by Sydney Marie
The trees wave back and forth like blades of grass submerged in water, and some come crashing to the hard forest floor. I climb over a tree trunk and come splashing into a shallow pool of water. My heart jolts from the sudden feeling, and my toes begin to turn blue.
“Evangeline,” the voice calls for me again, so I hop out of the icy water and frantically search around me.
“Who are you?” I shout.
A growl erupts from behind me, and I look to see the beast drawing closer. Its canines drip a red substance, and its black fur seems to be in knots. It stalks towards me in an unearthly trudge. Its limbs seem built to tear me apart limb by limb.
“Go away,” I cry. “Go away!”
The muddy ground devours my feet, holding me captive as the beast’s scent crawls up my nose, making my face scrunch. The putrid smell causes my stomach to rise. I yank at my legs to free myself from the sinking mixture, but they do not budge. The growls grow louder, and ringing noises pierce my ears.
“Evangeline. Evangeline.”
“Go away!”
Air floods my lungs as if I am coming back to life. I fly up in the bed and breathe heavy, almost gasping. My hands fist the covers while my mind begins to realize that it was all just a figment of my disturbed imagination—a nightmare.
I hear shuffling beside me then his voice. “Evangeline?”
Now embarrassed, I curse myself for reacting in such ways.
“Sorry, sorry.”
I shove the covers off me and climb off the bed, bringing Sebastian to sit up and register what exactly is going on at one o’clock in the morning. I unlock the window and slide it open, letting the sounds of night float into the room and, more importantly, a cool breeze. My skin feels hot and clammy.
“Evangeline, is everything alright?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Sorry for waking you,” I murmur to Sebastian while enjoying the breeze against my flushed face.
More shuffling noises coming from the darkness, and suddenly, the bedroom light is turned on. I glance back at the door to see a half-clothed Sebastian walking back to the bed. If it were not for my already red face, he would see my fierce blush. But when did he take off his shirt? Not that my startled eyes mind, casually glancing at his captivating body. Everything looks so, so taut and new. If I had no self-control, my hands would undoubtedly be running over his chest like I had never felt the sensations of touching someone else before. Something ordinary has become alien to me.
I stop my thoughts for a moment. Since when did I think in such ways?
“Is it hot in here?” he asks.
“It is now,” I think to myself.
“Do you want to keep the window open?”
“Oh, I just had a bad dream. That’s all.”
“About?”
“You really want to know?” I question him and lean back towards the window.
He shrugs. “As long as you are up, I am. And it might be nice to know what goes on in that head of yours.”
“Okay, well, I was in the forest, and there was this wolf-like creature. It was chasing me, but it feels like I couldn’t run. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Whatever the beast was, it was just creepy. Now that I think of it, I might have had this dream as a child because it sounds really cheesy, being chased by a monster. How original.”
Sebastian tiredly leans against the headboard. “Maybe it means something.”
“Really?” I say and close the window back up before making my way to the light.
“Well, don’t dreams have meanings?”
I can tell that he is fighting himself to stay awake. My heart warms at the idea of him waiting up so that I am not alone.
“Well, I don’t know about any monsters chasing me anytime soon.” I yawn and turn the light off, submerging us in darkness once again.
“You’re scared of him, aren’t you?”
“What?”
I can hardly see Sebastian’s figure, though the moonlight eerily shines on half of his face, making him look unearthly.
“You fear that the man, the alpha, is going to come for you.”
“I don’t know. I have been thinking about it a lot,” I mutter and lie down on my side of the bed, or that is at least what I call it.
“I don’t want you to worry.”
“Then I won’t.”
“If only it were that easy.” I hear him sigh. “I hope you know that I’m going to handle all of this.”
“You are the alpha.” I yawn again.
“All I want is for you to feel safe.”
“You think that I don’t? If any and everyone else were in my position, they would feel safe. It is almost impossible not to. I mean, you go to such drastic measures. I have never felt so protected.” I assure him.
A short moment of silence comes between us.
“You never face me.” His voice is smooth and deep.
I can listen to him talk all day without a complaint.
“You are always facing the other way when you sleep.”
I bite the inside of my cheek.
“You know, you speak your mind when you’re tired. It’s refreshing. You always have this intimidating aura about you, but like this, when all the lights are off, I see past it. I was intimidated by you when we were first introduced. All I knew was that you were an alpha and that you were making me nervous. That, and the fact that we are mates.”
Somewhat dizzy with exhaustion, I turn over and suck in a short breath when I notice Sebastian’s handsome face and piercing eyes gazing back at me.
“You see,” I mumble, “facing each other is so intimate.”
“I am no longer the only one who speaks their mind when they are tired,” he tells me, “though I am hindered by our closeness.”
Sleeping in the same bed together has become much more real. If I had no control over myself, if my mind was taken over by my animalistic side, I am sure my lips would be on his. The idea of it excites me.
“Thank you for protecting me,” I whisper.
