BK 5 - Chapter 7 - Milo
As they were all getting ready to leave for the day, Jade looked out the window of her and Bill's bedroom. She'd seen the man across the street yesterday and the day before. Jade didn't believe in coincidences. There was a park there, so she thought maybe he was walking his dog or something, but this time, she could clearly see he was watching their house. Jade went downstairs with the others.
"Hey, has anyone else noticed the creep across the street watching the house?" She asked. They discreetly looked out the windows, peering through the curtains so they didn't get his attention. Randy nodded.
"The day I broke in here, I saw him across the street. I believe he was at the store yesterday when Kiersten and I were there. Is he one of you?" Randy asked, looking around at the others.
"I don't know. Let's pretend to leave. Bill and I will get out around the corner and sneak up behind him. We'll see what he is and then take him to the house. I'm getting really tired of all these people coming after us. Do other shifters and vampires have this many idiots after them, or did we just draw the short straw?" Jade asked the others. They all chuckled.
"I'm sure we get more attention because our family is so big. We're living among humans, whereas the wolf packs stay hidden for the most part. Our family has also taken down a lot of bad people." Alex replied. He wanted to go over there and rip the man's head off if what Randy said was true about him being at the store. It couldn't have been an accident. They were being watched, and they needed to find out why.
"Alright, well, let's get this fool," Jade said as they packed up their things like they did every day. They got into their cars and drove around the corner. Jade and Bill jumped out and were out of sight before anyone could say anything.
When they were about thirty yards from the man, they stopped. He was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette. He put it out against the tree and tossed the butt onto the ground. Jade thought he should be punished for that alone. They silently walked up behind him, and Jade wanted to laugh. For someone trying to spy on others, he sure wasn't very observant. Bill went to his side while Jade went around the tree.
"Fancy seeing you here," Jade said. The man tried to run, but Bill grabbed his arm. "Would you like to explain why you're watching our family?"
"I don't have to explain anything to you. Now let me go before I call the police." Jade and Bill looked at each other and started laughing as the rest of the family watched from across the street.
"Come with us. We need to have a talk." He tried to struggle, but they were across the street and in the house before he could move. Bill tossed him onto the floor as soon as they walked inside.
"He said he doesn't need to tell us anything. What do you guys think?" Jade asked the others.
"Kick his butt," Eight-year-old Johnny said from the corner. Jade winked at him.
"Why are you watching us?" Alex asked as he lifted the man up by the shirt collar. When he got a look at Alex's size up close, he suddenly didn't feel as confident.
"I just wanted to see who was moving into the big house." He tried to lie.
"Then why did you follow them to the store yesterday?" Lisa asked, pointing to Kiersten and Randy.
"I was there at the same time. It happens sometimes. You can let me go now." Alex let him go, so he crashed onto the floor.
"You don't believe him, do you?" Cole asked from where he stood next to Johnny and his grandparents.
"No. Don't worry, he's not leaving until we get answers. What's your name?" Lisa questioned as she walked in front of him.
"Milo." He answered. He figured it would be best to be honest, to a point. Maybe they would let him go.
"Why are you watching us, Milo?" Lisa paced back and forth in front of him in full interrogation mode. Milo felt like he was in an episode of Matlock or Law and Order.
"I, uh, don't want to say." He knew that wasn't going to fly, and he was right. Jayce walked over and let Ace roar from inside him. Milo swallowed and looked away.
"If you don't want our animals to come out, I suggest you answer our questions. You know what we are, don't you?" Lisa asked. She could tell by the way he had reacted to Ace.
"Yes. I know you're freaks that need to be put down like rabid animals." That earned him a punch in the nose from Jade. His eyes watered as blood poured down his face.
"Maybe you should try to answer this question again. Why are you watching us?" Lisa asked him. Milo looked away and figured he was probably dead either way, so he better be honest.
"My name is Milo Reynell. Cole Reynell was my grandfather. He was a werewolf, but he hated other shifters and freaks. He was the only family I had until your family killed him. Now, I plan to take over where he left off. I'm a scientist, too." Lisa and Alex looked at each other in shock. They would never forget that name. Lisa looked at Dustin, and he was frozen, too. Cole had killed his mother.
"Your grandfather tortured mine, Alex's, and Dustin's birth mothers, and you want to do the same?" Lisa asked. She had so much rage coursing through her she was seeing red. If Jayce hadn't been holding on to her, she would have killed Milo.
"Yes. He trained me on how to take you down. He was mated to a human, but his wolf left him. None of us were born with wolves. When my dad died, Grandpa Cole took care of me. I was on my way to the warehouse the day your family burnt it to the ground with his body inside. I was just a kid. They made me an orphan. I saw them leaving, and I promised I'd get revenge for killing him." Milo had tears running down his face. His life had been one struggle after another since his grandpa died. He felt someone needed to pay for it.
"You think you were the only one left an orphan? Your grandfather ripped my mother to pieces and left me all alone. I was an orphan, too, until the Werelion family took me in. They saved hundreds, possibly thousands, of people by putting an end to his torture." Dustin looked at Milo with pure hatred. Breanne held onto him to keep him from attacking him.
"My Grandpa said he only killed ones that were terrorizing people. He said they killed and needed to be killed." Milo looked around at the family and suddenly wondered if he had been misguided all these years. They certainly didn't look like killers to him.
"That's not true, especially not from our family. They have spent over forty years rescuing humans, shifters, and vampires all over the world. Our grandma Cat has group homes for all those without families or who have been hurt by their families. You won't find a kinder family than ours." Lisa could tell Milo had been fed lies all his life. She hoped they could show him the truth because she really didn't want to have to clean up a mess. She wasn't as good at it as her grandparents were.
"I'm starting to see that now. I'm sorry." Milo looked down. He had no right to ask for their forgiveness. He had fed on his hatred for so long that he felt deflated to know it wasn't true. His Grandpa messed up his life, too. If he hadn't been so set on getting revenge, maybe he could have had a life. Now, he was just a twenty-four-year-old man without a purpose.
"I feel like you get it, but I think you need to be shown that what we're saying is the truth. Stay here, and we'll show you when we get home from work and school. Ask Randy; we don't hurt people who have a change of heart." Lisa looked at Randy, who nodded his head.
"They don't. They accepted me into their family without any question." Lisa tried not to laugh. He was a goofy kid, but he was growing on her.
Atzi watched the young people with sadness. She was going to miss this. They were so good and kind, but it couldn't be helped. Soon, nothing would be the same.
