Chapter 61: Family: Part Two

That night her mother drove until the sun greeted the earth once more, and the glowing amber eyes were nowhere to be seen. Esme was too petrified to fall asleep, but it seemed her body's need overruled her fear. It was when she woke, Esme was more confused, believing the night before was nothing more than a nightmare. There was no claw mark or blood on her mother; it made her blink slowly and look around the car for her dad. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Later that day, her mother taught her the basics about werewolves and that she and her father were also these monstrous beings. Though, when she looked at her mother's kind face, she knew there was nothing to fear.

Over the next four years, it was only Esme and her mother. When they weren't travelling, her mother was her teacher, learning the usual stuff humans learned along with werewolves' history, geography, and religion. On top of that, she started early with her fighting skills, though skill was not the right word for a young child. 

She also didn't care that they moved every few months or that the flashy hotels slowly turned into grungy motels and then into camping. As long as she was with her mother, then nothing mattered. It was them against the world, and she loved every second of it. Even on the rare occasions when things became scary and too much, she'd look at her mother for comfort and see her strength. 

But not long after her eighth birthday, Esme's alone time with her mother came to an end. Their long hiking trip that would take three days ended with them deep into the forest and surrounded by ten giant werewolves and ten humans in ninja type suits, covered in black except for their eyes, holding a knife in one gloved hand. Esme held onto her mother's hand tightly, but she forced the fear away from her face though her body still shook. 

Her mother told her they were meeting some of her friends, but that didn't make Esme feel any better. Their welcoming party wasn't friendly, and Esme had started to listen more to her instincts. They were not welcome there; whatever the reason was, she didn't care. All she cared about was staying with her mother. 

But while they were surrounded, another man arrived and hugged her mother like they were old friends, a broad grin growing on his face, revealing sharp teeth that looked like they belonged to an animal than a man. Esme stared wide-eyed and didn't flinch or cower when he approached her. Instead, she narrowed her eyes, wary of this man and the small army that seemed to have greeted them. 

"Can tell she's your daughter," He commented with a smirk. "What's your name, little lady?"

Esme tilted her head to the side, "What's yours?"

He burst into laughter and looked at her mother, approval residing in his gaze. "Rick." He looked at Esme expectantly, but she stayed tight-lipped.

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"Her name is Nyx," Her mother stepped forward, almost shielding Esme from the man before her. Esme was still staring at him even as his smile turned into one of a cruel smirk. She definitely didn't like him. She would also stick to this new name her mother gave her, feeling it suited her and, in a way, felt protected by the use of a different name. 

Her four years travelling weren't all rainbows and butterflies, there were times so scary she'd keep watching their surroundings, never relaxing, and her dreams turned to nightmares at the idea of being caught. How had her once loving father now turned into someone chasing them? 

Her mother tried to calm her, but then when she turned six, her attitude changed, and she said, 'It's best you are always alert. As a rogue, you can't stay too comfortable. Otherwise, your dead.'

The fear of dying because she wasn't alert stuck with her. And at her young age, Esme became a pro at hiding and assessing any new adults before her like they were already an enemy to take her away from her mum. This was no different. The bald man with obsidian-coloured eyes and sharp teeth turned around to show them the place. Esme watched everything and everyone, not caring too much about the state of what looked like a small, strange village in the middle of the woods. 

Yet, it took three days to get there by foot. They walked through the small clearing, the dirt tracks smooth out, trees cut away for the small brick cottages, caravans, tents, what looked like stone ruins, and then further back an arena and other buildings Esme ignored. She stared back at the cold, sharp eyes of the people now crowding nearby. They sized her up and looked at her like she was nothing but a piece of meat. A child no older than she hurled a rock towards her, but she dodged in time and glared at the red-haired boy, taking note of his appearance. 

It was then she realised maybe the little army surrounding them wasn't to protect the people from the newcomers but to protect the newcomers from these savage people. Her tiny body had gone cold from the dread she now felt from such a place, but when she looked up at her mum, she saw her face relax for the first time since they left her dad. Esme never questioned her until they were alone again that evening. 

They ate in a dining hall filled with most of this peculiar village, guards standing tall at the walls and everyone's eyes on Esme and her mother at what she ended up finding out to be the leader's table, where only those in charge sat. Esme quietly watched her mother chat animatedly to Rick, who was in charge of this group of rogues called the Hellhounds.

Esme realised after being provided one of the cottages that they were there to stay. She'd argued with her mum for days over it, she, of course, lost, and her mum laughed at her point that the place was weird. They had to follow the rules, with routines of sitting in the 'town hall' at least three times a week for a meal; the other was to never venture further than the trees marked with an 'X'. There were also rules with who had what to reside in; it turned out the cottage they stayed in was one that only someone of high importance lived in.

Lastly, and most importantly, the only way to leave the Hellhounds is through death.

But that didn't make sense because, after their first week of settling in, Esme went to school and found out her mother was on trial because she'd been gone for eight years on her 'mission'.. She never realised what that meant until she was older, and after a long week of not seeing her and fending for herself, her mother was released and returned to Esme.

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