Chapter 1

Benedicta's Pov

"I've had a long day, Paul. Could you turn down your shitty sounds? No one fucking wants it."

Seeing no reaction even as I yelled out, I grabbed the pillow under my head and buried my face in it. But still, those irritating growlings and scratching sounds couldn't let me be.

"Fuck you, Paul!"

It had been a hectic day at work, all I craved was a decent sleep in my comfort zone. But no. That annoying boyfriend of mine wouldn't care.

"I'm gonna throw your ass out. You should respect my private moments, you jerk."

Drowsily rising off my bed, I squinted at the silhouetted figure peering through my open window. For starters, I never open my windows while sleeping. Like never.

"Is that you, Paul? What game are you playing at this unfriendly hour?"

Seeing my gaping window in the middle of the night was the beginning of creepy stuff, even though I kinda acted cool about it. When I gently slid out of my bed, the drowsiness vanished that instant after seeing the massive figure. My jaws slackened as I stared wide-eyed at the creature standing upright on its hind legs.

"What the hell is that?" My intuitive mind pushed me further. "I'll be damned."

The furry creature's large head was in the shape of a canine. Long spikes ran down his slightly hunched back to its glittering tail. Though it was of an animal, its legs were muscular just as a human male would. And it was about seven to eight feet tall. It bent its head to get a better view of my room as if he owns it. Looking at the furry creature closely, it could weigh a lot. Like a whole lot to dare mess with it.

I didn't wanna get to that moment when I got a glimpse of the dangling tail between its legs. I looked away but then slowly brought it back to the creature. This time, it was his face. God, those jagged set of teeth guiding those thick fangs on the top and bottom of its mouth, sent shivers down my spine.

"Mate…" And it spoke.

A foreign language.

I gasped when I heard him let out that single word. My heart raced as it spoke again in a rough harsh voice. But as it extended its large clawed hand toward my stunned face, the door burst open.

"They're coming, Benedicta. Grab all your stuff right now."

One second, I snapped my head around at the panicked Paul who clutched a towel around his waist. But when I looked back, the creature was gone. Shocked by the sudden disappearance, my eyes darted around in search of nothing.

"Did you hear what I fucking said? Gather your stuff and let's go."

"Did you-did you see that?" I pointed at the empty window oozing in chilling air.

As the breeze got stronger, so did my confusion. Paul hurriedly stuffed a large backpack as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Wake the hell up, Beni," Paul yelled, startling me off my trance. "What is wrong with you?"

Without saying a word to Paul, I followed him like a doll as he led me out of the room through a secret passage. As soon as the bookshelf silently closed, he pressed my face against his bare chest. In there, we heard things getting destroyed from the other side.

"Find them. They haven't gone far." That deep scratchy voice penetrated the walls. "Search the bushes. As ordered, bring her alive."

"Yes sir."

The search continued for what seemed to have lasted forever. Paul took my face which had probably turned white as a sheet. He gazed into my eyes and planted a soft kiss on my lips. We tried as much as possible not to make a single sound to avoid being caught. That raw fear made us control the strong beat of our hearts.

Moments later, the whole place became dead silent. Hopefully, they are gone. The set of people who made me regret why I ever came to that town. The kind of people who made me feel like I made the worst mistake risking my life to get that glittering stone.

"We can't stay here any longer. Come on, I'll take you there."

"There?" I detached my trembling body from Paul's arms and stared surprisingly at him. "You mean that creepy place? Are you high, Paul?"

Paul sighed exasperatedly. He glanced at me as he unwrapped the towel from his waist and then spread it on the dirty floor. My body heated that instant while watching Paul's Johnson dangle around.

"What?"

He shrugged and sent me a naughty smirk. I could tell what was going on in that rotten mind of his by merely looking at that hot body. Paul was no doubt a good looking guy.

"This isn't the time for this." I bit my lower lip and spun around. "You shouldn't be naked right now."

When I slowly glanced behind me, Paul was already sitting on the towel. His legs were spread out wide. Fuck, I couldn't get those…out of my mind.

"Are we gonna just stand or sit and cuddle away the tension?" He beckoned me over with his finger. "Come here, babe. Come to Daddy."

"We could die tonight and you're looking…"

"What?" He wet his lips as he roamed his eyes over me.

"Looking…fresh. You know what that does to me, right?"

