Chapter 16

It had been about three days since the horrible incident. Jenna and Ethan had been keeping very low and Aiden had been kept under blankets, literally. They two new werewolves were going through their transformation much better than expected. Mike said it was probably because they were only too aware of what could happen if they lost control. Their acute awareness of the situation gave them a grip, a kind of control over themselves that is almost never seen on bitten werewolves at first. Jenna was very strict about Aiden leaving the room because she didn't want to set off any alarms or questions about how the boy healed so fast.

Aiden was more than happy to comply. He had been seething with anger, as had Ethan, but he felt like he couldn't move. Even though the physical pain, the agony was gone, he felt like he was being torn apart bit by bit from the inside. His mind kept replaying the images, the flashes, the laughter and the pleas, over and over again and even though he had been staying in bed, wrapped under blankets, Aiden barely got any sleep. Jenna and Ethan took turns to stay up with him, talk him down, distract him or just sit there, quietly, holding his hand as he remained silent.

After three days, seventy two hours, John came into the room. Ethan had gone to meet Mike, under the pretext of school. The alpha was teaching Ethan the werewolf 101 as he called it. Aiden and Jenna were talking and Jenna quickly turned Aiden's face away from the door, pulling the blanket almost over head as she heard the door creak open.

John stepped in, looked around and saw the bundled form of Aiden (whom he perceived to be Ethan) on the bed. Jenna stood up in front of him, blocking his way, shoulders squared. John smirked.

"Move, kid. Let me see him."

"What is there to see? Leave him alone!" Jenna replied.

John laughed. It was really funny to see a frail teenager squaring off against the heavy set man. No one in their right mind would even think of it, but here she was, staring him down.

"How is he doing?"

"He'll live, no thanks to you!"

John's eyes cooled down, smile of amusement turned into contempt.

"Now that's ungrateful! I gave you the medicines, didn't I?"

"He needed a doctor! You gave me a first aid kit! Now please just leave us alone, he needs rest."

Jenna didn't move an inch even when John glared at her. She had heard the tiniest growl come from under the blanket and she immediately clamped down on Aiden's wrist. Aiden peeked into her eyes from under the layers and Jenna mouthed "Don't move!" much to Aiden's dismay. He saw John stride up towards Jenna and grip her by her throat. Aiden was about to make a move when he saw that Jenna still has her hand firmly on his wrist. So, he gritted his teeth and kept still.

"Move out of my way, girl," John growled, shoving Jenna aside. The girl stumbled to a side but jumped back at him in a second. She was not going to let John come anywhere near Aiden. John surprised by this sudden attack, reshuffled on his foot, trying to gain balance. It took him about a second to do so, and then he took the angry girl by her throat again and slammed her hard against the wall. Jenna crumpled to the ground with a small cry. Satisfied, John turned to the bed but felt a vicious force at his side as Jenna, back on her feet, shoved him again.

"Leave us alone or we'll go to the cops!" she screamed.

"You little devil!" John yelled, his anger breaking the bounds. He picked her up and threw her against the wall, this time with more force. Jenna's head cracked against the cement loudly and she fell on her shoulder, eliciting a painful cry.

"Leave her alone!"

Jenna froze. Her head was swimming, pain radiating from her head and shoulders but the voice was what daunted her. For a second, she thought it was Aiden. But she gave a sigh of relief when she saw Ethan standing at the door. The boy glared at John, face set, hands balled into fists. John turned to Ethan, his face red with rage.

"Why, you two have found your voices eh?!" he spat.

Ethan huffed, glaring at John. "Get out of here, or I will make sure the cops know what's happening here."

John laughed, "What will you tell them? Huh? I'll just have to say I got a bunch of rowdy, ungrateful kids, who fight a lot."

"You really think that story will hold once the doctor gives Ethan a check up?" Jenna replied in a small voice from her place on the floor. Her voice made it evident that she was in pain but she still couldn't resist the satisfaction that came over her when she saw John's face awash with hatred and worry. Without another word, john shoved Ethan into the room and stomped out, shutting the door behind him.

Ethan strode forward and helped Jenna get up, gingerly putting his arm around her. She winced in pain as tears leaked from her eyes. Aiden jumped out of his bed, eyes glowing yellow.

"Why did you stop me?" he demanded, going at Jenna, only to be stopped at Ethan, who put himself between them.

"Aiden, your eyes are glowing. John would have found out!" Jenna replied, trying to breathe through the pain.

"I could take him! I'm a werewolf!"

"A new one, who can barely control the colour of his eyes!"

Aiden frowned and bared his fangs.

"You were worried I'd lose control. You were worried for him, weren't you!" he spat, his voice not attempting to disguise the anger or hatred. Jenna cringed. Ethan took Aiden's shoulder and shook him slightly.

"Aiden! Get a hold of yourself. If John finds out about us we'll be dead! Jenna just stuck her head out for us man. Why are you blaming her?"

Aiden looked at his brother and instantly they could see that Aiden was using anger and aggression to mask a deeper emotion, terror. It probably somewhere during that time, that Aiden became the more aggressive twin and Ethan became the thoughtful one. The roles which had defined them for the rest of their lives since had been but a mask for the inner turmoil and insecurity.

Jenna looked up at the twins in dismay.

"What will we do? We can't keep living like this?"

Aiden looked at his shoes, too ashamed to look at Jenna. Ethan looked between the two and sighed.

"Let's run away. Mike suggested it today. We could do it."

Jenna stared at Aiden, who slowly face her.

"If we leave, they will keep looking for us. Or worse, they'll get other kids in our places," Aiden said, in a defeated voice.

"So we take care of them. We'll make sure that they never take in foster kids again!" Ethan said. Jenna's eyes grew wide but Aiden, catching the drift agreed. Though the suggestion had been extremely horrific and terrifying, what he had to go through in the past few days had made him consider the idea. Hearing Ethan say it, only fuelled his fire. Jenna stared at them, aghast.

"Do you even know what you'll be doing?

Ethan pulled her into a hug and whispered softly in her ears.

"We'll raze this place to the ground. They won't take any more kids like us. Imagine all those years we spent here, no one will ever have to go through that again." Jenna cried into Ethan shirt, holding on to him, Aiden came over and wrapped his arms around them both.

"It's the only way," he sighed.

"Okay," Jenna sniffed, "I'll set the fire. You two get Mike and make sure you are clear before the explosion."

"What about you?"

Jenna smiled. "I'll climb out of the kitchen window. Don't worry."

Ethan took a deep breath as the three looked at each other.

"I'll call Mike. Tomorrow, we walk out of here and never come back."

What do you think? liked it? Well, now it's time to be back to the present... from the next chapter! :D read and review!