The hotel room was bathed with sunlight when Kiera awoke. Her eyes stung when she opened them. They felt gritty and sensitive. She could feel how swollen they were from all the crying she did. Mikael. She couldn't believe that he let her down. She trusted him. She left home because he promised her that he would join her at the hotel. He didn't come or send word. He hadn't even bothered to answer her calls or texts. Kiera was devastated. She believed him with all her heart even when she was warned about him. She ignored all his red flags which proved what Kane had said to her about being with people who were emotionally unavailable and treated her poorly. Jared did the same thing to her and she forgave him time and time again. And the worst part was that Jared had never gotten into any physical fight with Kane. They never saw eye to eye but he was courteous to Kane. Mikael was openly rude to them and she excused his behavior. She blamed them. How would she forgive herself after wha
Kiera returned to her senses slowly. Pain was the first thing she felt. She couldn't even open her eyes because the back of her head was on fire and her neck was stiff. There was a heavy weight on top of her, there had to be. Why else couldn't she move? Something wasn't right. She felt threatened. It was Mikael who had hit her. That was her first coherent thought after struggling for a few seconds to sit up. He was standing behind her, seemingly to let her pass, and then she felt the hit and as she fell, he hovered above her. His face was a blur but it was him who had done it. She had numerous questions and the first one started with him. Why did he do that to her? Why would he hit her? To stop her from leaving? Why? A groan left her lips. Her mouth was dry. She opened her eyes and saw darkness so she wondered if she had even opened her eyes. Another thought occurred to her: what if the room was dark because the sun had set? She didn't know how long she had been out like a flame.
Kiera turned around and saw Mikael standing naked before her. She couldn't even scream. She was too shocked for that. Why did he follow her if he said she could go? Why was he toying with her?What did he want?"Please," she cried. "Leave me alone. Just leave me alone. What do you want from me? I haven't done a thing to you." She wanted to add that all she tried to do was love him but found it unnecessary and besides the question. That would be trying to reason with him and she didn't want that. He was standing naked in the middle of a hotel's corridor. Anyone could spot him. He was insane. There was no reasoning with someone like him. He grabbed her face and peered into her eyes. His thick brows were furrowed and his lips quivered. She was afraid of what he would do to her. She wanted to scream but had no voice in her. Her throat closed. She couldn't recognize her body. Fear had changed it. "Mikael," she said desperately. "Run," he told her. "Don't come back here. Remember what I
Time passed. Kiera was in and out of consciousness. Whenever she was conscious, she’d think of the dog that attacked her and panic. She would try to get up or scream but soothing hands would push her back down on the soft and warm surface (a bed?) and she’d feel automatically safe. She could never see anyone but her mind was filling in the gaps. It was on the fifth day that she woke up without feeling lightheaded. She didn’t know it was the fifth day but she was aware that she spent a long time resting. It was all she knew. She remembered everything that happened before the dog attacked her. Mikael. His strange confession. The machete. Everything. What she still didn’t know was why he decided to do such a thing to her. She looked around. She was in her bedroom. Home. She was glad to be home but her fear hadn’t left her. She looked down at her body but saw nothing because she was covered by her blanket. She tried moving her legs and felt pain shoot down to her ankle. She stopped mov
Kiera looked at Kane for a long time. She was waiting for him to tell her that he was kidding and they’d move on with the serious matter that they were discussing. His joke was tasteless and the timing was far from appropriate. She looked at Simone and saw that she didn’t react the way she would expect her to. Nobody said anything. Kane was looking at her as like he expected her to freak out. She finally said, “What the hell is this?”“I know this is hard for you to grasp,” he said slowly, as if he was talking to a child. “I’m going to try to explain this to you in the only way that I can.”Kiera ignored him and looked at Simone. “Simone.”She looked at her and then lowered her head. Firmly, she said, “This is for the best, Kiera. You’re confused now but you’ll understand by the time he’s finished. Listen closely and with an open mind.”Kiera scoffed. “He just said that none of us are human. What’s there to keep an open mind about? We’re talking about Mikael being a psycho here, for
"What about her?" Kiera asked.Kane and Simone exchanged another look and Kiera swore that she almost lost it. She shouted, "Tell me what it is about her! Tell me! I'm tired of the mystery and the riddles. Speak plainly!"Kane looked at her and said nothing. She groaned and stared at her lap. She screwed her eyes shut and ground her teeth together. Simone was rubbing her leg and Kiera had to admit that her touch calmed her despite the perplexing and nonsensical situation. She decided that she wouldn't ask any more questions. She wouldn't force Kane to speak. If he wanted to leave her in the dark she would gladly stay there. "Kane," his mother urged. "Let's get this done and over with. You already told her nearly everything."Kiera kept true to the promise she made herself and didn't encourage him. She was arranging the bits and pieces of the conversation they had so far in her head. Werewolves? It was hard to believe. It was unimaginable, actually. She tried to see Kane transforming
Kane’s decision to move her as quickly as possible had to be changed. Kiera was still recovering from the injury on her ankle. It turned out not being as bad as they thought it was. She would have to stay off her leg for some weeks but after that, it would be as good as new. They would have to clean the wound to prevent it from infection like any normal injury but other than that, she was alright. She got lucky. They were making preparations to leave, though, so as soon as they packed everything, they would go. Kane didn’t want to leave any of her father’s ‘souvenirs’ behind. He was more attached to them than Kiera would ever be. Now that she knew why her father stayed in holed up in his office for so many hours just observing the artifacts, she couldn’t look at them the same way again. It was twisted and sick, though she didn’t say the words out loud. There was no point in speaking her mind. Simone and Kane would disagree with her. They didn’t think there was anything wrong with hi
Kiera looked around at the office she had been in a million times. Perhaps even more. It looked different. She couldn't describe the changes as nothing had been moved, not that she could tell. But the room looked different somehow. Vacant. The light green walls looked greener than usual. The desk and swivel chair looked ordinary. The floor made a sound when she walked. She hadn't noticed that before. It was the little things. Even the numerous artifacts lining the shelves looked ordinary. They stared back at her with judgmental metaphorical eyes. She could only swallow and look away. Kane said, "Now you know the truth."The truth. It felt more like a tall tale, a sinister one. Yes, she had seen with her own eyes what Kane had become right in front of her. A beast. A clawed animal, just like that. Then he melted into his human body. It was all so natural that she couldn't find it alien when she saw him transform. It was strange to describe. She sometimes caught herself wondering if