Refused and Abandoned

***WARNING: This chapter contains some very graphic scenes. Not for people with weak stomachs. I changed the rating to R for this chapter just to be safe anyways. "/

I watched as trees passed by the windows, becoming nothing more than a blur of greens and browns. I sighed, tearing my gaze away from the window to look down at my hands.

"Are you alright, Alex?" I looked up at Jake and forced a smile on my face.

"I'm ... doing okay."

He frowned, obviously not satisfied with my answer. "I knew we should have waited a few more days before coming out here. You just got out of the hospital yesterday and I'm already driving you out to see ... your childhood home barely a week after the stupid attack."

I raised my hand, patting his shoulder. "It's fine, Jake. I just want to get it over with. Besides, I have people who care about me in the Snow Pack and I know they're all worried about me now."

He sighed, a small smile finally making his way on his face. "Your a very interesting girl, Alex."

I shrugged, looking out the window again. "Whatever you say, Jake."

He chuckled before the car slowed down, eventually coming to a stop. "Well, we're here. Um, I had some of my pack members come here to try to clean up after the attack, but I they told me it was still a bit ... messy."

I nodded, swallowing the rather large lump that seemed to appear like magic. "If it's alright with you, Jake, I would like to look around for a bit by myself. Unless, of course, you need me for anything?"

He shook his head, looking around the place. "I just have to do a few last minute things so that we can give your pack the proper ceremony. I can talk about the finer details about this place with you at home though. How long do you think you'll need?" I shrugged, opening the door to get out. He bit his lip, looking at the clock. "Try to be back by 8 tonight, 'kay? Or at least contact me in some way before than if you want to spend the night here."

I nodded. "Thanks, Jake, but I doubt we're spending the night."

'I doubt I could handle it anyways,' I thought to myself as I walked away from the car, slowly making my way to my first destination.

By the time I reached my old house, tears were already flowing down my face. As I walked by, blood seemed to be everywhere, tainting the air with it's metallic scent and staining everything a heart wrenching red.

I hesitated, my hand hovering on the doorknob before I opened the door, bracing myself for the worst. And as I looked into the house, I could feel bile gathering. I quickly turned and bent over by the bushes, heaving and gasping as I emptied my stomach onto the grass.

The scene inside was something that could have been taken out of a police crime show. Blood splattered the walls, forming pools on the ground. Deep scratches were forever etched into the walls and floors, evident that a very rough struggle took place. The stale air smelled of blood, sweat, and death. The furniture were thrown all over the room, the vast majority broken into bits. Glass shards sparkled in the sun, some even colored that sickening red. Worst off, the scents that filled the air were of my own family. My brother. Keaton. Kate. My parents. As I dry heaved pathetically, arms wrapped around my stomach, I couldn't help but let my tears fall, slowly dripping from my face.

After a few minutes, I took a deep breath to control my sobs, wiping my face with my shirt before I stood up on wobbly legs, slowly making my way into the house. I kept my gaze down to the ground as I walked in, swallowing the bile that threaten to come out again. I took another deep breath before I looked up, pretending not to see the blood as I first made my way upstairs. Upstairs seemed to be an entirely different world. Sure, tables were turned over and scratches still covered the ground and walls, but there seemed to be less blood, less of a disaster zone. I first walked into my parents room, looking around the master bedroom before I walked over to the closet. I picked up a shoebox of my mom's and gently took her shoes out of it, placing it back in the closet before I looked around the room. FIrst thing I picked up was the picture of our family my parents kept at their bedside table. I smiled, looking down at the picture. My mom and dad were smiling, my dad's arm snaked around my mom's waist as they watched my brother and I from a short distance. My brother and I were dripping wet, a strawberry cone in my hands while my brother held a chocolate cone.

"Come one, Brent, Alex. We're gonna go to the park without you if you don't hurry up!" My dad yelled from outside, honking his horn. I rolled my eyes, grabbing a rubber band and throwing my hair up into a messy bun before I practically rand down the stairs, making my way to the car. My brother followed a few seconds later, sticking his tongue out at me as my dad began to reverse the car out.

"Jeez, Alex. Don't hog the bathroom next time."

"Not my fault someone unplugged my alarm clock last night," I told him, smiling as I saw my dad shake his head and my mom laugh.

"Honestly, you two are like a pair of little children the way you guys act," my dad commented dryly as we left the pack lands, slowly making our way to the human town a few miles away.

"It's not me. It's him," I said, sticking my tongue out at my brother. He faked growled, poking my side a bit, causing me to squeal.

"Liar."

We both playfully bickered throughout the ride, eventually getting onto the topic of who the best power ranger was.

"I"m telling you, the red one wins every time," my brother said, a smile on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Not. The green one is. He always have to come in to save the red power ranger's butt."

"But he's really unreliable. He only shows up once every ten battles and he waits until the group is practically defeated before he does something."

"Well, if the red ranger was so strong, he wouldn't even need the green ranger's help."

"Well-"

"We're here!" My mom exclaimed, cutting my brother's rant off. I smirked, sticking my tongue out at him once more before I bolted from the car, running over to the lake in the middle of the park. I loved the park here. The area was beautiful. Swans, ducks, fish, and frogs occupied the lake. Dogs were allowed at the park, wearing a leash of course. This created a very relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, making this park one of my favorite places to be.

"Oi! Alex!" I heard my brother yell as i ran over to the lake.

"What!" I yelled over my shoulder, not even bothering to slow down for him.

I stopped once I reached the lake, smiling as I squatted down and watched the smaller fish and tadpoles swim by the edge of the water.

"Damn, you're fast," Brent said as he finally caught up with me, nudging me with his knee a bit. I laughed, standing up before turning to him.

