Chapter Four

Later that night, I sat in bed eating popcorn and watching a romance/drama movie. Probably not the best idea considering what happened earlier but whatever. I had pulled my hair up into a ponytail and put on some pajama shorts that stopped just below my buttocks. I wore a sky blue t-shirt with the Mentos logo on it and no socks. It was quiet and peaceful in the house until I heard someone knocking at my door. It was a little after nine o’ clock so I wasn't sure who would be dropping by unannounced right now. I got out of bed and went to the front door.

"Who is it?" I asked in a voice loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear.

"It's Vasilios and Baltasar. We need to talk to you." He said with slight urgency.

What the hell did he think this was?

"There's nothing to talk about Vasilios! Go away!" I shouted back at them.

"Astraia, this is serious! You're in danger!" Baltasar said.

My eyebrows scrunched and I shook my head.

"Ha ha very funny! I'm not opening my door!"

I turned my back against the door and crossed my arms over my chest. He was feeling guilty about what happened earlier and now he wanted my forgiveness. It was a very bold approach, I’ll give him that. I heard something in the kitchen then, it sounded like the back door had slammed down onto the kitchen floor. I jumped like a scared rabbit and ran back into my room. Vasilios was actually telling the truth. I was certainly in danger. How could he have known that I was?

I wasn't leaving my house without my keys and wallet so I got those things in my hand as quickly as I could. I heard Vasilios and Baltasar yelling my name and beating on the door, pretty soon door number one was broken down as well and they came charging inside. I grabbed my keys and wallet from my nightstand before I ran back towards the front door.

That was when something the size of a baby elephant came thrashing towards me down the hall. It had large sharp claws and eyes like a cat. I couldn't hold it in. I screamed like a terrified little girl. Both Vasilios and Baltasar moved with a blurring fast speed to protect me. Vasilios speared the giant thing with his shoulder and Baltasar picked me up by my waist before turning and running out of the doorway.

"What the hell was that!?" I asked a little too loud.

Baltasar ignored me and went straight to my car instead of theirs. He held his hand out for my keys and I gave them to him. I was too scared to drive anyway. He opened the passenger side door for me and I got in. He went around to the driver's side and got in. Once we both put on our seatbelts he drove off, probably leaving tire marks on the street. I looked over at Baltasar with frightened wide eyes.

"What was that thing!? And why did you leave Lio behind with it!?" I shouted at him.

He kept his eyes on the road; He looked calmer than he should've been.

“He'll have to be the one to tell you what's happening. He forbade anyone to tell you anything..." He said.

"Forbade? You’re just as much of a man as he is. How can he tell you what to do?" I asked, becoming frustrated.

"It's not like that Astraia, you don't understand. I can't say, just trust me." He said, glancing over at me then back to the road.

He was putting all of his concentration into driving, that's how I knew things were bad and possibly going to get worse. I sat back against the seat and we didn't say anything for a while. I was wondering if Lio was dead, there's no way he could be alive. Whatever that thing was, it was willing to kill him to get to me. What had I done to piss someone off so bad that they'd send something to kill me instead of someone?

We arrived at Vasilios's house and parked at the far end of the driveway, closest to the road. I saw at least twelve people standing around in the front yard, their eyes were all for me. I recognized Kyra and two of the men standing in the crowd, but the rest were strangers. I huddled in my seat; I didn't want to get out of the car. Something wasn't right here.

"Coming?" Baltasar said, opening his door and tossing the keys into my lap.

I held them stiffly in my hand. He got out of the car and closed the door. I looked over at him, still frozen. When he looked back and saw that I wasn't getting out, he came over to my side and opened the door. I looked up at him, not moving. He frowned, tilting his head to the side sort of like a confused dog would.

"Astraia come on, they're not going to hurt you." He said, holding out his hand to me. I took it.

Baltasar finally got me out of the car and walked me up to the porch. Everyone's eyes followed me but they never said a word, which creeped me out even more.

We went inside, going straight to the living room. There were two beige colored sofas and a burgundy recliner. A projector sat on an end table facing the wall that led to the dining room. Baltasar turned on the ceiling light and sat down on one of the sofas. I sat down on the sofa across the room Indian style. I nibbled on my bottom lip nervously. Baltasar was staring at me expressionless and it was making me even more uncomfortable than I already was.

"Why are you staring at me like that? You're freaking me out." I said, looking away from him.

"Sorry, I was just thinking...How scary this must be for you." He said, resting his head on the back of the couch with a sigh.

I heard footsteps a few feet away, making me look up out of curiosity. Lisette was standing in the archway of the living room. She was wearing a strapless red negligee that was sheer with rose patterns stitched into the fabric. A red push up bra with matching boy-cut panties was very visible under the gown. What was the obsession with being half naked around here?

