Five.
The next morning she could still feel his kiss against her forehead like traces of a burn. She stayed in bed for a while, thinking about it over and over. The whole evening felt so unreal. Killian exuded an aura of untouchability, yet he was so close to her. She could feel his wolf, a raging beast that could get violent at any second, unlike his human self that acted so gentle sometimes. She didn't fully understand him, but she sure wanted to.
She felt movement at the bottom of the bed and looked down to see Ruby's head staring back at her. Emma laughed at the way she rested on the mattress, making it look like she was just a bodiless floating werewolf head.
"You hungry, Ruby?" She let out what Emma took as an affirmative growl. She must have slept through training, looking at the clock reading 10:25am. She hoped Blue wouldn't hold it against her, but in her defence she didn't go to sleep til early hours in the morning. Emma took a quick shower, almost sad as she smelt Killian's scent disappear off her skin. She took a deep breath, breathing in the last of him that lingered on her. Was it so enticing because he was her mate? Or could other female werewolves feel it to? Her wolf growled loudly inside her, she didn't like the idea of that. Emma pulled on some dark jeans and an oversized grey T-shirt before heading down the hallway and into the kitchen. Ruby was sat in her usual spot waiting for her. Blue however was absent, she was usually waiting for her there with breakfast options ready to be cooked. She saw a note by the cooked reading "pack business, be back this afternoon. - Blue x". Emma shrugged thinking of what must've happened for Blue to have to go into work, Killian would usually just call her. She carried on finding breakfast for herself and Ruby, the topic still on her mind. Maybe a rogue attack? Or another clan? She'd heard the Violet Moon clan could be aggressive at times. Her mind drifted to her own clan. Was she still a part of the Red Moon clan anymore? She wondered what had happened. It'd been nearly a month since she'd been found, December was creeping up. She thought about Neal, wondering if he'd sorted his debt, and if not, what he was doing.
"Ruby, can we go out. Please." The wolf ignored her, her massive had staying down in her bowl, but Emma wasn't bothered by hers. She got up and went back to her bedroom, grabbing a thick white hoodie hoping it would be warm enough for her. She pulled on her gym training trainers before heading to the front door. She pushed down on the handle, but it wouldn't open. She was confused, she'd seen Blue go in and out dozens of times! Looking at the handle she noticed a keyhole. Had Blue locked it after she'd left? Ruby probably knew she wouldn't be able to leave, and yet she let her keep trying anyway.
Annoyed, Emma went back to her breakfast, trying to think. Could there be a spare key hidden somewhere? If they were locked inside there had to be some sort of escape plan in the case of an emergency. She tried bribing Ruby with everything she could think of but it got her no closer to the outside world. Not even the threat of not cooking for her anymore changed Ruby's mind. She was a stubborn wolf sometimes.
She tried to keep herself busy, but all she wanted was to leave the apartment and have a nice walk around the city. There were three places Emma could go. Her apartment, the gym, the roof top garden, and quite frankly she was sick of it. She thought about Neal, how he was doing. She knew how crazy it sounded to still be thinking of him, but he was a part of her pack, and once upon a time someone she deeply cared for. Then there was the matter of Jekyll. She still couldn't remember fully what happened that night, and that worried her more than anything. She just saw blood every time she tried to think back to that blank spot and scared her to think she might have done something terrible. Blue had got rid of her dress at the hospital after they'd found her, but even the bad memory behind it before that night was covered by the redness.
Ruby lazed around, not caring what Emma done all day as long as she could still hear her. She guessed Ruby was confident that she would never find the spare key, if there was one. Emma sat on the couch with one of her books, innocently flicking her eyes over the page, until Ruby resumed her favourite activity: sleeping. It didn't take 5 minutes before she was snoring, sound asleep. Usually when Ruby was napping, Blue would take over keeping a watch on Emma. However, Blue wasn't around, so that meant no one was watching Emma, and if no one want watching her, she could do whatever she wanted. She guessed she had approximately 2 to 3 hours before Ruby would wake up. Gently lifting from the couch trying not to disturb the sleeping wolf, Emma tip toed to her bedroom. She'd seen it in movies, when a woman would use a hair grip to pick a locked door when they were trapped. Maybe she could do it too? The only way to know was to try. She had no idea what she was doing. As soon as the first click happened she stopped, afraid of waking her bodyguard and being stuck inside, watched like a hawk that'd spotted its prey. She tried forcing the handle a couple of times as quiet as possible, but of course, it just wouldn't open. Riddled with frustration, she was about to give up, but heard footsteps coming towards the door. Was Blue coming back earlier than expected? No. To her surprise, in her doorway was a teenager dressed in all black, jeans and a hoodie, holding a backpack.
