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I stopped only when we reached the countryside where there was not a single person or establishment in sight. Ray hasn't spoken a word to me since the incident.

He got out of the car as soon as I parked. He sat down on the edge of the pavement and buried his face in his hands. I gave him a moment before going over and sitting next to him. He flinched a little but didn't move away.

"Say something" I whispered hesitantly. I was nervous around Ray for the first time since I met him.

"Is he......he going to live?" That was his first concern? He was trying to keep his voice steady.

"Yes" I spoke softly "Yes, he's going to be fine. We sort of heal faster than hu_ I mean normal people"

He took a sharp breath; almost gasped at my slip up "It was his own brother" he murmured.

"We work more by hierarchy" I hope I was explaining it right "our other form only understands the law of the jungle. We are his subjects. He's the strongest of us all. He protects us. If we disrespect him, we are challenging his authority"

He let out a mirthless laugh "I think I'm going crazy. How does that even make sense?"

"I gave you hints that we were different"

He turned to look at me for the first time after the incident "That you are in a cult?" he scorned.

"I'm sorry, Ray" I took his hands in mine "we aren't supposed to let outsiders know."

"Do you...." He hesitated "Change too?" he looked like he already knew the answer but was somehow hoping that I would say no.

I nodded. I couldn't utter the word. His perception about me will change from this day on. He will never look at me the same way ever again. I will be a new person to him, someone he probably was afraid of. He would probably not want to be associated with me henceforth.

His eyes widened, he took his hand out of my clasp. I pulled them back into my grasp

"I'm the same person Ray. Nothing has changed. It's just a part of me just like every other aspect of me that you know"

"How can you say that" his voice came out harsher than he probably intended "You are not even a..... a..." he fumbled

"A human?" I offered. He looked away.

"It's all..... it's like I'm walking by some parallel world" he sighed "I can't believe how someone can even do that"

"Should I show you how?" I asked him slowly.

"NO" came his panicked reply. I understood that he didn't want to go into details yet or perhaps never.

I didn't say anything after that. We sat in silence.

"Did you...... ever k..kill anyone?" he whispered. Had I been a human, I wouldn't have heard that.

"We don't kill mindlessly Ray. Most of us, including me have never been in a hunt. A hunt is when you chase down those of us who have gone astray and are a danger to us and humans. Only the pack fighters do that. The alpha leads them. There are other creatures that we sometimes have clashes with. But we never kill humans. Killing a human earns us death sentence"

He sighed in relief "How come I've never heard of an entire group of people who are so different from us" he was slowly returning to normal. I smiled. That didn't go as bad as I expected it to. I think my warm-up talks all these years have helped him receive the news well. He was still avoiding my gaze as much as possible but I knew it was temporary. My being an animal would be weird for him anyways.

"We hide well. We are taught to control our animals from a young age__"

He sharply turned to me. I knew what was coming before he opened his mouth "Dan"

"Yes" I nodded

"Is he..."

"No, we don't shift until we are like thirteen or fourteen. He doesn't know"

"Those stories you told him"

"Those were our pack stories."

"Is that why Liam wants to take him back" he was calm now.

"Yes. He needs to be around his kind and train when he shifts. It's not an easy process"

I wanted to know what he thought about it but he didn't utter another word. He just nodded.

*****

Ray dropped me home but didn't step out of the car. He said he had things to take care of. I knew I wasn't going to see him again tonight.

"How's Evan" I asked as soon as I entered.

"He's doing well" my mother replied "The injuries were mostly external. Liam knew what he was doing. He didn't hurt him much. Your father is taking care of him."

I sighed in relief "Dan?"

"He's upstairs, sleeping"

I was climbing the stairs when my brother's voice stopped me cold.

"How did you calm him down? Liam?" Zach questioned. Of course they were there.

"I.... told him that Dan was standing right there. I guess that worked" I shrugged and rushed into Dan's room. The longer I stayed, the more questions there would be.

