Kiera had been waiting for over fifteen minutes when he arrived.She didn't mind the wait. It helped her clear her mind and figure out what to say to him. Should she tell him everything? It was a weight on her conscience and she wanted to share the burden with someone else. She couldn't take the pressure. It would have been better if she didn't talk to him about it but she didn't have anyone else.It was strange, but it was the truth.Back in high school, she had a small group of friends. They were all like her but they got along well enough. None of them went to the same college, though, so they lost touch. Kiera spoke to a few of them occasionally on Facebook but it wasn't the same, evidently. Their lives led them to different paths. One of her closest friends, Miranda, was married with a kid. She seemed happy, but she was the one that Kiera didn't talk to at all. She didn't know where it all went askew. It's yet another thing she'll blame Jared for. He never liked any of her frien
The front door was wide open so Kiera knew that they were home. She held her breath as she parked the car. She released it only when she was locking it. Her feet were moving before her mind could process what she was doing or intended to do. She wouldn't let the matter go, though. She would confront the problem head on and take responsibility like the adult that she was. She walked inside and looked right. They where in the kitchen. Her impression was that they had been discussing something heatedly before she entered. They were staring at her as if she was a stranger. It made her feel bad but she held her ground. "Where were you?" she asked. "I thought you left for good." "Why would we leave for good?" Simone asked. "This is our home. And you, Kiera, are family to us. We had business to attend to. We left early so we didn't have time to inform you.""Business?" she asked. "What kind of business? Why aren't you specifying? Since when do we keep things from each other?" As she said
Jared. Dead. Kiera couldn't believe it. She didn't know how long she had been laying on the couch. She lost total track of time. She couldn't wrap her head around the terrible news she had received and didn't care that it was the Sheriff who gave it to her. Something wasn't right. Jared couldn't be dead. Simone handed her a glass of water and she took it gratefully. She took small sips until she felt her head getting less lighter. She was sitting at the counter and Kane had left the kitchen to talk to the Sheriff. It had been ten minutes and he still wasn't back."Calm yourself," Simone said to her. Her voice was shrill and she was holding the cloth in her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. "You're going to faint again if you don't!""I can't," she said, touching her sweaty forehead. She felt hopeless. She couldn't remember feeling si terrible. "I can't deal with this, Simone. I don't know what to think, even. Jared can't be dead. He can't be!"Simone looked at her with p
Kiera looked back and forth between them."What are you talking about?" she asked after a painful moment of silence.Simone and Kane simply stared at her. Kane appeared to be more uncomfortable than her and she wondered once again what it was that Simone wanted to tell her that Kane disagreed with. It made no sense to her why she'd want to tell her something which he didn't.It tied her head in a knot."Kiera," Kane said, "we were talking about—""Mikael," she said sternly. "Yes, I heard you. What I want to know is why you were saying those things about him. What makes you so sure that he was the one who killed Jared?" That was what she gathered he said. She wasn't totally sure but she'd risk it and see if she'd nail the jackpot."I'm not sure of anything," he replied, matching her tone of voice. "You misunderstood me. Then again, that tends to happen when you listen in on other people's conversations."A frown pulled her brows together. "I wasn't doing it on purpose. I walked in on y
Kiera knew then that the morning wouldn't go well.From a distance, she could see that Mikael's brows were drawn together. It was like he was angry just by looking at Kane because he's who he was looking at since he was looking over her shoulder. And Kane...she didn't want to look at his face. She was terrified. What was Mikael doing here? He hadn't told her that he would be stopping by. "Kane," she said in warning, and he made her wish she hadn't said a thing because it was as if her voice triggered him. He walked past her and his shoulder brushed against hers. She set off after him but he didn't spare her a glance.He had the key with him. He opened the gate. Mikael began advancing and Kiera couldn't believe that she was witnessing her worst nightmare. She didn't know it was her worst until now. "Kane!" she exclaimed, grabbing the lapel of his coat. "Kane, stop!" "What are you doing here?" he asked Mikael. She cohdkng recognize his voice. There was an unmistakable authority seepi
