"...In other news, the vampire's representative in Maine has expressed his disappointment in the acknowledgment that the Pure Human Association has been getting from local government officials. And even though the leader of the vampires in the Americas, the elusive Lord Arthur, couldn't be reached for a comment- as usual- it's clear that the position of the vampires regarding the association remains antagonistic..."

Lillian's attention to the news report was interrupted by a customer's loud call.

"Coming, Ted! stop yelling," she said.

Ted was one of the diner's regular customer. He'd been coming in every day at the same time ever since her first week at work two and a half years ago. Waitering tables was far from Lillian's dream job. But sometimes life just doesn't give a shit about your plans.

"Thanks baby doll." Ted winked, his twinkling blue eyes creasing at the corners. Along with his mass of curly blond hair and deep golden skin, he could've been at home in a Florida beach. Except that where they were; a little town south of Portland, Oregon, was quite a distance from the blazing sun and glorious coasts of Florida.

"I didn't know you were that interested in vampires," he added in reference to the news report she had been focused on.

Putting his usual plate of double cheese burger with extra pickles and fries on the table, she shrugged. "Not really," she lied.

Four years ago, she wouldn't have given a second glance to the news about any of the immortals in the states. However, her situation was vastly different now.

Although it wasn't really the vampires who were of real importance to her.

"I'm surprised those humans have the guts to announce their hatred so openly," she said.

"Yeah, well, as long as they don't stir trouble in our state they can do whatever the hell they want." Ted shuddered visibly. "But you're right, I wouldn't be able to do it. Vampires are way too creepy."

"You've met one before?" Lillian asked, her eyes widening in curiosity. Vampires kept mostly to big cities for some reason, so she had never seen one.

There could be vampires in Portland, but she never stumbled upon them. She would know if she did. Unlike most humans who couldn't differentiate humans from immortals, she did so quite easily.

"Yep," he said, picking at his fries, "I went to a club in Portland once - you know, the other Portland on the other side of the country. And there was a vampire feeding off some chick in a corner. It was in plain sight, and I could tell the girl was enjoying it. What's really creepy was the look in the guy's eyes, though. He looked at her like she was food. But then again, I guess that's what we are to them, huh? Thank God there are no vampires here"

Lillian agreed with a slow nod. "We have our own monsters," she whispered, but not low enough because Ted chuckled.

"Yep, we do. But hey, at least they keep to their territory. You only see them here once in a long while, when they don't find what they need in the towns closer to their forests. And unlike vampires, they don't mingle with humans much."

Lillian had something to say to that, but she chose to keep her silence.

"So," Ted said, leaning forward with a slow smile that had undoubtedly broken many hearts before. "Am I gonna have that date yet?"

Lillian grinned at him. "You know my answer to that, Ted," she said for the hundredth time.

He was probably teasing her, Lillian thought, though her co-workers thought he was serious. But she had other priorities. And she was okay with that. A man was the last thing she needed in her life at the moment.

"Yeah, that you're not ready for a relationship," Ted said, grinning back. "You just wait, Lillian, one of those days you'll go to that date with me."

Lillian shook her head at him as she turned back to her work. "You just wait, doll!" Ted called after her loud enough for all the customers to hear.

"Eat your lunch, Ted!" Lillian called back, waving her hand over her shoulder.

It was a slow day, so Brianna, the manager, made her leave early. Brianna knew about Lillian's situation, or at least part of it, so she made sure to send her home early whenever they could afford to. Often times along with enough food for three.

Looking skyward as she walked down the street, she could see the clouds gathering in intensity. Hopefully the rain would hold off until she reached Lydia's. Lillian hated driving in the rain.

The car ride was a quick ten minutes journey. It would've taken more with the bus if Lydia didn't insist on frequently lending Lillian her car.

She owed Mrs. Lydia Harrison more than she could ever repay. The old lady had been the closest thing to a mother Lillian had had in the last five years. Lillian was grateful to have someone shouldering such a big secret. Sometimes she thought she would've given up a long time ago had Lydia not been in her life.

No, Lillian thought with furious determination. She would never give up even if the whole world turned against her. She would protect them to her very last breath. They may be monsters to the world, but they're her little monsters.

*** *** ***

"I'm back!"

"Lillian! Close the door! Quick!"

Lillian did as told, dropping her bag to the floor and running to the living room. Lydia stood in the middle of the cozy room, her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her kind face. Lillian knew the expression wouldn't last very long. It never did. Soon a smile would start playing at her lips.