"Not my fault," I said. But I looked on the water and noticed some people renting out boats. "Ooh, Brent, we should totally rent a boat! It'll be fun!"

He sighed, but agreed nonetheless. Half an hour later, we were in the middle of the lake, drifting on a small boat. "Oh my gosh, look at that fish!" I shouted, pointing to the fish that just jumped out. Brent chuckled, watching me.

"I don't know what dad was talking about. You're the little kid out of the two of us."

I mock glared at him, splashing him a little. "Not. I just enjoy nature."

"You want to enjoy nature?"

"Brent, what are yo- BRENT!"

I gasped as I popped my head up from the water, frowning as Brent stood on the boat, laughing his butt off.

"You ass! Why'd you throw me off the boat?"

He shrugged, laughing harder than before. I glared before I smiled, going over to the boat before I pushed it over, causing my brother to take a dive into the water.

"Not cool," my brother said after he emerged from the water.

"It's just payback," I said, flipping the boat right side up before I climbed in, my brother following my lead. "We should head back. Who knows what's actually in this water."

"I agree," My brother said, looking around the boat. "Um, Alex? Where's the oars?"

I smiled, remembering the day fondly. After we got back to shore two hours later, my dad treated both of us to ice cream, against my mom's wishes, and just enjoyed the rest of the day at the park. I placed the photo in the box before i began looking for something to remind me of my parents individually. Soon, I had placed my mom's engagement ring, both of their wedding rings, and my dad's favorite Victorinox watch in the box and i made my way over to my brother's room. I had to bite my lip to hold in the grief once the familiar scents of both my brother and his best friend, Keaton's scent invaded my senses. Although Brent was the best brother anyone could ask for, Keaton was just as much of my older brother as Brent was. While Brent was the more protective, mature one, always making sure I was safe and not getting into trouble, Keaton was the more mischievous and out-going one, taking me out every so often and always giving me advice to things that might seem silly to Brent.

I walked into the room slowly and laughed, choking back sobs as I saw one of keaton's most prized possession nestled in the corner of the room. A simple, green crystal rock attacked to a broken chain. It must have broken when-

I shook my head, cutting that thought of sharply. I refused to think about it. I gingerly picked up the crystal, smiling as I remember Keaton, how he always wore this crystal because he thought it brought him good luck. I stuck that in my box and immediately headed to my brother's dresser, opening the first drawer and rummaging through it a bit before I found what i was looking for.

I brought out a small box and opened it, smiling as I saw several pieces of papers, each one filled with a different pictures that I knew my brother drew.. I smiled, picking up the other shoebox and tucking both under my arms before I left his room. As I was heading downstairs, however, i paused before I turned around and headed to my old room. Hesitating only the slightest, I entered the room, my breath catching in my throat. My room was exactly how I left it when I left this pack that short time ago. My bed was still a mess, as though I had just rolled out of it. A few pieces of clothes lay scattered throughout the room.

I grabbed one of my bags from my closet, stuffing it with more of my clothes. I figured my brother had only packed me enough clothes to last me a temporary stay at the Snow Pack, but now that I no longer had reason to return here, I figured I should bring my stuff with me. I packed maybe five more outfits, deciding to just leave the rest and packed other things I wanted. I ended up stuffing my ipod, journals, pictures, and a few more cherished items into my bag. As I was digging through my jewelry, my hand knocked down a velvet box, forcing it's conents to spill to the ground.

I knelt down and picked up the items, freezing as I recognized it. It was two necklaces, both bearing a pendent shaped like moons. One had my name engraved on the back. The other's Kate.

"Alex! You got to look at these!" She squealed, catching the attention of every costumer and worker in the store. I sighed, slowly making my way over to her.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember these things?" She asked, shoving something in my face. I grabbed it from her hands, examining them for a minute before a wide smile spread across my face.

"Hey. These are those friendship things that were so popular when we were kids."

She giggled, picking up a pair of necklaces, the pendant shaped like rainbows, 'best' etched in one while the other had 'friends' etched into it.

"These things were so cheesy."

"I think they're cute though," I said, smiling as I put it back on the shelf. Suddenly, Kate squealed, turning to look at me.

"Oh my gosh Alex! We should totally get a pair."

I raised my eyebrow. "I thought you said they were cheesy?"

She rolled her eyes, looking down at the rainbow pendents in her hands. "Well, yeah. But we can personalize ours. We can find matching necklaces and engrave our own names in them. That way, people will still recognize us as best friends, but no one will ever have the same necklaces as us."

I smiled, nodding my head. "That sounds like a plan. What should our pendent be?"

"A wolf," she said, causing us to both laugh.

"Now that's cheesy," I told her sticking my tongue out at her.

"Well, what do you suggest?"

I looked around the store, before my eyes settled on the perfect one. "What about the moon?"

"The...moon?" she questioned, following me as I headed straight for the necklaces.

"Yeah, the moon," I answered her, picking one up to examine. "That way, you know, it still connects us to our werewolf heritage, but it can also symbolize how we are always changing. You know, like how the moon changes it's shape everday. But even if they're changing, we'll always be the best of friends."

"And you said my idea was cheesy?" Kate laughed, picking up a necklace herself. "But I say we do it. It's special to us and no one else. And I know this great place that can engrave our names on it for cheap."

I nodded my head, the both of us smiling as we made our way over to pay for our necklaces.

I smiled a bit, placing both necklaces back into the velvet box before I put it in the shoebox with the rest of my family's keepsake. Giving the room one last glance, I turned my back on my home.

Before I knew it, I had met up with Jake and we were soon pulling up in the driveway, Jake promising that I can return if I wanted to. I nodded, but not hearing a thing. I left my things in the car as I entered the forest, soon shifting into my wolf and letting her take over as I drew back into my own subconscious, wanting to leave reality, if only just for a bit.