Her emerald eyes were staring at me with that same loathsome stare she’d given me when we first met. She strode into the living room, her shapely hips swaying with every step. Lisette looked even shorter to me, and I realized she wasn't wearing any shoes. Her feet were dainty and small. The blood red nail polish on her toenails looked bright against her pale skin. I was only a few shades darker than her, but I couldn't have worn all of that red. It just wasn't my color.

Lisette came and sat down next to me on the couch, her eyes never leaving mine. She was watching me as if she were hoping I’d run.

"You've caused us a lot of trouble. I'm not convinced you're worth it. I don't know what you've done to him girl, but you'd better back off."

By 'him' I assumed she meant Vasilios. I looked at her giving my own unfriendly glare.

"Whatever your problem is with me it’s going to have to wait. I have bigger problems than your jealousy right now. I don't want your precious Lio."

As I finished that sentence I realized it sounded like bull. I was lying, terribly at that. I knew it and so did she. Her sensual, purring voice returned but with a hint of anger.

"You're lying. You want him, you want him very much. Want to know how I know?" She asked.

"Lisette, that's enough. You know what Vasilios said." Baltasar said, looking over at her sternly.

Lisette looked over at him briefly and then back to me. She didn’t seem to care about his warning.

"I don't understand what it is he sees in you. Perhaps it’s that baby face, maybe. No, it must be the way you play innocent and pretend to be shy..."

She scooted close enough to me that her thigh touched mine. She reached behind me and started playing with my ponytail. This was way beyond my comfort level.

I started to get up from the couch but she grabbed a handful of my ponytail and forced me down into her lap. Lisette held my neck at a painful angle, forcing me to look up at her. Her other hand gently caressed my face. She was a hell of a lot stronger than she appeared to be.

Baltasar stood up and came to stand in front of us. I could hear his breath coming in heavy huffs.

"Damn it Lisette let her go!" He yelled at her.

She, of course, ignored him. "Ah yes, it must be those ghostly gray eyes."

She said, trailing her fingers just below my eyes. I was afraid of what she might do next, the mood she was in.

"Hmm… Perhaps I should pluck them out of your pretty little face? He wouldn't want you then, no one would."

She said, hovering her oddly sharp looking nail just above my eye.

Oh god, she was serious.

I heard the front door fling open and hit the wall before Vasilios came storming into the living room. I knew it was him because Lisette's facial expression changed. She looked happy and love struck; A shame that he came up to her and slapped the look of adoration clean off of her pretty face. The slap was so loud it echoed throughout the living room. Baltasar stepped back, seeing as he was no longer needed.

"Release her now Lisette, I won't tell you again." He said breathing heavily.

I felt Lisette let my hair go and I slid down off of her lap and onto the floor, trying to get away from the crazy bitch. I didn't look up at Vasilios, but I did spare a glance at the new scratch wounds all over his calves. I almost gasped when I saw how deep and jagged they were. I raised my head up to see thin lines of blood running down from what appeared to be three claw marks starting from the right side of his chest and ending at the left side of his waist. There were other claw marks on his arms and neck, but somehow his face was untouched. My mind couldn't make sense of anything anymore. How the hell was he still alive?

Lisette started to reach up to touch her face but suddenly stopped. She looked up at him with resentment as she slowly stood up from the couch.

The movement was so graceful and smooth it was like there were invisible strings lifting her up. She stood in front of him and started lowering her face towards the wounds on his chest, her mouth slightly opening. He didn't move; he let her close her mouth over the wounds. Lisette gently lapped at the wounds like a kitten with fresh sweet cream. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. Sort of like the car crash effect. A sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes before grabbing her arms and pushing her back. She looked up at him, her lips masked with his blood.

"Please Lio, you'll heal faster if I-"

Vasilios shook his head and looked down at her, making her stop talking.

"No Lisette. Go outside with the others, Astraia and I need to speak in private." He said, glancing down at me briefly.

Lisette's eyes turned hopeless and bitter.

"Why her? She's just a human! There's nothing special about her at all! I lay with you every night taking in your seed! Do I mean so little to you!?" She was nearly in tears by the time she finished her rant.

That did it for me. That last bit of information she could have kept to herself, but I knew she said it to hurt me. I stood up and started heading for the hallway.

"I'm done with this shit! Whatever it is! I'll take my chances with the monster in my house!" I shouted to no one in particular.

I was on my way out of the living room when Vasilios spoke.

"Baltasar, stop her…"

His voice was strangely neutral. Baltasar had me in his arms, pinning me to his body before I could get one toe into the hallway. I kicked and struggled but it was futile, his hold was like a steel straight jacket.

