We were the only two left in the yard. We stared each other down, glares piercing like bullets. She stalked toward me like an angry bull and my muscles tensed instinctively. She stood but two inches from my face, our noses almost touching.

“You broke the rules,” The words hissed from her mouth like a snake warding off a predator. “You need to have Connor with you at all times.”

“He gave us permission,” I said calmly, crossing my arms over my chest. I kept my face blank, my eyes as barren as the Sahara. Her eyes were glowing with red-hot anger.

“Don’t think you’re above the rules, you little bitch. Just because you’re some kind of super-creature doesn’t mean that you’re better than me!” She took another step forward, putting us toe to toe. I tried to control my anger, but I could feel the wolf in me roaring to get out. I felt the need to slash my claws across her face, tearing flesh from bone. My wolf rammed against its cage, angry, desperate.  

“What Is your problem?” I growled, breaking my vacant expression. “Why do you have it out for me? Why did you throw me in that cell? What the hell did I ever do to you?”

“You stole my father!” Silence took the yard. She was breathing heavily, a murderous glare in her eyes. I was at a loss to respond.

“What are you talking about?” I breathed, taking a step back.

She chuckled, sorrowful and empty. “They never told you?”

“Told me what?” My chest felt as if something was pressing hard against it. My mind searched for any possible explanation for her accusation, but it found none.

“Andrew used to talk about you. All the time,” she laughed at this. “It was just annoying at first. But then he told me your parents’ names. And I made the connection. Imagine my surprise when you showed up here.”

“What the hell are you going on about, Sasha?” I stared at her, confused.

“You see, eighteen years ago, your father had an affair…with my mother.” Time seemed to stop in that moment. “When she got pregnant, he promised to leave his wife for her. He was going to marry her and help raise me, but then your little whore mother tricked him somehow and got pregnant too. He said that he couldn’t leave her. He said “it was a mistake” and that he “loved his wife”. A mistake. My mother was not a mistake! My mom had me all alone… and then she started drinking. Every night I had to clean up her vomit and drag her into her bed. It was because of you! It’s your fault my childhood was drowned in beer bottles. Andrew used to talk about you, how great you were how nice you were. It was you dammit!”

The shock overwhelmed me as I took it all in. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said slowly.

“Oh don’t I? You had the perfect little life didn’t you? You were daddy’s little girl?”

I felt my hands clench into fists at my side. “You don’t know what he was like.”

“Oh let me guess… He never let you do what you wanted? He was so lame? He wouldn’t let you stay out until one in the morning? He wouldn’t let you go to parties?” She teased.

My jaw clenched and it took all my will to keep from slamming her against wall of the house. “No, actually. When I was five I was daddy’s little girl. But only because I didn’t know him. One night I heard screaming downstairs. I ran down only to find my mother on the ground. She was covered in blood and my father was standing over her with a broken bottle in his hand. I ran upstairs and from that night on, he didn’t even bother to hide what he was form me. He would beat my mother right in front of me. And when the drunken bastard caused the car crash that killed my mother, he switched to me. See this?” I lifted up my shirt and pointed to the jagged white scar on my side. “That was my thirteenth birthday present, signed daddy dearest. You don’t want my life. You don’t want my father. I’m sorry for what he did to you and your mom, But you life wouldn’t have been a hell of a lot better if he was there. Trust me.”

All our secrets were laid out to bear in the silence. The quiet was almost chilling. A soft wind blew by my ear, tossing my hair in front of my face. It whispered our secrets, reiterating them to torture our thoughts. I cringed as it blew cold on my shoulder. Then I looked back to her. Her hair blew back away from her face.  Her eyes were wide with shock.

“You’re…You’re lying! My mom told me about him, he would have been a great father to me!” She was desperately trying to rationalize what was hearing.

“No.” I said with a death-like calmness. “He would have done the same thing to you. The night I was captured, I was running away from him with bused ribs because he came home drunk…again.”

“No. No! Your whore mother probably drove him to that!” In a wisp of air, I had her against the house, my arm at her throat.

