Chapter 2 TWO

EMILIA'S POV

Emilia herded her children down the streets of Chicago, wondering why God had to curse her with this predicament. Their nanny had called at the last minute that she couldn't come to pick them from school, so the job of taking care of them had fallen on her.

One child was tugging at her dress, another was standing still and crying, while the third was running down the street after an ice cream truck. She sighed resignedly and hoisted her tote bag up, then went after the running kid while dragging the other two by the hand. When did her life turn to this?

It was a warm Friday evening in July. She should be in a club with the rest of her friends, swaying to loud music and taking shot after shot. She should be going out, exploring the city and having fun. She was just 25, for fuck's sake!

But somehow fate had dumped a set of triplets on her to take care of, alone. In all her years on earth, nothing had prepared her for the headaches that came with raising one child, talk less of three. Three kids, born to her on the same day. Three headaches to take care of while their father was busy playing alpha in some unknown suburban pack.

She was happy to be their mother, of course. But sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder if things could have been different if she had made wiser decisions.

Oh well, she thought. She had made the choice to skip town with them all those years ago. Their father hadn't wanted them anyway. They were her headaches now.

She hadn't even told Kenneth about her past. How would he react to knowing his girlfriend and her kids were werewolves?

"Jasper!" Emilia called out to the running kid. "Come back here this instant!"

The six-year old boy didn't stop. He continued to run down the street while his mother yelled at him on the top of her voice. Then the ice cream truck he was chasing turned down a corner and the little boy turned the corner after it. Panting, Emilia dragged the two other children by the hand and went after him.

She turned the corner and saw her son, standing a few metres from her. The street was dingy and deserted, no ice cream truck in sight. Emilia and her children were the only people standing on the street.

"Jasper, come back here. Why did you run off like that?" She called to him.

Little Jasper stopped and turned to her, smiling innocently. She opened her mouth to call his name again, but before she could, a black car stopped behind him. She dragged Jasper's sisters by the hand and moved towards the car. She got there and pulled her son to herself protectively, staring warily at the tinted windows of the car.

The window of the driver's seat rolled down and a bald head peeked out of the window. "Good afternoon, Ms Emilia." The driver said. "I need you to please get in the car."

His words took her by surprise. She stalled for a moment, then looked around, a little scared. Was this the man who had made those calls? How did he know her name?

She found her voice and opened her mouth. "Who are you?" She asked.

"There is no need to know that." The bald man replied, then came down from the car and opened the door of the backseat. He gestured for her to enter. "If you'll kindly go in, Miss."

Emilia drew her kids even tighter to herself and stepped back. "I'm not stepping into your car until I know what you want from me."

The man sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. "He did say you'll prove stubborn." He muttered to himself.

"Me? Who told you that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Never mind that now." He said, then tried to reach for one of her daughters but she pulled the little girl away, her face steely with distrust.

She watched as the man's jaw tightened. "Look, Ms Emilia. We can do this the easy way, or the other way. I would like you to step in to the car without restraint, or I'll be forced to use force."

"No." Emilia shook her head and turned to go, pulling her kids along. For a split second, she sensed that something was wrong. Werewolf instinct kicked in as she heard a faint noise behind her. She pulled her kids to the back and turned, shielding them with her body.

She was growling now, her eyes darting every which way. They were glowing with a fiery amber light. She hadn't realised that her claws were extended. Her fangs which had shot out from her gums, bit painfully into her lower lip.

"Kids, stay behind me!" She snarled as her children began to cry. One of her girls tugged at her dress and said "Mommy, I'm scared."

The strange man was nowhere to be found. The black car still stood where it was, with the backseat door wide open. Emilia kept her eyes darting, looking for any sign of movement.

When the man didn't show up, she relaxed a bit. She flexed her fingers as her claws retracted, but she didn't turn to her children. A few slow seconds passed as she waited for action.

Then a hand grabbed her from the back suddenly. Fingers went around her throat and began to press down. She retched and spluttered, trying to catch a breath. She heard her kids screaming, and pried the man's fingers from her neck long enough to scream: "Run, kids! Run!"

She couldn't see her children, but she heard the soft patter of feet as they ran across the street. She heard the man curse softly under his breath, then press something against her nose and mouth.

She felt hot breath on her neck as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "The alpha sends his greetings." Then she slowly let go of consciousness and slipped into darkness.