Chapter Fifty-Seven--The Replacement Family

Chapter Fifty-Seven--The Replacement Family
The third, Mr. Quiet had a male with vivid, eerie blue eyes tied to a chair. His biceps were sliced to ribbons. He stared into the camera, the challenge clear. Clara stood behind him, Bowie knife dripping ruby red blood. She smirked, poise clear she was about to strike again.

The fourth, a disemboweled young female lay on the floor of a cheap hotel room. Blood washed every surface within a few feet radius. Clara leaned against the wall, smoking a cigarette, staring at the body, no hint of emotion. Good or bad.

Every photograph displayed minute changes in Clara. From a woman who lived in a love soaked fantasy, living “the dream,” to a monster that rivaled Kalvyn’s father. She liked what she did. I dropped the rest, not able to see another visual fragment of her life.

I skipped to the middle of the book, careful to ignore the pictures tapped to the pages. Another entry.

Grey sent a note to B12. He wants this one taken alive at all costs. Doesn’t mean we can’t hurt her first, but she has to be in one piece. No big deal. Not the first time we’d taken one alive. In the last few years, B12 had led us to glory. Our success rate has raised my status to C94, though the climb was hard. My kill rate rivals those in the B division. No doubt, with time, I will exceed further. Doesn’t hurt that I’m in a relationship with B12. E202 isn’t happy. He’s been in lot longer than me, and still is in the same Division. But he lacks the spirit and drive I have.

We got ourselves a new recruit, E364. He’s an eager learner. His brother was killed by a T, and he needs revenge. I will make sure he has it. One day we’ll find the clan and bring them down.

Our relationship is already strong. He and his brother were foster children. He needs a mother figure in his life, to help him through his grief. Who better than me?

I wasn’t good enough, but some lonely boy was? How could the woman hurt me so badly after all of this time? I skipped a couple more entries, to find the second to last she’d written. But the photo at the bottom chilled me.

My fingers caressed the photo. So familiar to me, my heart ached. I scanned the words above it.

B12 hadn’t heard from Grey in so long, only the A Division. We were thrilled to receive a mission directly from him, especially given the particular assignment. I get the only reason we were handed such an important, is because I come from there.

It’s time to go back to H, after all of these years. I’d all but forgotten those people. I can’t help but wonder what that man and his daughter have been doing. Not that I would get all sentimental and shit. I might be going back to where I grew up, but it wasn’t a home, or anything I was interested in. I knew those mountains.

I’d been there the night the Colbane Clan was massacred. Some escaped. We’d figured they’d taken off, but the evidence shows otherwise. An honest to God R J near SL. I had no idea who took the picture, or how they got close to take it. Only that I have in my possession. Must’ve been Division D. They didn’t have to balls to capture the R. He has the glowing green eyes, a sure sign of his heritage. He is pure. Only B12 and I know why Grey wants him alive. E202 and E364 don’t have the security I’ve been provided in this mission. B12 says if I can lead us to victory, we’ll both be promoted. Wow. What will it be like to date an A Division? Not only that, but to be in B Division myself.

Oh yeah, this Royal jaguar  R J is going down.

Her slip showed her excitement, something she hadn’t done in all the entries I’d skimmed through. I touched the photograph, before going to the very last entry.

I’d seen him today! Damn it. How could we fuck up this badly?

B12 reminds me that the only reason we hadn’t noticed his fucking eyes, is because of that stupid girl we hit with the boat. I should’ve killed her. Not the first time I’ve taken a human life, in trade of what’s actually important. What’s one life, in the face of thousands? Nothing. She meant nothing.

Something inside of me had stayed my hand, in just pushing her over the side and letting her drown. Then again, B12 had pointed out that if we had, we wouldn’t have to go to shore and had the sighting at all.

