Nothing Personal

The wind was cruel to her, berating with a chilling blow every moment it could, as she walked down the sidewalk. Her steps fell silent against the howls of the wind as the early morning casted an orange hue on her lonely figure. She was alone by choice, as she was about to do something very personal and didn't trust anyone enough to see the other side of her. It was something that could break her and she didn't need anyone to know that information.

She stopped in front of worn, metal gothic gates, the tips pointed and sharp but that didn't deter her as she climbed over them, balancing on the small spaces in between the spikes with her black flats before landing gracefully on the neglected grass. She went straight forward, maneuvering around stone graves respectfully until she stopped in front of one. Its face was smooth and untouched, kept up and cleaned as dearly as equally it' inhabitant six feet under was loved.

She knelt down and traced the letters engraved in the granite.

SLOANE DUBOLAZOV

1969-1999

BELOVED HUSBAND, FATHER, AND SON

It was a pitiful description of the man but who else had anything to say about him? As far as she knew, all of his relatives had died in his home country of Russia.

She smiled at the grave as if it was his face, her bottom lip trembling as she tried to picture his expressive blue eyes, the ones that stood out from his light blond hair. They were full of compassion and love, never once tainted by anger or red with rage. He was a kind man, with large but tender hands. She closed her eyes, blinking away the moisture building up, but when she opened them, her sight was still blurred.

"Daddy," she choked as she sat down on the grass. "It's been a while hasn't it," she began, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

She looked at the grave next to his, a matching stone with similar markings except for the engraving. She leaned over and touched the face tendering.

AUBREY TALULLAH DUBOLAZOV

1971-1999

'A compassionate woman, loving daughter, wondering sister, doting wife, and caring mother. She will be missed dearly.'

The print was smaller than her father's as Aubrey had more to be said about her than Sloane did, and then again, Aubrey's family was more so alive than Sloane's who had all but vanished.

"You, too, Mom," Madison told her, wiping a stray tear from her face. "You have no idea how much I miss you. There are times I pass by a garden and expect you to be hunched by a rose bush, tending to the pretty flowers like you always did at home."

She closed her eyes again, letting silence rest over her, as her throat tightened. Her stomach dropped as she tried to swallow her emotions but they kept coming back up.

Stay focused, she reminded herself. Don't go back to the past. It's done-and-said now. Stick to the present.

"I guess the reason I haven't visited in a while is because I've been doing things, bad things…" Madison admitted, lifting her head to face her father's cold grave, exhaling to cool her throat but a slight burn remained. "Even if I think the people deserve them but I wonder afterwards, does is make me just as bad as them? I don't know if you're ashamed of me, disappointed in me…" She dropped her head, her long blond hair falling from behind her ears to curtain her face. "I'm so sorry Daddy. I know this isn't what you wanted of me."

She sniffled, wiping her nose with her coat's sleeve.

"But daddy," she whispered, "you did something awful, too," Madison reflected the blame. Her face contorted in bitter resentment she couldn't imagine ever feeling towards the man who cradled her. "You cheated on mom…" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she was still in disbelief. "Why daddy," She demanded, "what in the world could've driven you to hurt her like that? And with Kate of all people! Didn't you know she was trouble? That she was a hunter?" Madison's voice gave out. "I can't believe that you would do that, Dad, I can't. You loved mom, I know you did!" She wiped her face of the warm tears flowing down her pale face. "But you destroyed our family when you brought that woman into our lives. She killed mom, Dad, all because you broke her heart." Her lips curled as her voice rose an octave, losing her strength as she feel back into a role of a child.

"I know honey, and Daddy is so sorry that I did that. I promise I'll make it up to you. How about you and I go to the library tomorrow?" She could almost hear him say, recalling a time he came home late and forgot to read her favorite story. She was so upset with him. She waited up all night for him to come home but eventually cried herself to sleep. How melodramatic she was as a child… Sloane promised he'd make it up to her, after hearing the heartbreaking news from his disappointed wife. He hugged Madison dearly, consoling her, telling her he didn't mean to miss out on their quality time.

