Her Vengeance

Why Is It Still My Birthday?

(11 Years Earlier)

“…our son, Aiden.” Haydee stared blankly at the teenage boy in front of her. He was very handsome with his bright blue eyes and blonde hair, resembling his mother more than his father. “You met him last night,” the mom – Sarah – spoke kindly. She gestured to two children playing on the floor. “And these are our daughters, Lily and Rose. Lily is 5; Rose is 3.”

Haydee nodded absently. She was tired. Her entire body was sore, and she didn’t know why. Sarah wanted to take her to a hospital last night, but Haydee refused. This indescribable fear flooded her body when Sarah had made the suggestion. It resulted in a panic attack.

Sarah, and Sarah’s husband, Cliff, asked many questions. Questions Haydee did not know the answers to. Everything before the last 12 hours was a blur. A fog or haze had settled in her brain and refused to leave. Haydee wasn’t sure she wanted it to leave.

“Um…Haydee?”

Haydee turned to see Aiden smiling shyly at her with two pastries in his hand. “I got this for you,” he held one out for her. It was a cinnabun. Haydee slowly reached for it. “There’s a Cynaswirls down the street,” he continued. “I thought…maybe…” his cheeks turned red.

“Thank you,” Haydee whispered, her first words spoken in 12 hours.

Aiden’s blue eyes brightened with joy. “You’re welcome,” he grinned.

(present)

“Catch me up on everything. What’s new with you?” Aiden asked, leaning a bit into her space.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Haydee shrugged.

“Really? How’s the writing thing going?”

“You mean grant writing? As in my job?” Haydee raised her brow. “It’s fine. Two hits, one miss.”

“What about Monte?”

“Monte has a new food and water bowl. I also bought him a new doggie bed. A fluffier and warmer one. He has a new brush set.”

“A new brush set?”

“Yes, a new brush set.”

“Does it really matter what brush you use on your dog?” Aiden’s eyes twinkled.

“Yes, it does,” Haydee sat straighter in her seat, “I can’t allow just any bristles to touch my dog’s fur. I have standards. Monte has standards.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Aiden laughed, raising his hands in surrender. He knew better than to get between Haydee and Monte.

“I’m kidding,” Haydee chuckled. “There was a very nice brush set on sale.”

“Well, it seems like Monte’s been having a grand ol’ time.”

“Haydee!” a small voice squeaked. Samson ran to Haydee and Aiden and began pulling on Haydee’s hands. “We have to sing ‘Happy Birthday’! Come on!”

“I’m coming,” Haydee laughed, allowing Samson to pull her to her feet.

“Come on, Aiden! I want cake!”

Five minutes later, Samson had chocolate cake crumbs around his mouth. “Samson, slow down,” Sarah admonished before returning to her cake cutting, “and remember to use your napkin. Aiden,” Sarah turned to her eldest, “your father finished the patio.”

“Seriously?” Aiden looked at his father in disbelief. “By yourself? You didn’t…break anything?”

“No, I didn’t break anything,” Cliff stated as his daughters and wife giggled. “You guys have no faith in my abilities.”

“Honey, last time you tried to fix the kitchen sink, you flooded the entire basement,” Sarah smiled. She offered Haydee a slice of cake, but Haydee politely refused.

“I have come a long way,” Cliff pouted, “the patio looks great. Aiden, go look at the patio. You’ll see I’m right.”

“That’s an excellent idea!” Sarah exclaimed. “Haydee, show Aiden the patio and I’ll bring your cake out.”

“Oh…um…okay,” Haydee agreed, eyeing Sarah’s mischievous grin. “Come on, Aiden. Let’s go look at the deck.”

“It’s a patio,” Cliff said immediately.

“Same thing,” Sarah muttered as Haydee and Aiden stepped foot onto the smooth, wooden surface.

Haydee slid the backdoor closed as Aiden immediately dropped to his knees and began inspecting his father’s work. She watched curiously as Aiden inspected the deck with his bare feet, walking and jumping in some places.

“Dad did a great job,” Aiden conceded. “It almost hurts that he didn’t need me.”

“Yes, your father is growing up,” Haydee chuckled.

Aiden walked to the edge of the deck and sat, letting his legs dangle. “Join me,” Aiden patted the spot beside him.

Haydee laughed, but acquiesced, choosing to sit with her legs crossed. The two sat in comfortable silence, only breaking it when a wolf’s howl was heard in the distance.

“So…where were you? Ooh, let me guess!” Haydee smiled excitedly. Aiden turned his body towards her, bringing his legs in. “Were you climbing Mt. Everest?” Haydee asked.

