by Jones, L. A.
"How so?" Xan asked.
Brenna shrugged and said, "They have laws, courts, but most of all they have freedom."
Brenna now sighed before continuing, "As for hidden societies...well let's just say there are some definite downsides to living in a village where the people are all werewolves."
Xan turned to look at her in disbelief.
Brenna continued. "Yeah you never have to worry about exposure or anything, but you are also expected to follow the laws of the pack more strictly. Meaning there is only one type of hierarchy where the Alpha wolf is king, and tyrant and we obey his orders without any hesitation! So we have no voting rights or anything, we just do what we are told!"
She sighed, and rubbed her hand over her face.
"That was the society I was born and raised in, it was a secluded village where everyone were werewolves. Although we had exposure to the outside world, we still lived like animals in so many ways. We participated in hunts, we had fights in our wolf forms to determine who our leaders were, we had specific rankings of which we were born into, and could not escape. Most especially, if we argued with our leaders we were punished severely."
Brenna shuddered at the memories.
"But for a while it wasn't so bad until our Alpha's youngest son was born. He was trouble from day one. He terrorized everyone and made anyone who defied him lives pure hell. Worst of all, he had the strength to back up his hostile attitude and whenever he challenged someone he always won. No one stood up to him and no one dared. The day our Alpha died his eldest son took over his place as the leader of the whole town and although we all knew, it was inevitable we were still shocked when the Alpha's youngest challenged his brother for the leadership. Many were confident that the boy would finally be put in his place by his brother, but I had grown up with him and I knew beating him wouldn't be that easy."
Brenna paused, but only for a few seconds. "He defeated his eldest brother in barely under an hour. However, instead of banishing him as was the traditional way he killed him in front of everyone. His own brother! Brutally! We were all shocked, but we ignored it because he was now in charge and none of us thought to defy him. We all believed that things were not going to get worse, but boy did they ever! He ruled our whole town with an iron fist! He took what he wanted from all of us no matter what it was food, property, women, drugs, anything! It was all his and whatever treatment he dished out we took it. Over the years, many tried to challenge him for his position, but every time he beat and killed them. He and his friends would patrol the town like a gang, and in all honesty, that is what they were. We thought it could not get worse until one day he announced he was going to choose a bride. Ironically, or more like expectedly, hundreds of woman spent the following months making themselves up and throwing themselves at his feet. All of them that is except for me."
Brenna sighed again, inhaled a slow breath, and exhaled it just as slowly.
"I may have grown up with him, born in the same year as him, and was basically the same age as he was but I never really liked him or even found him attractive. In my opinion, he was nothing more than a petty tyrant was. Therefore, while other women pranced around him like trained ponies I avoided him like the plague. However, it did no good because on the very day of the deadline he called a town meeting and in front of everyone he announced that he had chosen me as his bride!"
Xan looked at Brenna in disbelief, but she did not even turn her head to face him.
"I don't think you can imagine how frightened I was," She continued. "I wanted to say no, but I knew that if I did not only would I be killed, but my whole family would be killed along with me! So with a heavy heart and my eyes full of tears, I married that evil, twisted, sadistic, tyrannical son-of-a-bitch."
"Did you consummate your marriage?" Xan asked.
Brenna sighed before replying. "It depends if you think rape can be considered consummation."
Xan shifted his gaze to the ground but alas, Brenna was not done.
"If I thought the wedding night was hell, the following months were worse. He openly cheated on me, beat me whenever I displeased him even in public, and forced me to wear ridiculous skanky clothes, cook his meals, clean his house, and do his laundry. Hell, I was basically his slave more than his wife."
"So what did he do?" Xan interrupted.
Brenna whipped around and thundered, "Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Yeah I did. I do not deny that that must have been horrible, but after enduring all that, you have said...I mean the guy must have done something pretty damn awful to you to make you finally leave him. So what was it?"
Brenna turned away and sighed.
"In spite of him cheating on me with almost every single woman in the village, he still found time to force himself on me on a regular basis. However, he never bought condoms and he didn't let me take the pill so it should have been no surprise that eventually I would get pregnant."
Xan looked up slowly and asked cautiously, "Did you?"
Brenna hesitated
Eventually, she nodded, and said, "Yeah."
Xan swore he could feel his insides freeze, but unfortunately Brenna's story did not end there.
"At first I wasn't sure, but after three pregnancy tests and a trip to the doctors...well needless to say I had no doubts left. However, even though I didn't want the baby and especially not the man who gave it to me I still resolved to have it. Most of all, I resolved to tell him."
Brenna sighed yet again.
"So one night I pulled him aside and told him. I do not know what I was expecting him to do, but I was definitely not expecting him to sucker-punch me in the gut. I collapsed on the floor with the air completely knocked out of me. I laid there gasping for air, and he just stood over me, watching me in pain. He then said, 'maybe next time you will ask my permission before you decide to get pregnant'."
Xan stared at her with his mouth open, completely stunned.
Brenna just sighed.
They were both silent until Xan asked, "Did you lose the baby?"
Brenna chuckled darkly. "Are you kidding?"
