Chapter Four

I look at Berik with a confused look "I'm sorry, but I thought my sweet sixteen and eighteenth birthdays were the most important, well those and my twenty-first." I say with a smirk.

"Falencia, I'm serious, I really need you to listen, this is going to be hard to hear at first."

I nod at her and give her my full attention, the rest of the table also taking in the seriousness of the situation. Berik looks at the guy at the head of the table and nods at him.

"Falencia my name is Fenirick Danvers, you've already met my son, Addam." He gestures to Addam, to which he nods at his father. "I knew your birth parents quite well, what do you remember of your parents before their passing?" He asks delicately.

"Not much, to be completely honest, I remember that they were hard working and loved their employees and they told me that the key to being a successful business owner was to respect the employees that you have, as well as any customer who walks into your business." I reply. "I do remember the night of their passing quite vividly as well." I tell him honestly. "why?"

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly carefully thinking about what he wants to say. "Your parents were apart of a very different kind of society; they went against the rules of our 'Elders' and ran away to be together when it wasn't deemed 'right'." He begins.

I look at him confused. "I know you're trying to sugar coat things, please just be blunt and tell me what you came to tell me."

He takes another deep breath letting it out slowly again "I need you to listen very carefully and let me finish." He says.

I nod in understanding.

"To be frank, your parents weren't human. Your father was part of the Angel faction of the Underground Society and your mother was a Demon of the same society, there are six factions in the Underground Society. Human, Angel, Demon, Witch, Werewolf. I know you're probably thinking I'm a complete and utter nut, but I promise I am not, I have proof with me to show that I'm not entirely insane."

I look around the table at everyone, Nik is the only one besides me who is looking at this dude as if he is a complete and total loon. I look at Berik and give her my 'is this dude for real?' look to which she nods with a straight face. "just listen honey, I know this is not really making any sense but just keep an open mind." I roll my eyes but nod.

Fenirick motions for us to follow him into the living room, "I think that this will help you understand what I'm talking about a little better." He stands in the middle of the living room, lifts his shirt up over his head, he wasn't horrible looking with the shirt on, he honestly looked like he could have been Addam's brother instead of his father, he was roughly six-foot-four with dark auburn/brown hair, his face was clean shaven but his eyes were the most piercing grey/green color that I have ever seen, his six pack abs show that he takes good care of himself. He looks at me purposefully "I don't want to make you uncomfortable Falencia, but I need you to watch this whole transformation, from beginning to end."

I look at him doubtfully, thinking 'this dude is just a perv who wants to show his junk to us minors, I can't believe Berik and Thelma actually are allowing this.' I shrug and motion for him to continue on with his madness. "Go on ahead." I say unamused.

He continues to strip out of his clothes, Thelma takes them from him and puts them on the arm of the couch, as he starts to groan and we start to hear the snap and crack of bones breaking. I can't help but watch in complete and utter horror as the man in front of me becomes the beast of so many books, tv shows, and movies, he comes up to me and nudges my hand making me jump back in surprise, I can't take my eyes off of him, he's looks like a regular wolf, not this out of world huge wolf, his fur is black with a blue hue, his eyes are yellow with a knowing of who and what he truly is, he whines a little and then returns back to his original state.

I nearly fall over after taking a huge step backwards, Nik catches me and takes me to the couch to sit down. "I'm sorry, I had to show you this way, but can you honestly tell me that you would have believed me any other way?" Fenirick asks.

I'm in too much shock to say anything; suddenly the night of my parent's murder is playing out in front of my mind again. They're standing in our living room talking to two men, one is at least six-foot tall, shaggy dark brown hair, with chocolate brown eyes, and is wearing a leather bikers jacket, some kind of band tee, dark blue wrangler jeans and a pair of biker boots, he would have been considered beautiful in many standards if he didn't have the worlds meanest scowl on his ebony face. The other man was just a little shorter, maybe five-foot-eleven, wearing the same ensemble, only difference between the two was their physical looks; the second man had grey/green eyes, buzzcut style dark blonde hair, and had sun-kissed skin.

