*18+ Sexual/Violence Content Warning - Read At Own Discretion*
A vicious smile touches his lips as he seems to read my intentions.
"I knew it was you. I knew you belonged to me."
***
For centuries an ancient treaty has kept werewolves out of A...
I stare up at the ceiling, both exhausted and wired.
Reaching over I tap on my phone screen. It illuminates the room with its light, revealing to me that it's almost eleven at night.
I sit up, an eerie feeling tracing across my skin like ice cold fingertips. Eldon's back is to me as he snoozes peacefully, blissfully unaware of what fate may behold me if I'm not careful.
Venn is the Alpha King, and he thinks he is going to choose me…
"Eldon…El, wake up," I hiss. He doesn't wake immediately so I launch a pillow at him, watching it smack him in the back before falling to the floor.
He sits up, his hair sticking up in all directions as he looks around, dazed.
"Huh?" He blinks at me before he rubs his eyes tiredly. "Shit, what time is it?"
"Eleven. Turn your alarm off before it rings."
He obliges me, his eyelids heavy. I sit back, watching him with my knees pressed to my chest. I don't want to tell him what Venn told me. It will only worry him, and I need him concentrating on keeping us safe.
"You okay?"
"I wasn't able to sleep," I admit, shivering. "It happens soon."
"Everything is going to be okay. I promise," he assures me, although the uncertainty hangs heavy in his voice.
There are no sounds of nature beyond the walls. I can't imagine it slumbers, but is standing ready for the werewolves return as fervently as we are.
"Let's just double check locks and make sure everything is in position, okay?" We need something to distract ourselves with.
We spend the next hour ensuring the house is almost entirely impervious to werewolves before we shower and dress. Eldon settles on the couch with the gun in his hand, his expression solemn. I too curl up on the opposite couch, staring at the door.
Eldon checks his phone.
"One minute," he says tersely, glancing at me. "Stop holding your breath."
"Sorry. Can't help myself," I admit sheepishly.
This is a terrible idea. What was I thinking staying here? There is so much that can go wrong. Both Eldon and I may get killed by a werewolf or I'll be found by Venn and forced to marry him.
Eldon checks his phone one more time, giving me a nod. "Okay…it's midnight."
I strain to listen, expecting to hear explosions or howling or some chaos. Instead there is only silence, so thick and laden with tension it hurts to endure.
"I hate how quiet it is," I whisper, shrinking deeper into the stuffy old couches embrace.
"For now. This house is relatively far from the border," Eldon exclaims, adjusting the gun on his lap. "They might not even come tonight. They may wait till morning."
"They won't. I know it."
It's impossible to explain to him, but I can feel their presence. I know they have been lurking, waiting to return. Now they are heading toward us, ready to reclaim their land.
Hours pass of staring blankly at the door, doused in an eerie silenced.
Eventually exhaustion catches up to me. I don't realise I even felt inklings of sleep until I wake with a start, Eldon shaking me.
"Babe, wake up," he encourages urgently, our lamp casting a frightening shadow over his face.
I sit up abruptly, rubbing my eyes. My perception of time is muddled, but from I can tell through the small slats in the wood over the window, it's still nighttime.
"What is it?"
"Someone is outside," he hisses lowly, nodding toward the door.
I launch up, my legs tangled in my blanket. Once I free myself I peer through one of the gaps in the wood, looking outside onto the driveway.
A woman is there, pacing back and forth in front of my car. My blood chills.
This is a werewolf. I know it.
She wears a short sleeve shirt, clearly not feeling the frigid autumn air like we are. Her arms are laced with markings similar to Venn's, although far less detailed. They must be an indicator that she belongs to his pack.
"That's one of them…" I whisper to Eldon, who is looking at her from a different window. His grip on the gun has tightened, his knuckles paling.
"How do you know?" He asks.
I sigh through my nose, swallowing my panic. "I just do."
The woman scans the house, the shadows of night draped over her. From what I can tell, she has her dark hair pulled back from her face, her fingers tightened into fists.
Someone suddenly appears from the treeline behind her. It's a man, a couple inches shorter than her.
"This is it." The woman says gruffly, pointing at the house.
I resist the urge to duck, as if she might see me peering at her. Eldon has mercifully clicked off the lamp, bathing the home in darkness. If we are careful, this place may seem abandoned and inaccessible.
"This pile of shit?" The man asks distastefully, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"The building wasn't here, dumbass," she snaps back. "This was my ancestors land. I can sense their connection to it."
A lump gathers in my throat.
She isn't here just to kill us, she's here to reclaim her land. Land that Belle is going to want to return to, if she ever does come back.
"Then knock down that fucking door and claim it back," the man encourages, clearly amused as he leans back against my car, folding his arms over his chest.
I grit my teeth together. Asshole.
"It would be my pleasure." The woman's teeth gleam under the moonlight as she grins manically. She bounds up the steps of the porch, nimbly dodging any holes or crumbling pieces.
