↠C h a p t e r S i x↞
MAKING ENEMIES
❝You don't need to throw me to the wolves; they come whenever I call.❞
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I scramble from my seat on the sofa, nearly tripping over my own feet as I quickly shuffle away from the window, the eyes following my movements. The irises dilate to tiny specs of black.
"Amelia!"
Santha's voice sounds from behind me as she moves away from the kitchen and towards me, my breaths come out in short pants with the sound of my blood rushing through my veins. Those eyes hold me in place, the fear within me spreading down the length of my spine, they stare through me and feed on the terror that's coming off my being — it brings me back to the incident that took place in the comfort of my home, where I lost my mother.
The sudden sound of a door slamming open and thudding against the wall causes me to jump and look to the side in time to see Arsen hop from the top of the steps all the way to the bottom; his face was half shifted, what was once his nose now in place of a snout, patches of hair covering the skin of his face. Small specs of his canines peek from his mouth, snarling with dangerous intent.
He was in front of me within a second, his large frame blocking my view of the orbs that glowed from outside the window, he was so close to me that I could feel the heat his body produced and see the small tremors that shook his form. His warmth wrapped around me like a protective blanket dispersing the fear and terror that took control of my body — an animalistic growl vibrated the particles in the air, shuttering against my own chest.
I stare at his back in shock, his stance rolling with aggression, the muscles within his back contracting as if he was holding back from jumping through the glass. The feel of a hand on my elbow brings my attention away from Arsen to see Santha standing beside me with a serious expression.
"Calm down Arsen, it's just Grey," she says, her voice soothing.
He only growls in return, the trembling in his body increasing in intensity. Santha quickly glances at me, giving me a look, I frown at her when she turns her eyes away to glance at the window.
"Come inside," she orders to the eyes that flicker to her, she doesn't look away as the eyes stare intensely at her before they flick back toward me.
I tense, Arsen's growling grows in volume his arm shooting back to push me further back and out of sight. My mouth opens in a silent gasp at the small sparks that erupt at the slightest brush of our skins; soon the yellow eyes were gone from the window. Santha sighs from beside me and moves around us.
"I didn't expect visitors so soon," she mumbles to herself.
I step away from Arsen and move all the way to the other side of the room, breathless and avoiding his gaze as I swallow the lump in my throat: my nerves still buzzing from his touch. I can feel his eyes on me when I turn to look at Santha who seemed to be in deep thought.
"Who was that?" I ask, watching as she blinks and shifts her focus to me.
"That was one of our people," she answers, scratching at her nape. "I specifically told them all to avoid this area."
I sneak a quick glance behind me, Arsen standing near the sofa with a thoughtful expression as he looked at me with pursed lips. I stand momentarily stricken at the sight of emotion on his face, and at that moment there was a knock at the door that caused his expression to fall away, his focus snapping to the door. Santha moves toward the structure and as her hand hovers over the knob, she looks over her shoulder at Arsen.
"Play nice," she warns with a pointed look.
He grunts just as she opens the door, the chilling air from the storm swirling inside and instantly bringing forth goosebumps along my arms that rise beneath my long sleeve shirt, a silhouette fills the doorway a few inches taller than her as it moves forward and steps inside. A small rumble reverts from Arsen's side of the room, Santha shot him a glare as the figure passed her and stepped into the glow of the living room's light; 'Grey' was actually a female, a female with pale skin and black hair that outshined the dark sky and intense grey eyes that stared deep into my soul. There was no denying the disgust clear in them.
I knew for a fact she didn't like me. Her clothing was a bit. . . odd, being that she was dressed in what seemed like leaf clothing, way different from what Santha usually wears. The clothing consisted of a skirt, made from stitched leaves to create the clothing and a top similar to a bikinis'. The woman didn't seem to care about showing extra skin as she walked further into the cabin. Santha closes the door, cutting off the winter's harsh blow from filling the cabin more and moves to the woman's side.
"What are you doing here, Grey?" she questions, an edge to her voice. "I thought I told you all, not the venture out this way."
Grey doesn't answer for a moment, still looking me up and down in a way a predator would do to their meals, I shifted uncomfortably in my spot before she turned away to look at Santha.
"Obviously I wasn't there when you made the announcement," she answers, her voice low and soft yet with an undertone of something else.
"What made you come this way?"
"I was hunting when I came across its scent." she casts a look my way, sizing me up once more, I frown this time, her grey eyes darkening.
Arsen growled, snapping his teeth in her direction, his hazel eyes focused on her. Grey lazily shifts her gaze toward him, looking him up and down too, a small hint of appreciation flickering through her eyes at the sight of his bare chest, an uncomfortable feeling reared into my chest with a sinking feeling; I didn't like it. And I didn't like the way she was looking at him, which made me more confused than I already was.
