iv

Giovanni stumbled behind a wide cedar trunk, deep into the forest as he ran to hide the beast that was trying to rip through his flesh. Heart slamming against his ribs, he gulped at the air, trying to slow his breathing enough to hear before a thrusting pain shot him back through the forest. 

The night was chilly as the wind howled, crickets chirped,  and the fallen leaves rustled as Giovanni's bare feet sprinted through them. It was pitch black but the moonlight gave it a haunted effect rubbing suspicion of hidden creatures for any regular person to be terrified of. Buckets of sweat layered on Giovanni's upper body as it overheated. His hair was no longer in a neat ponytail simultaneously flying in the wind as he continued to run. 

It was like every normal afternoon coming from the market, when all of a sudden Giovanni felt that all too familiar sharp pain growing in his abdomen before it then shot up his spine causing his legs to give out, forcing him to the floor groaning in pain. Genesis had rushed to his brother's side, worried about placing his hand on his shoulder blade, before snatching it away and hissing in despair.

"Fuck, you're burning up, Gio," he said as Giovanni gasped for air, "It's never been this bad I-"  he cried out before looking up at his brother in desperation at the same time that Genesis had frowned at him, "I think it's Rosalie, the urge, it's stronger now that she's here," he explained causing his body to whimper at the sound of the girl's name, "What do I do?" He breathes as Genesis looks down at his phone as he got a notification before looking back at his brother, "Run, you need to get out of here," he said, helping him up with Giovanni's arm sling around his neck, "What about you?" Giovanni asked as Genesis showed him Melody's text.

"I'll go check on Rosalie, but you need to leave before-

A howl was suddenly heard causing Genesis to grow pale as he hurried out the back door, and moved quickly into the forest, "Your aroma is stronger, any female nearby could smell it, you need to go now, I'll find you," Genesis said before tossing his brother as he landed face first on a grassy area giving Genesis time to run leaving his brother to fend for himself. The trees that shadowed Giovanni suddenly swayed with the wind, causing the moonlight to shine through giving him enough strength to get up and run as he smelled the female close by. 

Two and a half hours, that's how long Giovanni has been running as he continuously looks over his shoulder. The pain was growing more and more unbearable, and not even the moon could give him enough strength to continue. The Moonlight was slowly becoming brighter and brighter as the path led him to a cliff, where the moon appeared at its highest. 

Collapsing on the floor, Giovanni gasped for air as his chest hovered at the same speed as his heart. Turning over on his back, Giovanni desperately looked up at the moon in hopes of being saved, but it didn't seem to work as a low growl and footsteps could be heard getting closer and closer to his paralyzed body. As he lay helplessly on the peak of the cliff, a wolf suddenly appeared from behind the trees as it growled at the sight of Giovanni. With every step it took, sounds of breaking bones echoed throughout the forest, until the wolf morphed into a woman, a naked woman. 

She was beautiful as she walked into the moonlight. With long brunette hair flowing down her back, the mysterious woman stood tall and slender as her pale flawless skin glittered in the moonlight. She appeared quite young, slightly full-faced chiseled nose and big piercing green eyes. Her body was perfect and looked as if it was handmade by God himself. Sculptured collarbones, round perky breasts cherried with perfectly shaped light brown nipples, flat stomach with an attractive amount of ribcage sighting, and slender legs with a small gap in between.

She was a walking masterpiece, who was known for getting whatever she wanted, and her eyes were set on Giovanni, who has teased her desires since she was the age of 16. It was quite difficult to catch either of the twins during their heat since their aroma wasn't as strong to maintain a trace, and they would be strong enough to hide away. But for some reason, the delicious scent can be smelled from a mile away, and Giovanni's wolf was too strong to contain and hide away, which made the young woman very happy.

"Shh!" She whispered as Giovanni whimpered at the body that slowly and uncontrollably drew him in, "I'm here to make you feel better," she slurred slowly dropping to her knees, causing Giovanni to lift his head and roar at her, "The more you fight this is the more pain you'll be in, my love, give in," she's softly cooed reaching up to caress his thigh as he flinched, "Get. Away. From. Me," he breathlessly demanded as the woman pouted, "I've waited my entire life for this moment, why would I stop now?" She asks as her pout molded into a devilish smile showcasing her fans before she was suddenly smacked in the head sending her flying to the side. Giovanni's head dropped and relief at the sight of his brother, who held a broken-off branch that on one end was thicker than one of his arms.

