The Truth in Pain | Book Two of the In Pain Trilogy

Why You So Obsessed With Me?

Jacey's hand squeezed down hard on Jasmine's. Jasmine had to bite back her cry, instead allowing her mother to drag her down the hall. Their footsteps slapped heavily on the carpeted floor, their heavy breathing mingling with the loud confusion surrounding Jasmine's head. She kept looking back, to see what exactly her mother was running from but all she saw was an empty hallway.

"Mommy, what's going on?!" she exclaimed. Jacey's face was terrifying. She looked afraid, and she never ceased her muttering. That was what scared Jasmine more than anything else. It didn't sound soft, like her usual prayers were. This was deep, guttural and choppy. She kept breaking off and starting over again, looking more and more frustrated. Jasmine wasn't sure if she was really praying anymore.

"Mommy!" Jasmine tried pulling her hand from Jacey's but her mother wasn't having it. Jacey's grip tightened and she tugged on her hand, pulling her closer to her.

"Don't distract me!" Jacey shouted. "Stop the talking and hurry up!"

"Why are we running?!" If there was one thing Jasmine hated, it was being out of the loop. She completely ignored her mother's command and wrenched her hand from hers with one good pull. She stopped running, panting hard. Jacey whirled on her, eyes wide and breathing heavily, but when she made another grab for her, Jasmine stepped out of the way.

"What's wrong with you?" Jasmine demanded. "Why are we running?"

"Look, Jasmine." Jacey reached for her, holding her by the shoulders. The look in her eyes made Jasmine's heart race. It was filled with such urgency. "I'll explain everything on the way. You have to trust me right now, okay? We aren't safe here."

"On the way where? Why aren't we safe?"

"Jasmine, please! The spell won't last long so we have to get as far as we can!"

Jasmine opened her mouth, to ask what the hell she was talking about, but a loud crash from behind stifled her words. Jasmine jumped at the sound, looking behind her. Standing at the very end of the hallway was Rich and his two friends. They had busted her door down and now, they stood with their noses in the air, head darting all over the place. Rich slowly lowered to his hands and feet and sniffed the ground. They were searching for something, Jasmine could tell.

Suddenly, Rich's head snapped up. His golden eyes burned bright from the distance, latched on to her. Simultaneously, so did Wendy's and Mason's. Their eyes glowered brightly at her.

Then they began running.

Jasmine was no fool. She knew they were coming for her. Rich began running on all fours, growling and snarling. Wendy and Mason were grinning like mad fools, running on the walls, coming back down, baring their teeth.

She was pulled out of her frightened frozen state by Jacey. Her mother was muttering again, and this time, Jasmine had a sneaking suspicion is one of those spells she mentioned.

"Hurry!" Jacey shouted. Jasmine wasn't about to argue. She set off running too. Fear gathered in her heart, pumping her legs until they grew numb. Still, she didn't look back once, not even when she heard them collide in something behind her. She just kept on going.

Jacey pulled her down another hallway, then into the closest door she could find. It was a maintenance room, filled with mops, brooms and utility supplies. She locked the door behind her, then grabbed a chair and shoved it beneath the handle.

"Mommy, what's going on?"

"I'll explain everything later, Jasmine." Jacey grabbed Jasmine's face, looking deep into her eyes. "Calm down."

Better said than done. Jasmine was hyperventilating. Tears ran down her face without restraint and her mother wiped them away. She tried taking deep breaths, but it was hard seeing that there were three supernaturals coming after her and her mother was being too cryptic for her liking. First she was attacked by three lycans, now this. What was happening here?