Atonement...

[Adele Holst]

This was bad. Pablo had been kidnapped by the Vampires. Alena had been pissed, but she'd told Damien she would be going to get their packmate back and had given Damien, Pete and Adele orders to go to Rome and reclaim what was left of the Den. Adele felt completely useless, but when they got to the Roman Den there proved to be a lot of work to be done. The first day was spent identifying and burying the dead, most of whom were young, both in Human years and in Lycan experience. The youngest appeared to be about Damien's age, while even the older looking Werewolves must have only been bitten a month ago at most based on their decomposition. This all sat a little too close for comfort for Adele. Even if she and her blonde packmates had been present for this slaughter, who's to say they could have changed the outcome? This had to have been the work of a more experienced Vampire to have gotten the best of Pablo. The pups strewn about the Den could very well have been her or Damien, or even Pete, who was still recovering from a fight, himself. In the sullen and empty faces of these murdered pups, Adele saw herself. It made her think of her second day as a Werewolf. She'd been grieving the loss of her Sire when three Vampires had attacked Perrin's Villa. She'd been lucky then: Szandor had rescued her, but things could have just as easily turned out different.
Pablo's scent was fading, but still remained strongest down a set of stone stairs, which Adele followed. They led to what appeared to be a bedroom with a conjoined room, used for Odin knows what. With no windows or source of natural light whatsoever, this room felt more like a prison to the young woman than anything else. Why is this down here? Adele looked around at the bed and nightstand, the dressers and the things adorning the walls, but followed her nose to the next room. Pools of blood, Pablo's blood, covered the floor and splattered the walls, where it was slowly beginning to flake and peel off. This room was starting to give her the creeps. Adele raced up the stairs, not daring to look back, feeling like a child running from a monster that might catch her feet and drag her off.
The sun had gone down and the three blondes had finished burying the last of their brethren. Adele felt dirty both physically and emotionally. She needed a drink, and told Pete and Damien as much, leaving the Den for the night.
It was a talent, really; being able to find the best underground bars no matter what city she was in. And it didn't fail her here in Rome. Maybe 'best' wasn't the right word for the bars she found; colorful was perhaps better. The bar was dim and noisy, and with her heightened senses Adele could smell the alcohol clearly, mingled with the smell of cigarettes and sweat, the smell of Humans off from a day of work crowded against each other. There were not many women here, but this place was crowded. Adele had to squeeze herself in between two shady looking men to get to the bar. Ordering a tall rum with a side of coke, the young woman moved herself from the bar out to a less crowded corner with a table overlooking the pool tables where couples and acquaintances were trying their skills.
Hopping up onto the stool, Adele sipped idly at her drink, staring off into space toward the felt green table near her. She was worried for her pack. Pete had been accosted by a strange lone Werewolf and Pablo had been kidnapped by Vampires. Things were so much more simpler when it was just the Vampires she had to worry about. But now, since Alena and Geoff had their big fight, it was like enemy Lycans were coming out of the woodwork. The only people she felt she could trust were Pablo... and Damien. It was strange considering Damien apart of that, but after what they'd been through in Greece, she couldn't not trust him. And Pablo had been taken. There was no doubt in her mind he was alive; Pablo couldn't die. He had too much drive to live, he was too smart and too strong to be killed by some Vampire. That thought led Adele to dark places, though, and before long, her drink was gone.

[Charlie]

Tracking Adele to Rome hadn't been hard. Whatever had driven her from Athens (it didn't matter and he didn't care), it felt like something was driving him toward her; he just knew where she was. Felt like the same thing that drove him when the wolf took over. Whatever it was, it was only making his task easier. It made it easy to keep his distance while still tracking his daughter's whereabouts.

The place Adele and her friends entered smelled of death. He'd smelled it before as a human on tours in the Army. As a werewolf though, it was different. Stronger. The smell lingered and crawled out in tendrils from the building like it had a tangible force to it. It wasn't all that unwelcome to Charlie, but after so long sitting outside the place in his rented car, he decided to drive around the city, not returning until dark.

Lighting a cigarette, he waited. All around the neighborhood lights turned on and the voices of families coming together could be heard by Charlie's werewolf senses. He could be a patient man if the time called for it, but he silently beckoned for Adele to leave the building she'd entered earlier that day. Finally, she did come out. Walking downtown toward the city, she seemed oblivious that anyone was following her. Charlie kept a good distance from his daughter. He could smell exactly where she was, so he didn't need to rely on seeing her to know where she was going. When she entered the bar, he couldn't help but grin, rubbing the stubble on his chin. This would be too easy.

