omegas live around the edges, furthest from the center, a pretty long walk from Jacob's house.

I wonder what he's doing at the gathering. Probably schmoozing with all of the most important wolves in the area. Joking, dancing, showing off how much more value they all have than the rest of us.

Jacob's not really like that, but to be honest, I've never seen him in elite company. Maybe he turns into an entirely different person when he's there.

It's not too difficult to imagine it.

"Ah, dear Alpha Haran, how sweet is it not to have those pathetic peasants in our midst," he could be saying, champagne in one hand and caviar in the other. "It does trouble me that I must be responsible for their lives."

Even in my head, it sounds fairly ridiculous. It was more likely that Jacob would be having a beer and wishing that he could have a steak instead.

Derek is probably there as well, with Medeia instead of me. If he hadn't chosen her over me, would he have taken me to the Alpha's Hunt?

"Oh my god, is that man with an Omega?" I can already hear the chiding jokes and the ruined image that Derek would have shoved on him by the rest of him. Jacob wouldn't have thought any differently of him.

The rest of them would definitely take the opportunity to make both of us feel worthless. They would never accept such a union. Maybe it is better for Jacob's politics that I rejected Derek, and that Derek himself found someone close to his ranking instead.

It makes me grateful that I never have to go to any of those events. While dressing up would be great, the judgment would be far worse than what I experience every day. I don't exactly want to be bullied by people who have actual power.

I finally make it to the edge of town, to the cul-de-sac where my own house is located. Most of the homes around here have their lights on, and I can hear snippets of conversation from inside of them.

"Do you like the veal?"

"You know, I don't think that you should be working so hard. Ask the Delta for a better schedule."

"Please tell me you've at least done some of the washing."

It makes my heart fall slightly. Even those who are at the same ranking as I am have people with them. Their mates, children, friends. None of them are really as alone as I am. I find myself wishing that my mother was still alive.

Perhaps I could have talked to her about everything that was going on.

"Well, here I am," I say to myself as I walk up to my door. I notice something on the porch. It's a package, wrapped neatly in gift paper.

I frown, and bend down to see who it is from. There's no name on it, but it seems to be addressed to me. For some reason, I look around me, wondering if anyone in the area knew that I would be coming home today.

It's strange. Who would be giving me a gift? Perhaps it was Medeia, getting revenge with something petty. She could have filled the box with shit or dead birds or some other threat and left it here.

Sighing, I decide that I'll bring it inside to figure out what it is so I can get rid of it properly. There is the smallest chance that it isn't from Medeia, and someone else has been nice enough to gift me something.

The thought of that almost makes me laugh. Of course that's not what's going on.

"Stupid bitch," I mumble to myself as I open the door. I pick the package up, which feels lighter than dead birds or shit would be. That makes me curious, but I place it on the dining room table for now, so that I can lock the door.

I decide that I'll open it after I take a shower and change into my pajamas. I'd rather deal with Medeia's petty revenge when I'm fresh and comfortable. The backpack is placed beside the package, and I put it out of my mind when I walk down the short hallway to the bathroom.

The whole house is uncomfortably empty and quiet. I know that there's nothing to eat, but I should be able to make a cup of black coffee after my shower. In the morning, I'll be able to get groceries or something.

The water of the shower creaks open unhappily, as if it is some great monster upset about being woken from its slumber. At first, it comes out a rusty brown, and it takes a few minutes before it turns to a more normal color.

"Sleep, little wolf, for the dawn comes soon," I start singing to myself. It's an old song that I learned somewhere during my schooling. "You are safe in the light of Mother Moon."

The tune carries itself through the lonely house, filling it with the tiniest bit of life. I've never been much of a singer, but it helps to keep my mind busy while I wash my body.

The water runs over my scars and the last hints of the wounds I inflicted on myself. Most of them have healed completely, but some were deep enough to last until now. I wonder if even those will disappear soon enough.

It seems like no matter how much I try to keep my pain visible on my skin, my healing factor is determined to wipe out the past.

It can't wipe Gisele away, though, or the fact that I know Jacob still blames me. I know that's something that I will have to live with forever. At least out here, on the edges of town, I don't have to face it directly anymore.

I could become some kind of hermit. In fifty years, children would be telling stories about my house being haunted, and I being some kind of murderer.

The thought makes me laugh as I finish my shower and get out, before I realize that I didn't bring my pajamas with me to get dressed in.

"Ana, you're an absolute genius," I say to myself, quickly drying off. I scuttle out of the bathroom, hoping nobody sees me running through the house naked. I grab my pajamas from the backpack in the dining room, and pull them on.

The package is sitting on the table, taunting me with the bright colors of the wrapping. I sit down on a chair beside it and stare at it. On one hand, I am curious to know what is inside. On the other hand, I know that it's most likely from Medeia, and that I should just get rid of it.

I try to sniff at it, to see if there's anything inside that smells. I don't want my whole house to stink for weeks because of this stupid revenge present.

However, I don't catch any scents from it that would seem to be able to cause something like that. I get up and walk around the table, trying to examine it from all angles. This doesn't give me any new information. It seems like just an innocent box, with nothing dangerous inside.

"Mm," I sigh, still not sure that I actually want to open this thing. I decide that I'll think about it for a while, that I'll make a choice once I've had a mug of coffee.

I switch on lights in the house as I make my way to the kitchen. It makes it clear how dusty the whole house has become over the weeks that I've been gone. In my head, I make a note that I'll start cleaning up the next day.

The kettle boils quickly, and soon I'm carrying my mug back to the dining room. I wish that there was someone else with me to talk to about the package. My curiosity is going to win me over, and I know that.

At the same time, I don't want to deal with whatever it is. I know that Medeia probably has some kind of sick image in her head of me opening it and being immediately disgusted or shocked. That's if she was the one who delivered it in the first place.

I put the mug down on the table with some force, spilling coffee over it. "Damnit."

It takes a few seconds of my attention away from the present, but I don't even go to get something to wipe it up with.

"You know what, screw this," I finally say to myself as I get up from the table. "How bad can it be? Let's see what you got me, Medeia."

I rip at the wrapping paper, revealing an ordinary box underneath. It's taped closed on top. I sigh, and go to fetch a knife from the kitchen. When I get back, I take a deep breath before I stab it into the tape.

The knife easily slides across the tape, making the flaps of the box lift slightly as it goes. When it's done, I place the knife next to me on the table. Anticipation builds in my chest, and I almost leave it at that.

It takes another half a minute of convincing myself before I lift the flaps open.

Instantly, when I see what is inside, my heart stops for a second. My blood freezes.

"Payback's a bitch!" The note is taped to the side of the box, but it isn't the most worrying thing of all.

There is a contraption strapped to the bottom of the box, something that is clearly explosive. The sound of a count-down rings in my ears and fills the empty house. Ten seconds.

Immediately I leap from the table and run to the front door, struggling to unlock it. My fingers fumble and shake as I do so, but I manage to get it. I try to push the door open, but it won't budge.

More force. I push with my shoulder, but I don't have the strength.

I glance through the glass window beside the door. There's something heavy in front of it.

"There's no time," I think desperately.

The timer speeds up, pinging loudly behind me.

I start to run down the hallway to my room. I can hide there.

I don't reach it.

The explosion is so loud that it feels as if my eardrums are going to burst. I am thrown backwards through a wall.

Pain slashes at me and threatens to render me unconscious. I fight against it, feeling blood coming from somewhere. I'm confused, and I can't see.

Fire fills my vision with plumes of smoke. My furniture has instantly been destroyed.

The house is in flames, everywhere. I am trapped.