Hi guuysss

This will be a shorter chapter, sorry! I have so much going on trying to get ready for college and plus my parents are trying to sell our house, and my sister is getting married so YA I'M JUST A BUSY, STRESSED, BEE

Wow I bet I lost so many readers over the past year lol the inactivity hurts a little, but I understand, I mean i'm the one who abandoned the book. Still makes me sad though. I LOVE comments, I eat em up. They are my favorite. I love seeing everyone react to certain quotes or as if they're talking to my characters. Always feel free to do so. Along with critical helpfullnesssss

Venus stirred in her sleep, but this time her dreams took her away from the dark Chicago nights, and to him, Demetri. It was a dream, that for once seemed almost...what was that word? Normal. So foreign to the tongue, and so close to arms reach.

He was in a bed, smiling. An actual, true and genuine smile. It was one that could only be seen her dreams. He looked at her, hair disheveled and eyes light and warm. It was so unlike Demetri to look so aloof. She wandered over to him, and sat down. Looking down, she was in a short, silky, violet camisole-like dress. 

He held out his hand for her to grab, and she did, relishing in the warmth he was radiating. It was strange to see him like this, but she wasn't willing to give up the dream. Not yet.

"You're beautiful," He said, with a deep voice that gave her chills. The smile spread across her face before she could help it. He pulled her onto him, causing her to laugh. She felt so light, laughing with him. As she rest on his bare chest, she felt him growl. And although it surprised him, she pressed a hand on his upper chest, feeling the vibrations. They were soothing. 

Smiling, she reached up to hiss him. 

Venus awoke with a start, her eyes filled with tears. She sprung up from her bed, and went over the dream in her head until she was sure the memory would last a long time. She reached to her cheek, and wiped the tear. She studied it on her finger.

She hadn't cried because she was upset or sad. Rather from the immediate sense of loss she felt within her very being. She let out a disgruntled sigh and flopped back onto her pillow. She had felt so confused. Everyone had lied to her, those she'd known longer than Demetri. But his betrayal hit home. Why? That was what she didn't understand. 

Frustrated, she flopped down onto her pillow and let out a groan while wiping her eyes. She felt ridiculous, but maybe that was okay given this new situation, no, her new reality. She couldn't just forget everything and go back to living like how she used to.

She rolled over, grabbing her phone. The cracked screen showed that it was now 7. She sighed, and checked her work schedule. As her eyes meandered to different parts of the screen, she realized she had the day off. 

That made things worse, because now she was going to be left with just her thoughts all day. Work could at least provide her a place to keep herself busy. 

That morning, Venus got up, got ready, and went out. She decided she would treat herself that day. That began with going to Starbucks just around the corner. After arriving, she got in line, ordered a strong coffee, and sat down while waiting for her name to be called. She had to ignore the strange look the barista gave her when she called out the girl with the name of a planet.  

After getting her coffee, she walked outside and found an empty table she could have to herself. Once sitting down, her thoughts went back to everything that had happened in the last week. 

She was so tired of thinking. Her brain needed some TLC. 

"Hey!"

Venus knew that voice. She turned her head to see Brooke walking by with a pink blended drink. She had never seen something that screamed "Brooke" quite like that drink. 

"Hey," she said, faking a smile. Brooke was...well...whatever Demetri and Landon were. Could she even be trusted? Venus wasn't quite as angry at Brooke. The two were never that close.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked with a smile and the raise of her brows. 

"By all means," Venus said, gesturing to the chair. Pleased, Brooke slid the chair back and sat down, setting down some shopping bags and sipping her drink.

"Haven't seen you around lately, it's funny that I saw you here," Brooke said, clasping her hands around her cup and staring at it. Her eyes wouldn't meet Venus's. 

"Yeah, funny."

Venus studied her, and realized that Brooke studied her as well. 

"I know that you know what I am. And what you are."

Brooke's eyes went wide for a second, and she seemed taken aback at the bold statement. Venus was done walking on eggshells around others, and was all too tired with being in the dark. From now on, she would make the first moves.

"What are you-"

"Brooke," Venus said, her eyes serious. The blonde girl shrank in her seat, and bit her pink lip. Brooke's guilt made itself known on her face.

"I see."

"I'm not all that mad you at really. Everyone else, yeah." Well Venus hadn't thought that through. Sure she'd been brash and to the point, but now what?

 V E N U S

I watched her squirm in her seat as I gave off hostile vibes. 

"Well, how are you then?" she tried, glancing up at her through her lashes. 

"I have to say, I've been better," was all I could manage, my irritation dissipating. 

"I know that I'm apart of my dad's pack, but you can still talk to me."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," I said with a frown.  Brooke huffed. "I won't tell, Venus. While he is my Alpha, he's also my dad. And I'm his teenage daughter. I know you've been lied to, I get that, I do. But not everyone is out here trying to persuade you to do something."

Her words did make sense, but how could I know that for sure? One second I know that the sky is blue, and that grass is green. Now I know there are people with magical abilities, and people who can turn into large dogs.

"Well, I guess I don't know where to go from here," I said. Brooke leaned back in her chair and took a sip through the green straw in her cup.

"None of us do. This hasn't ever happened before."

A pit formed in my stomach. Maybe if I had known there were others in my shoes, I would have a better idea on what came next. But no, of course, luck had its way with me.

"Great."

"I guess for now, we just wait to see how things pan out. Maybe just go about with our lives while you learn more about the world you're now huge part of. Maybe, that's the best thing to do."

"So pretend nothings happened? Just go about working at the diner, and talking to the same old people without knowing who they are? Speaking of which, who else knows about me? Who's even normal anymore?" I asked, confusion nipping at my very being.

"Only people of importance know who you are. The Alpha's and their closest relationships know who you are. From my pack, I'd say maybe twelve of us know who you are. But that doesn't mean we know everything about you. Many of us just know your name, and what you look like."

Her words calmed me down a little. When I learned that Landon's pack had hundreds of members, I worried that they all had been watching me from all sides of town.

"What about Demetri?"

"I wouldn't know. I'm not apart of his pack."

I frowned. "Why don't you ask him for yourself?" She asked.

"We're not really on great terms, in case you haven't noticed," I said with a nonchalant shrug, and took a drink of my coffee. The damn thing was almost cold now. 

"I'm sorry to hear that. I do hope that you find it in your heart to forgive him," she said.

I raised my eyebrow at her. 

"Shouldn't you want me to fight with him? To choose to defend your pack when things go to hell?"

"I'd love for you to choose my pack.  But..."

I stared at her, waiting for her to finish.

"In the end, people are going to die. It's inevitable and I just would hate for this to tear apart you and Demetri. That's all."

"But that's not all, is it?" I retorted.

She smirked. "Now you're understanding the game that we play in this town. There will almost always be more Venus. That much I can tell you." 

-

Her words had stayed with me all day. I'd managed to go grocery shopping, and restock my house with a few things. 

"People are going to die."

I couldn't shake that from my mind. I could only imagine the wolves fighting on that open battlefield, slaughtering one another. Would I be the cause of that? This, whatever this was, this power I had. Could it only be used to create a strange allegiance and destroy another in hopes for the other to reign supreme? There had to be another way. There had to be.

As I was doing laundry, I picked up a pair of jeans and heard a noise in the pocket. I folded them from their inside-out state, and dug around. My hands wrapped around sticky note with a phone number on it. Demetri's number.

Maybe Brooke was right, and Demetri should be given a chance. But I would make that decision. No one could decide that for me.