So, when we left, our little Ahri things were looking... dire, to say the least.

Kate's dead, Max was beaten to a pulp, and Jefferson was about to squeeze the life out of Chloe and Rachel who are chained up. Turns out, Akira was the one committing the murders in Max's dreams. Oh, and Akira appears to have been resurrected using Max's body.

Can things really get any lower?

Regrets

Early 1500's, Location: South of Iona, AKA: Wolftown

In amongst the trees of the forest, two people stood. They were having some kind of debate. One was a male, long red hair, and deep brown intelligent eyes. He was fairly muscular, yet short. Average looking, ginger stubble and sharp teeth. He was a werewolf. The other figure was a woman, his partner. She had white hair and piercing emerald green eyes, not much shorter than him. The pair had been traveling together for a few years now, most of which they had been lovers for.

"Are you sure you can handle this on your own?" the white-haired woman asked, concerned.

"Go on, I'll be fine, Akira," her mate reassured, giving her one of his awkward smiles. "You know me. Always did do the lone wolf act well." He let out a playful howl to lighten the mood.

"You sure?"

He waved away her question. "I can handle myself. Besides, we're just there to investigate the disturbances. For now," the red-haired male assured her.

"I know. I'll be as quick as possible," she promised. What she had to do shouldn't take too long. An hour at most.

"You'd better. Surely you don't want me to get all the action," he added teasingly, appealing to her competitive nature.

Grinning back, Akira shook her head. "I'd never hear the end of it."

Her mate waved her off, running on ahead to the village while she went in the other direction to take care of her business.

Entering the small hamlet of about two dozen buildings, she walked past a few fishermen as she crossed an old stone bridge, two of the men giving her a welcoming smile. She smiled back, giving them a slight nod as their attention was diverted to another who just got a bite on his line. Down the cobbled street, there were houses either side made of wood and plaster. Several street lamps flickered as the lamplighter made his way to each unlit one in turn, lighting them for the night ahead. Passing an old looking Tavern, the occupants inside letting out loud belly laughs and high pitched giggles, the smell of Ale and roasted meats wafting out the open stained windows, a gust of chilly winter air cut through her clothes causing her to pull her cloak closed. Turning the corner, she came to a house like any other on the street, albeit a little more worn down than the others, a lit lamp in the doorway signaling the occupants were home. Giving the door a brief knock, she waited patiently for the occupant.

"Who is it?" came an elderly female voice as a body shifted towards the door.

"Miss Berkinsale, it's Akira. We spoke last month about your stepdaughter," She replied softly.

"One second," the frail voice replied. A moment later, the door opened to reveal an elderly woman, shoulder length gray hair and aged light skin, a small pair of spectacles balanced on her nose. She greeted the Ahri with a smile and welcomed her into her home.

"Thank you." Accepting the invitation with a smile, she stepped inside, lowering her hood to reveal her long white hair with her white ears poking through. "I'm afraid I can't stop for too long. I'm on an errand for the hunters' guild, but seeing as you were on the way and you're in need, I couldn't not help... Is she here?" She asked softly, taking note that the downstairs was quiet.

Nodding the elderly woman called up the stairs, "Joanna, could come down here please," and then shuffled into the front room, sitting in an armchair next to the open wood fire and offered the Ahri a seat.

Politely declining, Akira's attention was turned to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. A young girl of thirteen, almost fourteen entered the room, shoulder length fiery red hair and rosy cheeks. The girl's deep brown eyes went wide and her jaw hung open when she saw the Ahri standing in the living room.

The elderly woman chuckled. "Joanna, it's not polite to stare," she whispered, offering Akira an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Miss. It's just... pardon me, but... what are you?" The young girl asked shyly, unable to take her eyes of Akira's ears.

Akira waved her off, smiling at the young red head as she removed her cloak to reveal nine white bushy tails along with her blue orb resting gracefully on one of them. "She's never even seen one?" Akira asked the elderly woman as she watched the young girl stare in awe.

The elderly woman shook her head sadly. "Her mother died shortly after she was born, disease. Me and my husband adopted her from the orphanage when she was two. They told us what she was, not that it mattered. She's a joy to have around, and everyone loves her to bits… particularly the baker's son. Can't keep them apart," she chuckled.

"Mom…" the young redhead whined going slightly red in the cheeks before frowning..."What do you mean what I am?" she asked, puzzled.

Akira smiled and knelt down in front of the young girl flicking her orb from her tail to her hand, holding up to show the young girl. "It won't hurt you," she assured her as the young girl hesitantly reached out to touch it.

"That is so cool," Joanna gasped as her hand passed through the blue orb.

"Joanna... Do you know what tomorrow is?" Akira asked.

Joanna nodded. "Yes, it's my birthday. I'll be fourteen."

"That's right," Akira confirmed. "It's a very special age for someone like you."

"Miss, I'm afraid I don't understand," Joanna replied looking at her stepmother in confusion.

