Ancora Imparo

-15- House Rules

"Come in!" We were standing in the hallway to Ezra's father's office.

I followed Ezra inside, and took a seat next to him in front of the large wooden desk Luke sat behind. The room was full of photos of his family. Books and loose papers were scattered across the desk, despite this, the rest of the room was neatly organized - books contained to their shelves and papers filed away in cabinets. After that memory I relived before lunch, I took for granted how cozy the pack house was. And a part of me wondered if this was normal.

"So the plans have shifted," Luke began. "Mr. Grange told me that Elle's parents were attacked and killed by psychics. The same ones who reportedly were involved with her grandfather. But there is a new threat as I'm sure you are both aware."

I nod hollowly. I wished we could tell him, scream at him, that I was out of control. There was no training me because no one knew how to. I managed to pull off a calm exterior. Ezra was also calm, he responded, "Yes, we were actually planing on meeting with Mr. Grange later as well."

"Elle," Luke turned his attention to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," I replied quickly. "A little overwhelmed, but I can handle it." No you can't, not alone, my wolf scolded.

"She didn't sleep particularly well, she's been seeing memories of her parents that trigger her," Ezra covered.

"Understandable, the first shift takes a toll on the body, and the mind is just along for the ride," Luke nods. "Time will be your friend, those memories will fade."

I gave him a tight smile, and changed the subject, "So training?"

He eyed me warily, "We'll focus on combat and strength training. Let's plan for 6am each morning." I nod. "Right now, we need to assess our options before we take any action. We'll be having a pack meeting tomorrow."

Both Ezra and I nodded. I felt an heart speed up at the thought of a crowded meeting, but Ezra's hand covering mine helped me maintain my composure.

"Ezra, can I chat with Elle, alone?"

Ezra let out a low growl, I looked over to him, his eyes slowly turning black.

Despite my nervousness, my voice remained level, "I'll be okay, Ezra. Go - take a shower - I'll be fine for more than 5 minutes on my own."

His eyes slowly shifted back to their usual brown hue, and looked at me skeptically, "Are you sure?"

I nod.

"Okay, I'll be nearby if you need me," He sighed. Overprotective. Our mate's just trying to protect us, my wolf retorted.

I rolled my eyes at him,"We'll be fine!" And with that the door closed, and it was just me and Luke.

"So Elle..." He trailed off.

"Yes?" I prompted when he didn't continue.

"I need to know... what happened to you, before Ezra?"

I let out a soft gasp, I should have expected this, but now I was being confronted - having to acknowledge my upbringing. "I-I don't like to talk about it."

"Try," He gave a small smile. "I have some snacks, I figured we might be here awhile."

"Snacks?" I questioned - caught off-guard.

Without a word, he opened one of the bottom drawers to his desk and placed several boxes of different snacks on top of his desk. "Take your pick, and start from the beginning. What was your first memory?"

I opted for one of the chocolate cookies and snacked on several as a I sifted through my early memories, I didn't think often about my youth, it wasn't healthy. I could feel my wolf anxiously pacing, "... I was 4 years old. It was the only time I can remember going out of the house as a child, and it was the last time I left the house before college... We were out late, out of town, it was a long drive. We went to go hear music, it must of been an orchestra. I got lost during the break halfway through. I remember not being scared, I had found this woman... her hair was so white, I had never seen anyone with hair that light. She didn't hurt me, she just talked to me... my parents didn't like her. My father exploded at her when he found us, and my mother took me to the car. Shortly after, my father - his face red with anger - returned home and my father said- he said... h-he would leave me on the side of the road to be eaten by wolves if I ever ran away again. That's my earliest memory.