"Get in position," I command.
I slink back while Eldon stands in front of the door, pointing the gun straight at it. I snatch up a bat Venn also gifted us, merging with the shadows in an effort to be the last defense if these people make it in.
"Knock, knock," she calls out, rapping her fist against the door. "Any humans in here?"
I glance at Eldon, giving my head the slightest shake. He cocks the gun, realigning his stare with the door.
The werewolf laughs bitterly. "No? Then I'm sure you won't mind me coming in."
First she shakes at the handle. When it's clear that won't budge, she starts landing kicks on its brittle surface. Over and over again, the banging sound echoing through the room.
I hold my position, tightening my grip on the wooden bat. My body is tense with anticipation, both terrified and ready to launch into action if need be.
"Open the fuck up! This place is mine now," she shrieks, slamming her shoulder against the door in a move that almost busts it off its hinges.
The chains may be enough to keep the door closed, but she's about to bust a hole through it, and all she will be left to contend with is the boards.
Eldon takes a wary step back, his fear apparent.
"Kara!" An unfamiliar voice suddenly barks from outside. "Get away from there!"
The incessant banging ceases as Kara steps backward. I slide up to the window again, peering through the boards in an effort to see what has transpired..
"Why?" She asks, directing her question toward someone else who has walked up on the scene.
They wear a dark coat and are wringing their hands anxiously. Clearly they are yet another werewolf belonging to Venn's pack.
"We have very strict instructions from the Alpha not to go near that place," the man tells Kara, giving her a sharp look.
Kara glances back at the door, then at the man.
"He won't know."
"Disobey him and you'll pay," he warns, pointing what looks like a bloodied knife at her.
I inhale sharply. I don't think he's indicating that knife is meant for her. Clearly it's just been in use, which is a horrifying thought.
Belle, wherever you are, you better be safe.
"Fine, but I'm coming back for it," she snaps, stalking down the steps of the porch again.
The man only nods once before vanishing into the trees. "It's your funeral."
Kara gestures for the other man who was watching to join her. They start off down the driveway, melting into the night as if they were never here.
I let out a long breath, stepping back from the window. The door is barely holding up, but Venn has clearly alerted his pack to stay away from here.
But, as long as there is someone like Kara willing to go against his order, we remain in danger.
"They are gone," I tell Eldon, who quickly clicks the safety of the gun on before setting it down, running his hands through his hair. He's trembling, wrought with unspent energy.
"Not good…"
"If she wants this place, she can have it. It belongs to her anyway," I mutter, wandering toward the bathroom.
Eldon follows me. "Wait, what?"
"This is her ancestors land and we need to return it." I splash some water on my face, enjoying the bite of the cold. "We just need to find Belle first."
I don't have any vested interest in this place anymore. It would be wrong to stake a claim to it now. In fact, I'm going to find Belle and be done with this town forever â€" and she's coming with me, whether she wants to or not.
"Why would the Alpha tell her to stay away from this place?" Eldon questions, watching me dry off my face.
"I don't…I don't know," I murmur, brushing past him.
Now would be a good time to tell him about Venn. I could explain why I'm in so much danger suddenly, and why we need to leave.
But…I don't have the energy. I also don't have the answers he will inevitably want.
What matters is getting out of this place. I can trust Venn to find Belle. What is important is waiting until the borders open before risking becoming married to the Alpha King.
"Maybe the Alpha knows Belle. Maybe that's where she ran off to," Eldon says pointedly, collapsing onto the couch while I get us glasses of water.
I shake my head. "Don't be silly."
"I guess for now we hang out here until it's safe to come out," he muses, taking the glass from me.
I sit down on the couch, my eyes relaxing as I zone out.
When it's safe to come out…whenever that will be.
Time slows to an unbearable pace. Being stuck inside with nothing better to do but stare frightfully out the window and hang near the radio for news, things got boring fast.
The girl hasn't returned. I've tried to radio Venn multiple times and he hasn't responded. I've tuned into various other channels, keeping up to date with what's going on. Some people have been forced out of their homes, others have had them burned down. For the most part, however, people are safe and have been left alone. Some have reported leaving for supplies and have made it home safely. A handful of others have been murdered, however, and there are some conflicting reports.
One day passes, and then another. By the third day I've nearly lost my mind.
"We should go out," Eldon announces, on his tenth cycle of circling the couch incessantly to 'get his steps in.'
I stretch out my legs, which too feel like they are starting to atrophy from sitting all the time. The air in the house is stale and foul from the rubbish gathering that can't yet be removed without removing boards and chains. And with nothing else to concentrate on, we've been eating through our supply of food quickly.
"It's dangerous," I tell him flatly through a mouth of cereal.
I've been dissuading his efforts to leave every day now. I've been hoping Venn would alert us to the border being open, but he's clearly busy or doesn't want to risk contacting me.
