Ouch. I rub my back to ease the pain.
I look at the rug and notice that this was not my room.
How did I come here?
I waited, petrified, and only when everything felt okay did I allow myself to take in the room. It was huge – much bigger than the one I had slept in. All the walls were wood-panelled, and an all-black, wrought-iron four-poster dominated the one side and a fireplace the other. Above the mantle, which was strewn with magazines, there hung a painting of a man and a woman. The man resembled Zach, although he looked older. I took a guess that it was his father in his younger days. The woman beside him must be his wife, Zach’s mother, judging by the hand of the man placed on her bare shoulder. She sat upon a stool, her emerald dress hugging a curvaceous figure, dark chestnut curls tumbling down to her waist, which was so tiny it must have been encased in a corset. Her eyes were wide and bright, full of the same colour and sheen as her dress. But what really caught my gaze was her skin: whilst her husband’s was pale and papery, her skin had a tinge of olive in it, although the sunken sockets of her eyes were encircled by deep purple rings .
I trod as softly as I could around the bed, almost tripping over a guitar that poked out from under the bedstead. A breeze stirred my ankles and, as I neared the fireplace, the black drapes that hung around the open French doors moved. A feeling of unease crept up my arms. Doors are left open when someone is not far away. The lamps dotted about the room had been left on too, although first light was beginning to filter through the trees and across the grounds.
Forcing myself to be calm, I reached up on my tiptoes and ran a finger across the canvas of the painting. It was thick with dust and as I wiped it off it floated away in clouds, smelling heavily of musk mixed with that of expensive cologne, which already hung in the air. I waved my hands in front of me, coughing and spluttering. I can see – or rather smell – why they left the doors open. I grabbed one of the magazines to try waft the dust away, but took one look at what was on the cover, blushed, and dropped it, realizing just who this room must belong to.
‘Crap,’ I breathed, backing away towards the door. I didn’t bother to check whether anyone was outside as I practically fell out of one door and through another into the bathroom. It slammed behind me and I was relieved to find it had a chunky bolt for a lock, which I slid across.
Turning, I was once again struck by the grandeur. The whole room was almost entirely made out of red marble, even the bath. The shower was of the same larger-than-it-needs-to-be proportions and would fit three and still leave room to move. It was spotless too: there wasn’t an old toothbrush or squeezed-to-death tube of toothpaste in sight.
I fiddled about with the shower dials for a while, confused by the settings until water poured from the shower head. I began to strip down, but caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and stopped. I was not a pretty sight.
My hair looked as though electricity had been passed through it and bits of twig clung to the knots. Tattoo was still very much there at the same spot and had darkened tenfold.
But it was my eyes that looked the most pitiful. They looked old and weary, as though they had seen a hundred years of suffering, not two days.
I shook my head and turned away, disgusted and angry. I continued to strip down and stepped in, letting the water run over my sore muscles.
I got out when the water ceased to feel warm on my skin. I grabbed a towel, dried myself and got dressed, slipping back into the large T-shirt and jeans hanging there. I wrung as much water as I could out of my hair and darted back to ‘my’ bedroom, freezing as I noticed somebody had been in and tidied up.
Outside in the corridor, things were still quiet, although I sensed that wasn’t because everyone was asleep. I passed the double doors, unnerved at the fact the room must belong to Zach. When I reached the top of the staircase, I leaned over, thinking I could ask the butler where Lily was. Just as I did, Alex emerged from the downstairs corridor. I jumped, trying to scamper back into the shadows but he spotted me and froze.
“Why are you in Zach’s clothes?”
“I took shower in his bathroom, that’s why. ” I didn’t like his tone but I kept this thought to myself.
He questioned again “What were you doing in his room when I left you in your room?”
Flashback came and a shiver ran through my body.
“You okay Ashley? You don’t seem fine.” No. I am not. Something is wrong with me. But I can’t tell him, he might tell Sammy and then they will try to get rid of me. I shuddered just thinking about the options that my mind had conjured some time back.
I didn’t reply but eased back towards the banisters, eyeing him with caution. ‘Hungry?’ he asked.
The mention of food set my stomach off growling again and he chuckled. ‘Guess so. Come on, I’ll find you something.’ He gestured for me to follow him and started walking towards the living-room door. When I didn’t follow him, he paused, smiling again. ‘I’m not going to do anything to you. I promise.’
The picture of him getting punched from my brother hit my mind. I muttered “I know that, unless you want to get killed by my brother.”
“You want me to die, Ashley.”his voice raised slightly in a teasing way. “What did I ever do to you?”
“Don’t exaggerate.” I laughed.
And he stared at me for a while.
“What?”
“You should smile more often.”
I don’t think so when things are getting so strange.
