The Eve of Darkness

Chapter 2

The dark-haired man groaned and rolled over, slapping his palms onto the dirty floor and pushing himself up. Bryce and Leon, who had jumped out of the destructive, rolling path of the man, were both stunned, staring that him with open mouths. He started aggressively brushing dirt off of his clothes, but missed most of it as if he couldn't see it. His black t-shirt and dark-blue jeans were completely covered in dirt, but from how he barely even tried to get it, it was doubtful the man really cared.

Aria understood the situation pretty quickly - to her disappointment - as the guy looked up, not meeting anyone's gaze, with cloudy, glazed eyes.

Great, now we both are going to die.

"Uh, hey guys," the man greeted, the friendly voice jarring in comparison with both the atmosphere and his build. There was something wonderful about his voice, however, that made Aria want to rip herself out of the restraints and go to him.

The dude is built like a professional athlete, damn.

"Who the fuc-" Irma's question was cut off almost immediately by the stranger.

"So, to put it simply," he started, looked towards Aria's direction with a sudden, soft smile. "That person right there is my soulmate, so I kind of followed the scent and ended up at your doorstep. I was so excited that I forgot to be careful of stairs, though, and fell down here."

Aria stared at the guy in shock. If it wasn't for the blood clogging her nostrils, she probably would have been able to smell it. Even more troublesome, however, was the fact that her supposed mate was not only blind, but surrounded by demented hunters.

No, no, no!

"Aye!" She snapped in desperation. "You need to get out right now. They're hunters!"

Aria shook herself back and forth, ripping at the chains, doing everything possible to break them. The only thing she was successful in was ripping her skin and causing herself to lose more blood.

I can't let my mate suffer the same fate as me!

The man's friendly attitude disappeared in an instant, and Irma, who had been frozen after she was interrupted, seemed to come to her senses.

"Well, well, well," Irma started, probably about to threaten Aria's mate. "I guess it's a two for one today. How exciti-"

"So, the reason why I could smell you from like five miles away," the man interrupted once more, his voice sharp and deadly, "was because you're bleeding right now?"

"Yea... wait, five miles?" Aria knew for a fact that while werewolf senses were good, they weren't that good.

"I see," he responded calmly. "That must also be why this room is completely covered in your scent. I thought it was just me. Okay, I understand the situation now."

Rather than turning tail and getting the hell-outta-dodge, the man bent down and extended one leg to the side, seeming to stretch as if he was preparing for a marathon. He grunted and shifted from side to side, uncaring for the people around him. He tilted his head from side to side, and Aria could hear the bones popping as he did so. As he twisted his torso from side to side, he looked towards Aria.

"My name's Camden, by the way," he commented in a nonchalant manner. "We can do more comprehensive introductions later, darling, but for now, what is your name?"

Aria was in shock. This man was acting like he was the John Wayne of werewolves and she wasn't sure if she found his confidence relatively hot or incredibly cringe.

A little bit of both.

"Uh, Aria."

He smiled. "Aria."

The way her name rolled off his lips sent shivers down her spine—or, up it, in her case.

"As touching as this is," Irma interjected, pulling the machete from her belt. "I have a pack to find and two werewolves to kill."

Camden paused.

"Do you mean the Darkwoods pack?" He questioned, causing Aria to want to curse him out like a Greek mother to her second eldest son.

That is exactly what she did, too.

"You fucking idiot!" Aria snapped, wiggling aggressively and hoping she could get just one hand free to smack Camden. "I've held out for three fucking days just for you to tell these useless paperclips that there is a pack in these woods!"

Not that I knew for sure there was a pack here. Aria kept the last thought to herself.

Rather than be alarmed, Camden simply smiled and jumped back and forth as if he was testing his bearings.

"Aw, you've been protecting my pack?" He held his hands against his heart as if he was touched. "Darling, you are so amazing."

Irma spoke once again, suddenly seeming way less threatening in the presence of Camden.

"Your pack? This is perfect. Bryce, Leon," she said with a sickening glint in her eyes. "Get this mutt in some shackles while I dispose of the bitch."

Aria screamed, not wanting to watch her soulmate fall into the clutches of the same people who had tortured her for days. However, before the men could even attempt to get a hold of Camden, he was digging one hand into the chest of Bryce, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Bryce choked, attempting to say something, anything, but nothing would come out. As fast as he'd dug his hand in, Camden ripped his hand out, shaking his hand back and forth to pointlessly try and remove the blood on it.

"See, as much as they all get on my nerves all the damn time," Camden started, still flicking his hand down. Irma and Leon were shocked into silence, and from Aria's distorted, still upside-fucking-down perspective, she thought she could see Leon's knees shaking. "I have a duty to protect them, so I can't really be of help to you all."

"Protect?" Aria whispered to herself just as another voice came ringing from the top of the stairs.

"Alpha!"

Irma was white as a sheet, and Aria couldn't help the cough of surprise that erupted from her chest.

Camden smiled.

"I am the alpha, after all."

It was carnage.

Camden tore through the hunters as if they were dead twigs ripped off a dying tree. They were weak, helpless, and powerless, as he lunged towards them. Aria had no idea exactly how he knew where they were, but she'd seen enough movies to know that it probably had something to do with scent or sound. As she watched Irma and Leon try and fail to fend for themselves against the alpha, Aira felt the adrenaline pumping through her body lose its effect. She'd lost too much blood, had too little food, and perhaps had too much wolfsbane in her system, that her consciousness could hold on no longer.

"Oh, fuck," Aria cursed, catching Camden's attention for a small moment before he dove back to take out Leon.

Despite her best efforts, Aria passed out.

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A/N: I love Camden. I got so excited I posted early.

See you next week!