Chapter 1 - Stolen Innocence.

Corinna

-Flashback-

I stormed out of the house in frustration and sat on the top step, breathing in the flowers next to me. I finally calmed down when my mother came out of nowhere and sat down.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” She asks in a gentle tone.

“No, Mom, I don’t get why you are so against me going to college.” I tell her with a frustrated tone, keeping my gaze away from her.

“Because it’s dangerous out there, and I want to keep you safe.” She answers matter-of-factly.

I groan and move away from her.

Same thing yet again!

“Mother, this is smothering!” I snap, clenching my fists by my side. I take a deep breath to collect myself before turning around to face her.

“I’m almost 19 years old; I’m strong, I know how to protect myself, and I know how to fight! You guys made sure of that from the moment I could practically walk!” I exclaim in frustration, clenching my fists harder, my nails digging into my palms.

“I know you can, but the world out there is not nice! Forgive me for wanting to protect you from that!” She retorts, and I groan.

“Steph, I think we should let her go.” Aunt Theodora pipes in from behind.

“She’s right. We can’t keep her here all her life.” She says calmly, but raises her hand before I can say anything.

“But only if Georgia goes with you. Take it or leave it?” Aunt Dora says in a firm tone, standing next to mom.

I stomp my foot. “No! Why can’t I just be like everyone else for once?!” I whine, not caring that I probably look like a child.

“Look, I love you guys, you know that, but I want to experience life for myself like everybody else when they go to college. I want to learn new things, meet people, and just be normal. Well, normal as I can be around humans.” I say dryly.

Aunt Dora’s features softened, letting out a resigned sigh as she walked up to me, putting her hands on my arms.

“I get it, sweetheart, and we will allow you to do that, but only if one of us is with you, and I don’t think Gia would mind learning new things either. So what’s it going to be, Rina?” Dora asks softly.

“As long as she is not my roommate.” I grumble.

“What’s wrong with that?” Dora teasingly asks.

“As I said, I have never been on my own!”

I tilt my head back with a sigh.

“I've always had to share everything, be it furniture, clothes, hell, even air. And, yeah, it was okay as a kid, but I'm no longer a kid. I would like to finally know what it's like to be alone and free in all aspects, so please?” I beg them.

They both exchanged a look before turning to me with an uneasy nod. YES! WOO! No more sharing!

Mom, Aunt Dora, Aunt Melody, and the girls have just dropped us off. After 10 minutes of goodbyes, hugs, and kisses, they finally drive off, leaving Gia and me alone to admire the building in front of us.

We could hardly contain our excitement at the prospect of finally being alone and free to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.

We were free from the constant fight training, the rigorous routine, and the isolation of the farmhouse. Even though our childhoods were very structured, we were also very close, and there was no doubt that our mom and aunts loved us with all their hearts. They were just very strict and slightly overprotective, so it was very stifling.

This is truly a breath of fresh air.

The hustle and bustle of people talking, driving, and going about their daily business is fascinating.

This is our first taste of true and absolute freedom. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I don’t mind at all, I’m just so happy to finally be ‘normal’.

Gia and I did talk about it, and to my surprise, she was also excited about going to school and not at all offended by my not wanting to share.

Out of everyone in the house, we are the closest due to being close in age, so close that we are more like sisters than cousins. Like me, she doesn’t know much about the world outside of the farm, either.

“Come on, let’s go find our rooms. I don’t know about you, but I’m just going to stay in my room alone and revel in the quiet. No one is coming in to use my stuff, sleep alone in my bed, watch what I want to watch, everything! How about you?” Gia giggles, looping her arm with mine and dragging me inside.

“Right with ya, sister! Gosh, it’s gonna be so weird but so good! Good thing Mom requested that we have no roommates, right?” I playfully wiggle my brows at her, and she giggles in agreement.

Mom did that specifically so we could have total privacy since we are wolves; otherwise, it would have been too much hassle to hide it constantly.

I signed up for my classes the very next day, and I have never been happier with life!

Gia’s room is down the hall from mine, which is great. She’s close but not too close. As much as I love spending time with her, we both laugh at the fact that we can kick each other out once we have had enough of each other.

She’s also told me that she’s been getting attention from boys, so she’s been researching the internet about all sorts of things related to boys, dating, and something called ‘sex’, as our only experience is watching movies. We may be naive in some aspects of life, but we even know not to believe everything we see on TV.

I was in my usual Friday lecture when I felt someone’s eyes on me. It made me feel self-conscious, like I had something on my face. This continued for the entire lecture, and I was finding it difficult to focus.

“You must be new because I’m positive I would have remembered you before now.” A deep voice says from behind me, and I jump.

“Forgive me, didn’t mean to startle you.” He says, smiling.

“Uh, it’s alright. Yeah, sorta, I started about 4 months ago.” I say with a small smile, putting my notebooks away.

“Really? I should have come back earlier.” He murmurs.

“So you could stare at me some more?” I playfully retort, chewing the inside of my lip.

“Oh, you noticed that? I would apologize, but you are too beautiful to keep my eyes away.” He shrugs with a charming smile, and I can’t help but let out a small, shy giggle.

Wait, I think he’s flirting with me.

‘He’s cute, I approve. We said we wanted to explore what the world had to offer. Maybe it’s time we add boys to the list.’ Luna chimes in, giving him a once-over through my eyes.

I agree. He is pretty cute and sweet, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a shaved face. I would guess he's about 6 feet tall, and although he has muscles, he’s also quite lean.