He looked sincere enough and I scrambled down the stairs until I caught up with him. He opened the door and led me across the living room and through another door. It was like stepping through a time portal. Whereas the main entrance hall didn’t look as though it had changed in hundreds of years, the passage we walked down was thoroughly modern and, as we entered the kitchen, I was again hit by an array of stainless steel and glass counters, cabinets and tables, although the floor was made of the same marble as the entrance.
Alex rounded the breakfast bar and began searching through the cupboards. ‘Do you like toast?’ he asked, his head popping up above the counter. I nodded, hoisting myself up onto a stool. ‘Toast it is then,’ he said, dropping a couple of slices of brown bread into a toaster. I watched him as he pulled a plate from another cupboard, fascinated by his fluid movements. He met my gaze.
‘Hey, I know I’m inhumanly hot, but you don’t have to stare.’ A huge grin appeared on his face and he winked.
I blushed a tomato red and my eyes hit the floor before bouncing back up to him. ‘I wasn’t staring.’
He put his hands in the air. ‘Sure,’ he chuckled. ‘Good to see you talking though. You don’t strike me as the shy type.’
He’s right, I thought. I’m not usually shy, but then again, I don’t really know what to say
I continued to watch him as he pulled his key and the door of the fridge opened and took the butter out. Then he closed it and locked the door.
‘I’m sorry I can’t do anything nicer than toast, but we only keep snacks in here,’ he nattered, spreading the butter on the bread, which was burnt around the crust. ‘The servants usually cook downstairs when we actually want food and not blood.’
He was saying this as if he knew my house better than me which seemed to be case considering he must have lived here more than me.
He slid the plate towards me, took one look at my face and then spoke again. ‘Okay, you have questions.’
I nodded, biting on my lower lip. ‘Can I ask anything?’
For a second, a flicker of doubt crossed his face, but it soon disappeared. ‘Of course,’ he replied. I didn’t speak for another minute or two as I rehearsed what I wanted to say in my head. He said nothing, pouring a glass of juice and pushing that in my direction too.
"It’s real, all of this, isn’t it?"
He placed his elbows on the counter and rested his chin in his hands, watching me with as much fascination as I had watched him. ‘Yes. Why?’
“Last
time when I came here no one was here ever. I was mostly left alone. But this time things have taken a U turn. Not only I find myself surrounded by you all, but also sometimes I feel so different.” I tugged on a strand of hair, picking out patterns in the marble floor.
I promised myself that I will call Simon after this conversation.
“How so?” he questions, his arch furrowed in confusion.
Then I tell him about my flashback as much as I can starting from Chloe to waking up in Zach’s room. And by the time I end his muscles have gone taut which is so unlike Alex when he is with me- always smiling.
I shouldn’t have told him and whatever this is it seems bad.
hybrid XXII - kiss her
Alex POV
“She has started teleporting. Do you even know this? ” Alex asked Samuel straight faced through his mind link.
For him, hell for the entire community it was unsafe. She might start teleporting to her mate. She might not know but her senses will soon start calling her to where she belongs.
Having seen Ashley he often used to wonder whether the forecast might be a fluke. She didn’t look so strong. She looked so vulnerable, shy at times.
She makes it hard, though. She is so cute sometimes, he just wanted to kiss her. Fu..
Suddenly the air shifted and Alex looked up. He saw Zach who had suddenly gone rigid.
Sometimes he wondered whether he could hear his thoughts, which only his alpha had the ability to. And since he was not there, no one should have that power. But his inner self did know something is amiss.
Though without proof he can’t say stuff that will land him into trouble.
Moreover even if he wanted to do something to her, he was no one to stop him.
“WHAT. Where is Ashley?” Samuel’s shocked voice shook his inner thoughts.
“She is here. Safe. What can we do to prevent her from teleporting?” Alex questioned his alpha’s son, Samuel.
“As far as I know delaying the process takes some toil on the person. Since this is a very critical time, I can’t tell alpha right away as he might leave that treaty and come here. And we all know how important that treaty is. Anyways he will be here soon.
Meanwhile I will ask Zach to keep a close watch on her.” Samuel told him through the mind link.
“Why him?” His aggravated voice reached Samuel.
“Because he has never failed alpha once and I trust him.” Samuel responded truthfully.
Alex hated this. He promised himself right then and there he will find out about Zach soon.
hYBrID XXIII- fourth day of school
I had no one to talk to. My one and only choice during the painful ride was Zach.
He did something to my inner self. I was more than sure that my heart wanted to hate him, considering he hardly ever treats me right. But there was just something there that always made me hyperaware about him. I couldn’t help myself.
Today was my third day with Zach in school and officially my fourth day. This had happened after assuring my brother that the past mistake won’t be repeated. Had there been Alex in place of Zach, he would have helped me in convincing Sammy.
