Table of Contents

Chapter One------------------------------Neutral Territory

Chapter Two------------------------------Apologizing

Chapter Three----------------------------Rising Above

Chapter Four------------------------------Confrontations

2: Neutral Territory

"It is in my nature to be kind, gentle and loving. But know this; when it comes to matters of protecting my family, my friends and my heart...do not trifle with me. For I am the most powerful and relentless creature you will ever know."
~Anonymous

Neutral Territory

    "I swear, Matt, if you don't stop messing with me; I'm going to kick you in the shins! I don't care if we're in a public place!" Lindsay shouted angrily at her brother as he poked her side yet again. Lindsay was at the end of her rope and was this close to blowing up at Matt.

    "Oh my gosh!" Matt fake-gasped, "I'm so scared!" Matt laughed once again as he raised his arms in mock surrender. "You're not scary, Lindsay, you should stop making threats and stick to what you're good at." He paused for a second, "Like being short."

    "I came to the mall today to relax; not be harassed by my annoying little brother!" Lindsay hissed at Matt and started walking as fast as her legs could take her.

    "Little brother? I'm not the short one here, Lindsay. You need to stop living in denial." Matt's annoying voice only spurred Lindsay to walk even faster.

    "Matt!" Lindsay yelled in annoyance.

    "Yes, Lindsay?" Matt smirked as he easily kept stride with Lindsay. As Lindsay was practically sprinting away from Matt, his wet finger was stuck in Lindsay's ear with surprising agility. Lindsay let out a loud squeal as she stopped walking to swat Matt's hand away.

    "You are so dead, Matt!" Lindsay wiped her ear and glared at Matt who was doubled over laughing. Lindsay continued to glared at his bent form and was ready to kick Matt in the shins; just like she had threatened, when she was interrupted by a voice that sent chills up her spine.

    "Could you keep it down? Hearing humans squeal like dogs in heat isn't how I want to spend my afternoon." Lindsay turned to the source of the cold voice and met the eyes of a man standing not very far from her in a small group. He had short black hair, he was tall and very muscular...and he had glowing eyes. Glowing eyes meant only one thing; he was a werewolf.

    "Very interesting analogy, for a Were. Aren't you dogs always in heat?" Lindsay shot back, raising her eyebrow at the Were. They were in a public place and he had no right to treat them so crudely. The man's eyes darkened and Lindsay knew that she had insulted his 'wolf'.

    "I wouldn't say things like that if I were you." The man growled out, clenching his teeth and his fists.

    "It's a good thing that you're not me, then." Lindsay glared at the Were and she felt Matt's hand on her arm; warning her, but she shrugged it off. The man narrowed his eyes and walked up to Lindsay so that there was only a foot between them.

    "You must be a special kind of stupid to be purposefully getting a Shifter mad." The Were growled again and the anger behind his words sent another chill down Lindsay's spine, but she refused to back down.

    "Have you forgotten that you're on neutral territory, Were? The one place that Weres and Humans agreed to get along." Lindsay smirked at him; knowing that he couldn't touch her, she had the winning hand this time. "If you do anything to hurt me or my brother while we're here: you'll start a war." Lindsay crossed her arms as she looked up at the Were. "Do you really want that on your conscience?"

    "It won't be on mine." The Weres' eyes moved over Lindsay in calculating way as he moved even closer to her. Lindsay refused to back down from his challenge and raised her face so that only a few centimeters separated their faces.

    "News flash; if you start something, it's your fault." Lindsay continued to glare at him; trying to match hostility that came off of him in waves. He let out a low growl and for awhile they just stood there, glaring at each. Neither one of them was going to be the first one to back down.

    "Lindsay…" She heard Matt call her name from behind her; but she didn't turn to look at him.

    "Yeah?" Lindsay's voice came out tersely as she continued to stare into eyes so brown that they were almost hypnotizing. He's probably trying to hypnotize me. He's a Were, who knows what they can do. Lindsay thought to herself.

    "We need to get going, Lindsay. Mom and Dad wanted us home about 15 minutes ago." Matt sounded and tense and Lindsay understood why, but this feeling she had was empowering. She was matching a Werewolf head to head, and she wasn't losing. The Were suddenly backed down and looked from Lindsay to Matt and back to Lindsay.

    "That's right, Hun. Run home to your pathetic human parents: that's all you humans know how to do, run." The Weres' eyes held a cruel type of humor that egged Lindsay on, when but she felt Matt's hand on her shoulder she stepped back from the Were. Lindsay closed her eyes, trying to gain control over her emotions. She opened her eyes and started slowly backing away from the hulk of a Were.

    "I think you've forgotten one important thing, Were." Lindsay looked him over from top to bottom. He was really hot, maybe even sexy, but she refused to let her mind travel in that direction. "Without that wolf of yours; you would be human too. You're really not that special, Babe." Lindsay noted that the Weres' entire body tensed up and she shot him a humorless smile before walking away triumphantly.

    Lindsay was expecting the Were to follow them and continue throwing insults at her or something, but nothing happened. Weres are very big on respect and she had just disrespected him in a very public way. Lindsay was very surprised that he wasn't doing anything to get back at her.

    "What in the world were you thinking, Lindsay? Making a Were angry like that? He could have killed you!" It seemed like Matt was over the initial shock and was angry with her now, but Lindsay was still coasting on the adrenaline high.

    "I'm tired of the Weres always getting away with treating us badly and that Were was the tip of the iceberg." Lindsay felt her blood boil again at the memory of the things the Were had said.

    "Oh! So the one time you choose to grow a backbone and yell at someone, you choose to yell at a werewolf?! That makes so much sense, Lindsay!" Matt exclaimed, a mixture of anger and relief on his face. Lindsay stopped walking to stare at Matt; he had never talked to her this way before and it shocked her.

    "What do you mean by, 'grow a backbone'?" Lindsay had no idea why Matt was so angry with her, and his anger kind of scared her.

    "I mean, Lindie." Matt spat out the nickname. "That you have a scumbag boyfriend that screws you over every chance he gets, but do you say anything to him or get mad at him at all? No!" Matt's face twisted in disgust as he looked Lindsay over. "Why? Because you're a wimp that lets Brad walk all over you!" Lindsay blinked in shock as hurt rolled over her in waves. She furrowed her eyebrows at Matt in confusion and hurt before the anger took over again.

    "If that's the way you feel, Mattie," Lindsay spat her nickname for Matt out at him, "I'll take my wimpy butt and car as far from you as I can get and you can walk home!" Lindsay spun around and stalked off, ignoring Matt when he called out to her.

    "Come on, Lindsay, you can't just leave me here! You just pissed off a bunch of Weres who know what I look like!" Matt didn't sound as angry as he had been, but his words had struck a nerve and all Lindsay wanted was to be away from him.

    "Since you're not wimpy like me, you should be able to take care of yourself just fine!" Lindsay yelled back at Matt and pushed the door to the mall open so hard that it smacked the wall with a resounding thud.

    Lindsay stalked across the mall, her thoughts growing more and more murderous with every step she took. How dare Matt say those things? He had no right to criticize her relationship with Brad like that. Was he in the relationship? No! 

    But he's right... A small voice in the back of Lindsay head whispered and Lindsay stopped short.

    Maybe Matt was right; Lindsay's relationship with Brad had never been great. Sure, in the first few weeks Brad had been romantic, but that had died pretty soon. Brad was demanding and abusive; in more than one way. Although, he had never put a hand on her physically. He was pressuring her to have sex, but Lindsay didn't feel right letting Brad touch her; which was making him very angry. Brad might even be cheating on her, but Lindsay didn't know for sure.

    Lindsay started walking to the car again and slipped inside her car. Maybe Matt was right, but he had hurt her. It might be silly, but making Matt walk home was her way of punishing him.

    Lindsay started the drive home, it wasn't a long drive or a long walk and Lindsay hoped that having to walk home would make Matt think about the things he had said. Or not even the things he had said, but the manner in which he had said them.

