HOWL: UNCHAINED (rewritten)

3 - The Prodigal Daughter Returns

--Billie's Pov--

I was in the shower for a good hour. Just sitting on the floor, letting the water hit my head - hot then warm and now cold. My body hurt, my head hurt. Every move I made my muscles would tense and I'd hiss at the slight discomfort. I don't know if it was because of last night or if my body was telling me it couldn't take it anymore.

I was numb to emotion. Everytime I looked in the mirror I saw my reflection but I couldn't see myself. My eyes were empty. Like my soul decided to leave, leaving behind this husk drone around absentmindedly. Even last night. I know what I did. Do I feel anything?

No.

But something kept pulling at me. Like it was telling me to just go back home. Try to get out of this . . . whatever this was. There was something dark lingering over my head and, even in my drone like state, I could feel it. Like something was beckoning me, urging me deeper into the dark. I fought it, I fought them.

Maybe Tara was right. I should go home. I was not only hurting myself, but my mom, my brother. But for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to move. To pack my clothes, get in my car and go back. Something was keeping me here.

Lack of current self control?

The water was turned off as I forced myself to stand and get out. Walking to the bedroom, I grabbed my duffel bag, stuffing my clothes into it, dirty or not. I didn't want to leave, but I couldn't stop my arms or my legs. It was out of my control.

My heart kept screaming at me, telling me that going back is for the better, and my body followed its demands. But I knew it was a bad idea. I didn't want to see her. Somewhat because of what happened, but mostly because I knew if I saw her . . . chances are I would probably kill her.

--No-one's Pov--

Tara left the den after getting her fill. Plus she had enough of the blasting EDM. She wanted to take a walk, maybe visit Krista and her mother, see if they had any useful information. She remembered the last time she talked to Krista - three weeks ago. She remembered that Krista said something about them getting closer to finding Tony Bailey.

They tried getting Xander to find him and, much to their displeasure, failed. It's like the guy didn't want to be found. She didn't blame him. With all this shit - the Nightwatch, more hunters in groups - being deep in the mountains like Billie sounded like the best plan ever.

She turned when she heard the metal creaking of the door, watching as Krista quickly closed it, adjusting her white jacket as she walked over to the vampire.

"What is it?"

"You'll be happy to know that I found jack shit on Tony. Xander couldn't even find him." She says, standing in front of the other woman.

"Is that what you wanted to see me about? Tara, this could have waited until later. When I was at home. Out of the public."

Tara shrugged, "not only that. It's Ali."

"What's wrong with Ali?"

"She wants to know who her real parents are. Can I tell her?"

Krista sighs, rubbing her scalp as she thinks about this. "Not until we know, for sure, that she is Tony's daughter. Just hold off a little longer. At least until I get the results back, okay?"

"I wanna know, how did you get his DNA?" Tara asked.

"Luckily he's in the system here. Just an incident that happened years ago, before I started working here. Now go, Ivan has his men out."

"In broad daylight?"

"He's getting desperate. Just stay safe, okay?"

Tara watched Krista walk off, moving to lean over the edge of the roof, looking down at the alley where the dumpsters were. She leaned more until she was falling off of the 350 ft building, landing smoothly on her feet next to one of the dumpsters, only to catch a whiff of a human standing behind her wide eyed.

She smiled, straightening up as she walked over to him, looking him in the eye, "you didn't see anything. Matter of fact you're gonna go back in and clean a bedpan. This never happened. Now go."

--Emilia's Pov--

As I walked home from work, thankful that Xander let me go at four, I listened as Blake told me about his latest dream.

"It was strange, Emilia." He said over the phone as water, what I guessed, ran in the background.

"Tell me again . . . slowly this time." I say, walking onto the trail since it was the fastest way home.

"I can't remember much of it. Only there was a baby and some guy named Tony."

"Probably that guy mom is looking for."

"Probably, ugh damn it. What's strange is it didn't seem like a vision of the future."

"Why do you say that?" When I passed the oak tree I knew I was getting close to home.

"Because I saw a date, well a year. 2005."

"A baby and Tony in 2005?"

It wouldn't surprise me that Blake can see the past, but there was no way either of us could make out what it meant. Maybe mom could. Maybe that one guy that Tara knows, Blayne right, could help.

Though according to Tara he wasn't one for helping non vampires all the time.

As I made it onto the sidewalk, I heard a car engine rumbling in the distance. I look up in time to see a black Challenger turning onto my street. I didn't think twice as I looked back to the ground, following the cracks to my house.

Then the Challenger slowed down, driving into the driveway of the house across the street. I look back, Blake's rambling getting more and more muffled, watching as the driver opened the door as they turned the engine off.

And then Billie stepped out. 

(This was a short one because I got stuck. I'm working on this, another fic and 2 legitimate books at the same time so inspiration is all over the place)