Whispers

Chapter fifteen

Monday rolls around all too quickly. 

The meeting itself is set to take place at 10 AM, so when Bane's alarm clock goes off at 7 AM, my eyes open wide with anticipation. 

I barely slept Sunday night. My head was buzzing with what was going to happen at the meeting and what could happen. I am not prepared to go back home to my dad, and I don't want to be Luke's wife and mate. 

I sit up in bed and watch Bane get ready, "I assume they're going to make you start school tomorrow since you have the meeting today," I nod at my roommate, too afraid to open my mouth. My stomach was doing flips all night, and now it is making me sick. 

Bane, reading the look on my face says, "It's going to be alright. Dom and Kitty aren't going to let you go back if you don't want to," Bane sat down to put down his shoes. 

"I can't go back, Bane. If I go back," I pause, my heart threatening to pound out of my chest and down the hall, "It won't be good if I go back, let's leave it at that," I swallow the bile that rose to my throat with the thought of seeing my dad again.

There has been no news of any kind of investigation findings of the abuse I went through with my dad, and I doubt they will actually find anything. He is good at covering his tracks and he would do his all to make it look like any form of abuse was my fault if he is caught. There is no winning; It is his word against mine, and no one believes my word. 

Bane sighs, "Well then, whatever you think would happen if you went back, I'm sure Dom knows because you would have told him, right? Right. Which means he wouldn't let them take you. Dom's one of those people who likes to pretend he is everyone's dad; He doesn't give up on his members and he does everything to protect them. I have no doubts about you coming back today. In fact, I'm positive you'll be back," I look at Bane, who is now on his feet, "And if for some reason they made you go back, Jason and I would be in the car in a split second to come get you again. I swear to you that," 

I blush with embarrassment, "Thanks, Bane. It means a lot to hear you say that," I sigh and hug my legs closer to me, "I've never had friends before, and it really feels like you, Jason and Angel have become, at least, somewhat, my friends." 

Bane chuckles and pats my shoulder roughly, "We are your friends. You can't get rid of us now," He waves at me as he leaves the room, picking up a small bag as he went, "I'll see you tonight, okay?" I nod at his words as he closes the door behind him. 

I sigh and push the covers to the side. I need to get out of bed and figure out what to wear. A knock on my door disrupted my thoughts of outfit choices, "Come in," 

The door opens, a woman popping her head inside with a smile, "Hello, Gill. Kitty, remember?"

Kitty is a short woman, barely taller than me, and has the prettiest green eyes I have ever seen. Her skin is dark and smooth, and her voice is calming. 

"Of course, hey Kitty," I stand up and stretch, paying specific attention to my leg because it was slightly sore from the adventuring I had done over the weekend. Yesterday, I walked more of the trails and went to the other training building, thankfully not running into anyone along the way. I was able to gather my thoughts and sooth my anxiety a little bit before settling down for bed. 

"I hope you slept well dear, we have a long day ahead of us," Kitty pushes the rest of the door open. As she walks in, she turns on the light, and I see she has some items draped over her arm, "I took the liberty of finding you a suitable outfit to wear today. I know the only dress you have in the closet is the one you wore Saturday," 

I open my mouth to say that it is okay that I wear the dress again, but Kitty was already pushing the two dresses she brought into my hands, "I'll let you pick which one you want to wear. Oh, and we are leaving here at 8:30, so that give you about an hour and 15 minutes to get ready. You don't have to look fancy, just presentable, okay dear? I don't want you to stress too much about this," She pats my shoulder lightly, and gives me a reassuring smile. 

"Thank you, Kitty. Where should I meet you and Dom?" I ask, placing the dresses on the bed. 

"Main living area, 8:30. Okay?" I nod and repeat her to commit the words to memory. With that, Kitty nods and bounces out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. 

With a sigh, I look down at the dresses. One is a dark blue, floor length, with a floral pattern. The other is calf high and emerald green. Both of the tops were short sleeved, and made of soft material. Unable to decide in the moment, I go to the bathroom to run the shower. I scrub my hair and body well, and then brush my teeth vigorously when I got out. I place my hair up in a towel to dry it before taking a blow dryer to it, and go to decide on a dress. 

At the end of it , I decided on the blue one; it flows better, and, to me, makes me look taller. I go back into the bathroom to finish my hair, which takes twenty minutes, and then I put the dress on. 

In the mirror, I almost didn't recognize the person staring back at me. I look good--I don't feel too skinny for this dress, and I don't feel self conscious about the way I look in it. The waist of the dress made me look like I had a curve to my body. I feel pretty in this moment, and hope it lasts. 