---

"The what?" Dinner was a chaos. As predicted, Ray didn't come by neither did Liam. Mrs. Adams was fine now. I visited her home. Nothing she said made sense. I ended up telling her family about the wild dog that one of our guests brought to our get together. The dog was sent away. Of course they would believe me over her. Evan broke a few bones but they were healing fast and he was sleeping under the effect of the drugs that were injected into him. Emma was by his side.

The real problem started now though "The local pack's Alpha is coming by tomorrow. They learned about the incident and they are furious" my father explained.

"What are we going to do?" I turned to Luna. She was the only one among us who was a part of the pack administration.

"Liam will have to deal with it" she said. Of course he has to, he started it after all.

I received a text from the said man right after dinner. I didn't even know he had my number.

He wanted me to meet him at the park. So, despite everything, he still wanted his answer tonight.

---

"It's midnight" I said as I approached his silhouette by the familiar tree. When did he make it his spot? It was mine.

"Is everything all right out there?" he asked

"I didn't know I was your only link to them. That's really messed up" I don't know why I said that out loud.

"Yeah, I know" he looked defeated.

"They are almost fine" I assured him "The local pack's alpha will be here tomorrow. You need to take care of that" I delivered him the news.

He nodded "I was expecting something like that"

An awkward silence followed "So?" I asked

"I'll take care of it, don't worry" he assured. I wasn't worried about that. His work isn't my business.

I walked to the tree and stood with my back on it. He was at about two hand distance with his hands in his pockets. Someone went shopping today.

"About Ray" I said "it will be better for you to not stay with him until he's comfortable with the idea of our kind."

He nodded "I've already booked a room. You don't have to worry about me scaring your boyfriend"

I glared at him "He's not my boyfriend" why was I giving him an explanation?

"He's not?" he raised a brow "Oh yes I must have made a mistake. Everyone thinks you are siblings" he mocked

"You have no right to talk like that about us. It's my personal life and you said you wouldn't interfere"

"I know I shouldn't. But here's one piece of advice, don't lead him on if you have no intention of being with him. You said you used to like him, so just mark him. I'm sure that will weaken our bond and you can love him freely then. And it will also get me out of your way"

It was like he slapped me. I felt the sting in my chest. I was thankful for the tree's support.

"Look I know I shouldn't have said that. Forget it" he said after a long silence.

"Dan" he said, changing the topic "How's he?"

I managed a nod.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't control my wolf" he continued "Does he have any idea about us?"

I took a deep breath "I told him stories of our ancestors. He takes them as bedtime stories. I wanted to wait until he was old enough to know that he has to keep us a secret. He saw me in my form one night." My mood brightened "He wasn't afraid of me. He hugged my wolf. She was really happy that day. The next day he said he had a wolf dream" i smiled at the memory.

Liam's face lit up too "My wolf wants to play tag with him" he confessed.

I laughed. I couldn't control it. I think it was the exhaustion of the entire day. My head conjured an image of Liam's huge wolf tagging little Dan and running around with Dan following him. It was funny. Liam grinned as he looked on.

I stopped abruptly when I finally realized what I was doing.

"I should get going" I pushed away from the tree and walked past Liam "It's late"

"So what did you chose?" I halted.

"After everything  that happened, you still need your answer today?" I turned to face him

"What did you decide?" he insisted

"I don't know. You tell me" I said harshly "After the mess yo- today, did I have a moment to sit down and think?"

"So you are considering it" he smiled "It'll do for now"

"I don't think I'll have to think for long if you continue behaving the way you did today. They will find out about us and then your threat will no longer be valid. So, carry on." I stormed off.

------

I couldn't sleep. I sat by my window taking in the sight of the sun and the moon in the same sky; both travelling in the opposite directions. I couldn't stop Liam's words from running around my head. It wasn't like what he told me today was something new to me. I've been worried about Ray for years now.

I feel guilty every time I see hope in his eyes. I know what I was doing to him was wrong but I don't know how to stop what we are today. The only way he'll be free of me is if I kick him out of my life. I would have done it long ago had it been only me. I have no right to ruin Ray's relationship with Dan. If I did that I would be proving that Ray has no right on Dan.