“Call my mother whore again, and I won’t hesitate to break your neck.” Her face was a mask of fear, and a single tear trailed down her face. I let her down slowly. “What I said was the truth, you can go ahead and keep blaming me for your problems, but you’ll just be lying to yourself.” She put her hand over her mouth and started to sob. She turned and ran into the house, brushing shoulders with Connor as he walked out of the doors.

Sasha was my sister. It didn’t surprise me in the least that my father had an affair, I never expected a bastard like him to be faithful. But a sister…

“Are you ok?” I hadn’t even realized he put his hand on my shoulder.

“I’m…” I shook my head, trying to make a coherent thought. “I need some time. I’ll be back in two hours. Without waiting for a response, I extended my wings ad shot into the heated sky.

* * *

The moon was high in the sky when I returned. I landed silently on the deck outside of the library.

“You’re late,” Connor’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t noticed him leaning on the railing, a cigarette between his fingers. The smoke trailed from the end and swirled into the night sky. It twisted around the full moon, fogging its brilliance.

“Those things will kill you, you know.” I said walking up behind him. I leaned my elbows on the railing, looking out over the trees.

“Yeah…” he chuckled, a dry, humorless noise. Smoke swirled out from his nostrils and between his teeth. “I have just been worried. I was out to pick up some supplies and saw them behind the counter…I just couldn’t resist you know? I quit a few years ago, but I still have one or two when things get too stressful.”

“So this fight has you stressed enough that you decided to poison your lungs with cancer smoke?”

“This whole fight was a bad idea…” He pressed the cigarette butt against the metal railing and flicked it over the edge. “I’m leading my pack to their deaths…”

“No, you’re not, Connor. We’ll win. Trust me.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes. “Look I appreciate the optimism, but you’re the only one that thinks that. Everyone here is preparing to die.”

“Our biggest threat is James. And I can take him out,” I hopped up onto the railing, dangling my feet over the floor and fluttering my wings in the cool night air. “After that, it will be a piece of cake.”

“No offence Maggie, but I’ve seen this guy in action. I know how hard you’ve worked and all but…I’m just not so sure….” He turned his head to the side, pulling a box of cigarettes out of his pocket.

“Connor,” He looked up at me. “I can do this.” He took a cigarette out of the box and put it in his mouth. He slid his thumb against the end of a lighter, clicking the flame to life. He put his hand over the lighter, shielding the little flame from the wind. The fire licked at the end of the cigarette, making it glow red. He took a long draw from it and sighed the breath out between his lips.

“Alright,” he said, nodding. “If you say you can handle it, I’m going to have to trust you on that…just…try not to get killed ok? It was hard enough dealing with Andrew when he thought he wouldn’t see you until all this was over, I’d rather not have to deal with him if you die.”

He took another draw of the cigarette, making little rings of smoke float out of his mouth. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well when he first came here we immediately became friends. That’s how he moved up so quickly. And I remember all he could ever think about for the first three months was you, how you were doing, and if you hated him for disappearing like that. And after that it was still the same he was just better at controlling his thoughts.” He took the cigarette out of his mouth and twirled it between his fingers.

“Oh…” I folded my hands together in my lap and looked down at them.

“That guy is seriously in love with you Maggie. He’d take a bullet for you. Trust me I know. Sometimes he has trouble keeping his thoughts to himself,” He tapped his temple. “He’s willing to do anything to make you happy. Whether it’s a rose on Valentine’s Day or, most recently, letting you be with Davo. If that’s what you really wanted. Is that what you really want?”

“No. I mean I like Davo, but he’s just a friend. I don’t think he would ever be more…”

He snuffed out the cigarette on the railing. “Do you love Andrew?”

“No…well yes…damn it I don’t know!” I jumped off the railing and walked away slightly, my back to Connor.

“It’s a simple question Maggie,” I could feel Connor standing behind me.

“It's just….I’ve been his friend since we were in preschool…and he says he’s loved me since Kindergarten…It's just a little hard to process and I just….I just don’t know. I’m so confused…”

“Well let me ask you this. Do you care about him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want him to be happy?”

“Yes.”

“Do you feel different when you’re around him now?”

I thought of the odd feelings in the pit of my stomach when I saw his face, of the reaching heartbeat, of the aches in my chest when he turned away. “Yes…”

“Does thinking of him make you smile for seemingly no reason?”