Genesis stared at the young woman with absolute hatred and disgust, that if looks could kill she would have been dead. Slowly getting up from where she had landed, the young woman spun around, anger aching through her bones as she shot daggers at the twin that saved his brother, "You were always such a pain in the ass Genesis, what, jealous of his gorgeous face?" She mocked causing Genesis to roll his eyes as he dropped the branch, "We have the same face, thot, and you couldn't just be a good little bitch, could you?" He mocked back causing the woman to roar at him before launching forward as he swiftly backhanded her as she went flying into a tree.

"I don't want to hurt you, Cora, it's clear that daddy issues are already doing that for me," Genesis said as the young woman known as Cora scoffed as she stood up turning her face to reveal the claw marks across her cheek, "That's too bad, I love my men aggressive, which is why I'm perfect for your brother," she said causing Genesis to sigh in defeat before squatting as he broke off the thinnest part of the branch that was still remotely thick before standing back up.

"It's always the crazy ones," he muttered as Cora roared before sprinting towards him Genesis clenched his jaw in frustration before swiftly kicking her back against the tree and moving to shove the branch in between her shoulder bone and collarbone causing her to scream out.

Slowly backing away, Genesis shook his head, "You don't know when to stop, do you?" He asked as the poor girl cried out, "I love him!" Genesis frowned in pity before moving to help his brother, who lay almost lifeless against him.

"As if he would welcome the daughter whose father murdered his own," he said as Cora laughed humorlessly, "You should have just let me mate him instead, you know what comes after this vulnerable state, more anger, stronger urge, and less control," she said as Genesis glare at her, "Whoever that bitch is that his wolf is trying to mate with, she'll be dead before he could even seal the bond, and then he'll come running back to m-

Before Cora could finish her words, she was swiftly punched in the face knocking her unconscious, while Genesis looked back at his brother who stumbled back into him as he groaned, "God, she's annoying," he said as Genesis smirked, "Glad to see you're doing just fine," he said as Giovanni groaned at the unsettling feeling, "Not for long you have to take me to Benjamin's," he said as Genesis turned to face his brother, "Are you crazy, Rosalie is there-

A sudden thud was heard causing the twins to look back to find Cora's body gone, "Great, now the mutts are here," Genesis said in an annoyed toned, "Just take me to Benjamin, he has a better place to hold me, they wouldn't intervene," Giovanni said as his brother nodded before they hurried to Benjamin's.

Before Genesis had come to Giovanni's aid, he had found himself in a heated moment with Rosalie. Everything happened so fast, one minute they were talking about Rosalie's dream, and then the next, they were inches away from each other. It was suffocating and felt somewhat incomplete.

"When did you start getting these dreams?" Genesis asked as they both stood in front of the painting, "A couple of months ago," she replied before glancing up at him as he seemed to be lost in thought, "But I don't have it anymore, it seems to stop when I paint about it," she said as Genesis frowned at her words, "Is this a normal thing, these dreams?" He asked as Rosalie sighed before she began to pack her art supplies away.

"Not really, I started having them when my parents died, and it has only gotten worse," she said as Genesis stared at her back, "How worst?" He asked as Rosalie shrugged, "Sometimes when I think that I wake up, it's me waking up from one dream into another, and that scares the shit out of me," she said as Genesis walked up to her as she turned to face him with a small smile. 

"Have you told anyone about it, Benjamin," he asked as Rosalie rolled her eyes with a playful grin, "Hey, I'm fine, I even started praying before bed," she joked as they both chuckled before Rosalie looked up at his lips realizing how close they were. The atmosphere in the room began to grow hot and tense as they subconsciously got closer and closer to one another. It was as if they were in a trance unable to realize what they were about to do. Inches away, Genesis' eyes felt magnetized to Rosalie's lips as they parted.