"Peter?" She asked, confused as of why the youngest brother of the Black Moon clan was at her apartment. He put his finger to his mouth, shushing her with a irritated look. When she looked at his face again, he looked more anxious than anything, as if he was avoiding someone. He looked her up and down and whispered softly.
"Are you alone?"
"No, Ruby's asleep on the sofa, but-" He made a grimace like face, but stepped in further to the apartment, about to close the door. Emma stuck her foot between the door and frame before he could. He looked at her surprised before mouthing quietly again.
"What are you doing?"
"I was about to go out."
"What? Alone? Why? Does my brother know?" He frowned. So many questions. She was pretty sure the 'brother' he was thinking about was Killian, and she couldn't help but hesitate, biting her lip. He understood her reaction instantly and shuck his head.
"You can't. He will go bad!" It was her turn to make a shushing gesture. They stayed silent for a moment until they heard Ruby snore, sure she was definitely still asleep.
"What about you?" She asked Peter. He shrugged his shoulders and lifted up his backpack.
"Skipping school. Graham will beat the shit out of me is he catches me though."
"Huh... I won't tell if you don't." Great, she thought. She was really bargaining with a school skipping teenager.
"No! Killian will kill me." He looked much more worried about his older brothers reaction than Graham's. She thought she'd been lucky that he chose today of all days to sneak out, but it turned out he was more focused on making her stay in.
"Please! I only need a couple of hours. Blue is out till at least noon and Ruby is sleeping like a baby!" She begged. Peters eyes suddenly lit up, a sneaky grin spread over his face.
"Oh right! The meeting! That attack this morning has them all in a meeting in the tower. I forgot about that." An attack, she thought, what attack? Was anyone hurt? And what was this tower he was on about? She knew the Blood Moon pack owned most of the town. Maybe he meant one of the giant skyscrapers. She wondered if that's where they were. Her wolf was begging to go meet up with her mate, but Emma had other plans. Before she could even think twice about it, Peter grabbed her wrist and walked her out of the apartment, carefully closing the door behind them.
"By the way... How did you get in?" She was stunned as she never noticed a key in his hand.
"It's an 8 digit code. 20071215. I found it by chance one day, and I've seen Killian use that one before."
She recognised that code, it was the exact date of her 7th birthday. She wondered if something had happened to Killian that day as well. She followed Peter to the elevator as she was asleep last time she entered the building. As the elevator took them down, she'd realised what was happening. She'd got out of the apartment! She felt bad for leaving Ruby, and hoped she'd be back in time before the wolf woke up. Next to her, Peter was a lot let nervous than he was before knowing both his brothers were busy in their meeting. The youngest brother looked similar to his siblings, messy dark brown hair, but not as dark as Killian's. His eyes were very similar to his though, almost the same dark shade of blue, but with flecks of grey that almost shined silver in the sunlight. He was much smaller and thinner than his brothers, still growing out of his teenage features. He was definitely only a few years younger than her. She envied him for being able to go to school, she'd been pulled out of hers before she could graduate.
"What?" He asked suddenly, he'd noticed her staring at him.
"Sorry, it's just this is the first time we've seen each other properly so..." He rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh, I got plenty of time to look at you when you were in the hospital. But you look better now, not like a skeleton." He was a straight forward teenager for sure, she thought. She wondered why he was made to sit in the hospital room, she was asleep though most of the time she was there anyway. And he didn't look very responsible, considering he was skipping school and letting her out of her apartment.
They made it the ground floor, and Emma couldn't help but breath in profoundly as they exited the building. Free at last! Although it was only a couple hours before she'd be locked back in her golden cage.
"Okay, what now princess? Where are we going?" She was started by his pet name for her. Princess?
"Princess?" She questioned, completely puzzled.
"That is what my brothers call you. You're the princess, to be protected at all times." It did seem fitting, considering she had two bodyguards living with her, watching her constantly. Other than today. In a fairytale, Peter would of been her knight in shining armour, rescuing her from her tower. But in reality he was her mates little brother, sneaking her out and not caring about the rules.
"You're going to follow me?" She said surprised at what he'd said. 'Where are we going?'. She didn't realise she was going to be watched after escaping into the outside world.
"Hell yeah! I don't want me ass kicked when we get back because you stupidly tripped and hurt yourself or something. I'm sticking with you... so where are we going?"
"We're heading easy then." She started walking, but he just watched her as if she'd done something stupid.
"What?" She asked dumbfounded.