    Lindsay got home in almost record time; she wanted to be there when Matt got home to see what he would do. She quickly shrugged out of her jacket and sat down on the couch. Lindsay propped her legs up and turned on the TV, faking nonchalance as she pretended to be engrossed in whatever it was on the TV.

    The front door opened soon enough and in walked a very disgruntled Matt Miller. Lindsay didn't turn to him as walked up to the couch where she was sitting and waited as he sat leaned against the arm of the couch.

    Matt stood there for awhile without saying anything and Lindsay patiently waited. Well, not exactly patiently, but Matt didn't know that.

    "Look Lindsay, I'm sorry for the way I blew up at you. It's just that...well, of all the times you choose to stand up for yourself you do it when you really didn't need to. Brad treats you bad all the time, but you stay with him. That Were wasn't really doing anything except for being obnoxious and you challenged him." Matt sighed and Lindsay felt him on the couch shift but she still didn't turn to look at him. "Lindie, do you forgive me?" Matt pleading tone made Lindsay's heart stir, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

    "Matt, what hurt me the most wasn't that you got angry with me or that you blew up; it was the things you said that hurt me. If you felt this way, why didn't you come to me? Why did you wait until things got so bad for you that you did blow up and say such hurtful things to me?" Lindsay looked at Matt then. "That's what hurt, Matt."

    "I know and I'm sorry, but you really pissed me off with the way you were treating that Were. Sure, he was rude, but you're the kind of person that takes the high road and let's things like that roll off of your back. He didn't deserve the way that you treated him, Lindie." Matt raised his eyebrow at Lindsay and she gave him a rueful smile.

    "Yeah, you're right, Matt. About everything; I'll try to work things out with Brad and I'll apologize to the Were tomorrow." Lindsay moved to get off the couch but Matt stopped her.

    "You won't work things out with Brad, Lindie; you're breaking things off with him." Matt stared at her sternly and Lindsay sighed in defeat. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop Matt once he got something in his head.

    "Alright, I'll break things off with him." Lindsay shook her head in exasperation and tried to stand up again. Matt let her this time and she started walking away. Before she left she stopped and turned to Matt. "Hey Matt?" Lindsay called out to him and he turned to face her. "I love you and...thanks." Lindsay shot him a smile.

    "I love you too, Lindie and your welcome." Matt smiled back at her and Lindsay left the room. Tomorrow was going to be a hard day; apologizing to a Were and breaking up with her boyfriend. Now, that's what you call a full plate.

3: Apologizing

Apologizing

    Lindsay took a steadying breath before she pushed the door to mall open. She had never purposefully sought out a Were before and especially after she had humiliated him in front of both Weres and Humans. Lindsay wasn't even sure that she would find him in the mall; for all she knew he only visited the mall once a year.

    Lindsay looked around the first floor of the mall before moving to the next until she had searched all three floors of the mall. She didn't find any sign of the Were from yesterday in the mall. It was depressing for Lindsay; she had put her pride aside and decided to search out a Were and apologize to him and she couldn't find him. However, that didn't mean that she was going to give up looking for him. Lindsay had treated him really badly the last time she had seen him; whether she had felt justified or not at the time and she needed to make amends. Not only for the Were, but for herself.

    Lindsay continued to search the mall for any sign of the Were, but it was useless. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't at the mall. Defeated, Lindsay sat down on the edge of a water fountain with a sigh. She ran a hand over her face and shook her head. It didn't surprise Lindsay that she couldn't find the Were because she the absolute worst luck when it came to anything.

    "You're the Human from yesterday, aren't you?" Lindsay heard a soft female voice ask from her right side. Turning to the voice she saw a beautiful girl about her age standing not too far away. The girl seemed kind of familiar, but Lindsay was confident that she didn't know her; after all, how many of her friends had glowing eyes?

    "I don't understand what you mean." Lindsay narrowed her eyes at the Were, unsure why she found this Were familiar. The Were smiled at her and motioned to the fountain.

    "Do you mind if I sit down with you?" The Were asked with a friendly smile, but Lindsay was suspicious of her. Lindsay had never met a friendly Were in her twenty years and this particular Were had no reason to treat Lindsay so nicely.

    "If you want to." Lindsay shrugged and watched the Were sit down with caution.

    "I'm Ember," The Were smiled at Lindsay again, "What's your name?"

    "I'm Lindsay," Lindsay couldn't help but respond to Ember's smile and smiled back at her. "What did you mean when you asked if I was the Human from yesterday?"

    "Oh, well, it's nice to meet you, Lindsay," Another smile from Ember. "And I was there yesterday."

    "What?" Lindsay furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and tilted her head at Ember.

    "Yesterday, the Shifter you blew up at?" Ember raised an eyebrow at Lindsay. "He's my best friend and I was there when the two you blew up at each other."

    "Oh," Lindsay looked away in shame and felt a blush work it's way up her face. "That."

    "Yeah, that." Ember giggled and Lindsay turned back to her in surprise.

    "You find it funny?" Lindsay asked, confused; she had never met a Were quite like Ember before.

    "I find it funny how easily you were able to get under Ryder's skin." Ember grinned at Lindsay and Lindsay felt like she had just stared at hundred watt light bulb while someone turned it on. "Ryder's a pretty easy-going guy, but the minute he saw you and your brother he was as stiff as a board. Something about you got under his skin before you even opened your mouth." Ember giggled again and Lindsay felt a flash of irritation.

    "Well, I'm glad that you find it funny." Lindsay huffed a bit and stared off into the distance.

    "I do find it funny, very funny." Lindsay heard Ember take a deep breath. "Why are you back here anyway?"

    "I was trying to find Ryder," Lindsay turned back to Ember. "My brother convinced me that I need to apologize to him for the way I blew up at him." Lindsay gave Ember a self-conscience smile before moving her gaze away from Ember's face.

    "Well, you're not going to find him here."

    "I kind of figured that out after an hour of searching for him." Lindsay couldn't the sarcastic bite out of her words and wished she could swallow them once she uttered them. To Lindsay's surprise though, Ember laughed and Lindsay gaze snapped back to her face.

    "You're kind of fun, Lindsay." Ember shot her a smile. "I wouldn't mind getting to know you better. Anyways, you're in luck; I know where Ryder is today."

    "You're going to tell me where he is?" Lindsay narrowed her eyes at Ember. "Why would you do that?"

    "Because Ryder's my best friend and it's not every day that a Human goes out of her way to apologize to a Were. So what do you say, do you want to know where he is?" Ember raised her eyebrow again and Lindsay smothered a smile.

    "Yes, I would like to know where Ryder is, thank you, Ember." Lindsay gave Ember a grateful look and Ember smiled again.

    "He's at the Northington Park off of I-70, that's where he goes when he needs to calm down. He's been on edge since you walked away from him yesterday."

    "But.." Lindsay paused for a second, scared at the suggestion that she go to Northington Park. "T-that's in Were territory." Lindsay stuttered and stared at Ember, her eyes wide at the thought of boldly driving into Were territory. "There's only one neutral point, Ember and we're on it. If I go into Were territory, they have the right to kill me." Lindsay took a deep breath. "Besides that, Ryder and I didn't get along on neutral territory. How do I know he won't kill me on non-neutral territory?"

    "Ryder doesn't kill people, Lindsay. He's not violent, you just brought out a more violent side of him." Ember shook her head and scoffed. "All you Humans assume that all Shifters are violent murderers that will gobble you up the minute you're alone with us. You couldn't be more wrong."

    "Is that what you would prefer we call you, Shifters?" Lindsay felt bad because that's exactly what she had always thought a Were was; a hungry, heartless monster.

    "Shifters is what we are, and it's an insult when you call us Weres." Ember looked into Lindsay's eyes purposefully. "Do you like it when some Shifters call Humans, Meat Bags?"

