Hey!
An update so early? Insane, I know! But, I have been so eager to write this chapter! You have no idea! I hope you like it! I'm sorry for any mistakes! Don't be afraid to tell me what you think! :D
Thanks for reading!
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Edited: 12/28/14
"You're lying," Drew said, staring at me with his narrowed eyes. When our embrace had ended, which was much longer than I had preferred, he dragged me to his office on the second floor. His office was large, twice the size of my bedroom at home. Bookshelves lined the walls, reaching the height of the ceiling, and a chandelier hung above the center of the office, dangling dangerously over his leather couches. Though, the chandelier provided the majority of the light in the office while random dim lamps scattered the room, mostly near the books. At the front of the office, rested his wooden desk with a spinning black, leather chair. Piles of papers were stacked at the corners of his desk, cluttering his area, and a map stretched out on the hard surface with some areas highlighted. I didn't bother asking him why they were highlighted, not expecting him to inform me.
"I swear, I was only chased by one werewolf, then lost him when I went falling down this hill," I lied, shrugging calmly. In the last five minutes, I had repeated this lie multiple times. He wasn't falling for it; I wasn't going to tell him the truth, mainly because I didn't know how. The last thing I needed was him to think I was crazy about werewolves with red eyes chasing me, before meeting a random guy who claimed he was capable of controlling his transitioning. Plus, I didn't need him worrying about me, turning even more protective on my ass.
He scowled. "Stop lying."
"I'm not lying."
He gritted his teeth together. "Why won't you tell me what happened last night?" He was growing frustrated with me - he ran his fingers through his hair, nearly pulling a chunk out. Thinking about hair, I brought my hand up to my scalp, feeling another bald spot. Caine said somebody who worked for him grabbed my hair and knocked me out - once I figured out who that person was, I was going to beat their ass. Who the hell had the audacity to rip a girl's hair out? I wasn't one of those girls who spent an hour curling or straightening their hair, but I still loved my hair. And, now, I was growing bald.
"I'm telling you the truth," I argued, frustrated that he wasn't falling for it. Since when was I such a terrible liar?
"I don't believe you."
"God, why are you making this such a big deal?" I asked, popping off the lid of a blue highlighter. I groaned in frustration, shaking my head at him. There was a silence - he tapped his fingers on the map in front of him, chewing on his bottom lip. I jabbed the lid back on the highlighter, wondering why he went quiet.
He took a deep breath. "I heard you scream my name last night." My heart nearly leaped out of my chest at those words. Damn it. He had heard me scream his name for help when I was being chased last night? I felt embarrassed; my cheeks reddened a little bit and I tried to play it off that I was hot by waving my hand near my face. He looked at me, several emotions swarming in his eyes. Regret. Sadness. Anger. Feeling my cheeks returning to their normal color, I stopped waving my hand and tucked a strand of my dirty hair behind my ear, sputtering for a moment.
"Oh," was the first word that came out of my mouth. "Well, I, uh, was desperate. The werewolf was gaining on me."
He shook his head. "When I heard you scream my name, I didn't know what to do. I didn't think you were stupid enough to try to escape on the full moon - I was completely chained down." I nibbled on my upper lip, awkwardly playing with the pencils on his desk. "And, I-I tried getting to you, Nora. I almost ripped my hands off in the process, but I couldn't get loose. . .when I had shifted back, I thought you were dead. Do you have any idea what that does to a werewolf? That his mate might be gone? It's one of the worst feelings in the world - I, uh, was relieved when Jay found you."
I gulped loudly at his words. He had thought I was dead? That explained why instead of shouting at me for my escape when I had returned, he pulled me into a hug. Relieved. The word floated through my mind; it was a different word for the time. The mate-pull caused a weird feeling to overwhelm me, but I brushed it away, like always. "Well, I was fine."
"You didn't sound fine," he responded, scowling at me. "You had me fucking terrified, Nora. My first instinct will always be to protect you and when I couldn't last night, it nearly killed me."
"I think you're overreacting," I told him, quietly. "I'm okay now."
"Overreacting?" he repeated, before releasing an unenthusiastic laugh. "Has it not soaked in yet? We're mates, Nora. Whether you like it or not, my first instinct will always be to protect you - no matter what." I took a deep breath; I hated it when he brought up the topic of us being mates. I still hadn't accepted the fact that I was a mate to a werewolf, an Alpha, and I was going to continue to deny it. If my family ever discovered, I couldn't imagine the disappointment, especially from my father.
"I get that," I responded, tossing my hands up in the hair. "But, I'm capable of taking care of myself - God, why can't people see that?"
He frowned. "I know you can, but that isn't going to change my instincts." I glared at him, his words floating through my mind. He took a deep breath, nearly crumbling the map on his desk with his hand. "I just want to know what happened last night - I need to know, Nora. Tell me."
