Chapter 34- A New Start

Jeez, way to make a girl feel loved. More reviews please.

Sorry I was gone for so long, I just didn't know what to do for this chapter. And then I decided it's either going to be really long or really short. I'm not sure if this is going to be a filler or a proper chapter. We'll see.

This chapter is going to be sort of confusing because all of the POVs.

Enjoy!

Angel

"And in this room, you can see that there are large windows for impeccable lighting throughout the day. It's a perfect room for your daughter, Mrs. Hawk. And if you'll follow me to the master bedroom…," the realtor-lady led Mom into the adjacent room while I stayed behind. I liked this house. It was big (five bedrooms, three bathrooms), close to a park (with a swing set and everything), apparently in a "nice neighborhood", and it looked pretty from the outside (cream-colored walls and brick, and brown roofing). And I saw a bunch of kids in the park so me and Gazzy will have some people to play with. We all needed somewhere to stay; we couldn't sleep in parks and in alleys forever. Besides, it wasn't "safe" like Mom said.

So it was me and Mom's job to go hunt for a house because I can convince the realtor to let us stay for free until we can pay for the house and Mom was the only adult-adult. Apparently, in the human world, 18 is considered adult-hood but you can only legally do things once you're over 21. And we can't get a "mortgage"- whatever that was- unless we were 22 or 23. And because Fang wasn't communicative, Max and Iggy were only 17, and Kate and her little group refused put their names on the deed or whatever it's called, Mom had to do it. And Mom was more of a people person than Fang or Max. Max gave off the "don't mess with me or I'll cut you vibe". And her Cardinal-ness didn't really work on humans. Otherwise if we were dealing with shifters, we'd have property all over the world.

"Yes, that kitchen was beautiful," Mom gushed, looking in awe. I looked in her mind and saw her dreamily admiring black marble counters and pale ash cabinets.

"I thought you'd love it," the realtor-lady said with a wink. I think her name was Amelia H-something.

"Could I get a price on this place?" Mom asked.

"The previous owners are putting it up for about $500-600,000," Amelia said, squinting her eyes and cocking her head to the side to judge Mom's reaction.

"That is a little pricey…" Mom demurred, looking at her hands.

"Of course, I'm sure we can work something out with the owners," Amelia pursed her lips.

That won't be necessary, I thought. I focused my mind into Amelia's and almost recoiled. It was a tangled mess of numbers and facts and money signs. Just what every six year old wants to see. I don't even know what you would call that number! Oh jeez… I focused on this house and saw the previous owner. A wealthy middle-aged couple who were moving to Arizona. They were dressed expensively the last time Amelia saw them and Amelia was jealous of the woman's dress. They didn't need the money the house was going to bring them.

Set up a meeting, I said into Mom's mind.

"Oh could you?" Mom asked, beaming, "Do you think we could all meet up and discuss this? I think it would be wonderful."

"Of course," Amelia smiled back, "I'll just give you a call after I've contacted them and we can probably have this all sorted by next week."

"Perfect."

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Hawk," the large man with a face like a beagle said, shaking Mom's hand, "And nice to meet you little lady. Angel, is it?"

"You're very pretty, aren't you? What's your name?" Mr. Beagle's wife said, bending her knees so her face was a little higher than mine. She smelled strongly of flowers and spices and wore a drape of heavy diamonds around her neck. Diamonds hung from her ears too. We had earrings back in the Realm too but smaller and plainer. I think hers are just plain showing-off.

"Thank you. I'm Olive," I said "shyly".

"Sit, sit, we have a lot to talk about," Mr. Beagle gestured to the seats. We were in a nice Manhattan restaurant named Jentin's. I saw Amelia there too, smiling at us from her seat.

"Of course," Mom says, smoothing her skirt before sitting. It was one of Nudge's designs, pale green and tight. I was wearing a pink dress Ella gave me. She said it made me look more innocent. And I'll need that for them to trust us enough to open their minds.

"Do you have other children, Mrs. Hawk?" Mr. Beagle asks.

"Yes, I have another daughter. She's 17 and you know how those teenagers are," Mom smiled conspiratorially and Mrs. Beagle nods furiously in agreement, "Anyways, she's off somewhere with her friends. I would've liked very much for you two to meet her."

"And is your husband with you?" This earned Mr. Beagle a swift kick in the shin from his wife. He muttered a quick apology.

"That's quite alright," Mom says. She's doing better. She didn't wince noticeably when daddy was brought up, "He's… away."

"The house has five bedrooms, Mrs. Hawk," Amelia reminded.

"Yes, of course. You see, my other daughter frequently has friends over and we need the extra space. And she's going to go to college in the fall here in Manhattan and it would be nice if we didn't need to pay for her dorms too. And," Mom dropped her voice, "There are some children that I don't want to be associating with her."