    "No," Lindsay shook her head, beginning to see Ember's point. "It's highly insulting because we're not meat bags."

    "Exactly, we're Shifters, not werewolves or weres." Ember shrugged, "But for some reason both Shifters and Humans find it necessary to call each other those derogatory names."

    "Yeah," Lindsay nodded, her mind occupied with all the information she had just been given.

    "Back to Ryder," Ember grinned. "If you're really sincere about apologizing to Ryder, I think it would mean a lot to him if you went to him, especially if you went into Shifter territory to do so."

    Lindsay bit her lip as she contemplated Ember's suggestion. It would be a giant white flag if she went into Were-Shifter territory, but what if this Ryder doesn't care about white flags? What if Lindsay ran into another Wer-Shifter and he decided to kill her for trespassing? But, if Lindsay went to Ryder and apologized to him, then she wouldn't have to worry about trying to hunt him down another time...she supposed that this would be the best way to get this done with.

    "Are you going to do it?" Ember asked softly and Lindsay turned to her, studying her face. Why was Ember so eager to help her make amends with Ryder? They had never met before today and Ember was a Shifter. Although, Lindsay didn't see anything besides an earnest need to help in Ember's glowing brown eyes.

    "Yeah," Lindsay nodded. "I'll do it."

    "Yay!" Ember let out a small squeal and Lindsay giggled at her. "You should get going then because I don't know how long he'll be there." Ember stood up, pulling Lindsay with her. "I hope this won't be the last time I see you, Lindsay, I like you a lot." Ember gave Lindsay one last smile before turning away and walking off. Lindsay watched Ember walk away and shook her head; she was one strange Shifter.

    Lindsay checked her pockets for her phone and keys as she left the mall and got in her car. Wer-Shifter, Lindsay was having a hard time remembering to say Shifter instead of Were, territory was in the opposite direction of her house and Northington Park was smack dab in the middle.

    Lindsay still had some hesitation about just driving into certain death, but she really wanted to get of the guilt that she felt.

    It didn't take Lindsay long to get to the Human-Were border and she idled at the border, not quite sure if she wanted to keep going or if she wanted to run away. Making up her mind to not be a coward, Lindsay pushed the gas pedal down and the car rolled past the border and into Were country.

    It didn't look much different from her Human territory; the houses had basically the same design, the trees weren't different and the sky was the same. Even though, being on this side of the border still felt as foreign to Lindsay as if she had taken a plane to Spain.

    Lindsay coasted down several streets, trying to find Northington Park. Although she knew where the park was; she didn't know the exact streets that is was on, having never been on this side of the border before.

    After about thirty minutes of driving around the city, Lindsay finally saw a sign that pointed to the entrance to Northington Park. She pulled into the park and parked in a spot very close to the exit so that if she needed to make a quick getaway she could.

    Lindsay took a deep breath before getting out of the car and walking to the sidewalk.

    "What are you doing here?" A voice from behind her demanded and Lindsay instantly recognized his voice. Lindsay spun around to face Ryder and gulped. She didn't remember him being that big...there was another Were standing next to Ryder and they both glared at Lindsay with venom.

    "I came to apologize." Lindsay could barely force the words from her throat and she swallowed to help sooth her dry throat.

    "That's what Ember said, but somehow I didn't believe her and I don't believe you." Ryder's glowing gray eyes pierced Lindsay and she felt a spark of her confidence come back.

    "Why in the world would I come into your territory if I wasn't serious?" Lindsay crossed her arms and stared at him, trying to keep herself from glaring at him.

    "I didn't say that you weren't serious, just that you were lying." Ryder copied her motion of crossing her arms.

    "You think I'm lying?" Lindsay asked, incredulous. "Why would I be here if I was lying, Genius?"

    "That's just it, I'm a genius, but you're not. That's why you're here." Ryder smirked and his friend choked on a laugh. I hope he keeps choking. Lindsay thought angrily.

    "Well, then considered me schooled. If coming here to apologize is such a stupid idea, I guess I'll just leave." Lindsay gave the two Weres a parting nod and walked to her car, her arms wrapped around her stomach to comfort herself. Well, that had been severely humiliating.

    Lindsay slid into her car and started pulling out. She glanced at the sidewalk as she left and saw that Ryder was gone, but his friend was still standing on the sidewalk...laughing. Lindsay felt tears of humiliation sting her eyes, but she blinked them away.

    The next person who tries to convince Lindsay to apologize to a Were was going to run into a brick wall. Just the thought of even talking to a Were again was enough to make Lindsay grimace. Ember may have been nice, but she was different and every other Were was just a pain in the butt.

    Lindsay looked around the neighborhood she was driving in and realized that she had no idea where she was or how to get back to the border. She was lost in Were territory and it was getting dark.

    Starting to panic a little, Lindsay stopped on the side of the road and reached for her phone in her pocket and tried to turn the screen on, but it stayed black no matter how many times she pressed the button. Great, now she was lost in Were territory, it was getting dark and her phone was dead.

    Panicking more than a little now, Lindsay started to feel claustrophobic. She reached for the handle and opened the door, throwing herself out of the car. She leaned against the door and took several calming breaths. She eventually calmed herself down, but then the scent in the air changed and so did the atmosphere.

    Everything suddenly felt darker, dangerous and Lindsay scanned the neighborhood around her and caught sight of two figures walking towards her. Fear grabbed a hold of her and she turned to open her door and slid inside.

    "Look what we have here, Lance." One of the figures drawled. "A Human in the Shifter's territory and a female Human at that."

    Lindsay flattened her hand against the car as she closed her eyes, saying a prayer for protection. "Please, just let me leave."

    "Now why would we do that, Meat Bag?" Another voice said, most likely Lance. "You're in our territory and we have the right to do whatever we want to you, isn't that right, Andrew?"

    "I came here to apologize to someone and all I want to do is go home." Lindsay hated that her voice quivered when she said home and both Weres laughed.

    "That's rich, a Human coming into Shifter land to apologize to one of us." Andrew laughed loudly again. "You're a riot, Meat Bag."

    "Why is it so difficult to believe that I came to apologize to one of you guys?" Lindsay exclaimed and turned around to face the Weres. What she saw frightened her; the Weres had started to shift or something because their eyes glowed fiercely, throwing the rest of their faces into shadows and creating a sinister look for them.

    "Because we all know that Humans don't apologize, especially to Shifters. Now are you going to this the hard way or the easy way?" Lance asked, an evil smile changing his face.

    "Either way, I'm going to end up dead, aren't I?" Lindsay faced the Weres head on, determined that if she was going to die, she was going to die bravely.

    "You're a smart Meat Bag, too bad you weren't smart enough to stay on your side of the border." Lance winked at her before he and Andrew started closing in on her. Lindsay reached behind her and popped the handle and dove into the front seat. She slammed the door just before a hairy hand reached for it. One of them let out a growl and suddenly there wasn't two men in front of her door, there was two large wolves, snarling viciously at Lindsay.

    Lindsay had never seen a Were transform before and if she hadn't of been minutes from death, she would have marveled in the amazing transformation. Lindsay felt tears pool in her eyes and run down her cheeks. She was going to die in Were territory and no one would know where to look for her.

    Like a true idiot, Lindsay hadn't called Matt to let him know where she would be. Matt and her parents were going to freak out when she didn't come home and they would never know that she had been torn apart by wolves because she had been stupid and let her temper take control of her for less than five minutes.

    The two wolves had begun to charge her car and they were rocking it back and forth, creating a motion that made Lindsay want to throw up.

    A very loud car horn sounded in the night and Lindsay and the wolves froze. Lindsay heard a car door open and shut and someone walking towards her car. She heard murmuring and a growl and Lance and Andrew transformed back into Human form, their clothes intact on them.

