FOR A SECOND, Harlow couldn't understand why Michael looked so panicked. She felt fine, so why was he so worried? "I'm so sorry," He continued to say for the fifth time, "I didn't mean to." What was he talking about? "Michael, it's fine." She spoke. She leaned slightly up, feeling so aware of her body being bare. "Look," she grasped his shoulder, "I'm fine." His head shook, looking disorientated and shocked. "Michael, I'm fine." But he wasn't listening; he stepped away from her, seeming to be in a bizarre state of mind. Wherever his mind was, she knew Michael wasn't mentally there. As soon as she blicked, he disappeared and vanished into thin air. She was used to his disappearing acts, which he always did whenever things would get real; as soon as they became close, she couldn't figure out why and why he constantly pushed her away. A heavy sigh left her, feeling tired. Tired of life, this time, no matter how much it hurt her, Michael leaving was the last thing she was worried abou
ON THIS MOONLESS NIGHT, even the silhouettes are gone. The usual friendly smattering of stars is obscured utterly by dense cloud. Ordinarily, she would stay in underneath her old blankets on a night like this, but today it was different. These few hours that withered away so fast were her last. So, she took every advantage she had, taking it all in basking in the sheer freedom of the quietness of the world at this time. The coldness of the slate tiles and its dampness seeped through the thin polyester trousers Harlow had stolen from her mum. With knees pulled tight to my pronounced rib cage, she shivered at the late-night chill. In this poor light, the roof-tops spread in every direction like a great grey serpent with rectangles scales. Only the red bricks chimneys ruined the illusion, but in this light, they were just as monochromatic as everything else, the slate, the swirling smog, the streets that were never de
THE HOUSE TO HER NAN'S PLACE STOOD BOLD. Those bricks were laid one at a time, perhaps on a fine spring day. She let Her eyes wander the roughness and how each is very straight. Her Grandparents made this house with love, that's for sure. "Harlow!" Her Nan came rushing out, ill or not. She was always excited to see her only grandchild, just as Harlow was happy to see her too. "Nan," Harlow felt no reluctance to run and meet her Nan halfway. She was embracing her tight. There is no gem, no diamond, more significant than her Nan. Though life crushed her, though she suffered, she shone brightly for her and her mother. She showed them that one could survive and learn to thrive, find the good stuff, and have genuine gratitude. She was a lady of admiration, and for sure, Harlow looked up to her. "Look at you." She says, pulling slightly away. "You've grown since t
THE BUS ROCKS HER FROM SIDE TO SIDE. As she travels these not so familiar roads, her brains afforded the time to daydream or rest. She hadn't slept well last night, something about this place that had her hairs crawling. Everything seemed so normal, yet something felt so very off. It could've just been that she didn't particularly want to permanently live here, as horrible as the people were there...at least she was familiar with everything there. Here, she didn't even know where to go besides her nan's house. Some chatter, their voices rising and blending in the sweet ritual of friends. Some absorb themselves in music; others drift into worries that will erase themselves on arrival when their body rejoins the world of moving and speaking to others. And so it goes on that way, all of us together and separate, feeling all the same turns and bumps. The bus ride is her meditation. The same chill music in her earbuds,
"I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU WERE LINDA'S GRAND-DAUGHTER," Mia mumbled, "I didn't even know she had any kids in the first place...she very private." Harlow couldn't agree more; Mia didn't know her nan to be very sociable, especially since her husband had died. Maybe her nan and she weren't so different after all. Both hated socialising, yet both were sort of forced into dealing with it. If she could escape the world, she would. But how could you escape something so big? It's easy; you just can't. Especially the world. "Yeah...She is." Harlow agreed, not knowing what else she could say to her. She closed her locker and turned towards Mia, who stood in front of her, next to her locker, bored. Her back and her head leaned against the blue lockers, her arms across her chest. She has been so nice all day, showing her around the school and keeping her company during lunch, the most intimate part of the
THE FRONT DOOR CLICKED TO A CLOSE. "Harlow is that you hun." Her mom's voice boomed from the kitchen. "Yeah." She responded instantly, dropping her backpack on the floor. Her mom was sat on the dinning table typing away on her laptop, papers scattered the surface of the table. "What's all of this?" She question, grasping one of the papers between her hands scanning it over. "My résumé." She swiftly replied, to focus on what was on her laptop than to spend a moment to gain a look at Harlow, not that she minded anyways. "Oh." Was all she said, her mom was applying for a job this quickly. "How was school?" Her mom asked. Still furiously typing away on those keyboards, it was like she was superhuman or something, multitasking. Something Harlow could never do, her attention spam was non-existence. Mostly everything distracted her, and sometimes it was frustrating and sometimes it was not.