The living room was a mess, the sofa's soft brown pillows were scattered all over the floor, a decorative piece lay shattered from where it fell from the small round table near the locked French doors leading to the backyard. She always knew that beautiful vase would break sooner or later, that was why she'd begged Lydia not to leave it there. At the time, the old lady just waved her off, her steely gray eyes that had seen so much life kind and smiling in her lined face.

Right now, her narrowed gaze was directed at the top of the mantel. Where an over-sized blond puppy wagged his tail, baring his teeth in a mischievous wolfish grin that spelled trouble.

"Come down here, young man," Lydia said in her best chiding tone, inching closer to the fireplace.

Lillian snapped her gaze from the scene when a high pitched bark filled the room. She felt the familiar pressure of soft, fuzzy fur on her legs.

"Hey, sweetheart," Lillian said, picking up the puppy looking up at her with big amber eyes. The puppy gave her face an eager lick. "Your brother has been naughty again, huh?"

The pup yapped. Lillian put him down after kissing between ears that seemed too big for his head. She took a deep breath, then, mimicking Lydia's pose - hands on hips and face stern - she used what the old lady jokingly called her Alpha voice. The little beasts always did as told when she spoke to them in such a tone. Surprisingly, Lydia couldn't do it no matter how much she tried, much to the old lady's chagrin chagrin.

"Elijah Jackson Miller. Come down this instant."

The puppy whimpered, the sound always managed to chip at Lillian's stern mask. Elijah jumped to the ground. He rubbed his length against Lydia's leg, wagging his tail, before trotting to sit beside his brother at Lillian's feet.

"Go put on clothes then come back here," Lillian said, crouching to pet the twins. "You're going to take care of your mess."

The little rascals trotted down the hallway to their room, bumping each other along the way. Elijah nipped at his brother's neck, Ezra swiped his paw at Elijah's face.

"Boys..." Lillian warned. They gave her an innocent look over their shoulder before racing to their room. Lillian shook her head with a fond smile.

Lydia shoved back the gray hair she always wore in a long pixie cut. Coming to hug Lillian, Lydia patted her back. Lydia chuckled, the sound familiar and soothing. Lillian's muscles relaxed, and she sank in the old woman's embrace.

"How was your day, sweetheart?"

"Good," Lillian said pulling back. "It was kind of a slow day so my feet don't feel like they're about to fall off."

Kicking a pillow out of the way, Lillian sat down on the couch, massaging her aching calves.

"Well, that's good to hear," Lydia joined her, sitting down with a sigh. She looked around the messy living room then gave a delighted laugh. "Oh, I do love those two little devils."

Lillian snorted. "They know you'd let them off the hook for practically anything, and they take advantage of it."

Lydia waved her off. "I have the right to spoil them. I'm their granny."

Lillian's throat closed up. They didn't share blood, but it didn't matter. Lydia was family. She had been family ever since that fateful night five years ago when they literally ran into each other. Lillian heavy, wet and cold had found so much warmth and love in the old lady, it seemed as though her whole life's sufferance had been balanced out by meeting Lydia.

Lydia had been living on her own after her husband's death five years ago. She was still mourning when they first met. Her grief a constant watery film over eyes of silver.

But as she took Lillian into her home, as she took care of her -and then of her two little beasts - she gradually became a joyful old woman whose love of life burned brightly once more. Fostering a small family of three had a positive effect on her.

"Mommy!"

Lillian braced herself as Elijah came running down the hallway. In his skin once more and with clothes on, he threw himself on her knocking her breath out. "Oumph."

Following more calmly was Ezra. He sat down between Lillian and Lydia. Lillian smothered Elijah's soft cheeks with loud, sloppy kisses, inhaling his familiar scent.

Elijah giggled and the whole day's exhaustion vanished. How she loved holding her babies in her arms. It was a joy she would challenge the world to protect.

Elijah soon got himself on his granny's lap and Lillian turned to the more sensible of the twins. They looked so identical in appearance, even Lydia would confuse them at times. But their personalities couldn't be more different.

"Hey, baby," Lillian whispered gathering Ezra in her arms. He squeezed his arms around her neck and murmured a greeting. She kissed his head and smoothed her hands over his light brown hair and down his back.

She loved drowning her children in affection. She adored them and would never let them doubt that fact. It didn't matter if they turned into wolves, they were and always would be the babies she held in her insides for nine months. Her babies.

They both looked like carbon copies of her. With bright blue eyes and brown hair hair, their skin a creamy shade that resisted the sun. No one who saw them would ever mistake them for something other than mother and sons.

