Not human

Chapter 7: Avalyn's POV

This time, I didn't just feel the vibration of his growl deep in my stomach, my heart rammed in my chest as my blood pumped five times faster.

He wasn't human. I could tell that now. The aura eluding his being brought nothing but fear.

I trembled like an abandoned leaf as my eyes slowly went up to peep at him. The early morning sun made it difficult for me to see him clearly at such an angle and I couldn't tell if I was grateful for this or not.

My father greedily went over the bags and started going through the coins. The sound of the metal pieces kissing one another echoed in the room.

On a good day, it could have been classified as a calming sound but at that point, it felt horrible. It felt like a death machine —my death machine.

"You can have her!" My stepmother chirped pushing me towards the towering man.

The push was so sudden that I lose my balance as I wavered toward him. He held me by the arm and his grey eyes lowered to meet mine. The world went silent and only the beat of my heart remained.

My body felt completely weak and I could have passed out but for his strong grip on my arm.

"Do you have anything valuable in this house that you will like to take with you?" His voice was surprisingly gentle as he spoke to me.

"No— I— I have nothing..." I stuttered as the tears continued to stream down my eyes in shock and fear.

"I just— I just don't... Please don't take me away from them..." I sobbed hoping from the depth of my heart that some miracle can touch his heart and he would let me be.

The towering man's thick brows corked as he observed me. "You want to stay with these animals?" He scoffed and I could tell he didn't like what I said.

I didn't know where the strength came from but I fell to his feet and held him. "Please have mercy... Don't take me away from my home... I promise I'll be a better daughter... I'll do anything but please don't take me away..."

All my life, I was treated like a plague amongst my peers. Yet I couldn't imagine leaving everything behind and going to stay with the werewolves —not just them but their king.

I have heard countless stories from my stepmother and some of the townspeople, those who found themselves on the werewolves' side, were never seen again. None of them lived to tell the story.

I was too young to die. I would take a thousand beating from my father but I didn't want to die.

"Please..." I continued whimpering at his feet.

I felt him move and I held my breath, bracing for the impact of his reaction but the next thing I felt was his hands against my skin. He raised me from the ground and I feared to look into his eyes.

"You are the best daughter anyone could wish for... They should be the ones crying, not you..." His voice boomed in the room in rage but it wasn't projected at me, he was glaring at my parents behind us.

They paid no attention to my tears. They were focused on counting their coins in such a spree, one would who won a lottery couldn't be happier.

"Now, do you have anything valuable, because this house you see now would not exist in the next couple of minutes," he whispered the last bit to me and I gulped down my saliva.

I realized the transaction was complete and there was no turning back now. My tears couldn't help me even if I cried a river.

"I—I have nothing in there..." I squeaked and he nodded slowly like he didn't want to yell at me.

"Dawn," he called and one of the guards stepped forward.

"Yes beta," she responded with her shoulders squared 

Now that I was closer, I saw that this Dawn was only a girl. I could bet the last minutes of my life that she was in my age grade.

"Take her to the car," He ordered and my blood went cold.

This was it. They were going to take me away to my death. There was no way I could ever return here and it was so sad that I couldn't even fight them. I was on my own.

"Please, come with me," She said in a firm voice.

Without arguing, I followed slowly behind her and we walked out of the house. As we stepped out, I stared back at my parents hoping they would even look remorseful but they didn't. They didn't even look at me.

All their focus and attention was on the coins they were drooling over.

My heart broke at the sight but what could I do? I swallowed my pain and continued following the girl.

We got to a tinted SUV at the center of the rows of vehicles and the guard that had been standing there unlocked the doors before we even got closer.

She pulled a door open for me and I hopped in without protest. What would my protests do? The only thing I could think of was prolonged pain before death. There were no possibilities of escaping because they were faster, stronger, and smarter than any human that had ever existed.

I couldn't stand a chance.

"Wipe your tears, everything will be fine," her voice said from beside me.

I turned to stare at her, surprised that she was still there with me. Her eyes were not as greyish as the towering man back at the house but she had the same color only in a different shade.

She flashed me a small smile and I could tell she was very beautiful beneath all of the gears she had on but I couldn't bring it in me to smile back. It was like a predator praying over its meal before he began to devour me.

The air in the vehicle became hot as neither of us knew what else to say. A few seconds later, the door opened and the towering man got into the passenger's seat at the front with the driver.

He brought out a walkie-talkie and placed it close to his mouth. "Do it!"

I blinked wondering if that was the sign for the girl to kill me but a deafening explosion rocketed through the entire street and I ducked my head on instinct faring the worst.

My heart was ramming hard against my chest as I thought of the worst. I noticed that I was the only one ducking, the female guard beside me and the men in front didn't as much as twitch a muscle.

I raised my head cautiously to look around me and the flames were the first thing I noticed before I saw the fire.

"No!" I whimpered as my already shaky heart fell to my stomach.

They had burnt my house!

"Where are my parents?!" I yelled with shaky hands as I tried to pull the door handle open. "What have you done to them? Where are they?!" I completely lost my mind and started screaming at the top of my lungs.

"What did you do to them?! I am asking you!" I made to launch at the towering man in the front seat. He was the one who stayed back, he knew what he had done to them.

"Dawn please hold her back!" He growled but even that growl don't scare me anymore.

The female guard held my upper arm preventing me from jumping into their leader.

"Aahh!!" I cried out in frustration. "Why would you do that to them? They were my parents!! Why would you burn them like that..." My voice cracked.

I collapsed into her arms and cried even harder. They had burned my parents alive in the same house I grew up in.

Why?

"Take us out of here Rick," the towering man ordered and the vehicle spurted to life.

I cried so much my throat felt too painful for me to even sob anymore. It felt like I had swallowed a cup of broken glasses. Now they pricked and cut through my throat, making it very difficult for me to swallow.

My tears were of no use. Nothing was going to change. I was bigger than this. I have faced the worst. I would mourn them when I was alone, not in front of the same people who took them away from me.

Now I understood why he had asked me to pick whatever I had of value. I thought it was just a threat. But I was wrong. It was the truth.

I wiped my tears and sat up, pulling myself together.

The female guard beside me, watched me wearily like I was going to break down again. I didn't need her pity. She most definitely knew that was going to happen when she brought me here.

I turned and faced the window, hoping my death came just as fast. The world was not a happy place.

"I am sorry, about how you feel... But my brother had to follow orders from his king," She whispered beside me.

My eyes pricked again and I felt like puking. So he sent his men to take me and then murder my parents. Why? I had heard just how cruel he was, I never thought it would happen to me.

Now I was going to face him. He probably just needed me for entertainment. He would cut me limb for limb and watch me bleed to death.

Tears streamed down my face and I quickly wiped them away. I didn't want them to see my fears. That would give them more satisfaction.

The journey went on longer than I expected. I always thought that the werewolves stayed just a couple of yards away from the town but I was wrong. Their field was nearby but their city was further down.

After an hour or more of driving, we finally spotted the magnificent castle up ahead. It was curled up in the hills. Nature blended without it, giving it an enchanted appearance.

If I wasn't going to be killed in there, I would have found it to be very beautiful but as I watched it I realized that it was going to be my beautiful tomb.