I can't help but wonder if he's selected his wife yet. Perhaps the Moon Goddess forced him to choose another, and now they are in wedded bliss somewhere in his great manor, having forgotten about me entirely.
Shaking those thoughts from my head, I force myself to breathe. Venn wouldn't do that to me. He wouldn't leave me so long without information unless more important issues were commanding his attention.
I've asked via the radio for information on the border and it is yet to be opened. Apparently there are problems with sycophants trying to get past and to the Alpha, so road blocks are still in place.
"We will be fine if we stick to the car," Eldon insists, his hair standing on end from all the times he's ran his hands through them.
I shake my head.. "What's the point?"
"Look for Belle, see if people are alright. See some sunlight." He gestures violently at the boarded windows, at the thin streams of sunlight allowed in.
"I don't know…" I set my bowl down, indecision tearing at me.
Eldon is about to lose his mind if we don't get out. Plus, doing a pass around for Belle and perhaps to get some more food would be ideal.
If things continue as they are, we are either going to starve first, or Eldon is going to lose his mind and kill me.
"We can't stay here forever. We are going to go insane," he says, cementing the validity of my point. "Eventually we are going to have to take the risk and see what's going on out there."
I stand. "Okay fine, but we don't leave the car. Not for a second."
Venn can't get to us if we stay in the car. Eldon can go in to get food if necessary, and I can remain safe behind it's locked doors.
Eldon makes quick work of removing the boards and chains from the door. He rechains the door on the other side, although if Kara returns, it won't keep her out.
The moment I breathe in the fresh air, it hits me that it's going to be painfully hard to get back into that house without losing my mind.
With me driving, we make our way down the weaving roads with our windows wound down, enjoying the scent of the forest and beautiful, clean air.
Unsurprisingly we don't see anyone wandering the roads, but people come into view as we venture into town.
Some, obviously werewolves, clump in groups around the town.
They lurk near store fronts, on the library steps and before Roxxie's. Some windows have been smashed in, but otherwise the damage is minimal.
They have had mercy on us, for some inexplicable reason.
"Those tattoos look a lot like Venn's," Eldon notes as we pass by a group.
"Hmm. Weird," I mumble.
Unfortunately Belle doesn't miraculously appear on the streets as we drive around. We stop at the supermarket and Eldon runs in for whatever supplies he can salvage before he returns to the car.
My entire body is on high alert. Everywhere I look I fear I'll see Venn, standing there as the Alpha King, ready to become my husband in some strange werewolf ritual.
"Let's circle back and go home. We've seen enough," I say uneasily, ready to be locked safely behind doors again.
Eldon sighs. "Yeah, alright."
We are silent as we drive back, my hands tight around the wheel.
Strangely enough, almost every head turns to look in our direction as we sail down the main street where we were mostly unnoticed before. Uncanny stares trace our movement, staring us down as if they have been alerted to something I do not yet know.
I shake off the creepy feeling, speeding up a touch.
Mercifully we make it out of town and turn down the mountain road back home. Here people are in sight, and I let out a breath of relief.
That is, until a werewolf materialises on the road before me. It's in its beast form, reared up on its hindlegs.
I scream, jerking my wheel to the left in a desperate attempt to avoid hitting it. My bald tires squeal against the asphalt, losing traction.
My wheel spins in my hands, but it's no use. My car understeers, flying off the road and straight into a tree.
I hear the abrupt, violent sound of impact before my head jerks forward and I fall unconscious.
When I next wake, the scent of burnt tires and metal fills my nose. My head is slumped forward, resting on a deflated airbag. I can't move, conscious but not yet in my body.
"Leave them here to bleed out," a cold voice states from beside me.
A woman is looking into the car from next to me. They've wretched the door off its hinges, surveying me and the damage I've sustained.
I don't feel pain, not yet. I fear that if I have control of my body it will overcome me and I will succumb to it. But I so desperately want to look to see if Eldon is okay.
"Alpha Venn made it very clear no more humans can die at our hands," another voice states from Eldon's side.
"Exactly, this wasn't out fault."
"He will know better," he snaps. "If they survive and report seeing one of us walk out in front of their car, he will kill us, or cast us off!"
"Better reason to finish them off," she bites back.
"Don't." The man sounds exasperated. "He can sense guilt."
"What do we do then?"
"We take them to him," the man exclaims decidedly. "If he wants to be so charitable, he can deal with them himself."
Despite my injured state, I'm more so overcome with panic. They can't take me to Venn and they have no idea what will happen to me if they do. That is, if he hasn't already taken a wife.
"No…please…" I groan softly.
"Quiet human. You're lucky we're saving you at all," the woman growls at me, ripping at the seatbelt holding my body up.
It snaps, and I slump forward against the wheel. A flash of pain so violent overcomes me, and I succumb to the darkness once more.
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Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading this story, it means a lot!
If you want to read ahead at any point, you can read this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish and 15 chapters ahead on Inkitt (:
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