"Oh my god," Xan said softly, "How far along were you?"
Brenna sighed and said, "According to the doctors who treated me: five months."
Xan gasped.
Brenna then turned away and said, "I told my family, and they agreed with me that I couldn't stay with him anymore. I had to leave. So one night while he was out with one of his mistresses, my parents packed me up, and got me out of there. The next few years consisted of traveling from one relative to another and trying to avoid being found by Holden."
"Holden?" Xan gasped and then saying hoarsely, "You mean he really is..."
"My husband. My mate for life. The bane of my very existence. The one thing that frightens me more than anything in the world?" said Brenna looking extremely gloomy. "Yeah."
Chapter Eight
"Are you sure?" Keon asked trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.
The scrawny freckled brown-haired vampire merely nodded his confirmation.
Keon turned away with a smile growing on his face.
"So the werewolf Brenna has a husband who is itching to get her back eh?" he finally remarked.
He then chuckled and said, "Well far be it from me not to interfere on behalf of true love."
"What do you mean?" Saul asked sitting up in his coffin.
Keon grinned as he turned to look at him.
"I have found a great way to rid ourselves of that annoying last witch finally," said Keon.
Saul stopped himself from gulping and asked, "What? How?"
"Ever heard of the concept of prisoner exchange?" Keon said smirking.
"I really can't believe it! Brenna has a husband and she is only sixteen!" Ginevra said as she slapped a hand to her head in total shock.
"Well according to Brenna, she was twelve when she married him," said Xan.
Everyone had now gathered at the club to discuss this latest development. R
oy was there with his elder brothers, Dax as well with his and Xan's foster sisters. Amazingly, Tristan and Titania were there too. Aradia stood facing them, still trying to wrap her mind around the latest crisis. Just what I needed, she thought selfishly for a moment, more stress.
Aradia shook her head to banish such thoughts and then cleared her throat. "Look everyone, I know how shocking this is but the fact is Brenna needs our help so from now on in addition to taking care of the club, we will have to guard her as well."
Tristan snorted. "Guard a werewolf? Why the hell should we do that?"
Aradia stared at him in disbelief. "But when I was kidnapped by Henry McAlester you all came to save me..."
Tristan interrupted, "That was only because you are the last witch and are therefore are a very valuable piece of property and there was no way in hell we could let another vampire snatch you away."
Aradia rolled her eyes in disbelief.
Nevertheless, she continued in her intention to motivate everyone to protect Brenna. "Look everybody Brenna needs our help. Do you know what her ex-husband used to do to her? He would beat her, cheat on her, rape her, and..."
"What's your point?" Tristan interrupted once again.
Titania, who was sitting on his right, laughed softly into her hand.
Aradia scowled, and decided to put her foot down.
"Look Tristan," she snapped, "The fact is Brenna maybe a werewolf and not one of your people or your concern, but she is still a woman in danger. She needs help and I am going to help protect her and everyone here, including you, is going to do the same."
Before Tristan had chance to interrupt Aradia rushed on, "How do I know you are going to do that? Well by protecting Brenna, I will be placing myself in imminent danger and since I am considered such a valuable political tool, you will all do what you can to protect me from harm. This in turn will help protect Brenna."
There was a moment of silence where everyone stared at her in amazement.
Aradia smiled despite her nervousness because she hoped that in spite of her being forceful her friends would still be willing to help her.
Dax chuckled and looked down at the ground. "Never thought I'd be helping a werewolf get away from her ex."
"But," he added while looking up to face Aradia. "There is always a first time for everything."
Aradia's smile grew wider, and more sincere.
"You all already know what I am going to do," said Xan while folding his arms.
Her smile became even more sincere, and bigger.
Ginevra and Domitilla then said, "Hey if Xan and Dax are doing this than we are in."
"Brenna's our cousin so our answer is obvious," said Al while Roy and D nodded in agreement.
Everyone turned to Tristan and Titania who just sat looking back at them uncomfortably.
Finally, Tristan sighed and said, "Like we really have a choice."
Aradia shook her head. "You do Tristan. You can say no if you want to. You don't have to help us."
Tristan bitterly smirked at her. "Yeah right."
The following two weeks if Brenna's family could not watch her, Aradia would personally arrange for a shape-shifter, vampire, or fae warrior to do it instead. There were murmurings of discontentment at first, but Aradia had managed to deal with that as well. She had talked to their leaders and convinced them to see how beneficial it would be to protect Brenna. Of course, it did not hurt that before approaching the leaders, Aradia would approach their wives first.
Many of the hidden community were also stunned by her actions, and the fact that that she cared so much. Brenna may have been a relative of one of her suitors, but everyone believed that it was really no concern of Aradia's if something befell her. Aradia, however, saw it very differently. After hearing about the years of abuse and the forced miscarriage of her child; Aradia felt compelled, as a woman, to give Brenna the support she needed.
There were some calculated moves in Aradia's intentions such as using Brenna's situation as an example to explain to the High Hidden council of Salem how the laws needed to be changed. She also used it as a legitimate excuse to cancel all of her future social plans. Most especially, her actions helped to set Aradia up in a positive light to the hidden populace.
