THE RETURN

Everyone including the rogues froze, turning to look at who had spoken.

Valkira stood at the edge of the crowd, but her eyes were drawn to her mother kneeling on the ground, blood dripping from her forehead, and her daughter, Yana beside Helen, crying.

Something inside her cracked.

She walked forward, Chris following behind her. The crowd scrambled out of their way like they were afraid of getting burned. She moved fast, her boots kicking up mud as she made her way to her mother.

Helen stared at her, mouth hanging open. She blinked a few times like she was trying to wake up from a dream. Her hands were shaking. 

Valkira stopped in front of her mother. She looked at Helen's thin gray hair. She looked at the torn dress. She looked at the bruise on her forehead that was still bleeding. The blood was fresh and red against her pale skin.

Her heart twisted in her chest. She could barely breathe.

She dropped to one knee in the mud and put her fist over her heart. It was the formal salute a wolf gave to their Luna. She looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes.

"I came back too late," she said. Her voice shook. "I'm sorry you and Yana had to go through all of this alone. I should have been here. I should have protected you. Please forgive me."

Helen broke down. Tears ran down her wrinkled face. They mixed with the blood and dirt on her skin. She fell forward and wrapped her thin arms around Valkira's shoulders. She held on tight like she was afraid her daughter would disappear.

"I can't believe my eyes,” she cried. ”I thought you were dead. All these years, I thought I would never see you again."

Valkira held her mother close. She could feel Helen's body shaking.

"It's a long story," she said. "I'll tell you everything. I promise. But first, I need to take care of something."

She gently moved Helen and little Yana behind her. Yana was still crying, her small hands gripping Helen's dress. Valkira gave her daughter a quick look. She wanted to scoop her up and hold her. But there was work to do first.

She turned to face the rogues.

There were seven of them. They had come to collect the debt, but they had done a lot more than that. They had hurt her mother. They had scared her daughter. They had made her family live in fear for five long years.

And now they were standing in her mother's shop like they owned the place.

The rogue leader was a big guy with scars all over his arms and neck. He had thick, rough hands and a mean face. He looked Valkira up and down like she was nothing.

"Who's this?" he said and laughed. "You think some random woman can just walk in and tell us what to do? You're not even a real wolf. You're just some fake playing dress-up."

The other rogues laughed too. They crossed their arms and stared at her with ugly grins.

Valkira stared at him with cold, steady eyes.

"Which claw did you use to shove my mother to the ground?" she asked. Her voice was quiet. "And which mouth did you use to mock her name?"

The leader's smile faded, his face twisted into something ugly. He didn't like being talked to like that. 

"You're asking for trouble," he said. Then a nasty grin spread across his face. 

"But I'll make you a deal. I'll forget about this month's debt. Six hundred coins. Gone. Just like that. All you have to do is sleep with me."

The other rogues howled with laughter. They slapped each other on the back like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard. They made rude comments and whistled at her.

Valkira smiled too. But it didn't reach her eyes. It was cold. "Let's go inside and talk about it," she said.

The leader strutted into the shop like he owned the place. He plopped down on the old sofa near the counter and stretched out, patting his thick thigh.

"Come sit right here, princess," he said.

Valkira walked over to him slowly. Her footsteps, silent against the floorboards. She stood in front of him for a second. He was still grinning at her.

Then she lifted her leg and stomped down on his thigh with everything she had.

The crack of breaking bone echoed through the shop.

The leader screamed. It was a horrible sound. It ripped out of his throat like an animal being gutted. He tumbled off the sofa and hit the floor hard. He grabbed his leg and howled. It was bent sideways in a way that looked impossible.

"You broke my leg!" You crazy witch!"

he shrieked. 

The other six rogues snapped out of their shock and charged at Valkira.

She was ready for them.

One came at her from the left with his claws out. He swung at her face. She ducked under his arm, grabbed his wrist, and twisted hard. His forearm snapped like a dry branch. He dropped to his knees howling.

Another came from behind with an iron chain. He swung it at her head. But Chris was there. He moved fast and kicked the guy in the ribs so hard that he flew backward through the window. Glass shattered everywhere. The rogue hit the dirt outside, not moving.

Two more came at Valkira at the same time. They had their jaws open, ready to bite. She dropped low, swept her leg in a wide circle, and took them both down. They crashed into each other. She grabbed one by the hair and slammed his face into the floor. The other tried to get back up, but Chris kicked him in the jaw and he went limp.

The last two rogues stopped dead in their tracks. They looked at each other. Then they looked at their leader, who was still crying on the floor. Then they looked back at both Valkira and Chris. Their faces were pale with fear.

Chris stepped forward with his blade raised. "Want to try?" His smile was dark. "Please. I'm bored."

They shook their heads fast. They didn't even answer. They just turned and ran. They scrambled out of the shop and disappeared into the dark street.

Valkira walked over to the rogue leader. He was still on the ground, shaking and crying. All his toughness and arrogance was gone. He looked broken laying on the dirty floor.

"Please," he begged. His teeth were chattering. "Don't kill me. I'm Bloodmoon. I have orders from my Alpha. If you mess with Bloodmoon, you won't end well."

She knew the Bloodmoon pack had attacked her family years ago. They killed her father, destroyed her home and forced her mother into hiding, and had almost killed her daughter.

Valkira's eyes turned to ice. She leaned down close to his face.

"Where did you say you wanted me to sit?" she asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "And what exactly did you say you wanted me to do?"

He couldn't even answer. He just whimpered and shook like a scared dog.

Valkira beckoned to Chris. He grabbed him by his collar and dragged him across the floor. Chris pulled him through the doorway and threw him into the mud. He landed face first.

The other rogues were already limping into the woods.

"Get out of my territory!" she shouted. "Go tell your Alpha that Valkira Valerius is alive. And if any Bloodmoon wolf comes back here, I'll kill every single one of them."

The leader got up and crawled away. He dragged his broken leg through the mud whimpering the whole time until darkness swallowed him up.

The crowd who had gathered to watch the scene stood completely still. At first no one spoke. They stared at Valkira with wide eyes. Then the whispers started, spreading through the crowd. 

The prodigy had returned. 

The princess was back from the dead. And she had just defied the Bloodmoon pack.

Valkira walked back inside.

Helen was sitting on a chair. Yana was hugging her tight, still crying. Valkira knelt down on the dusty floor and took her mother's rough, tired hands in hers.

She looked at Yana. The girl had her silver eyes. She had her mother's face.

"I'm here now," Valkira said softly. "Nobody is ever going to hurt you again. I promise."

She turned back to her mother.

"But I need to know the truth," she said. Her fingers tightened gently around Helen's hands. “Tell me about the last five years. Tell me everything, Mother. I want to know exactly what those monsters did to us."