    Andrew and Lance listened intently to whoever it was that was talking to them. They both nodded and Andrew started to walk away, but Lance glanced at Lindsay before he turned to leave. Lindsay shivered in fear and shrunk back into her chair as she watched them leave.

    There was footsteps next to her car, but Lindsay was too afraid to look to see who it was. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to melt into the chair.

    There was a tap on the window that made Lindsay yelp and jump out of her seat. She still refused to look at the door, afraid she might see another Were eager to taste her flesh. The tapping sounded again, but Lindsay refused to look.

    "Lindsay, open the door." A calm voice broke through the craziness that had fogged her brain and Lindsay turned towards the familiar voice. Just outside her door stood Ryder with an impatient look on his face and he motioned to the door with a jerky movement.

    Lindsay reached out a trembling hand to pop open the door, but thought better of it. Choosing instead to roll the window down a little. Ryder let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes.

    "That's not opening the door."

    "I know, but I was just almost eaten by two wolves. Excuse me if I don't trust you to try the same thing." Lindsay glared at Ryder, hating him because he was the reason she was even there to begin with.

    "Why would I tell them to leave if I was going to attack you?" Ryder snapped impatiently.

    "Because you don't like to share your meals, how am I supposed to know?" Lindsay snapped back. "All I know is that I don't believe you."

    "That's ridiculous and you know it."

    "No, I don't know that." Lindsay was seething with anger now and gripped the steering wheel. "I would leave, but I have no idea where I am and don't want to get even more lost."

    "You're an idiot." Ryder's mocking tone grated on Lindsay's nerves and she fought the urge to flip him off.

    "I really don't care what you think of me, Were." Lindsay kept her eyes straight ahead. "I just want to go home where I can sleep in my bed where it's safe."

    "You're not one for using your brain, are you?"

    "Will you stop it?!" Lindsay shouted as she turned to face Ryder, her voice breaking. "I was just attacked by two massive wolves because of you! If you hadn't of been so rude, I wouldn't have reacted to you so rudely and then I wouldn't have had to drive into Were territory to apologize to someone who doesn't believe me and I wouldn't have gotten lost and almost eaten. So just shut up with the remarks about how stupid I am when you're right up there with me!" Spent, Lindsay collapsed against her seat and a sob overtook her.

    From the corner of her eye, Lindsay saw Ryder reaching for the door and she scrambled frantically the push the lock down so that he couldn't open the door. Ryder had frozen when she moved and Lindsay watched him cautiously.

    "You're really scared of me, aren't you?" Ryder seemed surprised by this and Lindsay sniffed, still watching him. "I didn't think you would be scared of anything; I mean you stared down a Shifter and then drove into Shifter land to supposedly apologize."

    "Well, you were wrong." Lindsay continued to glare at him and he watched her.

    "What will it take to convince you that I'm not going to attack you?" Ryder put his hands up and Lindsay wiped the tears off her face.

    "I don't know, I don't trust you, so nothing you say will make me believe you." Lindsay wiped her nose of her sleeve and watched Ryder.

    "Will you follow me in your car to the border?" Ryder motioned to his car with one hand without taking his eyes off Lindsay.

    "How do I know that you'll be leading me to the border? You could lead me anywhere you wanted to."

    "Listen, if I really wanted to attack you, I could call on any number of the pack to help me get you out of that car, but I'm not. I give you my word that I will safely lead you to the border." Ryder sounded really exasperated, but Lindsay really didn't want to die. "You trusted Ember, right? Trust me when I say that if I did anything to you, Ember would cut off my head and hang it in my room, okay?"

    Lindsay had a hard time believing Ember would actually do that, but she nodded anyways. "Okay, I'll follow you, but if I sense any danger at all, I'm peeling out of there."

    Ryder rolled his eyes, but went back to his car. In a minute he had pulled ahead of her and waited for Lindsay to start her car and follow him.

    Lindsay turned the key and started following Ryder. Soon enough she started recognizing the neighborhoods and she was at the border. Ryder stopped at the border and parked before getting out. Lindsay didn't turn off her car, but she put it in park and rolled the windows down a little more as Ryder walked up.

    "Okay, that's the border right there, you'll be safe the minute you cross the border." Ryder motioned towards the border and Lindsay nodded. "It would probably be smart if you didn't come over here again."

    Ryder's words stung and Lindsay felt her blood pressure rising again. She got it; he thought she was stupid, he didn't need to keep letting her know that. "Fine." She said shortly, eager to leave and get home.

    "Listen," Ryder paused and Lindsay glanced at him. "Thanks for coming to apologize and I'm sorry that you got attacked."

    Tears threatened to spill again and Lindsay blinked them away. "Sure, whatever." Lindsay swallowed hard and took the car out of park.

    "Wait!" Ryder yelled as he placed a hand on the car. "I really mean that, it's not just lip service." Ryder's eyes burned into Lindsay's as she stared into them.

    "Ryder, I don't know you and I don't trust you. Every time we've seen each other we've started fighting. I don't know if I can believe anything you say and I just want to go home."

    "If that's what you want, go right ahead. Try to fill that empty brain of yours with something so that you don't almost die next time." Ryder pushed himself away from the car and walked to his. He sped off, leaving Lindsay alone and wanting to cry.

    Ryder the Shifter was very bad for Lindsay's self esteem, maybe even worse than Brad was.

    Lindsay took her foot off the brake and made her way home. She opened the door to the house and walked in as silently as she could. As she passed the living room she saw that the TV was on. She went in to turn off the TV and saw that Matt was asleep on the couch.

    He must have waited up for her and fallen asleep on the couch. Feeling tears threaten to spill again, Lindsay walked to Matt on the couch and laid down next to him, only wanting Matt to hold her.

    She would tell him everything in the morning, right at the moment though, she needed her brother to hold her.

4: Rising Above

Rising Above

    Ryder Davidson huffed in annoyance as he watched the meat bags walk around the mall. Every meat bag strutted around the mall like they owned the world and it annoyed the heck out of him. He hated coming to this stupid mall, but when the Alpha Female tells you to do something; you do it.

    Ryder couldn't understand why Alpha Storm was insistent that all Shifters interact with the meat bags. She even threatened Damien, who was her son and Ryder's best friend, that if he didn't spend time in the neutral zone he wouldn't be able to succeed her as Alpha and the title would go on to Ember, who was Damien's little sister. The whole thing was ridiculous and Ryder just wanted to go home, but he had to waste time with stinky Humans.

    Ryder was sitting on the benches, bored, when he spotted a familiar face. Ember made her way through the crowds, a serene calm emanating from her. Ember Storm, the only Shifter in history not bothered by being near Humans.

    Ember approached Ryder and bumped her hip into his with a smile. "Heya, Ryder." Ember's friendly greeting seemed to only increase the irritation Ryder felt and he only nodded in response to her. "Is someone being a grumpy pants?" Ember poked his upper arm in a playful manner, but Ryder yanked his arm away from her and took a step away from her.

    "Leave me alone, Em." Ryder turned his back to her and continued watching the self-important meat bags walk around.

    "What's your problem?" Ember asked, her voice uncharacteristically sharp.

    "Nothing." Ryder was a little surprised by Ember's briskness, but he brushed it aside and ignored her.

    "Really, Ryder? People aren't usually mad at nothing." Ember gaze burned into the side of Ryder's face, but he refused to give her any satisfaction by looking at her. "I have Alpha blood you know. I could just order you to tell me what's bothering you."

    "You do that and see how well that turns out for you." Ryder smirked, knowing that resistance would only serve to anger Ember and he wanted to punish her for what she'd done with Lindsay. Why he wanted to punish Ember, he didn't know, but someone needed to pay and he wasn't going to. Ryder hadn't done anything wrong to Lindsay.

    "Ryder Eugene Davidson, I order you to tell me what is bothering you." Ember demanded having infused her Alpha superiority into her voice. Ryder hated being ordered around so he took his time answering Ember, still refusing to look at her even though he couldn't refuse to answer her.