"I really miss you Dad," she sobbed. "I miss you when I go to sleep, that you're not there to say Good night. Frank does, and so does Trevor, but they can't say it like you do. I miss you when I wake up, knowing you won't be there in the kitchen to wish me a good day at school. You can't imagine the anguish I felt, that a five year old can't have her Dad wish her a great day on her first day of school."

She couldn't breathe her nose was so plugged. "I need you Dad. I need you here. I need your help. I have no idea what to do. I need you to say it'll okay. You need to be here to make everything okay. I can't do this alone. It's too much, Dad. I can't take it. Every time I…"

She fell into heart-breaking sobs as her chest swelled. Everything hurt in her. She remembered every time she got her hands on a hunter and slit his throat or snapped his neck. "It doesn't help anything, killing them. I feel nothing and at the end of the day, I still feel sick and heavy. It's doing absolutely nothing. I look at the carnage and I realize it doesn't help…because you're still not here, and you won't be, ever again. What's the point of all of this? Tell me, Dad. I need you to talk to me. I need you…" She fell forward into her lap, hugging herself, imagining it to be Sloane, embracing his little girl like he used to do, protecting her from all the evil in the world.

Her whole body shook as she caved in. This is why she went after those God-damned hunters. Not just because they killed her parents but because they killed a part of her, too. They made her hurt and swell from inside, her pain eating her from the inside.

"Mom," she looked at her mother's grave. "No one will ever replace you. No one will ever be able to take your place. No one else is like you…It's awful. I just want you home. I need you to smile at me, to ramble all about the neighbors, like you used to do," the childish memory brought a pathetic smile onto Madison's face. "It…sucks…" she mildly put it, "that you and I will never be able to do girl things ever again. When I see girls go shopping at the mall complaining about how their moms are so old-fashioned…I just want to yell at them, scream at them, and slap them, for not realizing how lucky they are. I would kill –have killed –just to spend another day with you, to sit next to you while you tend to the violets or walk through town, pointing at the cute little shops." She was barely coherent as she mumbled through the memories. She let out another shaky breath before continuing.

"Frank tries to hide it but I know he misses you, too. He has this sad smile on his face every time he sees me. He says I looked a lot like you and I think that's the reason why," she remembered. He said that only a week before she dyed her hair a bland blond color. He was one of the reasons she changed it. She saw it hurt him, too, a lot, to be reminded of his late sister. "He's so sad. Sometimes he stares at your picture and I can see he wants to break down but he can't. He has this responsibility to take care of me and thinks now he has to hide his emotions so I think everything is okay but I'm smarter than that, he knows that, too, but it kills me to see how he's forced to bury everything inside. It's devastating. I don't want him in pain but there isn't really much I can do about it."

From a different view, behind a large oak, a stranger could see how vulnerable she was. Her face was red and enflamed, wet with bitter tears. Her eyes were just as red, her blue pupils bright and wide, unveiling the child within her that had long been buried under her hardened core. Her hair stuck to her face, no matter how many attempts she tried to move it aside.

Derek sighed softly, deeply disturbed by the scene. He never imagined that Madison would break down but watching her practically hug the ground brought out urges to gather her up in his arms and rock her, to comfort her, as he understood the depths of her anguish. She and he were alike in so many ways, as his family perished in a fire, as did hers, and by the same person nonetheless. Kate betrayed him, used him, as she had fooled Madison's father, too, but he didn't know that fact.

He resisted his urge though, knowing Madison didn't want anyone to know that she was capable of feeling weak. He knew he sure didn't. Reluctantly, he walked away, feeling heavy with guilt. Madison needed a shoulder to transfer the weight of her pain on but he knew she wouldn't allow that. She was just as headstrong as she was anguished.

Allison's jolted up, throwing off her covers, welcomed by the blinding light of the sun from her window. Her face was drenched with tears and she found it difficult to breathe through both her nose and mouth but still gasped for air, wincing as her throat burned. Her sight was blurred and she blinked constantly to clear her vision but to no avail.

She remembered being at a grave, only catching a last name but in her moment of hysteria, could not recall all of it, just the first few letters. DUB- something. It unnerved her. She could only explain it as being in their body, feeling every bit of agony as they grieved their dead parents. She felt every ounce of emotion this individual felt and it had her drained.

So couldn't believe that this was the mighty Alpha she had imagined to go with the voice that had plagued her.

