I looked out the window, It was still raining.The downpour had ensued in the early hours of the morning. It wasn't as heavy as it had been initially, but the clouds were still dark and gloomy. At this rate, I was going to be late for school, again. I took out my phone to call Esme. The school bus must have been long gone. Maybe, just maybe I'd be able to hitch a ride with my bestie. "Eva, hey, what's up?""I'm stuck at home. Is there any chance you haven't left yet?"She paused briefly, and I heard some mumbling before she spoke again."Yeah, I'll come get you. Be outside your house in 15 minutes.""Okay." Once I heard the sound of a car pulling up in front of my house, I made my way outside. My cheeks went red as soon as I entered the car and saw who was driving. The car had tinted windows, and I had just assumed Esme would be in the driver's seat. I was terribly wrong and presently sat next to someone I could only describe as a Greek god. I turned to the back to see Esme sitting
I didn't see Kieran the next day, even when I went to his house to help Esme set up. It was hard trying to find out what had happened when I had such little to go with. I had spent the night before researching on rear conditions that caused changes in the eyes. Of course, I'd found nothing. I'd known Esme and Kieran for almost 2 years. In fact, I'd met Kierian first. They had just moved into town. It was a small town where everyone knew everyone's business. They stayed a few minutes away, and I'd heard all about the new family with the pretty sister and hot brother, but I had no friends or social life so, it wasn't till a month after that I met them. Something had happened that day when i first saw Kierian that I'd completely ignored until now. Esme had come to enrol at my school. Keiran brought her since their parents were out of town. They travelled a lot and I'd only met their mother once. I was walking out of the library when I saw him. I was smitten. You could call it love at
I was staring at Kieran, my eyes wide with shock. His back was turned to me as one hand covered his face. What was happening to him? My first instinct was to run in fear, but something else was pushing for me to stay with him. "Kieran? Are... are you okay?" I reached out to touch him."Don't touch me," he said icily. The coldness in his voice pierced my heart like thorns. He barely ever spoke to me, and when he did, it was never nice. Even then, his words seemed to be laced with a strong emotion directed at me.Was it anger?Why would he be angry at me? I hadn't done anything. Coming into his room was a mistake, but it was no reason for him to treat me so coldly.With a renewed sense of boldness, I went around him and placed my hand on his arm. "Did I do anything wrong?"He shrugged off my hand and walked to the other end of the room, still refusing to face me."Get out." His words stung."What?""Leave. Now!"His voice boomed at me, and I had no choice but to leave with nothing but
Home... it was a funny word. My house wasn't a home. It was just a building with four walls, from which I took shelter. It wasn't a large apartment. We weren't rich, but mum basically worked her butt off, and being an only child meant I could basically have whatever I wanted. Laying on my bed, I felt like a piece of decoration in my own house. Esme called later that evening to tell me she had my clothes from last night and she'd cleaned them up for me."Oh, thank you, I'll come get them myself tomorrow,""I don't think you need to stress yourself, I'll just bring them with me on monday,""Oh no, it's fine, I'll actually be passing through there tomorrow. I... have a date.""How am I just hearing about this? Who's the guy?" Esme bubbled over the phone"Yeah, this is why I didn't tell you. It's not a big deal. He just had an extra ticket and happened to bump into me in town." "Who is it?""James""Ooh, he's not too bad on the eyes,""Oh my God, goodbye, Esme." I heard her giggle as I h
There was a stillness in the atmosphere. The silence was deafening, and I could hear my heart beating fast despite my efforts to calm it. James had returned to the car, leaving me outside as my mind was spinning over multiple possibilities but never really focusing on one.We were close to the forests. Too close.I was suddenly overcome by an unnerving feeling. Were we being watched? I looked around, breaking my self-induced trance. The trees on either side of us stood tall and strong. There was a familiar sensation as I focused, deep between those trees, I saw eyes staring at me through menacing red slits. They weren't human.There was a loud howl before James jeered me to get into the car. My mind wasn't fully itself yet, but my body responded quickly. In one second, the car was in motion. We were speeding along the quiet road."Are you okay?" His voice startled me. I was scared and I didn't know why.I willed myself to speak, but I couldn't get the words out, so I gave him a little
Just then, James returned with his dad. I peeled my eyes from the woman, focusing on the reason I'd come."sheriff Smith, good afternoon.""Eva, how you doin', James here told me you needed some news articles for a uh, an essay?""Yes, sir.""Okay, you can check our old records, James will take ya,""Come on," James nudged me, and I followed him down the corridor and into a small office by the left. The room was filled with shelves. Stacked on each shelf were books and old news articles. The room wasn't dusty, a sign of regular cleaning. The only furniture in the room was a desk and two chairs on opposite ends of the table. They still looked brand new. Perhaps no one was actually posted in the office. "This is the storage room. Well, one of them. This place is accessible to the public under the right circumstances. The main storage room for sensitive information is elsewhere." I looked at all the work before me. As I advanced further into the room, I saw that the files were properl