I bit my bottom lip, popping off another lid of one of his highlighters. The mate-pull was urging for me to tell him; to crawl into his lap and explain every single detail. But, I refused to tell him - not until I had figured out some things first. Everybody had their secrets; apparently, he was keeping a secret from his pack about his mysterious meetings and phone-calls. "I'm telling the truth."
He growled. "Whatever." I jabbed the lid back onto the highlighter as he rose to his feet, pushing his spinning chair back. He shrugged his shoulders and walked around his desk to stand beside me. "Lets go eat lunch."
My eyes sweeped around the room. "I want to stay here."
"Why?"
"The books," I blurted, raising an eyebrow. "I want to look at them."
"You told me you don't like the read," he said, skeptically folding his arms across his chest. "And, I assure you, there aren't any comic books in here."
I rolled my eyes. "I just want to read about some things."
"What things?"
"Does it matter?" I countered, impatiently.
"I guess not," Drew murmured, suspiciously. "I'll send someone up." Before I could speak, or complain about another babysitter, he turned away from me without another word. Obviously, he was still upset because I had refused to tell him the truth about what happened last night. I watched him stalk around the leather couches and out the door, not even glancing over his shoulder at me. I shrugged and headed over to the shelves of books behind his desk. The important books had to have been shelved behind his desk - that was where I would've shelved them. I flopped down on the wooden floor and grabbed a thick, red leathery book.
Skills & Techniques
I frowned at the title, though flipped the book open. The first page held pictures of the bones in a werewolf's body, clearly showing how they had more bones than humans. The next page showed how they moved or where they shifted to when a werewolf transitioned. Below the pictures, was a paragraph explaining how to use this as an advantage. I didn't bother reading, not really caring and already knowing enough from my father.
"Hey, look who survived the full moon," a familiar voice sang, startling me. I already knew who it was before I had even looked over my shoulder. Brody waltzed into the office, eating a ham and cheese sandwich. He closed the office door behind him, then stumbled over to the leather couches where he flopped down, taking a long, dramatic bite of his sandwich. He was wearing a band t-shirt with sweatpants that clung to his small waist. "This sandwich is seriously the best - want a bite?"
He extended his sandwich out towards me, even though I was on the other side of the room. My stomach growled at the sight of the ham squished between the two pieces of bread. But, I scrunched my nose up in disgust and answered, "I'll pass."
He shrugged. "Your loss."
I shook my head, reminding myself to remain focused. I closed the book shut and slid it back into its place on the shelf. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed another thick book, except this one was the color of vomit. Werewolf Guidelines. Really? I thought, wondering how in the hell there was a book about werewolf guidelines. I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, before shoving the book back onto the shelf. "So, what are you searching for?" Brody asked, licking cheese off his lips. "You look serious."
"Nothing."
"Liar!" he sang, raising his voice to a high-pitch. "Come on, tell me. Are you searching about how to be a better person?" I whipped my head around and glared at him, wiping away the grin that had formed on his face. Keeping my temper locked down, I exhaled loudly and turned my attention back to the books - why was everybody interested in my business? Didn't they know to keep their noses out? "I could help you; I've read pretty much every book in here."
I gave a quiet laugh. "Sure you have."
"I have," he retorted, seriously. I looked over my shoulder, seeing a little hurt on his face from my disbelief. "I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but I love to read, don't you? You're able to take yourself to whole different world - that's what I like." He waved his sandwich around, before biting into it again. He smacked his lips together as he chewed, flinching at the hot cheese on his lips.
I frowned. "You've seriously read all these books?"
"Seriously," he replied, wiping the hot cheese off his lips with his thumb. He shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth, causing his cheeks to puff out. I shook my head when he oddly reminded me of a chipmunk that had visited my house in the summers. He chewed loudly, trying not to choke - I looked around at the bookshelves, realizing there were hundreds of books, more than at the local library. "I could help you find whatever you're looking for."
"You would?"
"Yeah," he said, pushing himself off the couch. "As long as it isn't about how to kill me, then I'll help."
"I already know how to kill you."
He froze. "You aren't going to kill me, are you?"
"I won't if you help me," I said, forcing a grin. "But, if you don't, I'll stab you in the heart with one those pencils." I gestured towards the jumble of pencils on Drew's desk and his eyes widened. He swallowed loudly and approached him, hesitantly. "Oh, and you can't tell anyone, especially Drew."
Brody frowned. "But, he's my Alpha."
"Wow, that one pencil looks extremely sharp," I said, slowly rising to my feet.
He waved his hands. "Okay, I'll keep quiet!" I grinned, holding back a laugh at his strange personality. I situated myself more comfortably on the floor and gestured beside me. Reluctantly, he plopped down and crossed his legs, tilting his head to one side. "So, what are you looking for?"