"I am."

It had sounded strong and callus, cold and threatening. She would've imagined to someone more like Peter. At least now she understood her (as she realized this was a she) motivation.

Back at the cemetery, Madison had cleaned up her act, falling back into her cold façade she was trademarked for. She gazed solemnly down on the headstones, pressing her fingertips to her lips and then pressing them against the cold stone.

"I love you," she bid them just as she was about to turn away.

There was a third grave, a smaller one fit for a child next to Aubrey's headstone. Madison didn't have to look at it to know what it said. In fact, she

MADISON E. DUBOLAZOV

1995 – 1999

In Loving memory of a beautiful child who was taken away too soon from this earth. RIP.

She didn't know who paid for it. It was a mystery to her but she was flattered someone inscribed such a tender note on her headstone. It was small, barely a foot high, but decorated with a miniature statue of an Angel posted on top of it. It was such a loving motion that someone had put so much care to her grave. It had once brought tears to her eyes. That's why she refused to look at it anymore. She felt guilty they had spent so effort and money on a grave that didn't belong there…yet.

"Excuse me," she heard someone cry from a distance. She perked her head and glanced at the sidewalk where she saw a frail figure struggled to make his way towards her. She stared at him, curious. She didn't feel threatened by his elderly form. He didn't present any form of danger to her. "Are you all right Miss?" The elder gentleman insisted.

Madison eyed him wearily. He was pushing his limits, barely independent on brittle bones as he reached the extended age of sixty something. His hair grayed to an almost white color, thinning significantly, while his blue eyes dulled, fogging over with a gray hue. He looked close on the verge of death and it disturbed her greatly but she kept it hidden under a cool expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied to his question. "I'm just a little emotional. It's a given."

The man looked behind her to the trio of family graves.

"Did you know the Dubolazov family?" He inquired with gentle eyes. Madison looked behind her to her father's grave, wondering if the stranger deserved to know some part of the truth or none at all.

Madison shook her head. "No but I heard of them…It's tragic."

The man shook his head. "I knew Sloane personally. He used to bring his daughter to my library all the time. She was such a sweetheart." A slow smile came upon his face as Madison's heart skipped a beat. His library…? He was the man who used to show her to the Shakespeare section? Suddenly an uncomfortable flutter weakened her stomach. He had changed so much. He looked so worn down. She frowned. She guessed time did that to a person. "She was smart, too. I used to bring her behind the counter and show her my copy of my Shakespearean plays and she absolutely loved them. She had a bright future ahead of her."

Something in his voice struck a chord in her. Would he be disappointed in her if he discovered what she had done? Had she damaged her future in some way? Had she destroyed it for good? She hadn't thought about it much, not with the scholarships that she constantly received…but that wasn't the future he was talking about. He was talking about her character, her morals… She suddenly felt heavy with guilt.

"I bet she really appreciated it, too," Madison consoled him as she spotted a familiar glint in his eyes. He, too, was getting teary.

"They didn't have much family and when I realized she wouldn't be given a proper grave, I bought one for her. It was the least I could do." He explained, crouching down to touch the smallest grave tenderly. The motion made Madison turn away to hide her fresh flow of tears.

Her breath shook as she tried to comprehend it all. The man who had always welcomed her with a bright smile whenever she burst through his store's doors–even if she could barely remember it… She couldn't believe he had sacrificed some of his funds to give a girl –a stranger to some extend but someone he cared for nonetheless –a grave. It was a motion she couldn't imagine anyone else would do. His kindness was overwhelming.

"That was really sweet of you," she whispered out. "She's really lucky that she met you."

"What would I give just to see her darling little face again," the man mumbled to himself as he pulled out a tattered photo from his pocket. "She had this glow about her, this liveliness that seemed impossible to kill. Her eyes would shine and her laughter would brighten the room like sunshine. She was a precious little girl."

Madison tried to think back on those days, where she was innocent and naïve, fumbling on the floor, always ahead of herself, trying to run. Her father would grab her and pull her back, lifting her on top of his shoulders, making her feel like she was Queen of the world. It was harder to recall those memories as the fire started to burn them as time passed. It seemed the fire had consumed everything in her.