I sent him on blind dates, more like forced him. He was in a relationship about one and a half years ago but he couldn't maintain it and it was over in two months. It was of course my fault. I was right next to him, how could he move on. I tried maintaining a healthy distance by not letting him do any extra work for us. Dan was about one then. I wouldn't tell him when I went shopping for Dan's stuffs; I hired help to look after Dan when I needed an extra hand and made sure that the only thing that he could do is to play with a happy Dan. He got really frustrated when he caught on. That's when he started the food routine at our home. So all my hard work only brought him closer to us.

*****

With morning came the chaos of a full house. I don't know how my little house was taking in the huge burden. I felt sorry for it.

Ray didn't show up at breakfast. He texted me that he had an early morning lecture. Of course an early morning lecture was much better than a house full of wolves.

The local pack members were at our door by 10 in the morning. I guess they really felt threatened by us.

Right now, I was standing in the middle of the hall with their huge alpha sitting on my little couch. I was deeply worried on behalf of my poor couch. He reminds me of the Vikings, Hiccup's father to be exact.

My pack members were glaring at each other. They couldn't decide on who would call Liam. Luna Alexandra lost her patience and took it upon herself to ring our Alpha.

Liam finally arrived. I don't know why he felt the need to send a reassuring smile my way before shutting the door to my study. I mean does he not remember one word of what I said last night? When did we become friends? I glared at the closed door.

The meeting lasted a painful one hour and twenty minutes. Luna Alexandra was inside with Liam. She was the substitute for our beta who was still in bed all thanks to our Alpha.

"They understood us" Luna said as she launched herself on the couch, tired. Liam was seeing them off and would most probably not return.

*****

I made my way to Ray's familiar car and got into it. I looked at him once I was done with my seatbelt and gave him my best smile.

I didn't expect him to come around this quick. It has been three days since the incident. He called me this afternoon and told me that he would pick me up for dinner.

"How's Dan doing?" he asked driving us out of our neighborhood.

"He misses you" he nodded

"I miss him too" he said "I'll bring him around my place tomorrow"
"You know we won't bite you" I regretted my joke as soon as it left my lips.

He tensed "Give me some more time" he said as we reached our destination.

The place was the one we regularly visit with Dan. It's an Italian restaurant. I love the food here. I was surprised when they led us to a private cabin. We apparently had a reservation.

"What's with the privacy?" I enquired once we were done ordering.

He forwarded a file to me without a word. I opened it curiously.

"What is this" I asked as soon as I found my voice after going through the first page.

"Exactly what you understood" he replied

"But.." I was at loss for words. He took it away from me.

"It was always a temporary thing, coming here. With you guys in the equation, I was willing to make it permanent. I knew you were afraid to return home. I have my family back there too. I got this offer two years back. It's a three hour journey to your town. It's perfect." He smiled

"But Ray, I haven't..." he cut me off

"It's for Dan. Let's go back for him Eva. You came here to protect him. Let's go back so he can have a healthy future."

Tears rolled down my face "What about you, Ray?"

"What about me?" He said. The food arrived. I waited for the door to close behind me.

"You. Your life is not all about Dan and me. What about your life. What about your future. I couldn't move on when that man wasn't around. You think we have a chance with him around? You saw it with your own eyes, how different my world is. Its laws are different too. What I have with him is something that wasn't made in this world and hence can't be broken off so easily."

"I know" He said softly "I know what we are getting into. I have thought it through. What you have with him is something beyond my comprehension. So, I'll not ponder upon it. Let's go back to our people. I'll be among my people too. Maybe that will help me move on. I can never be out of your and Dan's life and you know that. So, let's just go with the flow for now. Let's see where life takes us. I promise I'll try to make a life beyond you. But I'll not take a step away from your life just because Liam's in the picture now"

He looked at me expectantly. But I had nothing to say. What did I ever do to deserve him in my life? And what have I turned his life into?

He gave me a bright smile "Come on" he nudged me with his elbow "Let's do it for Dan"

*****