"When did he change back?" she asks with interest, turning her full attention to Arsen, her nostrils flaring.
I grit my teeth, the same time Arsen recoils with a hint of disgust on his face. That shouldn't have made me feel better either.
"That doesn't matter," Santha answers with furrowed brows before she sighs. "You being here is what we tried to prevent but knowing you. . " she pauses, shaking her head. "Well, since you're here, I can introduce you two." she soon turns her attention toward me, plastering a smile on her lips.
"Amelia this is Grey, Marcus's sister," she starts off, gesturing with her hand at the girl, "and Grey this is Amelia, the one Arsen saved."
Nervously wetting my lips, I wave, "Hi."
She stares at me with unblinking eyes, her intense gaze making me fidget and twist my fingers, there was a cold air around her that stood out beside the darkness behind her eyes. For someone young there was a lot of anger hidden within her, some of it directed towards me. She doesn't say anything to me and looks away and to Santha.
"This is her?" she asks, "The half-breed?"
Her eyes once again look me up and down as if I was someone lesser than her, the look in her eyes was slowly starting to piss me off and nudge at something deep in me, it rumbled and quietly but surely rattled my core.
"Yes," Santha forces out, "this is Amelia."
Grey hums, "I don't know what I was expecting. She seems completely human, both weak and frail."
My teeth snap together behind my lips and I find myself turning around and walking to the sitting area, sitting back in my original spot I had occupied not too long ago, my tea was cold but I still reached from and picked it off the coffee table and sipped at it; hoping for it calm down my boiling blood. I didn't appreciate the looks and jabs at my being from left to right. I felt his heat from behind me and the small currents that passed between us and for the first time I didn't mind them, they kept my mind busy and actually put me a bit at ease.
"Why don't we go talk in private." Santha wasn't asking.
They both move to the stairs, traveling up the stairs, her eyes still focused on me before they disappeared to the second floor; I exhale upon their absence and lean forward to set my mug down and slouch in my seat. I place a hand on my forehead leaning further back until my head rested on the back of the sofa and shut my eyes, tension running through my veins as my mind raced with the thought that my stay will become more difficult in more ways than one.
"It. . . . okay. . ."
My eyes fly open, colliding with beautiful hazel as Arsen stands above me, my mind takes a moment to realize that he spoke. . to me, for the first time. Shock takes over a side of my mind, disabling me from talking for a moment before I could open my mouth he beat me to it, the look of determination consuming his eyes.
"Me. . . protect you. . bad people. . . I kill." Though he struggles to speak and picking the right words, he gets his point across, the look in his eyes telling me he meant every word.
I didn't know if I should be shocked that he spoke to me or that he was trying to comfort me with the thought that he had my back.
× × ×
Thirty minutes passed before a door from upstairs squeaks open and the sound of footsteps making their way down the wooden steps fill my ears, from the dull presence I already knew who it was and didn't turn away from drowsily watching the flames flicker about. The steps stop at the bottom and soon move to the front door.
"I'll let Marcuse know you stopped by," Santha says somewhere near the steps.
There was a small growling noise before the sound of the front door opening filled the area, the harsh sounds of the winds outside crashing against the house and rattling the tree leaves, just before Grey left I looked over my shoulder despite myself, her gaze caught mine.
She threw me a crooked smile, "It was nice meeting, half-breed, hope to see you real soon. . ."
She left the cabin with the door thudding shut behind her, I release another sigh for the night, my gaze shifting to Santha who was holding the bridge of her nose.
"What a nice girl," I couldn't help but say sarcastically.
She shakes her head, sighing herself, "I'm sorry about her," she starts off. "She can be a bit. . . difficult when she wants to be."
"No, she's a real ray of sunshine," I tilt my lips and turn back to face the fireplace, Arsen shifts in his spot on the one-sitter chair off to the side.
"She wasn't always like this, she was a sweet girl but since then her hatred for humans has only grown," she explains.
I shut my eyes as she continues to talk, "There is so much for you to know and for us to inform you about, Amelia, us being what we are isn't the start of it."
"Well," I begin, looking up and connecting gazes with Arsen. I watch his pupils enlarge and feel the air grow tight. "I'll be waiting."
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I feel okay about this chapter, I feel like I could have done better. 😫 What do you guys think about Arsen so far? We'll see more of his character as the story moves on 😭😘 I really hope you all are enjoying this story so far, leave some feedback.
No discussion questions this time.
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my Instagram is missing a typo, so here it really is; summerbabe_21 or summer_sweetheart13