"You really loved her," Madison observed.

He nodded. "She reminded me of my daughter."

Something in his eyes told her that there was more to the story but he suddenly fell silent as he stood up. He pulled out another thing from his trench coat, a fragile book with delicate seams. He opened it to the first page.

"Sometimes I read to her," he explained when he caught Madison's curious stare. It, too, reminded him of her younger self, even if he didn't know she was the same person. "Don't mind me. It's just a quick little story."

Madison shook her head. "It's all right. I don't mind at all. It'll be lovely, if you don't mind me staying."

The man smiled up at her. "Of course not," he insisted. "Make yourself comfortable."

For once in the longest time, she could actually feel young again, standing next to her past in flesh and blood as he read to her, just like he did when she was little. He never minded her as she cried silently to his words, overtaken by his sincerity. She could finally let go for that moment.

"There's another pack out there, there's gotta be," Erica insisted naively to Derek, not understanding even the basics of the dynamics of wolves –where they rarely accepted members. As a family, wolves were commonly known to be, outsiders were rarely ever welcomed into their trust circle. "We made up our minds." She stayed firm on her belief.

Derek immediately thought about Madison as a rival but doubted she would take these pups under her wing. Something told him Madison would either laugh or put them out of their misery. The thought sent shivers up his spine. Even if he felt bitter and betrayed, he couldn't wish that upon his disciples.

"We lost Derek. It's over," Boyd supported his female friend. "We're leaving."

"No," Derek demanded. "You're running, and once you start, you won't stop." He tried to warn them but Erica had already begun to walk out, taking Boyd with her. Derek sighed angrily and turned his back on the pair like they did to him.

Madison dipped her head low as the pair passed her, not realizing her proximity outside the house. She felt pitiful for Derek but not enough to sympathize. She had her suspicions of him being an inexperienced leader and this only proved her doubts of his abilities but she knew better than to rub it in his face. She wouldn't waste her time doing that.

She felt a tug on her hand as Peter pulled her out of the shadow and into the house, sneaking them inside. Immediately the stench of rotting wood bothered her but she hid her disgust under a cool, emotionless mask. She jumped back as glass shattered behind her, not expecting Derek to be so rash as to throw a weapon at her but Peter was unmoved, enjoying Derek's 'temper tantrum.'

"Quite the situation you got yourself in, Derek." Peter began, rolling his sleeves in a casual manor. Madison rolled her icy eyes at him, displeased by his condescending nature. He was only provoking Derek further and the last thing she needed was to deal with a brawl. "Sure I'm out of commission for a few weeks, and suddenly there are lizard people, geriatric psychopaths, and you're cooking up werewolves out of every self-esteem-deprived adolescent."

Madison winced at the cool manor Peter managed to keep while delivering the brutal insult Derek most obviously felt as the Alpha tensed.

"What do you want?" Derek accused through his teeth. Peter looked at Madison who hid behind the cover of a wall. Derek followed his gaze, wondering who was behind the obstructive wall of wood until a familiar scent assaulted his nostrils. "Madison? What is she doing here?" He demanded, panicked. He was frantic wondering what Peter wanted with her, what he had already gotten from her.

"Don't worry, Derek. I wouldn't dream of hurting my favorite student," he calmly told him, motioning Madison to present herself with a flick of a finger. Derek sighed heavily as he took in her appearance. Nothing seemed out of place, not a single strand of her perfect hair, sleek golden waves that seemed to glow silver in the darkening evening. "And to answer your question, I want to help. You're my nephew. My only living relative left. You know there's still a lot I can teach you." Peter advanced forward, a move Madison wouldn't have suggested but kept quiet as she followed her own advice and stayed back.

Derek stared wide-eyed at the pair, confused and almost betrayed as he felt something big, something significant was being withheld from him.

"Can't we just talk?" Peter dared to lay a hand on Derek. Madison winced, predicting it was a fatal move. Derek looked down at the hand in disgust but made no attempt to move it…yet. Madison eyed him wearily as he replied.

"Sure. Let's talk."

Something in his voice unnerved her as she prepared for violence to ensue. She stepped aside from the path of destruction she knew was to come.

