The sun bore down through the window, waking Cora from a long restless night. Immediately she pulled the covers over her head and groaned in frustration. For a brief moment, she thought she was back at home as she felt Andrew pounce on the bed, calling her name. He bounced a few more times and then lifted the covers to peer underneath at her closed eyes and thinly pressed lips. His tiny body was wiggling all over the place as he desperately tried to get her attention. His high-pitched toddler voice broke the silence as he whined at her when she didn't respond immediately. "Come on Cor! I am hungry and I want to go down to breakfast. Please, hurry!" Cora was amazed at how he seemed to settle into his new surroundings and she moaned at him, ready to remind him who he was and where they came from. She didn't want him to forget he was a Paglione and that they didn't belong here. The frustration she had was silenced as she thought about the situation. That was another problem she was wo
Two weeks had passed since Cora and Andrew had arrived at the Royal Pack. Cora's plans to leave had evolved even more. They were not ready yet, but soon, she hoped. Jeffrey had hired the pack psychiatrist to work with Cora whenever she could. It was just simple things at first. Things to try and get her to remember anything. Anything at all. Catie was an Elder of the pack and she had known Cora when she was Alyssa. She had often reminisced about the sweet little girl that she remembered. She knew that Alyssa was this tall beautiful woman that she saw now. She just didn't know how to reach her yet. Today it was a doll. "Alyssa....erm...Cora, hold this and tell me what you are thinking. Cora sat on the couch in the sitting room in her suite. Andrew was in school once more and out of the suite for the day. Uncrossing her legs she leaned forward to take the item from the woman and then leaned back to stare at the doll. She was almost hoping that something would spark and that she wou
Eight years earlier. The Alpha King stood by the door of his office waiting for the young girl to enter. It had been a month since her parents had died and she wanted revenge on the rogues that did it. At thirteen she was one of the youngest and best fighters that he had. Not because she was stronger than his other warriors, but because she knew every move and how to execute it. She knew how to stay out of the reach of others that wanted to kill her. Still, in his eyes, even though she was still just a kid, he knew that she would be able to handle the adult mission that he was about to send her on. It was a long shot, but if it helped him find his daughter, the princess, then it would be worth it. The pint-sized child walked into his office and sat down when he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. He knew that she would want to take the mission he had planned out. Even though it was dangerous, he knew that she was like her parents and would never give up. When he sat down
Jesse stood in the doorway holding Andrew in her arms. A sight that Cora never thought she would see again. Truthfully, she thought that Jesse had been killed and that she would never be coming back. Sitting on the floor for a moment, Cora gazed at her best friend with pure shock in her big brown eyes. She was unable to move as she saw how tightly Andrew was hugging his mom. The two had always been close and Cora could see that Andrew was not letting go anytime soon as he had his face buried into his mother's neck with his fingers clinging to her hair. After a moment she was finally able to stand and run over to Jesse and wrap her arms around her neck in a tight hug. For a moment, she had forgotten that Jesse had betrayed their pack and that she had kept a secret from Cora for all this time. As she stepped back, she bit her bottom lip. She was torn between forgiving Jesse and turning her back on her. In her eyes, she was her best friend, but at the same time, she was a traitor an
The alarm sounded as everyone went crazy. The time that it took for her to make it to her bedroom door was half a second as she ran into the sitting room. Her eyes darted around as she entered. "What the hell?" The room was shut down tight. The windows now had metal sheeting and the door was also covered in metal. No one was getting in or out. The thing that surprised her the most was that everyone else was gone. Everyone, but Andrew. He sat on the couch with wide eyes and tears streaming down his cheeks. The poor child was terrified. She went to sit beside him and he crawled into her lap and buried his face in her neck. She rubbed his back gently, and the feeling of him shaking in her arms worried her. Where did they all go? She heard more slamming as the entrance to the hallway was closed off and the entrance to the kitchen as well. Now they were trapped in one room with nowhere to go. She could tell from the whining of her wolf that they were surrounded by even more silver a
"What happened to Auntie Cora, momma? Why won't she wake up?" The sound of Andrew's voice was so far away. She felt like she was in a tunnel and unable to get out. She could hear the hushed voices around her and the shushes when Andrew tried to ask questions. Everyone sounded worried. She could feel herself slowly regaining consciousness, but she felt weak and drained. Her mind was blank and she had no idea where she was or what had happened. Her overall being felt different. As if she felt a release like she had been set free. Little did she know, that others had gone literally mad when they had been through what she had. The bits and pieces of her memory that had been repressed for so many years had started to come back. They would be small and short at first. The vampire that compelled her had done a thorough job and only two things could break the compulsion that he had done on her. The vampire would have to reverse her compulsion or a traumatic experience that would shock her
Back in her room, she lay quietly with her eyes closed shutting everyone out seemed the best thing for her. At the moment she was in a fragile state. With the lights dimmed, and the curtains shut, the cool air conditioning seemed to help her feel much better. Well, physically she felt better. Emotionally she was falling apart. A few hours later, Maya and Jesse helped her out of bed and into a chair so she could eat something for dinner. She was grateful that it was just a sandwich and some green grapes. She didn't think that she could handle anything else right now. Her stomach was still uneasy and she didn't feel hungry at all. After dinner, she stated she was tired and wanted to go to bed early. She fell asleep instantly hoping that the next day would bring her more peace. That was when the nightmares began. Cora stood by the entrance to the old cabin. Inside the cabin were the defectors from their pack. She knew that it was her responsibility to take them down. The warriors
A week went by with the nightmares that seemed to plague her every sleeping moment. She couldn't get the images out of her mind and with each passing day, she was slipping into more darkness. As time wore on, she tried everything that she could to stay awake. Sleeping was now her ultimate fear. Ana suggested that she see the Royal Therapist once a day to start and then cut back the time as she healed. The sad thing was that Ana was afraid she was going to lose her daughter all over again. She didn't want that to happen. Cora had begun to deal with seizures and more panic attacks. Mostly because of the things she had done and they were coming back to haunt her. Once she had actually died in one of her dreams. Bringing her back to the land of the living was difficult. It was all Ana could do to get Cora to hang on. After a week, she finally stabilized enough that Ana tried to bring in the pack therapist. Cora was pulling away and withdrawing more and more into herself. Some days she