The ride could've been really awkward but it wasn't. Landon was chatting with us the whole time and it turned out that he was pretty cultured.
Cassie toned down the flirting, which I was very thankful of because I would be really uncomfortable being the third-wheel of my sister and her older date. I prayed they wouldn't forget me and kiss while I was in the backseat. Gross.
"Thanks for waiting, something came up with my other job." Landon was saying.
"You work two jobs? What else do you do besides bartending?" Cassie teased a piece of her platinum blond hair with her index finger.
"I go around to other. . . companies and talk to their workers." He said simply and I wondered who he worked for.
"So you're like a businessman."
"Yeah, you could say that."
"What company do you work for?" I asked and they both paused, almost as if they'd forgotten that I was in the backseat.
"I actually work for my parents."
I was about to ask him if he liked his jobs or had a bigger dream he was chasing after but Cassie changed the subject.
"Wait a second, how old are you?"
I continued to stare out the window, watching as the unruly trees passed by and the road narrowed. It was very dark out, pitch black with an exception of scattered moonlight.
"I just turned twenty-one." He said matter-of-factly.
"If I met you before today this would've been illegal." She laughed.
"It was illegal as soon as I gave you alcohol." Landon grinned and I noticed that he was constantly looking in his rearview mirror.
"Hey, I'm very mature for my age." Cassie said lightly while smiling and I could see she really liked him. She isn't afraid to give a guy the hint. Usually, she went through guys in a few weeks, she had a rule where she won't date the same guy for more than three months.
While I've never had a boyfriend.
"I'm sure you are."
"I'll show you how mature I am." I didn't like where this conversation was going, I wanted to stop being the third wheel.
Suddenly, I noticed that we'd been driving longer than I thought we would. I tried to find a street sign or some hint as to where we were but there was nothing but trees, trees and more trees. I didn't even know this part of town existed.
Something didn't feel right.
Cassie realized the same thing a second after I did. "Are we lost? I have no idea where we are."
She took out her phone and I looked around, feeling a little anxious. I didn't recognize where we were but I knew that we were definitely not in the right place.
That was when Landon locked the doors and floored it.
"What the hell?" Cassie screeched as her phone almost flew out of her hands. She tried unlocking the door but it wouldn't budge.
"Sorry about this," He apologized sincerely and I widened my eyes, desperately trying to unlock the door, "Please relax,"
"How can we relax when you're acting like a psycho murderer?" She violently tapped on her phone to call 911.
"This won't make much sense but just trust me, okay?" Landon cleared his throat and looked sideways at Cassie and then back at me. He didn't have the eyes of a killer.
But I didn't know him at all.
"Stop the fucking car and unlock the door." Cassie demanded loudly.
"I can't do that."
"Landon!"
My heart hammered in my chest, feeling sick.
"Where are we going?" I asked as calmly as possible but my voice still shook.
"I'll explain once we get there." That was all we got.
"Why can't you tell us what the hell's going on?" Her voice scratched my ears. He winced at the harsh tone of her voice but he didn't explain.
Landon sped through the woods and cut a sharp left turn onto a hilly dirt path.
Cassie met my eyes in the rearview mirror and I caught the subtle look in her eyes. She wanted me to run as soon as he unlocked the door.
After an agonizing ten minutes, Landon drove us up a hill and there, sitting on the top was a gigantic castle. Verdant vines climbed up the black-bricked fortress and as we got closer, I saw that there were three figures standing infront of the tall doors to welcome us.
Or kill us, I didn't know which.
As soon as Landon turned off the car and unlocked the doors, Cassie and I instantly opened the doors but they were right there. One grabbed Cassie and another grabbed me.
I silenced my terrified thoughts and instead studied them carefully.
The one who was holding me had soft blond hair and a kind, youthful face. He had a few faint freckles sprinkled across his nose and forehead.
And the one holding Cassie. . .
It was him, the mysterious stranger watching us earlier at the party. He was much bigger up close. I was afraid he'd snap her in half.
"What on Earth is going on? Why isn't there any service up here?" Cassie held up her phone to the sky, hoping to find a signal, but the one with the short brown hair threw her phone to the ground and shattered it with his foot.
"No phones."
Cassie didn't say anything. She must've been scared by his outburst, just like I was.
"Let's go," He gave the orders and the blond man pushed me forward. I shot Cassie a look but she shook her head, telling me not to run.
I forced myself to walk, one leg after the other, and held my breath as we left the safety we had known our entire lives.
.•*•.
"We've told you a million times," Cassie sighed in frustration, "Our names are Cassie and Maddy Aster, our parents are Leon and Lori, we've lived in Appleby since we were born. Now what the hell do you want with us?" She demanded.
I stayed silent and looked down at the floor. I knew better than to get in the way of my sister's wrath.
The men Landon handed us off to were now interrogating us. They asked us question after question about every little personal detail in our lives. I was about to have a panic attack with this enormous invasion of privacy.
"Stop, they've answered all the questions." Landon finally spoke up after he'd been quiet the whole time.
"Yet we don't have any real answers." The one with the short brown hair, whose name I learned was Drake, retorted.
"Maybe they're not the ones." The boy with the blond hair suggested.
"I don't understand what any of these questions have to do with kidnapping us. Like, what the hell!" Cassie scowled and I shared her anger. I just tried not to show it.
To distract myself, I looked into the fireplace and watched the embers dance. Without the warmth, I was sure my body would've been bitten by the cold.
"They're the ones, Beta," Drake looked at the blond boy, who looked between Cassie and I. I still had no idea what they were talking about.
"The ones?" Cassie asked, "The ones for what?"
"Maybe we haven't been honest with you." He frowned at his fists.
"Start off with your names." I blurted and everyone looked at me.
"Very well, I'm Drake, that's Conrad and you already know Landon." The mean one with the short brown hair introduced. "Where should I start? Oh, maybe the part where we're werewolves would be a good place. . ."