HIS BACK EYES, they just never left her mind. They stayed ingrained within her head, the black the colour of her now comfort for the heart and soul, in his black eyes, she saw home. She saw a glimpse of the eternal, of serene divinity. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel disappointed at that thought. He had left without a word. The scene just kept on replaying within her mind, an emotionless expression upon his face and the coldness within his eyes, really it told her everything she needed to know, but... questions still roamed her mind, swarming with theories; of who he could be, who was he? Why didn't he stay? What was his name? Why didn't he speak? "Harlow, honey, are you okay?" Her nan says, causing her head to instantly wipe around to see her nan in the driver's seat, holding onto the steering wheel as she looked at the road ahead. Was she okay? In all honesty, she felt far more okay; okay
HARLOW SLAMMED HER HAND ON HER BEEPING ALARM CLOCK. The alarm clock in platinum chrome sings each morning, signalling the transition from sleepy dreams to wakeful happenings. After yesterday, she wanted today to be different. Typical, just like the rest of her days were. Throwing her legs over her baed, she sat up, rubbing her eyes for a good five minutes before she ever attempted moving. Early mornings weren't her thing, especially if the school was involved. Standing up, she walked towards her bathroom. Harlow still felt the uneasy feeling in her gut that someone potentially might've been in her room. She'd even asked her mom and nan if they'd gone in her room to open the window, and they'd said no. Alarm bells went off at that point; it defiantly confirmed that someone had been in there. She was sure of it and knowing that it never eased the feeling she felt inside. The water fell into her hands, and she s
FOR A SECOND, Harlow couldn't understand why Michael looked so panicked. She felt fine, so why was he so worried? "I'm so sorry," He continued to say for the fifth time, "I didn't mean to." What was he talking about? "Michael, it's fine." She spoke. She leaned slightly up, feeling so aware of her body being bare. "Look," she grasped his shoulder, "I'm fine." His head shook, looking disorientated and shocked. "Michael, I'm fine." But he wasn't listening; he stepped away from her, seeming to be in a bizarre state of mind. Wherever his mind was, she knew Michael wasn't mentally there. As soon as she blicked, he disappeared and vanished into thin air. She was used to his disappearing acts, which he always did whenever things would get real; as soon as they became close, she couldn't figure out why and why he constantly pushed her away. A heavy sigh left her, feeling tired. Tired of life, this time, no matter how much it hurt her, Michael leaving was the last thing she was worried abou
"What did you do to him?!" Harlow couldn't understand or get her mind around what she was seeing. The instinct to run to him and help me was strong, and that's was she intended to do, but Sabin stopped her. "You need to keep your distance, Mate or not; if you get too close, he will shred you to pieces in this state," Sabin told her firmly. His eyes were dark; shadows lingered in them. "Let him wake up first, and then you can talk to him." 'Michael, what the hell did he do to you?' Harlow's thoughts run wild with theories, but Sabin doesn't waste time answering them. "Maybe it's not my place to inform you, but I know damn well Michael won't do it. My brother has a habit of running away from his problems." "Yeah, no kidding." Harlow couldn't help but say, but the look that Sabin gave didn't leave room for anything more than those three words to escape. "I'm pretty sure Michael told you that we are cursed. Him more than us, if you don't know." Yeah, she'd figured that part out. "
HARLOW KNEW SHE'D FAINT WHEN HER STOMACH GAVE OUT. Micheal's teeth sank deeper into her skin, engraving her flesh with his essence. It felt like her insides were being replaced by some black hole, and then nausea crept from her abdomen to her head; that's when the world went black. She didn't know what happened after she fainted; it didn't seem necessary to her because everything was better than what awaited her when she woke up, but just like every time she had fainted in the past, she woke up.However, there was no Michael's insight. The person who had claimed her for the rest of her life, who had stolen that choice away from her, was nowhere to be seen. The only comfort was the unfamiliar white walls surrounding her; they weren't hers. Harlow was no longer in her room; the sheets on top of her body were silky soft, and dark in their appearance. They were much better quality than the plain white covers her mother had gotten her, but the luxury covers did nothing to ease the pain sh