Parking the car nearby, he waited for a moment to see if either of the two young men Adele was with earlier had followed her. She seemed to be alone. He flicked his cigarette out the window.

Pocketing his keys, Charlie entered the bar just as a couple of men were leaving to smoke. He made his way straight to a corner of the bar, ordering a jack and coke. Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he discretely pulled out two pills and slipped them into the drink, letting them dissolve. Waving over the bartender, Charlie pushed the drink toward the man, "Give this to the girl in the corner," he pointed toward Adele, "Say it's on the house." He passed over a sufficient amount of Euros to make it look like a generous tip without seeming too suspicious. The bartender must have known something was slipped into the drink, but smiled and took the tip, bringing the drink to one of the waitresses who took the order naturally and walked over to Adele's table.

Charlie stayed in his corner of the bar, waiting. He knew his daughter would inhale the drink he'd prepared, and it wouldn't be long till the pills he slipped inside took effect, leaving her docile and willing to suggestions. He waited for her to finish the drink, taking swigs of dry whisky as the time passed by. He waited long enough for her to order another drink if that's what she desired, and then got up from his seat. Making his way toward the pool tables, Charlie stopped a yard away from his daughter, standing in her sight, grinning with wolfish desire.

[Adele Holst]

The only kind of Vampire who could get the best of Pablo...would be the best. Raven had been killed, that much Adele knew, by some Vampire named Victor, she thought. Really, she didn't know that much about the upper echelon of Vampires, not even their names. So she wasn't sure who the current king was, except that she didn't think it was Victor, though she couldn't justify why she thought that. Could it have been Victor who kidnapped Pablo? Adele bit her lip thinking about all of this.
The young woman was so consumed with her thoughts that she didn't notice anyone leaving or entering the bar, and she only realized someone was standing beside her when a drink was slid toward her. Adele looked up to see a pretty, young woman who must be a waitress smiling at her. The waitress said something Adele didn't understand in Italian, then clarified in English, "On the house," and left. Adele looked over to the drink, she could smell the Jack Daniels, and lifted it toward the bar gratefully, taking a swig. The bartender smiled at her. The drink tasted great, just the right amount of liquor to coke ratio. She thought it a little odd that the bartender was feeding her a drink on her first visit. She'd gotten free drinks before, but usually the bartenders didn't pay for her drinks till they got more familiar with her. Maybe this was just his way of welcoming her to the town. Whatever the case, free booze was the best booze. and both the waitress and bartender had acknowledged the drink, so it had to be legit.
Sipping on the Jack and coke, Adele returned her thoughts to her friend Pablo. Damien said Alena had said she was going to get Pablo back. Did that mean she was going to the heart of the Vampire headquarters? The thought was exciting and terrifying all at once. Surely, if that were the case, she wouldn't be going alone, right? Adele took another healthy sip of her drink; it was almost gone. If any Werewolf could handle the Vampire home base, it would be Alena. But worry was starting to work its way into Adele. Maybe she and Pete and Damien should go help their Queen...
Finishing her drink, Adele waved over the waitress, ordering another Jack with coke. That had been a really good drink, her fingers and lips were going numb; it felt good. She tipped the waitress when a new drink was brought over and Adele helped herself. It tasted slightly different somehow, but it was strong and still good.
Taking a moment to look around the bar, Adele noted the patrons' interactions, watching a couple rounds of the pool game going on closest to her. When she looked up from the game, her heart stopped. "D-daddy?" Standing abruptly, she sent the stool clanging to the floor, almost knocking over her drink and stumbling backwards. There he was, standing right in front of her, just grinning. How could this be possible? How was he here?
It took considerable effort to right herself on her feet. Her head felt fuzzy; she felt like she was completely wasted, which, after having only two drinks as a Werewolf, was completely unheard of. Looking for an exit, Adele tried to make a break for it, but her movements felt slow and fuzzy. She felt....
Everything turned to black.

[Charlie]

Adele's exit looked more like stumbling. Charlie reached out, grabbing his daughter tight by her arm, pulling her into him. Some of the people nearby looked over at the commotion, so he waved them off, "My daughter has had too much to drink." Whether they understood him or not, they turned back to their own business, and Charlie was left with Adele.

