#redwolves

She looks back at her father, gaze hardening, her stomach churning from both disappointment and disbelief. 

- I’ve got to go, she states, making no comment on their conversation about his request. 

- Wendy…

But she’s already spun on her heels and is halfway out the door. She refuses to hear any more of his bullshit. Why would he need her to do that? It’s not like the Red Wolves are struggling.

Are they?

For a second, Wendy halts on the stairs. What if they are? If her father can keep the story behind the Red Wolves’ rivalry with the Lost Ones a secret, who’s to say he can’t keep the Red Wolves’ success – or lack thereof – one too?

Another three beeps, more erratic than the last, snaps her out of her thoughts. That’s right. Car. She’s getting a lift from Tink to the local diner.

Knowing she’s probably wasted at least a minute on her thoughts, she takes longer, quicker strides down the stairs and out the door.

A small green car is parked along the path, directly opposite the front door. A wide, genuine smile stretches across Wendy’s face. Behind the wheel is Tink, of course, and in the back is Lily.

All three of them are grinning as Wendy walks round to the front passenger side and climbs in.

Tink turns to face her.

- Ready? she asks.

- Hell yeah! Wendy exclaims.

Tink’s eyebrows raise.

- Woah! You never say that. What happened?

- I’ll tell you at the diner.

Tink nods and restarts the car, pulling out onto the road.

In a few moments, the girls are off, heading towards the middle of the town where all the most-used shops and businesses are.

Finally, Tink pulls up alongside Granny’s Diner, run by Widow Lucas, who everyone just calls Granny because of her wise, friendly nature, with the help of her granddaughter, Ruby.

The girls climb out of the car and enter the diner, sitting at their usual table on their left by the front window. Wendy takes a seat with her back to the window, Tink and Lily opposite her.

- Alright. We’re here now. So what happened? Tink asks.

Wendy looks over her shoulder at their usual waitress, wondering if now’s a good time to tell them. The waitress, Ruby, looks busy leaning against one of the tables flirtatiously, chatting animatedly with one of the regulars.

Reassured that they won’t get interrupted, Wendy looks back at the girls and explains.

- It’s my dad.

- When isn’t it? Lily scoffs.

Wendy glares at her.

- Continue, Lily says after clearing her throat.

Wendy rolls her eyes but does so all the same.

- Anyway. My dad…he said he had a job for me.

- And you don’t want to do this job? Tink asks.

She shakes her head.

- No, he err…he wants me to seduce Pan and try and get some information out of him about his gang.

Both Tink and Lily gasp.

- He wants to play dirty? asks Lily.

- He’s a gang leader, Lily. He always plays dirty, Wendy states, raising an eyebrow.

- No, but…you know what I mean.

- I didn’t think the Red Wolves needed to sink that low. I thought they were doing well, says Tink, tilting her head in confusion.

- That’s what I thought too. Apparently, we’re not and he feels threatened by Pan. I guess their victory against us that night helped in his decision.

- But…why? Tink asks.

Why you? Why that? Those are the questions she means to ask. Wendy shrugs.

- He saw Pan and I kissing, Tink. He caught us that time in the car park and apparently he caught us again at his event.

Tink’s eyes widen.

- Seriously?

Wendy nods.

- And he wants me to seduce him at his club, the Neverland Spring, tonight.

- Wait…I’m confused. Is there something I missed? Lily pipes up.

Tink and Wendy look at her, nodding; Wendy more embarrassed and Tink more proud.

- Oh, you missed a lot, Lils, Tink says, throwing an arm around her. Our dear friend Wendy here has only gone and started something with daddy dearest’s rival.

It takes a minute, but finally Lily catches on.

- You sly fox! You kissed Pan: gang leader of the Lost Ones, youngest gang leader in years?

- Yes?

- Damn, girl. I wish I was in your shoes. So many girls throw themselves at him but not one has managed to catch his eye…ever.

Wendy’s eyes widen.

- You seem to know him quite well.

- Oh, I don’t. But I’m a model. Anyone who’s anyone in the limelight in the world of celebrities knows who he is. Well, his renowned side anyway. But if you’ve managed to catch his eye…maybe this job is a blessing in disguise. You two might hit it off, ya never know.

- But I don’t know anything about him.

- Well then, we’ll just need to do some investigating, Tink declares.

