Rendered speechless from the immediate captivation, all I could do was stare as though I'd lost my mind altogether.
The first thing that I noticed were those alluring eyes; they were light brown, almost to a shade of rare gold. A strong jawline outlined his tan face and full lips were pressed in a straight line. He had shaggy dark brown hair, messy in a sexy kind of way. I had to crane my neck in order to look up at him.
There was something about those eyes that was almost familiar to me.
"Sorry," I finally uttered after embarrassingly falling in a trance.
The man's lips slowly curved into a grin that barely met his eyes. "You're good," his deep voice sent a chill down my spine.
"What?"
His eyes flickered to the stage and then back to me.
"Oh... right... thanks," I replied slowly after his hands left me.
I watched as he bent down in front of me, dangling something in front of my eyes. "You dropped this," he stated, his voice doing wonders to my insides.
My eyes flickered to the charm bracelet, almost forgetting I owned the thing. I did, however, notice it appearing slightly different than it usually looked. Maybe I'd stepped on it when I dropped it? Smiling, I took the bracelet from him and clasped it around my wrist. "Thanks."
I watched like a robot as the man turned away and headed back into the crowd of people. It was then that I noticed the rest of him. He was quite broad; I could see muscles flexing against a black t-shirt. I noticed a tattoo on his arm, although I couldn't see what it was. Once he was out of sight, I was quick to spin around and face a partly distracted Donovan. "Did you see that man's face? He was gorgeous."
Donovan arched an eyebrow. "You're starting to sound like Crystal."
"Please, tell me you saw."
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
I shook my head dismissively at him. "Anyway, as I was saying... What's going on with you and Kat?" I lightly tugged at his wrist as we both made our way through the festival. I was desperate to hide how frazzled I was by encountering that man. I'd never been won over by looks before but, deep down, I knew it was something more than that.
Now I'm sounding crazy.
My eyes studied Donovan's expression; it was usually impossible to tell what this guy was really feeling. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure, you do. You know, Kat; my very beautiful best friend. You can tell me."
"There's nothing going on."
I paused, deciding to let it go for now. "Okay. Whatever you say." My eyes scanned the row of vendors selling food. Inhaling through my nose, the delicious aroma took hold of my senses, eliciting a growl from my hungry stomach. "So, what are we feeling?"
"Whatever you want."
I sighed at Donovan's... flatness. I couldn't tell if I was boring him or not. Sure, he was a good guy and all... but a little life in him wouldn't hurt. "Mm. Well, I'm feeling a poutine. Want to split the veggie kind?"
"Sure."
After purchasing the poutine loaded with fresh veggies and a can of pop for each of us, we scouted out a free picnic table near the side of the street. Donovan's attention was elsewhere, so I placed mine on how delicious the food was. A distraction did, however, begin to irk me as an itching sensation arrived on the wrist that wore the charm bracelet. No matter how aggressively my nails scratched, the itch could not be settled.
"So, Donovan," I started casually, willing myself not to scratch and accidentally draw blood. "What's your take on this whole wolf thing?"
That caught his attention. Donovan was impossible to read, as I'd gathered through the years. Seeing what he was feeling had become a task impossible. In that moment, I could detect a hint of curiosity at my sudden topic. "My take?"
"Yeah. Do you think everyone should be worried?"
He slowly shook his head. "No. It's being taken care of."
"And by taken care of you mean..."
Donovan's eyes studied mine for a few moments and I figured maybe he wouldn't say anything at all. Instead, he lifted his shoulder in a shrug. "I don't know."
I knew if I were to get any information out of anyone, Donovan would be the last person to spill the beans; assuming he knew something. Crystal, on the other hand, was a different story.
"You're that interested in wolves?"
That was my turn to shrug. I reached forward to take a sip of my drink and suddenly my face scrunched up. I held the can over our poutine in front of him. "Here, taste this. It tastes funny."
Donovan arched an eyebrow. "And why would I if it tastes funny?"
I put the can back down, unhappy with the disappointment of a drink. "I think it's flat or something. Damn."
"Want me to get you another one?"
I waved my hand dismissively at him. "No, I'll be fine. Thank you." My eyebrows pulled together at the sight of him peering over my shoulder. "Donovan, is there someplace you need to be? You realize you're not obliged to stay with me, right?"
He flashed me a gentle smile. "I just need to talk with someone for a second. Wait here?"
With food being chewed in my mouth, I flashed him a thumbs up and watched as he lost himself in the bustling crowd. I, on the other hand, tossed the flat pop and the remnants of the poutine box into the nearest trash can. Brushing my hands together, I did a quick sweep of everyone surrounding me.
Crystal and Kat's shift ended an hour from then, at exactly three in the afternoon. That left me an hour to wander and dawdle at every stand set up down the street.