It took all of me to be able to escape his temptation. As I reached for the door of that secret passage, I felt Paul's hands wrapped around my chest. I quickly grabbed his hands and turned the knob.

"I'm being serious, Paul. We should be heading out somewhere safe before they find us here."

"Are you doing this because of them or because you just don't want my dick. How long are we gonna play house, Benedicta? When are you gonna let me taste your honey well between those killer legs? I'm your boyfriend for fuck's sake."

I let out a weary sigh and opened the door a crack. Without looking at the furious Paul, I said to him with a low tired voice, "This is not the time to pick a fight, Paul. Please."

"That's cool then. I see you wanna die a freaking virgin. I'll just go and get a girl that isn't gonna play a fucking hide and seek game with me."

"Can you hear yourself, Paul?" I tried to keep my voice down to avoid being detected. "Another girl because we haven't had sex yet? Seriously, Paul? Tell me how sex is supposed to be the main priority in a relationship."

"Sex is important to me. You aren't a nun and I'm not a fucking priest. We should be fucking this tension off our bones, not seal our legs."

That look of strong disgust plastered on Paul's face couldn't be erased. His impossible demands kept on rising as our relationship added a plus. As usual, I ignored him and let him sulk all he wanted as we hurried out. That was a spot no one knew, other than Paul.

"You didn't get the towel?"

"It's packed with gems now. Couldn't risk that on my skin."

With a dropped jaw, I watched Paul sling the backpack over his shoulder and carelessly jog through the dirt road. The blinking lights from the broken lightbulbs hung on short poles could barely light the way. I looked behind me to take one last glance at the home I had. The exhausted sigh I let out stopped my heart.

"Are we going there? We're gonna die if we do."

Paul abruptly stopped. He slowly turned and squinted his eyes at me. Then he said in that deep raspy voice, "You're going, Beni, not me."

"What? Why?"

"I love you but it seems like I'm just wasting my time with you. You're the one they're looking for, not me. You go out of town, which I'm pretty sure would be safer compared to here. Try to stay low there to stay safe."

All the while Paul spoke, my heart raced. I couldn't say a word to him. Then I stood there like a rock when he pulled me in for a tight hug. He turned around and left afterward. My eyes bulged.

"Did I just get dumped…again? What is this?"

Later, while perched at the edge of the Beast Land, my eyes nervously darted around. The whole place seemed too quiet for it to be a safe place to pass the night.

"What do I do now? Maybe I should make a tent here and see how it goes."

So I did mount that tent there after a whole lot of consideration.

"I should stay here for now. There's nowhere else that I could go to anyway." I shrugged, laid down and tried to get a little sleep before morning falls.

Just a little into my slumber, a sound that resembled something heavy running toward my way snapped my eyes open. The steps were dangerously heavy and frightening. Without a second thought, I frantically stuffed a few of my work stuff into the backpack. Cold sweat broke from my body as the shivers down my spine got stronger.

"Oh shit." I jumped to my feet as disturbing growls fell into my ears from a short distance. "They're here, they're here. Oh God, no."

As fast as I could, I gathered all I could grab, but before I could get the glowing liquids in a vile, the tent was clawed open. A sudden yelp rushed out of my chest. I quickly covered my gaping mouth.

And now, I cowered on the ground. Waiting for my life to be slaughtered as the town's people say. When I dared to look at the snarling beast, I was startled. It was the same kind as that one that stood by my window.

But this time, steaming saliva dropped from his mouth.

"Mate?" The creature spoke.

Its voice sounded like the scratching of nails on a chalkboard. It was deep. Rough and raw. A deadly combo. How could it speak? How could such a creature be standing in front of me?

As soon as it got too close, one last step before grabbing me, it leaped back when it stepped on something. I looked down. It was one of the test tubes with screw caps I had been working on that the creature just smashed. When I looked back up at the beast's face, he started to appear human right there before me.

"This is crazy. How…" My eyes popped out.

The sudden screeching sound from the beast jolted me back to my senses. I grabbed my stuff and quickly fled the scene. As I ran for my dear life through the unknown path, I could still hear the ear splitting cries from my tent. Then suddenly, I was grabbed at the back of my neck and lifted off the ground.

"What black magic did you use on me, witch?"

I froze as the harsh voice washed over my exhausted body.