"Well, last night, I tried escaping," I said, receiving a slow nod in response. "This is going to sound really crazy, but I wasn't chased by normal werewolves last night. I mean, they had red eyes, Brody. And, they were strong and fast, like an Alpha. But, they weren't Alphas - I'm sure of it."
"That does sound crazy."
"Brody."
He raised his hands, innocently. "Sorry! Look, maybe you just imagined it all." He shrugged and rose back to his feet, stretching his arms out wide. "It's possible."
"How can I imagine something like that?"
"Maybe you have schizophrenia."
I glared at him as I grabbed another book off the shelf next to me. This book was a dark blue, almost the color of my brother's bedroom. On the front was the title in shiny, gold letters: Strategies. Growing frustrated with the lack of useful books. I shoved the book back into its place and looked at Brody, fighting with the thoughts in my head. "I'm not crazy, okay? But, this is the best part - when they were chasing me, I fell down this hill. At the bottom, I looked up and they weren't there anymore. Werewolves don't give up on their prey that easy - they should've continued after me, Brody. Then, this guy stepped out and next thing I knew, somebody was knocking me out and - "
"That's crazy."
I groaned. "I think we've established enough how crazy this all sounds!"
"Sorry," he muttered, shrugging. "I don't know what else to say."
I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling the bald spot from Caine's worker. "And, when I woke up, the same guy was standing there, watching me. He told me that those werewolves chasing me sensed his power and ran the other direction. It was a full moon last night a-and he wasn't in his wolf form. He said that through the years, he managed to control his transitioning."
Brody frowned. "How? Alphas can't even control themselves."
I nodded. "Exactly." I reached up to the next shelf, grabbing a lighter book. Like the first book, it was a deep red color, though it wasn't leathery. I flipped it onto its front side and read the title: War. I frowned, wondering what was mentioned inside. But, I couldn't waste the time skimming through it - though, I made a mental note to return to the book later. I placed the book back onto the shelf and looked back at Brody. "And, he told me that he's protecting me."
He laughed. "This is kinda awesome."
"It's not funny," I said, scowling. "This is serious."
He cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry."
My eyes skimmed over the spines of the books near me. "Something about this guy isn't right."
"Well, duh!" Brody responded, making it sound as if I was stupid. He walked around the leather couches, frowning. "No werewolf is capable of restraining himself on a full moon. And, the whole 'sensing' thing? Werewolves are able to sense each other's power - it's usually how we figure out where we're ranked in packs. But, there's no way he was that powerful to make them fear him and run away. To be that powerful, it'd have to be all Alphas combined."
"Then, he was lying?"
He twisted his lips. "Or, you're crazy."
"I will stab you," I told him, gesturing towards the pencils. His eyes widened as his hands shot up, innocently. "But, what if he wasn't lying?"
"I think he is," Brody said, walking back towards him. "I mean, only the Volkov brothers are capable of power like that and they're - "
"Wait, what?" I interrupted, rising to my feet. He stopped in front of me and relaxed against Drew's desk, playing with some cheese between his thumb and index finger. "The Volkov brothers? Who are they?"
"You've never heard of them?" Brody responded, confused. "You're a hunter - you should know these things." He brushed past me, approaching a shelf nearly four feet away. He dragged his index finger along the spines of the books, muttering to himself. Suddenly, his finger stopped on a thick, red book wedged between two black ones. He yanked it out and hurried back towards me, giving me a quick wink. Maybe he has read all the books in here, I thought, just as he dropped the heavy book onto Drew's desk. Frantically, he began flipping through it, nearly ripping the fragile pages. "They're in here somewhere. . ."
Suddenly, he stopped on a page, grinning. Most of the page consisted of words, written in fancy, curly handwriting. But, up in the right corner, was a black and white picture of a three guys. Their hair was longer, though pulled back into low ponytails. All three of them were tall with bulky bodies consisting of heavy armour, muddy boots, and sharp swords in their hands. Creepily, their eyes stared directly into the camera, narrowed slightly, almost as if they despised whoever was taking the picture. There was enough anger in their eyes to cause fear, though enough mystery to cause curiosity. My eyes paused on the familiar face of Caine, standing in the middle. I knew that if the picture hadn't been black and white, his eyes would've been a captivating emerald. "Caine."
"I thought you haven't heard of them?" Brody blurted, confused.
"No, the guy is Caine," I said, pointing at him in the picture. "He told me his name."
Brody stepped away. "Is this a joke?"
"Do you really think I would joke about something like this?" I asked, watching his expression. He shrugged his shoulder and glanced towards the pages of the book. "So, Caine is one of the Volkov brothers? What does that mean?"
"No, it isn't possible."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, he - "
"He's dead."