The three of them nodded across from us. Mom played the perfect part of an immaculate, caring, sensitive mother. Now it was my turn.

"And the cost of our previous home is too much?" Mrs. Beagle asks.

I roll my eyes internally. Of course, why else would we have this meeting?

"It is kind of pushing it," Mom hesitates and Mrs. Beagle nods for her to go on, "The house would be perfect but if I buy the house and send my daughter to college, it'll be too much and it's difficult to make ends meet in this recession." Recession was a word we picked up from the newspapers and Mom thought it would be a good word to add in our discussion.

"Yes, of course." Now Mr. Beagle was thinking. It was like watching gears move in a factory, churning out an idea. I just had to interfere with the movement and alter the idea slightly. Or drastically, you know. Mrs. Beagle was easier. She already likes mom and me. And plus, she had zero regards for money. She was born into a rich family.

"How about we just give you the house?" Mr. and Mrs. Beagle suggested. Amelia's jaw dropped to the floor.

Mom acted surprised. Well, maybe it wasn't all acting. I told her I'd just make them lower the price into our price range. In my defense, free is in our price range. And it wasn't like they weren't going to lower the price a lot anyways. I just made it go slightly lower. Or all the way down, "What!? Oh, I couldn't."

"But you can," Mrs. Beagle grinned, "It would be our pleasure. And we don't need the money anyways."

"Are you sure?" Amelia asks incredulously, "This is highly unusual."

"Oh we're sure," Mr. Beagle assured her, "The Hawk family seems nice enough. Aren't you sweetums?" he patted my head and I beamed.

Mom glared at me and I shrugged. I channeled "take the offer" with my eyes and eyebrows.

"If you're sure…" Amelia said dubiously. She opened the briefcase and pulled out some papers, crossing out some things and filling in others with her posh fountain pen, "Just sign here and here."

Yes! I cheered mentally.

Max

Fang was happier with me ever since I told him he didn't need to try shifting anymore. And he's a lot nicer to me too. That's how I found myself pinned under him with his lips on my collarbone. My breathing grew heavier. I felt the hard dirt and stray branched prodding into my back but I couldn't focus too much on that. We were in the middle of a forest in the park where we were currently staying. And Fang's been so happy with me that he wanted to spend some "alone time". I would say I'm upset that all he ever wants to do is make out but I'm okay with it most of the time so I'm not going to kill him yet for "using me".

"Fang…" I breathed. It was turning into something more and if we didn't stop now I could wind up pregnant.

"Hmm?" he murmured against my skin. The sound vibrated into me, sending shivers down my spine.

"We have to stop," I curled my fingers into his hair, pulling his face up to mine. He looked at my lips, his usual dark eyes completely black.

"I don't want to," he said, putting his lips back on mine. I melted into the kiss for a second, his tongue delving in between my teeth, before I put my hands on his chest and pushed him off.

"My mom's going to be back soon," I reminded.

"So?" he replied huskily but he rolled onto the grass next to me, lying down on his back.

We just lay there, looking up at the trees above. His hand found mine and he drew tiny circles into my palm as both of us calmed down. It was silent but it was a comfortable silence.

"Max?" Fang asks after a while.

"Yeah, Fang?"

"How would you feel… about getting married?" he turned his face to look at me. My breath hitched.

"Not now, Fang," I said as nonchalantly as I could, "I'm 17."

"Okay, but someday?" he asked hopefully.

"Someday."

"Yoohoo! Max! Your mom's back! You two had better not be naked!" Kate called.

"But I wish we were," Fang whispered naughtily into my ear. I bit down a smile and got up.

"We're not, Kate, you can look now," I told her. She stood about two yards away from us with her hands covering her eyes.

Then Angel collided into me, knocking me back down on top of Fang. I heard the breath go out of Fang as I landed on him.

"Oww, Max, you're pretty heavy," Fang complained. I glared at him and Angel hopped off.

"Oops," she said, "But I have great news! We got the house! For free!"

"What?!"

Holden

Someone said that New York was the City of Dreams and that's true. New York is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Besides Star, that is. You know how hard it is to be a starfish? You live in a habitat full of other vicious animals who hunt the same stuff you do and can kill you. It was the best thing in the world to get away from the ocean. But still, I kind of miss it. You have to, you know? It doesn't matter how much you hate your home, you're still attached to it because you're born there and you're raised there. There are so many memories that are too hard to let go of.

Anyways, back to my love of New York.

Life is great ever since I got here. Besides the little mishap with Max being trapped in the Director's place, everything's perfect. I've got a great girlfriend, got a pretty nice job, and now we're moving into a great house free of charge.