    "You really messed up with Lindsay, Ember. Sending her into Shifter territory without someone to protect her. If I hadn't of followed her, Lance and Andrew would have killed her." Ryder ground out, struggling to keep the respect for his Alpha that she demanded.

    "Those two are the only ones with blood lust in the pack, how was I to know that she'd run into them?" Ember stepped in front of him and forced him to meet her eyes. "Why does this bother you so much? You hate the Humans and never cared about them before."

    "I don't know, Ember, okay? Maybe I just don't a war to start because two stupid girls got together and made an even stupider plan." Ryder snapped and walked away from Ember; his temper getting the better of him yet again.

    What he didn't notice in his anger was the knowing look that Ember had watching him walk away and the mischievous gleam in her eyes that suggested that she had a plan forming in that little head of hers.

   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    Lindsay threw the pan she was cleaning into the sink with a sigh and sagged against the counter. It seemed like she had been washing pans and dishes for hours even though in reality is was probably only 45 minutes.

    Dishes were definitely not Lindsay favorite chore, but not doing them wouldn't result in anything good happening.

    "Tired already?" Lindsay heard her mom ask from behind her and smiled softly.

    "Yeah," Lindsay mumbled out, not bothering to raise her head.

    "Poor baby, you should go lie down and I'll do the rest for you." Mom crooned in an overly sweet voice and then broke into giggles at the semi-hostile look Lindsay shot her. "What? You don't believe me?"

    "Not for one minute, Mom." Lindsay teased her mom back with a grin and continued washing the dishes. Out of everyone in the family, Lindsay's mom, Hannah, was the beauty. Her high cheekbones, green almond eyes, pouty mouth and brown curls that framed her face. Lindsay hadn't inherited this beauty, instead, she got her Dad's straight brown hair, brown eyes and slightly rounded eyes, but this didn't bother her. Instead, Lindsay was glad to look like her dad, it was just one more way that they were close.

    "Matt's out again?" Hannah asked as she reached for a coffee cup and filled it.

    "Yep," Lindsay chirped with a pop of the lips and smiled at the thought of how much time her brother had been spending out; mostly likely with a girl. "I think he has a girlfriend."

    "Really?" Hannah leaned her back against the counter and turned to Lindsay. "Why wouldn't he tell us about her, or introduce us?" Hannah took a sip of her coffee and waited for Lindsay's answer.

    "Maybe he's not ready yet." Lindsay smiled at her encouragingly. "Don't worry, when Matt's ready, he'll introduce us to her."

    "Hannah!" Dad yelled from upstairs and Hannah raised her eyebrows at Lindsay before yelling back up at him and leaving the kitchen.

    Lindsay smiled as she shook her head. Her parents were weird at times, but they were good parents that loved their kids more than anything and let them know that.

    Lindsay continued with cleaning the dishes and eventually she made a huge dent in the pile of dishes in the sink.

    In fact, Lindsay was so engrossed in her chore that she didn't notice the arms that wrapped around her until they had fully enclosed her. Lindsay's first thought was that the arms belonged to Matt or her Dad, but neither of them had the blond hair that covered the arms around her.

    "Brad." Lindsay greeted him without enthusiasm and pulled out of his grip.

    "Hey, Babe, is that anyway to greet the love of your life?" Brad pouted, thinking that this made him look adorable, but instead it repulsed Lindsay that he would choose to act like a child.

    "Show me where he is and I'll be nice to him." Lindsay dismissed Brad by turning around and grabbing a rag to clean the counters.

    "Wow," Lindsay heard Brad from behind her. "I don't know what brought that on, but I don't think I deserved that." She felt Brad move closer to her and she tensed.

    "Where were you last night, Brad?"

    "Uh," Brad hesitated for a second, probably scanning what little brains he used for a quick lie. Lindsay knew that he was most likely out with another girl and she was tired of putting up with feeling second-class when it came to Brad. "I was playing Call of Duty all night long." Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Brad went to wrap his arms around Lindsay again, but she pushed him away.

    "Brad, I know you were with another girl and now I don't really care anymore." Lindsay met his eyes unflinchingly and took a deep breath. "You want to know why? Because it's over between us, I want out." Lindsay watched as Brad's eyes slowly changed from amicable to dark and stormy to glinting dangerously.

    "What?" He asked in a low, gravelly voice that scared Lindsay.

    "I don't think we're good as a couple anymore, Brad. I actually don't think we ever were." Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest in an effort to feel better protected from the daggers Brad was glaring at her.

    "Really?" Brad asked with a face set in stone as he slowly began advancing on her. Lindsay stepped back from Brad and he pinned between his body and the counter. "Linds, I thought you were better than this; desperately trying to spice up our relationship. I don't mind taking things to the next level, but you didn't need to do this." Brad tried to place his face on Lindsay's neck, but she anchored it away from him.

    "I'm not trying to keep our relationship going, Brad, and you know that. I'm ending it once and for all." Lindsay placed her hands on Brad's chest to push him away, but he grabbed her arm in a vise-like grip and yanked her to his chest.

    "Linds, I don't think you understand. This relationship isn't over until I say it is. Not you, me, and I'm not ready for what we have to end."

    "Well, that's too bad, Brad. Because from what I heard, Lindsay's done with you and I've been done with you for a long time." Lindsay looked at the door and saw her dad, Aaron, standing at the door with his arms crossed; looking very intimidating as he glared at Brad. "Now let go of my daughter and get your sorry butt out of here before I throw it out."

    Brad turned to glare at Lindsay one last time before throwing her arms away from him. Brad stalked to the door and glared at Aaron before finally leaving the house.

    Lindsay took a deep breath and steadied herself against the counter. The encounter with Brad had shaken Lindsay a lot and when Aaron wrapped his arms around her she fell into his embrace and let out a sob.

    Lindsay stood wrapped in Aaron's arms and sobbed for a few minutes. Eventually her sobs died down and she stepped back from his arms to wipe her tears away.

    "Are you okay, Lindsay?" Aaron asked as he lifted a hand to wipe a stray tear away. Lindsay nodded, not ready to attempt using her voice just quite yet. "I'm really proud of you for standing up to him, Lindie, I want you to know that." Aaron smiled at Lindsay and the emotion in his eyes, the pride, almost made her burst into tears again.

    "Why didn't you tell me that you don't like Brad?" Lindsay whispered as she stared up at Aaron. Aaron gave her a small smile before squeezing her shoulders in a comforting gesture,

    "I wanted you to decide to breakup with Brad yourself." Aaron motioned to the table to for Lindsay to sit down and she went to sit down. "I knew you would eventually, and I also knew that if I told you to stop seeing him that you would do the exact opposite and keep seeing him."

    "Really, Dad?" Lindsay blushed and looked down at her hands; feeling ashamed that Aaron believed that she would purposely go against his wishes.

    "Yes, because you have a stubborn streak that you're not even aware of and you don't like it when you feel like people are telling you how to live your life. I know my daughter, Lindie." Aaron sat down and placed a hand over Lindsay's. "There's nothing wrong with being that way, Honey, you just need to learn how to control your impulses better."

    "Aaron, Lindsay! Matt's here with his girlfriend!" Hannah yelled from outside the kitchen. "He's finally going to introduce us to her!" Hannah burst into the room with a smile on her face. The brightness in her face dimmed slightly when she saw the tears on Lindsay's face. "What's wrong?"

    "I'll tell you later, Hannah. Right now, however, I want to go meet my son's first girlfriend." Aaron got up from the table and walked to his wife and put his arm around her waist. Aaron led Hannah out, but she shot Lindsay a concerned glance over his shoulder. Lindsay smiled at Hannah, wiped the last of her tears away and stood up.

    Things had ended with Brad and she had her family's support. Now it was time to go meet the girl who had finally won her brother's heart.

