Before we knew it, we were on the move once again. It was funny because I loved trains all of my life and now I'm being on one, and I can't help but hope that this ride be over.
Sighing to myself, I glanced at the two additions to our group. Harry seemed comfortable but he was still hesitant about a lot of things. Layla seemed to be quite excited, much to Dezmin's dismay.
A few hours into it, a boy came up to us, panting and wheezing with his hands on his knees. "Thank god." he said. "I thought I'd never find you guys!"
I turned and my eyes met with familiar turquoise ones. I burst out into a huge grin. "Toby!" I exclaimed and pulled him into a hug. He returned it with a smile. "Nice to see you again, Rou!"
"Hey, Toby!" Layla called, ruffling the boy's hair.
Toby laughed. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Layla, Dezmin, and some guy I seem to have seen before but have no idea about the name."
Harry laughed. "I'm Harry. Where you've seen me before, I have no idea."
Toby shrugged and turned to Dezmin. "Anyway," he said. "I met up with Liam and Hunter by the way."
Dezmin's eyes widened." You gave them my message?"
Toby nodded. "Liam seemed a bit hesitant and Hunter was surprised but they complied nonetheless."
"That reminds me," I spoke up. "How are they doing?"
A smirk spread across Toby's face but he didn't say anything.
Dezmin narrowed his glance at Toby. "What?"
Toby laughed. "Well, the two of them seem to be getting along quite well now." he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "And they have a new friend."
"A new friend?"
He nodded. "Yup. His name's Jesse and he seems to be quite a nice person."
Dezmin raised his eyebrow at him. "Why do I get the feeling that you've done something?"
Toby pouted. "What? I only gave him my mark so it'll be easier to find the three of them!"
"Ah." Layla said, a smirk playing on her lips. "Quite an ordeal you've made for yourself, eh?"
Toby rolled his eyes. "Sure. Make whatever you want of me."
Layla and I both burst of laughing. He was a funny guy without fail. "But," I interjected. "What's the mark you keep talking about?"
Layla snickered and Dezmin's cheek tinted pink and he gave a nervous chuckle.
"What?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.
Toby grinned and leaned up to me. He was dangerously close and suddenly, Dezmin grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back.
"Yeah, how about no?" Dezmin retorted towards the smirking brunette and started tickling him.
"Aw, come on, big bro!" Toby laughed and clutched his stomach in laughter. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" he breathed as Dezmin finally let go of him.
Toby stuck his tongue out at Dezmin and ran behind me. "If you wanna hurt me, you gotta go through your mate, first!" he said with his tongue out.
Dezmin's eyes widened and everyone else caught on to what Toby had just said. Even Toby covered his mouth as he mumbled in shame, "I wasn't supposed to say that, was it?"
I looked wide eyed and mouth agape at Dezmin who was biting his lip. His gaze set on mine and I looked at him, confused.
"I'm your what?" I asked.
He looked at me and was taking tiny steps back as I walked closer to him. "Answer me, Dezmin." I ordered, coming closer. "I'm your what?"
"Mate." He whispered, still backing away. He shut his eyes and backed up against the wall. "You're my mate." he repeated, so quiet that I almost didn't catch it.
I've read about werewolves before so I knew that at some point in their lives they mate and that mate is their eternal soul mate. I looked at Dezmin warily, his eyes not meeting mine. Instead, he slid down the wall and put his head in his hands.
I was amazingly confused. What in the world was going on? I was Dezmin's mate? What? Since when? Why didn't he tell me?!
I felt Layla's tiny hand on my shoulder. "Rou-"
Suddenly, the train shook and came to a crashing stop, making us all fall back to the other side. When we were recovering and trying to gain ourselves, a voice echoed through the speakers.
"Watch out." a girl's voice said and by the tone of her voice, I could tell she was slyly smiling. "We're coming to get you!" another playful voice echoed.
Right then, I heard Dezmin yelp. I turned around and my eyes widened in fright. There he was. Dezmin on the ground, unconscious, and behind him was another man with a bored and lazy look on his face. A slow grin appeared on his face as he made his way towards us.
Layla grabbed mine and Harry's collar and pulled us back and started going through a compartment/door kind of thing. She then turned to Toby who was ready in fighting stance. "Toby! Get out of here to Liam and Hunter!" He nodded in response and opened the window beside him and jumped out without hesitation. Layla turned back and pushed us in the thing and before we knew it, everything went black.