Sometimes, she wondered if she'd have loved them as much had they looked anything like their father, even though she barely remembered the man. But she'd quickly dismiss the ridiculous thought. She'd love them no matter their appearance, no matter their race.

"Alright boys," Lillian said. "Tidy up!"

"Mooom," Elijah whined from where he lay horizontally around Lydia's shoulders.

"Oh no, young man," Lillian tapped his nose. "What did I tell you guys about shifting, huh?"

"No shifting allowed when you're not around," they said in unison, making Lydia's lips twitch up in a smile. The often did that, speak the same think simultaneously or look at each other like they're having a conversation inside their heads. Lydia found it endearing. Lillian too.

"That's right. So why did you shift?"

"They wanted to play," Ezra said, his gaze all kinds of sorry. How could she resist those eyes?

Lillian sighed and pushed his hair back with gentle fingers. "I know, sweetheart. But you have to control them."

"'Kay," they murmured, the blue in their eyes melting to a vibrant amber for a second.

Lydia and Lillian shared a heavy look. It was a conversation they'd had a dozen times before.

After Lillian cleaned the shards of glass off the floor, she left the boys to arrange the living room then joined Lydia in the kitchen.

Lydia was stirring a pot when Lillian leaned on the counter beside her. The kitchen was small but very well furnished, much like the one story house they lived in. It was Lydia's house. Since Lillian couldn't bring herself to leave Lydia alone, and Lydia wouldn't take any rent from Lillian, they came to the agreement - after a lot of convincing and guilt tripping from Lillian's part- that Lillian would take care of the groceries and a share of the bills.

"The boys are growing quite fast," Lydia said, her eyes straying to the door of the kitchen, the notes of the twins laughter flowed in.

"Yeah." Lillian wrapped her arms around her middle, the knot of dread in her stomach growing bigger each day. "If their wolves get bigger than they are right now, I don't know if I'd be able to manage them. This is frustrating."

Lillian was lost. She didn't know what to do. Shapeshifters, particularly wolves, are one of the most secretive race in the world. They don't mingle much with humans. Their territories are all vast stretches of forests all around the country, and are off-limits to humans. Although the shifters themselves can venture into human cities and towns anytime they like. One of the advantages of being the predator and not a prey, Lillian guessed.

Humans were in the bottom of the food chain.

Because of the wolves' tendency to guard their privacy with sharp claws, Lillian had little to no information about them. And that was a major problem since she had two wolf pups that were growing bigger and stronger by the day. Her children would soon reach an age when she could no longer keep them at her side all the time.

Already, her guilt about how they lived was a constant weight on her heart. She couldn't take her kids to the park to play with others their age. She couldn't take their wolves for a run - for her, their wolves were an inseparable part of her babies, the wolves were her babies, and she couldn't give them the simple joy of stretching their legs in a run, the delight of playing under the sun until they tire.

Lydia's backyard opened to the back of a park. That was the only place they let loose, and it was always at night under her watchful gaze. The thick trees provided enough cover for them. But it wouldn't last long as their wolves grew.

They wouldn't be able to go to school, meet other kids, travel and fall in love. The future was clouded by a thick fog because she didn't know how her children would grow up having to hide amongst humans.

And she was too selfish to give her kids up, to be raised by other wolves, by people just like them. She knew well how it felt to wonder why your parents abandoned you. She couldn't give her babies away. She was ready to live among the wolves with them, but the wolves wouldn't welcome a human into their territory.

Deep down, though, Lillian knew what she would eventually do. It would break her heart, but if it was the only choice, she would make sure her boys got to live as wolves. As they should. Even if it meant being apart from them.

She knew without a doubt the wolves would take them in if they knew about their existence. It was one of the few things that werewolves were proud to share with the world. Wolves were pack creatures, they looked after their own.

Her heart ached so much it felt as though it would implode at the thought of not seeing her babies again.

Not now, Lillian thought, rubbing the hurt in her chest. There was still time.

"It will work out, honey," Lydia said, her eyes perceptive of the pain Lillian fostered in her heart. "It'll work out."

"I sure hope so," Lillian said, then took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and began setting the table. It would do no good to drown in a pool of heartbreak when nothing was decided yet. Who knew, maybe it would truly work out. Somehow.

The kitchen soon filled with the delicious aroma of herbs, veggies, beef and tomato sauce that accompanied Lydia's best dish: spaghetti bolognese. The kids settled in around the island in their usual seats.

