“What are we going to do, Annie?” Kato asked, fear creeping into his voice. “We can’t protect her from the Elders, no matter how hard we try, and that’s just me being honest. I want to think that I’ll always be able to protect her, but I can’t when it comes to them. I really can’t.”
“Kato, everything will be okay,” Annie reassured him, squeezing his arm in comfort. “You’re right. We can’t stop the Elders. But remember, there’s a whole other half of Elders that think that they shouldn’t attack humans like Thea. That they have a right to know about the society, and they have a right to become a part of the society if shifters choose that they can. So, we have a pretty strong ally in them.”
“So, we just have to sit and wait until they show up to take her away?” Kato asked, angrily. “We have to do something! Maybe Thea and I will go on a vacation far away or something until this whole thing blows over.”
Annie gazed at him, a mixture of sadness and pity in her eyes. “Kato, you know that if the Elders want to find you guys, they will; no matter where you’re hiding. And trust me, I don’t want anything to happen to Thea, either. I won’t let anything happen to Thea. So, we’ll train, we’ll practice our battle methods, and we’ll wait and hear from Michael if anything has changed.”
“I just wish I could do something. Something now.”
Annie pulled Kato into a side hug, letting him rest his head on her shoulder like old times. Kato had always confided in Annie, he’d always trusted her completely. She was the person that made him think straight and sane, and he didn’t know if he’d be the same person without her.
“I feel claustrophobic,” Kato told her, an idea forming in his mind. “Do you wanna run?”
Annie smiled at him, and without saying a word they both raced to the back door, pulling off their clothes as they ran. In a few seconds, Kato’s bare feet hit the wet grass, only to quickly change into his four paws. He felt a tingling sensation as he became a wolf, something that he had gotten so used to that he almost didn’t feel it anymore. He remembered his first few shifts as a child–it had been hell. He felt like his bones were breaking over and over again, each time he changed from human to wolf, or from wolf to human.
Now, it was as if his body was used to the constant changes. He welcomed the tingling sensation and the bit of pain that coursed through his body as he attempted to readjust to his new formation.
As Kato ran with Annie, both of them interweaving through the forest around the trees, the full moon glimmering down at them from up above, he immediately felt better. Whenever he was stressed or thinking too much, he shifted and normally felt better. There was something so amazing about being able to shift and see the world through a different scope.
As they ran together, sometimes running into each other and playfully tackling each other to the ground, Kato began to feel stronger and more at ease. He began to almost mentally tell himself that everything was going to be okay. The Elders may come and try to start something, but he had a whole pack on his side. And he had the other Elders.
He wouldn’t let them take Thea away. He wouldn’t let them harm her in any way. And he knew, as he ran and howled to the moon with Annie, that both of them would put their lives in danger for Thea. They protected her, and they had since they were kids. If that meant that they would have to die at the Elders’ hands to at least try and make sure that Thea was safe, then that’s what they would have to do. Kato wouldn’t regret it. He would only regret it if he died and Thea still was harmed.
Annie began to howl again, making Kato stop his sprint to howl alongside her. The night sky was clear, and he marveled at the moon and the stars up above. When he heard other wolves, other members of his pack, join in howling with him and Thea, he howled back even stronger. Louder. With more purpose.
He would be their alpha one day. And Thea would be his mate. And he would make sure that nothing would ever come between them.
Chapter 17
Thea found herself in a luscious garden that was in full bloom, black roses sprouting from everywhere she looked. She forgot why she was in the garden, but she knew that is was for an important reason.
As she walked around, admiring the dark roses that covered her path, she found herself in a white ballgown, adorned with diamonds around her neck. She also wore elbow-length white gloves that made her palms sweaty, but a voice in the back of her mind told her that she mustn’t take off the gloves. She couldn’t remember why, though.
As she followed the path in the garden, she began to realize that it was like a maze. She wondered when she would be able to find an exit, as she felt as if she had been walking for hours, for days, for weeks.
And then, as she sharply turned a corner, black roses still all around her in the night sky, she saw she had hit another dead end. But at this dead end, Lukas was laying on the ground, blood all around him.
Thea rushed forward, hearing herself crying out, and fell to the ground beside him, checking his pulse. It was a futile effort, as Lukas was long gone. Tears pricked her eyes as she held Lukas’s head on her lap, blood covering her white gloves and staining a little of her dress.
“That’s a shame,” a slithery voice said. “You’ve gotten your gloves all ruined.”
Thea quickly turned around to find the owner of that horrible voice, but no one was to be found. It was just her and a dead Lukas. Thea quickly got to her feet, goosebumps covering her arms, as she found herself determined to find someone–anyone–and tell them about Lukas. They needed to find out what happened.
‘Poor Annie is going to be ruined,’ Thea thought.
Thea began to pick up her speed, walking briskly through the black roses, hitting dead end after dead end. Her high heels had begun to kill her feet, but a voice told her not to take them off. Thea turned around another corner, only to come face to face with another dead end. And another body.