"Well aren't you going to shift? We need to get there fast don't we?" Emma shuck her head.
"No, I've never shape-shift before. I can't do it."
"Wow, you really are as useless as you look... okay never mind. We'll walk like stupid humans, but you better walk fast!" Stunned by what he'd said, she followed him anyways. They walked for quite a while, she didn't realise how far away her clans turf was. They jumped on the subway once Peter realised where they were headed and payed for them both to get on. Though to her surprise, he never questioned her once, he just put his headphones on to listen to some music, asking her what type music she listened to. She told him she didn't really know what type of music she liked, so he told her about the bands he listened to, playing a few for her.
"Peter, can you tell me a bit about your brothers?" He looked surprise by her question, but put his headphones back into his bag. They were walking through the streets of the city, coming close to their destination, but she'd been debating him asking him for a while.
"What do you want to know?"
"I don't know, just... things. Like what do they do for a living? Where do they live?"
"Just that? Well I'm not really sure what Killian does. He's usually busy with alpha stuff most the time. Meetings and all. But he owns 5 or 6 building and establishments in the city, like the one you're living in."
Killian owned the whole building? She thought he just owned that apartment!
"Graham is mainly at his restaurants. It's been his dream since we were kids, so Killian let's him run all the restaurants and hotels we own in the city when he's not busy with the clan."
"I thought he was alpha of a different clan?" She asked confused.
"You really know nothing, don't you? Graham is the alpha of the Eclipse Moon clan, but it's basically a branch or an ally of the Black moon clan. It's like the same pack, just split so Killian and Graham and split the work."
"Wait, the Eclipse Moon is Graham's pack?" The clan was another of the biggest clans in the city. Even she knew a few places they owned and how big their turf was. As she thought about it, the Black Moon and Eclipse Moon turfs overlapped a lot, but she never thought it related to them being allies, or being a branch of the same clan.
"Yeah, he killed the former alpha and took his place about 3 years ago. The easiest way to get the job done, and they were super annoying before." She was stunned at how casually Peter talked about such things. Was it really a normal to say all that out loud? And Graham, she couldn't imagine him someone as simple as that, it seemed so... coldhearted.
But then again... he is a Black.
They grew closer to her clans turf, if she was even part of that clan anymore, but her thoughts were no longer on the Black brothers and their bloody history, but on her own dark past. She was genuinely scared of what might happen. Would they reject her? Was she considered dead? Or as a rogue?
She decided to head to Roberts Bar first, the old pub she use to work in. It was one of the only establishments the Red Moon clan owned, and it was far enough away from their packs main house. Moreover, if she could think of anyone to talk to first, it would be Ariel, her only coworker in the pub. She may not have liked Emma a lot, but she was never mean to her and is still the only person Emma would consider closest to being a friend. Peter walked next to her with a frown, recognising where they were. The streets they were in were to poor for anyone to pay interest in, making it hard to identify who's turf it belongs to. She headed towards the bar with the 'Red Stone' signboard up front. She stopped before getting to the doorway, pulling up head hood to hide her hair and face, hoping no one would recognise her.
"The Red Moon clan? Seriously? You're from this clan of weaklings?" Peter scoffed.
"Yes, now please, I don't want any of them to notice me for now, okay?" She gave him a begging look. He rolled his eyes and lifted his arm, allowing her to enter before him. She felt much more reassured having Peter with her. Being a Black brother, she was sure he'd be able to warn one of his brothers in no time if anything was to go wrong, which she hoped wouldn't happen. Since it was early morning still, there was barely anyone inside, and behind the counter stood only Ariel washing glasses while whistling. She was probably partying the night before, as Emma recognised the familiar messy bun, tired eyes and denim jumpsuit. She looked up as they entered further into the building.
"How can I help- oh Moon Goddess! Emma? Is that really you?" She looked so shocked, staring at Emma blankly for a few seconds before coming to her, almost running. Ariel patted and examined her as is she wasn't real. Peter stayed silent next to her, but was looking at Ariel like she was some annoying fly.
"Hi, Ariel..."
"Don't act like that! You crazy girl! I thought we'd never see you again after what happened!" She almost yelled at her, making Emma feel really awkward. They hadn't seen each other for weeks, and Emma didn't really know what Ariel thought about her. Was she angry? Or happy? It was to hard to tell, but at the moment she still looked shocked from Emma's return. Emma bit her lip, confused on how she was meant to act with her, but Ariel sighed while looking at her.