While she and Lily smirk, Wendy just shakes her head in disbelief.

Just as Tink leans forward, stretching her index finger ready to point to who’ll be doing what, Ruby steps up to their table to take their orders. Two Lattes and one ginger tea.  

Tink makes a noise of disgust at the back of her throat. Lily narrows her eyes at her, daring her.

After jotting down their orders, Ruby struts over to the counter to hand the orders over to Granny.

- How can you drink that?

- I like it. Problem?

- Yeah! I’m just trying to understand something. It has no taste and has a really strong smell. What’s there to like about it?

- You just have less taste buds.

- Guys! Wendy snaps, breaking up the pointless bickering. Can we get back to what we were talking about before ginger tea?

The two girls nod, taken aback by Wendy’s outburst. She hardly ever gets like this in public.

- Thank you. Tink, you were saying…

Tink shakes her head, snapping herself out of her state of shock.

- Right. Lily...

She points her index finger at Lily.

- You find out any small personal details you can. Pan’s favourite colour, what he likes to eat, etcetera.

Lily nods.

- Wendy,

She points at Wendy.

- You do any background research you can since you’re the one going into the lion’s den. As for me…I’ll try and find out what I can about this nightclub of his: the Neverland Spring. Agreed?

- Agreed, Wendy and Lily chorus.

Ruby returns to the table with the girls’ orders.

- Two Lattes and one ginger tea.

- Love your dress, one girl said. 

- What’s your secret? another asked, referring to her hair.

Wendy paid the compliments no mind, even went as far as ignoring one young man who asked her for a dance, but relented when she caught sight of her father’s glaring blue. Apparently, the guy was the son of a wealthy bank manager – a proud manager of a successful international bank, rumours say.

After just one dance, Wendy had somehow managed to lose sight of the boy. While Edward has blonde hair and blue eyes, all that was on Wendy’s mind was a certain brown-haired, green-eyed young man and couldn’t even sway herself into enjoying the dance to be polite.

So now here she is, at the edge of the hall her father had booked for the evening, an index finger lightly tracing her lips, careful not to smudge the lipstick, as she thinks back to that night. What a night!

The first night in a long time that her father’s gang had actually suffered some great losses: both gang members and a victory. While the Red Wolves had suffered the bloodshed of many of their own, the Lost Ones had won at the cost of a couple of theirs. To say Wendy’s father was livid was an understatement. His red face and piercing glare wasn’t even half of the earful she’d got when they got back to their safehouse.

At the safehouse, an old pub called the Jolly Roger that no one except the gang uses anymore, Wendy’s father had made sure to pull up way before any of the others. Once both were out the car, he instantly grabbed Wendy’s wrist and dragged her inside. 

- Get in here now! he’d ordered. 

Once the door was shut behind them, he started his rant.

As it turned out, he had caught Wendy and Pan kissing out in the car park during the fight. Never had she seen such disappointment and outrage in his eyes.

As of yet, all she can think about isn’t that look her father had never given her before, nor the losses in her father’s gang. It’s the kiss she can’t seem to get over. His lips…the heat of his body…his arms around her…his tongue. No boy or man has ever kissed her like that before. The few that have exceeded her father’s expectations and managed to steal a kiss in the past were either too rough, too needy, too sloppy, or too quick. Nothing unforgettable.

Wendy’s not quite sure what it is that has made this kiss so special. Is it because his kiss was a perfect mixture, a perfect balance of roughness, experience, passion? Is it because he’s the first one to not give a fuck if he gets caught by her father? Is it because she senses everything she yearns for within him: recklessness, adventure, freedom? She doesn’t know.

- What are you doing here? Wendy suddenly hears her father demand, just within earshot. 

- I thought we were friends, came the goading response from an all-too-familiar voice. 

- Leave, Pan. I don’t want you causing a scene. 

- I didn’t think I was, Killian. All I did was quietly walk in here. I think it’s you who’s causing a scene. 

- Don’t test me, boy. 

- Wouldn’t dream of it.

Curiously, Wendy turns her head. Killian and Pan are standing on their own, apparently having a face-off and she sees that a few people have started to notice. Fortunately, Pan walks away, leaving a scowling Killian in his wake.

Her eyes widen. Dressed in a tux, it looks like he’s walking towards her. His head’s held high, his eyes are unwavering, and that infuriating smirk is oozing with confidence.