Oblivious to the fact that she was about to get kissed, Rosalie looked up and stayed at Genesis as he lived before something unexpected happened. Out of nowhere, Genesis grunted before stepping back, or more like stumbling causing Rosie to frown as she stepped forward, "Are you okay?" She asked Genesis although he seemed pale as the moon, "Yes, sorry I forgot that I be having these random headaches, I got a little light-headed a bit," he said as Rosalie seemingly relaxed, "Do you want to sit down, I can bring you some water," she said as Genesis shook his head turning to the window, "No, I'm fine, but I got to go check on my brother," he said as Rosalie nodded, "Thanks for checking up on me," she said just as Genesis climbed out the window, "No problem, good night Rosie," he said before disappearing.

Rosalie blushed before shaking her head, "Asshole," she mumbles before realizing that a moment ago, she was about to get kissed by the guy that she reminded herself to stay away from. Now the atmosphere feels weird and awkward as she groans, "Great, now things are gonna be weird," she said before looking back at her painting. 

She couldn't believe how easy it was for her to tell him about her struggle and how quickly his screw was concerned for her. Rosalie didn't believe that he genuinely cared, just reacted at the moment just like any human would. She had a lot of trust issues, and when her parents died it got me worse. But nobody had to know that.

Sighing heavily, Rosalie switched on her bedroom lights as should be gone to get ready for bed. as she got at her art supplies with her boxing to the window, there was a sudden Russell that stopped the movement. to the name of the window, Rosalie as she walked towards it.

"Weird, I thought he closed the window," she mumbled before placing her hand on top of the window as she was about to close it before she was suddenly grabbed by bloody hands.

"AHHHH!"

Jolting from her bedside, Rosalie breathed heavily as she frantically looked around her room. It was morning and her room looked just as she left it, minus the art supplies that were scattered on the floor.

"What the hell happened," she raspily mumble while running her hand through her frizzy hair as she looked at her messy bed with the sheets hanging off one side of her bed. Rosalie was confused, she didn't remember going to bed last night all she remembered was talking to Genesis and that was it, which was weird.

Shaking off the weird feeling, Rosalie got up from her bed to only wince as she looked down at her feet. Furrowing deeply, she reached down and caresses her ankle which seemed bruise with black and blue marks around the ankle.

Biting her lip, anxiously, Rosalie stood up wincing again at the stiff and slightly sore feeling in her neck, all the way up to the middle of her hair, giving her this splitting headache, "What on earth," she mumbled as she rubbed the back of her head. Thinking that she might just need a hot shower, Rosalie left her room and entered the bathroom on a way of the painting under her bed with a large claw Mark in the middle of it. 

Steam filled the bathroom as Rosalie stood in front of the long mirror before wiping the fog off the mirror as she stared at herself. Her neck was still pretty sore as she touched the back of it. As her fingers massage the stiff muscle, her fingers suddenly grazed against some rough skin. Frowning in confusion, Rosalie leaned forward before slightly turning in her head. 

Gasping in horror, Rosalie slowly traced the scratch mark before rushing out of the bathroom to look for her phone. Once she got it, she went back to the bathroom before trying her best she can to take a picture with shaky hands. After the picture was taken, Rosalie walked back into her room to sit on her bed before pulling up the picture that she took. Zooming in on the picture, Rosalie cupped her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. 

On the back of her neck were three scratches that appeared to be short but deep as dry skin gathered in the middle while black and blue bruises surrounded it. It was horrific and made Rosalie sick to her stomach. Insecurities filled Rosalie as she quickly deleted the photo before wiping away her tears. The sunlight shined through the window causing her to frustratedly get up from the place on the bed before harshly closing the curtains that blocked the flight from coming in and then she remembered.

How was she supposed to face her grandfather and Melody with this scratch on her neck? They would suspect that something had happened and although something did happen, she had no idea what took place last night. Cursing under her breath, Rosalie rushed to her closet searching for something to cover her neck until she found a black turtleneck that made her breathe out in relief. Tossing together something comfy. Rosalie wore a pair of sweatpants, a turtleneck, and a pair of socks that covered the bruises on her ankle. 

But there was something about this morning. It felt still and intense almost like the aftermath of a tragic event. Benjamin's chickens were silent, the sun appeared dull, and the breeze was still. It was like holding a breath waiting for the final climax. Rosalie hated this feeling, it was overwhelming as she felt like she was absent from school on that one day when all the drama happens and she returns to feel clueless and left out.

