Skyler POV
I stood gripping the motorbike helmet. Aidan groaned throwing his hands in the air,
"I swear." He repeated.
I looked suspiciously at him and his mobile death trap. Solemnly I replied, "Swear on your life?"
"I swear on my life I will drive carefully." Aidan repeated.
"You better because if Rayne hears about that." I muttered placing the helmet on my head. Aidan sat impatiently on his bike waiting for me. As I clambered up onto the back of Aidan bike he grabbed my hands and placed them around his waist.
"Hold on tightly." He hazard revving the bike.
"You better drive like I'm your goddamn grandmother. Go nice and slo-"
My sentence was drowned out by the roaring of the engine. Aidan flew out the side street like a bat out of hell, cars on the main road swerved to avoid hitting us. We hurtled up the main street onto the road out of town and into the forest. My stomach lunged into my mouth. I closed my eyes tightly gripping Aidan's waist tighter. I was going to kill him when I got off this bike. The wind roared around my ears with the occasional angry honk of car horn breaking the noise. I opened an eye to check out the scenery.
When I had just got use to Aidan breakneck speed driving he did the unexpected and veered off the road into the forest along a muddy dirt track full of bumps and holes. My breakfast churned inside of me as I was tossed from side to side on Aidan's bike.
When we finally stopped and I had to take off the helmet and run to the nearest bush. After I had finished puking my guts out I angrily yelled at him, "I told you to drive like I was your Grandmother!!!"
Aidan shrugged, "My Grandmother taught me how to drive like that."
We wander through the woods together along a dirt track. Up ahead were a groups of people hanging around, some of them I recognised from the night Aidan attacked me. They whispered amongst themselves as we past except for a sharply dressed lady who flew at Aidan.
"What are you doing bringing humans here!" She yelled.
Aidan snapped, "She's a witch."
"And now she knows the location of your home."
"Oh shut up Nadia."
"I want to speak to you now."
"It can wait."
"I've come all the way from the city to see you Aidan! Have you even seen the state of shoes! I've ruined my favourite shoes to come and speak too you."
"Why didn't you ring me?"
Nadia didn't respond she was too busy examining the state of her Italian leather shoes.
"Look at this mud!" she yelled at Aidan.
"Shut up woman. Go back to the city." Aidan whined pulling me past her.
"That was my cousin Nadia, she is one of the heads of our pack in the city. Most werewolf clans have abandoned to the forest to live in the city."
"So you check up on each other from time to time." I asked.
"Something like that." he said distracted as a group of his buddies came towards us.
"Here boss." One said handing Aidan a cloth parcel. Aidan dismissed his gang and dragged me out of ear shot.
"This is what I want you to do for me," he said unwrapping the parcel, "I want you to destroy this."
Out of the parcel tumbled a leather strap with a large buckle. It was too small to be a belt and to large to be a necklace or even a bracelet.
Taking the object I asked, "What is this?"
"Are you an idiot or something? You're the witch, you should know."
"Pretend I don't."
"This strap is made from the skin of hanged men to give ordinary human beings the extraordinary power to change into a wolf." Aidan explained.
"Is that how you turn into a wolf?"
"No. I was born this way. To protect our packs and our people, my kind seek out these straps and destroy them. Ordinary human beings have no control of their werewolves selves."
"Are you scared that innocent people might be hurt?"
"Don't be ridiculous. If some human goes terrorizing the town with this baby, then will have slayers, hunters, angry mobs with pitch forks coming after us. A few weeks back my cousin heard that a pack were slaughtered by hunters because some kid from the local town brought a wolf strap on the internet I thought it would be fun to wear it to prom. The humans never suspect their own kind." Aidan sneered.
"That's awful."
"Children, even babies were shot dead."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. Just destroy this. Only magic can destroy this." Aidan folded the strap back into the cloth and handed it to me.
"I'll make sure that is destroyed."
"Good. I wish I could offer you a lift home but Nadia is expecting me. Town is that way." Aidan pointed in a direction.
"Whoa, wait one second mister! You can't expect me to walk all the way back!"
"Why did you think I hired you for the day? If I was going to give you a lift back then I would have rented you for the morning."
"You rotten flea bitten mutt! If you weren't going to give me a lift back then why didn't you bring the stupid strap to the store."
"Pfft, I wanted to see you puke." Aidan shrugged walking back to camp.
Picking up the hem of my skirt I began to wade through the undergrowth. My cell phone was back at the store so I couldn't even ring Kai or Rayne for a lift. I like walking but not when there was a storm forecast. Rayne is going to kill Aidan when I tell him about this. After a couple of hours the sky begins to darken with rain clouds. Anxiously I glance up at the sky anticipating the first rain drop. Town must be close now, I can hear the distant hum of traffic and sirens. Suddenly my foot catches on a log, and I hit the floor. The wolf strap falls out of my hand on to the floor and rolls down an muddy embankment. Cursing I ran after the wolf strap as it rolls and tumbles across the floor then stops by a body.
I screamed. I don't know why, but the shock hit me along with cocktail of adrenaline and fear and I screamed. I screamed Rayne's name. He was the first and the last person I needed right now. The wind around me picked up then above me branches splintered and snapped. Rayne dropped down beside me, pulling me against him looking for a threat.
"It's okay, I'm fine!" I said.
"I've been looking for you everywhere! Greg called me and said Aidan had kidnapped you-"
"Rayne, haven't you noticed?" I asked amazed he hadn't noticed the body.
"What? The girl?"
"She's dead." I said tearfully.
"No she's not. I can hear her hear beating."
"Oh my god, she's alive."
"Yeah, she's just suffering from exposure." Rayne shrugged like it was no big deal. I whacked his arm, "Just exposure! We need to get her to hospital."
"It's too late for a hospital. Human medicine wouldn't cure her. I can fix her up."
"Then fix her."
Rayne hesitated for a moment then leaned over her and pressed his hand against her throat. The girl took a massive gulp of air. Color flooded back into her cheeks. She sat up and looked around, "Am I dead?"