Being Sought For

~Ashley~

I woke up because of the chirping of birds. It was a pleasant morning as the golden sun rays suggested, but recalling the last thing that happened before I fell unconscious, I got up immediately.

I looked beside me to see the dry bones beside me. His skin had gone thin and clung to his bones so tightly that it was difficult to tell them apart.

I felt nauseous remembering I had rendered him in such a condition by draining him of his blood.

I staggered to the river bank and instantly drew water up with my hands. I splashed it multiple times on my face before I breathed out in relief.

My eyes soon narrowed down to the water which reflected my face. A spotless face. Without any scar on it!

Minutes of staring emotionlessly into the water didn't help, my face still remained the same.

I was prompted to splash mud on my face when I heard hurried footsteps coming from the forest.

I felt a hard hand press down on my shoulder then I was thrown backwards. I landed on my back and when the man tried to strike me again, he got held back by another person.

I looked up at Cage who towered over me before squatting. He tilted his head to the side and asked me. "Who are you and what are you doing in Burning Heart Pack?"

My heart almost jumped out of my mouth when I realized I had left the dried bones of the man I had killed earlier.

"My name is Ashley Nicholas and I am a member of the Burning Heart Pack." I finally replied after calming my nerves.

"Oh." Cage muttered and got up. Then he turned to the man who had intended to hit me earlier. "She's one of us. Please escort her back to the pack safely."

The man nodded and walked towards me. Then he yanked me up, helping me onto my feet.

"Be a little careful with her, Jerry." Cage reminded him and turned to me. "The forest is dangerous at the moment. It's better you don't come around here in the future."

I nodded and looked at the grumpy Jerry beside me. "Then I'll have to trouble Jerry to take me back to the pack. Or better still I can go back on my own."

I saw Jerry breathe out a sigh intending to take a step backwards when Cage's voice stopped him, "I insist that Jerry take you back."

Then he turned and walked into the forest with the other warriors behind him. As soon as he was gone, I heard Jerry say grumpily as he grabbed my arm. "Hurry up, I have something to do!"

As soon as we appeared in the pack, he left me and disappeared into the forest. Clutching the hands of my bag tightly, I quickly made my way home.

However, I realized they were all engrossed in a particular discussion. When I got home, I saw mother outside with a group of women.

"I've been looking for you all night!" I heard a jubilant voice say from behind me.

With a smile, I turned to meet Cassie's happy eyes. The only person who I can consider my friend.

Cassie had straight brown hair. Something that never failed to sway whenever she walked. Just like it was doing now.

"What's with the mud on your face? Were you bullied again?" She asked sadly, her small lips letting out a sigh.

I chuckled, but refused to divulge any words to her. Looking around me, I asked, "What's happening?"

"This morning, the pack's witch said something about a looking danger for the pack. She asked them to ransack the forest earlier today because an evil had been done there." Then she paused and sighed with heartache.

"What's the problem?"

"Well, the body of Onneil's father was found in the forest, devoid of even a drop of blood." She revealed.

I narrowed my eyes at the sound of that and turned to look at her squarely. "Isn't Onneil the guy you've been crushing on?"

Other than being the father of Onneil, Omega George was also known for his interest in young girls. Cases of him getting intimate with them wasn't something new for the pack as it was often consensual between the fee girls he did it to.

However, thinking back to that night, I doubt he really wanted it to be consensual between us as he had literally creeped up on me.

"Yes, he is." I heard her reply and turned my eyes to see a smile instantly appearing on her face.

I raised the corner of my mouth and asked again. "So what is the Alpha planning on doing?"

"A body devoid of blood can only mean one thing: a vampire intruded into our territory."

For the second time this morning, I felt my heart skip. I was about to ask a second question when we saw the warriors approaching again.

When they passed us by, I happened to catch Cage's eyes on me.

"I don't know if it's me but did you see the way Cage looked at you! Tell me the truth, is he your mate?" Cassie questioned curiously beside me, whilst clutching onto my hand.

As much as I would've loved to wriggle her hands off, I knew it'd upset her and since I still had a question to ask, I refrained from doing so.

"You seem to have all the gist. What do you think they'd do next?"

Almost immediately, the warriors passed by again. This time, with a sinister expression.

Just then, a girl ran out after they were gone and announced, "The vampire who lives beside the stream is responsible for this!"

"There's a vampire who lives beside the stream? Why don't I know about this?" I panicked, turning to look at Cassie.

If this vampire lives beside the stream then he must have heard or... seen me kill Omega George!