Derek suddenly forced Peter's hand off, twisting it at an odd angle, before tossing him across the room, slamming him into the brittle staircase. As Peter's body feel onto the floor, shards of wood fell on top of him. Madison cringed as she could imagine the throbbing and aching Peter must've felt from the force. He struggled to get up.

Madison caught Derek's figure move forward for a follow-up attack and she felt compelled to step in as the voice of reason. Words wouldn't work in this situation though. She knew that. She stepped in between Derek and the weakened Peter in an odd move even Peter didn't expect.

What he did expect from her was her next move, pushing Derek back until he fell onto the floor with a thud. She stood over him, keeping him at bay like a guard dog as Peter stumbled up, grabbing the railing for support.

"Thank you Madison," Peter gasped, ignoring the sting in his shoulder muscles.

Derek looked up at her with angry eyes, betrayed. He got up and came at her but she ducked just in time, sending him past her and straight into a wall.

"Madison has always been…elusive… hard to catch," Peter commentated as he sent her a wink. She ignored it as her cool eyes stayed focused on Derek. "I don't think you can be able to catch her, no one has, not even me, so you can add that to your list of failures."

"How do you two know each other?" Derek questioned with enraged eyes. He tried to penetrate her but her hardened eyes deflected his accusing gaze. Madison sighed, annoyed by his interrogation.

"From a long way back," Peter answered for her. "She came to me as just a child."

"A child," Derek repeated, doubtful. Peter shrugged.

"It's none of his business," Madison intercepted, agitated at the direction of the conversation. "Can we get a move on and do what you came here to do?" She demanded, inhaling deeply. Derek and Peter both noted how she was shaking and Peter took it as a hint she was about to lose her temper, too. It was the anxiety, he bet, of not knowing what he was thinking. Madison still didn't trust Peter and was anxious to hear what he had in store for her.

"Don't worry my dear," Peter consoled her with a comforting hand she shrug off. "If it's your position you think I'm after, don't worry. I don't want to be an Alpha." He looked at Derek. "It wasn't my finest performance, considering it ended in my death."

Derek growled and threateningly stepped forward but Madison intercepted him, blocking his path. She glared up at Derek, snarling herself, keeping him at bay.

"Why are you defending him?" Derek demanded.

"Because," she indulged him with a sarcastic response. She tilted her head, letting her hair fall off of her shoulder. It reflected the moonlight and momentarily hypnotized Derek until her harsh voice snapped him back to reality. "I respect him enough to know he's important to me, more alive than dead, and I think you'll realize that, too, when you hear what he has to offer…" She trailed off, guessing at this point as she had only Peter's words to trust and even that was sketchy to her. She looked back at the older once-been Alpha with questioning eyes, narrowing her cold silver pupils at the man. Peter knew this but thanked her anyways for supporting him. He pulled her back into a casual hug, enclosing her in his arms. Derek sneered at the pathetic display of affection, sickened by their conspiracy.

"I don't need your help," Derek declined harshly, turning his back to them.

Madison sighed, dismayed at his defiance.

"I think you do," she insisted, speaking on Peter's behalf. "You're pack abandoned you, most likely to face their death out there, and you have no one except for Peter who most definitely knows what the hell he's talking about and Scott who's preoccupied and even then, he probably doesn't trust you."

Derek looked away to hide the bit of shame in his eyes. Scott had betrayed him by giving him up to Gerard, leaving only Peter…and Madison?

"What about you? Can't I consider you an ally?" Derek questioned with sincere eyes. Peter grinned in the shadows, catching this. So Derek had taken a liking to Madison…a significant liking. Peter toyed around with different scenarios in his head to play off of this.

Madison gave Derek an odd look. "To an extent," she acknowledged. Derek's mouth fell ajar as he was confused by Madison's sudden hesitance. "I wouldn't lay down my life to defend you, if that's what you're asking."

"Madison," Peter tried to intercept before she ruined his plans. "Why don't you go after the infants and see how far they've gone."

Madison shot him a harsh look. "They aren't any of my concern. Let them get killed. I don't care."

"But I do," Peter lied. "Please, let Derek and I have some one-on-one time while you do that."