Alex was literally forgotten. Girls no longer cared about him, from the moment their eyes fell on Zach. Whenever he stopped near my classroom girls looked at him like he was the only one in universe for them.
Today, I asked Chloe “Did they also get tingles in their stomach”. She looked at me funnily again. And said she gets tingles everywhere especially in her girly parts. Since we have been studying human anatomy, so I understood what she meant. This should have made me feel happy. But it brought different kind of feelings. I wanted to hurt her.
“I think something is wrong with me..” It was just not about tingles. The pain, Zach’s golden eyes, Black mark on my neck, my heart racing, me waking up in Zach’s room. They were all indications that I was definitely going crazy.
“Nothing is wrong with you.” Zach interrupted my thought process. He kept one hand on the steering and the other lazily on the window.
All the incidents passed through my demented head. I shook my head as hard as I could. “Yes, there is.”
“I would have known Ashley had there been something wrong with you.” How? But Zach said this with so much conviction that I wanted to believe him. That I was absolutely fine. But I knew he was just trying to make me feel better.
“Are you a doctor?” Since I wanted to prove him wrong. “I get this strong urge to hurt girls whenever they talk about you.” I had given it some thought. So I continued. “This never happened when they talked about Alex. Not even in the case of Simon.” He had absolutely no reaction on his face.
With Simon everything was so different, he had reaction for each and every word that came out of my mouth. I missed him. Like a lot. But I was not willing to part with my parents and brother this early.
In fact my inner self was telling me it was a stupid move to tell Zach. As it is he doesn’t like me. And I have literally handed him the ammunition to send me back to that place. I gave him a quick glance he looked deep in thought so I continued “Zach, don’t tell this to my brother, otherwise he will send me back. Even though I want to see Simon badly, but I also want to be with my brother and parents for a while. Imagine you staying away from your parents for so long and suddenly you get the opportunity to stay with them. You wouldn’t tell them about your craziness as it might have the possibility of sending you back. I’m sure you will keep this craziness to yourself so that you can be with your pare-”
Suddenly the SUV accelerated and I looked at Zach whose eyes had suddenly become golden. He looked so inhuman. This time I was sure, I was not imagining.
“Zach, I’m scared….Please stop the car."
“I will not talk to you ever again.” I was so so scared.
So I screamed. “PLEASE STOP!!!!!” And just like that the car came to a sudden halt. But because of the speed, there was so much back force that it rolled on the deserted road.
My vision blurred. And soon my eyes started to droop.
The last words I heard was. “Fuck! You are not supposed to die like this!!!”
My eyes were on fire.
The moment I regained consciousness, I felt different. The good kinda different. I had reached home somehow without a trace of blood on my clothes. Sammy appeared out of nowhere, the moment I was awake. Zach was avoiding my gaze. He was sitting next to the cheval mirror with his head down facing the door.
"How are you feeling Ash?"Sammy's voice was thick with concern.
"Much better. What happened? I feel so weird." I replied examining my hands and feet. My eyes were burning.
"You can leave now, Zach. I will take it over from here." Zach left room without a word.
"You were in an accident. This is not going to work. This school thing. I am sorry Ashley. I am to keep you safe. And that is of utmost importance." Sammy's voice reverberated with an apologetic tone. He knew how much this meant to me.
Although I should have felt bad, I felt nothing.
"I want to go back, Sammy. I don't want to stay here. Think it over. And no more Zach please. I don't want him around me anymore." Sammy's melancholy face stated a different story altogether . I knew something was going around and they were hiding it from me. I hated my life. All I ever wanted was to love and be loved in return. Me being here was not helping me in anyway. Atleast earlier I had Simone who loved me more than this.
"That can't happen. More so now." Why Now?
"Take a look at the mirror."Sammy handed me the mirror, all the while watching me closely incase i freak out on finding something that might explain why I was feeling weird.
What? I frowned at my reflection in mirror. Greenish blue eyes rimmed with golden specks in the center was staring back at me. Golden color was so miniscule but it was so prominent that it overshadowed the greenish blue tint in eyes. I felt like a freak. I had only ever seen Zach's eyes like that. and that too I wasn't 100% sure. I was close to frea
king out.
"Now before you freak out. I am going to tell you a story. A real one at that. You might not like it. The less you know the better it is for everyone. Alex told me everything, what you have been through since the moment you arrived here. I am glad that you trust someone, if not your own brother."
"I didn't-" I began to mumble an apology but was cut off by Sam.
"I am not looking for an apology. I want you to come to me next time something like this happens. I have an explanation for everything except why you teleported to Zach's room. Going by your previous statement, I know you resent Zach. He comes across as little rough. But I can assure you, he has his best interests at heart."
He continued. "I am not going to tell you everything as it is not going to solve anything anyway. But it might solve some of your questions. And remember and I can't stress this enough. The less you know the better it is for us... Atleast for now."
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