He flies my way, sprinting a mile a minute. By the time he reaches me, I’m laughing and crying at the same time.
“Scotty!” I exclaim as he rubs my hand with his soft head, just like he always did in the past. He has gotten so big now, almost as large as I am. Heads turn to watch us, but I don’t even care. “What are you doing here?” I ask him, “Where have you been?”
He barks once, staring deeply into my eyes. I wish I knew how to speak dog.
I hug him by the neck, drowning in the warmth and softness of his fur. It is so good to be with him again.
A hand touches my shoulder, and I look up to see the face of the leader, his face in a grin. “Why is he with you people?” I ask him sharply.
“Because he trusts us,” he gently says, “and so should you.”
I stand up, scanning the faces that are looking at me, crawling over my face and body. Immediately my gaze connects with Xavier, noting the look of bewilderment on his features.
“I have to go with them,” I tell him calmly. His eyes grow wide.
“Why? They are going to kill you, Mona.” Distress is laced through his voice. “Don’t you realize that?”
“I have to go with Scotty,” I insist, rubbing my hand across his back.
“I can’t let you give yourself up because of a dog!”
“Well,” the leader bumps in, “I think you can and will.” The two men around Xavier grab his arms fiercely. “And Mona,” he tells me in a low voice, “I’m very interested as to how you and… um… Scotty know each other. Both of you can tell me all about that later.”
He raises his voice. “As you all know, there’s a sanctuary near here that can take us back to the headquarters. Let’s get moving.”
As I glance at the members of the pack, I suddenly notice Ray and Danae’s absence. They must have escaped while the leader was talking.
“Are you ready?” the leader asks me softly, “My name is Ferrars by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” I smile thinly, “and I have to warn you, I can’t run as fast as you guys can. That’s why Xavier was carrying me here.”
“No problem.” He sends me a beautiful smile, sweeping me into his arms. However, all I can feel is the coldness of his arms and chest. For some reason I don’t trust him at all.
After a short while we reach a small clearing marked by very bright green grass. As I look up to the sky, I notice how clear and perfect it is. Wasn’t it a dark, stormy gray this morning?
Ferrars gracefully puts me down, and then navigates to a rock planted in the center of the clearing. Two strong men follow him and place their hands on the rock. With much effort they lift it, placing it slightly away from where it used to be.
“Take the prisoners first,” he commands. A slightly skinnier, handsome man with dark brown hair grabs my arm, roughly dragging me to where Ferrars is. “Be gentle with her, Soka,” he cautions my escort. I can feel his calculative gaze scan me as we pass him.
I gasp when I see a deep tunnel where the rock used to be, small and dark. Without realizing it, I clutch Soka’s arm tightly. “Are you scared of the dark?” he asks with a little laugh. I glare at him in response, though still sticking to him like glue as we slowly descend down a small stairway into the tunnel.
“To be a werewolf, you sure don’t act like one,” Soka comments, “you seem like a regular human, besides your green eyes of course. The master even carried you! He never does anything like that for anyone. He seems happier today than he has been in quite a while.”
Feeling like my companion is in the conversational mood, I ask, “Is he the leader of all the werewolves?”
“He’s actually the second son of the real leader, but he is next in line to the throne.”
“What about the first son? Shouldn’t he take over?”
Soka casts me a laughing glance. “You really don’t know, do you? Zayn told me that you didn’t have a clue back in the forest but I didn’t believe him until now.”
“I don’t have a clue about what?”
“The first son isn’t… suitable to be our leader. Although I have to say, he’s much better at being a leader than Ferrars is.” He snorts. “Ferrars always needs someone to chase, fight, or kill. He can’t take more than five minutes of peace.”
Silence reigns through the tunnel, the only sounds being the monotonous footsteps as the rest of the group begins to follow us. “Where are we going? What is this tunnel for?” I ask him worriedly. This tunnel seems like it goes on forever, and I’m not sure if I can take much more of this.
“Headquarters,” he says softly, “and this is what you would call a portal. The council has a ton of these scattered around the world, hidden in places called sanctuaries. They can take you wherever you wish to go. It is very useful for werewolves who are trying to escape some sort of persecution”
“How can they take you everywhere you wish to go when there is only one passageway?” I don’t see any other tunnels leading off this one, which isn’t saying much since I can barely see anything.
“All you have to do is think about where you want to go as you travel through the tunnel and you will come out of the portal at that destination.”
“You talk too much, Soka,” a dangerously deep voice interrupts our conversations, “you shouldn’t be telling all this stuff to the prisoner.” I look back and I can barely make out the outline of his face.
“What does it matter, Zayn? She’s not going to last very long at Headquarters. Who cares if I tell her a few of our secrets?”
“We don’t know that. She might get lucky. Ferrars seems to like the look of her.”
“He was just acting like a gentleman. It wasn’t because he liked her.”
I say nothing, slightly offended.