“Thank you.” I shyly smile, my cheeks going a little pink.

“For what? Telling the truth?” He asks.

I nod my head ‘yes’, still feeling incredibly shy, tucking my hair behind my ear.

“Do you have time for a coffee by any chance?” He asks with a hopeful tone.

I, again, just nod, trying to control my blushing face.

“Great, there’s a quaint little coffee shop a few blocks from campus.” He says, putting his bag over his shoulder and taking mine, too.

What a gentleman, that’s so nice of him.

“What’s your name, doll?” He asks, holding the door open for me.

“Corinna, yours?” I tell him with a smile.

“Xander.”

We went to this coffee shop he suggested, and I asked him what he recommended, as I had no knowledge about the different types of coffee. He ordered for both of us, and we ended up talking for most of the afternoon.

I found him to be very sweet, charming, and obviously super cute. So this is what it's like with boys. I finally understand what the movies are about.

After he walked me to my dorm, he asked if we could go out again. I said yes, and he pecked me on the cheek, but his lips were very close to mine. Xander also said he would like to find out what my lips tasted like soon, and I went bright red. He quickly added, ‘Not now, when I'm ready,’ before walking away.

Once he was out of sight, I ran straight to Gia’s room and walked in without knocking, only to see her in bed, butt-ass naked, with a guy under her. My eyes popped out as he was growling like a grizzly bear, pounding into her.

“YES!” I heard her moan, and my jaw dropped, eyes going even wider. I was so shocked at the scene before me that I didn’t move until I heard a shriek.

“What the hell?!” Gia yelled.

She clumsily climbed off the guy, grabbing a sheet to cover herself, and the guy hid himself under the covers in embarrassment. I shook my head and covered my eyes, mumbling ‘sorry’.

“Too fucking late for that.” She sneered, adjusting the sheet around her.

“Get out, I will see you in 10 minutes, and next time fucking knock!” She growled.

I still had my eyes covered, so I carried on mumbling apologies while walking backward hastily and closing the door behind me.

Goddess Artemis, I did not expect that! How much knowledge did she acquire in the last few months?!

Was that sex? I have so many questions now.

Ten minutes later, on the dot, Gia walks into my room without knocking, and she’s wearing a scowl.

“You just had to barge in before I got my orgasm.” She frustratedly groaned, plopping down on my bed.

“Was that sex?” I blurt out, and Gia turns to look at me.

“Is that a serious question? We have been here for about 4 months. What the hell have you been doing?” She sits up.

“Studying, why?” I shrug, still so confused by what I saw.

“Oh goddess, really? Is that all?” She asks, in shock but mostly judging me.

“Isn’t that the whole point of being here?”

“Okay, yes, of course, and it’s important, but haven’t you been doing social things like parties, dating, all that? Have you even got any friends besides me?” She asks.

I just turn my gaze away from her, a little embarrassed now.

“Not really.” I whisper.

“Because?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug again with a mopey tone.

“Haven’t you been using the internet? Because you looked like a deer caught in headlights earlier.” She says in a teasing tone.

I blush crimson at the memory of her with the guy, and Gia barks out a laugh when she sees my reaction.

“I guess that answers my question.”

I throw a pillow at her for laughing at my humiliation. When she finally stopped laughing, she explained all she learned from the internet, which sounded mechanical, she then proceeded to show me p**n, and that was just gross.

Gia then told me about her personal experience, which sounded okay, but it was still somewhat gross and weird. Blugh! No, thank you.

“So you never answered me earlier. What happened that made you barge into my room at the worst possible time?” She asks with narrowed eyes.

I suddenly remembered Xander, so I told her everything that had happened.

“Well, it’s about time you got something going on. There’s more to life than books, you know.” She says, twirling her forefinger, teasing me again.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t contain my giggle.

-Current time-

“So that’s how you met your ex?” She asks me.

I nod my head, looking down at my clasped hands.

“Yup, I was so stupid and painfully naive about the world. It was so easy for someone like him. He ended up being my first in everything: date, kiss, touch, sex, everything. Even now, looking back, I still find it hard to comprehend that the sweet, cute college boy is the same person who tortured me. Mentally and physically.” I look up to the ceiling, pressing my eyes shut to will the tears away.

“I think everyone in this group understands what you mean. It is very difficult to reconcile the two, but I would like to say one thing: You, my sweet girl, are NOT stupid or naive; you are just a typical young girl experiencing life for the first time. As you said, you had no idea people like him existed, and I hate to tell you this, but even if you did, you still would have been manipulated and lied to with no idea of it happening because that’s how monsters like him work. You, and every woman in this room this evening, should not feel the blame, shame, or anything at what those monsters did to you.” Tess says this with a gentle, sympathetic tone, and the other women echo their agreement.

“I can’t help it because it’s there whenever I look at my child. How do I explain to my beautiful baby that daddy was the piece of shit who stole my innocence and twisted me into this broken shell of a woman?” I spat out in anger.

“Or even how he was conceived?” I murmured, my head down.

Tess comes over to comfort me with a hug, and some tears escape me as I hug her back.

After I finish, other women take turns telling their stories, with Tess calling an end to the meeting about 40 minutes later. Tess then checks in with me, and we have a brief private conversation before I head to work.

It will be a long night, as usual, but at least it’s quiet. Hardly anyone comes into a diner in the middle of the night.

That’s what I think to myself as I’m about to put my earbuds in, but I freeze momentarily because I feel a presence following me.