Kane returned late in the night.Kiera couldn't believe that the day had passed like some kind of joke. The incident happened at around eight AM and she spent the whole day waiting for news or something. Anything. There was no call from Mikael and when she lost her patience and tried to call him, he didn't pick up. Simone tried to call Kane and the same thing happened.Her fear was palpable.She didn't believe that contacting the police was the right thing to do because it would implicate Mikael further. She felt bad for prioritizing him over Kane but she couldn't help herself. It was her heart's desire to protect him at all costs just as she had when Simone grabbed that rifle and tried to shoot him. She still couldn't believe that that had happened. She didn't even know that Simone could handle guns. Hours had passed and they said nothing to each other. It wasn't that she was tremendously upset at Simone for doing what she did. Perhaps she was still too anxious to process and inter
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 sat back in her chair and sighed. The sun was warm, a little too warm, but the one thing she loved about the sun was how it had the capacity of making her forget the cold days. It was almost as if the horrors she endured never even happened. The only reminder that they did was the empty space in her heart that belonged to Kane, and that would forever remain vacant. It took her a long time to feel normal again, even after finding out that Simone and Mikael hadn’t died that day. It was all a big shock to her, and although she had every reason to feel normal, she didn’t. She couldn’t get the image of Celia’s body out of her mind, and it was strange that that was the scene that haunted her the most, apart from the two of them cutting her neck with a knife and leaving behind a scar that she would bear forever. With Simone and Mikael’s help, though, she began feeling better. Leaving town helped. In fact, the change of atmosphere and the drastic improvement of the weather was enough
The hours passed. Kiera was growing more uncomfortable than ever. She didn't know what they wanted from her, not anymore. At first, she thought that they were going to kill her. Now, it felt like they wanted to torture her with the sight of Celia. He kept insisting that it was her fault that the whole thing happened. He didn't do much apart from repeating the same words over and over again. It was torturous. They sky was getting much darker, and soon, she wouldn't be able to see. The sky was moonless and heavy with clouds. The rain stopped, but the night was cool. She knew it would rain again. She could smell it in the air. What were they waiting for?What did they want from her? It was harder not knowing what would happen, she realized that now. If they had told her what the intended to do with her—explicitly—she would know what to expect. But it seemed like they were all crazy. She was surprised that two men managed to cause so much damage. Celia hadn't lifted a finger. She cou
Kiera was in the dark for a long time.Her eyes were hot and heavy with tears. It was bizarre how much things had changed in the space of five minutes. One minute, they were all there; alive and well. The other, they were gone. Simone was gone. She didn't know what happened to her, or where they took the car. She should have acted quicker when she found the man in the shop suspicious. Her own inability to act condemned her. She should have checked Mikael to see if he was alive. She shouldn't have panicked the way she did. Now, it was too late. She didn't know what to think anymore. She was being driven to a place far away without anyone around her that could possibly save her. She thought about it, but her thoughts were as hollow as her. She couldn't hold onto them and attach importance to them. They were just flowing through her like water. She would be at their mercy, and she didn't even know who they were. She suspected that it had to do with the pack Simone destroyed, the DarkWa
It was time to go. They left the next day. Simone was far from recovered, but she insisted that they didn’t have much time left. They had to go. Kiera packed what she could with Mikael’s help, and it was harder to say goodbye to the house she grew up in. She didn’t know how long she would be gone for, but it was unlikely that she would be back anytime soon. The house had traces of Kane wherever she looked, and that was the hardest part. It felt like she was leaving a part of him behind. She didn’t know if Simone felt the same way. If she did, she didn’t show. Her determination to leave overpowered everything else. She looked around, at the pictures and paintings on the wall, and the holes that he made the other night when he put the boards up that were never filled. Her father’s office was impossible to look at. It was no longer her father’s, not in her heart. It belonged to Kane. There was nothing that she could bring with her that would fill the hole of leaving everything behind.