***
I opened my eyes and tried to rub the drowsiness away, but I realized I couldn't move my hands.
"You're tied up, Rou. So don't try and move them. You'll only hurt yourself." a voice said from behind me.
Groaning, I got up and turned to the owner of that voice. Harry shot me a slightly reassuring smile as he showed me that his hands were tied up as well. I looked around and realized that I knew this room. I groaned again. I'd know these cream coloured walls anywhere.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Why're you groaning?"
"Because we're back here!" I told him.
"Back where?"
"The pack house. Of all the werewolves we know now."
Harry took in my words. "How can you tell?"
"The last time I was captured, I was put into this very room." I told him.
"Good to know that you remember it." a feminine voice giggled.
The door opened and a pale girl dressed in complete black that matched with her straight black hair. I gasped. "You!" I exclaimed. "You're Katherine!"
She smiled and I realized there was someone else that she was coming in with. It was another girl, I could tell because of her long curly brown hair. She had her arm around Katherine's shoulder and Katherine's arm was around her waist. By the looks of it, she was limping and Katherine was supporting her. Kathy cooed to the girl and settled her on the sofa in front of the wall we were tied up to. She lifted her head and a small smile came onto her lips as my face contorted in anger.
"Dayna?!" Harry exclaimed, shocked.
She giggled. "Hi, Harry! Nice to see you here!"
I glared at her, while Kathy got behind her and wrapped an arms protectively around her. That, which Dayna dismissed.
"Sweetie, don't worry." Dayna said to her. "They can't hurt me now."
Kathy shrugged and placed a kiss on Dayna's cheek. "Just making sure." she said, then walked over to me and crouched down to meet my eyes.
Her face was emotionless as her hands reached out and caressed my face. A sly smile made its way on her face and she moved his hands across my face. I felt a sharp stinging in my left cheek and glared at her more. She had just slapped me! She gave me a smug look before going back and wrapping her arms around Dayna and helped her up. With a slight wave, the door shut once more, leaving me and Harry with so many more questions then I knew could be answered.
I sighed to myself as I softly tugged on my arms and felt the rope tighten. I groaned in response. Come to think of it, where were the others? Layla pulled us into that thing, and we ended up here.
"Harry," I asked, "Do you know where the others are?"
He shook his head. "No, you and I were the only ones here when I woke up."
"Oh." I replied and got lost in thought.
"Hey, Rou, what do you feel about Dezmin?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean like what's your opinion on him?"
I pondered for a bit. "I don't know, really. I mean he's a good guy and all, but I don't know."
"How do you presume he's a good guy?"
"Harry, when a guy saves you multiple times, you tend to realize that he isn't a bad guy."
Harry stuck his tongue out at my answer and I returned it.
"So what do you think about being his mate?" he asked.
My eyes widened. I had forgotten about that. "I don't know. I don't love him like that..."
"But I think he's in love with you."
I looked at Harry. "What makes you think that?"
"The way he acts around you." he replied. "It's like he's trying his best not to hurt you. To be by you and make you happy. Plus, he seems to have this look when he's around you."
"Really? Why didn't he tell me though?"
A silence enveloped the air till Harry spoke again.
"I think it was because he was scared."
"Scared?"
"Of rejection, Rou. Rejection hurt more than anything in a relationship. You, of all people, know that."
I took in Harry's words. I never knew anything. I was oblivious to all of his feelings and I couldn't believe it. How much had I hurt him? My eyes softened.
"Maybe things would've been better if I fell in love with him."
"You can't guarantee that, Rou."
"I wish I could though."
"Love isn't something you make happen. It comes on its own."
"I know."
"Do you really?"
"I do. Love can also go away just like that."
"Really? I wish my love would go away. Instead, it stays and continues to torture me."
Silence followed after Harry's words. Somewhere along the way, I snapped.
"Okay, ya know what?" I exclaimed and forcibly ripped out the ropes on my arms and emerged triumphant. Harry looked at me like he was staring at a monster. Oh, I wish.
I walked over and untied Harry. He rubbed his wrists and I peeked out the door to see if there was anyone. Zilch. I tapped Harry's shoulder. "Come on, we need to find the others." I told him and he nodded and followed me out the door. I had so many questions piling up and I had a feeling that Dezmin could answer some of them.