“Nope.”

“Skydiving in New Zealand?”

“No,” Aiden laughed.

“Did you run with the bulls in Pamplona?” Haydee joked.

“First off,” Aiden smiled, “the bull-run happens in July. It’s August. Secondly, I was in Virginia.

“Virginia?” Haydee was taken aback. “You went away for three months…to Virginia?”

“Virginia is a great place,” Aiden argued playfully.

“What did you have to do all the way in Virginia?” Haydee scrunched her nose. There was something about the word ‘Virginia’ that Haydee didn’t like. “Does your father have clients all the way out there?”

“He asked me to check on something,” Aiden answered around the question. “But I did receive an interesting message from mother.”

“Oh?”

“It seems that Samson plans to ask for your hand in marriage.”

Haydee smiled. “We spent a lot of time together since Rose and Lily were away at summer camp. Why? Are you jealous?”

“Depends. What did you two do?”

“Well, I taught Samson to recite the alphabet backward. He learned that feeding crayons to Monte is a really bad idea and makes me really sad. And…he ‘helped’ me do my hair.”

“Wait!” Aiden held up his hands, “my little brother has seen your natural hair? Now I am jealous. I’ve lived with you longer, and I’ve never seen your natural hair. How is that fair?”

“Samson is cuter,” Haydee giggled. “And he asked nicely.”

“I always asked!”

“You teased,” Haydee said, feeling relaxed for the first time in a long time. Aiden opened his mouth to protest, but Haydee spoke before he could utter a single word. “You teased, and you know it.”

“Well, can you blame me? A beautiful girl moves in, and she refuses to acknowledge my existence…give a teenage boy a break.” Haydee could only stare at him. “What?” Aiden asked.

“You…uh…you called me beautiful,” she answered softly.

“I did?” Aiden asked. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Well…I…it was true. And I am not going to deny it,” he looked her right in the eye. “And it’s still very much true,” he leaned closer to her. His eyes…she couldn’t look away. His blue eyes were holding her captive, and his face was getting closer to hers. Her breathing was becoming labored. She wasn’t ready for this. She needed to stop this. “I should go!” Haydee shouted as she jumped to her feet, surprising both Aiden and her.

“You know you can sleep here tonight, right?” he stood slowly.

“I know,” Haydee looked up at him uneasily. Wow, he was taller than she remembered. Either that or she had never stood this close to him before – almost chest-to-chest. “I think…I just need to-“ Her mouth closed when she felt Aiden’s lips press gently against her forehead as his hands cupped both sides of her face.

“It’s okay,” he continued, looking deep into her eyes. “Happy Birthday.” Haydee gave him a small, tentative smile. “Goodnight,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re…welcome home.” She walked back inside not looking back.

Sirena stood angrily in the pouring rain, cracking her knuckles as she glared at the flower shop. Only it wasn’t a flower shop. It was a breeding ground. The flower shop was a front.

Her eyes glowed red as she marched to the front door – or more specifically – through it.

The sound of glass shattering must have alerted the men underground because her wolf ears picked up the sound of feet sprinting up the steps. Three males burst through a hidden door behind a curtain…behind the counter. “How cliché,” Sirena growled.

“Are you lost?” one of the males mocked.

“Aww, look at her glowing red eyes,” the second prep-school-looking male leered.

“I think we got ourselves a female alpha,” the third guy jeered.

“How cute! I’ve never met one before.”

“I thought your kind was extinct,” the first one said as he and his friends began to approach her.

“My kind?” Sirena repeated with a tilt of her head.

“You know…black,” he spat condescendingly.

Sirena smirked at all three of them as her red eyes began to turn white. “What the…?” one of the males stepped back.

“I’m not really an alpha,” Sirena growled as she stepped towards the confused males…probably over-confident omegas. Sirena’s claws came out as the three males began to sway – their eyes flickering between an amber color and white. “What’s…happening?” one male asked as he gripped his head.

“As I said, I’m not really an alpha,” Sirena said with a grin, her white fangs glowing. “I am so much more. And by the time I’m done with you, well, it won’t matter. You’ll be dead.”

The werewolf sentinel sprinted up the stairs of the hotel. All the way to the penthouse suite. He burst into the room without bothering to announce himself, shattering the locking mechanism in the process. The alpha’s son and the son’s newest female bed companion sprung apart in surprise, their unnaturally light blue eyes glaring at the intruder. “This had better be good,” the Alpha’s son growled.

“Apologies,” the sentinel said, “but we need to remove you – all of you – from the premises now.”