I shake my head, trying to figure out if I should attempt at make-up, but decide not to mess with it. I don't know much about make-up anyways. I pull a brush through my hair one last time and walk out of the room to see Jason standing with his back to me. 

I jump, "Jesus, Jason. Do you know what knocking is?" 

"I did knock, but you were using the hair dryer, so I just came in," Jason turns around, see what I am wearing, and stops. He eyes me up and down, taking in my dress before looking back into my eyes, "You look great," He whispers with a smile. 

"You think I look okay for the meeting? I was just going to wear the dress I wore Saturday, but--," 

"Gill," He stops me, "You look amazing, and the dress is more than appropriate for a meeting with the Council." I sigh with relief, my anxiety going down. 

"I'm really nervous about this meeting," I say, walking past him to my bed. I pick up the other dress, look at the time--8:15 AM already!?--and drape it over my arm before turning back to him, "Seeing Luke and my old Alpha again isn't going to be fun," I sigh, starting to feel my anxiety rise again. 

Jason's face darkens at the sound of Luke's name, "You shouldn't be nervous at all. You're going to rock it, and show them what they've done. I have all the faith in the world," 

"Your confidence is very inspiring," I chuckle, slipping on my black flats, "Why did you come here?" I ask, realizing that he was here without being asked or without Bane in the room. 

"I just wanted to make sure you were good before going to the meeting. Council meetings can be stressful, especially when dealing with family," He shrugs, following me to the door. We step out into the hallway, and I close the door behind us. 

"Sounds like you know from experience," I say grimly, not wanting to think about anyone else having to go through what I did. 

"Eh, kind of but not really," He shrugs it off, and changes the subject, "I also wanted to tell you that Dom officially said that I would your trainer. Not for abilities, but for combat and working out and stuff. Thought you might want to know since it starts tomorrow," He says as we walk down the hall. 

"That's great, I'm looking forward to training with you!" I exclaim, excited, for the first time, for tomorrow. 

Jason smiles at me as we push our way through the door leading to the kitchen. Dom and Kitty are there, waiting for me and greet me as I walk it. Kitty fusses over me, telling me I can keep the other dress, and that I look great, while Dom talks to Jason about managing the pack while he is gone. 

"We should be back no later than noon. If we end up staying longer, I will let you know," Dom says, slapping Jason on the back of his shoulder. 

"Got it, Sir," Jason says with a nod before looking at me, "Good luck today, and remember what I told you," He points at me before leaving out the door, leaving me with a smile and a new sense of determination. 

We pile into the car, Dom and Kitty in the front seat, and me in the back. We get on our way, away from the safety of the house and out onto the road. We are driving for about twenty minutes when the anxiety I was feeling earlier starts to creep up again. 

"Gill," I looked up at Dom, who was looking at me through the rear view mirror, interrupting my thoughts, "I know you kept control yesterday, but I saw how hard it was on you. Kitty and I will be sitting on either side of you to provide as a barrier between them and you, but the control aspect will still come down to you. I know you can do it," 

"I'll do my best." I say, staring out the window. The car goes quiet again, tension and a sense of dread creeping in the closer we got to the meeting hall. I close my eyes, trying to see if I can catch some sleep before having to deal with all of this when Kitty taps me on the knee. She looks at me with sympathy, and say, "We're here."

I look out the window and see, what looks like, a regular court house. I knew better than to assume that--they would have special protections up to be sure of its safety. I get out of the car carefully, to not trip over the hem of my skirt, and hear another car door slam in front of me. I look up, and freeze.

Luke, Alpha Collins, and Luna Collins were all standing right there, in front of me. I swallow when I do not feel the pull of the bond that Luke and I were supposed to share--it had gone quiet, and vanished the second we weren't in the same vicinity. I didn't even feel the urge to reach out to him and touch him--there was nothing there. My wolf is silent, but unsure of what it is happening to us. 

"Alpha Collins, I assume," Dom says, breaking my thoughts and extending his hand out. Alpha Collins takes it and an nods at Dom. He then looks at me, his face set with anger and frustration. My stomach does a small flip before I feel energy flowing through me again. I take a deep breath and suppress what I can.

"I see you've brought the runaway. You know, all of this can be avoided if you just let her come--,"

"No one is holding me hostage, Alpha Collins. Actually, the only one who did that was you, when you locked me in the basement to await Council decision," I say calmly. Alpha Collins looks at me, taken aback at the sudden confidence I had grown in the last couple of weeks. 

In all reality, this isn't confidence. This is me, trying not to have an anxiety attack or lose control over my, still unknown, ability. But, confidence works too.

"I did that for your safety, Gillian. I was afraid your father would try to go after you if I sent you back to your room--," I look over at Luke who is shaking his head and looking up. 