"Girl, you have to tell me everything. What happened? Come, sit down." She pushed her towards the nearest table and quickly brought three bottles of sofa from the bar to where she was seated. It was better than being at the main house, but Emma was still that scared one of the pack members could walk in at any minute. Having Peter next to her kept her reassured still. Ariel sat down with them, paying no attention to Peter who sat with them and stared at Emma. She took her hand as if they were close friends sharing secrets with one another.
"Gosh girl, you really have to tell me what happened. Things got crazy after you killed Jekyll, you know."
After I WHAT?, She thought.
Beside her, Peter raised an eyebrow and gave her an interrogating look, but Emma payed no attention to him. She didn't kill anyone! Well... as far as she knew. She shuck her head. She had to many things left unknown, she needed to start filling in the blanks.
"Ariel, please tell me what happened after I... I was gone." She sighed dramatically, but Emma knew she was happy to gossip. Even when she'd mentioned Dr Jekyll's death she didn't seem fazed at all. She started talking while playing with some sparkly rings on her fingers.
"Well, Alpha noticed your and Neal were gone for a while, so he sent some members out to look for you guys. But Neal came home hours later in the middle of the night and he looked like hell. I was the first to see him, I'd literally just got home from work. He was a really mean, giant bite mark on his face, and he was acting really weird. Told us you'd gone crazy. That you killed Jekyll and tried to kill him!" Was he serious? Neal was the one who'd tried to kill her! That story was insane! Even though she couldn't remember what happened with Jekyll, she was positive she never even hit Neal. He was going to leave her dead in an ally of Blue and Ruby didn't show up in time. Was Ruby the one who attacked Neal? To chase him away? Emma was to shocked to speak, but Ariel didn't notice, she was sat checking her nails. Next to her, Peter was watching her reaction, but she ignored him.
"And Victor believed all that?" Ariel shuck her head.
"Not really. Actually a lot of people didn't. To start with, Neal was obviously attacked by a giant wolf, and we all know you can't shift. You couldn't possibly be that big, anyway. And as for Jekyll? No where to be found. Dead or alive, he disappeared the same day as you. They guys said his apartment was a bloody mess, though. None of us really knew what to believe. You disappeared, and Neal kept saying all this crazy stuff! Some thought you might have actually gone mad for real, but I didn't though. I know my girl. Oh and, Victor and Will didn't believe Neal either, so they told everyone to shut up about it until they knew what really happened."
Jekyll was missing? Was he really dead? She knew the 'bloody mess' part was real, she could remember all the blood, but she was still unclear of what had happened. It scared her even more, after what Ariel had just told her. Did she really kill him? She couldn't remember anything other than him trying to rape her, and then Neals hands crushing her throat. What if he was still alive? Would he try to find her? The idea terrified her to her core. In front of her, Ariels mind had already jumped elsewhere.
"Hey, tell me what happened to you now, girl! You look much better! I know that brand on your hoodie. Is it real?" Ariel was in gossip girl mode, but Emma was miles from it. How could she possibly be smiling? It was like she didn't care at all of what had happened. She knew Ariel wasn't there, and that she wasn't close to Jekyll or Neal... but was Emma the only one who thought that story was totally crazy?
"What about Neal? Is he still there?" She asked, ignoring Ariels questions. She frowned and scratched her head, looking hesitant.
"Um... not anymore. Things kind of got messy a week after you disappeared. Victor was like, super angry at him for not properly explaining what happened with you and Jekyll. And a lot of people were accusing him of borrowing lots of money. Like lots and lots. Even of stealing stuff from the main house to sell it! Can you believe it! Will unleashed on him one day though, it was crazy! Beat him real bad, and eventually banished him."
"He did what?" Was her ex fiancé really banished from the clan? And a month again, to boot? She wasn't surprised that Will beat him, Neal wasn't very strong to begin with. But where in the would could he have gone? No one wants to be a rogue. All they could do was wander, living like beggars, steal from other wolves and sleep outside all the turfs. Every pack always outcasted rogues and would never let them on their territory. It would be hard for him to even be in Storybrooke now. Did he escape to the wild like others had before? They say out there werewolves went back to being completely wild, forgetting they were once humans.
She remembered the night she left the hospital, someone had came in asking about her. She remembered Blue saying her full name, she'd never told them her full name. Someone was definitely looking for her. Could it have been Neal?
"Emma, who's the kid?" She turned to Peter, but he was growling already. She guessed the 'kid' part didn't please him much. Ariel immediately avoided his eyes, reacting to his alpha aura. He may be young, and not have a proper pack of his own yet, but no one could deny Peters authority. He had the same dominating presence as his brothers, and Ariel was just a regular wolf. He finally stopped and Ariel turned, decoding to address her instead of Peter.