As he makes his way over, determined to appear unfazed by him, Wendy stares right back at him.

- Well, well, well…fancy seeing you here tonight, Bird, he says in a sultry voice once he’s reached her. 

Wendy rolls her eyes. 

- Of course I’m here. It’s my father’s event. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be leaving now? Some members of my father’s gang are here as well, you know. 

- If I recall, me and my boys dealt with them pretty easily last time. 

- But your boys aren’t here tonight, are they? 

- Actually, I think you’ll find they are. 

At that, Pan gestures over his shoulder with his thumb. Wendy follows it. 

- See that boy with blonde hair and a scar running down his face? 

Wendy nods. Indeed there is. A boy with blonde curly hair gelled to look more tamed, a pretty blonde chatting to him. Wait…she recognises that pretty blonde. The same blonde who helped her get ready earlier. 

- That’s Felix.

Wendy glares up at him. 

- Tink? Seriously, Pan? 

Pan holds his hands up in surrender. 

- I didn’t tell him to. We can have fun at these things too. In fact, that’s what we live for: fun.

Wendy crosses her arms, unconvinced, and raises an eyebrow. 

- You find killing people fun? 

- There’s a thrill to it. Wouldn’t you agree, Jill? 

The way her name slowly rolls off his tongue is enough to make her shiver with excitement. God, what is happening to her? She’s hardly a virgin and no longer the inexperienced pre-teen she used to be. Wait…how does he…

- How do you know my name? she asks, re-cementing her walls. 

- One word, Bird: background check. I know everything. Red-Handed Jill by night, Wendy Darling by day. But, that kind of information is all on paper. What I want to know is you on a more personal level.

Wendy clenches her fists. Why does he have to be so smooth? Why can’t he just go?

- So, what do you say, Bird? Care for a dance?

Once again, she’s torn. That seems to be happening a lot lately. She stares at his hand, indecisive.

She glances over at her father, who now seems occupied with the presence of several social elites and their partners.

She glances over at her friend, who seems to be getting awfully friendly with the young man Pan called Felix with her body leaning against his, arm resting on his shoulder as they clink their glasses together, her green column-shaped knee-length dress riding up to the middle of her thigh. Wendy can’t watch.

She’s made her decision, deciding to go with instinct and ignore her head for once.

She shudders as all kinds of possibilities enter her head. Maybe he’s just bored and his string of women is growing short? Maybe he’s looking for other ways to get to her father? Maybe he wants her all to himself? Wendy brushes off the thought. No. That’s impossible. A gang leader like him who can have anything in the world…wanting nothing but her? Insane!

Suddenly, more thoughts push to the front of her mind. Those warnings from both her best friend and her father.

We’ll talk about this later.

And our conversation isn’t over.

Another talk from her father. After finding out that her father had in fact caught her and Peter kissing during the fight between the Red Wolves and the Lost Ones, she can’t help but worry that he’d seen them kissing in the middle of the room tonight and caught them leaving the hall together. If that was where his talk was going to go, she’d rather take a bullet straight to the head.

As for Tink…Wendy groans, clenching her eyes shut for a second. She can just about see how her meet-up with Tink and Lily is going to go. It’s going to feel like an interrogation at a police station!

So lost in her own sea of thoughts, Wendy slowly loses consciousness, sleep taking over.

The following morning, Wendy drags herself downstairs, wrapping the cord around her dressing gown, tightening it into a secure bow.

As she comes down to the archway, her father’s back comes into view. He’s sat at the table, lifting a mug of what she gathers is coffee to his lips. Wendy cranes her neck but can’t see Milah, their housekeeper, anywhere. Having no excuse to hold off the inevitable for just that little bit longer, she stops in her tracks, closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the talk she knows is coming.

Feeling a little bit more ready – well, as ready as any young woman can be as they’re about to step into a long, painful lecture with their father about dangerous, fiendish boys – Wendy continues on her way.

As soon as her toes and the ball of her right foot press down on the bottom, final step, it creaks. A slow, agonising groan of a creak. Her father’s form freezes. Slowly, he places the plain white mug back down on the table.

- I know you’re there, lass. Come here. I wanna talk to you for a minute. 

Wendy hangs her head in defeat. Well, there’s no use in putting it off for any longer.