"I'M SORRY...?" Harlow remained confused; had she heard him correctly. Did he say what she thought he said? If so, then...it was much weirder than what she had imagined him to say. "That's not possible."Michael released a strained chuckle, "Why is it impossible for you?""Because it is." That inkling of craziness within Micheal's voice rang in her head, that slight possibility that he'd known him before; maybe that's why her mother wasn't so pleased about him. Still, then again, that could also have been the fact that he was a crazed murderer that destroyed people's lives for absolutely no reason. It didn't change the fact that it sounded beyond crazy...and not to mention weird. To think that even when she was daydreaming about the time when she would meet him, it turns out she had known him since the day she was born.Surely she couldn't have missed the most significant part of her life. The thing she had always dreamt of had already happened, and
"GET OUT." With no hesitation, the words flew out of her mouth, and there was nothing Michael could have done to persuade her otherwise. That sickening feeling settled inside her, that feeling of deja vu, knowing precisely what he was doing here. It always was the same. The game Michael played with her head was never-ending; if only she could flip it around and play with his instead, too bad, she didn't have that power over someone like Michael. Michael's eyes were as dark as she had ever seen them, and there was a multitude of emotions swirling in them. His eyes watched her with a pang of sadness, a destress, and they scanned every inch of her body; the action had her a little uncomfortable. For someone who enjoyed hurting her, his emotions sure were fickle. The feeling felt so foreign on his face like it didn't belong there. Michael sat on her bed with the silence surrounding them. However, his eyes bored through her; they stared without ever wavering
HARLOW STOOD THERE NUMB, with shock, as she watched the last vestiges of life leave the small body. Seconds passed flew by, Harlow knew that her Wolf was howling at her, urging her to snap out of her trance, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the grotesque sight. As a werewolf, she had seen plenty of violence in her life, even heard about it. However, she has never witnessed something like this; the brutal slaying of a boy that was but a child. Death was something she was familiar with, but she had never experienced it; she had never seen what it was like to watch another person's soul leave their body. Judging by the size of the hole in his chest, his heart had been ripped clean from his body; that was one of the only ways to kill a werewolf. The more Harlow stared at the boy, the more her mother's face appeared in the forefront of her mind. Was this how she died? Was this how her heart was ripped out of her chest? Had Michael done this too? She didn't s
"Right, right. Yes, yes, we need to get home." The alarmed look on Mia's face didn't go unnoticed; both of them were startled. Hearing about another death wasn't something to take lightly. However, Harlow couldn't help her brain from questioning whether or not it was Michael's doing. He killed her mother; what's stopping him from Killing anyone else within this Pack? "And, quickly," Mia said. Harlow didn't waste any time; she stood up fast. Mia did the same, dusting herself off. "Let's go." Her mind didn't question the fact that it might have been Michael, she knew he had no heart, and it took her mother's death to realise it properly. Everything tragic that happened around here, Michael was the cause. At the corner of her eye, Harlow saw mia slowing her pace to match hers. It was no secret that she couldn't shift, and probably that's why everyone gave her those looks all the time, a look of curiosity but also a look that coul
"WHEN DID THE PAIN START?" Mia asked as she listened attentively. Her eyes at times would widen, and her eyebrows would scrunch up into anger whenever she heard what Harlow told her, and Harlow made sure to inform her of every detail, making sure she didn't leave any points out. Why would she? Mia Knew the most important secret she had tried to hide, so what else did she have to lose. "A few days after meeting him."Her eyes lowered, whispering cruse after curse words before her eyes met Harlow's. "He seems like a real joy." Sarcasm laced every single word.Harlow let out an uneasy laugh; she had to agree, he was the most harmful person she'd ever met, but it wasn't like Harlow could do anything about it, at least she had thought that until now. "Yeah, a real keeper. Don't you think?" Harlow replied."Oh, most certainly." With her own form of sarcasm, Mia said, "When did the dreams start?"Harlow wrinkled her eyebrows in co
THAT MORNING SHE ENTERED THE SCHOOL, it was different, and everything felt foreign. Harlow's gut couldn't help but think of what her Nan had said, 'I don't need history to repeat itself once again.' Harlow wondered what it meant, what did that have to do with her? "Hey." Mia's cheery voice made her jump. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Breathlessly, Harlow greeted her. "Hey." "You seem on edge today; you okay?" Mia asked genuinely, but Harlow didn't know what was genuine or what wasn't. So she chose to ignore her question, maybe because she didn't know what to say. What would she say? When she looked at Mia curiously, it suddenly clicked; Mia had been in this Pack her whole life. She must know something; Mia was the most knowledgeable and the nosiest person here, Harlow had come to realise. Her father was close with the Alpha and Beta, and she must've heard something about what was going on. So Harlow couldn't help herself; she needed t