[Hyacinth] The second file, the one about my own medical care, was not nearly as exciting as my mother's. There was a picture of me at birth along with all of my mother's prenatal records duplicated from her file. I had been born healthy, with no complications. From there I see I had annual checkups, and received all of my vaccinations on schedule. Other than the fact that it is an exceptionally well-organized file, there is nothing out of the ordinary. Except for one thing. A small red dot in the notes section of my annual checkups for years 5 and 15, which I only noticed by chance because the file fell onto the ground, and I tried to put it back together in the beautiful order it had been left in by Dr. Stevens. It felt disrespectful to leave it in disarray. I checked the original box that these files had been removed from, but there was no file marked with a red dot or any kind of folder or envelope with my name on it. The significance of the dot is lost to time. There is also

[Hyacinth] There is nothing extraordinary about Gold River Elementary School. It looks exactly like any other elementary school you might find in any other part of the country, in any other pack. There is matching art on the walls and the hallways make a dull echoing sound as you walk down them, especially at the end of the day like right now. The school must have called Drew as well because he was waiting just outside the classroom door when I made my way down there. I’m not sure what to say to him. What do you say to the man who has been your companion for the last two years, and more recently your boyfriend, that you told to go pursue his mate? We had never done more than kiss, but in our way, our relationship was very deep. We were a family. He grabs my right hand with his left and gives it a little reassuring squeeze. "It’s going to be okay,” he tells me although I don’t quite hear it because I feel something cold against my palm and look down. I already know what I’m going t

[Slate] “Ash, this can never happen again,” I get up from the bed feeling disgusted and disappointed with myself. “We need to stop meeting like this.” “I don’t see the problem,” she gets up to head toward the bathroom. “Is it because we’re here in the packhouse? Why don’t I move in with you?” She looks over her shoulder as she heads to the bathroom. “I’ve told you more than once that I don’t care if we are married or not. You have needs, I have needs. It’s silly to wait.” “But that first time was a mistake, Ash,” I shake my head. “This was a mistake.” She laughs as she starts the shower. “Your body doesn’t agree with you.” Placing my head in my hands the whole room seems to spin. Everything feels fuzzy around the edges. I’m still not sure what came over me. Sometimes when I’m with Ash I am repulsed, and other times I take one whiff of her and I cannot control my baser urges. Our joining is always rough, never soft or carrying, as if my body is trying to find release, and doesn

[Hyacinth]Why did I come here? I am such a fool. And I keep making the same stupid mistake.“Get the hell out of here, Cindy!” Ash snarls. She's right, I shouldn't be here. Hadn't I learned my lesson the last time I came by to see Slate? Hadn't Ash made it quite clear that I was unwelcome here?I stumble back from the door, my eyes unable to blink as I take in the scene before me--Ash is standing in the doorway wearing a rumpled suit, her hair wet from the shower while beyond the open bedroom door the sheets on the bed are rumpled and the pillows are scattered on the floor. If those clues weren’t enough to tell me what had happened, Slate standing in the bathroom doorway, wet and dripping, wearing nothing more than a towel and a shocked expression, made everything come into focus. Closing my eyes, wishing I could burn the image from my mind. Instead, as the tears run down my face, I fear it might be engraved on my heart forever. Turning, I run back the way I came. “Cindy, wait!”

[Hyacinth] I’ve been testing their blood samples, while the Gamma’s men interrogate the three rogues we found in the woods. A rushed DNA test revealed a couple of hard truths. While these rogues were responsible for the brutal physical attacks on previous visiting wolves, they were not responsible for the most recent sexual assault, which means there is at least one more of these rogues on the edges of our territory. The other thing we learned is that they are indeed humans. Since it is impossible for humans and wolves to procreate with one another as we are a completely different species, hybrids do not exist. There is no way it should be possible for three human men to transform into wolves, and angry powerful insane wolves at that. At first, we thought they might be werewolves that didn't know they were werewolves, living as humans in secret. But the blood doesn’t lie. They are not wolves. As I get the last of the blood results analyzed, I drink my third cup of coffee and send