But this time it was Annie.
A cry erupted from Thea, and she immediately fell to her knees as she observed her best friend’s mutilated body. Blood was everywhere, and the once gorgeous green dress that Annie had on was now a torn and bloodied mess. Thea got up to run over to Annie, sobs wracking through her chest. She checked Annie's pulse, but it was again a futile effort. Annie was dead, and she had been dead for a while.
Thea couldn’t bear to look at her dead best friend any longer. She had to get out of this garden of death, and she had to find someone to help her. To come back and get her friends.
Thea ran, still hitting dead end after dead end. Her own feet started to bleed from the brutal heels that she was wearing, so Thea, still crying from the two bodies she had seen, fell to the ground to take them off. When she saw all the blood that covered her, she wanted to vomit all over. Annie and Lukas’s blood was mixed on her white gown. Her white gloves were now almost all red from where she’d held her friends and tried to save them. But she couldn’t take them off. That wasn’t something she could do. Yet, she couldn’t remember why.
“It’s so sad what has happened to your friends,” that slithery voice told her again from right behind her. “All to try and protect little old you. Little useless you. Little human you.”
Thea turned around, but, again, she saw nothing. No person, just the lingering voice that kept on whispering in her ear. But this time, she had felt a cold breath on the back of her neck, as if the person was standing over her. Whispering in her ear.
Thea got back up and continued to run for help, this time with no shoes on. She sobbed as she ran, trying to find an exit to this horrible maze, but continuously meeting dead end after dead end. She was exhausted, and she felt like she was going to faint at any second.
Finally, up ahead, she saw a light coming from . . . was that an entrance? Thea raced forward, determined to leave this garden, this maze, and find someone to help her. But as she neared the vast opening, she realized that it wasn’t an exit. No, it was just the middle of the maze.
And as Thea walked into the opening, she felt
her heart break into a million pieces. She had just barely been able to hold it together when she saw Lukas and Annie, but now she realized that she would always be broken.
There were white chairs all around, with flowers and lights spread everywhere around the center of the maze. The black roses were all gone. An arch stood towards the middle, covered in white and red roses, and Thea quickly realized that this looked like a place people had weddings.
But right in front of the flowery arch, where the groom and bride would normally stand and say their vows to each other, was Kato. Laying on the ground. Blood everywhere.
Thea fell to the ground, unable to do anything but cry and crawl her way to where Kato lay, lifeless. When she finally reached his side, she didn’t check his pulse. She knew he was dead. Instead, she just curled up to him and held him, sobbing. Blood soaked through her white dress . . . through her wedding dress. She felt his blood against her cheek, against her neck, against her skin. She held him, bloodied and all.
“Do you understand why I had to do this, child?” the voice said again, but this time, it had a body.
Thea looked up to see the Elder from the night at Annie’s house, the Elder with the slithery voice, the Elder that tried to take her away and wipe her memory. He stood, wearing a tux similar to Kato’s, his pale, white skin scarred in every area, his white eyes staring down at her. He was smiling, as if congratulating her and Kato on their beautiful wedding day.
She wished that he wore that medieval hood and cape that he wore the first time she saw him. She didn’t want to see his whole face.
“Do you now understand why you have to die?” he asked, bending down so that he could caress her hair with his cold, cold hand.
Thea stared back up at him, her whole world shattered. She didn’t know why she had to die, but she knew that she wanted to. She had nothing left to live for now.
So, when the Elder pulled her to him, she didn’t fight back. But she did scream.
Chapter 18
Kato woke to Thea screaming.
He jumped up and grabbed Thea who was at the edge of the bed, almost looking like she was going to fall off. She was clutching the pillow underneath her as if her life depended on it, and Kato could see tears glistening on her face.
He gently took her in his arms and tried to wake her up. She quickly did, jumping up and away from Kato as if he was trying to hurt her. When she realized that it was just him, she sighed and put her head in her hands. Kato gently put his hand on her back, rubbing her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” was all she said before she got up and walked to her bathroom, shutting it and even locking it behind her.
Kato stayed sitting upright on the bed, fear creeping into his mind. He had returned from running with Annie only about three hours ago, but it was now nearing the morning. When he had climbed into bed with Thea, she had been peacefully sleeping and gently snoring. He didn’t know what type of nightmare she’d had, but he wanted to go and reassure her.
He knew that it had to do with the Elders in some way. She was probably having nightmares about what had happened over and over again, and Kato felt desperate to find some way to help her, even though he was lost at how he could.
Kato got up from the bed and walked over to the bathroom door, knocking gently to be let in. He heard the water running from the sink, but no answer. He sighed, wanting to have Thea in his arms so that he could take away this fear from his mind. He wanted to tell her that he would always protect her. Why was she so angry? And why didn’t she want to talk about it?
“Thea,” Kato gently whispered, knocking again. He heard the faucet stop running in the bathroom. She finally opened the door, and Kato was surprised to see a blank expression on her face.