"Lisette go outside. I don't want to hear another word from you tonight, nor do I ever want to see you lay a hand on Astraia again. Understand?" Vasilios said.

She slowly looked over at me and I turned my head. "I understand just fine..." She said bitterly.

"Good. Baltasar, make sure Lisette stays outside until I join you."

Lio turned around to face Baltasar and me. Baltasar suddenly let me go and escorted Lisette out, leaving Vasilios and I alone. I looked at him then, waiting to hear what insane explanation he was going to let come out of his mouth. I watched him run his fingers through his silky black curls before he started walking closer to me. I backed up into a wall and he stopped walking in mid step.

"Astraia, there’s something you have to understand about us," He stepped a little closer then.

"No, stay away from me, Lio. I don't want to understand." I said, sounding as terrified as I felt.

He stayed about three feet away from me so I assumed that he got the hint.

"The night you ran into our territory started all of this. That beast attacked you at your home because it thought you were one of us, part of us in some way."

He said trying for a calm and coaxing approach; my mind was stuck on the 'one of us' part.

"I believe that beast was one of your pervert attackers and it remembered your scent. You are one of us now by circumstance alone."

He looked at me, eyes careful as if he thought I would start freaking out. All of the strange things he mentioned kept swimming around in my head. My scent...One of them...And how could a man be a monster? I finally formed the words in my head and spoke.

"What are you?" I blurted out.

"I'm the Alpha werewolf of this pack. We are the Clan of Iron Claws and these woods are our territory. The beast that came to your house was a wereleopard. The wereleopards are one of five clans in this state; we are all in a war for territory. Gaining more land puts a pack at a greater advantage. Keeping that land is the challenge." He said, sighing.

I felt myself sliding down the wall to the floor. My eyes were wide with shock as I tried to take in all that he had told me. He came to me then, crouching down in front of me. Our eyes met and he still held that look of concern.

"...Lisette, what is she to you then? The truth, Lio." I finally asked.

For some reason I wanted to know that more than anything else right now. I guess I wanted to restore some normality to the conversation. My brain's way of coping.

"She is the Alpha female, and up until the night we met I did sleep with her almost every night. She wasn't the only lover I took to my bed. As the Alpha, I have the right to take as many lovers as I choose until I select a mate from the pack. The one I choose becomes my mate for life. But I have not chosen Astraia. I swear I belong to no one here, especially not Lisette. She says all of these things hoping to make you lose interest and scare you away." He said.

I know I told him to be honest but he didn't have to lay it all down at once. My head was spinning. I covered my eyes with my hands to hide the fast approaching tears. I felt him touch my left hand and I turned my body to the side against the wall.

It was worse than I thought. Not only was he having god knows how many sex partners, he wasn't completely human. I wasn't sure which one I was having trouble accepting at that moment.

"Astraia, Astraia look at me." He pleaded with a voice as gentle and soothing as warm milk. I just shook my head no; I couldn't speak nor could I bring myself to look at him.

"Fine, but if you want to see what I am for yourself, you need only to look out of the window. There is a full moon tonight. We will change into our wolf form and hunt. When we are sated, we will roam our territory to be one with the night. I hope you will not shield your eyes from this truth..."

He left me in the living room still covering my eyes, trying to hide the truth. I heard the front door open and then close again. It was silent now and I sat there sobbing. I was mad, hurt, confused, and afraid all at the same time. I couldn't believe what was happening or what I’d just heard. Who would?

My world had turned completely upside down in a matter of days. I was sure no one else knew about them, what they were. Something this big would be daily news. I forced myself to get up and take the few steps needed to get to the window that faced the front yard. I had to see, I had to know if what he said was true.

I pulled the strings on the blinds and they lifted up slowly. All of the people I saw earlier were spread out around the yard staring up at the night sky. There were several others that had joined them. Vasilios and Lisette stood next to each other, looking up at the night sky as well. He looked over his shoulder at the window that I was looking out of; I think he was making sure that I was watching.

When he looked away from me, a loud howl escaped his mouth and the others echoed him. They all started to change form; their hands became elongated with claws and fur, their faces became elongated like a wolf's, and their bodies slowly shifted from human form to wolf form. It had to be as painful as it looked.

Fur flowed out from their skin and by the end of the change the yard was full of giant wolves the size of garages. My mouth opened in a silent scream, I was frozen. My doubts had been clubbed to death and now, I believed.

Vasilios's wolf form was beautiful. His fur was a deep gray with glints of silver shining throughout when the moonlight fell on him just right. Suddenly, they all took off into the trees. I felt dizzy and light headed. The last thing I remember was staring up at the ceiling from the floor.