The elderly woman just gave a small nod smiling reassuringly. "It's ok Joanna. It's nothing to be worried about."

"She's right. You know, I'm glad you like this," Akira said tossing the orb from one hand to the other, "because in two days... providing you eat properly, you're going to have one."

Joanna's eyes went wide in shock. "Huh?"

Akira chuckled softly. "And to answer your earlier question, I'm an Ahri... and so are you."

"A what!" Joanna gasped looking to her stepmother who just nodded, still smiling.

"I know it might sound a little scary, but it's really not. Tomorrow around the time you were born you'll change. It will feel a little uncomfortable, possibly even a bit painful, but it will pass very very quickly. Once it's over... you'll be a wolf." Holding her hand up to stop the red head from interrupting she continued. "Don't panic, take a few minutes to get used to it, then come and find your mom. She'll put this on you, and then you'll turn back into you... mostly," she finished as she pulled out a purple stone on a leather string, handing it to the elderly woman.

"What do you mean mostly?" The redhead frowned. "You mean ears, tails and that ball thing," she said pointing at the orb.

Akira chuckled. "Ear's yes, tails yes, but only two, and this thing." Akira juggled the orb from hand to hand again. "Yes, but you have to eat properly. It takes a lot of energy as does the whole transformation," she explained.

"I always eat my dinners," the girl stated proudly.

"It's gonna take a little more than a normal dinner." Akira grinned. "For me, it was two small deer."

"I don't think mom can fit a deer in her oven," the young girl puzzled.

"Oh, they weren't cooked" Akira stated waiting for the girl's reaction.

"Eeew you ate it raw." The young girl sounded just as intrigued as she did disgusted by this.

Akira chuckled again. "Did you forget already? You're part wolf. Just take the necklace off and poof, you're a wolf again. After that, just let your instincts guide you, though I'd suggest going with a local hunter on your first outing, just in case you need help actually killing something."

"I've been hunting with pappa before, maybe he could take me," Joanna said hopefully looking at the elderly woman.

"We've already made plans for tomorrow night to do just that," the elderly woman assured.

After explaining the basics of the girl's orb, along with her illusion charm including a practical demonstration of both, Akira made to leave the dwelling, promising to return in a few days to see how Joanna was getting on.

"I'm sure she will be fine, she seems excited at any rate," Akira said to the elderly woman as she was shown out.

"Thank you, Akira. You didn't have to do all this," the elderly woman said offering a few coins to the Ahri.

Akira waved her off. "No need. Just glad I could help. I'll see you soon."

With her task complete, Akira headed out of the little hamlet and headed towards the village. It was filled with a werewolf majority, a few humans there too. The werewolf population had been causing trouble in the surrounding towns and farms. Nothing too serious, Mostly scaring people and killing livestock, but enough to go and investigate.

As she got closer, something felt… off. She couldn't put her finger on it. The air smelt strange, not like it should. It didn't take her long to realize why when she reached the village. Just on the outskirts, a few feet away from the entrance, a pike was stuck into the ground. On the point, a decapitated head had been skewered. Not just any head… a werewolf. Not just any werewolf…

Blood running cold, Akira approached the pike. Her heart raced and her stomach sank, body going numb as she stared at the head. It couldn't be. Her eyes must be lying. This… no. No, no, no, no, NO! She refused to believe it. As much as she tried to come up with an alternative explanation, deep down she knew it was pointless.

She fell to her knees, reaching up to touch the face that had once belonged to her mate. His expression was grotesque, the cut at the bottom of his neck jagged and uneven. Bile rose up from her stomach, the sight turning her stomach and making her throw up. What the hell had happened?! She had only been gone for an hour or so, maybe two at most. This was worse than death, this was humiliation, total and utter disrespect. Desecration.

Overwhelming despair engulfed her, hot tears streaming down her face. That soon gave way to a fiery rage, burning right down to the core. Someone had to pay for this. EVERYONE.

Charging towards the village, she burst into her wolf form letting loose a deep threatening growl as a clash of lightening lit up the night sky and heavy raindrop began pelting the ground. Letting her hatred consume her, she entered the village square ripping the throat out of the first person she came across and intent on ripping it and all those within to shreds. Nobody would escape, not after this. The blood-curdling screams that followed, from men, women… children, echoed hauntingly. Sharp claws tore into material and flesh indiscriminately, teeth snapping like a bear trap crushing bones. A metallic taste permeated her taste buds as the carnage ensued.

Some tried to stop her, pelting her with stones and arming themselves with sticks, not that it saved them. Others ran, but they just weren't fast enough. Some begged for life, their pleas emphatically ignored. Logical reason had been bypassed. It didn't matter who, how or why, all she knew was this unquenchable lust for vengeance.

Realizing that she was not going to surrender or be taken down easily, people shifted to beasts, werewolves. Only some of the village were truly human, the ones she had already dealt with. Faces morphed, fur sprouting, eyes becoming more predatory, teeth elongating and claws extending. The muscled beasts snarled threatening, murderous intent in their eyes. They lunged at her, jaws snapping and claws scratching. What she lacked in brute force she more than made up for with her speed and her orb.