Madison was hesitant, shooting them both heated glares before storming out of the house, not wanting to be a part of whatever Peter was conjuring up. Effortlessly she came upon the rogues' scent, silently trailing their transparent tracks like a ghost, narrowly missing the ATVs speeding by. She hid behind the cover of a tree as their headlights shone upon the forest. She glanced over and noticed Allison preparing her bow behind her father's figure, ready to leap off.

Madison stayed cool behind her cover. She should've known the likelihood of coming across hunters was boosted. She cursed herself for not wearing appropriate clothing. She was clear as day in her simple yellow top and jeans but at least she was always cautious enough to wear flat footed shoes so she wasn't stranded in heels. In this case, she was wearing her favorite knee high leather boots with a single buckle on the top mainly made for show than actually purpose.

She decided she would be more elusive if she switched to her second form and after removing her articles of clothing and protectively shoving those into a trunk of a tree after the hunters had long passed, she phased into her wolf form, fully in control.

In the distance she heard howling and wondered if that could be Erica and Boyd but they didn't co-inside with the shouts and yells she heard over the valley that sounded like frantic teenagers. She raised her head to sniff the low current and with focused eyes, she set forward, blending in with the cover of darkness. She stopped abruptly as she caught Allison emerge from a bush, arrow set in place, aimed at a fallen Erica. Madison held back a subconscious whimper, knowing fully well how this would end up. There was no point feeling any sympathy for them.

The weakest links would always die. There would be no mercy served for Erica as Allison was hell-bent on something, Madison could tell.

Boyd had stepped in –a foolish decision on his part after Allison shot arrow after arrow. He should've just saved himself. It was a futile attempt as Derek hadn't trained him efficiently. He was helpless.

You are so angry. I can see it in your eyes. They are cold, hardened, and burning with rage. Madison observed from a distance but she boldly stepped forward, coming closer to Allison's still form. Just like mine. I remember when my parents died, I was so angry…I wanted to kill anything and everything. I wanted justice but shooting innocent, naïve werewolves won't do it…not that I should be a hypocrite. I killed countless of your kind many times but in my defense, they deserved it.

Allison stood rigid as she heard Madison's voice in her head. Her eyes were frantic though as they scanned through the darkness, desperate to catch the assailant the low voice belonged to.

"Who are you?" Allison demanded loudly, losing her patience.

Madison stayed hidden behind the cover of dense shrubbery, crouching low defensively as she spied Allison's bow and arrow still set.

Suddenly a shot made them both jump as Chris emerged from the same spot Allison did, shooting the bow out of her hand. He began to scowl her for almost killing them, motioning to Boyd and Erica whom he shot again with a tranquilizing bullet to put them out of their misery temporarily.

Suddenly Allison was burning with rage directed at her father, an emotion that did not from herself but from an outer source: Madison. If she had the bow was still in her grasp, she might've been tempted to pull it on the man. Chris was taken aback by Allison's animosity and suddenly suspected it was one of another of her episode caused by the mysterious Alpha. If that was the case, it wasn't a surprise.

"Who is it Allison? Who is the Alpha? What does he want?" Chris demanded intensely, focused on his daughter. She glared at him with pure resentment, startling him.

"I don't know," Allison exploded. "I don't know what she wants!" All of her bottled-up emotions began to overwhelm her as she started to suffocate on the rage Madison was projecting.

"I want revenge, Allison. I want justice to be served."

"Justice," Allison repeated heatedly. "She wants justice."

"Justice for what," Chris further inquired. His once cool blue eyes were frantic as he hoped his daughter could provide him questions, as no one else could possibly do. She was the only thing that could really save them, he realized.

"He will see, Allison. He will see in due time. He already knows what I'm talking about. It's closer than he thinks"

"She says you know," Allison told him. "She says you already have, like, an idea already. 'It's closer than he thinks' she says."

"I'd hate to admit it but you and I are more alike that I would hope." Madison drove the words into Allison head. Allison lifted her head, outraged at the accusation. "Both of our fathers tried to protect our innocence but I guess destiny would have none of it. My father wasn't around much of my life to shelter me from the horrible truth and because of it, I turned into a murderess I am today. It's quite saddening," Madison confided, feeling much lighter as she shed off the weight of her guilt. She couldn't shake off the Librarian's face from her head. He was the epitome of kindness and deep down she suspected he was a reminder from her father of the childhood she neglected to hold on to. "Your father tried for years to keep you in the dark about of his wretched family business but somehow you were dragged in. You were resilient, a natural talent. I guess that's how fate goes. It's amazing how a girl who can cry over a run-over dog suddenly turn so cold that she's willing to drive arrow and arrow into an innocent werewolf simply for the sake of revenge."

