"Are you ready to go?" Hylla asked softly. She tried to conceal the burning anger in her chest. Angry at her sister for not telling her sooner. Angry at the bitch that dared touch her sister. Hylla tightened her grip on Reyna as she thought of it. The rage she felt smoldered in her soul.
Hylla would be grinding her teeth if she didn't have her jaw resting on the top of Reyna's head. Instead, she closed her eyes and waited for her sister to respond. Reyna's face was buried into Hylla's now soaked shirt, but her shoulders were no longer shaking.
"Yeah," Reyna finally mumbled. She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "When did you get back?"
"I went home as soon as I got back. When you weren't there, I came here," Hylla answered. She had felt sick to her stomach as she raced home and didn't see her sister. If Reyna hadn't been at the bar, Hylla didn't know what she would have done.
Hylla wiped away the fresh tears trickling down her sister's face, and as she did, her gaze moved to the scar on her mouth. To think that the woman that did this was somewhere in this town. It made Hylla's blood absolutely boil. She kissed her sister's forehead.
"We'll get some food on the way home," Hylla said in a quiet voice. Reyna nodded and didn't meet her eyes. "We don't have to talk about it, okay? I'm not going to force you, but I want you to know that I am here for you."
Reyna nodded and stayed by Hylla's side as they walked down the hall. They stepped into the bar, and Hylla found her body naturally tensing at all of the monsters- no. All of the beasts- no. Creatures. These were creatures. Not inherently evil.
Hylla tried to repeat that to herself as she stared ahead, not looking at any of the nonhumans in the bar. It was a learning process. A long, slow learning process. Hylla kept a hand near her sister's back as they walked outside. It was when a car pulled up near them that Hylla felt every single fiber of her being tense up.
Reyna tensed as well. The window rolled down, and Hylla found herself looking at a woman who studied them with brown eyes. Reyna's posture relaxing underneath Hylla's hand. The woman said something to the person in the driver's seat and got out of the car.
"Reyna, I'm glad I could catch you," the woman began. "They said you weren't working today."
"Not till tomorrow," Reyna replied as she cleared her throat.
"I just wanted to warn you that I have been hearing rumblings that Lupa or one of her representatives will be coming here to visit soon," Juno began. Hylla's eyes narrowed. That name sounded familiar.
"Grandmother," Reyna muttered as she looked at Hylla. The one who wanted Reyna to fight her to the death. Hylla squeezed her sister's arm to show she was there. "Why would Lupa come here? I thought you said she stays in her forest."
"Usually," Juno replied. "There are a few times that she leaves her territory to handle business and work important deals with other packs."
"You don't think she could know that I'm alive, do you?" Reyna asked. There was a hint of fear in her voice, and all that tension came flooding back to her muscles.
"I don't know if she knows you are alive or not, but I do know she would not find it important enough to travel all the way down here or send a representative. But if she happened to run into you while she was here..."
Juno let the words hang in the air. Hylla tightened her grip on Reyna again. From everything she learned about werewolves, she knew that members of the pack were extremely protective of each other. If someone tried to hurt a member of the pack, they would face the fury of every werewolf in it.
But, a werewolf who betrayed or left their pack was seen like an outcast. If not killed on the spot. Lupa's pack was one that Exterminata usually left alone. Most of their pack members didn't leave their territory, and Exterminata was never dumb enough to go into their territory.
Reyna did nothing wrong, though. She had just been born. Why should she be punished for that? Reyna cleared her throat and spoke, "Thank you for the warning."
"Of course," Juno returned. "If it comes down to it, I will tell Lupa that you are with me. Hopefully, they won't even realize you are here."
Hylla glanced at Reyna. Her sister looked exhausted and mentally frayed. All Hylla wanted to do was make her feel better, but she didn't know how. Reyna offered a nod, and Juno returned it. The older woman got in the car, and it drove away.
Hylla led her sister toward her car and sat her inside. As she closed the door, she took the time to wince at the pain in her still healing leg. Her eyes swept across the street and parking lot, but she didn't see anyone in a car watching them. Or watching Reyna more specifically.
After she was sure no one was watching them, Hylla moved to the driver's seat and sat inside. A glance to the side showed that Reyna was staring out the window. Hylla spoke, "Do you think Lupa would try to hunt you down?"
"I don't know," Reyna muttered. "I'm pretty sure she thought I died. Hell, I don't know how I survived that much blood loss."
"Will that woman Juno, vouching for you, actually protect you?" Hylla questioned.
"I don't know," Reyna admitted. "I'm technically packless. Juno can claim I'm part of her little pack, but at the end of the day, I don't think she would actually try to defend me."
"Just try to keep a low profile," Hylla suggested, though her tone bordered on it being more of a demand. Reyna nodded and rested her head on the window. A curse left her, and she instantly slid down in her seat.
Hylla turned her head to see a woman walking out of the bar. She wore a white dress, and other than her hair, Hylla couldn't make out any of her features. A car pulled up by the door, and the woman walked toward it as she grabbed her phone.
Reyna had thrown her hood over her head and was as low as she could get in her seat. Her face was as white as a sheet. Hylla reached out to grab her arm, "That's her?"
"C...c...c..."
Reyna couldn't even choke out the name, and quick gasps left her like she was hyperventilating. Hylla pulled out of the parking lot, leaving behind the monster that fucked her sister's life up. Almost as much as Hylla did.
That guilt still gnawed away at Hylla. If she never told their father about Reyna transforming, he wouldn't have tried to hurt her. She wouldn't have run and found herself in the grasp of this monster she couldn't even choke out the name of. Hylla took a deep breath.
As they put some distance between themselves and the bar, Reyna's breathing evened out. A little bit of color came back to her face, and she slowly sat up in her seat. Hylla wanted to ask all kinds of questions about the woman, but she picked the safer topic.
"Werewolves have a scent, right? Can Lupa track you that way?" Hylla questioned. Her teaching told her that each pack had a unique scent, but she didn't know if it was passed down by the mother or because the werewolf spent so much time with their pack. So, if Reyna never really interacted with her pack, there was a good chance Lupa wouldn't recognize her. Unless each werewolf did have a unique scent.
"I don't know," Reyna answered with a shrug. Hylla glanced at her.
"Did you have anyone to teach you about being a werewolf?" Hylla asked.
"No," Reyna replied as she pulled back her hood and seemed to relax slightly. "I taught myself everything."
Hylla nodded, "What do you want to eat?"
A shrug was all she received. Hylla cleared her throat, "I know you don't want to talk about that woman, but..."
"Her name is Circe," Reyna muttered. She shivered and swallowed painfully. "She knows about you, but that's because I told her all those years ago. So, I don't think she knows that you're back in my life."
"Good," Hylla said. "We can use that. I don't recognize her from any Exterminata dealings, but I can look through the files we retrieved."
"She wouldn't go by her name," Reyna muttered. She closed her eyes. "I'm so scared, Hylla. I'm so fucking scared."
"I know," Hylla whispered as she felt sadness claw at her heart. "I'm going to protect you. I promise."
Reyna didn't say anything, but it looked like part of her body relaxed. Hylla reached out to squeeze her arm, "Let's get you some food and get you home. After you get some sleep, we'll figure out how to deal with this bitch."