"We helped Granny make a huuuge ship!" Elijah said, already on his second serving of spaghetti. Their appetite was growing scarily stronger.

"Oh, did you?" Lillian helped Ezra to another serving.

"Uh-huh, It wasn't difficult at all," Ezra said. "I want to make ships when I grow up, too."

Lillian grinned as her boys fell into a recollection of their time with Lydia.

Lydia made miniature ships, sold some of them, although it wasn't her main job. Lydia Harrison was retired. From what? Lillian didn't know. Lydia always avoided answering any questions regarding her previous occupation. Lillian had a strong feeling it was nothing as mundane as a teacher or a doctor, and the different guns Lydia cleaned on a regular basis in her room had a lot to do with it.

Lillian loved watching Lydia clean all her weapons. She'd do it once a week when the kids were long asleep, and Lillian would watch. The routine calmed her, as weird as that sounded. But that was the extent of Lillian's interest in weapons. Watching them from a safe distance. Despite Lillian's reservations, Lydia had insisted on training her and gifted her a small gun that could be tucked discreetly inside her small purse.

Listening to her sons discuss the future in a cheerful tone, occasionally asking for their Mom or Granny's opinions, Lillian cherished the simple and peaceful moment and wished they would have many more to come.

But life had other ideas.

*** *** ***

Rain fell hard and fast that night, and it didn't surcease for the next few days. Lillian drove so slowly to the way home from work, that had she walked she would've reached the house faster. She hated driving in the rain.

"Damn rain," she muttered, parking in the driveway. With the heavy downpour, she hadn't noticed. But now that she looked closely, she could see no lights on in the house. The door was wide open, letting in the wind and rain of the stormy night. The lampposts next to the house were dark. Lightning flashed, giving the house a haunted look.

Lillian braved the rain right as thunder crashed, making her jump. Confusion first, then a sense of foreboding washed over her as she approached the door.

It hung broken out of its hinges. She sneaked in. On instinct, her hand went into her purse, clutching the small gun Lydia had gifted her. Lydia, who laid sprawled on the dark living room's floor, only visible because of a momentary flash of lightning.

"Oh God, oh God..."

Lillian rushed to kneel beside the old woman who had been a mother to her in the last five years. Lydia's chest was a bloody mess, her light tunic dark. In her right hand was one of the guns she kept on her at all times.

Lillian dropped her gun, her hands hovering in panic, wanting to help but not knowing how to, fearing she'd make it worse than it already was. Her children. Lillian looked around. They were nowhere to be seen.

Help. She had to call help. She reached for her purse, only for cold hands to grip her fingers. Lillian stared at Lydia's eyes.

"Lillian." Lydia's voice was a wet gurgle, a dark liquid leaking out of her mouth. "The kids, they came for the kids".

Lillian was disoriented for a moment as Lydia's words caught up with her.

"Oh God...police... ambulance... I should call-"

"No," Lydia said firmly, clutching Lillian's hand tightly. "I won't make it, go after the kids... and don't call the police... the attackers were human... they want the boys... because they're wolves... they want..."

Lillian shook her head, her breath coming out in short, shallow gasps. She wanted to go after her kids. She wanted to stay with Lydia. But as her eyes wandered to Lydia's torso when a flash of lightning hit again, she could make out at least half a dozen gunshots scattered all over her chest and abdomen. Lydia's faint voice interrupted the haze of shock.

"The boys ran to the park...Go.." Lydia's voice faded, drowned by thunder. Her body went limp and her steely eyes lost all the light.

"No, no, no," Lillian muttered furiously, she pulled out her phone and dialed 911. There was no signal. Dropping her phone, Lillian tried to perform CPR. In vain. Tears blurred her vision and streaked down her face as she finally admitted the old woman was gone.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Maybe later, the guilt of Lydia's death would bring her down to her knees. But not now. After taking a second to lower Lydia's eyelids, Lillian scrambled up to her feet, gun clutched tightly in her hand. Looking around, she belatedly noticed the French doors to the back garden were broken open, too.

A wave of fury wash over her. Gritting her teeth against the fear that wanted to paralyze her, she embraced the fury, welcomed it. Going through the backyard towards another broken door that led straight to the vast garden of the park behind their house.

It was almost impossible to see except for those mere moments when the sky lightened before thunder boomed. She focused on any sound, anything that could lead her to her boys, hoping she'd be able to hear it over the noise of pouring rain on the canopy of trees.

It was five minutes later that she heard it. But it wasn't Elijah nor Ezra's voice. Lillian froze.