It looked like she had thrown some cold water on her face, leaving her skin paler than he’d ever seen it. She’d also tied her long blonde hair up into a high bun on her head. But her face was clear of any emotion that she had. It was almost like he was the one that dreamed she had woken up screaming.
“Kato, I don’t want to talk about it,” she told him as she walked past him into the bedroom, but Kato could see the way her hands were still shaking.
He grabbed her and pulled her to him, embracing her and wrapping his arms around her back to pull her as close to him as possible.
“You know you can trust me, right?” he asked her, looking into those icy blue eyes he knew so well.
“I know,” she whispered, not meeting his eyes.
“You know that I’ll protect you no matter what, right?”
This time her eyes did meet his, and there was anger there. He stared at her, surprised by the reaction. “I know,” she answered him, stepping out of his grasp. “That’s the problem.”
“What do you mean, ‘that’s the problem?’” Kato asked her, utterly confused.
“I know you’d do anything to protect me, and don’t get me wrong, I love that,” she told him, tears glistening in her eyes. “But that’s going to be the death of me, isn’t it? It’s not going to be the Elders coming to take me away, it’s going to be watching you and Annie and Lukas defend me, while dying in the process. I’m going to have to watch every single person I love die just to attempt to protect me.”
“Thea,” Kato sighed, his mind reeling that she was even saying this.
“No, don’t try and talk me down,” she told him, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Don’t try and tell me that everything’s gonna be okay. Because you’re not the one that is going to end up with no one left. You’re not the one that, just by existing, is putting her friends’ lives on the line.”
“Babe,” Kato tried again.
“No, Kato,” she whispered, her eyes seeming not to blink. “Unless you can tell me that the Elders aren’t coming back, or unless you can tell me that you guys can defeat them with no casualties, I’m not going to stop feeling like this. I can’t. I can’t even sleep anymore without my subconscious reminding me. So, can you tell me, truthfully, that everything is going to be okay?”
Kato stared at her, feeling like he was falling apart. He hated seeing her like this, and he hated that she had this baggage and felt this way. She was going to blame herself however this turned out. If someone was hurt, if someone died, Thea would blame herself. Kato didn’t want her to, but he also didn’t know what he could say to make her believe that none of this was her fault, or that none of this would be her fault.
“Thea,” Kato said, stepping forward and grasping her hands in his. “I promise you, nothing bad will happen. If the Elders come–if–then we’ll be ready. And there will be no casualties on our side, no matter what.”
Thea stared at him, and Kato felt a twinge of guilt as he just outright lied to Thea. He didn’t think he had ever lied to her before, other than hiding from her the fact that he was a shifter. Thea continued to stare at him, and Kato became worried when her blue eyes showed a mixture of sadness and confusion.
“When did we start lying to each other, Kato?” she whispered to him, tears glistening down her face.
Kato felt his heart break.
Chapter 19
Thea had calmed down since she had the nightmare, but the whole dream seemed to be replaying in her head all day. And she hated it.
Kato had left earlier for a pack meeting, with both Annie and Lukas leaving with him. Thea was now alone in the big mansion that seemed to get even bigger with no one there to live with her. She knew that Kato would more than likely tell Annie what had happened this morning, and then Annie would more than likely tell Lukas all about it. But she didn’t care. Let them worry, she couldn’t stop the way that she was feeling.
As she paced around the mansion, deciding to clean the huge place just to have something to do, she began to think of the plans that she would soon set in motion. Because she needed to do something, she couldn’t just wait and see if the Elders would come by. The way Kato was acting this morning when she mentioned the Eld
ers, made her think there was something that he wasn’t telling her. And she hated that he felt he had to keep things from her because she might freak out, even though she knew that she would if it had anything to do with the Elders.
As Thea cleaned the house, she began to think of Annie’s mother. This was her house, after all.
Annie’s mother’s story was tragic, at the very least. As far as everyone knew, she had died while giving birth to Annie because she was a human. Even Kato believed this story. However, only a few people knew the truth, and Thea was one of them.
Annie’s mother was still alive, and she had run away when the threat of the Elders became too much to deal with. When Thea first heard the story from Annie, she couldn’t understand why her mother would do this. Why would she knowingly leave the man she loved and her newborn child? And why would she leave without at least leaving a note on where or how to contact her?
But now, with everything in the last few weeks that had happened, Thea understood what she did completely. Because it no longer was about the Elders harming Thea. She knew that it would happen, and while she obviously didn’t want it to happen, she didn’t know how to stop it. She was a human, she couldn’t stand up against a shifter, let alone an Elder that was incredibly strong; stronger than even the strongest shifter around.
Now it was about the Elders harming the people that she loved more than anything else in this world. More than herself. Annie. Lukas. Hann. Kato. The thought of losing them, of having to deal with their deaths just because they tried to protect her, was something that she couldn’t–wouldn’t–handle.
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