***
"What," Jesse asked. "Was that?!"
Hunter snickered. "You're overreacting, Jesse."
Jesse narrowed his eyes at him but sighed. He wasn't sure what Toby had meant when he kissed him. Usually, he'd go and read their minds, but when he peeked into Toby's, he saw a blurry patch of light that he could make out as the scenery speeding past, as if he were on a plane. Toby was the first person he couldn't look into. He thought it was weird, never expecting the fact that someone could block him out. He sighed again and shook his head. He's over thinking it.
The trio was now on a bus, back to town and they were a lot calmer than most people would be. Hunter had shifted back into his human form and was back to fooling around. Liam sighed as Hunter was talking to Jesse. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Dezmin willingly going back to the pack? Something had happened. He glanced towards Hunter. Something didn't feel right about him either. He was still a part of the pack and he had hurt Dezmin before. It felt as if things were coming back now. That attack Hunter launched seven years ago too. Liam bit his lip as he closed his eyes, wanting to be rid of that memory. It was the most terrifying thing he had seen, and certainly, the cause of it was the werewolf in front of him. Liam still didn't know the reason behind that attack, but all he did know, is that Dezmin was supposed to be killed then. But its been seven years now and they're taking action again. Liam also knew that the earthquake was the pack's fault. The Tushara pack was fierce and known for its special abilities. Supposedly, there was some kind of legend behind that pack, but Liam didn't know what it was. He eyed the leather covered book in his bag. Thank god Hunter was able to find it. It was something that shouldn't have fallen into the hands of mankind itself. But this book had a kind of vibe to it. Like it was calling something. Like somebody was writhing to get out. Right then, something clicked in his head. He tapped Hunter's shoulder.
"Hunter, do you know the name of your pack?" Liam asked.
Hunter cocked his head to the side. "Yeah, its Tushara, why?"
Liam furrowed his brows in thought. Tushara.. where had he heard that before?
"Well, we kinda have a full name but I think I'm the only one that remembers it." Hunter replied.
"What is it?" Liam asked.
"Asim Tushara Faolan."
Asim Tushara Faolan.
Liam knew he had heard that before and something just didn't seem right. He pulled out the leather book and eyed the three tiles on the spine of the book. There was a rose on the first one, a white lily on the second one, and a daisy on the third one. He opened the book and the first page caught his attention.
Asim Tushara Faolan. It was a very old clan and one that held a lot of power. It was created by two people. Asim and Faolan. These two men were rogue werewolves from two entirely different packs, but they were connected by one single fact. They were both white wolves.
They found many things in the forest that man inhabited. Unfortunately, humans were also living there. Therefore,Asim and Faolan were not accepted. But a few years later, the humans were massacred by one of their own.
The page ended there and Liam turned to see that the next few pages were not printed, but instead it was written by hand and it was sort of a journal.
March 2, XX47
It was beautiful. He was amazing. Faolan was someone I had never met and he could do amazing things. A dancer,he called himself. Every morning,he would wake up early and dance on the grass. I found being wide awake for once to be something good. The way his feet and hands moved in sync, the way he'd move up and down, it just makes me want to engulf him. The forest provides a beautiful resting place as well. Although, the humans won't let us stay in the middle of it, thus we have been forced out. Though, the forest does not let us leave. Faolan says that it wants us to do something here. I wonder what. We've been here for the past two weeks. Faolan keeps telling me to be patient. That our time will come one day, he promises. His promises are the only ones I know won't break. That's why I can trust him.
-Asim
March 5, XX47
The humans found us. They threatened us and tried to hurt us. Something happened though. Faolan was attempting to help me out of here, but I wouldn't move. i was watching as suddenly the humans burst into flames. All their villages and their children. They were all burning. Faolan looked horrified and he pulled me to him. He was protecting me. Before I knew it, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
-Asim
March 12, XX47
Seven days has passed since the massacre and Faolan won't let me out of his sight. He said I was too reckless and almost got myself killed. I tried to argue, but I knew he was right. I don't have much to write today. I've been trapped in the house by my lover and he won't let me out.
-Asim
March 20, XX47
Blood, blood everywhere. Its all red... all you can see is red.. blood... the blood of my lover...