Damn it! The entire ride back to camp, we fought. I consol myself for not getting rid of the girl, because I can’t teach E364 to have a disregard for human life. That isn’t right. Leave the dirty deeds to me, and save him the mental problems straight up murder has. He’s too young for that. Many years ahead of him to grow into a killer’s hand.

But the R J is around here. I will find him, and he will suffer for escaping me. I will not give up my promotion because he’s good at hiding. I remember the location where the slaughter happened all those years ago. E202 is right. Somewhere on the North side of the mountain, they live. B12 disagrees, and I’m not stupid enough to correct him. I’ll just go on my own, or let E202 go off the handle, and do the job for me, so I can take the credit.

I flipped back to the photograph Grey had sent Mr. Quiet and Clara. The picture was crystal clear, taken with a steady hand.

Brilliant emerald trees, and lavish green hills suggested spring. This must’ve been taken a few months ago.

A tear trailed my cheek, as my finger stroked the familiar face.

The picture was of Kalvyn and Lexi, laughing and carefree.

I gripped the blanket, pulling myself up, fighting the sickness. Tears poured down my cheeks as the door opened. I expected Kalvyn, or Syber, not who glared at me from the doorway.

“What are you doing in here?” Bianca demanded. Her face had stopped bleeding, through the jagged tissue was red and swollen. She wore clean clothes. She reeked of mint and peaches.

“What are you doing out of your cage?” I croaked.

“Lexi decided since you permitted us to live,” she spat. “We had to be fed and properly clothed. Since she is a proper Royal with a bleeding heart, her word can equal yours when you’re not here to defend it, bitch.”

She moved too fast to track, as she leapt across the room, and ripped the book from my hands, still open to the page with Kalvyn and Lexi’s picture.

“What the fuck is this, Alpha?” Bianca shrieked, bringing Dorian and Syber running into the room. “Who wrote this? Was it you?”

“What’s going on?” Syber demanded.

Bianca sneered evilly. “Seems we have spy in our midst. I found her in here, by herself, with this book. What do you say about that, Beta? Pretty incriminating, don’t you think?”

“You think I’m going to rely on what you have to say about my Alpha?” Syber snapped.

She tossed the book. His hand snapped, catching the volume in midair.

“Look at it, Beta. Tell me this isn’t damning evidence. She lies to us.”

He opened the book to a random page. I hadn’t a clue which entry he scanned. His expression shut down.

Shock splintered my queasy hopelessness. What Bianca was doing played, rewound, then fast-forwarded. The beginning, middle and end results hit me from different angles. After everything, she’d really turn them against me?

First thought, of course she would.

Second thought, she really thought I was a traitor.

“Syber,” I gasped through the tightness in my chest, the first stages of a full blown anxiety attack.

Katrina, command her…my cat whispered.

Shut up!

No more violence or mind control. Not today. To have the ability to steal the will of others wasn’t right. To hurt others for the sake of doing so defied my ethics.

Syber stared into a fixed point between Bianca and I, over the book. “What is this, Katrina?”

Not Alpha. Not Kat. Katrina. Much as Lola, my full name from his mouth sounded like a nail plummeted into my coffin.

“I found it when Kalvyn took me to see the hunters,” I replied brokenly.

He pivoted, and stalked from the room. My breath wheezed from my lungs as Bianca hurried after him. She glared over her shoulder, no hint of triumph. Her golden iries shadowed with worry.

I followed, catching the doorframe as my knees buckled.

Lola exited the room across from me. One glance, and she caught me before I fell. I choked, panted.

“Kat, what is it?”

My throat closed around any answer I’d provide. She stroked my back.

“Calm down, dude, for real. Think happy things. Is it the whole cat thing? Don’t worry, we’ll deal. I’m not mad or anything. Just breath, that’s it. Then we can talk it through. We’ve gotten through so much shit, Kat. We will get through this.”

I focused on her words, each syllable. My anxiety attack lessened, making the defeating sense of dread all the more prominent. My mantra continued.

I was screwed.