I kept my eyes glued to the undergrowth beneath my feet, to make sure I wouldn't slip on the morning dew. Forests had never been my thing, however, because the entire castle was surrounded with nothing but miles of trees I had nothing else to choose from.
I could have joined Judy, Rob and Zara as they went off to meet Zara's parents, but that sounded even more awkward than my stroll through the forest. A first meeting between future in-laws was better left to the parents—something which Vivian agreed with me.
While the trio left for the surrounding pack, Vivian and I had stayed behind in the castle. The said girl immediately after their departure pulled out her book, leaving me to my own devices. And because the inside of the massive castle was too cold for me, I decided to take a stroll through the surrounding forest. A decision I regretted not even ten minutes into the walk.
I had never been one for exercise, which included pointless strolls through nature. There was no reason for me to strain my muscles when my magic had usually accomplished what needed to be done. However, because I was now to all appearances a human, I couldn't use my powers. Not even a simple portal to get me back inside the castle.
Fifteen minutes deep into the forest, I gave up. I dug my heels into the damp earth and came to a final stop. Countless trees surrounded me from all directions, making the monotonous sight even more boring.
On my right side, a flat rock the size of my butt begged me to choose it and without another thought, I sat down. My leg muscles groaned in relief as I took the strain off them. It was too much. Fifteen minutes of walking had been too much for my poor legs.
I rested my elbows on my tights and allowed my lungs the much-needed break to fill up with oxygen. The usual bundle of necklaces around my neck rattled against my chest until I wrapped my fingers around one of them. Instead of the small flask, this time I grabbed a nut-shaped blue stone connected to a similar black string. The stone was the size of a quarter of my palm and it was what my kind called a portal stone. As its name suggested, it created a portal to any part of the world you wished.
It was a necessary item for creating portals for witches and wizards of six out of our seven covens. The only ones who could create a portal without a portal stone were the witches and wizards belonging to the coven of Time witches.
Five years ago I would have used the stone without blinking, creating a portal to take me anywhere my heart desired. However, since the moment I became a wanted witch, using magic had become a rarity rather than an extended part of me.
I swirled the portal stone between my fingers, regretting my inability to use it. While opening a portal with the help of the stone wouldn't stop the potion masking me as a human from working, it came with its own set of dangers. The biggest one being that someone might see me either open the portal or exit one. Something I couldn't risk happening.
My thoughts were pulled back to reality by a sharp snap of a branch. I blinked and twisted my head around to see if any kind of danger was approaching.
Not even fifteen feet to my right stood a pitch-black wolf with surprisingly light eyes. It wasn't growling or doing anything threatening, only staring unblinkingly at me.
The moment our eyes met the animal began to slowly edge closer and closer toward me. I, on the other hand, remained nailed to my spot. Instead of a rush of adrenaline, I relaxed at the sight of the wolf. It wasn't anything dangerous after all.
Without a shadow of a doubt I knew the animal was a werewolf in its wolf form. I just had no idea who it was.
The wolf stopped not even half a step away from me and cocked its head to the side.
"Hello there," I said.
When it was close enough, I realized what had been bothering me about the animal. While most werewolves I've met had pitch-black eyes when in wolf form, this one had shining silver orbs. Something I had never encountered before.
With a soft smile stretching my lips, I removed my hand of the portal stone and reached toward the wolf. I had always wanted to know how soft a werewolf's fur was, but I had never had the chance. Until now.
The tips of my fingers were only an inch away from its head when the wolf suddenly pulled back. A low growl emitted from its throat before it spun around and sprinted away.
I was left staring at the empty forest, feeling a slight pang in my chest. So close. Only an inch further and I could have solved the mystery of how a werewolf's fur felt against one's fingers.
With slumped shoulders I retracted my arm, just as another sound of crushed leaves flooded my ears. This time, however, it was a person walking on two legs. And not just anyone, but the Alpha King himself.
As I laid my eyes on his approaching figure, I remembered where I had heard of the silver eyes before. Rumor had it that the Alpha King had silver eyes while in his wolf form. This would mean that the wolf I had just encountered had been his wolf counterpart.
My guess was further confirmed by his pitch-black hair. It was universally known that a werewolf's fur in his wolf form was the same color as his hair in human shape.
The Alpha King stopped a couple of steps away from me, forcing me to tilt my head back to be able to look into his eyes. Yet again his piercing eyes were drilling into mine, making me grow more and more uncomfortable.
I was growing sick of not knowing whether he knew the truth about me or not. "I'm not in the mood for your uncomfortable staring, so can you leave?"
Instead of being offended by my surly tone, the corners of his mouth twitched into a lopsided smile. "What are you doing in my forest?"
"Don't worry." I scoffed at the possessive phrase. "I didn't harm any of your precious trees."
Again I expected to see a flare of his infamous temper, well-known even among my species. And again, he took me by surprise as he took a step closer and leaned against the tree closes to my rock.
"I'm a dangerous man to cross. Many would sooner chew their own tongue off before speaking to me in the way you just did."