"Even your own son doesn't believe you. You can make up lies all you want, I'm still not going back without a fight," I stand up straight, my face set with the determination that I would win this--I will win my freedom from him and his pack. I am not going back there.

Alpha Collins sighs with frustration and pinches the bridge of his nose, "Lets get this over with then, shall we?" He turns towards the building and begins to away from us, leading the way to the meeting hall. I swallow the lump still forming in my throat, and try to settle my stomach. 

"Everything is going to be okay. We aren't going to let them take you without a fight." Kitty whispered, smiling at me. I smile back at her and being walking behind the Collins family. We walk to the building and find the hall that we are supposed to be on; I take deep breaths as we got into the meeting room. Each Council member, none of which I know except for are seated in front of us. Two tables in front of them were ready for us to sit at. This is when I recognize the pounding forming in the back of my head, making it's way to the front. I close my eyes as I take a seat. 

Everything is going to be okay.

We are in front of the head Councilman, named Fraywood. He seems old and worn out from his years on the Council, but when he looks at me there is a certain intrigue and curiosity, as if he is a child playing with a new toy. Even with all his years of experience, his eyes are still alive and warm. I smile at him, and get one back before he looks over at the Collins family. I look over at Kitty, who takes my hand in hers and laces our fingers together. I sigh, surprised, as my headache starts to fade and as my chest untightens. She squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back gratefully.

"Alright, I call this meeting to order. Alpha Collins of the Crescent Moon pack has started a petition to get Miss Gillian Katherine Matthews back from the Black Moon pack. Let's start off with the party that started this petition, Alpha Collins." Councilman Fraywood looks up and over at Alpha Collins.

"I brought this before the Council today because I believe that Gillian is under the influence of something sinister. She was taken from her home to the new strange place with these new strange people who don't know anything about her. We want to have her home, mainly for that, but also because she is my son's mate and---," 

"Wait, hang on a second." Councilman Fraywood looks over at me, examining me. My palms start to sweat, "Isn't this the same couple of mates who denied they were mates because your son already chose a Luna?" 

"Yes, Councilman Fraywood," Alpha Collins sighed, "My son realizes, now, his mistake, and was going to make it right but before he had the chance, Gillian ran off. I don't know what she was thinking, but we would like to have our rightful Luna home with us." Alpha Collins looks over at me. His smile appears to be friendly and caring, but I know better--That is not the real reason he wants me back.

"Alright. I want to hear from Gillian," My head shoots up to look at the Councilmen, "You are Gillian Matthews, correct?"

"Yes, Councilman Fraywood." I said weakly. I release Kitty's hand and stand before the Council.  

"Alright then, please tell me what happened the night you left," I swallow and take a deep breath. 

"I was living at the pack house because I reported my father for abuse. He tried to get to me, and I ran away. Unfortunetly, something in me took over, and I blacked out, almost killing him. This is when Alpha Collins and Luke Collins found me, and Alpha Collins threatened to ship me off to a reformatory pack. Luke said he couldn't do that because I was his mate. At this time, I was taken to a room in the basement of the pack house where Alpha Collins said he was going to report me to the Council and I had to wait in the dark and empty room until I was given my punishment. I managed to escape, was attacked my someone in the woods, where Jason found me, and saved my life," I say quickly, trying to settle the bile that threatened to rise out of me.

"So you ran away on your own, got attacked, and Jason saved you?" Another Councilman asks. I look at him and nod.

"Yes sir," I say, my voice small. My head pounds and my stomach flips as I pretend to have my fear under control. Energy courses through me and my eyes begin to blur. I close them to keep the energy at bay. 

"And what of your mate? Isn't being away from him painful?" I shake my head at Councilman Fraywood.

"I haven't felt the pull of our bond in weeks. Even now, being in the same room, I don't feel anything," I say, swaying slightly from the pain in my head. I straighten myself quickly.

"What do you say to that, Luke?" The only Councilwoman asks, folding her hands in front of her. Luke looks at her, about to talk when Alpha Collins interrupts him.

"He said that he still feels the bond. Told me so the other day, Councilwoman." Alpha Collins looks over at me, his face angry. My headache blossoms to a new level of pain. I squeeze my eyes shut for a second to gain back some control, when I open them the Councilwoman is staring down Alpha Collins.. 

"I was asking Luke, not you. But I hardly believe it matters," The Councilwoman looks at me, "Gillian is telling the truth." A quick look into the Councilwoman's eyes showed a swirl of purple; She is a mutant too. 

"Alright. One minute." Councilman Fraywood and the rest of the Council got up from their chairs and walk out of the hall. Suddenly, I can barely breathe, and the energy I have been trying to keep back kept threatening to come forward. The headache radiated to my entire face and now down my neck; I could feel my pulse in my finger tips. I barely realize I am still standing until Kitty came up to me and took my hand again. The pain started drawing back, but not completely. Kitty guides me back to the seat, unable to take her eyes off mine. 