Holding her forcefully, he walked her out of the bar and to the car he'd rented, opening up the passenger side door and setting her down. She slumped over herself. Charlie slammed the door and moved around to the driver's side. Speeding off, he left the city toward his destination. An acquaintance of his owned a meat packing warehouse nearby that was closed on the weekends. The drugs he slipped Adele should allow him to make the drive with some time to spare. God, her smell, though; it was driving him crazy. It wasn't anything she was wearing, just her natural pheromones. It made his muscles twitchy; he wanted to hurt her so bad. Needed to hurt her. He could feel it in his teeth, the ache to bite and tear flesh apart. The drive out to the factory was the longest 20 minutes of his life. It was all he could do to pay attention to the road ahead of him.

Approaching the factory, Charlie punched in the code at the gate and drove through, parking in the back of the building. Grabbing some chain from the backseat, he hoisted Adele over his shoulder and unlocked and disarmed the building, letting himself in and locking the door behind him. The building was completely dark and quiet. No one was here. He made his way to one of the large coolers, flipping on the lights as he pulled the door closed. Carcasses lined the cooler, hanging from hooks and lying on shelves; it stunk in here. He set his daughter down on the floor and began stripping her of her clothes. Grabbing the thick chain, Charlie looped the links around each of her wrists and lifted her up again, fastening the chain around an empty meat hook. It was only after his daughter was hanging limp from the chains that he took a good look at her. She wasn't the twelve year old he remembered from before going to prison, but she still looked young. Younger than she should be. Though she'd matured, her breasts reminded him of a little girl. Scratching his chin Charlie looked around the cooler. Grabbing a large bucket, he left, returning to the car and grabbing a tire iron. Then, going back to the warehouse he filled the bucket with ice cold water and returned to the cooler.

"Time to wake up." Charlie dumped the water over Adele's head, letting it splash over her body. Setting the bucket down, he took the tire iron in both hands...

[Adele Holst]

The smell was the first thing to breech her awareness. Raw meat. It was something she'd come to love since becoming a Werewolf, and she could feel her stomach growl from deep within.
That was what woke her and made her mind stir; food. Though she felt foggy and her mind was confused. What had just happened? Where was she? All she could feel was her head, but whether it was numb or full of pain, she couldn't tell. And then it hit her; the coldest feeling of ice washing over her. Gasping, Adele's ribs protruded and could vividly be seen under pale skin. What the fuck was that?! She opened her eyes and immediately felt like she was falling. Her legs wouldn't move at her command and pain shot through her wrists and shoulders as something caught her. She didn't fall... why? Slowly her vision cleared. Looking up, she could see why she hadn't fallen. Thick chains held tight to her wrists and no matter how she pulled at them, they showed no sign of breaking.
Looking ahead, she saw him, just standing there grinning with some kind of iron in his hands. Surprise shook her, but then the memories came back to her. She'd been at a bar. And she'd seen him there. That's when everything became fuzzy and things weren't so clear. But he'd definitely been there. And no he was here; er, she was here. Where ever 'here' was. It meant that he was real though, that she hadn't been going crazy or seeing ghosts. But how? "I..." The word barely carried sound. She tried again, "I killed you." Disbelief carried through her voice, hiding fear.
The cold of the cooler and water still dripping from her body was starting to really get to her. She shivered involuntarily and her lips were starting to lose their color. The gravity of the situation was just beginning to dawn on her. She was restrained in front of her father, who, for all her life had been abusive. Not only was their history bad, but Adele had tried killing Charlie, to no apparent avail. Here he was, after he'd endured what should have been a life ending beating he was not likely to have forgotten. Fuck. She tried pulling at the chains again. Again they did not break. Fear rose in her violently and froze her completely. It came from the cold pit of her stomach and crawled up her spine until its fingers wrapped around her brain, squeezing tight. Her reason and thoughts were consumed with two things: her father was back, and she was going to die. In her mind, she became the young girl her father victimized on a daily basis and she was terrified. Well and truly terrified. She knew his beating would come and it felt like there was nothing she could do to get out of it. Nothing worked in the past; whether she protest loudly, quietly, or just lay there in silence. Her father would do as he pleased for as long as he pleased.
Terror took over Adele's golden eyes and she clenched her fists, trying to prepare for whatever might happen.

[Charlie]

Charlie watched as his daughter's body reacted to the cold of the water and the cooler. He liked how her skin became extra pale and her lips and fingers turned blue. He could see goosebumps race over her chest and arms, down her stomach and legs, and a heat rose in him.