Drumming my fingers against the my leg, I suddenly felt my head lull forward. Straightening my shoulders, I pressed my fingers in my temples and rubbed at my skin. A sudden wave of exhaustion overwhelmed me to the point of nearly falling off of my feet.
My eyes flickered down to the bracelet. Narrowing my eyes, I noticed that, instead of charms of my family's zodiac signs, there was a single carving of a wolf, similar to the one I'd found in the coffee shop.
My head dipped to the side. In a quick motion, I ripped the bracelet off and tossed it to the ground, but it was far too late. My consciousness was slipping and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Deliriousness caused me to stumbled back, using the trash can to stabilize me.
"I think we've found ourselves a day drinker," an accent caught my attention. Glancing up to the side, I saw two silhouettes coming toward me. Sitting away from the crowd was beginning to look like an awful idea. "How are you doing, boozy?"
My eyes narrowed up at him, trying desperately hard to concentrate on his features. "You..." Nothing would come out right; it felt as though my throat was swelling.
What the hell is happening to me?
Strong arms wrap around me, immediately sending a wave of calm to travel through my trembling skin. I didn't have the chance to see which one it was until he spoke to the other. "We need to hurry."
"I can't believe you actually went through with it," the accented guy chuckled. "You drugged her. This festival is so eventful."
My body went limp against the man I knew to be the gorgeous one whom I'd just recently run into. Feeling the wind blow beneath me, I quickly deducted that he had picked me up. All I could see was a blue sky above me as he ran forward to God knows where.
"W-what," I managed to speak, sounding like a drunken teenager. I raised my arm and felt it press up against stubble. A dumb smirk formed on my lips. "That feels... funny."
Another hand pulled my hand away and I frowned.
We came to an abrupt stop. I took that moment to examine my surroundings as best as I could. Nobody else was nearby; did they take me away from the festival?
I began struggling in the man's hold. "Festival," I said in a weak voice.
"Would you stop moving?" The man holding me ordered. "Hurry up," he said in a low growl to the other one.
They brought me inside what looked like an apartment building.
Oh God... were they going to kill me? I wasn't exactly in any state to fight back.
As if that weren't enough, everything afterward went completely black.
♦
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Since when did I have an annoying ticking clock in my room? My arms searched around for my pillow, finding nothing but a smooth surface. My grumble was muffled by my face being pressed up against the cushion beneath me.
It felt nothing like my bed.
Recent memories flashed through my mind, causing me to snap up. "Ouch," I mumbled, pressing my hand against my pounding head.
My eyes focused on the surroundings. I was on what looked like a futon; there were no blankets or pillows. There was a window to my right that displayed the empty street and buildings beyond that. The room was small and tidy, resembling a bedroom. I noticed a laptop sitting on a desk. There weren't any photos, or much of anything, for that matter.
I quickly pulled my phone out from my pocket.
26 missed called. 24 text messages. That wasn't what surprised me the most. I gasped once I found out what time it was; 7pm.
What the hell?
The first one I saw was from Donovan; 'Where did you go? Sorry I took so long.'
Then Crystal; 'My shift is done, girlie! Party time! Meet me by the stage. (Mr. Hottie is here, hehe.)'
I scrolled through and opened the most recent one from Carter; 'Okay, I'm getting a bit worried. Where are you? Nobody's seen you since 2 .'
I clicked his name and brought the phone up to my ear.
"Thank God," he greeted. "Where the hell are you?"
"Um..." My eyes did one last scan of the room. "I'm not entirely sure."
"What's going on?"
"I think I'm in an apartment."
"Who's?"
I quietly got off of the futon and crept towards the white doors. "Not sure." I carefully turned the knob and began opening it. My eye's searched through the crack, only to see a vacant apartment. "I don't think anybody's here."
"Get out of there. Do you know what building? I'll come and get you."
"I'll find out. I'll text it to you."
"No. Stay on the phone, okay?"
I heaved out a sigh. "Fine."
Once fully out of the room, I absentmindedly examined the rest of the apartment. Whoever lived there sure kept things tidy.
"Are you still good?"
"You haven't heard any screaming yet."
My hands lightly brushed over of letters that were sprawled on the kitchen table. Curiosity was getting the better of me and I lifted it up, resting the cell phone between the side of my face and my shoulder in the meantime.
"Ella, just get out of there now."
"Okay," I lied. "I'm almost out." My eyes settled on the yellow envelope. There was no name on it; maybe there would be one inside. My finger was just about to poke through the opening until something stopped me.
Or, I guess, someone. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to snoop?"
I jumped, causing the cell phone to crash onto the white floors. I didn't have to turn around to know it was the guy from the restaurant. I slowly turned around in order to face the man standing across the room. He had an amused grin on his face and arms folded across his chest.
