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There's blood on her hands, in her hair, on her face, under her fingernails, and it won't go away. There's blood on the floor, staining it. They just had it polished last week.
There was blood on his face, in his mouth-
She closes her eyes and tries to stop thinking.
She holds tight to Matt's hand and nods. Then leads them into the Salvatore Boarding House and below.
It's dark and damp and the walls are coated with the feeling of fear and pain, as well as an undercurrent of - something truly awful. If they breathe in too deeply they will feel sick to their stomach and their head will spin.
It's different. He outgrew the fridge, and then his dad had to make do with closets. This is something else still. He can't really ignore the smell- heightened senses that he doesn't know how to control, to use. It's less like having a superpower and more like he died in that house. This feels like Hell. He wonders if he should feel guiltier about not believing; that's probably why he's here, right? He hadn't done anything to deserve it, he thought, so it would have to be the lack of faith. Or maybe Hell is other people. That would fit.
He keeps an eye out for the cages- he needs something familiar.
Her head is spinning and spinning but she can't taste copper in her mouth. She's still standing. Her body is made of sterner stuff now. She just wants to thank Juliet- she's going through the worst pain Erica can imagine, she lived through this- and she still made her pack. That's worth holding her breath for a little longer.
Meanwhile, Matt is talking. Nothing of substance, nothing that can't be missed, if Juliet doesn't want to hear it, but enough to keep her mind off more unpleasant things.
"-every year, where we go out and spend hours just picking out ornaments. They kept doing it, long after I stopped having any fun with it. They always saw it as a chance for us to unite, right, over a shared tradition. Things like that, but for us, whatever we want them to be. That's what pack can mean. We'll have to learn things- I'm completely useless around the house, but someone is going to have to get handy if we want to stay in a cabin-"
Juliet opens up a very solid and reinforced door, inside is covered in scratches and deep indentations. This room is the source of all her - everything. It's also familiar and she feels a sick sense of safety. She hates it. Hates everything.
She heads over to the wall and starts unhooking the thick chains hanging there.
"There's some more in that box there," she points to the corner.
-but finds that he's struggling to lift much. He's working with a human amount of strength.
"Here, stud, why don't you let me take those."
She does. Easily. It feels good to be powerful.
She looks down at the chains and knows they won't hold her on their own.
"Matt, can you - just in case I need it - can you gather some wolfsbane. There's some stored down the hall. Be careful, don't breath it in."
"On it."
On the way, he tries- baring fangs, unsheathing claws- how do you shot web, indeed. He returns with wolfsbane and not much else to show for his efforts.
"Soon," she replies to Matt, then she and Erica leave. "I'll take you home?"
"Thank you. For everything."
She watches Juliet out of the corner of her eye. Watches her movements. She starts to mimic her.
"Of course. If there's anything good that's come out of this, it's you. Helping you."
"I had my dad? He helped. Even if it was messed up with everything. He tried and he loved me and - that mattered."
"We're going to do it better. Find somewhere no one can find us. Learn from each other. My dad was always so afraid of someone finding out about me. Being an alpha, my mom passed it to me when I was just a baby. It's unprecedented. So I never had a pack."
"So if you're starting early, you have a head start. Sounds good to me."
"We'll both be stronger together too. A lone alpha is better with a pack, and the pack gets to share some of that power too."
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