Gripping the tire iron firmly in his hands, he watched as Adele came to. The realization of where she was seemed to come slow, but when it did, the terror that painted her face was exquisite. "Oh yeah, you killed me." He took a step closer, toward his daughter. "You also brought me back." With that, Charlie swung the tire iron with both hands, hitting the girl's chest and sides to crack her ribs. The impact reverberated through the iron to his hands and he reveled in the feeling. Not as good as hitting her with his hands would be, but all in due time. He swung the iron again and again, putting his whole body into the hits. Everything he'd gone through the night he 'died', that's what he wanted to make Adele feel. Over the weekend, she would come to know agony. He would bring his daughter a kind of pain she'd never felt before.

He'd been, whatever he was now, a werewolf, for long enough that he understood the basics. He knew Adele had made him what he was now; that she, herself was a werewolf too and that her wounds would heal eventually. That's what he was counting on. He wanted her to feel her bones popping and cracking back into place; the slow process of repairing herself would be just as crippling as the beating. He wanted to witness it all.

He hit her four times and paused, running a hand through his short hair. "I owed you that. The rest... Well, that will be just for fun."

[Adele Holst]

She heard what he said, but the words didn't register before the blows. There was no time to think or process anything other than fear. And then pain. Incredible pain. Nothing could have prepared her for that. The wind flew out of her. She tried gasping in air, but nothing happened. For the longest moments of Adele's life, she couldn't breathe. But even that was put on the back-burner, because the sounds of her ribs breaking overpowered the fact that she couldn't breathe. Hearing it made it all feel worse. Fire burst forth from her chest, crawling out, covering her body in paralyzing shocks. She tried cringing, curling herself up and bringing her hands down to block the strikes, but she was chained and couldn't move.
When she was finally able to breathe, Charlie had finished hitting her and it felt like all the ribs on her left side were broken and half those on her right side were cracked. It hurt to breathe, to move; hell, even to think. Her breathe came back as painful coughs. Something thick rose from her chest and crawled up through her throat. It tasted coppery and warm, and Adele spit it out. Her vision blurred, but she stared at the lump off blood on the ground. The strangest feeling came over her, and through the pain, Adele could only think that that was supposed to be inside her, that she should put it back. She lunged forward slightly, but the chains caught and held her back.
Pain shot forth from her chest, she could feel her heartbeat in her ribs. It hurt to moan, but she couldn't help it. She wanted the pain to end.

[Charlie]

Each thick, wet crunching sound as he hit her ribs was like a song from heaven. The impact from his swings could be felt up through the tire iron and to his arms, screaming life and ecstasy to his veins. For the first time in quite some time, Charlie was smiling, genuinely grinning as he beat his daughter. Deep, coarse laughter escaped his lungs as Adele spit up a hunk of blood and fell forward. It seemed she was still feeling some of the effects of the drug he'd slipped her at the bar. So, two pills was all it took to disorientate a Werewolf, huh? That was good information to have.

Cracking his neck, Charlie looked his daughter up and down. Her ribs were clearly broken in a few places. It was a good start, no reason to stop now. Aiming lower, he hit her kneecaps a couple times. With her knees busted, Adele would not be able to stand on her feet, and would have to relent to dangling helplessly by her wrists.

The excitement of this all was really starting to get to Charlie, he could feel his pulse racing, and a thin line of sweat was gathering along his forehead, even in this cool air. "Really, I suppose I should be thanking you." He let the tire iron drop to the ground, approaching his naked daughter. "I have never been stronger in my life, never felt so alive." Bringing both hands up, Charlie clenched one, showing Adele his large fist. With the other hand he grabbed the hair at the back of her head. Cocking his arm back, Charlie prepared to punch...

[Adele Holst]

