"We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
What have we found?
The same old fears... "

~~ Avenged Sevenfold

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~Nova~

Brother?

Before I could stupidly interrupt, the man turned to the wolves, his face hardening. "Go home, back to the packhouse before I turn your hides into a new rug."

That was all it took for most of the wolves to take off into the night, tail tucked between their legs. Jackal and Jazz remained, although Jazz had yet to shift out of his wolf form, instead he had laid down on his belly at the alpha's feet.

"That order was for you as well, Jackal," the man said angrily. Something was so familiar about this man, his looks, his voice, the way he carried himself, but I was almost positive I had never seen him before.

"Reyne, this little faery bitch -," Jackal protested while pointing at my mother who was still behind me. He was cut off by a hand around his throat. 

The alpha, who Jackal had called Reyne, gripped Jackal's throat and cut off his words.

"I am the alpha now, Jackal, which means I no longer take orders from you which you would be wise to remember." Reyne gripped his throat a little tighter before pushing him back to the ground. "I'll be dealing with you in front of the entire pack and I suggest you do as you're told because if you run, there is no where you can hide that I won't find you."

Jackal coughed violently but nodded his head before shifting and racing off into the night. Reyne shifted his attention to Jazz, "Make sure he does as he's told. Lies have been spread tonight and I need to get to the bottom of it. Even you, my beta, fell in the trap and it's time I clean house."

Jazz whimpered but followed after Jackal without argument. Reyne watched them leave before he turned back toward Hatter, all traces of his hard alpha exterior gone as if it had never been. Curiosity got the better of me and I inched my way closer to them, nearly dragging my mother's entire weight as she leaned heavily on me. Ignoring her, I needed to get a better look at this man's face.

"It's good to see you, Robbie," Reyne said as he clasped Hatter's hand and pulled him into a tight hug.

I fought the urge to point out that hugging people while naked was impolite but somehow managed to keep myself quiet. When they pulled apart, I squinted my eyes to try and see his features clearly.

"It's so good to know you aren't dead, Rey," Hatter replied, genuine relief in his voice. "Everyone told me they had killed you, too."

"No, not quite but nearly so. A lot has happened since then."

"Obviously," Hatter agreed. "I assume that means dad is dead?"

It was like my mother and I had completely disappeared, Hatter was oblivious to us as he talked to Reyne who apparently was his brother. I didn't even know he had a brother, but then again Hatter wasn't exactly very open or forthcoming with his life story.

"That he is. Crazy bastard lost his shit and had pups training for war before they could even shift completely." Reyne paused. "He was never the same after that night, none of us were."

I was torn between sneaking away from him and continuing to listen to the two of them. They were obviously talking about the events that had led to Hatter's death, well was it almost death? Vampire semantics had never been my strong point. I was still angry at him for kissing me in the middle of all that bullshit after making it clear he didn't want to be with me. Or maybe the problem was that he hadn't actually been clear about what he wanted. 

Ugh! I don't have time for this!, I yelled inside my head before deciding this was a waste of my time. I needed to get back to Nevada and make sure they had gotten away unscathed. Now that I knew my mother was safe, I needed to find the other's. I had promised Nevada that I would come back and I didn't plan on dying in the woods because I got lost. 

"Come on, mom, let's go find the others," I mumbled to her as I tried to get her to come willingly. 

"No, don't make me go back to them," she begged in a whisper, tears streaming down her face. "I did this, I know I did and Alana will kill me if Dominic doesn't first."

"No, they won't," I reassured with a shake of my head. "I won't let them kill you, but you do have to answer for what happened tonight."

"Where do you think you're going?" Hatter asked, suddenly standing in front of me and making me jump.

"God damn it, Hatter, one of these days you're going to do that and I'm going to electrocute you!" I snapped in irritation. I really hated vampire speed. "To answer your question, I'm going to find my sister."

"Half sister," my mother mumbled quietly as if she thought I wouldn't hear. 

"Woman, don't even start with me," I warned, suddenly irritated at the lot of them. I scowled at Hatter. "Would you move? I have no idea where I'm going but I would like to get there before I'm as old as August."

"Would you just wait a minute, please?" Hatter asked, his eyes wide and pleading. "I haven't seen him since… in a long time."

I looked over my shoulder at Reyne, who had put on a pair of basketball shorts that I had no idea where they had come from. After eyeing him suspiciously for a moment, I looked back at Hatter and his obnoxious puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, but only because I wanted to ogle him a bit longer," I told him, finally giving in. I smirked at the scowl on Hatter's face as I turned around and forced my mother to sit on a fallen tree trunk. "He's definitely easy on the eyes."

I hadn't intended for Reyne to hear but he did, laughing as I gave him my best smile along with an innocent wave.

"Of course he's easy on the eyes," Hatter growled, but I could feel the instant jealousy take over him. "He's my twin."

"Fraternal and I look better," Reyne corrected as he walked closer to us with an easy grin.

Robbie. Reyne. Why did I not catch that sooner? I mentally facepalmed.

"Ooh, twins? That sounds like a party," I joked but my heart wasn't completely in it.

I enjoyed making Hatter jealous and uncomfortable but I was exhausted in every sense of the word. I just wanted to go find Nevada and get somewhere that I could crawl in bed safely without having to get up for several days. 

It had been a long night, and Ashira's death weighed heavily on my heart. A part of me hoped that she had somehow found a way out before the house had collapsed, but realistically I knew the odds weren't in our favor.