"Your eyes are the deepest purple I have ever seen," She whispers, I smile, unable to speak, "You're doing great. Just a little while longer," She squeezes my hand again, and I squeeze back, thankful to have her here. I look up just as Councilman Fraywood came up to his seat and sat down. 

"The Council has come to a decision. With a vote of 9 to 1, we have decided that Gillian Katherine Matthews will remain with Dom and Kitty and the rest of the Black Moon pack," Councilman Fraywood looks over at Alpha Collins, "The bond you are claiming is no longer existent, if it even existed to begin with. With that being said," Fraywood looks at me, "Go be with your found family, Gillian," He smiles at me, and I sigh with relief.

As Fraywood dismisses us, I let go of Kitty's hand and ran for the door. I need air, fresh air, not the stuffy air that has been filling my lungs.

The last thing I remember is Kitty and Dom running after me. Dom manages to catch up to me, and grabs me just as I get out of the building and let go of all the energy I had been holding, throwing Dom away from me, and blacking out.

When I came to, I am on my knees, and my stomach was trying to find its way up my throat. I close my eyes, afraid to open them, and realizing that I just threw Dom away from me. I may have seriously hurt him, and if I did I will never forgive myself. I open my eyes and look around me, expecting to see c*****e, destruction and chaos.  

I got to my feet, amazed at the little distruction I caused to everyone around me and still out of breath. I look down at myself and see that I am dirty, my dress is slightly torn, and my arms are scratched up, but when I turn around, I find everyone intact and unharmed. Kitty and Dom are standing there, with a look of amazement, as Luke and Alpha Collins look at me in fear. Behind them, Councilman Fraywood and the Councilwoman are watching me, dumbfounded. 

"Well, I'm glad we decided to keep you with Dom and Kitty." Councilman Fraywood walks closer to me, but kept his distance. I blink in confusion, still unable to speak.

 "Gillian, you have the strongest Combination ability I have ever seen." Councilman Fraywood went to take another step closer, and I back up in response. He stops to give me my space, "I won't come any closer. You just released a lot of energy, and that causes and extreme drain and panic. I know Kitty can help you control that, are you willing to let her near you?" Kitty didn't need to be asked, she just came running over. Without thinking, Kitty laced her fingers with mine. The panic didn't go away, but I was able to release that last bit of energy that kept me on edge, and when that happened I was able to breathe, and think without being in stabbing pain. Then, the whisper of my mutant side came out.

And that's why you don't hold me back. You should have let me go on Alpha Collins and everyone. I would have taught them a lesson. No, I swallowed and shook my head, looking down at my feet.

We have to learn to work together. You aren't always going to get control. This is my body, and if you aren't going to cooperate I will fight you until we die. The whisper in the back of my head went silent. We need to work together to live. That's the only way.

There is silence in my head as everyone around me is talking. I try to concentrate, but I am more worried about the whisper giving me an answer. Just when I am about to give up, it came back. 

Fine. I breathe a sigh of relief, and I hear my wolf, for the first time in a while, yip with happiness. I smile to myself and start to concentrate on the conversation around me, which stops suddenly when I look up at Councilman Fraywood. 

"Gillian, are you okay?" He asks, looking into my eyes. Instead of flinching away from me like Luke and the Collins' family, he smiles at me, "Dom, Kitty, get her home so she can rest. I'm going to make some calls to see if I can arrange for him to come back and train Gill on her abilities," Councilman Fraywood nods at us and then takes his leave, the Councilwoman following right behind him.

When they were back in the building, Dom walks over to Kitty and I and puts his hand on my shoulder. "I am so proud of you, Gill." I look at him, confused, as he smiled down at me. How could he be proud of me?

"For what? I lost control. I...," I try to remember everything that just happened, "I threw you across the lot when I lost control. I could have killed you, Dom. That's nothing to be proud of," I look down at my shoes and fought back angry tears. 

"You broke, yes. But that was after you went through the trial. You didn't lose control in there. And I don't think you would have killed me, Gill. Your power stayed contained to just around you after you threw me. I don't know how you did it, but it was a sight to see. I am proud of you." I laugh. I never knew I would be able to throw someone across a lot and have them say that they are proud of me. 

"Let's go home." Kitty said, her hand still in mine. I smile, and look over at the leaders of my old pack. Luke looks at me, his eyes devoid of emotion. I can't read him anymore just like I can't feel anything from him at all, which made me happy in a way. I don't have to worry about them anymore, and, more importantly, I am safe. 

I'm going home.