Being a few days into spring, Paige felt better than ever. The cold was quickly departing and being replaced with the fresh spring air. Flowers were beginning to bloom and the snow was all but gone from Rosewood.
She had been watching her backyard through the window in her room. Specifically, the plum blossom tree that stood tall and proud in the middle of the garden. It's branches fanned out like lightning and acted like an umbrella for the smaller plants below. And now that spring had arrived, the pink flowers had begun to blossom, adding even more colour.
She grinned with pride before focusing on the smaller plants in her room. A variety of cacti and succulents were lined up on her window sill, cooling down under the moonlight. It added some life to the room.
Just as she begun to admire the plants, her phone buzzed beside her. Paige jumped where she sat in her bed, before clutching her chest and cursing. Bunny, who was happily lounging on her bed, whined at the interruption of peace.
"This better be important." Paige growled to herself, snatching the phone up and reading the name.
Her heart stopped for a moment before racing, when she found who was calling: Emily Fields. The voice in her mind laughed, 'Oh, it's important.'
Her excitement overpowered her anxiety. She answered the phone and said, "Hey Em."
"Hey Paige!" Emily said, sounding as bubbly as ever. Paige smiled so widely it hurt her. Something about knowing that Emily was happy made Paige feel good.
"What's up?" Paige asked, lying back on her bed.
"Well, I've been studying for this stupid exam for the best two hours and now the thought of algebra makes me sick." Emily said, half-joking. Paige laughed softly at her exhaustion.
Paige eyed her own workbook, which Bunny was carelessly drooling on. She says, "Tell me about it. I'd rather do anything except study right now."
"Anything?" Emily almost purred, causing Paige to freeze, "You know, I'm not usually into doing this over the phone but-"
"Oh my God, Em, stop!" Paige laughed but thanked God that Emily couldn't see her red face. Emily flirting was never a good idea, especially for Paige.
"You're so easy to embarrass, Paige." Emily giggles.
Paige rolls her eyes and says, "Shall I remind you about the baby pictures your Mum showed me?"
"Ugh, she's so embarrassing!" Emily cried with a playful tone, "I can't believe you went along with it."
Paige shrugged, "You were a cute baby… And so very, very chubby."
Emily groans into the phone, "Don't remind me."
"And you had so much hair. It's no wonder that your cousins called you Tarzan."
The two laugh at the memory. As Paige laughed, her head lolled to the side and she caught sight of her plants. Remembering that she needed to water them, she got off the bed and waltzed to the bathroom.
As she did, Emily asked, "So I've got a question."
Paige looked through the cabinets as she said, "Shoot."
"So I finished reading that booklet you gave me, y'know," Emily's voice grew to a whisper, "the werewolf one."
Paige, giving up her search, leaned against the sink and said, "I know the one. Go on."
"Well, you mentioned something about bloodlines and traditionalism in werewolf society. You said that your society was kind of forgotten over time but the rules stayed the same in families."
She frowned lightly, asking, "Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, you're a pureblood, right? A werewolf that was born and not made?"
"Yeah…"
"And I'm guessing that your Dad is the werewolf parent."
"Mm-hmm."
"Did he ever explain what happened to these societies?"
"Um, yeah, he did. Because of the influx of werewolves in Greece, hunters rose up there predominately, so they spread out. As more and more families left Greece, the traditions and lore went with them. The only thing that stuck was that born werewolves were the strongest."
"There are werewolves all over the world, and no one except themselves and their loved ones know? That's…" Emily trailed off.
"Unbelievable? Impossible?" Paige answered for her,"We have a sort of government that keeps us from being exposed. Like a secret police on lycanthropy."
There was a pause before Emily asked, "Are you serious?"
Paige shrugged, "That's what my Dad said."
"I've never even heard of them; I thought the Hunters were the only thing rooting out werewolves." Emily sounded bewildered at the thought of it.
"They only let you kill us because of population increases. Too many werewolves means too many issues for them."
"Who are they?"
Judging that the conversation was coming to a conclusion, Paige returned to her search, "We don't actually know that. That's apparently what makes them so effective."
"OK…" Emily says slowly, "Were they always in charge or…?"
Paige found the spray and waltzed back into her room.
She says, "Apparently they only formed when werewolves started to leave Europe. Most families could hide their lycanthropy but with more and more hybrids showing up in other continents, someone had to control them."
She positioned the spray above her plants and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. She tried repeatedly and still nothing. She turned the spray to face her as she twisted the nozzle.
"So the Hunters aren't the only werewolf-killers around, huh?" Emily said playfully.
"I guess you could call it that — Ow, fuck!" Paige cried, having dropped the spray, and clutched her now wet eyes.
