Aiden POV

Three Weeks Later

It’s been three weeks since the confrontation with the local pack and there’d been no sign of them since. And not for the lack of trying. Once Cecily was comfortable enough to take us out again after the first attack, I made sure to keep an eye out, to no avail.

Then, after about two weeks, I got the hang of her weekly schedule and went out a few days a week when I knew she wouldn’t be home and scouted the nearby area. I would have to start expanding my search. I needed to find them, and soon. What was left of my pack was counting of me.

There had also been no response to my emails. I had sent another two and reached out to the extended families of some of the pack members in hopes that some had managed to escape and had reached out to them.

It seemed like I was hitting a brick wall with each attempt. But I wouldn’t give up. There would be nothing left if I did. Leon deserved a better future than remaining in hiding, fearing for his life.

As if on cue, Leon came barreling out of the bedroom, both of us in human form since Cecily was in school and would be there for another couple of hours.

It became clear very quickly that she was a homebody, only leaving the house for school and the occasional hangout with Sophie, from what I could gather when she was on the phone. This meant there wasn’t a lot of chances for Leon and I to be in human form. To make up for it, I made sure to try and let Leon enjoy himself during the moments we were alone.

It wasn’t all bad that Cecily was home often though, and we were quickly learning each other’s routines. I would even go as far to say we had become friends. Friday night Disney movies and popcorn became a thing, and Leon was loving that.

“Den-Den, can we go outside? Pleeeeeeease?” Leon begged, throwing himself on the couch next to me and snapping me out of my thoughts. “I’m so boooored!”

I chuckled, turning the laptop off and setting it on the floor by my feet. I wasn’t getting anywhere with it anyway.

“Fine. We can go, but only right outside the apartment since Cecily comes back in two hours and we don’t have time to go far,” I said, ruffling his hair as I spoke.

“Yesss! You’re the best big brother ever!” Leon said, jumping off the couch and running to the door.

I felt a twinge at that, not thinking I was the best in any way lately. Shaking off the negativity, I stood up and grinned at my brother who was bouncing up and down in front of the door.

“Alright bud, let’s go!” I said, grabbing the spare key I now knew was in the second cabinet in the kitchen after watching Cecily grab it the one time she had lost her keys in the mess that was her room. After a second of hesitation, I also grabbed a few bills in an envelope she had hidden under a bunch of scattered papers. I hated stealing from her, but there was no way for me to get money in my current situation. And I swore to myself that I would pay her back with interest when this was all over.

We exited the apartment and headed to the playground in front of the apartment complex, if it could even count as that. It was composed of a small plot of grass with a swing and slide that had seen better days. But I was glad there was at least somewhere Leon could stretch his legs and act like a human child.

“Den-Den, push me on the swing!” Leon called as he quickly climbed onto it.

“At your command, master” I said seriously, resulting in a cackle from Leon that brought forth a smile of my own.

Thirty minutes later, Leon had gotten bored of being pushed and was currently running around pretending to be a superhero, saving imaginary people from imaginary villains. I hung back, occasionally giving Leon a thumbs up whenever he vanquished a monster.

A sound from the street outside the apartment complex drew my eye and I quickly turned toward it, already on high alert. No one was usually around at this time of day.

I felt my heart stop for a second before it restarted, going way too fast.

Cecily was walking toward us, her head lowered as she rapidly texted something on her phone.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but I was rooted to the spot, my brain thinking a million things and yet nothing at all.

Seeing her with my human eyes was… different. She seemed so much smaller, and I felt my breath catch as she looked up from her phone and right at me. I had seen her only this morning, but it was like I was seeing her for the first time.

I felt my mouth part slightly as she gave me a small, shy smile. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by an excited squeal. I felt my heart once again stop as I turned to watch Leon launch himself at her, wrapping his arms around her thighs.

“Welcome back! You can be the princess!” I heard Leon exclaim.

All at once, my brain seemed to snap out of my stupor. “Leon!” I shouted, a little too harshly in my panic. She didn’t know us in this form.

Leon froze, his arms still around her as he turned to look at me and then looked down at himself. I could see the minute he realized he wasn’t in his wolf form. He let go of her as if though she burned him and quickly ran to my side. I picked him up and held him close, hating I couldn’t communicate with him telepathically in this form.

We were in big trouble. If she went into the house, her two dogs would be missing from a locked house.

“Sorry about that. My little brother is really friendly with strangers,” I apologized, gripping Leon tightly to me as I forced out a strained smile.

At that, Leon turned to Cecily, seemingly recovered from his initial shock. “Pretty strangers!” he added, grinning at her.

At that comment, I watched Cecily turn a brilliant shade of red I had only seen a couple of times while living with her.

She was stunning.

“Yes, pretty strangers” I found myself saying, my grin becoming more relaxed as I watched Cecily become a shade of red I had definitely never seen before.

“I-I.. you.. um… thanks,” she stuttered, gripping her long skirt she had decided to wear this morning. “Are you two new here? Not that I’m trying to pry, it’s just I haven’t seen you two before and I would surely remember you because… well… I’ll shut up now.”

I chuckled, deciding to answer her before she turned into an actual tomato with the color she was becoming.

“Ya, my brother and I moved here recently. We just aren’t out much,” I said casually while stealthily grabbing the keys from my pocket and handing them to Leon.

“It’s nice to meet you, neighbor” I stated before pretending to remember something. “Oh, its time for this one to get back inside.”

I quickly whispered my plan to Leon before setting him down.

“Bye, Ce—pretty lady!” Leon called before running in the direction of the apartments. I wasn’t a big fan of this plan, but it was the only thing I could come up with on such short notice.

“Bye!” she called out as she beamed at a retreating Leon. Before Cecily could take another step, I quickly intercepted her.

“You’re actually the first neighbor we’ve met since moving in, I would love to get to know you better,” I said. “How about grabbing a quick bite to eat in the area?”

Cecily’s jaw dropped open for a split second, her eyes meeting mine before quickly averting her gaze.

“That would be… nice,” she squeaked.

I grinned, feeling a sense of relief that my plan was working and a good dose of excitement. I had definitely not planned for this, but I couldn’t help but feel excited to finally speak to her.

“I’m Aiden by the way,” I introduced myself, holding my outreached hand in her direction.