From my perch in an oak tree, I could clearly see the cabin. Nothing had changed, except it took unkempt. Vines snaked up the wood log walls and wrapped around the porch railing. The surrounding grass was infested with weeds, which Jackson would have usually cut before it got that bad. So many memories flooded me and despite the circumstances, they were all happy.

I still don't understand what I failed to see. I looked at people, not through them. Maybe that was my problem. I saw the good in people, their best qualities. And that was all good and fine until the evil showed. But even still, there had to be a reason. Perhaps it was the isolation of this world.

Shaking my head slighly, I dismissed my thoughts. I needed to focus, focus on the task at hand.

We had been doing just that for about two hour now and I could tell the guys were getting restless. Looking to the left, I spotted Clent. He had his head against the tree's truck, looking bored and half asleep. With a huff, I snapped off a nearby twig and threw it at him. Clent jolted, hitting his head on a branch and swearing. While rubbing his head, he looked around, trying to find the culprit. When his fiery eyes met mine, they softened and he gave me a flirty smile. For a second, I forgot why I was mad or even how to breathe, but shaking that off I glared.

"Wake up and focus," I whisper-yelled. Clent's smile turned into a lazy smirk and he mockingly saluted.

"Yes, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes, then turned them towards Alaric. Even though it was kind of his plan, he really didn't seem to want to actually do it. We had to quietly argue with him about getting in the tree. Apparently, he was afraid of heights. The guys had teased him, but I just agreed that I would sleep in his bed for a week. That's all it took for him to start climbing. Now, he clung to the tree, trying not to look down. I had to sniffle a giggle. He was so damn adorable.

Checking on Cas, Marcus, and Kelen, I found no problems. They were taking this little spy mission seriously. That's not to say I wasn't, it just felt....weird to me. Something about this cabin made my skin crawl now, but at the same time this all seemed silly. What was it to us that they were still here? They hadn't bothered us, so what was the issue?

Well that was easily answered: 'we have nothing else better to do', as Cas so eloquently put it.

Rolling my eyes again, I focused back in on the cabin just in time to see the lights flicker. Holding my breath, I waited to see what would happen next. Not even five minutes later the door opened and out walked a man I didn't recognize. He didn't have a shirt on, just some loose, black shorts. My eyes widened. I hadn't seen anyone outside of the guys, Jackson, and Julian in over 5 years. Shifting practically, I listened to what he was saying.

"Five miscarriages...what a waste. I knew she wasn't a breeder. The bitch wasn't even a virgin when I found her, just sloppy seconds." His voice was deep and raspy, like he had spent every second of his life smoking. My nose scrunch up in disgust at him and his words. What the hell was he talking about?

"Yeah...well I still want the money for her anyway. You know how I feel about wasting my time," Julian said, but I couldn't see him.

The man huffed, throwing his hands up. "I already told you I can't. Boss would have my neck."

Something slams, making me jump. "Dammit Mace. I can't afford to keep doing this if that bastard isn't paying me right," Julian suddenly yells.

"If you---" the man starts, but he's cut off.

"Just give the money, double because it's a girl, and take the damn baby," Julian says, his voice full of resignation.

Mace nods, handing what I presume is a wad of cash over. Footsteps can he heard then Julian fully opens the door, stepping out onto the porch. Cradled in his arms is a bundled up baby. He shoves the little girl at Mace, who fumbles to make sure she doesn't fall.

My confusion both grows into anger and lessens as I realized that he just sold that baby.

Mace nods a goodbye and walks away into the trees opposite of us, whistling.

I watched him until he completely disappeared, then looked back to the cabin. Julian was still stand there, hands in his pocket as he watched the sun set just beyond the trees. I couldn't help but hate him in this moment. This wasn't the Julian I knew and grew up with. This was a monster.

My eyes stayed on him, trying to somehow push out my hate and strangle him. After a second he shifted, coughing a little. Silence followed before he coughed again, taking his hands out of his pocket to grab at his throat. And just when I thought he would pass out, Julian scrambled inside, slamming the cabin door behind him. I stared at the door for a long moment, then shifted my eyes to Kelen. His eyes were pools of shadows, showing that he too was pissed off. The other guys had similar expressions.

"I'm gonna fucking kill that dirty, bastard," Marcus swore while he stared at my stomach. I could practically feel his concern over the little fetus growing in my womb.

Closing my eyes for a second, I collected myself. In this moment I knew what I had to do. With a nod to myself, my decision final, I began to climb down the tree.

"What are you doing?" Cas questioned, his body slightly glowing.

"I'm going to confront him. Just like we planned," I simply stated.

Marcus scoffed. "No the hell you're not. You're not going anywhere near that baby selling bitch."

I just shrugged, continuing to climb. "Watch me."

"June," he growled.

"I need answers Marcus. I'm his---I was his sister. And now that I know what he's doing, I'm going to make him tell me why. Just trust me."

"We do trust you," Clent intervened, "it's him we don't fucking trust. There is something deeper going on here."

"And I'm going to get to the bottom of it," I said. Even if its the last thing I do, was what I didn't say.

"June---" Alaric started.

"He's selling babies! And not just for the money I'm sure. How the fuck am I supposed to sleep knowing that. Jackson, the man my mother married, is probably doing it too. I refuse to let this continue."

At that they all went silent. After a few minutes, Kelen nodded.

"Alright," he sighed. "You have eight minutes to find out what we can before we haul your pretty little ass out of there and burn the whole damn thing down. Understood?" Even though now definitely wasn't the time, I shivered at his sexy dominance.

"Understood," I agreed then made my way to the nightmare I didn't know I had been living in.

Now that we know the what, we need to figure out exactly why and how🤔. Comment your thoughts.