"Damn it, how hard can it be to track two little brats," an annoyed adult male voice. There was a scuffing of boots before a reply came.

"I told you we should've brought more men," a colorful curse, then, "That damn old lady got me good."

Lillian smothered the urge to go out there and shoot the bastards. Keeping her cool head, she took a deep breath and followed after the men as they moved forward in slow steps.

Now that she was closer, she could see the glow of a couple of torchlights. It wasn't enough in the dark, rainy night.

Lillian watched her feet closely, not wanting her steps to give her away. She had been in this park hundreds of times with the twins, always at night, so she knew her way better than the bastards currently hunting her babies. She hoped her babies' familiarity with the park would save them from being taken.

It was a whisper of a voice, so low she could've sworn it was inside her head.

"Mommy."

Lillian stopped, waiting for the men ahead of her to do the same, but they didn't. Lillian looked around, wanting to call back but afraid.

"Mommy, we're here."

Again, the same voice. It was Ezra's voice. And this time, Lillian was certain it was inside her head. Was she going crazy?

"Mommy, look up."

Lillian looked up. And there were they. Two wolf pups that were too big to be normal, perched on a thick branch. They were pressed to the tree trunk, cloaked by the shadows. If she hadn't known they were there, she wouldn't have seen them.

"Mommy, granny is hurt." Elijah's voice this time. "she told us to go to the park and hide until you got here."

Acting purely on instinct, Lillian replied inside her head, purposefully avoiding any mention of Lydia. "Yes, sweetheart, you did good. Are you hurt? can you climb down?"

The two men's steps could no longer be heard. Hopefully, they were far enough.

"Yes," Ezra replied. "Are the bad men gone?"

"They're a little far away," Lillian replied, scanning the tree. "I want you to climb down one at a time, alright? and be as sneaky as you can, baby."

"'Kay."

She should probably freak out about having communicated telepathically with her children. But not now. Keeping her gun in one hand, she focused on helping them down when they were within reach with the other hand.

She had just gotten Elijah's wet wolf on the ground next to Ezra when they both growled. Fangs bared and hackles raised, their eyes fixed on something behind her.

She whipped around, raising her gun and clicking off the safety. A good distance away from her stood a big hunk of a man, his black clad form barely visible in the darkness. The only thing she could make out was the glint in his eyes. Lillian's hands shook. She took a deep breath and shoved her fear down, locking it away. Her vision cleared and her hands steadied.

The man had his own gun pointed at her. She hadn't heard him approach. Was he one of the two men she had been tailing? Probably not, this one gave a whole different vibe. A more dangerous vibe. How stupid of her to assume there would only be two men.

Much to her horror, Elijah and Ezra came to stand between her and the armed man. His steps faltered. He raised his gun and Lillian realized he didn't want to accidentally shoot the boys. They wanted them alive. That thought made her knees tremble because there was not much they could do to harm dead wolves, living ones on the other hand...

So she took advantage of the man's hesitation. And she shot.

Three consecutive ones. She didn't aim, but by the grunt of pain coming from the man, she figured at least one of her bullets did some damage. The man shot. The bullet whooshed past her head. It missed.

"Elijah, Ezra, run to the house!"

The boys instantly obeyed like they did whenever she used that tone of voice. It apparently worked even with their little mind-speaking trick.

The pups bolted to the house. She ran after them. They were so fast, she was barely keeping up. As expected, the two other men had heard the shots, so it was no wonder their elephant-like footfalls pounded behind her.

They were far, though. Lillian reached the house and remembered Lydia's body in the living room. She didn't want the kids to see that, didn't want their memory of the old woman stained by blood.

"Go around the house to the front yard! Wait for me by the car!"

The kids did as ordered while she went into the house. Guilt and sadness pinching her guts, she picked up her purse with the car keys and shot straight through the front door.

In a flash the three of them were inside the vehicle, the pups tucked down on the car floor of the passenger seat beside her. As she pulled out of the driveway in a dangerous speed -all her inhibitions about driving in the rain buried under the rush of adrenaline- she could see the two men in the rear-view mirror, joined by a third one holding his limp arm.

They followed in a run, shooting in the process. But they were too late. She was already barreling down the street.

Speeding through the streets. Her thoughts as wild as her heart beat. Lillian considered her options. She didn't have many.

Should she call the police? And tell them what? That her two children who could turn into wolves were chased by humans? She didn't know how that would end up for her boys. Humans would relish any sort of advantage they could get over immortals, and if it meant keeping two wolf pups under lock and key to experiment on, they wouldn't hesitate to jump on the chance.