Before this, many had regarded her as a probable power-hungry creature capable of enslaving the entire hidden community of Salem. Now, however, they had proof that that was truly not the case. So what if Aradia was the only survivor of a slaughtered race, and considered the most powerful hidden in the entire world? All that seemed to matter to her was to help others, regardless of their race and power.
Furthermore, by handling this issue firsthand she was now considered the most popular and influential hidden in Salem. Wherever she went, thousands of people flocked or catered to her like flowers toward the sun's rays. She received gifts, compliments, and favors from every hidden in the city. Most of all, because of Aradia's rising influence in the hidden community whenever several different hiddens wanted to resolve matters amongst themselves they went straight to Aradia, instead of their own leader's, who for the first time in her life felt like she actually had the power to make a difference.
However, this did not sit well with everyone especially Keon who watched Aradia eating her lunch in the cafeteria through narrowed angry eyes. She was sitting with her usual crew of both human and hidden friends, eating and laughing happily. The only differences was now more hiddens had joined the table, and were acting like the ancient hatred that had existed between their people for centuries had never existed in the first place. They all talked, joked, and laughed together acting more like humans than hidden.
Keon always looked angry, but seeing people cater to this shrill voiced, scrawny witch, more than they did to his Sovereign had distorted his angered expression into that of a snake eager to devour its prey. Clenching his fist where a piece of paper now lay, Keon gritted his teeth and fought back the urge to pounce on Aradia and show everyone just how weak she truly was. He hated all the changes Salem was going through. Before Aradia came to Salem, Keon could do whatever he wanted with no fear of the consequences, but now thanks to Aradia all that had changed.
Now there were "laws" being created and followed by the hidden community. Laws such as vampires could only get blood from blood banks or wild animals and could not kill humans except in self-defense. In addition, werewolf "safe houses" were being constructed out of brick, steel, or anything that were strong enough to keep the wolves locked up at night so during the full moon nights they could not escape and bite people. Furthermore as good measure, they would be fed drug-laced meat after their transformations so they would wake long after the full moon had set and the danger had passed.
However, the vampires and werewolves were not the only ones that were being changed by Aradia's influence though. It was happening to the fae's and shape shifters as well. Fae's and shape-shifters did not have to worry about eating humans or turning them, but they still had issues of their own. The biggest issue with them was territory, which often ended up becoming violent fights amongst themselves and others. The winner would be the only survivor of such a thing, and would naturally get everything. However, now there were laws where territory disputes were settled in newly appointed courts rather than violent and bloody matches.
It was because of all these changes that no longer could Keon and his clan members randomly kill humans in the street for fear of being found out. Nor could they watch as werewolves broke out of their previous holding cells, bite or kill humans, and lament over what they had done once they transformed back. In Keon's mind, such a thing was funnier than watching Jersey Shore. In addition, because of the laws that had been, implemented Keon and his clan could no longer randomly destroy property on fae territory or vice versa with the shape-shifters, and watch as the people involved destroyed themselves in bloody senseless battles.
Worst of all (to Keon at least) the Night Shadow clan could no longer participate in their favorite games.
Such as "tame the werewolf" where he and the other Night Shadow clan members would chase, corner, tease, and beat a transformed werewolf senselessly as easily as if it were a dog. Last but definitely not least, the Night Shadow clan could no longer play "hunting the human" where Keon and his clan members would randomly pick a human, chase after him, taunt him, play with him, and then devour him viciously while he or she was still alive.
Keon was very upset about the new order in the hidden Salem community. Where there had been chaos and violence before, which Keon thoroughly enjoyed, there was now none at all. Well, he thought, nothing to do about it except get rid of the little bitch whose causing all this, he added bitterly, or little witch to be more precise. Either way I am going to do whatever it takes to get rid of her finally! And this piece of paper, he thought as he looked down at his clenched fist, is going to help me. It was gleaming up at him with ink running towards the edges, dripping like blood, and from out of its white fisted prisoner peeked out a long scratchy H.
Chapter Nine
Melina was surprised for she had expected that by the way she had been treating the Preston's they would be acting at the very least hostile towards her. However, in spite of all the insults, the stealing she did, and the trouble she caused she and Marietta were still being treated reasonably well. Amazingly, her parents had treated her as if her behavior was nothing usual. The fact that I am referring to them as my parents should indicate how much things are changing, Melina thought to herself with a sarcastic smirk.
She was sitting in the library (much to her own amazement) watching the snowfall outside. It was now January, and a blizzard was expected next week. The snow reminded Melina of Christmas and Melina thought back to the Christmas they had shared with the Prestons. In the other two homes, hell even in their own home, Melina and Marietta were grateful if they were even fed on Christmas day. Here not only had Ross and Liza let Melina and Marietta help pick out the tree and decorate it, but they had even had the two of them participate in their family traditions. They had made fudge, watched famous Christmas movies, and done Christmas shopping together or at least the girls had while Ross hung out at a coffee shop.