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
“It is late, you should be on your way now” Mrs Danbury spoke casually, as though she had not just dropped a bomb on me. I got up and opened the door. It was getting dark already. Time had gone by too fast. I felt a sense of dread at the idea of walking through the woods at night, now more than ever when I knew what could be lurking in it. She placed a hand on my shoulder. I hadn't noticed her walking towards me. She seemed to notice my distress as she said, “you'll be fine” she spoke with confidence and I let myself be assured.“You should stop by again” she smiled as she held the door open for me. I only nodded as I left the hut. The door closed behind me, and suddenly, it was just me, alone in the open forest. I took some steps forward only pausing once to look back at the hut. It was almost completely dark, it was only bright enough for me to see where I was walking. As I ventured further, I started to feel strange. It was that eerie feeling once again. This time I was outside
It was exactly 8:25 pm and I was in the Lightwood mansion staring at Esme and Kieran who were seated across from me. The atmosphere was tense. I could feel it weighing heavier with each passing moment and the silence only grew louder. Esme said they would tell me everything and I was more than ready to hear it.“So…” I started slowly breaking the quiet. Kieran remained quiet while Esme looked at him before letting out a long sigh.“I really don't know where to begin. I mean… I know you already had your suspicions but I don't know how much you know”“Well… for a start, me thinking that Kieran isn't completely human is now much more than just suspicion” I looked at him he still didn't make eye contact. “Are you like that too?”“No” she replied hastily, her voice rising a bit before she reduced to a whisper “I'm not”I sighed, running my hand through my very tangled curls.“None of this makes sense. Why are you here? And that fire… did you live here before now? I mean, did you live in
Kieran felt like a completely different person that day. I had hoped I could stay in my room the whole day to ignore him and his cold demeanor but I found myself actually enjoying his company.He wasn't exactly being chatty or overly sweet but he wasn't being rude or mean and for once he wasn't acting like my mere presence disgusted him. After he'd met me at his door, he lingered a bit just staring at me with those piercing blue eyes before going back into his room and moments later, he returned with a charger. “It's a spare. Let me know if it doesn't work on your phone” “Okay”He closed the door and I stood there for a few moments trying to understand what had just happened. I limped back to my new room to charge my phone. Only then did I go through my messages. Of course I didn't have a lot of texts, I didn't have friends. I found one from James and I opened it. I wasn't sure what to say to him. James: Hey, you've been pretty scarce lately. I was hoping I could make an appointm
>As I laid on my bed facing the ceiling, my mind went back to the events of last night. I'd barely gotten any sleep and my mind had been restless ever since. Eva knew the truth now. Well, most of it at least. All I could think about was how little time we had before all of the truth would be revealed. The demons of my past would surely come up again and I wasn't ready to have that conversation with her. I picked myself up. Perhaps a cold shower would help clear my head. I closed my eyes as the cold water wet my hair and then trickled down my skin.It was one of those days when I found it harder to suppress my wolf. All I could do was think about her. She who I completely detested. When I closed my eyes I saw her and a part of me yearned to be with her. I groaned as I turned off the shower and then wrapped a towel around my torso. I put on some pants and tousled my hair a bit with the towel before placing it around my neck. I paused as I picked up on her scent. I c
People often preached forgiveness but I would never forgive or forget, not for as long as the moon controlled my nature.“I refuse to have this discussion. Let the pack know I'll be back when I fucking feel like it. I'm not going to be their little puppet” Alaric only sighed as he looked at me. He probably thought I was a lost cause. And he was right to think so. “Okay, take care Kieran” he said before leaving. My eyes fell on Eva where she laid. Of their own volition, my feet took me to her. Her molten red hair fell in perfect curls around the contours of her face with its dainty nose and smooth fawn skin. I mechanically reached to brush away the loose strands of her hair from her lightly freckled cheeks, giving me a clearer view of her rosy lips. My heart ached. It was torn between hatred and desire. “Why did it have to be you?” I voiced out my thoughts. I saw her eyes twitch a bit and then they fluttered open. Her eyes were the hue of the new spring growth, bright and soft al
I was restless that night.I stayed up staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. My eyes weighed heavy with sleep but I couldn't bring myself to close them. The wheels in mind kept turning and clicking. It was as though I was just coming to the realisation that I was now aware of the existence of an entire supernatural species. That night when they had told me the truth, a part of me already knew it. I only wanted a confirmation before I could allow myself to actually believe it. I wasn't myself for the most part of the day hence why it had taken so long for me to settle down and thoroughly think it through. I pondered on how much I still didn't know. Yes Kieran was a werewolf but what else? Was it some natural phenomenon or was there more supernatural stuff involved? It was also in that moment of thought that I remembered what Kieran and his friend had been talking about. He was supposed to tell me something and what had Kieran meant when he asked why it was me? What was I? How did
I had always wondered what my parents felt within the moments of my birth. Was I their little angel? Had they smiled when I was born? Or was I just their offspring? Had they been indifferent to my birth?I didn't have any memories of my father. I was still a toddler when he died and growing up, I didn't share the fondest moments with my mother. I had never really understood the meaning of my life nor had I ever bothered to question it. I had barely figured out my life as a human, I wasn't ready to become a werewolf. “Why didn't anyone say anything? It was a possibility from the start and neither of you thought it right to tell me?”My voice had started icy, increasing an octave with each sentence I made.“We didn't want to worry you with that–”“I'm not a child. If you chose to keep your life a secret from me that's fine, but this is my life on the line here, my future! I didn't particularly have any hopes or dreams but it's still my choice to live” The room went dead silent as I fi
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