Part of me wants the wandering thoughts to stop, but the other half, the other half wants to bathe in it. Thoughts of it begin to cloud my mind, taking over and pushing everything else out, as I can no longer remember any of them. The ideas of us together make my toes scrunch up and my body hot, as if the thermostat has been turned up all the way. Where are these thoughts coming from? Why am I feeling this way so suddenly?
Sebastian’s eyes seem to turn shades darker. Is he feeling the same?
Immediately, I turn back to my other side, facing away from him. The covers are suffocating me, so I push them off, feeling the cold night air stick to my skin. I cannot help but want to be closer to him, as close as we can be.
“Evangeline,” he calls out, only fueling my fire even more.
“I have to go to the spare room.” I rush out of bed. “I’m sorry.”
My head spins as I stumble down the hallway and track down my guest room. Once I push past the door, I hurry to the windows and slide them all open, letting the night air once again caress me. The drop in temperature cools me down instantaneously, and I fall back onto the bed, letting my body sprawl out over the duvet.
My breaths are heavy as I calm myself down. One more second in that bedroom and I would have jumped on top of him, which is something I would never have planned for a million years.
As the frigid air takes over the room, I begin to see my breath in front of me, and my eyes drift close.
***
Arms yank me upright and keep me in place. My mind slowly begins to wake as I am lifted off the bed. Warmth comes to me in the arms of my mate. The lovely feeling of his skin against mine causes my eyes to open and close, seeing the blurs of light. My memory is foggy.
I try to push myself more against him, soaking up the heat from his body. He carries me down the hall, yet I am focused primarily on the sensations that being in his arms is giving me.
“Evangeline,” he mumbles my name. “You are so cold.”
<
br /> I open my eyes, and this time, they stay open, adjusting to the light. I lean my head against his chest as he lightly kicks open the other door to his bedroom and brings me inside. Sunlight seeps through the windows and casts beams of light onto the floor. My eyes study my pale arms as they rest on my body. I can see hints of purple and blue in the undertones.
Sebastian places me on the bed and throws warm blankets over my chilly body.
“What happened?” I mumble and enjoy the heat.
“You fell asleep with all the windows open, Evangeline. It is freezing in there.” He reminds me. “Stay in the bed and warm up.”
My eyes follow him as he moves about the room. “Is it morning?”
“Yes.”
My voice is gentle and sleepy. “You’re warm.”
Sebastian studies me before coming over and standing before me. He pulls back the covers and joins me underneath. I scoot back to give him space, but instead, Sebastian holds me against him, wrapping his large arms around me once again. The position is so comfortable that I find myself melting in his grasp.
The warmth of his body heats me up. Even if I am no longer shivering, I do not want him to let go. Not only does his touch play mercilessly with my nerves, but the sounds of his breathing has me more assured than ever. I am in the highest comfort deemed possible.
The cloud I am floating on has my eyes fluttering closed. If it were not for the sunlight, I would be fast asleep.
“Are you comfortable?” he asks me, and for a moment I think he is joking.
“There is no word to describe how comfortable I am.”
At this moment, I feel defeated, no longer hiding from him. We may have just met a few days ago, but Sebastian already knows my secrets. He already knows about my gifts and the people that may be hunting me. We have already slept in the same bed. As usual, I am split in two, as one side wants to do everything with my mate right now, and the other worries that the first will get their way. My life was slow and repetitive before crossing the stream, and now it is cluttered with drama, longing, and fear.
Though being caressed in my mate’s caring arms seems to hypnotize me, I cannot lose sight of what is important. I have to find out if this alpha really is after me. I know that I am assuming a lot from Henry’s attack, but this is the only way to explain it as of now. This man and his father have kept my parents on edge and kept them from being with me. I will not let him suppress me too.
***
Later in the day, after Sebastian left to continue with the searches, I find myself running into Henry. He is hopping around, no longer confined to the bed upstairs. Though his ankle is obviously in no condition for walking, Henry does not let that stop him.
“Are you sure that’s safe? What if you fall down the stairs?”
Henry shrugs. “I’ve already done it a few times. The fear has faded. But I wanted to talk to you about something. Since I can’t do much, I went down to Sebastian’s office and searched through the books. A lot of them are super old, and I ended up finding one on myths. Evangeline, you’re a myth.”
“I’m a myth?” I repeat as I help him to the couch.
“Well, technically you and everyone else with your ability. In the book, it’s called the Daughters of the Moon Goddess. It talked about how they communicate with her because of a spiritual link. It runs in very few family lines, and that’s talking about hundreds of years ago. Really, they couldn’t emphasize enough on how rare it is, but it’s there overall.”
I smile. “Yes, as a myth.”
“But it’s not a myth. You and your grandmother are living proof,” he says excitedly.
“I suppose so, but you’re the only one who believes me. I’m not even sure if Sebastian does.”
“You told him?”
“I had to eventually, I mean with the attack and all. To make the long story short, I think the alpha of my old pack is trying to kill me,” I explain. “Wait, that’s one more person who believes in the ability.”