I'm standing there watching the horrific events play out, one minute, my parents are fighting for their lives, the next, they're brought down to their knees. "Do you have anything to say before we do this?" The ebony skinned man asks almost as if he regrets what he is about to do.

My parents look at one another and nod "Don't let them find our daughter, please, we understand that you have to do what you have to with us, but please, she's just a child, let her grow up not knowing who and what she really is. Keep her safe." My mother pleads to which the man nods curtly and in one swift motion swings a machete looking sword and ends both of my parents' lives in one fell swoop.

I come back to hearing someone screaming, not realizing it's me who is doing the screaming. "Falencia, it's okay, calm down." I hear a muffled gruffy male voice tell me while holding me close to his chiseled chest.

"w-what, j-just h-h-happened?" I ask shakily once I've calmed down a little and quit screaming like a banshee.

"You tell us? One minute you seem shell-shocked, not moving, or anything really the next you're whiter than a ghost, you honestly could have given Casper a run for his money with how pale you were, then you started screaming as if someone was killing you." Nik says running his fingers through my hair soothingly.

I take a deep breath and look at Fenirick warily, not sure if I should trust him with the flashback that I just had. Something in me tells me that he is to be trusted and that he's not here to hurt me. "I remembered something from the night my parent's were killed. "They begged the men who took their lives to keep me a secret, to protect me." I feel tears start streaming down my face, I look up at Berik, Thelma, and Fenirick. "Was it my fault?" I ask quietly, not sure if I want to actually know the truth.

"Oh honey! No, of course not!" Berik says pulling me into her.

I'm numb, everything around me becomes dull as I zone out, not really knowing what to feel or what to think. I hear myself say "I'm going to go for a walk, I need some time alone to think." I feel myself get up off of the couch away from everyone's hugs and comfort.

"We understand honey, please don't forget to take your phone." Berik says.

I nod and go to grab my phone from my room, not knowing if I want to go back through the living room to see everyone staring at me with the pity and sympathy. I turn back around and shut my door behind me, walk back through the hallway I just came from into the living room, where everyone is talking and bolt out of the front door. I can't seem to get my racing thoughts to calm down, I walk through the dark streets, with no real place in particular in mind, I just need to breathe and get away from everything that I just saw and remembered.

"Hey, look who it is!" I hear Anderson say a few feet ahead of me.

I sigh, I really don't want to deal with his stupidity right now, I can still feel the tears from earlier on my cheeks. I rub my face with the sleeve of my hoodie hoping it will get rid of some evidence of the tears.

"What's got you out so late? Just finish with one of your customers?" Anderson says with lust in his eyes.

I roll my eyes not even flinching at the comment. "You're drunk and need to go home." I say with no amusement in my tone.

"Oh, I think I want to have some fun, how much do you usually charge? I think I should get a discount." He says, implying that I sell my body.

I cringe inwardly "I don't charge for anything you stupid prick."

"Oh, so you're a free whore?" Anderson asks with a gleeful tone.

I growl "No you idiot, I don't charge because I don't sleep with anyone."

"So, you do other things then?" He asks licking his lips.

I take a deep breath in and let it slowly out, trying to put a clamp on my temper. "No you complete and total imbecile I don't do anything because, I am still a virgin and would really rather keep it that way." I reply.

Anderson takes a small step towards me to which I step back and raise an eyebrow at him "Virgins are so much better." He says rubbing himself above his pants.

I swallow the bile in my throat, while clutching my phone and press Berik's speed dial number. "You don't want to do something you'll regret Anderson. Let's just go our separate ways and forget that this has happened."

He takes another step towards me, making me step back again, only this time, I run into a hard surface, I turn my head to see who or what I walked into and notice that Anderson's best friend Lance is standing right behind me, he also has that drunken lust look to him. "Shit!" I curse under my breath. I try to side step away from them, but Lance snakes his arm around my waist to keep me in place.