"I like this one," Reyne laughed, looking at Hatter's sullen expression. His smile faded after a moment and he looked at Hatter seriously. "So, you're doing okay? I heard the hybrid turned you and I was worried after… "

"Yeah, I'm alright," Hatter quickly replied but his words were slightly strained. "It's been crazy but I'm good. Keeping this one out of trouble."

"Ah, yes, the Bastard Prince of Folmoria, I've heard about you," Reyne admitted thoughtfully. I cringed at the title he had given me.

"My name is Nova and I'm not a bastard anyone of anything," I gritted out. A strange squeak of discomfort left my mother but I ignored her. She made me so she couldn't argue with where I came from. "Hatter, we really don't have time for a reunion."

I was beginning to sound as exhausted as I felt. Reyne walked up to Hatter and gave him another long hug.

"Go, take them somewhere safe." Reyne nodded his head in my direction when he pulled away. "He'll be good for you, Robbie. Keep him around."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Rey," Hatter argued. I was too tired to care about what he was talking about. 

"The imprint, Robbie," Reyne chuckled before walking towards the edge of the clearing. "By the way, don't be a stranger, brother. My number is still the same. You're welcome to come home if you ever wanted to."

Hatter didn't say anything as we watched Reyne shift back into the large white wolf and disappear into the darkness. I waited for him to explain what an imprint was but he didn't, instead he motioned for us to follow him through the woods in the opposite direction that Reyne had gone.

●●●●

After what felt like hours of walking and stumbling through the darkness, tripping over tree roots that seemed to just reach out of nowhere and grab at my feet, thentrees finally began to thin. Pale light bled through the branches overhead, glimpses of pale pink sky peeking out at us here and there. 

We stopped to rest, my entire body aching and begging for sleep as I plopped down on a huge boulder speckled with moss. None of us had said very much, either too tired or too preoccupied with our thoughts to bother.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to catch my breath as if I had just been running. "Do you have any idea where we are going?"

Before Hatter could reply, August appeared a short distance to my right which resulted in a very unmanly sound leaving my mouth as I fell off the boulder. 

"Was that really necessary, August?" I asked angrily as I drug myself off the forest floor and back onto the boulder. 

"You should be more on guard," August shrugged casually. 

Without thinking it all the way through, I flicked my hand towards him and sent a small ball of orange flames to burst on the tree right beside his head. Not expecting that kind of retaliation, I received the satisfaction of watching embers jump onto the fabric of his shirt. I could hear the gentle sizzle of his flesh as it burnt pin sized holes in his shoulder. 

"What the fuck, Nova?!" August roared, smacking his hand on his shoulder to kill the bits of heat. 

"Don't fuck with me, Fae-pire. I'm tired and a bit on edge," I warned with a yawn.

"Fae-pire?" Hatter asked.

"Faery. Vampire," I shrugged. "Fae-pire."

"Alright focus, you two." August admonished impatiently. "We need to get out of here. Follow me."

"Five more minutes," I negotiated.

"No."

Lacking the energy to argue, I pulled myself from the rock and tugged my mother to her feet as well. I rolled my eyes at August's back which made Hatter laugh, a sound that lightened my mood despite my lingering annoyance with him.

Twenty minutes later, August led us out of the woods and to the edge of an old paved road where two vehicles sat waiting for us. Nevada stood by herself, her eyes scanning the trees. The moment she saw me, she ran to me and through her arms around my neck. Her body shook with silent sobs as she clung to me and I held her as tight as I could, murmuring reassurances that I was alright.

Dominic had his arms wrapped around Alana, her eyes bloodshot and swollen, no doubt from crying all night. Her face was pale and blotchy but her violent eyes blazed with fury when she spotted my mother. Dominic looked at August, both wearing matching grim expressions before he forced Alana into the black SUV.

"Hatter, you three take the car. Nevada and I will go with them," August directed, his own weariness finally showing itself. "We'll meet back at my house. No stops. No detours."

No one argued, the atmosphere suddenly tense but we were all too exhausted to get into the nitty gritty. I knew I needed a shower at least before I had to deal with anymore bullshit. Wordlessly, I opened the front passenger door for my mother to get in the vehicle. 

"No, she's in the back," Hatter said just as she was about to step in.

"Are you fucking serious right now? Are you really going to get picky with the seating arrangements?" I asked incredulously. 

"I'm not sitting beside her for three hours. Now get it." Hatter didn't wait for me to argue anymore before he slid behind the wheel.

"It's fine, Nova. It'll give me a chance to sleep before the interrogations start." My mother patted my cheek lightly before climbing into the back.

I wanted to tell her that there wouldn't be any but that would be a lie. I knew even I would eventually pepper her with questions, things I had wanted answers to for a long time. Edith Dumont was a strong woman despite all of her varied flaws, but she wasn't a fool. I knew that whatever she was going to tell us would either be very bad or a truth stretched so far it would almost be a lie.

Sighing to myself, I joined them and Hatter tore down the road with a squeal of tires and a cloud of dust. I wanted to say something but before I could form any words, my eyelids began to droop and my head rested heavily against the seat. Just as I was succumbing to sleep, I felt cool fingers twine with mine and Hatter's energy engulfed me like a warm blanket. I couldn't deny the smile that played on my lips as I drifted off into wonderland.

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A/N: Double upload today! Yay!

Figured I would do it while I could lol

Thanks for reading!❣

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XOXO🖤❤🖤❤

~SM~