Her Vengeance

Who She Is

“Ow!” Aiden exclaimed as his mother cleaned the wounds on his neck. “Mom,” he whined.

“Oh, stop,” Sarah tsked, “you and your father are such babies. This isn’t even alcohol. It’s peroxide. It doesn’t burn.”

“It does when you do it,” Aiden retorted.

His father only chuckled before turning to the newest arrival. “So…yeah. That’s what happened,” Cliff summarized.

“I warned you this would happen,” Dr. Chiro stated.

“What were we supposed to do?” Cliff asked.

“I don’t know,” Dr. Chiro sighed. “I honestly thought she was doing better. At least…she said the blackouts had stopped.”

“All evidence to the contrary, sis.”

Dr. Chiro rolled her eyes. “Where is she now?” she asked.

Aiden opened his mouth to answer but at once froze upon hearing the sound of a howl – a sorrowful, depressed howl. “Is she going to be okay?” Aiden asked the adults in the room.

“I have my guards keeping an eye out,” his father answered. “She won’t be able to get within 5 miles of the town without alerting one of them.”

“I, too, alerted my people. But, I told them non-lethal weapons only,” Dr. Chiro answered.

“I meant emotionally and mentally,” Aiden stared at the two adults in exasperation. And they said he had his idiotic moments.

His mom stopped cleaning his wounds. “I didn’t mean for it to go that far,” his mother stared down at her hands in shame. “It’s been a while since I used my gifts of recall. I didn’t mean to go so deep.”

“We underestimated how close to the surface Sirena was,” Dr. Chiro added. “I underestimated,” she emphasized.

“But what made Haydee, Sirena,” Aiden corrected, “attack the flower shop? It’s been there for years. Being across the street from Cynaswirls, Haydee – I mean, Sirena – saw it at least once a week for seven years.”

“Something or someone must have triggered her,” Sarah replied.

“Maybe she knew one of the men she tore apart,” Dr. Chiro offered, “Did you receive a DNA report yet?” she turned to Cliff.

“I did,” he answered. “All three were part of a frat known for…spiking drinks at parties.”

“How can colleges let students get away with that nonsense?” Sarah asked as she resumed cleaning her son’s neck.

“So…we’re glad they’re dead?” Aiden asked.

“It’s a gray area,” his father shrugged. “Anyway, from what we’ve found, Haydee never crossed paths with these guys. But…I have my hackers digging.”

“Well…what do we know about Sirena?” Dr. Chiro asked.

“You know as much as we do,” Sarah replied solemnly.

“Yeah,” Aiden frowned, “she turned into Haydee seconds after I met her. But, honestly, it freaked me out the first time.”

“Have there been any other traces of Sirena?” Dr. Chiro asked.

“Here and there,” Sarah answered, “but nothing…memorable. There were times when she’d be sitting at the table doing homework, and I’d look at her and see her staring into nothing with a weird, glazed look in her eyes. I would have to call her name several times. One time, she answered to Sirena. But that was a long time ago.”

“The only one who would know about Haydee and Sirena switching is Monte,” Cliff added, “but he’s a dog.”

“Hmm,” Dr. Chiro looked deep in thought, “perhaps – “ The door to the basement flying open stopped her from continuing.

“Sorry,” Lily apologized, “I needed some water.” Lily stopped mid-step, alternating her gaze from the shattered backdoor to the adults in the living room. “Um…what happened?” she pointed to the open space. “And where is Haydee?”

“I should probably take care of that tonight,” Cliff muttered.

“Aiden, what’s wrong with your neck? Ooh!” Lily exclaimed excitedly, “did Haydee shift again? Did she attack Aiden? Why didn’t you call us? Rose would have loved to see it.”

Aiden rolled his eyes as his mother ordered Lily back downstairs. Another howl resounded through the night sky. Aiden looked out the broken backdoor. “She’ll be okay, Aiden,” Sarah comforted her son. “She was built tough. She’ll be okay.”

“It was like nothing I’d ever seen,” Simon explained to his Alpha as he stood in front of a great oak desk, staring into the red eyes of the pack leader. Cameron, the son, sat on a couch, sipping on a glass of scotch. The giant fireplace only increased the heat in the stuffy room, causing Simon to sweat more profusely. The full-grown werewolf was shaking with fear. “The other two…they attacked each other, b-b-because she told them to.” The Alpha glared at the trembling man in front of him.

“This girl,” the Alpha stood from his desk, “did she take off half your face, too?” The skin on half of Simon’s face had been torn off, and most of his facial bones were still repairing themselves. Simon nodded. The Alpha pushed the intercom on his desk. “Please send in Rosa. Simon is dripping blood on the carpet.” The Alpha turned his red eyes back to Simon. “The best guards in the werewolf world – my 2nd in command – taken down by a 5’2” raccoon breed.” Rosa, their maid, entered the room and began cleaning around the men. “Did you at least see her pack sign? Was she a beta, omega…?”

“Her eyes were white,” Simon said. Cameron froze, his glass midway to his mouth. His father’s face turned white. “She was…I couldn’t help but listen to her. My men…they all listened to her. Like she was their Alpha.”

“Father,” Cameron said with concern.

“Shut up!” his father silenced him. “Is this the same girl who robbed us?” Simon nodded. Pierce, the Alpha, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Rosa, leave,” he ordered their housemaid. “And send Robert in here.” She left without a word. “Anything else I need to know?” he asked Simon. “A message she wanted you to deliver?”

“No,” Simon answered as Robert entered the study.

“I appreciate all you’ve done, Simon,” Pierce said. “Your services are no longer needed. Your name will not be forgotten.” Before he could react, Robert grabbed Simon’s neck from behind and began to squeeze.

“What do we do?” Cameron asked his father, ignoring the skirmish happening two feet from him. “You don’t think – “

“It’s not possible,” his father said, “then again, they all look the same.”

“The odds – mother did help them escape.”

“They were captured and killed on site.”

“One was captured and killed,” Cameron corrected.

“Robert,” Pierce said to the enormous soldier who was slowing strangling the life out of Simon, “are there any…hunters in that area?”

“Yes, sir,” Robert answered easily, “I believe there is one hunting family split into two.”

“When you’re finished with…that,” Pierce motioned to Simon’s dying body. “Set up a meeting. It’s time I visited Black Bear Creek, Wisconsin.”