    Lindsay walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway that lead to the living room. She walked into the room. As Lindsay stopped in the doorway, she met the eyes of the girl who was in Matt's arms. While Lindsay recognized the girl, she didn't expect to see the glowing eyes of a certain girl standing in her house. Lindsay was so shocked that she couldn't help bursting out in surprise;

    "Ember's your girlfriend!?"

5: Confrontations

Confrontations

    Lindsay stood in the doorway, her gaze bouncing from Matt to Ember in confusion. “I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

    “You know Ember?” Matt asked, seeming as confused as Lindsay was.

    “Let me explain,” Ember put a hand on Matt’s chest and smiled at Hannah and Aaron before continuing. “I was at the mall when Lindsay got in that fight with Ryder and when Matt told me later on that Lindsay wanted to apologize, I wanted to help her. So, I went to the mall and met up with her.” Lindsay barely contained the huff that burned in her throat. Yeah, Ember really helped her yesterday.

    “Let me give you some advice, Ember, since you gave me some," Lindsay gave her a sarcastic smile. “Don’t go around giving people advice; your advice nearly killed me.”

    “I know,” Ember apologized. “I’m sorry about that. Not all of us are like those two Shifters you ran into and I’m so sorry about what happened.”

    “You almost died?!” Matt’s voice rose several notches. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? What did you do? Where did you go?”

    “I went into Were territory to apologize to the Were I insulted.” Lindsay snapped at Matt somewhat defiantly.

    “What?!” Matt, Aaron and Hannah all roared at the same time, resembling a pack of Weres and Lindsay immediately regretted her tone.

    “Don’t be too angry with her," Ember pleaded. "It was my advice she was following when she went into Shifter territory.” Ember volunteered, her voice thick, as if she was fighting to not cry.

    “It’s okay, Ember.” Lindsay spoke, trying to defuse the situation that she had ignited with her stupidity. “I should known more before I went barging into Were territory. No wonder Ryder kept calling me stupid.” Lindsay smiled softly and Ember replied with a similar smile.

    “Don’t feel too bad about that; Ryder calls everybody stupid. Especially when he’s mad, and for some reason just looking at you made him mad.” Ember wiped away a tear from her eye that hadn’t fallen yet and smiled.

    “What can I say?” Lindsay laughed softly. “I just have one of those faces.” Ember burst out in a laugh and the tenseness in the air dissipated.

    “I don’t understand at all what's happened here.” Aaron broke into the merriment with a stern voice. The voice that was reserved for when Lindsay and Matt had messed really bad. "Explain for me from the beginning, please.” He gave a pointed look to Lindsay and she knew she would have to start.

    “When we were at the mall two days ago, I kind of got into a fight with a Were and we both said things that weren’t very nice.” Lindsay started, but was interrupted by Matt.

    “They didn’t just say things that weren’t nice, Dad. They were in each other’s faces and this close to wrestling each other to the ground.” Matt illustrated his the distance between Lindsay and the Were with his finger and thumb. Lindsay glared at Matt for a second before turning back to Aaron.

    “Okay, so things were getting hostile between us.” Lindsay agreed with Matt begrudgingly and sent him another hostile glance. “But then, Matt convinced me that I needed to apologize for my part in what happened. So, the next day I went to the mall to apologize, but the Were wasn’t there.”

    “That’s where I come in.” This time Ember was the one who interrupted Lindsay. “I met her at the mall and told her where Ryder was in Shifter territory and encouraged her to go there.”

    “Yeah,” Lindsay interrupted Ember to continue her story; all of the interrupting was getting annoying. “So, I drove down to Were territory and found Ryder, but he laughed at me when I told him that I wanted to apologize. I got mad and left in a huff and got lost.” Lindsay swallowed hard, remembering what had happened next and how frightened she had been. “Two wolves attacked me but Ryder came and told them to leave. Then he led me back to the border and I came home last night safe and sound.” Lindsay’s voice broke slightly and she looked down at her hands.

    “This all happened last night?” Aaron asked, his face impassive as he watched Lindsay.

    “Yeah…” Lindsay answered, grimacing at the disappointment she saw on her mothers face.

    "I'm really sorry, Mom and Dad, but everything happened so fast and I didn't think to call you."

    "Lindsay, this is not something that we can just forget." Hannah scolded Lindsay and shook her head. "You could have died and none of us would have known what happened to you for a long time. We could have never found out what happened to you!"

    Shame washed over Lindsay as she stared at her parents, Matt and Ember. "I know," Lindsay attempted to smile and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm alive and here and there's nothing more that I can say."

    "That's really sad for you then, Lindsay." Aaron shook his head and frowned. "Your mother and I will talk and decide what to do, for now, just...stay here." Aaron motioned to the door with his head and walked to it. Hannah didn't follow him right away though; she walked up to Lindsay with tears in her eyes.

    "I can't forget about what happened last night, but why were you crying after Brad left?" Hannah asked, concern warring with disappointment in her eyes.

    "I broke up with him," Lindsay sniffled and a tear ran down her cheek. "Brad got mad with me, though, and Dad had to throw him out because he grabbed me."

    "That bastard!" Hannah yelled and her face turned red with the force of her anger. "I'm going to tear that boy limb from limb!"

    Lindsay felt even more tears threaten at her mother's passionate response and bit back a sob. Even though Hannah was disappointed in Lindsay, she was still passionate about what her.

    “Thanks, Mom.” Lindsay sniffled again and wiped the tears from her face.

    “Lindsay, I’m proud of you for breaking up with that human dog and I’ll try to keep your punishment on the low.” Hannah still looked full of rage, but she tried to smile at Lindsay before walking to the door Aaron had left through.

    It was just Matt, Ember and Lindsay in the room now that Hannah had left and Lindsay was afraid to face Matt. Lindsay still hadn’t turned around when she felt someone bump into her shoulder as they walked past her. Lindsay looked up to see that Matt had stormed past her and out of the room without sparing her a single glance.

    This time a sob did work it’s way out of her throat and she covered her mouth. This is not what she wanted to happen when she went to apologize to that Were. At this moment; Lindsay wished that she had never met Ryder and even wished that he didn’t exist.

    As Lindsay fought to suppress her tears, she felt an arm slide across her shoulders. Lindsay peeked up through her eyelashes to see Ember holding her in a one arm hug.

    “I’m sorry that Matt’s so angry with you.” Ember gave Lindsay a small smile. “I can’t help but feel that most of this is my fault.”

    “No,” Lindsay shook her head vehemently and swallowed her tears. “We’re both equally at fault here.” Lindsay wiped the rest of her tears off of her face with a thrust of her hand and straightened her shoulders. “If they’re going to be this angry with me, then that’s their problem.” To Lindsay’s surprise, Ember broke out in a laugh and she turned to her, questioningly.

    “I knew I was going to love you, Lindsay.” Ember smiled and wiped a stray tear off of Lindsay’s face. “I’m going to enjoy having a sister like you.”

    “A sister like me?” Lindsay asked in confusion as she took in a deep breath to stop her after-crying hiccups.

    “Yeah!” Ember smiled brightly. “Since Matt’s my mate, we’re almost as good as married.” Ember winked at Lindsay in sudden joy at the topic. “See, Once you find your mate, you can’t leave them or you’ll feel like you’re dying. So, since I’m going to be with Matt for a long long time, we’ll become really good sisters.”

    “Wow?” Lindsay furrowed her eyebrows at Ember, confused at the overload of information. “I’m sorry, that was just a lot to take in at one moment; if you leave your mate, you feel like you’re dying?”

    “Oh,” Ember gave Lindsay an embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry; when I get nervous my mouth runs at 100 words a minute.”

    “Keep going,” Lindsay encouraged with a nod of her head.

    “Oh! Right!” Ember rolled her eyes at herself. “There’s a bond that a Shifter has with only one other Shifter; sometimes Humans. It’s a mate bond; basically it means that the two of you are Soul Mates. It feels like the other person has half of your soul and the bond lasts for the rest of your life."