Henry rolls his eyes at my sarcasm. “So you think the men who attacked me are looking for you, to kill you because of your ability?”
I nod.
“Wow, luckily I didn’t tell them anything. I acted like I didn’t know who you were.”
“Thank you.”
Henry leans back on the couch, getting comfortable as I sit down beside him.
“The book is on the second bookshelf. Two shelves down from the top and has a green cover. I think it’s called Lycanthrope Mythology if you ever want to look at it.”
Bruiser comes moseying into the room before he jumps up on one of the seats across from us, lying down. I have begun to love the dog, enjoying what it is like to have a pet.
“He is always with you.” I glance at Henry.
“He is my dog.”
“When did you get him?”
“About three years ago. Everyone was tense in the house. Sebastian was arguing with my father about taking over, and my mother was trying to get them to calm down. I just got sick of the yelling, so I took my dad’s truck and drove to the closest town—”
“You went into a town?” I ask, extremely intrigued and curious. “What was it like? Could they tell you were different?”
Henry takes a breath as if he is venturing back to the day in his mind.
“It was eye-opening. I wasn’t a very good driver. My dad taught me when he could. So I parked in this dirt lot. After that, I wandered down a street and went into the shops. The people, they were talking about what to have for dinner or how their daughter is getting married—”
“Married? What’s that?”
“It’s a thing people do to connect themselves if they are in love. They put a ring on their finger, and it’s a symbol of their union,” he explains.
My brows furrow. “Like mates?”
“It’s their version of it. They choose who they want to be with for the rest of their lives. They have no mate bond.”
“How odd,” I murmur. “Could they tell you weren’t human?”
“They didn’t have a clue. You know, our kind live among them in the cities and towns. I told you that not all rogues are bad people. Some just want to live life out there, where they are free.”
The longing in his eyes pulls at my heart. Henry wants to be free, out in the world, making his own decisions. He wants to live alongside the humans and follow their way of life.
“Anyways, there was an animal shelter in the town. I saw Bruiser and decided to take him home so that I could have a little piece of the town with me.”
“Why don’t you go live out there? It’s obvious that you love the idea of it.”
Henry sighs and shakes off my words. “I can’t, Evangeline. I’m the alpha’s brother, alpha blood. If anything happened to Sebastian, I would take over, and if I find my mate…I don’t know. Maybe one day.”
The idea of towns and cities overwhelm me. After living with my grandmother, secluded in the forest, this pack is to me as towns are to Henry. I am content here, satisfied here, and I believe I can be for the rest of my life.
Henry is not like me though. He craves more, to see and experience more. I hope he finds his way to the place he desires. He deserves that. Henry has a free soul, and he must express it.
“I always thought you were so happy.”
He looks at me, wanting to know more. “I am happy.”
“You would be happier out there.”
“Until then, I’ll be okay.”
Chapter 10
Though I have not seen my mother in a decade, we now have something in common: paranoia. The constant feeling of eyes on me is driving me to near madness. I am now doing things differently than I naturally would, reacting in other ways because the intense fear that he is watching me is always on my mind. Before I make a decision, something as simple as taking a sip of water, he pops into my head. Do I want to drink this in front of him?
Marina has noticed this in the mornings. She stares at me as I reluctantly eat brea
kfast. My eyes glance out the window every few minutes before I take another slow bite. She has asked me if something is wrong, but I tell her no.
The only places that I can find privacy are in rooms with no windows, or if the curtains are pulled close. I can no longer fall asleep with the windows open either, even with Sebastian beside me. I worry that he will slip through and steal me away in the middle of the night.
It is hard to fear someone you have never seen before. My dreams of being chased have continued, and I am convinced that the beast is him. A blood-lusting, thunderous-growling monster is his form in my head. I wonder if my mother has dreams about him, though hers must be different, more real and lifelike. Part of me dreams of changing his mind, convincing him that I am no demon or witch that is thirsty for power.
My hopes for this died once Sebastian came back from the search and told me that a guard had spotted something lurking between the trees. The guard explained that it was watching him, stalking him with intense eyes. Sebastian only told me this because I begged him to let me know if anything happens, as I knew he would not want me to worry or to feel unsafe.
The guard chased after it until the watcher disappeared. The thing moved in a way that disoriented him, dragging him far from the group and into the dense forest, further into the unclaimed lands. Sebastian told me that unclaimed lands are areas that belong to no pack—a land free for rogues to roam.
Grandmother and I lived on unclaimed land. Right after learning about the dangers of unclaimed land for a werewolf like her, I panicked and wanted to force her over. It was safer when she lived with Grandfather, as they had each other to protect themselves. Now that she is aged and alone, dirty rogues can take advantage of her. I have also decided to call the bad rogues as dirty rogues. I believe they can clean up their act and become good. It makes me feel better about their situation.
This morning I find myself taking a few bites of breakfast only to look back out the window. My eyes scan the foliage, searching for others staring back at me. I have never caught anything, but that has not stopped me.