What do I do for a living? Well, I'm a bartender. And even though I'm only 19, I can pass for 21, especially when my fake ID says I'm 22. I got the fake ID from JJ's friend Louis. Back when we were still staying with JJ, she made us all get jobs and we needed fake IDs to get them.

Back to bartending. It's a nice job, I get to talk to people (who are completely wasted so it's even more interesting), I can sneak some of my work back home, and it pays okay especially with the tips I get. People like me enough to actually tip me. Especially when I have to call someone to drag their ass home. I made friends with a lot of the regulars.

Kate likes to sing and after about a week of staying at JJ's, she got a gig at a club and had to learn tons of songs. That was the most stressed and busiest I've ever seen her. But recently, she started writing her own songs and she enjoyed that a lot more. And ever since she's been making money, she's been carrying those coffees or whatever they're called with her everywhere. I think it's safe to call it an addiction.

Ratchet is a bouncer and he works at the club Kate does. I think it's so he can't keep an eye on her (it's easy 'cause he can see really well far away). Kate's pretty enough and talented enough to attract a lot of attention and Ratchet's the jealous type. I can hear them arguing most nights about a guy flirting with her or a girl flirting with him.

Of course, I can't really judge because I hate Star's job. She's a dancer. Like an exotic dancer… She likes it. She likes attention, likes "dancing", and she likes how she's paid but honestly, did she have to get that job? Star's gorgeous, any guy would want her and I'm afraid she'll meet someone better than me. Someone richer and more handsome. I can't even argue though because she's made it clear that she doesn't want them, but there's still a possibility. I don't worry that she's going to get hurt; she can take care of herself. That's an advantage of being a shifter, but I do worry that she's going to get tired of me.

Other than that, New York's been perfect. The house is huge and open with the only downside being that I have to share a room with Ratchet who snores like thunder. Valencia wouldn't let Star and I share a room or Kate and Ratchet, Fang and Max, or Iggy and Ella. The mother in her just wouldn't stand for that. Another thing she tried to make us do is send us to school. Valencia forced Max and them to go to school but Kate, Ratchet, Star and I refused. She didn't push it so it was good.

Life is good here. I don't ever want to have to leave.

Brigid (dun dun dunnn)

"Dr. Dwyer," Mr. Hausmann greeted me as I stepped into the meeting room. It was a large room about twenty or thirty feet long, flanked by glass windows on both sides and a projection screen on the far end. It was off and I was the only other person in the room.

"Very nice to meet you, sir," I stood and shook his hand. His hands were unnaturally cold. He gestured for me to sit and I did after smoothing down my gray pencil skirt.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asks, snapping his fingers. A small, petite blonde appeared in the room and set down a brown coffee mug before him.

"White wine, please," I say and he raises an eyebrow but nods to the girl. She scurries off, returning a minute later with a long stemmed glass. I muttered a thank you before she left.

"As you know, Mrs. Jansen had an unfortunate accident," Mr. Hausmann said.

Accident, my ass. I had one of my men sneak in and take pictures of the scene and she was her throat was slit before she was shot three times in the chest. But still I forced a sympathetic smile and nodded, "Yes, sir."

"We need another leader stationed in the Realm to replace her now," he gave me a sidelong glance as he lifted the coffee mug in front of him.

I took a sip of the wine. It was pretty strong for wine. Did he have her add something? Is he trying to drug me? I tried to focus on his statement and didn't know what to reply. I didn't have to because he continued, "I would like you to take her place."

I almost choked on my drink, "What? But the shifters were a failed experiment. That's why we destroyed them."

"I understand," Mr. Hausmann answered. He was new, after Harold was killed. I suspect whoever killed Harold, killed Marian too. What would that mean for me if I went there? Would the killer target me as well? "You won't be there long. We just need someone to wrap up the project. It would take about three months."

"What do you mean, wrap up the project?" I ask cautiously.

"There have been experiments that have escaped through the tunnel in the cave ecosystem. The one that was meant to be used only by our engineers to fix anything that was wrong in the biodome. However, there have been a number of experiments escaping. We can't have those running wild in the human world," he paused, taking a slow sip from his mug, "Those must be destroyed. There's evidence of life still in the cave ecosystem and in the west. There's repairs to be done in the castle and after we tear down the ceiling and walls the palace and surrounding town can be sold to the highest bidder."

Oh, joy. But then I can see Marian's son again. I'm only 23 to his 18. My parents had a five year difference between them and he was cute. I tried opening my mouth to talk but I was hit with a wave of drowsiness.

"Oh, one more thing, Dr. Dwyer," he adds before my eye-lids shut, "You need to have some alterations done to be prepared in the Realm. I sincerely hope you don't mind."

I saw three men in white coats come in the room before everything went dark.