    "Okay,” Lindsay paused, “Matt is this person for you?" Lindsay struggled to keep up with the flood of information.

    "Yes," Ember's smile lit up her entire face and Lindsay almost gagged at the happiness flowing from Ember. How could anyone be that happy?

    "How did you guys meet in the first place?" Lindsay moved to the couch, the exhaustion of the day; Brad, Matt and her parents catching up to her and she fell onto the couch. Ember followed Lindsay to the couch, another giant smile lighting her face.

    "Well," Ember gushed as she plopped herself on the couch. "One day I was at the mall and this really cute guy walks past me in a group of people. We both noticed each other right away, but he kept going because he saw my eyes. I knew who he was right away because there was a connection between us when our eyes met."

    "What kind of connection?" Lindsay interrupted, eager to learn about this strange culture.

    "Hmm..." Ember hesitated, it seemed as if she was trying really hard to put words to what she had felt. "The best way to describe how it felt is to say that it was like I had just come home after spending a really long time away."

    "That actually sounds pretty amazing." Lindsay admitted as she leaned back onto the couch.

    “It is really amazing,” Ember grinned. “Anyway, I went home that night pretty glum because I had seen my mate, but I didn’t know his name or anything about him. However, the next day, I went to the mall again hoping that I would see him again and there he was. Matt was alone because he had come to the mall to see if he could find me again. That was about two months ago and we’ve been together ever since.”

    “Wow, I must have been really wrapped up in myself to not have noticed that Matt was with someone.” Lindsay sighed guiltily and shook her head in disappointment at herself.

    “It’s okay, Lindsay, Matt and I got pretty good at hiding and sneaking around. However, when you were willing to apologize to Ryder, Matt thought it would be a good time to tell you about us.” Ember confessed with an almost apologetic smile.

    “Did you know who I was at the mall that day?” Lindsay asked randomly while she stared at the wall.

    “When you argued with Ryder? Yes, I knew who you were.” Ember smiled as if she was thinking of a fond memory. “I had seen you with Matt around the mall before, so I knew who you were, but not that you were that feisty.” Ember grinned as she bumped into Lindsay with her elbow.

    “You think I’m feisty?” Lindsay asked, amused at Ember’s happy demeanor. “I’ve never been called feisty before.”

    “That’s too bad because you are most definitely feisty.” Ember giggled and Lindsay laughed softly.

    “Ember, we’re leaving. I need to get you to the border before it gets too dark.” Matt’s tense voice came from behind them and Lindsay turned to him. However, he completely ignored her and focused on Ember.

    “Alright,” Ember turned to Lindsay and gave her a sympathetic smile before getting up to follow Matt. 

    Matt and Ember left the room and Lindsay felt an overwhelming silence descend on the room. Lindsay couldn’t hear her parents talking in the other room and Matt and Ember had already left.

    Lindsay did feel guilty about not telling everyone about what had happened, but honestly, things had been really busy. She didn’t understand why everyone was so angry with her, she thought that they would be happy that she wanted to apologize to a Were, but obviously not. Lindsay understood that they were upset because they wouldn’t have known what happened, but it was all in the past and they should be willing to get over it.

    Tired of sitting by herself, Lindsay got off the couch and went to go to her room. On the way to her room, Lindsay heard Aaron and Hannah talking in the office.

    “I’m sorry, Hannah, but I am really disappointed in her right now, I don’t even think I can look at her without getting angry.” Aaron spoke harshly and Lindsay blinked away a tear.

    “I know, Aaron, which is why I’m asking you to wait until tomorrow to talk to her. Wait until you’ve calmed down so that Lindie doesn’t get hurt any more than she already is.”

    “Alright, I will, but don’t expect me to be okay with what happened in the morning.”

    “Of course not, Aaron. Come on, let’s go to bed.” Hannah’s voice faded and Lindsay continued walked away to her room.

    Lindsay walked into her room and collapsed onto her bed and let her tears flow freely. Life just really wasn’t fair.

6: Confusion

Chapter Five

Confusion

    Lindsay woke up with a start, her was heart racing and she was covered in sweat. As she took in deep breaths to calm herself, Lindsay couldn’t remember the dream she’d been having. There was bits and pieces of the images left over from the dream that didn’t make sense, but Lindsay still felt terrified even though she couldn’t remember what they were. Lindsay was left feeling very unnerved because she almost never dreamed and when she did, she never had nightmares.

 

    Lindsay pushed back the blankets and slowly slid out of her bed. She was shaking so much that she could barely stand up straight. As Lindsay stood, she glanced at the clock and noticed that it was only four in the morning. So much for getting the sleep I needed.

 

    Though the room was still pitch black, Lindsay was able to navigate it and she made it to the bathroom without incident; which she was entirely grateful for.

 

    Once in the bathroom, Lindsay flipped on the light and she caught her reflection out of the corner of her eye.

 

    Lindsay cringed at how horrible she looked; wide, red, puffy eyes and a red nose from crying earlier. She ran a washcloth under some cold water and pressed it against her eyes, the cold shocked her system at first, but then it felt amazing.

 

    This was something Lindsay did after crying that always calmed her nerves. It gave her something else to concentrate on besides the reason she had been crying.

 

    After having calmed herself down, Lindsay went back to her room and to her bed. Before she was able to crawl back into bed, though, Lindsay had the overwhelming push to go to the window.

 

    Not fully understanding why she felt the sudden urge to go to the window, Lindsay refused to at first, but the longer she sat there the more she wanted to go to the window. Eventually, Lindsay stood up and slowly made her way to the window.

 

    There was really nothing outside that Lindsay could see, it was too dark, so she felt comfortable just standing there. That was, however, until she heard a whimper from somewhere nearby. Whatever had made the sound wasn’t human, in fact, it sounded like a dog.

 

    Lindsay examined the trees around her house intently, trying to find the animal that she had heard, but she couldn’t see it. Just as Lindsay was getting ready to go back to bed, a shadow moved from behind a tree. Lindsay watched as a giant wolf made it’s way out from behind the trees and to her window. Lindsay could only gape in amazement when she realized that the wolf outside her bedroom window had fiercely glowing eyes.

 

    There was a Were outside of her house, and more specifically, her bedroom! Lindsay felt the urge to scream build up in the back of her throat as she fought her panic to slid a foot back. The Were must have sensed her panic because it tilted it’s head before backing down. The Were gave one last whine before turning and running away from the house and Lindsay’s whole body sagged in relief as she sighed.

 

    What in the world just happened? Lindsay wondered as she walked closer to the window to make sure that the wolf had really left. Why would a Were risk coming over the border just to stake out her house?

 

    ‘Maybe it was Ember,’ Lindsay thought, but why would Ember come to Lindsay’s window and not Matt’s? Maybe Lindsay had just imagined seeing the Were because of lack of sleep, however, Lindsay knew in the back of her mind that she had seen the Were.

 

    Lindsay walked back to her bed slowly and crawled back into it. She laid her head down on her pillow and took a deep breath. When did life become so different? It had been four days since her encounter with Ryder at the mall and now she may or may not be seeing Weres outside her room.

 

    Lindsay closed her eyes and exhaustion overtook her and she fell into a black and dreamless sleep.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

    Lindsay leaned on the counter as she watched customers make their purchases. Only two more hours and she could go home. Lindsay didn’t find working in the mall fun at all, but it paid a whole lot better than any other job.

 

    Thankfully, even though the mall was neutral territory, humans only shopped at stores owned by humans and Weres only shopped at stores owned by Weres. So, Lindsay never had to service Weres, which was just the way she liked it.

 

    This particular day had been relatively uneventful after Lindsay had gone back to bed and she was itching to leave and spend some time alone. Ever since everything had happened at the mall with Ryder, she really didn’t want to be at the mall longer than necessary.

 

    Lindsay was in the back of the store, rearranging the clothes on their racks. She was a manager, but she honestly enjoyed the small tasks that needed to be done.