After a few minutes we see a light at the end of the tunnel. Excitement flows through me as I realize that I am so close to getting out of the tunnel and seeing the “Headquarters” for the first time.
“Do you need me to carry you?” Soka laughingly asks as I almost trip on a root. As we reach the light, I can finally see his face as he makes fun of me. I punch him in the arm, surprised at how comfortable I feel with this guard, especially considering that he is bringing me here to die. I guess it is because inwardly, I feel like I am going to be okay.
As long as I have Scotty.
“It’s so bright!” I shield my eyes as we step out of the tunnel. I feel immense relief as the world greets me once again. The grass is perfectly green here, the trees elegant and healthy. Even the sky here is just as clear as it was in the sanctuary.
But even more beautiful is the castle right in front of my eyes.
It is so big, with its turrets reaching towards the sky. A sparkling, crystal clear lake lies behind it, wrapping its arms around the entire castle like a moat. There is a gigantic wall surrounding the entire area, which makes it seem even more like a castle out of a fairy tale.
“This is where the council lives?” I ask Soka.
“This is where everyone who is important lives,” Soka says plainly, “and yes, that would include the council and their mates.
“Is there any children living in there?” I ask, remembering Ray’s words when he told me about the impossibility of having a child between two werewolves.
“Rarely ever are children born in the castle.”
“But what about the leader?”
“That… was a special case.” Soka loudly snorts and Zayn knees him in the back. “Ouch, man! What was that for?”
“Show proper respect,” he says fiercely. As I glance back this time, I can see a large scar stretching across his rather grotesque features.
Ferrars heads to the front of the group, his long golden hair shining in the light. “Guards, take the members of Pack 101 to the dungeon,” he commands, unsmiling. As Soka drags me past Ferrars, however, he stops him. “You’re coming with me,” he says, grabbing hold of my arm. Soka disappears into the train of soldiers who are vanishing into the castle. Xavier, as he passes us both, shoots Ferrars the glance of h*ell.
Ferrars laughs. “Your friend is funny. I think he likes you.”
“Maybe.” I decide not to tell him about Xavier and I. That would not help either of us.
He starts walking to the castle, dragging me along. He has a surprisingly tough grip, one that I could never break out of. “You better count yourself lucky that I’m feeling nice today,” He grins, “you don’t want to be where your friends are, that’s for sure.”
I keep silent, determined not to give him any sort of answer. Looking at my feet the entire time, I am whisked through the castle, sadness finally beginning to creep into my heart. Where is Scotty? The whole reason why I did not put up a fight was because of him, and now he is nowhere to be found.
“Here we are,” he finally says, stopping at a small door. “This is a little bit better than those dungeon rooms. Even though you are our prisoner, you are still a lady and deserve to be treated like one… especially since you might not be staying here very long.”
I finally lift my head as the door swings open to a simple room about half the size of the one at the mansion. However, it looks clean and probably is way better than the dungeon cells. “Thank you,” I softly say, walking into the bedroom. The bed is pretty large and inviting, beckoning me to lie upon it.
“If you want to change into some better clothes there are some in the closet,” he smiles, walking over to a door and opening it to reveal quite a few outfits. “There are also a few necklaces in this drawer that were left here by some of the ambassadors.”
I search through the closet until I find a beautiful, yet simple top with a skirt that gathers at the side. Closing the door so he can’t see, I change within seconds. It is amazing how fast I can accomplish things now.
I exit the closet and move over to the drawer just to look at the jewelry these people left here. All of it is beautiful, but the one that stands out to me the most is a small emerald orb dangling on a thin silver chain. If I stare into it, it almost feels like I am looking into Xavier’s eyes.
“Let me help you,” Ferrars’s voice turns se*ductive as he takes the necklace and fastens it around my neck. I can feel his breath on my neck as his fingers play with the ends of the chain. “You look very pretty,” he comments, smiling at my form as he steps away.
Against my better judgement, I look away. I wanted to yell at him for hurting my friends. For capturing us against our will. Even though I know it will do no good.
Friends. I have friends now.
Friends who mean so much to me, even though I would never admit it.
Ferrars frowns when I don’t say anything in response to his compliment. “Are you worried about your friends?”
I nod slowly, and he walks even closer to my side. He takes both hands and places them firmly on my shoulders. Electricity arises from his touch, shocking me to the bone. Is he insane? What is he doing?
I try to calm down my anger, knowing that it will not get me anywhere.
“It is true that your pack has committed a grave offense,” he starts solemnly, “surely you understand the necessity of enforcing the rules. Without rules that are respected an followed, our entire world would fall apart. With that being said, however, you have just met probably the only person right now who can help you out here, and maybe even your pack. So please… please do not cry.” His voice turns tender and he drops his arms as a small tear begins to run down my cheek.
I’m… crying? Over what?
After questioning myself in confusion, I look back into Ferrars’s bright eyes. “Could you save us? I’ll do anything.”