After gaining my confidence back, I narrowed my eyes at him and folded my arms as well. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to forcefully take someone into your apartment?"
"I'm sure she would have if she was alive," he said easily. The man started walking closer to me, ignoring the tension building in my body. "Relax. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already." He leaned back on the table and casually flipped through a magazine that was sitting there. "Although, I do like playing with my prey a little... Are you into cars? I believe I've read this damn thing a million times already." He shrugged indifferently and tossed the magazine over his shoulder. The man looked over at me once again.
"What do you want?" I should have been scared. Hell, part of me was. The other part, the curious part, wondered if he would tell me things I needed to know.
His frosty blue eyes flickered up to the roof as though he were in deep thought. "Some chicken wings would be nice. Are you buying?" He turned his attention to the mumbling coming from my phone. "You might want to pick that up." He leaned towards me and lowered his voice to a whisper. "He doesn't sound very happy."
I quickly bent down to retrieve my phone. "Carter?"
"Jesus, Ella. What's happening?"
With eyes examining a chuckling man, I answered calmly, "I'm still trying to figure that out."
"Get out of there, now."
"It's Carter?" The man said; his stance straightened. "May I have a word?"
I narrowed my eyes at the man. "He... wants to speak with you."
Carter paused. "Give him the phone," he spoke in a very pissed off tone.
I numbly handed over the phone and watched a smirk creep on his lips. "Did you miss me?" He started in a chirpy voice. He let out an exaggerated sigh. "No, I'm not going to kill her... You really think that low of me?... She's fine... Would you believe me if I said I'd pinky promise with you?... You're no fun. I'll send her out now. Remember to thank me next time. Oh, and one more thing; tell Mr. Alpha I said hello." He clicked the phone and handed it over to me. "You better leave. He does not sound pleased."
"Who are you?"
The man reached into the fridge and pulled out an apple. Who keeps apples in their fridge? He didn't answer until he swallowed his first mouthful. "Zeke," he said formally, offering me his hand. "And you are Ella."
I tentatively took it. "How do you know that?"
"You're famous around here. The pretty girl that can play the violin. Didn't you know?"
I simply stared at this mysterious man in front of me for a few moments in order to gather my thoughts. "You drugged me."
"So, you remember some things."
"Why did you do it?"
His shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Perhaps I was bored."
"Why do it if you're just going to let me go?"
"You ask a lot of questions. Did you know that?"
"Well, excuse me for being a little confused after waking up in a stranger's apartment."
"I'll give you some advice. The less you know, the better. For you. For your family. Even for your darling friends who are now waiting anxiously to know that sweet little Ella is safe from the big bad wolves out there."
I studied his calm expression, knowing there wasn't more I'd get out of him. "Where's the other guy?"
"Oh, him? He left right away."
"Who was he?"
"Remember my advice, Ella. The less you know," he started walking away. "The better." Zeke stopped in front of a door and opened it to display the apartment building's hallway. "You better leave."
I started walking and stopped in front of him. "Thanks... I think."
"Not a problem, darling."
Instead of leaving, I paused a moment. The words were tickling the ends of my tongue, begging to be said. By the twinkle in his eyes, I knew he could tell I was holding back. So, I let it out. "You're a werewolf."
His devious smile grew, almost answering my question altogether. "That's a dangerous assumption to make, dear Ella."
I cocked my head to the side. "I'm right, aren't I?" On the outside, I appeared calm; nothing could faze me. Little did this man know, inside of me was a blistering storm, threatening to spill over the edge. If he were to prove my assumptions, then I could finally piece together the puzzle that I had been juggling since I was seven years old. This could be it. This could be the answer to everything.
"You better run along to your friends."
Slightly, my shoulders slumped. Instead of prodding, I nodded in defeat and left down a narrow set of stairs. The moment I stepped foot outside, I knew exactly where I was and how to get back to the festival.
The sky was already setting and streetlights were beginning to flicker on.
Zeke and that man drugged me. It had to have been for a specific reason. He wanted to talk to me. Although our conversation was brief, I still found out many things. Carter was, for some reason, against Zeke. Carter was also against wolves.
It was a big assumption to make, but pegging Zeke and the attractive man as wolves may have been the most probable scenario.
As I was walking down a dark street, I heard shuffling from behind. I constantly checked over my shoulder only to find nothing out of the ordinary. I heard it getting closer and I picked up my pace to a jog. My heartbeat was quickening and I was not getting a good feeling. I turned the corner, so did the noise. It was gaining on me. Whatever it was.
I could feel a presence threatening to pounce until a voice from up ahead stopped it. Just as fast as it appeared, it slunk away into the darkness of the evening. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw my friends running towards me with looks of worry written all over their faces.