"I don't think I'll regret anything." Anderson says as he stalks towards me with purposeful strides.

I whimper "Please, Anderson! Don't do this." I plead hoping that he'll get bored of my pleading.

"I love it when they beg." Lance says laughing maniacally.

"You rape girls and enjoy it?" I ask incredulously, almost not believing that they were that horrible. "of course, you do! You have no human decency at all." I wiggle to get out of Lance's hold, which he only tightens around me.

Lance and Anderson look at each other and throw their heads back in laughter. "I know what I want, and like any other man in history, I take it."

I narrow my eyes, grateful to Berik for forcing me and Freya to take every variance of self-defense known. I take a deep breath as Anderson starts to close the distance between us, I kick up and hit him in the groin, hard, throwing my head back and connecting with Lance's nose as he's bent down sniffing my hair, I hear a sickening crack and feel Lance let me go. "Don't mess with girls, you may end up getting your asses kicked, again." I tell them as I start to run back to my apartment, only to realize that I've walked a little more than five miles. 'Great, just great!' I think to myself, I veer to my left and go a few more blocks to the school, thinking if I can get to the school I can at least find a good hiding spot to where the boys won't be able to find me.

I hear footsteps running towards me, I speed up and dash for the football field, I hop over the fence with a slight ease, thanking Berik silently for pushing me to join gymnastics when I was younger. I dive into the concessions booth and hide, holding my breath as best as I can. I type a message in the group chat for me, Freya, and Berik 'school. Concessions stand. Need help!' and hit send. I pocket my phone to make sure that the light from it won't show where I'm at.

"I know she came this way, where the hell did she disappear to?" I hear Anderson ask.

"Maybe she went to hid in the girls room?" Lance asks.

"Even she would know how easy that would be for us to find her. You check the girls, I'll check the guys." I hear them split and head to their prospective destinations.

I keep my hand over my mouth and listen hard to my surroundings, knowing that it's just a matter of time before they find me. I peek over the concessions bar to see if the coast is clear. I almost scream when I see a dark figure standing with their back to me just in front of the stand. I crouch back down and huddle into the shelves. 'fuck, I need an escape plan.' I think to myself as I search the stand for some back way out.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" I Hear Anderson's taunting voice shout. He seems to be walking the actual field, his voice isn't as loud as it should be if he's close, so Lance must be the one in front of me, at least this is what I think until I hear a crashing sound and Lance yell 'dude, I think she's over here!' from what I believe would be the locker room area.

I steal another quick peek over the bar and see a pair of glowing blue eyes staring directly at me. I stifle my scream and nearly fall back into the stove when I feel someone's calming hand on my shoulder

"It's just us Fal." I hear Nik say softly.

I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank the Gods! I thought I was in serious trouble for a minute."

Berik comes into view and I run into her arms, thankful for her comfort right at this moment, the earlier issues forgotten for this moment, at least until Fenirick and Addam come into view, that's when the earlier feelings come into play. "How long have you known about my parents?" I ask still hugging Berik like a child would their mother.

"Since before you came into this world." Berik says smoothing my hair.

I clench my jaw, "why would you keep something like this from me?"

"You don't know everything yet, Falencia, there is so much more that you need to know. I'm sure we should have told you about everything before we showed you what was truly out in the dark. But, if you'll allow us to continue, I believe that you'll understand everything so much better." Berik says.

I sigh, "I think I'd like to hear what all of you have been keeping from me." I reply stepping back from Berik's warm embrace and follow them to the car. "By the way, who was standing in front of the stand?" I ask.

"No one, Fenirick and Addam went to the opposite ends of the field to lure the boys away from you, I made sure that they went to check out the crash from the locker room, Nik made sure the coast was clear before he came into the stand. But no one was standing in front. Why?" Berik says.