“Why?” the alpha’s son asked as more sentinel guards entered the room.

“I will explain in the SUV. But please. We need to go. Now.”

Five minutes later, Cameron found himself in the backseat of a black SUV, being escorted to a private airport by the pack’s bodyguards (a.k.a. sentinels - a.k.a. warlords willing to do the Alpha’s dirty work.) Cameron gripped an iPad angrily in his hands, nearly shattering it as he watched the footage. He watched as the three sentinels in training – the three he handpicked – tore each other to shreds. Blood splattered everywhere. “This just happened?” Cameron asked stiffly.

“The guards arrived on the scene 15 minutes after the alarms went off,” the sentinel who had interrupted Cameron’s tryst answered. Cameron then watched as the…person/being…he couldn’t see his/hers/its face…disappeared into the back room. Ten minutes later, the person/being re-emerged wearing a face covering. In his/her/its hands was one part of their pack’s product. An expensive product. “I’m assuming the guards in the basement- “

“Dismembered. Completely dismembered. Blood was everywhere. Cages were opened. This person was obviously looking for something, and judging from the video, they found it.”

The guard in the passenger seat turned to Cameron, and said, “We’ll be arriving shortly, sir.”

“Will the jet be able to fly in this weather?” Cameron asked, just as lightning lit up the stormy night sky.

“The pilot said it shouldn’t be a problem.” Cameron nodded. He turned to the sentinel beside him. “Call your scouts, soldiers, guards, whomever. I want this person found and brought to me by the end of this week – along with our product. Preferably alive, but I’ll accept them if they're dead.” The sentinel nodded as he began dialing. Cameron looked out into the stormy night. His father was going to kill him.

Ring! Ring! Haydee groaned, rolling over in her bed. Ring! Ring! What was that incessant noise? Ring! Ring! Her eyes slowly opened. It was her phone. Who would be calling…? “Hello?” she answered groggily.

“Haydee?”

“Aiden?”

“Open up!” he demanded.

“What?” she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

“I said open up! I’m at the door.”

“Okay. Okay.” Haydee slowly crawled out of bed. Her head was pounding. She imagined this was what being hungover felt like, only, she’d never been hungover before.

She quickly grabbed the largest T-shirt she could find, not bothering to wonder why she was naked, and slowly made her way to the front door. Her house was small. Close to the woods, a few miles outside of town. Isolated. No neighbors. Single story. A large single-story house. It was twice the size of a regular single-story house. More than enough room for Monte to run free. Front door. Back door. Three windows. Two bedrooms. One-and-a-half bathrooms. It was perfect for her.

The knocking on the door continued. “I’m coming,” she groaned, opening the door. She barely got it open when Aiden burst through. “What the – is something wrong?” Haydee asked.

He was nervous, and his eyes were filled with worry. “Are you okay?” he asked out of breath. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“Because it’s Saturday, and I don’t have work,” Haydee replied.

“Have you seen the news?”

“I was literally just in bed,” Haydee was growing annoyed. Aiden grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch before turning on the TV. “Aiden, what is-“Haydee stopped talking as she listened to the news report. “…flower shop. Our sources say the bodies were unrecognizable – some sort of animal attack. But what’s more interesting is the basement of the shop that should not exist. It’s looking more and more likely that this was a trafficking…” The reporter’s voice began to fade away as Haydee’s mind started wandering. Rain. Blood. A wolf aiming for her face. She gasped. “…you up to date as the story develops.”

“Haydee,” Aiden placed a hand on her shoulder.

“That flower shop is right across from Cynaswirls. People were murdered there?” she looked at Aiden questioningly.

He studied her with a look Haydee could not decipher. “Yeah…” he answered slowly. “Where were you last night?” he asked.

“With you guys.”

“No. I know that. I mean…you have to drive past there on your way home? Did you see anything out of the ordinary? The attack was right around the time you left.”

“No, I didn’t see anything. What’s gotten into you? It feels like you’re accusing me of something,” Haydee began to slowly scoot away from him.

“I’m not. I’m not. It’s just…the news broke early this morning, and then you weren’t answering your phone. My imagination just went…crazy,” he explained. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to send you into a panic.”

“Maybe you need another vacay?” Haydee guessed.

“Probably,” Aiden scoffed. “It’s just…you go to that side of town for pastries at least once a week. And a murder and trafficking across the street from your favorite place in the world…we were all a little worried. Can you at least stop by today? Just so everyone knows you’re okay. You can even bring Monte.”

“You do know this isn’t the first murder in Black Bear Creek, right?”