I sat at the dinner table with my mother. She had insisted that we have dinner together. I, on the other hand, wanted to go back to my room and wait till she left again. "I didn't hear you come in. How long have you been around?""A while," I replied curtly. She looked up at me momentarily as she dished out some mashed potatoes on my plate. "I made your favourite. I'm sure you'll love it."I didn't respond."How has school been?" She was clearly trying to make conversation, but I was not in the mood."Well, I'm not failing any classes, so I guess I'm good."Silence ensued as we ate our dinner in silence. "I'm sorry I couldn't reach out to you. Work has been really hectic lately.""So hectic that you practically abandoned your own daughter for a week," "Eva–"“It's the truth mum. You're hardly ever around, and when you are, it's the same story. It literally sounds like you're saying oh I'm sorry, I just got so busy and forgot I had a daughter to take care of.I didn't know what cam
There was a smell of burnt wood in the air all around me. I found myself coughing and gasping for air at the same time, as the thick fumes filled my lungs. I was lying on the ground. I heard the screams of people and promptly, l got on my feet and ran away, trying to put as much distance as possible between myself and where the smoke was most thick. There were dead bodies everywhere I turned. It was gruesome. Charred lifeless remains of the innocent. I saw people, men and women, and children all around me running for dear life, while a few others battled against the fiery mass, which was quickly engulfing everything in its path. I recoiled at the sight before me and fell to the floor as I was hit by an overwhelming sense of nausea. I couldn't hold back as I puked out the contents of my stomach. By the time I looked up again, I saw that the fire had been put out. All that remained as evidence was the cloud of black smoke, gathering above the place.All of a sudden, it felt as thoug
Just then, James returned with his dad. I peeled my eyes from the woman, focusing on the reason I'd come."Sheriff Smith, good afternoon.""Eva, how you doin', James here told me you needed some news articles for a uh, an essay?""Yes, sir.""Okay, you can check our old records, James will take ya,""Come on," James nudged me, and I followed him down the corridor and into a small office by the left. The room was filled with shelves. Stacked on each shelf were books and old news articles. The room wasn't dusty, a sign of regular cleaning. The only furniture in the room was a desk and two chairs on opposite ends of the table. They still looked brand new. Perhaps no one was actually posted in the office. "This is the storage room. Well, one of them. This place is accessible to the public under the right circumstances. The main storage room for sensitive information is elsewhere." I looked at all the work before me. As I advanced further into the room, I saw that the files were properl
Just then, James returned with his dad. I peeled my eyes from the woman, focusing on the reason I'd come."Sheriff Smith, good afternoon.""Eva, how you doin', James here told me you needed some news articles for a uh, an essay?""Yes, sir.""Okay, you can check our old records, James will take ya,""Come on," James nudged me, and I followed him down the corridor and into a small office by the left. The room was filled with shelves. Stacked on each shelf were books and old news articles. The room wasn't dusty, a sign of regular cleaning. The only furniture in the room was a desk and two chairs on opposite ends of the table. They still looked brand new. Perhaps no one was actually posted in the office. "This is the storage room. Well, one of them. This place is accessible to the public under the right circumstances. The main storage room for sensitive information is elsewhere." I looked at all the work before me. As I advanced further into the room, I saw that the files were properl
Esme hadn't returned to the mansion after almost 2 weeks and at that point, everyone was worried. She was practically missing and none of the calls to her phone were going through. Mine and Kieran's mating ritual was happening soon too and it wasn't something that could be postponed. Everyone hoped that she would return before then.But there was no luck. It was the night of the ritual and Esme was still missing. "You look beautiful, Talia told me as she prepared me for the ceremony. I still didn't know exactly what was meant to happen. Esme was supposed to tell me and I never got the chance to ask Kieran. So I was basically going there with no clue of what was supposed to happen. "I'm so nervous" I admitted."Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do great.""Thanks Talia"She smiled at me before she led me outside the mansion where the ritual would happen under the light of the full moon. She escorted me like a brie going down the alter and like a groom, Kieran was waiting at the e