Her nine tails floated behind her, an orb shifting to the rightmost one as she flung it towards her opponents. It bowled straight into them, pulsating black. Pained yelps and whimpers came from their ranks, bones cracking as the orb whipped back to her side. Her opponents regrouped, circling and snarling menacingly. One surged towards her foolishly, others following. This werewolf was larger than the rest, maybe the Alpha of the pack given the way the others were falling back on its position.

She was outnumbered, battered and bruised, blood oozing out of several wounds where tooth and claw met with her white fur, staining it, but that didn't matter. Bloodlust had taken over now, making the 'impossible' irrelevant.

Soon, the cries gave way to eerie silence. Not a single sound in the aftermath say for the pelting rain. The village was in ruins, alone in the center, surrounded by mangled bloodied bodies, the red blood washed away by the rain and seeping into the ground around her. Looking down at her paws and seeing the blood sticking to fur and claws, the rage ceded to guilt and regret. What had she done? Then, a wracking howl erupted from her throat, expressing the pain. It wasn't enough. Nothing would ever make this right.

She trudged away from the destroyed village, her shoulders slumped and head bowed. Pain surged through her body, both emotional and physical, although the scratches and bites were nothing compared to the empty void inside her. Her heart felt heavy and her body numb. Just how had this happened? She had lost so much today, too much.

She looked down at her hands, well, paws as they were now, White fur stained with the blood of the innocent. In all likelihood, none of those people she killed had a hand in her loss, they had little reason to, but she had lost herself to grief. Like never before.

Her feet refused to move as she stared at her paws. She needed to wash the blood off. There was a stream nearby. She knelt down and dipped her paws in the crystalline water, watching the liquid turn a cloudy red. Splashing her face, she stared into the water. Her reflection showed that of a wolf. A beast who had slaughtered an entire village in a fit of rage and blind hatred. Angrily slicing at the water, she stood and ran. Never looking back.

The scene faded to black for a moment before illuminating to a dimly lit cavern, the light of several flickering candles encircling the area. Taking a few moments to adjust to the drastic shift in lighting the surroundings becoming clearer. Jagged walls made from stone, carved out by nature and time, two clear tunnel-like structures leading off the main cavern much too dark to see down with the naked eye. A pair of thick crooked stone pillars sprouted up from the ground, supporting the ceiling above. Multiple stalactites, varying in length, pointed downwards, water glistened in the candlelight as it ran down each pointed icicle shaped formation, soft echoes as they hit the small pool below. The place felt safe, peaceful even, with a strange tension hanging in the air.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" A voice asked her solemnly. She looked up to see a familiar face, a vampire, a friend. Merci had been by her side through the good and bad, had her back. Now, she was the only one Akira could trust to help one last time... to alleviate the unbearable emotional pain.

"Yes," she answered after some hesitation. "I can't… can't keep going anymore. I've tried, I really have, and I hate asking you to do this, but… after what I've done, after what I've lost, how can I justify living?"

"What about…?" Her friend began, not having to finish the sentence for Akira to know where she was headed. Her duty as Omega. Maybe this was a last attempt to stop her from going through with this plan.

Sighing, Akira hung her head. "Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that I can't continue like this. There are enough, more deserving Ahri to hold this title. Doesn't have to be me. After what I've done, even after all this time, I'm not worthy."

Merci gave her a sympathetic look. This was obviously hard for her, yet she still didn't refuse Akira's request. "I don't blame you. Not at all. I just wish… I'm really going to miss you."

Akira swallowed hard, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "I know...We'll see each other again someday."

Her friend nodded stiffly, coming to stand in front of her. She took her by the hands, pulling her to her feet and into a warm embrace, voice wavering. "I'll make it as quick and painless as I can."

Warm brown eyes shifted to a deep crimson, the stuff of countless horror films and nightmare. A second of pain as she felt a pair of needle-sharp fangs pierced her neck. She could feel her blood draining, life force ebbing away by the second, slowly. She was dying. Her body struggled to remain active, mind flashing with images from her past. All she could do was watch them flicker like a film before her eyes. Each breath becoming weaker, her body growing cold as her vision became hazy.

She could feel her friends heartfelt sob as her warm tears fell from her cheek onto her shoulder and chest as she fulfilled her friend's final wish, 'Thank you, Merci, live well. See you around'.

This was how it was supposed to be. She could finally see her mate again, apologize for letting him run off on his own and get murdered in such a disrespectful manner. He deserved more than that. So much more…

With a final slow exhalation, she drifted away into an eternal sleep. Lost to the world forever.

So who saw this coming, might have been a little obvious, Problem with plots as a writer, You already know how it ends, so of course the writer see's it coming.

Lemme know your thoughts.

Three chapters to go, two are almost complete, expect to see them very soon.

Till next time

Peace out