“The last ‘murder’ happened 8 years ago, and I still don’t think accidentally causing an old person to have a heart attack counts as murder. I mean…she’s the one who walked in on her grandson.”

“Not that one, you perve,” Haydee elbowed him.

“Oh…you mean the love triangle gone wrong?”

“Yeah. You guys weren’t scared for me when that murder happened…10 months ago, by the way…when I was living alone,” Haydee continued.

“Well…yeah…but it was a love thing. There’s no possible way it could have affected you. You have no love life to speak of,” Aiden shrugged.

“I’ll try not to take offense to that,” Haydee muttered. A beeping noise interrupted them. “What’s that?” Aiden asked.

“It’s just the dryer. I washed some clothes last night,” Haydee answered flippantly before her face froze. Washed clothes last night? Why did she wash clothes last night? How did…and when…? She had absolutely no memory of putting clothes into the washing machine. “I’m gonna…um…. I’m gonna take a shower,” she stood to her feet uneasily. “And then we can go. Yeah?”

“Together?” Aiden asked in surprise. “In the same car?” Was he dreaming? Haydee was willing and wanted to spend time with him…alone. She wasn't being shy.

“Yeah…I mean…why not? You can just drop me off later…or…or maybe I’ll just spend the night.” Now Aiden was very, very much worried. “Haydee? Are you okay?” he asked. “You look like you’re about to puke. Did I scare you? That was not my intention.”

“Give me 15-30 minutes,” Haydee replied. She then ran to her bedroom, leaving a very confused and very speechless Aiden behind.

Once she’d disappeared, Aiden took out his phone and dialed. “Hello?” he said. “Yeah. She’s definitely suffering from blackouts again. I still don’t know if she had anything to do with what happened at the flower shop.” He walked to Haydee’s laundry room. “She doesn’t look well.” He opened the dryer and began sniffing and ruffling through the clothes. He was about to close the dryer door when a rag caught his eye. “Hold on.” He grabbed the black rag, only, it wasn’t a rag. It was a shirt, or the remains of a shirt that had just gone through the shredder. “I think we may have a problem,” he spoke slowly to the person on the other side of the phone. “No, Mom,” he groaned, “we did not sleep…I just arrived. When would we have found the time to sleep together?” Aiden rolled his eyes as his mom continued talking. He closed the dryer and returned to the living room where Monte greeted him eagerly. “No, Mom, I will not…you know what? I’m hanging up. Goodbye.” Aiden ended the call. He began rubbing Monte. “Mother is way too concerned about my s*x life,” he complained to the dog. “You are so lucky you don’t have a mother who is way too invested in your s*x life. Be thankful.”

Haydee stood under the shower. These images in her head…they weren’t her memories…but they were…were they? Nothing was making sense. Things had been weird, mentally, but her therapist had reassured her that everything was fine.

But the images playing on repeat – images flashing through her mind’s eye… Images of wolves and flowers and a happy childhood that couldn’t have belonged to her because she didn’t know who her birth family was.

She allowed the water to run through her braids, not caring at all. She immediately perked up, however, when she noticed a bit of pink and red mixed in with the water. “What the…” she gasped. Where was that coming from? What was it? Was it coming from her? She began wringing her braids underneath the showering water. Sure enough, redness came pouring out of them. She studied it as it swirled down the drain. Was that…blood? She grabbed the shampoo and began furiously scrubbing her scalp and braids, panicking as the white suds turned a bright pinkish color. She froze when she noticed what looked like dried blood under her fingernails. What was happening? She began scrubbing furiously at her nails. She collapsed against the cold porcelain tiles, willing her heart to stop its racing.

Maybe…the blackouts were back? She couldn’t recall blacking out. Then again…she couldn’t remember her drive home. She certainly didn’t remember washing clothes last night, and…she woke up naked. NAKED!!!! She never slept in the nude. NEVER! She leaned her head back against the tile. What was she going to do? What was happening to her?

Knock! Knock! Knock! “Haydee!” a concerned voice from the other side of the door called out. She quickly switched off the water before grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself. “Aiden,” she gasped, cracking the bathroom door open, just a little.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I was just…a quick shower.”

“A quick shower? Haydee, you’ve been in there for almost 40 minutes.”

Haydee’s breath caught in her throat. Forty minutes? “Really?” she hoped Aiden couldn’t hear the trembling in her voice, “it felt like 10, but I’ll be out soon,” she quickly said, forcing the door closed. “Haydee, wait-“ She slammed the door in Aiden’s face before he could finish.

A shudder ran through Haydee’s body as she leaned back against the door. What was happening?