Allison shook with anger as Madison continued to berate her. "Does it make you feel better? Does it make you feel like you accomplished something? I'll tell you now, it won't help. Years after senseless killing, I still have no solstice for the empty hole in my heart my parents cannot fill. Instead, murder kind of numbs you, eats away at you until you're a hollowed out shell. Killing people will get you nowhere. Trust me on that. If it did, I wouldn't be here today, still set in my path of revenge. The only way to truly kill the pain is to drive the knife into the person who is held responsible for their crimes personally, and I can't wait until I get my opportunity."

"I am nothing like you," Allison objected in a rage. Her voice echoed throughout the night, scaring the crows above them as they scattered into the sky. They were unseen though as they blended into the blackened cover of the night. All one could hear was the flaps of their wings. She spun around, desperate to actually catch Madison's figure but to no avail. "Whoever you are, I am nothing like you!"

In her moment of weakness, a doorway was opened in her mind and Madison could see the past events that drove Allison to this point. She could see the letter her mother wrote, Allison burning it as the words of her mother's neat cursive burned into her mind.

"To some extent," Madison sarcastically retorted, "You are angry because you're mother stabbed herself so she wouldn't become what she's had a vendetta against for her whole life. You are right. We are nothing alike. I take that back. My mother didn't take a cowards way out. She died honorably, protecting me like a mother should. She didn't leave until the last minute, when she was forced to depart from this world. My mother would never kill herself, not when she had to take care of me. She would never willingly leave me. That's what sets us apart I suppose. My mother was a mother while yours was a coward. How does it feel to know your mother abandoned you? That she would rather be dead than be with you?

"That's not it!" Allison cried out. "That's not why! Shut up! Shut up! My mother is not a coward!" Chris caught his daughter as she fell back, gasping for air as Madison continued to dig away at her psyche.

"She put her hunting priorities over her parenting ones. I'd say that's most definitely it. There is no denying it. She abandoned you, Allison. She couldn't live with herself and left you behind selfishly to deal with her cowardice. Now you're set to kill Derek for driving her to do something he had no part of. She asked for it and instead of facing the consequences, she ran away like a coward most of you humans prove to be. You're family ties are nothing compared to ours, that we'd rather suffer in agony than leave a single member behind."

That's why Madison still suffered, still devastated at her loss. It took years for an individual such as herself to get over the death of a loved one, especially someone as important as a parent, and in such a tragic way, too…But with grief came blame and with the anger raging inside her still burning bright, the subject of blame was all but doomed.

In her deep thought, Allison had an insight of her reasoning, too, catching images of her mother. A stunning dark-haired, dark-eyed woman who's voice was sweeter than honey as she sung a little Madison to sleep.

"That, Allison, is a perfect mother. She was there every time I needed her. She would indulge in my silly imagination instead of condemning it like yours did. She never uttered an awful curse word in my presence, as she was always kind and gentle. It's her memory that hurts me the most, just like I hope it hurts you, to know an innocent woman died for your family's ignorance."

And by Allison's loud and agonizing cries, it worked, as Allison began to question the strength of her mother compared to the sweet and soothing voice of Aubrey. Jealously was seeded into her soul, the perfect soil of bitterness.

"Don't worry, dear. Your pain will recede soon. Humans don't treasure their blood ties as much as we do. You'll go on."

With that, Madison closed the mental link and stalked off into the night, happy with her result. Allison will be tormented with questions on whether her mother really did love her not and that with indirectly cause her to question her father's, too. She will be weakened and collapse, and although Madison hated limp victims, she knew the rift she caused between father-daughter would be satisfying enough. It would be just a taste for Chris to understand the torment Madison was subjected to.

"Haven't you tormented her enough?" Tabitha had to ask when Madison returned home.

"I've only just began," she replied curtly.