Lying on the floor was the same water that had given me directions to the bathroom. He was sprawled out on the floor, covered in his own blood.I let out a scream, but Kieran quickly held me and pulled me back so I couldn't see the body anymore. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right here with you. Nothing is going to happen." His voice was soothing, and he succeeded in calming me down."Come with me." Kieran led me back outside, and he notified the manager. Soon, the place was filled with cops. They questioned me, and I told them exactly what had happened. "Are you okay?" Kieran asked me while we waited for the cops to let everyone go."They threatened me, and then they used that poor man to send a message. What kind of people play with the lives of other people like that?" "Rouges can be quite brutish in their ways. They'll go to whatever lengths to prove a point. Whoever did that was here tonight, and they probably slipped out before we even saw the body" "That poor man did
Lying on the floor was the same waiter that had given me directions to the bathroom. He was sprawled out on the floor, covered in his own blood.I let out a scream, but Kieran quickly held me and pulled me back so I couldn't see the body anymore. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right here with you. Nothing is going to happen." His voice was soothing, and he succeeded in calming me down."Come with me." Kieran led me back outside, and he notified the manager. Soon, the place was filled with cops. They questioned me, and I told them exactly what had happened. "Are you okay?" Kieran asked me while we waited for the cops to let everyone go."They threatened me, and then they used that poor man to send a message. What kind of people play with the lives of other people like that?" "Rouges can be quite brutish in their ways. They'll go to whatever lengths to prove a point. Whoever did that was here tonight, and they probably slipped out before we even saw the body" "That poor man did
I was looking forward to mybdate with Kieran. I didn't do anything fancy, especially because I didn't have any nice dresses that could fit my baby bump. Talia managed to find me a cute summer dress that fit perfectly. and she helped me with my hair and a little bit of makeup."It seems Kieran is really putting in the extra effort," She said"Yeah." "I'm happy for you Eva, you deserve to be happy." I smiled at her through the mirror as she helped me detangle my hair. Kieran knocked on my door at exactly 7:40 pm."Are you ready?" "Yes, I am,""Shall we?" He offered me his arm to take, and I did so gladly. "Where are we going? I asked him as he held the car door open for me.""You'll see." I still hadn't seen most of Blackbourne since I mostly went from home to school and back, and the route the took was on the opposite side of the roads I was more familiar with. Wherever it was that we were going, I felt safe knowing that I was with Kieran. We ended up at a high-end restaurant ove
"I'll admit there's definitely something there," I told Alaric. I didn't want to admit just how deep my feelings were. Alaric laughed. "See, I knew it. You could only play hard to get for so long. Eva's a great girl. Treat her right," He said seriously. I knew I hadn't been fair to her since we'd met, but I intended to change that. I made up my mind that once she recovered and woke up, I would take her out on a date. And then I'd confess to her how I really felt. "You know what? I'll tell her. I'm going to ask her to give me a second chance, and I won't hurt her again." "You better not because Talia's told me to break every bone in your body the next time you hurt Eva's feelings. "I won't. Not again." While we were talking, Leah came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I made eye contact with Alaric, and he cleared his throat and excused us. "What is it, Leah?" "I miss you,""What do you mean? You see me every day.""Barely. You're always with Eva. Just because she
4 months passed, and I was already in my last trimester. Plans were underway for the mating ritual between me and Kieran. The pregnancy had begun to weigh me down more, something about carrying a wolf baby. The doctor said I would only get weaker because the child was taking more of my life force as it grew bigger. I still didn't know its gender because I wanted it to be a surprise. I twisted in bed and let out a grunt."Be careful, Eva," Talia said as she rushed to help me into a more conformable position. "It's fine, I'm fine. Just...""Extremely weak?""Yeah, that." "I'm really worried about you. You still have 2 months before you have to deliver, and you already look halfway dead. The baby is taking too much from you." This had been Talia's Countenance since the doctor first told everyone about the baby taking up my own life force."It's okay, Talia. I already made it this far. I'll be fine, both me and the baby. You'll see" "I'm just worried about you," "I know." I sighed
James' confession and declaration of love caught me by surprise. I wasn't sure what to say or how to respond. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything just yet. I just wanted you to know" He looked out the window, and silence filled the car for a moment before he spoke again"Did you come alone? Do I need to drop you back?" "Oh, umm... no, I'm not alone. I'll just call him now." I brought out my phone, and Damien picked on the first ring."Hi, can you come pick me up at town Square?""You left the woods on your own?" "Yes, I just wanted to go for a walk. Just come now so we can go. I'm tired already. And not to mention hungry." The pancakes had barely done anything to my slowly growing tummy."I'm on my way,""We could grab a snack if you're still hungry. We're right outside the bakery." James suggested "Oh yes, thank you! That would be great. Just get me the best pastries they've got." James chuckled, "Yes ma'am." James was back very quickly, and I munched down on one of the