 

    The last few days had been a trainwreck and so had her morning. Her parents had confronted her when she got up and thankfully it hadn’t been an argument. Lindsay could tell that Aaron and Heather were still upset, but all they told her was that since she was over twenty they couldn’t ground her. However they wanted her to know that it was going to take a while for them to trust her fully again.

 

    Lindsay thought they were over-reacting and she was angry with them because of it. On top of everything, Matt still hadn’t spoken to her since last night and Lindsay was getting annoyed with him too.

    “Lindsay?” Lindsay heard someone call her name from behind her, breaking her out of her thoughts. Lindsay turned and saw Anne, one of the clerks, looking very flustered and out of breath.

 

    “Yeah?” Lindsay asked, curious why Anne looked so out of sorts. “Is something wrong?”

 

    “Two Weres just came into the store.” Anne didn’t waste any time or breath and Lindsay was immediately alert. Great, this was just what she needed today, to deal with Werewolves at work.

 

    “Alright, leave them to me.” Lindsay put the shirt she was holding on the rack and fixed her clothing to look more presentable before heading to the front of the store.

 

    As Lindsay walked up to the front, she could only see the backs of two well-built men. When she was close enough, however, the men turned around and Lindsay immediately recognized them. It was Ryder and the other guy from Northington Park, the one who had laughed at her.

 

    “How can I help you?” Lindsay fought to keep a polite tone and neutral face as she waited for their answer. All she really wanted was for them to leave with a boot print on their backs, but she couldn’t kick them out. Ryder turned to the guy with him and smirked at him.

 

    “What did I tell you, Daniel? She’s as friendly as a cactus.” Ryder turned back to Lindsay with a mocking face, but there was only a hint of the familiar malice behind it. Lindsay blinked in confusion before shaking herself mentally.

 

    “That might have something to do with the fact that we’re Shifters, Ryder.” Daniel spoke from next to Ryder with no emotion, nothing passed on his face, not even hate. Lindsay looked at Daniel closely since the last time they had met, she had left abruptly. He was handsome, well-built and...cold...From what Lindsay knew of Daniel, he was Ember’s brother and Ryder’s friend. So, Daniel was off-limits for anything, even if he wasn’t a Were.

 

    “Probably,” Ryder drew the word out to last longer than one syllable and Lindsay couldn’t help but feel more confused than ever.

 

    “Do you need help finding some merchandise?” Lindsay bit her lip in a nervous gesture and crossed, then uncrossed her arms.

 

    “I think we make her nervous, Ryder.” Daniel finally let a smirk show through his stony visage and Lindsay fought the urge to roll her eyes. Ryder didn’t respond, but instead went to look at a rack of women’s pajamas. Lindsay watched him while he picked up a pair and turned to Daniel.

 

Daniel nodded in approval and Ryder laid the pajamas on the counter. Ryder turned to Lindsay and raised his eyebrow at her, almost challenging her to refuse him service.

    

This time Lindsay didn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes as she walked to the register. She rang up the pajamas and took Ryder’s cash. “Will that be all today?”

 

    “For today, yes.” Ryder smirked at her before winking. Then he turned around and left the store with Daniel. Lindsay stood behind the counter, staring at Ryder’s back as he walked out.

 

    “That was...I don’t even know what to say about it.” Anne stuttered out as Lindsay turned to her. Anne rested a hand on the counter next to Lindsay behind the counter. “Was a Were flirting with you?”

 

    “I don’t know,” Lindsay confessed in a quiet voice. “I really don’t know.” Every time Lindsay saw Ryder she became even more confused than the last time. All of these interactions with Ryder were making Lindsay’s head spin. “Let’s just get back to work, I want to go home and take a long bubble bath.” Lindsay commanded in a sharp, yet soft voice as she walked back the clothes rack from before.

 

    The only thing Lindsay could say conclusively after that encounter was this; Weres were confusing.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

    Lindsay was glad to be home again after a long day of work. She was not only physically drained, but emotionally as well and she wanted nothing more than to curl up on her bed and fall asleep to a cheesy romance movie.

 

    Lindsay walked through the front door as quietly as she could, trying to avoid anyone hearing her and coming to talk to her. She wasn’t ready for more confrontations and honestly didn’t want to talk to anyone in her family at the moment.

 

    Lindsay got through the front door without making any noise and had the same success with the hallway. Grateful that she had made it to her room without anyone hearing her, Lindsay let herself relax and pushed the door to her room open.

 

    Lindsay’s peace didn’t last very long as she was surprised to see Matt sitting on her bed, waiting for her. Even though she saw him, Lindsay pretended that she didn’t and kept walking. She set down her bag and let down her hair with him sitting there. Neither one said anything and Lindsay was more than happy to keep it that way.

 

    “Lindsay,” Matt started, but didn’t continue and Lindsay didn’t respond to him. She grabbed a t-shirt and sweats and left to change in the bathroom. Lindsay took extra long in the bathroom, hoping that Matt would be gone by the time she got out. However, when she did leave the bathroom and got back to her room, Matt was still sitting on her bed.

 

    “What do you want, Matt?” Lindsay huffed and folded her arms on her chest.

 

    “I wanted to talk to you.” Matt stood up and put his hands in his pockets.

 

    “About what?” Lindsay couldn’t help the bite in her voice and she wasn’t going to spare Matt’s feelings.

 

    “Last night.” Matt sighed and he at least had the decency to look away, ashamed.

 

    “What about last night?” Lindsay plopped herself down in a chair and glared up at Matt.

 

    “I wanted to apologize for how much I over-reacted.” Matt sighed as he looked down at Lindsay. “I’m not apologizing for getting mad, but I am apologizing for how mad I got-”

 

    “Spare me the lecture, please, Matt.” Lindsay shook her head, interrupting him. “I know that you’re apologizing right now, but I know what comes afterward. Believe me, I heard it all from Mom and Dad. I swear, I wish I had moved out with Lisa when I had the chance.”

 

    “Really? You’re really doing that right now?” Matt asked with a scowl, the apologetic demeanor gone.

 

    “Doing what, Matt?” Lindsay asked with a sigh as she picked at threads on her jeans.

 

    “Shutting me out.” Matt sighed as he stood up. “Yeah, I got too angry, but you can’t just shut me out like that.”

 

    “Matt,” Lindsay rolled her eyes in annoyance at Matt. “I’m not shutting you out, I just don’t want to talk to you right now because I’m still angry at you.”

 

    “Well, then get over it!” Matt snapped, crossing his arms at Lindsay.

 

    “Get over it, seriously?” Lindsay scoffed. “Did you really just tell me to get over it?”

 

    “Yeah, I did.” Matt walked up to where Lindsay was sitting. “We both messed up, man up and get over it, Lindsay.”

 

    “I will, eventually,” Lindsay shot back at Matt. “However, I don’t want to deal with you right now, so just leave me alone.”

 

    “How is that going to solve anything?”

 

    “What are you talking about?” Lindsay asked in exasperation as she pushed herself off the chair.

 

    “How is you sitting alone, stewing in your anger going to help anything?” Matt challenged and Lindsay glared at him.

 

    “It’ll keep me from saying things to you that I shouldn’t be saying.” Lindsay pointed to the door. “Now, will you please leave me alone?”

 

    “For now, but you better believe that I’m coming back soon and we’re either going to hash this out or forget about it.”

 

    “You do realize that you’re my younger brother, right?”

 

    “You do realize that you’re my older sister and should be acting like it, right?” Matt shot back and Lindsay pushed him away from her.

 

    “Get out of here, Matt!” Lindsay yelled as she continued pushing Matt out the door.

 

    “Lindsay!” Matt snapped as Lindsay slammed the door in his face. Lindsay sighed deeply before going and laying down on her bed face first. Lindsay wished she had never gone to the mall that day and that she had never met Ryder the Were.