Lost and Found

Seven

The room was silent, and no one really knew how to respond. Bre, Zane, and Leo all gave each other quizzical looks, though Vicky had a knowing smile as she gazed at everyone. It wasn’t that she had deliberately hidden the memories of the woman transforming, it was just that it was so infrequent and fragmented, that she hadn’t been able to accurately portray the memories.

“Uh, what is going on?” Leo asked, dumbfounded as he stared at the cat.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Bre chuckled, her eyes also on the cat.

Vicky sat down on the bed and smiled. The cat stood, stretched, and then sat down. It looked at everyone with its blue eyes before starting to lick its paw.

“Is it really that hard to believe?” Vicky questioned everyone. “You all transform into wolves without so much as a bat of the eye, but seeing someone turn into a cat is apparently impossible?”

“This is the woman?” Zane asked.

Nodding, Vicky’s eyebrows shot up as the cat walked over to her lap and settled on her legs. “This is Tessa, Zane. It’s very similar, I believe, to when you turn into Demetrius. Though, I’m honestly not sure if the cat is its own entity as Demetrius is for you. In fact, I know just as much about this as all of you.”

Leo squatted down to get eye-level with Tessa. He smiled at the feline, who leaned over to boop her nose with his. Astonished, Leo fell back, drawing laughs from both Bre and Vicky.

“What–what was that?” he wondered aloud, his fore-finger touching his nose.

“Have you never met a cat before?” Vicky chuckled. “That’s a way that cats show affection to others. Nose boops.”

Standing to his feet, Leo scratched his head. “I mean, I have met and seen cats before, but I don’t know. I guess that I really didn’t expect her to act like a cat? I don’t know. This is all kind of weird.”

Zane crossed his arms over his chest. For whatever reason, Dem was trying to break through in order to interact with the cat, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the woman turning into a cat at all. She could still be an enemy for all he knew. However, he couldn’t shake the image of the woman sacrificing herself to help Lara escape. It meant that Lara could still be alive. It meant that Lara could be on her way to their pack at that very moment. And, it also meant that if Lara was alive, she owed her life to this woman.

He sighed, and everyone looked at him. Their faces seemed hopeful, as if they understood that he would announce his decision about the lady, who was currently a cat.

“Fine. She can stay,” the other three exclaimed in happiness, interrupting him. “For now!” he clarified. “You heard me? She can stay for now. At least until we can better understand what’s going on. If she betrays us, she’ll pay the penalty.”

As if to stick an exclamation mark on his mini-speech, Tessa jumped up onto Zane’s shoulder, who let out a strangled yelp of surprise, which only amused the small group further.

“What are you doing, cat?” Zane said with a glare. “Get off.”

“Oh, come on,” Bre responded with a delighted grin. “It’s pretty cute, I must say.”

Zane growled at her. “Knock it off, Bre. No need to encourage this type of behavior. I am the Alpha of this pack, which means I’m not some sort of gym equipment or play structure for a cat to play on.”

He then grabbed the cat, who was laying around his broad shoulders, with two hands. One hand palmed the face, while the other gripped onto her stomach. Zane pulled her from his shirt. Tessa hissed, her claws sinking into his skin. He yelled out in frustration, even as Vicky looked on at the situation with enjoyment. He wrestled the cat in his arms after pulling her claws off of him. Within a matter of mere seconds, Zane was no longer holding a cat in his arms, but rather, Tessa’s human body.

Zane’s face reddened as his brain acknowledged that he was holding a naked woman in his arms, and after averting his eyes, he quickly scrambled to get her to the hospital bed as she attempted to wriggle out of his arms. Unceremoniously, she was dumped onto the bed and swiftly donned on her hospital gown. Tessa’s cheeks were tinged with embarrassment.

Though the moment was rather awkward, Bre stepped over to Tessa and grabbed her hand. “Alright,” she began. “So, as your doctor, I can probably officially discharge you if you’re feeling sturdy enough to walk. Are you feeling well enough to walk?”

Tessa stared down at their conjoined hands and meekly nodded. “I–I think so,” her quiet voice said in response, her eyes still on their hands.

“Oh,” Bre said softly. “Is it fine for me to hold your hand? I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask you before I did so. That’s so thoughtless of me.”

As Bre began pulling her hand away, Tessa tightened her hold. “No, it’s nice. Thank you. I… it’s been a while since I’ve had such a connection.”

Another awkward silence fell onto the group. The reality of her words crashed into the other three as all of them thought briefly about the memories they had just witnessed. It was probably depressingly true that she hadn’t had much genuine interaction with anyone else, especially after she helped everyone escape. Though there hadn’t been any other memories presented, they didn’t know what happened between Lara escaping and finding her in a make-shift grave; however, it was fairly obvious by Tessa’s reaction that she wanted positive connections with others.