Shocks of new pain surged up from her legs, coursing through each bone on its way up her body. If felt like her knees popped out from their sockets, but there was a distinct wet crack that accompanied the horrid sensation and her body collapsed. Adele was not a heavy girl, but right now, with all her weight being held up by her wrists, it felt like she was far heavier than she really was, and her wrists and shoulders cried out.
She tried to scream out in pain with the hope it would relieve some of the tension building up. But her lungs could not gather enough air to shout before sending hot streaks of lightning through her ribs. It was almost funny, as Adele's knees shattered and broke, her sinuses seemed to clear, giving the illusion that it would be easier to breathe. Yet her ribs protested greatly as each shallow breath was taken. Her voice came out weak and full of air; hardly any sound at all, and in no way satisfying.
Her pulse beat frantically in her ears and through blurred vision, it seemed to Adele that her father was saying something that she just couldn't quite hear, nor did she care to hear. Racing through her head were panicked thoughts, pleading for the pain to stop. Blinking away tears, the blonde found herself gazing blankly upwards. Hooks lined the ceiling of the cooler; it appeared she was truly surrounded by carcasses and that she may well end up one soon.
Sweat lined her entire body, though it was unnoticeable as the water that had been poured over her still dripped off and onto the ground below. Despite being soaking and inside a cooler, the young woman felt almost as if she were burning up.
As Charlie grabbed her by the back of her head, Adele tried to meet his gaze. Some part of her knew well what he was about to do, but she couldn't do anything about it. Pulling desperately at the chains, the young Werewolf managed to lift her body slightly into the air, but with her ribs and knees broken, she didn't know what to do after pulling herself up, and she dropped back down painfully to a 'relaxed' position. "Papa please..." Adele tried speaking, but her tongue felt sticky and dry. She couldn't tell, but it felt like her pleas were either too quiet, or too incoherent, or both. Closing her golden eyes, she prepared for her father's wrath.

[Charlie]

In the moments before hitting Adele, she opened her mouth, as if to say something. Noises came out, but if she actually spoke words, it was nothing Charlie could understand. He watched, amused that she tried to struggle away, however futile and weak the attempt was. And then he cocked his arm back, hitting his daughter multiple times in the face. As one of her eyes swelled shut and blood poured from her nose, the ex-Army soldier stepped back to admire his work. There was something so satisfying about watching as the color around her right eye turned to dark shades of blue and purple.

Looking the girl over, Charlie reflected on all he still wanted to do. Checking the time, he pulled out a black, leather bundle from his back pocket, unrolling it on one of the nearby carts. Inside the bundle lay a disassembled syringe filled with a powerful horse tranquilizer; a dose strong enough that it should knock out a Werewolf the size of Adele. Affixing the needle to the vial, Charlie squeezed the pump slightly to make sure the tranquilizer would inject properly. Satisfied the drug would work, he approached the girl hanging from chains by her wrists. Bringing the syringe up, he lined the needle up to the girl's neck, piercing her deep, injecting the entire vial of tranquilizer into her system. It seemed to hit her pretty quickly as her body relaxed almost immediately and her head slumped forward. He slapped her face for good measure, trying to gauge how hard she was affected. Adele made no movement and her body seemed to have gone limp, so Charlie took his leave of the cooler, slamming the heavy door shut behind him and turning the lights out.

It was after midnight as he sped away from the factory in the car he'd rented. The drug should give him a good few hours to grab a bite to eat and pick up more supplies for the coming days; and he did just that.


Sometime around 5 in the morning, Charlie returned, peeling into the back of the factory only to come to an abrupt stop near the docking bay. Stepping out of the car, he slung a duffel bag over his shoulder, pocketing the car keys and entering the factory once more.

Everything was silent as he walked through the warehouse in the dark except for the heavy footfalls of his boots. Flicking on the lights again, Charlie entered the cooler, sliding the back across the floor, closer to where his daughter hung. Adele rested motionlessly, hanging from the ceiling. Taking a moment, he looked the girl over, stepping close to observe the subtle hints her skin would show. He grunted as he glanced over the girl's ribcage. "Can't be..." Her skin felt soft under his rough hands, even over the damage she'd sustained only hours ago.

Something seemed strange here. A couple years ago, Charlie came to terms with the fact he was no longer human, and that his daughter was the reason for that. He had come to learn what to expect with his new affliction over the years, what to expect with Adele because of it... This, though was more extreme than anything he'd witnessed before. The girl seemed to have healed significantly over the last few hours, much more than he was anticipating.

His hands moved over her chest, down to her ribs, poking her callously with his thumbs to examine the extent of her healing. He scowled bitterly as he felt the girl's body, turning to grab the bucket he'd discarded earlier, and left.

Returning with a bucket of ice, cold water, Charlie woke his daughter up once more by dumping the water over her head, watching her reaction as rivulets of water poured down her hair and body covered in goosebumps. "How? How is it that you've healed so much over night?" His voice was low and gruff, slight malice barely contained behind his teeth. He grabbed Adele's wet hair, pulling her head back to look into her bleary, drugged-up eyes. "Your eyes. How are they gold? Grunting as it appears the girl is still too out of it to answer, Charlie continues, "No matter, you'll be dead tomorrow."