The house was filled with traumatizing silence as she walked down the stairs. Creaking at every step that she took, Rosalie bent the corner and entered the kitchen, "Good morning," she greeted questionably as Melody looked up from setting the plates of food on the table, "Good morning, dear, did you sleep well?" She asked, flashing a tight smile as Rosalie walked towards the table that consists of her grandfather, who silently read the papers, and Genesis, who ate the food that Melody prepared for him.

"I don't remember," Rosalie mumbles causing Genesis to stop in his movements for a moment before he continued to eat. Frowning at his presence, Rosalie looked at the empty chair beside him, "Where's your brother, I thought you never leave without him?" She asked as Genesis looked up at her while frowning at her repetitive words.

"We argued this morning, he decided to stay home," he mumbled as Rosalie nodded before she began to eat, "What's up with the turtleneck?" Benjamin asked as Rosalie tensed up at the mention of the uncomfortable clothing, "Uh- wo-woke up feeling a bit chilly this morning, besides this was my mom's favorite top," she said as Genesis swallowed before his head tilted at the sound of her words.

"I think it's cute," Melody said as Rosalie smiled, before eating a slice of waffles drenched in delicious syrup, "It's black," Benjamin bluntly said as he placed his newspapers down causing Rosalie to roll her eyes, "Please, don't be a hater," she said once swallowing her food as Genesis chuckled, "Anyway, what are you doing today Rosemary?" Benjamin asks as Rosalie looked up humming before shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know, but I need some new art supplies," she replied as Benjamin nodded, "Great! Mel is going down to the market today, she can take you to get some while Gen and I work on something at the barn," he said as Rosalie nodded earning a smile from Melody who seemed excited, "Cool, I can't wait."

"What happened in here?" Genesis asks as he stood by the open entrance of Rosalie's room as she gathered herself, "Uh, I don't know, can't remember," she said with a light shrug as Genesis folded his arms, "What do you mean? You don't remember me coming up to your room last night?" He asked as Rosalie signed, "I remembered you coming into my bedroom, and us talking, but after that I um kind of just woke up," she said as Genesis frowned, "That's weird," he said as Rosalie shrugged, "I don't know, maybe I did just fell asleep, really, no big deal," she said while taking off her socks unaware until Genesis stopped her. 

"Woah! What's that?" He asked as Rosalie looked down at her feet before cursing under her breath, "I don't know, I may have bumped into something," she said as Genesis squatted before wrapping his hand around her ankle causing her to hiss. 

"I'm sorry," he said as Rosalie stepped away from him, "Are there any more bruises, why are you wearing that turtleneck?" He asked as Rosalie shook her head, "No, I'm fine," she said walking passed him as he sighed, "This is serious Rosalie, why don't you tell Benjamin about what's happening, maybe he could-

"Why do you care, I just told you that I'm fine, drop it already," she snapped causing Genesis' jaw to clench, and before he could argue any further, Rosalie was suddenly called, "Hey Rosalie, I'm ready when you are," Melody said as Rosalie shook her head, "Close my door when you leave," she said before leaving Genesis alone in her room. 

As Rosalie left the house, she was met with Benjamin kissing Melody goodbye causing his granddaughter to raise an eyebrow, before he turned to her, "I want you to be safe out there, I have a lot of enemies out there," he said as Rosalie grin, "I'll be fine Grandpa, make sure and don't overwork yourself while we're gone," she said as Melody scoffed, "Don't worry, I wouldn't, besides, Genesis is here to help me," he said causing Rosalie to look up at her window to see the curtain pulled as Genesis watched them, "Alright, we better get going, bye," she said squeezing his hand before walking towards the car.

Genesis signed in defeat as he watched them leave, before moving from the window. As he stood in her room something felt off causing him to scan the room before something under her bed caught his attention. Getting on his knees, he reached under and grabbed the rectangular object before pulling it out. The familiar canvas appeared in front of Genesis's eyes and what he saw caused his heart to drop.

Fuck!" He whispered under his breath as his fingers traced the giant claw marks that centered in the middle of the painting.