The pack never dies (Wolf pack)

Cure

"You have some explanations to do, young woman. You are supposed to be in class and smoking drugs, in a public place, at your age, is illegal."

Chanie's brain was churning as she tried to come up with a decent excuse to tell the investigator that it wouldn't get her a pair of handcuffs.

"I can explain everything!"

Noticing the teenager's panic, the investigator crossed her arms and sat down on the bench right next to where Billie was just before.

"What about: you tell me the truth? I am more understanding than my colleagues."

"Speaking of colleagues, aren't you supposed to be looking for the one who attacked Harlan? Or search for the beast that terrorizes everyone? Or to look for the arsonist?"

" I reassure you. We are working on all of this. How about you explain to me why I caught you skipping class and smoking? You seem to me to be an intelligent young girl with a good head on her shoulders."

Billie admitted defeat. It was that or the handcuffs. She sat next to the inspector and played with his hands.

"I'm not usually like that." She admitted.

"I'm not here to judge you."

" I know. The last few weeks have been very difficult, more than usual."

"What do you mean?"

Kristin looked really worried about her. The kind of expression a worried mother would have when her daughter was heartbroken, when she had made a mistake, when she wanted to protect her child. She had the kind of expression she had always dreamed of seeing on her mother's face.

Kristin placed a hand on Billie's shoulder, even more worried for her as tears filled her eyes. Her mouth was parted as if she was about to speak.

" You'll be ok. You can talk to me. I think you need it."

"You look at me like a worried mother," Billie whispered.

The inspector's face softens and becomes more nostalgic.

"It's normal. I am a mother. At least I was. I lost my children in a fire like that."

"I'm sorry. It must have been awful."

"It was a long time ago."

"It's still awful."

"If I'm not mistaken, you and your family have had similar experiences."

"It's true. My sister and I were both adopted. My adoptive parents took Sky in after a fire like that. Her biological parents never came forward. My parents decided to keep her and about a year ago my father died in a fire. It was less intense than this one, but it's still there."

The inspector nodded, continuing to caress her shoulder.

"And you, what is your story?"

"I don't really know."

"But you were adopted?"

"Yes, but I don't know why. I don't know if my biological parents died or if they just didn't want me. I don't know if I have any siblings who share my blood. All I know is that my adoptive mother never looked at me like you did. They should have stopped at Sky."

As she spoke, Billie began scratching her wrist as if it were itching. The kind of itching she felt when her self-inflicted cuts healed. Now it was just a phantom itch. Kristin noticed her compulsive movement and gently stopped her by taking her hand in hers. She has seen dozens of children traumatized by their families since she began this work.