"Eleanor, I need you to stay away from me." He says as he holds tight onto my hand. I look up at him in confusion and hurt. No hint of anger is in his eyes.
"What, why?" I ask, voice breaking.
"I just need you to trust me okay? I don't want you to g...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
June 30th, 2001
My dearest Julia,
I'm afraid I write to you with bad news. Since the Beacon Hills Summit things have only gotten worse for the pack. Ennis is still extremely distraught over the death of his beta. I have worked with Ennis for years and never seen him in this state. I recently discovered that he had tried to turn a teenage girl a few months ago, only for her to parish from the bite. Ennis has never been the type to try and turn someone without prior agreement, let alone someone as vulnerable as a teenage girl. I feel for him over the death of his beta, I know that they were like brothers, but his behavior has begun to scare me. I confess I have even started to fear for my safety, and the safety of my family.
I don't know if you have heard, but the rumors are true. The alpha Deucalion was blinded in a fight with hunters. Having met Deucalion myself, I can say for certain he did not deserve such a fate. Deucalion had visions of peace, but perhaps it was that naivety that led to his downfall. Since then I have been hearing whispers that Ennis is regularly meeting with Deucalion. Due to their shared tragedy at the hand of hunters, I fear for what those meetings may lead to. Perhaps they are preparing for war. I am not sure if I am willing to put my family at risk over more years of endless fighting. I fear that my duties as an emissary may be coming to an end.
Sincerely,
Catherine Montgomery
I stand frozen in the hallway reading the letter over and over again. I hope that if I read it enough times, it might just make some sense to me. I wonder if this is some kind of practical joke. The letter is dated a month before my mother's death, could someone have used that information to plan an elaborate prank against me? But who? And why?
Searching for more answers I look in my locker again. Sat atop a pile of books is a single photo. I scan the image to see a woman with long golden hair and a bright smile--my mother. Next to her is a younger, clean shaven version of my father. On the other side of my mother is a man I don't recognize at first. He is tall. No, tall is an understatement. He is a tree of a man, towering almost out of frame. The width of my two parents combined is nearly equal to his strong, muscular frame.
I'm so struck by the sheer presence of this man that I almost don't notice the little girl to his left, clutching his hand. Her hair is a long and unruly blond mess. Her smile takes up the up the entirety of her face, cheeks rosy and bright. I have seen enough photos of myself at that age to immediately recognize that the girl is me.
"Eleanor!" I hear someone call, and I quickly put the photo and letter away. I turn to see Ms. Blake walking down the hall towards me.
"Class has started, what are you doing out here?" She asks
Panicking I say, "I actually haven't been feeling well. I think I might be heading home soon."
"That's too bad, I hope you feel better," She responds with a smile, "Also I was very excited to hear that you are joining the AP class. We will be happy to have you there this week. How is your research going if you don't mind me asking?"
