"HARLOW, SWEETHEART, YOU HAVEN'T EATEN ANYTHING. Is something wrong?" Her Nan asked again for the second time. Harlow cautiously lifted her brown eyes to better glance at her Nan; the wrinkles upon her face had shifted as they manoeuvred her facial expression; worry and concern was the only thing left.
"I'm just not hungry anymore." Stretching a forceful smile, Harlow nodded. However, her eyes shifted to the only person within this table that sat next to her Nan, silently sipping on soup. She couldn't believe how unbothered her Mother was acting like she hadn't just been in the same room as Michael Collins. Suddenly, the hunger she felt wasn't for the food but the truth. "May I be excused?"
"Sit down and eat." Nan only nodded; however, the tension didn't go unnoticed. Harlow craved some time alone all of a sudden, but it seemed that it wasn't written in the cards. Her Mother's tone was cold and detached, a command.
THE MOON GRACED THE SKY AS IF SHE'D HAD SOME BRIGHT IDEA,something brilliant needed to shine upon the Earth. Harlow watched it through her window, her mind clogged with conflicting thoughts as she waited patiently for Michael. Indeed, he would come. He has to come; he has to. He made a promise and vowed to keep it. "He has to..." She sighed under her breath, but deep down, she knew that wasn't true because that night, he didn't come, even though she prayed he would. Michael didn't seem like the person who would keep a singular promise; he was Michael Collins. That much should have given away the person he was. To say she wasn't disappointed would be an understatement; it was another thing to add to her list of disappointment. "Asshole." That was the last word she said before Harlow had to have enough of waiting around, feeling like a Moping puppy. Abruptly she sat off her bed and began to prepare herself for sleep. If Michael
HER FOOTSTEPS WERE SLOW, painfully slow; she dragged them behind her as she made her way to the only place she dreaded, the headmistress office. Harlow's heart had stopped at just the mention of her name; once again, Fate put her in a position where she didn't quite know what to do. The hallway seemed empty; its dull colour was even more gloomy than usual; something felt odd. Strange even, and she couldn't get rid of the intuitive feeling that something terrible was going to strike her when she least expected it. The air around her chilled tremendously, and the lights flickered. Immediately her footsteps faltered; a rising suspicion began to cluster her.In the hallway sat ice.A significant, thick frost seemed to cover the walls, sprinkling its cold crystal gems proudly, and her gasp came out in hot huffs as a chill rushed through her; a striking fear engulfed her existence, inherently her head turned around, looking as if she detected s
SABIN, THE MANY WHO KNEW OF HIM, FEARED HIM. He sat on his chair, staring at the girl presumed to be his brother's Mate. It came as a shock for everyone, including Michael himself. He'd heard the rumour but brushed them off as simply just rumours, theories.He'd travelled from the human lands—New York to here, Crescent Pack territory with only one goal: Pandora's box and destroying it, it held the only thing all his brothers desired most. To break free from this curse. All right, two goals. So far, no luck. But he had found Michael and Kane, who had walked away from him thousands of years ago. Brothers he'd once fought beside. Brothers he'd once loved.Brothers who now hated him.He sighed. Since his arrival three days ago, he'd caught a glimpse of Michael here and there but hadn't made his presence known, unsure of the reception he'd receive. Would he be attacked on sight or embraced as the prodigal son?Damn, but he almost fea
DAMN, DAMN, DAMN.Time had gotten away from her, and Harlow had become entirely engrossed in the dread within her.'This was bad, really, really bad.'She walked towards the place she called home; her house stood right in front. Ironically, the moon dapples its light upon the place where she thought it was safe. Shinning bright in the darkness, the sun had gone down, and it was then she realised that she had been gone for a few hours. Maybe even a whole day. One thing was sure, it was past her curfew, and her mom would kill her.At this point, she couldn't stop the hate she felt for herself. The fact that these people were making her do something that potentially would endanger her family and friends' lives had her fuming. Yet, at the same time, she was scared. Harlow stopped and thought of a way she could get away from the man following suit behind; another obvious thing was that he knew Michael. Which wasn't much of
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO HIM?"It was as if she had retreated inside of herself; instead of being there with Matt, she watched in the same way someone would watch television. It's as if the sounds were arriving in her brain from far away, far away, and her touch is somehow disconnected. And so, she told herself repeatedly that everything was going to be okay.Yet, it wasn't. Not even a little bit.She was scared shitless. That feeling someone gets when they don't know what to do, how they ended up here and what the future offers.The worst part about this wasn't this situation, but it was now the sudden realisation of just how close to her house these people were, it was so close, and the thought alone scared. While she was worried about herself, never stopping to think about the potential threats could be just almost the corner. Damn, how had her life shifted for the worst in m
SABIN DRAGGED HER OUT OF THE ROOM. Leaving Matt's sleeping body behind.Hurrying down the narrow hallway, she started to panic once again. Would they hurt their fellow Pack-mate? They couldn't. She had family in that Pack; her nan and mother were a part of this Pack."Harlow, You need to move faster."A loud growl came, and she stopped, nearly toppling to the ground from Sabin's hold on her arm. She took one look over her shoulder, only to see a grey wolf crouched down in the hallway; his ears were flattened, and drool dripped from his sharp teeth. Sabin cursed under his breath when the werewolf suddenly decided to sprint its way to them. Protectively, she was pushed back, bumping into the nearest wall.Harlow gritted her teeth together; seeing Sabin's broad shoulders made her stiffen in anger; this was his fault. What was he going to do? Was he going to use that demonic power he had or was he going to shift
EVERYTHING HURT. Opening her eyes, she felt the wetness on her cheeks as she squinted up at the harsh lights shining down on her. Harlow couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu wash through her. She'd experienced something similar to this before. A groan left her lips, cringing at the pain in her body- the most pain came from her head and her gut, which was most likely from the burning pain, followed by the darkness that was always welcomed by her body. It was far better to be unconscious rather than conscious. 'Why does this keep happening to me?' Her lungs felt as if an endless amount of cigarettes damaged them because she was struggling to breathe for some odd reason. 'Oh, God.' Sucking in a deep breath, she tried sitting forward but couldn't. Something thick held her down; they were clinging on her wrists and ankles. Panic overwhelmed her, and she released a small cry; she attempted wiggling out of the straps, using her puny strengt
"LOOK, THIS WASN'T MY IDEA," Kane spoke the silence, breaking the silence in the cramped room. Numerous thoughts were swarming in her head as she rocked back and forth on the other bed, hugging her legs to her chest. About an hour ago, a man had entered the room and, ignoring her pleads, placed a tray of food at the end of their beds. Harlow almost heaved at the sight of them; the bread, milk, cold vegetables, and a burrito appeared to be expired. She didn't even bother touching it; for all she knew, it could've contained poison or drugs. Kane had sniffed his bread before tossing it across the room with a sigh. Now, the two of them were in their provided, uncomfortable beds listening to the occasional passing footsteps outside the door. She gritted her teeth together. "Honestly, I could care-less about your stupid ideas right now, Kane." "I know you're curious, Dollface," he replied earnestly, tossing the bouncing ball back and forth in hi
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