“Yeah…” When I thought of all the happy memories, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Would you do anything for him?”

 I nodded. “Anything.”

“Now I’m going to ask you one more time…” he turned me around and put both his hands on my shoulders. “Do you love Andrew?”

“I…” and for the first time I realized it. I loved Andrew. “Yes…”

He leaned down to my height so his face was close to mine. “Than what are you still doing here?”

“I…” I looked down at the floor and let my mind take it in. “Thanks Connor.” I smiled at him.

He smiled back. “No problem. Now get out of here,” He patted me on the back. “And tell Andrew he owes me!” He called to me as I walked away toward Andrews’s room. I could hear him laughing as I shut the library door behind me.

The door ahead of me seemed larger than life. It stood before me, towering, hovering, and looking over me with a malicious wooden snarl. It growled as I tried to grab the handle. My heart was beating faster by the second and before I could change my mind and walk away, I turned the knob and entered the room.

He stood with his back to me. He was folding cloths and putting them in a travel-bag. ‘For the fight,’ I remembered. That foreboding future reminded me again of what I was doing, the ludicrous reality of the moment.  He turned his head to me slowly, as if he had been expecting a visitor, but I doubt people coming in to your room was anything odd in the pack. When he saw me, his face went slightly pale, as if he just became sick. The look in his eyes was one of hurt so deep it cut like a swallowed razor blade through his heart.

“What?” he grumbled quietly. “What do you want? I told you I couldn’t see you for a while.”

“I…well I wanted to talk to you.”

He turned slowly and crossed his arms on his chest. “Then talk.” His face stared blankly at me, as if I wasn’t even there. I felt my chest clench.

“Well I….it’s just…well you see….I…” the incoherent steam of words was spewing like lava, burning my tongue as what I wanted to tell him fought to get out behind all the garble. The words wouldn’t come, and before I knew it, I grabbed his face and smashed my lips to his. He froze at first, but quickly responded and gripped his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him. The kiss was desperate, but gentile. He slowly slid his hands behind my back, hugging me to him in a warm embrace. We broke for air and I looked up at his confused but elated eyes. My voice came in but a whisper. “I think that about sums it up.” He smiled and kissed me lightly on the lips. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out Andrew. I…I love you. I’m so sorry…”

“Shh…” he closed his eyes and laid his forehead against mine. “Don’t. All that matters is you’re here now,” one lone tear trailed down his face. It shone like a diamond as it left a shimmering trail on his cheek. “I love you Maggs.”

“I love you too, Andrew.” I stroked one hand down his face.

A smile formed on his lips. “You don’t know how great it is to hear you say that.” He pressed his lips to mine again, my face cradled between his hands. He slid his hands down my neck, over my shoulders, and down my sides. They rested on my hips, and his fingers slowly started to grip my butt.

Something in me snapped at that moment. I’m not sure if it was out of fear of the coming battle, desperation from my newfound revelation, or simply raw instinct, but I roughly pressed myself to him, kissing faster and deeper. He pulled me up and I jumped onto him, wrapping my legs around his hips. He stumbled over to the bed and fell on it, taking me with him. He kept his weight on his elbows, trying to keep from crushing me. He slid his hand under my shirt and pulled it up a little. I broke this kiss for a moment and pulled my shirt over my head, tossing it across the room. He did the same with his. I raked my hands up and down his sculpted chest as he laid back down on top of me. He kissed me again, his tongue searched around my mouth, wrestling with my own. I took one of his hands and slid it down my own stomach, letting it come to rest at the button of my jeans.

He pulled back, and looked unsurely at me. “Are you sure about this?” He asked. We both knew where this was going, though we did not speak it the lust burning in his clear emerald eyes was surely the mirror of mine.

I grabbed his face in between my hands and held it so he would look into my eyes. “Yes.” I whispered as I drew circles on his cheek with my thumb. “I want you Andrew. Forever. I love you.”

His eyes seemed to glow as I muttered those three simple words. “I love you too,” he all but mouthed as he lowered his face to claim my lips as forever his.

* * *

Can anyone else say FUCKING FINALLY? So anyway, share your thoughts, I want to know team Davos opinion as well as team Andrews. And what about Sashas secret huh? Anyone see that coming? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!