Chapter 7: A Warning.

Aurora POV

"What the fuck?" I groaned, bringing my hand up to my pounding head, blood coating my fingers as I ran them over my scalp, wincing at a nearly healed cut that was making my hair sticky and forcing it to matt between my fingers. I had been jumped; I remember that. The last image I had before I gave into the darkness was the filthy face of the vampire from the bar! His face blurred in front of my vision before my eyes closed. The snarl on his lips and hatred in his eyes as he charged me had sealed this night's fate to sit at the top ten worst nights of all time!

Pulling myself up, I looked around the now-empty forest in confusion; everyone knew vampires never left their prey! So why had he jumped me and not hurt me, or was I missing something? 

"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth Aurora!" Ava barked at me, lending me strength as I forced myself onto my feet, my legs wobbling under the strain of my achy body. Gasping, I looked around me; the ground was painted in vibrant flashes of red and white. If it weren't for the metallic smell of blood assaulting my nostrils, I would say there had been a paint party in the middle of the woods. 

Narrowing my eyes on what looked like a coat hunched over a few feet away, I gingerly wobbled over to it, trying not to step in sticky crimson leftovers. 

"I knew I shouldn't have gone out!" I groaned, looking down in disgust at the headless torso of a male, his shirt ripped open and large teeth marks sunk into his shoulder blade and flank; he had evidently been torn apart brutally.

"Hungry?" Ava snickered, looking down at the body with intrigue while I sniffed the air, my nose scrunching up. 

"Vampire!" I snarled, shaking my head. "I'd rather eat my foot!" I spat, turning my back on the mangled flesh, when I saw a leg hanging by its thigh muscles at an unexpected angle from a branch on the tree in front of me. 

"Impressive!" Ava announced. "Humans really are the sickest species on earth!" She retorted with a derivative snort. 

"Something tells me a human didn't do this!" I mumbled, looking around slowly to see the rest of my attacker's limbs hanging from trees like party decorations. Sucking down the vomit that threatened to spill from my lips, my eyes settled on the lifeless eyes of the vampire from earlier; his head impaled on a post meant to mark the forest borders. 

"You think it was Alec or Hugo?" Ava asked nervously, her wolf senses roaring to the forefront as I scanned the rest of the dark woodland, now wondering how long we were knocked unconscious. 

"He wouldn't have gone to this much effort! Plus, I doubt they would have left us alive!" I expressed anxiously. 

"Maybe a warning of what is to come!" Ava whimpered as she looked through my blue hues, her eyes settling uncomfortably on the lifeless eyes of the vampire from the bar. I could feel the tension in her simmering, and I understood this whole night had shattered our nerves. 

"Let's get home!" I groaned, feeling eyes boring into my back and not wanting to chance an encounter with whoever the hell had ripped the vampire apart and scattered him all over the ground like fucking confetti. 

It didn't take long to speed walk back to the bar; I had considered letting Ava stretch her legs, but, ultimately, I didn't know who was watching me, and the last thing I needed was to give them a reason to attack me. So I decided to play the meek human instead, pulling my arms around me as I pretended to shiver in the cool morning breeze. 

Stepping up to the bar, I punched in the code and slipped inside the heavy door, surprised to find all the lights off. I guess the traumatic night had proven too much for Ollie, and he had gone straight to bed instead of having his usual after-party in the bar. 

"He is going to have so many questions for us tomorrow," Ava complained as I poured myself a large shot of tequila from the bar and shot it back without hesitation. Pouring another, I sighed, knowing she was right. I had two options: I could stay here and face the music or run! And now that the Azure twins had found me, I knew what I had to do. 

Throwing back the shot, I slumped back against the bar, lifting my eyes to look around at it with fondness. The worn bar with its sticky flooring that no amount of cleaning could fix, the booths that lined the walls desperately needed reupholstering, the walls were filled with Polaroid photos of all that came through and let their hair down here at Reds. Stag do's, bachelorette parties, bikers and office folk all socialising and enjoying the live music, cheap drinks and zero fucks given policy. 

As run down as Reds might be, it was always packed, and I would miss it and those who frequented it! 

"And Ollie?" Ava asked hesitantly, making me smile. 

"Yes, I will miss him too!" I smiled warmly, thinking of all our fun together over the years. 

"I mean, if we run, will he be safe?" She asked, but I could hear the suggestion in her voice. Would Hugo and Alec torture him for information on my whereabouts? 

"I...I don't know!" I whispered with a sigh. The old Alec and Hugo would never have stooped so low as to harm and torture innocent humans to get information. But the new versions I encountered tonight were unpredictable and dangerous, which was a concern.

"If we stay, we will be putting them in more harm than if we leave!" Ava admitted sadly, both of us knowing I was a danger to everyone right now! 

"It's not like they know where we live! We get paid cash; we leave no paper trail; we live above the bar for free and have a burner sim. We are untraceable!" I added, sucking down the sadness that washed over me; I didn't want to leave! I loved this bar and the life I had built for myself.

"Yet, he got your mobile number within minutes of seeing you! And Hugo has had your number for months", Ava voiced the same sadness echoed in her voice. 

"It might not have been Hugo who has been messaging me!" I grumbled, but we both knew it was; he had made that clear tonight when he called me little wolf, a pet name my psycho stalker used for me. He was leaving no doubt that he was behind my creepy messages.  

Pouring another shot, I downed it quickly, leaving the bottle on the bar; I headed up the backstairs to the flat above the bar, punching the code into the security system the door opened for me. Freezing in the doorway, I sniffed the air, inhaling deeply, my blood boiling when the familiar scent hit my nose. 

"Wolves!" I whispered, my eyes darting to Ollie's room; rushing to the door, I pushed it open to find his bed empty and the room untouched. He had not come home yet! Panic licked its way up my spine, making me shiver. 

"He is probably giving a statement to the police; he witnessed a man get murdered tonight, Aurora," Ava reassured me, and I knew she was right, but still, I needed to know he was ok. Walking across the open-plan apartment to my room, I pulled my phone out and checked the messages. Relaxing seeing multiple from Ollie and Meg asking where I was and letting me know they had to give a statement to the police. 

"Told ya!" Ava grinned in my head, rolling my eyes. I froze, cold seeping into my bones and exploding down my spine, seeing a little red crushed velvet box on my bedside table. It was rimmed with gold and glistened in the light from the lamp. 

"What the fuck!" I growled, recognising it instantly; I had seen it before in the hand of Alec as he got down on one knee to propose to me all those years ago. Crossing the room, I quickly snatched the box up, hoping I was mistaken, but as my eyes looked at the box, I knew I wasn't; engraved on the box was an A entwined with another A in elaborate swirls. 

Lifting the lid, I groaned, seeing the perfect gold wedding band with the exact engraving as the box symbolising our union; beside it, a beautiful sapphire engagement ring glistened in the light.

"Our wedding bands." Ava gasped!

Anger rippled through me, knowing the only way this could have gotten here is if Alec was in my room. The message hidden in this gesture made clear.

'Mine!'