"Why did you bring a stranger to our turf? Do you want victor to be mad as soon as you come home?!"
Emma raised her head in shock. Come home? Was she still considered as part of the pack? She thought they would have excluded her when they banished Neal, especially with the crazy stories he'd been telling. Before she could answer, Peter surprised her by being the first to raise his voice for the first time since they'd entered the bar.
"To be mad at her? What do you mean? Does this stupid alpha of yours know what's coming to him?" Peter said with a mean grin. Ariels smile was complete gone, she looked completely terrified. Emma could tell she was trying hard not to gaze in Peters direction and on her solely.
"Emma what does he mean? What's coming?" She turned to Peter and gave him a 'hush!' look.
"Stop it! You're not saying anything, we agreed."
"Whatever. My brothers going to find them anyway. Sooner or later, your weak former clan will be destroyed." He shrugged. Emma did not like the sadistic smile he was wearing, and she could see Ariel was beginning to shake. It was not her 'former clan', she was still apart of the Red Moon clan as she was told by Ariel. Peter didn't care though, he was having to much fun intentionally scaring Ariel using his aura. She didn't like how he was cruelly making fun of her.
"Peter, stop it!" He stopped, but gave her an annoyed look, like a kid who's had his favourite toy confiscated. Emma didn't care. She pointed her finger towards the door, ignoring his pissed off teen attitude of his.
"If you're going to make things difficult, you can wait for me outside."
"Pfft... weakling." He growled while exiting the bar. Ariel seemed much more relaxed as soon as he was out.
"Emma, who is that guy?! And how were you not scared? I had to fight all I could to keep seated, my wolf is going nuts with him around." Now that Emma thought about it, it was true. She should've been as scared as Ariel was. Though, she had never been really affected by an alphas aura. Victor, Graham, Liam, none of them intimidated her. Only Killian could scare her, but only when he was really furious. She couldn't believe even his little brother could make a grown wolf shiver so much within seconds. She must've had some sort of immunity because of her mate? She couldn't explain what had happened any other way.
"Don't mind him. He's just a... friend." And Peter Black, my alpha mates youngest brother, but she didn't need to know that. She felt like she was trying to keep two worlds from colliding. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to relax a little. There was so much information for her to take in all at once. She sighed, taking a sip of her sofa, but Ariel could barely contain herself.
"Now will you tell me? I'm dying here, girl! You've been away for weeks!"
"Sorry Ariel, I... Someone attacked me, and I was taken to hospital. I stayed in there for a couple of weeks and then a friend took me in." Ariel looked at her suspiciously, apparently disappointed by her lousy explanation. So far, she hadn't actually say anything that wasn't true. She just made sure she didn't mention any names. Even though he was outside, she knew Peter could probably still hear what they were saying, and she didn't want anything bad being reported back to Killian. Ariel pondered for a while, then pointed her index at her. She'd seen her do it before, she was about to fire all her questions at once.
"Who attacked you?"
"I don't know." She lied.
"How'd you escape?"
"My friends intervened just in time, they chased the attacker away then took me to the hospital."
"How long? How long where you in the hospital?"
"It was about 2 and a half weeks. Most of it I was in a coma for though, then I was told to rest before I could leave."
"And now where are you staying?"
"I told you, at a friends place."
"A friend..." She knew Ariel didn't believer her, mostly because she didn't have any friends. Not until she'd met Blue and Ruby, and Ariel knows that. She sighed in annoyance at the endless examination.
"Look, Ariel, I happened to meet some really good people, okay?"
"Really good people that give you branded clothes," she muttered. Emma could see she was thinking about something. She suddenly looked up at her with wide eyes and a big, excited smile.
"Oh my goddess, Emma, you have a sugar daddy!"
"What? No! Are you crazy!" Moon goddess, how could she think of such a thing? Emma turned red with embarrassment, and Ariels stupid idea was quite vexing. She knew Emma was a virgin, she use to make fun of her for it all the time. And she wasn't really sure what a sugar daddy was, it was humiliating! Emma couldn't help but growl at Ariel as she started laughing out loud.
"What the hell, Emma!" She stopped, putting her hand over her mouth, realising she'd just growled for the first time ever. And with quite some effort too! Ariel looked completely freaked out.
"So you can shape shift..." She suddenly said, shocked. "I thought you were completely unable, but you can really growl like a big girl."
She was right. To growl she'd have had to use her wolf-form throat, which meant she'd had to have slightly shape shifted. Emma actually had the ability to shape shift.