No. She couldn't go to the authorities with this. She didn't trust her own race with her children. Only one choice seemed like the logical thing to do.

"The inter-species peace is precarious at best," Lydia had told her once while meticulously cleaning one of her guns after breaking it down to little pieces. Lillian had watched the old lady work, her motions so familiar they brought her comfort. "Especially with humans. Humans, by nature, are arrogant. It doesn't matter how many times they're proved weak and helpless - when faced with immortals - throughout the history of the world. They will still make the mistake of believing themselves superior to other races. It's funny really."

Lillian sipped her warm tea. "Were you alive during the fifties' war?"

Lydia laughed aloud, then covered her mouth. "Oops, the kids are sleeping," she said, her eyes wide and looking towards the kids' room as if expecting them to run out any moment. She looked back at Lillian, a grin on her lips. "Oh, my sweets, if you wanted to know my age all you had to do is ask!"

Lillian chuckled, throwing a pillow towards the young-spirited old lady. She deflected it with an ease that spoke of a former profession Lillian could only guess.

"Let's just say I was at least involved in cleaning up some of the mess of that war." Her eyes turned solemn. "I'll never forget some of the things I saw back then. But because I've seen those things, I can't help but be awed by some of the humans nowadays. It's like they forget that almost fifteen percent of the human population on earth had been wiped out because they decided they weren't prey anymore.

"While the truth is, humans are prey. It's a simple fact. It's not something our race can grow out of. It's not something any amount of armed power can change. But still, they waste an immense amount of money on research and weapon industries that it's laughable."

Lillian frowned. "Don't you think it'll amount to anything? even the research?"

"My dear, it doesn't matter what the humans can come up with. Do you know why we are prey, Lillian?" Lydia looked out through the French doors to the dark outside, as if seeing a faraway world. "It's not because we're weaker or slower or smaller, although those reasons play a role."

"Then why?"

Silvery eyes met Lillian's bright blue ones. "It's because we can't use magic. Humans can't access the magic layer. They just aren't physically equipped to do that. And it doesn't matter what weapons or inventions humans come up with. Magic always wins.

"That's why I want you to be careful, Lillian. Humans will do anything to have an advantage over other immortals. Even imprison two little wolves. They wouldn't see anything wrong with dissecting them and putting them back together time and time again in order to study them, figure out their weaknesses and strengths.

"Don't trust other humans, my dear. And if anything happens, know that no matter what the wolves do or don't, they take care of their own."

They take care of their own. Lillian's thoughts echoed Lydia's words as she took a sharp turn, heading out of the city. With the weather so volatile, fewer people were around. She didn't know whether that was good or bad for her.

She knew the way to wolf territory. She had studied it over and over again in a map she kept hidden in her night table.

The wolves in Oregon inhabited the forested areas, which covered most of the state. The woods were their domain. Humans only had dominion over a few cities, a few towns and roads inter-linking them, and others leading outside of the state.

Lillian always thought the world would have considerably less forests if the humans were the only race in existence.

Lillian's little town had two main human owned roads leading outside. One north wise and the other south. The east and west were wooded areas.

Lillian headed inland. East of Portland. She didn't know why she didn't head west, she loved the sea after all. But like most happenings tonight, her instincts took over.

The boys weren't hurt. They were still in wolf form but Lillian didn't mind. They could protect themselves better with teeth and claws.

She was barely out of the city when, checking her rear-view mirror, saw a black SUV rapidly gaining on her. The engine groaned as Lillian pushed the gas pedal to the limit, speeding out of town. The roads were slick with the heavy downpour. The town's lights were already disappearing behind her, but the tail was still there.

She could barely see up ahead, where the paved road ended and gravel began. She hoped the men chasing her wouldn't dare get into wolves' territory.

No such luck.

They kept going, and though Lillian pushed her car to its limits, the SUV was faster. Elijah and Ezra whimpered when the car rolled over a huge rock. The gravel beneath the wheels was quickly turning into dirt.

She could hardly see anymore, the rain getting more intense, and with most of her attention on expanding the gap between her and her unrelenting tail, Lillian didn't see the cliff drop ahead of her until it was too late.

The last thing she remembered after they went airborne was screaming her kids names. 

--- ---- ---

First chapter of Noah's story! You know Noah if you've read mt other story, Blue Flames. If you don't, then fear not, this story could be read as a standalone and you will get to know Noah in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Don't forget to vote an comment if you like where this is going.

Much love <3

M.B.