Unmasked | Book 1 in "Dark Descendants" (Editing)

Chapter 41

His body was sandwiched between hard metal and the bark of a tree momentarily. I reeled back and slammed him against something else.

The third time against a large garbage bin, he let go and was lost behind me in the wind.

Laughing, I looked back at the road. My smile dropped. I was heading straight into a dead end of an alley.

The chorus of the song on the radio hit just as the hood of the car collided with the brick. The rest of the windows shattered.

Ten seconds later, my eyes peeled open. I was met with the feeling of an airbag pressed against me. I unclasped my hands from behind the headrest and sighed in relief. Shaking my head, I undid my seat belt and struggled with the airbag for an insane amount of time. I leaped up, out the broken moon roof and swung myself down to the ground. 

I analysed the hood. It was smashed midway into the wall. A cloud of water vapor curled up from the engine.

The terrible state I left it in caused me to tsk before sprinting away. I felt a tug from the center of my chest, urging me to turn left. I stopped, breathing hard and stared at the road before charging in.

*

Damien bolted out of the pack house when he heard the scream.

Other wolves lingered around a particular girl, trying to figure out what was wrong. He could hear Mrs Underwood emerge from the house behind him but he was already making his way towards the small crowd.

"Hey!" He grabbed onto a teenagers shoulder. "What's going on?"

He shook his head mutely, his jaw moving but no words came out. Must be that serious, he thought as he moved closer. By now people started realizing the presence of their leader and the crowd parted to let him through. In his peripheral vision, a sea of worried and concerned faces swam by him.

As the last trio of wolves parted, Damien halted suddenly. If he had stopped any later, he surely would of bumped into the girl before him. A brown-haired girl. A confused girl staring up at him.

"Rose?" She took a few steps back like she didn't appreciate the proximity.

"I don't understand," she said. "Why did it lead me here?"

Damien's gaze dropped to her necklace. She noticed and glanced down at it herself with a frown, but then found his eyes had traveled to her neck, where a bite wound seemed to start bleeding. "Are you looking for your friend?"

She hesitated. "Where is he?"

"Fallon just left," he answered gently. "For Bulgaria."

"Fallon..." She narrowed her eyes at him as she studied him. "Why...why is he in...?"

"Damien," someone hissed into his ear. He recognised the voice as his second-in-command. "She's bleeding."

Just as he said that, Rose cupped the side of her neck upon realizing there was blood. Her eyes widened as she stared at her wet fingers in horror and her breathing came out louder. It looked like she was having a panic attack.

Damien swore and grabbed her wrist, yanking her bloodied hand out of her sight. She looked up at him, terror shining in her eyes. "Rose, you should come inside."

She slowly shook her head, a foggy look overwhelming her. "No, I...I'm forgetting something."

"You're unwell, just let us take care of you until--"

"NO!" she cried. The rest of the pack started forward at her harsh tone she used to address their leader. Damien didn't even flinch. "I need to remember, I need to remember..." she repeated over and over again as she made her way slowly and dreamily through the pack lands to the other side.