Squaring her shoulders, Wendy obediently walks towards the table and pulls out the chair opposite her father. Never has the loud, grating squeak of the chair legs as they drag across the kitchen floor sounded more awkward.

- What…do you want to talk about? she asks, nervously squeezing her hands in her lap. 

One of her father’s hands rest on the table, relaxed, the other left hanging by his side. 

- Last night, lass. I saw that look in your eyes. What exactly do you see in him? 

- Who? 

- Don’t…play dumb, lass. What do you see in that demon? 

- Pan? 

Her father nods, slowly. 

Wendy shrugs. 

- He’s your rival, so he’s mine too. I don’t really know him personally. 

- Is he now? I’d say you know him more than me, if last night was anything to go by. 

Wendy gulps. She feels like she’s being sized up by a wolf. 

- What? 

- I saw how you were with him. First, you kiss him in front of my men as well as his. Now, you’ve embarrassed me in front of my guests and kissed him in the middle of the room. What do you have to say for yourself?

- He kissed me, Dad. Both times!

- I didn’t see you pushing him away! 

- Is this all it’s about to you? You don’t want me around him because it embarrasses you? You don’t want me around him because of a rivalry that I know nothing about? 

- He’s dangerous. He’s not some ordinary boy. He’s a demon! 

- Fine! Then tell me about this rivalry. It’ll make it easier to push him away. 

- That’s not something for you to know, lass. I am your father. Not just your father; I’m your leader. You do as I tell you without question. 

Wendy shakes her head in disbelief. 

- That’s not good enough. If you won’t tell me about this rivalry, how do I know you’re not making it up to keep me away from him because our relationship would embarrass you?

Without saying anything else, she gets up and starts to leave the room, not caring that she hasn’t bothered to get any breakfast. She’s going out with the girls soon anyway.

- Stay away from him. I mean it, lass! her father calls after her as she ascends back up the stairs. 

- Whatever!

As soon as she reaches her room, Wendy slams the door, overwhelmed. She can’t believe it! She just stood up to her father. She never stands up to her father. And it feels bloody amazing! If that’s how he reacted to a simple kiss, it doesn’t bear worth thinking about how he’d react to what happened after.

All of a sudden, the sound of her phone vibrating against the wooden surface of her desk attracts Wendy’s attention. Hoping that it’s Tink, she takes long, fast strides towards her desk.

Snatching up her phone, Wendy presses down on the power button and looks down at the screen. Low and behold: it’s a message from Tink.

Swiping right, she unlocks her phone, taking her straight to her conversation with Tink…

Hey! Just had a call from Lily. She gt bck lst nite! She’s ok 2 meet 2day. U up 4 coffee?

                                                                            Yeah. Where should I meet you?

Driving 2 urs now. Lily’s with me!

                                                                                             See you in a minute x

In a bit, girl x

Putting her phone back down on the desk, Wendy dashes over to her walk-in wardrobe. She’s not fussed about what to wear. It’s only a coffee shop. So, she throws on a long-sleeved top, her good old ultra-soft jumper with a hood that’s a souvenir from the university she went to, a pair of jeans, a pair of socks, and her DMs. Knowing Tink and Lily, they’ll complain about her choice of outfit. A girl should always look her best. You never know when you’re going to pull, they always say. So, she adds a nice pair of stud earrings – studs but noticeable – and a simple but nice necklace to her outfit.

Just as she’s finished clipping half of her hair back, there’s a knock at her door.

- Lass, can I come in? 

Wendy groans. It’s her father. 

- Go away, Dad. I’m getting ready. 

- For what? he asks sharply. 

- Tink’s picking me up. We’re going to a coffee shop in town.

- Oh, okay. Just let me in. I want to talk.

Knowing he won’t give up, Wendy rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath before trudging over to her door. She opens it, stepping to one side to let her father in.

He strides into the room and takes a seat on the end of her bed.

Wendy closes the door and turns to face him, crossing her arms. 

- Have you come to give me another lecture? 

- No. I’m sorry about that, lass. I just…I worry about you. I am a leader but I was your father before I was your leader. 

- Glad to see you finally admit that. 

- Please, lass. I’m trying here.  She sighs. 

- Alright. What do you want to talk about? 

- I realise I was being harsh on you. But now I realise maybe you two kissing wasn’t such a bad idea.

She’s not so sure she likes where this is going. 

- What do you mean?