Simone was discharged in the morning, as she expected. A large potion the forest had caught fire. It was all over the news, and all everyone talked about. Kiera felt bad. Of course, she did. They were responsible for the forest fire, which claimed a few innocent lives of the people trying to put it out. To know that they were the ones who caused the whole mess was disheartening, and her heart weighed with guilt. There was a small chance that Celia had escaped. They couldn’t be sure about the others. Mikael mentioned that there was no chance that she escaped, and that was a relief for Kiera. She was finally out of their lives, and the worst was behind them. Having Simone and Mikael in the same house was strange. They hadn’t talked to each other when Kiera first brought her, and that was the part that made her grind her teeth. She didn’t know what she thought would happen but the silence was unsettling. They didn’t have to talk, and even if they did, what would they say to each other
They got out safely. All three of them. Simone was hurt, though. Celia had managed to scratch her with her talons before they got out. She was bleeding heavily, so Kiera drove her to the nearest hospital as soon as they reached the car. Mikael was collapsed beside her, but he wasn’t hurt. He was so weak he could barely sit up. Behind them, the fire raged. Simone would be alright. She had been injured and needed stitches and bed rest. Mikael refused to go to the hospital. He insisted that all he needed was a decent meal and some sleep, far away from a hospital. He didn’t have documents, so he couldn’t even be admitted in one. So, once Kiera was sure that Simone would be safe, she drove him to their house. They didn’t speak to each other. There was nothing to say for the time being. Kiera had a lot on her mind. She wanted to fetch Simone as soon as she could. The next morning, preferably. The hospital was too close to the pack house. She wasn’t all that safe there. Once they reache
"Mikael, is that you?" Kiera said. He was silent for a few seconds, and then he answered, "It's me."The first thing she noticed was how weak he sounded, and then she concluded why. He was hanging from the roof. She suddenly remembered what she had been told about him. He would be killed for trying to protect her, and he was being kept as a prisoner and awaited execution in the home of some werewolves. These guys. She never thought about it. It slipped from her mind completely. Her first instinct was to rush to him to help him. He had to get down, that wasn't up for debate. In the dark, she was practically blind. Even if there was a light switch in the barn, they couldn't use it. They would grab unwanted attention. She would have to work in the dark. "What do I do?" she asked him. "Cut me loose.""Simone, I need a knife," she said, trying to reach the rope above his head. She couldn't reach for it even when she stood on the tips of her toes. It was making her desperate. "I'll do
The day went by slowly, too slowly. Kiera was stiff from having to sit in the car for so many hours. Simone was adamant. She didn't want to leave, and Kiera wouldn't waste her time in trying to convince her to leave the front of the building. They were running out of time, and they didn't have a better plan. So they were forced to stay. When the day was over, Kiera could hardly move. Her anxiety was making matters worse, but she managed to sit up when people started trickling out of the building. Their eyes were wide and searching every face that walked out. They were looking for the man responsible for Kane's death. They couldn't lose him, or all their efforts would have been for nothing. That was worse to Kiera than having to fight the man. "There," Simone said, breaking the silence. It was the first word that she said in hours. Her voice was surprisingly clear.He began crossing the street, and in a few steps, he would disappear around the bend. Where was he going? They had to k
Simone was thoughtful for the rest of the day. Kiera had no choice but to wait for what she was going to say. A decision had to be made, and quickly, or they'd lose their advantage. News about the dead werewolf would spread soon, and then they'd all know that Simone was after the wolves who had been involved in Kane's death. If that happened, they would go into hiding, and finding them would be a lot more difficult. Simone remained silent, so Kiera couldn't do anything else but wait. Long periods of silence made her think about Kane all of the time. She didn’t know what else to do. The current situation was impeding her from doing anything else, and it was hard to imagine that a few months prior, she was concerned about not finishing her work. She forgot all about being an editor. If they placed a manuscript in front of her, she wouldn’t know what to do. But she wasn’t the only one who changed drastically. She couldn’t recognize Simone on most days. The sweet but tough woman was r