"Paige? What's wrong?" Emily asked, her voice filled with alarm.
"I sprayed myself in the eye." Paige said, gently dabbing the water off her face with her shirt.
Emily asked slowly, "With what and why?"
Off-handedly, Paige answered, "With water. I was trying to water my plants."
"You garden?" She asked, obviously confused.
Paige, having fixed the wonky nozzle, gingerly sprayed her plants as she said, "Hell yes. My entire backyard is one big fruit-and-veg garden, and my room is full of plants."
Emily laughed softly and asked, "Since when do you garden?"
"Since about two years ago when-" Paige began but her tongue stilled. Fear made the hair on the back of her neck stand.
Emily broke the silence, asking, "Paige?"
Paige shook her head and resumed spraying, trying to distract herself, "It's nothing, just a hobby."
"Paige." Emily said this with ice in her voice, "Since when?"
"Since you left." Paige sighed, "It was a good distraction and it kind of just blew up."
Emily sighed too, saying, "We've talked about this, Paige."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"It's OK to tell me these things, Paige. I'm not gonna judge you."
"I know that. It's just…"
"Just what Paige?"
"I just didn't want you to think that I was weak, I guess. That just because you left me, I was ready to do anything to forget."
Saying this gave Paige more relief than she though possible. She loved that she could be so honest with Emily. It was actually really refreshing.
"Paige, I'm only going to say this once so you better listen. The fact that you have the ability to love so deeply is the strongest thing I've ever seen. Don't ever apologise for loving someone."
Paige's chest clenched tightly and she felt like the air in her lungs had left her. Being the hopeless romantic she is, Paige practically swooned at Emily's words.
Before she could reply, however, Mona barged into her room.
She wore a smug expression as she adjusted a stack of papers and envelopes tucked under her arm. Paige's heart skipped a beat at the sight of it.
"Paige?" Emily asked.
"Um, Em, I have to go. I'll call you back in a sec, OK?"
Emily, obviously confused, said, "Yeah, that's fine."
Paige hangs up, not bothering to say a goodbye. Mona throws the papers on Paige's bed, causing Bunny to growl at her.
Paige, horrified, asks, "You actually got them back? You broke into a Hunter's house?"
"Indeed, I did. All your grossly affectionate and alarmingly smooth letters are accounted for." Mona grins as she pulls out something from behind her back. "I also snagged these puppies while I was at it."
When Mona held up said object, Paige froze with alarm.
"Mona, I swear to God," Paige warns the girl while eyeing the bedazzled notebooks, "if that is-"
"Alison's diaries? Why yes, Paige. Yes, they are."
Paige has no idea what to do. She doesn't know whether to kick Mona out of her house, diaries included, or to curl up into a feral position and panic.
"Do you know how hard it was to get these?" Mona asks, "I had to wait until Alison left for her grandmother's house before we could sniff them out. Say what you want about her, but bitch can hide."
Paige frowns, "Wait. Didn't Alison leave last Saturday?"
"Yup."
"You've had these for four days?" Paige says, alarmed, the reality of the situation only just beginning to hit her.
"I've been busy. I spent the first two days covering up my tracks. Yesterday was spent reading through them. I even photocopied them."
"Jesus Christ, Mona…" Paige trails off, suddenly feeling a wave of stress wash over her.
"Stop freaking out. Alison can't go to the police: she's confessed to a lot of heinous shit in here." Mona says, bored, "In fact, you should be thanking me."
"For what? Breaking and entering? For thievery?" Paige asks, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
"For giving you the edge you need over Alison. If you blackmail her with even half of what's in there, you'll have Alison running for the hills and Emily in the bag."
Paige's moral compass felt like it was going to implode. "Fuck, no."
"Suit yourself." Mona says, scooping up the diaries. The relief that washes over Paige as she watches Mona leave, vanishes when she turns around.
"But if you change your mind," Mona says, placing the books onto Paige's beside table, "they'll be right here."
Paige's blood ran cold.
As Mona struts out of the room with a triumphant sway in her hips, Paige can only sit on her bed and eye the books. The horror and anxiety overshadowed the security of finally having her letters back. They seemed to sing to Paige, seducing her to give into temptation. The only thing keeping Paige from devouring the information was her moral fibre.
But as the seconds ticked by, Paige wondered how long she could last.
The sound of her phone vibrating cut through her thoughts. Looking down, Paige found a text from Emily, asking if she was OK.
Her heart leapt into her throat. She realised that she would have to keep this secret from Emily now. She had promised herself that this time, her relationship with Emily would be without secrets and lies. Yet, Paige was the doing exactly the opposite.
Well, fuck.