Sirens (Theo Raeken) [1]

Lone Wolf

SOMETIMES all you have to rely on is yourself.

So when I call 911 that night and watch as the police cover up the body of my mother and carry her corpse out, I have to keep myself upright. I have to cling on to that last shred of strength in my body.

They take out cameras and start snapping pictures of the crime scene. That's what it is now. A crime scene. They'll never find anything, I think to myself. They'll never know who — no, what — actually did this.

I feel almost disconnected as they guide me to a quiet corner — as quiet as this place can be with a squad of policemen running in and out of rooms. "Arden Caraway, right?" the cop sitting across from me says.

I nod. She has kind eyes and an encouraging smile, but I don't feel consolation.

"Now, I know this is a shock, but we need you to answer some questions," she says gently, like she's scared I'm going to crumble into a billion pieces.

I don't.

"Of course," I say. I play with the hem of my top.

"Did you and your mother have a good relationship?"

I resist the urge to start swearing at her. "Yes," I say softly. "My father died when I was little. I always relied on her, and she never let me down. I loved her." I say the last part a little louder than I mean to and a little too defensively.

"Did your mother ever talk about any enemies? Anyone who wanted to hurt her?"

"No," I say. "All she did was talk about normal things."

And, with a pang of melancholy, I realise that that's what I really miss. Her laugh, her smile when I asked her about her day at work, the way she'd talk, the way she'd walk, the way she'd listen.

"Are you alright, Miss Caraway?"

I chew my lip, tears welling up in my eyes. "Yes," I mumble.

The first tear rolls down my cheek. "Miss Caraway, do you need anything?" I shake my head no but she persists. "Someone get her some water and tissues," she says.

An officer hurries into the kitchen. "When did you discover the body?"

"I-I don't know. I was out with my boyfriend, Theo." The words still feel foreign in my mouth. "I came back at about one and found her."

She scribbles something down in a notepad. "Was Theo with you when you found the body?"

I nod.

"Is that a yes?" she demands.

"Yes."

"Where is Theo now?"

I huff out a dry chuckle. He's gone. He cares too much about his pack. "One of our friends, Lydia Martin went missing. He's helping look for her." I pause. "Yes, it has been quite the night for me."

"Lydia Martin?" she questions as if she is making sure she heard properly.

"That's what I said," I say.

She leans in. "Do you know of anyone who would want to target you? Anyone who would want to hurt you?"

They think it's a pattern. They think that whoever took Lydia killed my mom as well. They don't know anything.

"No," I say. "Not at all."

"Thank you for that, Miss Caraway," she says. She stands up, glancing across the hoard of officers. "We need to get back to the station now. We need to run an investigation into the Lydia Martin case." She turns back to me. "This whole place is a crime scene. Do you have anywhere else to go?"

"I do," I say. "I have a friend up in Portland I can stay with."

The lie comes effortlessly. I suppose it's because, in a way, it's true. I have leads on my father's pack. Theo gave me the information that a beta in Portland knows about my father's pack. It's not a direct source, but it's better than nothing.

"Miss Caraway," she says. "We do have witness protection if you feel uneasy."

I swallow hard. "No, I think I can handle it. Right now, I just need to get away from all of this. The blood, the house, the stigma."

"If you need anything, you have the station's number," she says. "We'll let you pack and we'll be back in the afternoon. Good luck, Miss Caraway."

I watch as they clear out, a sea of uniforms gravitating towards the exit. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when the last of them shuts the door behind them. I will myself not to cry as I focus on slowing my breathing.

And as I steady my breathing, I know what I have to do.

I push my shoulders back and tip my head slightly up. I will not cry. I trudge up to my room, my legs moving as fast as they can. I haul open the doors of my wardrobe, throwing all the clothes I thought I'd need into a suitcase. I go to the bathroom and wipe off the remnants of the make up running down my cheeks from my tears.

I pull my hair back into a half up, half down style — practicality is all I care about right now. I haul up the suitcase and hurry down the stairs. I grab the garage keys with one hand and, still groaning from the load in my other hand, I unlock the door.

I reach for the my mom's keys and press the button, hearing the distinct click of doors unlocking. I drag the suitcase into the back of the Mercedes, still remembering when she first got it last year.

When I had come home that day, she'd been beaming and I was confused as hell as to why she was so happy. "Guess what?" she asked.

Of course, in my teenage moodiness, I grumbled a blasé "What?"

She grinned. "I am now officially a cool mom!" she exclaimed. I furrowed my eyebrows and she took my hand and dragged me to the garage. "Look at the Merc!"

I sighed, smiling as I gazed upon the black, shiny sedan. "Mom, you were already a cool mom," I said, smiling at her. "But if it makes you happy, then go ahead. That great audio system isn't hurting anyone, either, is it?"

She laughed, pulling me in for a hug. "I hope when you have kids one day, you can tell them about how cool their grandma is."

"Will do, mom. Will do."

I sigh at the sporadic memory and turn to the cabinet behind the car. I grip the handles and pull the doors open. I run my hand over the length of a rifle before pulling it down. I take another rifle and bullets and put them into the trunk of the car. I go back to the cabinet and take down a holster and put it on before shoving a pistol and two knives into it.

I untuck my top, concealing the weapons. I get into the driver's seat of the car and start the engine. And as I open the garage door and drive away from the crime scene, I repeat the same words in my head.

I will kill everyone in that pack.

Ω Ω Ω

Woah guys, I can't believe it's that time for me to update Sirens again. Anyway, how crazy was the 5b premiere? Holy shit. And Cody Christian in that V-neck like I needed some holy water after that. I hope this chapter wasn't too short for you all but I sort of just wanted to give an insight into where Arden was at the moment with her emotions. I'm v v excited for this next part and if you haven't noticed already, I've dropped a hint about a new character in my cast list so tell me what you think the new character will be like!!

Arden will see Theo for the first time after he abandoned her for the pack that night to find Lydia in the next chapter and I'm very excited to write that. This part will have more of a separate storyline to the main one in the show so it'll still be mainly focused around the timeline in the show, but Arden will grow into her character more (hello, badass character development!) and look out for a former TW character returning in the next few chapters. Tell me who you think it'll be! Sorry for the long A/N and until next time,

Georgina xx