“So… cool,” Bre chuckled nervously. “If you’re feeling better, I can lend you some clothes. I doubt you want to walk around in a hospital gown.”

Vicky clapped her hands together, drawing all eyes. “That’s lovely. And, it seems like my work here is done. Zane, honey, I’ll send you the bill. As fun as it would be to continue sitting here in this unsettling environment, I’m going to take my leave, and possibly get some sleep. I did practically travel all night to get here, you know.”

The group watched the witch stand, give Tessa a small smile, pat Zane’s shoulder and then waltz out of the room without so much as a real goodbye.

“That woman,” Zane mumbled under his breath with an eye roll. “Always such a drama queen.”

The alpha then turned his full attention to the woman on the bed. “Yes, clothes for you would be good. I suppose you’ll want to see where you’ll be staying, and I suppose I should give you a place to stay for now. Before all of that, though, we must address the elephant in the room.”

Bre raised an eyebrow at him. He could be going anywhere with a preface like that.

“Have you received all of your memories back?”

Tessa half-nodded once.

“Alright, then how did you get into that pit on my property?”

The woman’s eyes were still glued to Bre’s hand in hers. She felt a tightness in her chest as images flashed through her mind. Imagines that she wanted to forget already. While not having access to her memories had been frustrating, as she had known nothing about herself, now knowing what she knew, not having the memories had been a blessing in disguise.

Clearing her throat, she finally looked up at Zane. Her piercing, blue eyes bore into him until he looked visibly uncomfortable.

“I won’t lie to you, even though it would be easier for me, especially seeing that you don’t trust me. I have my memories, yes, but there are still some blanks. It’s–it’s difficult to sort everything out. I, apparently, lived a really horrendous life.”

Leo scratched the back of his head, feeling the weight of her words.

“From what I can tell,” she continued. “After I helped the others flee, I was made an example for those still left. I was then gifted to a man named, Albert Taylor–”

Zane snarled at the mention of the name. Dem was fighting him, longing to go on a rampage. That name was a well-known name within the werewolf community. He was a vile man, who worked with others in the underground black market s*x trafficking trade. Known associates of the man were former Alpha Richard Degrano and former Alpha Roger Knotts. Zane had been thrilled when he heard about the result of Richard’s trial, but it hadn’t stopped the market from exploding with business. Albert Taylor had been one of many who took up the mantle and filled the empty seat and practically took over an empire built on corruption.

Tessa shrank back as Zane grabbed the foot rest of the hospital bed in order to calm Dem down.

“Sorry,” Zane grunted. “Angry wolf.”

After what felt like an hour of struggling, Zane was able to straighten himself out and sigh. He crossed his arms and gazed down at Tessa. A part of him was upset that she had seemed scared of him, and it once again made him wonder what else she’d been through.

Bre squeezed her hand for reassurance. “That’s kind of sweet, Tessa, if you think about it. Alpha’s wolf was upset on your behalf. Seems like he wants to protect you.”

Giving the other woman a side-long glance, Tessa remained quiet until Zane prompted her to continue.

“After that, my memory is very spotty. I don’t know how I got into that grave, but the last thing I remember was that there was a woman with distinct red glasses and long, red fingernails. Like, the fake ones? She was laughing at me for some reason, and then she slapped me across the face. I hit the floor, and then I felt a searing pain on my leg. His face,” she pointed at Leo. “Is the next thing, and then waking up here.”

Leo nodded, speaking up for the first time in a while. “That matches with the wounds you had when I found you. But, can you remember anything else?”

Tessa shook her head, frowned, and then caught Zane’s attention.

“What?” he asked a little too gruffly for Dem’s liking.

“How do you know Lara? You seem particularly attached to her.”

Zane sucked in a breath and then slowly let it out. “She was–no, is–my sister. Why?”

Her face brightened instantly. “You’re Zookie?!”

Without missing a beat, both Bre and Leo busted out laughing as Zane’s face turned a dark shade of red.

“Z-Zookie?” Bre cackled, out of breath, as she held her sides tightly. Tears of laughter slid down her cheeks. “Vicky is going to be pissed to know she missed this!”

“It was a nickname only my sister could use,” Zane replied through gritted teeth. “And if I ever see her again, she will pay for this…”

Tessa’s face remained passive as she murmured, “I’m s-sorry. She talked so fondly about you that it felt like I got to know you through her stories.”

“She talked about me?” he then asked more gently.

Nodding, she replied. “Yes, all the time. And now that I know you’re Zookie, I mean, her brother, I need to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“I remembered where we said we’d meet if we were ever able to escape but lost contact with each other.”