Eight.

Elsa

“Inside!” He yells at me.

“What are you going to do?”

“It doesn’t matter. Lola, take Elsa inside.” His voice is low as he stares at the dead man. Mason's eyes shift between us. Lola quickly pulls me away.

“What is he going to do?” I ask, hoping that she would give me a clear answer.

“He thinks the man has been sent after you.” Her dark eyes refuse to meet mine. Her fingers fumble together as she bites her lip.

“Me?”

“It’s what you said. The man killed your father. Alpha Nate will most likely think he was here for you too.”

“How would he know where I am?” I had an eerie feeling that I was being watched.

Pulling the curtains closed, Lola raises an eyebrow at me.

“Is it because Nate bit me?” I ask, nervously.

“I don’t follow.”

“My stepmother was disgusted by Nate biting me.”

“He bit you, because you are his mate. That has nothing to do with the dead human.”

“He was the same man that killed my father. Maybe he got lucky and found the pack.”

She shrugs her shoulders at me. “The man knew what he was doing. Silver bullets and wolfsbane are the only things that can take us down.”

At least the stories had been right about one thing.

“Wolfsbane? As in the plant?” It sounded so pathetic. A single plant could be capable of killing me.

Lola nods her head. “Not so much the Lycans’ but us, well, it can be fatal.”

She takes my hands in hers. “Let Alpha Nate and the others deal with the problem. The man that killed your father is dead.”

“But the woman who paid him isn’t.” I snap. I still hadn’t accepted how my stepmother had set my father up. I don't think I ever will.

“Your time will come. Now, why don’t you watch a film with me. Take your mind off of what’s going on.”

I reluctantly agree.

It’s only as the film ends that Nate reappears. He runs a hand through his dark hair.

“I need to speak to my mate, alone.” He murmurs, his dark eyes don’t leave mine.

Lola quickly takes off, giving me a quick wave.

“I don’t want you going into the forest.”

“You won’t let me leave the house anyway. I got told off for sitting on the porch steps.”

“Elsa, I mean it. Until we figure out if more humans know about us, I’m not putting you at risk.”

It was strange. Going from a life of being beaten and tormented to one where my wellbeing was the highest concern.

“Is Kyra behind this? Is she the one who sent that man here?”

“You don’t need to worry about it.” The red ring around his eyes is bright. His gaze made me feel a little odd. “You will have a guard from tomorrow. When you are not with me, the guard will be protecting you.”

“I don’t need a guard. I will stay in the house.”

“It’s for my own peace of mind.” He mutters.

Pressing my lips together, I decide that it's best not to speak. It didn’t seem like it would be negotiable. I nod my head and a smile appears on his lips

He sits down next to me. The gentle thudding of his heart helped to relax me. But I couldn’t get the thought of Kyra wanting me dead out of my head.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I was becoming. Is it because I left? Is it because she was jealous? I could never have anything nice.

I feel his hand squeeze my thigh. “You’re overthinking.”

“I’m so angry.”

“Trust me. I know. I feel it.”

“You feel my anger.”

“I feel all of your emotions. Why do you think I woke up in the night to find you staring at me?” He gives me that crooked grin.

I frown at him and he just laughs. “Still so much for you to learn.”

His smile was infectious. I find myself grinning back at him. “You’re not worried about the man?”

“Humans try all the time to come through this part of the forest. They don’t like that it’s owned. Or that they are considered as trespassers. A few years back, Mason discovered someone trying to set up a tent. The guy was convinced that the forest must be haunted.” He lets out a laugh

“Why?”

“Humans come in, but it's rare they leave.”

“You kill them?” My stomach was in my mouth. I felt sick. The very idea that Nate might be killing people like me was too much.

“I don’t.”

He pulls me against him. Ignoring my moans of pain. I assumed it meant he was done talking. Any more thoughts on the matter, I would have to keep to myself.

“Will it hurt?” I ask quietly. “When I change into a wolf?”

“Yes.” He lets out a sigh. “The first time is excruciating. The shift takes hours.”

“Hours?” So nothing like I had read in stories.

“Just the first time. After that the shift happens in a matter of seconds. Anytime you want.”

“And then what happens?”

“You hunt. But I will be with you, keeping an eye on everything.”

“What if I don’t?”

“I don’t follow.”

“What if I don’t shift?”

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “It will. Whether you want it to or not, it will happen. The moment the full moon rises. The process will start. You will have no say in the matter.”

Somehow, I wasn’t convinced. It still all just felt like a made up story. That I was living in some kind of dream land.

“ELSA! Wake up, it’s just a nightmare!”

I hear my own scream bouncing off the walls as I open my eyes and see a familiar face.

Nate was hovering over me with a frown. “Elsa, I’m here.”

My tears run down over my cheeks as I throw my arms around him. My heart was racing as he held me close. My eyes flicker around the room as things begin to make sense. It was just a dream, just a bad dream.

“Does that happen often?”

I shake my head against his bare chest.

“You were dead.” I mutter as I suck in his scent. “She had a gun to my head.”

“Who?”

“Kyra.”

“I won’t let that happen. She will be dead before she gets anywhere near you. It’s just a nightmare. You are safe, you are with me.” He holds me back, forcing me to look into his dark eyes. “It’s not going to happen.”

It took me hours to fall back asleep. Even with his body pushed up against mine.

He had an arm draped over my stomach. A leg hooked over mine. But anytime I closed my eyes, I saw her with a gun, pointing it directly at my face.

The same nightmare plagued me all night. No matter what Nate tried, he would always have to wake me from my scream infested sleep. But the dream always ended the same way. With Kyra pulling the trigger.

Looking at myself in the mirror the following morning. I looked a state. My long dark hair was stuck out everywhere. Big dark circles sat around my eyes.

Nate's hands find my shoulders. “Stay in bed. You’re supposed to be resting anyway.”

The very thought of closing my eyes made me feel sick.

“I can cancel my meeting.”

“No, you said it was important.” I shake out my dark hair and start raking a brush through it.

He stares at my reflection and sniffs the air with a frown. Without missing a beat, he pulls up my pyjama top. The bandages had a blood spot that was quickly spreading.

Nate pulls me from the bench. Carrying me out of the house and to the small hospital. My protesting falling on deaf ears.

“What’s wrong?” He demands from Doctor Ally.

Nate refuses to leave as she unwraps the bandages. He stands there, glaring at the doctor.

“She’s ripped her stitches. I did warn you Alpha Nate. There should be no… physical activity until after the full moon.”

“Trust me, there hasn’t.” He mutters back. The red ring of his eyes seemed darker today. He still refuses to leave as Doctor Ally patches me back up.

I looked between them, trying to figure out what they were talking about. My jaw drops the second I realise they are talking about sex.

Nineteen and I was still rubbish at reading between the lines. I was so stupid.