To Suffer With

Chapter Eleven - Uncertainty

I had just turned fourteen when Kaiser brought me to the resistance. I remember that night so clearly. It had been raining, the forest flush with that chill damp air. Droplets fell and pierced me as I walked beneath the towering trees. My shoes squelched and sank in the mud and I remember having to walk so slowly to prevent myself for slipping. Kaiser waited for me so patiently, he never got annoyed, never snapped just kept encouraging me forward. He had been like a light when I had felt trapped in a sea of darkness. The resistance group who would take me in had been staying at a forester's cabin similar to the one we had so recently been in. They had placed me in a tiny cupboard like room with an old misshapen mattress to sleep on. I didn't sleep that night; I hardly got any sleep at all for the next week. Then slowly I grew accustomed to sleeping in strange positions and places and I adjusted to the point I could fall asleep anywhere. A trait that had served me well in the resistance when a comfortable bed was something you dreamed about, but here with Roman that ability was coming back to bite me.

By the time I wake up again the room is empty, silent except for the occasional chirping of birds through the windows. I roll myself out of the bed with little grace as I struggle to untangle my body from sheets and blankets.

My eyes drift around the room, Roman is nowhere in sight. On the other side of the room sits a large T.V on the wall, a black lounge suite that looks to nice to sit in arranged in front. The two wooden side tables on either side of the bed are bare. I pull open the small wooden drawer on the closest one to find it empty. I frown before making my way over to the small office. It was shaped as a hexagon, the back half made up of half wall windows that looked out to the dense forest. The pack house must be right on the edge of the city. The desk is bare apart from some loose pens in a drawer. Based on Roman's words last night I had assumed he had taken me to his room but there was nothing here to imply this place was lived in.

Roman, I wondered where he was. Had he simply waited for me to fall asleep to go and assist his wolves in the hunt? I doubt he'd tell me the truth if he had. A feeling of suffocation overcomes me, and I force myself to breath slowly and count to five. I wouldn't be trapped here forever.

I spy another door near the back of the room, and I open it to find a large walk-in wardrobe. One half of it is holds clothes. Roman's clothes I decide as I stop to sniff the air. There it was just a hint of smoke that was undeniably Roman. So, he did live in this room which just made me more confused, because what kind of person has no personal belongings in their room? Even I had carried keepsakes around and I had no home.

Relief floods over me as I catch sight of my backpack tucked into a corner on the empty side of the wardrobe. I'm almost nervous to open it, unsure what to do if Roman has gone through it and discovered the dagger. I suppose I could argue that I was just keeping it for self-defence but somehow, I doubt Roman would believe me. I rifle through various clothes and objects until I feel it. Another round of relief floods over me as I find it safe and still tucked away inside my jersey. Now all that was left was to find a new hiding spot for it, I doubted that would be an easy task. I tuck it back into the backpack, taking some relatively clean clothes before heading back to the bathroom. Here I find more evidence of habitation. Toothbrush, toothpaste, the massive two headed shower has shampoo and conditioner in it and a razor.

I shut the door double checking it was locked before turning on the shower and shedding my dirty clothes that smelled of sickness. The shower was heavenly, and I allowed myself to stand there for ages letting the warm water wash over me. A luxury I hadn't had in a long time.

By the time I'm out of the bathroom there is still no one around so I make my way to the big double doors and step out of the room to explore. The floor I'm on seems to be the top floor and its massive. It features a library, a lounge, sitting room, another two bathrooms and bedrooms, a dining room and an office. If all werewolves lived like this, I'm not sure why they'd ever leave. What confuses me though is the complete lack of people around. From what I had been taught pack houses were home to a decent number of wolves in the upper ranks of the pack. But so far, I had seen or heard no one. No other room on the floor seemed especially well used either. No that I wanted to run into any wolves it just seemed strange.