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I was soon proven right when I came home from school the next day and saw police surrounding the packhouse. No one was allowed in or out of the no-go zone, and I felt my heart turn to lead in my chest when I saw stretcher after stretcher being brought out to waiting ambulances. Sick inside, I knew Pearl was responsible, and once the police had confirmed my identity, they told me the story.
Pearl had come to the packhouse armed with nothing but blazing fury and towering resentment, and single-handedly killed everyone, using her magic to cloak the area until the horrific deed was done. She had almost come to my school to repeat the act, but had been spied by Elise, who'd immediately called the police. Pearl had fled, but as she hadn't even bothered to clean herself up after her deed, she'd easily been tracked to a house only a few doors down from ours. It had been a near thing to apprehend her - she'd barricaded herself inside and taken the family hostage, threatening to kill them if the police didn't withdraw. The police had been forced to break in via the back door to get the family out while Pearl was distracted by the negotiators. Pearl, realising she'd been duped when she saw the family escape, had tried to bust out the front door, but had run right into the arms of the officers. She was now in solitary confinement, having been deemed too much of a danger this time around.
I shook my head in disbelief once the officer had finished. "Bloody hell," I said, shaking.
"It's been a rough day," the officer agreed. "Have you any other family?"
"My uncle Martin," I said, glad I'd given him a chance now that I knew he'd never meant to be cruel to me.
The officer nodded. "I'll get in touch with him," he said. "Obviously the house is still a crime scene, but I'll arrange to have you put up in a motel for the night, and your uncle can collect you in the morning."
"Thanks," I said gratefully.
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The next day, however, more bad news awaited me. Pearl had managed to escape overnight, and she'd gone to Richmond, where she'd gone on another killing spree, this time taking out Uncle Martin's pack. I was devastated when I learned of this, but there was more to come. Pearl had managed to evade capture this time, and she'd taken Uncle Martin's newborn daughter hostage. They were now god knew where, and the note Pearl had left behind had warned anyone who followed that her baby cousin would be killed if the pair were caught. Now the whole country was on the hunt. My baby cousin's life was of the utmost priority, since she'd been breastfed from birth, though no doubt Pearl would take that duty over from the child's dead mother. It still sickened me to think that Pearl would do such a thing, and I wondered if her mind had snapped following the deaths of our pack and Martin's. Either way, she was a danger, and she had to be stopped.
I had my own worries to occupy me, and, out of options, I appealed to Jonas for sanctuary. Elise vouched for me, and Jonas reluctantly allowed me to join his pack, on one condition; that I honour my parents' agreement and marry him. I didn't want to, as he'd turned quite cold towards me in the aftermath of Ryan's death, but I had nowhere else to go; Pearl and my baby cousin were the only family left to me now, and I obviously didn't want anything to do with Pearl until baby Dakota was out of harm's way.
So it was with a heavy heart that I married Jonas on a cold October day.
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