His eyes darken with my words, clouding in its center. I wait for a few seconds impatiently. “Ferrars? Did you hear me?”
I don’t even know why I am begging the enemy for help. Since when have I ever been so desperate?
“Uh… yes. I did. I don’t know what came over me. I apologize. Uh… don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”
I do not like where this conversation is going. I suddenly realize that one of his hands have been touching my shoulder this entire time. No wonder I have been shivering so much.
I treat him with one of my best, though obviously fake smiles. “Thank you, I really appreciate everything you have done.”
His face suddenly freezes, and contorts into a scowl. “What are you doing to me?!” He asks, extremely frustrated. It is as if he has become another person, staring at me like I normally would a piece of steak.
That’s it! I knew he was bipolar.
“Doing what?” I ask, shocked. There is a blur of motion and then suddenly I find myself on the bed, pinned down by Ferrars.
He looks like an animal now more than ever, staring at me hungrily. Fright jolts through me as he reaches to unbutton the top of my shirt. “Please…” I beg, tears beginning to form and roll down my cheeks.
Completely ignoring me, he impatiently rips open the first button, then the second. I almost scream as his eyes begin to glow bright like the sun…
But then they stop glowing almost as soon as they started. His face is full of bafflement as he seems to return to his normal self. “What is this?” he asks angrily, “you are m@ted?”
I look at the mirror to the side and suddenly notice a small mark near my neck. It is in the shape of a crescent moon with a circle around it. “How long has that been there?” I wonder aloud, rubbing the spot with my fingers.
“And what is this?!” He stares at the gap between my shirt and the skirt, where a similar mark lies on my hip. “But you have such an irresistible smell… this is impossible! I can’t even control myself around you, yet you are m@ted to not one but two men?”
He backs away, staring at me with fright. “What are you?”
“Can you explain to me why you a$$aulted me just then?!” I ask furiously.
A slight pause follows as Ferrars tries to recover. “It’s your smell,” he groans, “it is so intoxicating that it nearly knocked me down when I first saw you. I was planning on marking you as my own, but looks like two people beat me to the punch. It should be impossible to be mated and smell like that! I don’t understand at all.”
“Did you say… I was mated to two men?”
Ferrars roughly steps forward and points to both of the markings. “These are mating markings. The reason why my eyes were glowing was because I was trying to mark you, but I stopped because of the shock of discovering that first mark by your neck. If you are mated, you are supposed to smell kind of like a rotten egg to everyone but your mate, but you are not like that at all.”
He nearly runs away from me, staring as if I am an alien. “Good night, Mona. I apologize for my rudeness, but right now it would be best for both of us if I stayed away from you. There is some food on the tray.” He shuts the door quickly, and I hear a click shortly after. He locked me in.
I stand up and examine myself in the mirror. I had never really noticed the markings before, with them being almost like regular, minuscule birthmarks. Today has definitely been a day of surprises. For one, I’m surprised I am still alive after Ferrars looked at me like he was going to eat me.
Totally exhausted, I plop back onto the bed, wondering how the crap I got two markings. It is almost too much for me to take in all at once. Is Ferrars a genuinely nice person or is he the person that I caught a glimpse of tonight?
I remember Ferrars’s angry question, “What are you?”, with complete confusion.
What am I?
A few minutes later, the door squeaks open to reveal a majestic, beautiful dog. It shuts behind him as he comes towards me. “Spotty!” I smile, patting the spot to my left. “Come and sit by me.”
As he joins me, I find myself telling him everything that has happened with Ferrars. Spotty has always been so easy to talk to… I was always able to tell him anything that was on my mind ever since I was young. Minutes stretch into hours as I pour out my fears, hopes, and past since he left.
His big eyes search mine as I confess, “Ferrars… he was going to mark me until he saw these.” I show him my two markings, and he growls. “He… asked me what I was, Spotty, and I don’t think I have the answer to that. Do you have any clue? I know I have changed, and it has been so long since we parted…”
“Why are you even here, Scotty? Did they kidnap you?” I ask him after a few moments of thought. He stared at me in response, unblinking. The peculiarity of this entire situation seems to hit me at this moment. The werewolves here are not really the type to keep pets.
Suddenly overcome by sleepiness, I lay my head down on the pillows. “Goodnight, Spotty,” I shoot him one last smile, “thank you for listening.”
He lays his body near mine, curling around me so I can almost hear his heartbeat. His soft breath against my neck feels so much different than Ferrars’s did earlier. For some reason, both of us being together like this feels… so incredibly perfect.
My eyes slip to a close, my mind drifting off into wonderland.
In the middle of the night, I briefly become suspended between sleep and full consciousness. Confusion arises within me as I realize a broad chest is now against my back instead of soft fur, two legs almost intertwined with mine. An arm is slowly c@ressing me, stroking my stomach, arms, and th!gh; and lips are murmuring soft words to my ear.
“You are only mine…”
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