I explained about the glowing blue eyes I saw looking directly at me before Nik told me it was them. Fenirick looked around and sniffed the air "I think it's a good idea for us to get back home, Thelma is going to need to up her protection spells."

I look at him questioningly "what the hell are you talking about? I know Thelma is a witch and has placed protection spells on us and around the apartment, but could you please tell me what the hell you're talking about?"

"When we get back to the apartment, everything will be explained, I promise!" Berik says as we pile into a silver Toyota Rav4 which I assumed to belong to Fenirick.

"Fine." I reply with a frustrated sigh and lean against the back seat between Addam and Nik.

Nik puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him. "How long have you known? I ask him quietly, hoping this is as new to him as it is me.

"The beginning of the summer." He replied cautiously.

I grit my teeth together trying to get a handle on my anger. The air around us becomes thin, too thin for normal circumstances but I get pulled into a trance-like state, I know what is going on around me, but everything and everyone seems to be so far away. I hear voices talking but I can't understand them, the emotions inside keep swirling, anger being the more prominent feeling. Nik knew since the beginning of the summer, and he still had the audacity to get mad at me for not returning his feelings? The air in my lungs becomes almost non-existent.

"Falencia, hon, you need to calm down." I hear Addam's voice say through the garbled mess that is my brain at the current moment. "You're going to end up killing all of us if you keep going."

I blink through the haze of emotion. When everything became clear, I notice that we are on the shoulder of the road, "What happened?" I ask.

Everyone looks at each other before Berik answers. "We will explain when we get home, it's too dangerous to be out on the street right now." Fenirick puts the car in drive.

When we get home I march up to the apartment, still fuming but keeping a lid on my anger for now. When I reach the apartment, Freya opens the door with an energy and strength that I had no idea she possessed. "Oh My God! What the hell happened?" She screams worriedly. "Tell me everything. I need to know."

I sigh "Before I get into what happened tonight, I want to ask everyone here a question."

"What is it honey?" Berik asks in her motherly tone.

"How long have all of you known about whatever the hell this is?" I say motioning to myself.

Everyone started talking at once, so I heard multiple answers at once. "One at a time please." I say rubbing my forehead to ease the oncoming migraine.

Berik spoke first "Since you were born."

Fenirick replied next "Since before you were even thought of." This made me look at him with confusion, to which he replied "that will be explained, in full."

"Since you came to live with us." Freyja replies.

"The beginning of this summer." Cherie says.

"Since I was born." Addam says.

"Honey, I've known about you since your parents first came to Portland." Thelma replies.

Fenirick clears his throat, "If you're ready to hear what needs to be said, I suggest we begin, it's a lengthy tale." I nod in return, we head to the dining room where everything had been taken off the table and put away during the time we were gone.

"First, I need you to understand that no one here meant any maliciousness nor for you to be hurt in any way, We were just trying to stay true to your parents' wishes, they had asked us to keep you happy, hidden, but above all; safe. You see, your mother, father, and I all grew up in Virginia together. We were part of the Underground Society, we are separated from humans, there are a very select few humans who know that we exist, it's in order to keep a peace, making sure that no one causes harm to nor kill each other. As I mentioned before, there are six factions: Humans: There is only one family who know about our community, they happen to also reside in Portland, they make sure that no harm comes to the humans who are unaware of the five other factions. Werewolves: We tend to like our privacy and stay away from the other factions, with the exception of coming to the city for business or to deal with issues that one of the pack members have caused. Angels: They keep watch over the peace treaty over the factions, if anyone steps out of line, they come in and take care of the discrepancy, there's also the reapers who fall under this faction, they collect the souls that are no longer with us. Demons: There are different levels of demons, there are the crossroads demons who make deals with desperate humans, hellhounds, they're the demons who are sent to collect the souls of the damned, then you have the demons who work the prison, for lack of a better term, and Vampires, I'm sure you don't actually need me to explain what they do?" Fenirick finishes.