"I'm not afraid of you." While I knew the statement wasn't a hundred percent true, I couldn't let him know that. "The worst you can do is kick me out of your castle."
"Are you sure?" He tilted his head to the side, reminding me a little of the wolf from before. "I'll ask again, why are you out here?"
"I came here for a walk," I said through gritted teeth.
"Doesn't look like it." His eyes trailed down from my face to the rock I was still sitting on.
The leisurely pace with which he took in my entire body had an unexpected heat tingling the surface of my skin. The strange sensation had me jump off the rock and march into the direction of the castle.
What the heck was going on with me?
Because he was a werewolf, he had no problem keeping up with me. Within less than four strides he matched his pace to mine, coming side to side with me.
I kept telling myself to just ignore him, however, another part of me wanted to use this opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. "What's your name?"
"Why do you want to know my name?"
I felt his eyes on the side of my face while I kept mine planted on the undergrowth in front of me. The last thing I wanted was for one of those traps people called roots to trip me.
"I need your name, so I can use it when I curse you."
A light chuckle sneaked into his voice, telling me he hadn't believed me. "My name's Hanim."
"I know Hanim's your last name. I want to know your first name."
The distance between us was less than a step, but it was enough to ensure we would never touch. Because it wasn't my precaution, it had to be his. Apparently he didn't want his royal skin to come in contact with a low "human" like me.
If only he knew.
"Theodore," he finally said. "My name is Theodore."
My head snapped in his direction, our eyes meeting for a moment before I looked forward again. The name Theodore didn't not suit him, but I couldn't imagine calling him by it. It was too long.
Then the perfect nickname struck me. Theo. It suited him much better than Theodore, Hanim or even Alpha King.
While I decided to use the nickname henceforward when referring to him, I doubted he'd let me live if he ever heard it leave my lips. It would be the height of disrespect for anyone to call the Alpha King Theo.
"Now, it's my turn. Why were your step-mother and half sister only announced to come at first? Didn't you want to see your half brother?"
He surprised me by asking something like that. I couldn't even begin to imagine why he would be interested in someone like me. I was, after all, supposedly a part of the species he and his pack despised.
"I've been away... for a while." I decided it was only fair to return the favor. "And I've just recently returned, so Judy and Vivian couldn't have known I'd be coming with them. I was lucky that I arrived when I did. If I had come a day later, I would have been too late." It had been a close call. I couldn't imagine what I would have done, had I arrived at their house and found it empty. I didn't have anywhere else to go.
"Where were you?"
It was an innocent question on his part, however, for me it was a taboo one. No one, not even my family, could know where I'd been. Or especially what I'd been up to.
"That's none of your business."
"What do you mean it's none of my business? It's just a question."
It was becoming obvious he wasn't used to being denied. He had probably been feed with a golden spoon since the moment he'd been born. But I didn't care who he was. I wasn't going to share with him anything I didn't want to.
We were only five steps away from the front gate of the castle when Yasin walked through. The moment his eyes landed on our approaching figures, they narrowed.
"What's going on?" he asked as Theo and I came to a stop in front of him.
"Nothing," I said, Yasin's glare now already pricking me the wrong way.
Before I could say anything I'd regret to the either of the two brothers, I walked around Yasin and made my way into the lower courtyard.
"What are you doing? Have you forgotten she's a human? You can't be..." Yasin's voice trailed off as I put in more and more distance between us.
*
I pushed and pulled at my own muscles, willing them to move, but nothing happened. I was frozen in the crouching position, unable to even scratch my nose, let alone break out of the dark prison.
"You don't need to do this." The soft feminine plea had my heart squeezing in an indescribable ache.
But it didn't stop them. It never did.
The sound of metal piercing through something solid was followed by a soft thud and then my vision was filled with a slowly widening red puddle.
I jolted awake with a start, sitting up in alert. My body was covered with a layer of sweat while I forced my lungs to keep contracting.
It wasn't real. I wasn't there anymore.
I kept repeating those two sentences over and over inside my head, but it didn't work. The already small room felt like it was squeezing even further into itself, making it hard for me to breathe.
I threw the sheet off my body and jumped off the bed. Then I ran.
I ran as fast as my legs would take me, until I came to a screeching halt in the middle of the hallway. The wall had a cooling effect on my overheated body as I leaned my back against it and then sank down to the floor. I kept clenching and unclenching my fists, showing myself that I was able to move. It was just a dream. Nothing more.
Hot tears slid down my cheeks, but I clasped a hand over my mouth to make sure not a single sound would leave it. I knew how sensitive a werewolf's hearing was. The last thing I wanted was for any of them to find me here.
Heartbeat after heartbeat I slowly began to calm down, until a set of muffled footsteps filled my ears. I had just enough time to turn my head right when a shadowed figure rounded the corner. Despite the distance I could immediately tell who it was.
Theo.
He stopped several steps away from me and opened his mouth open, yet no sound came out.
"Go away." My weak voice was accompanied by a chorus of sniffs.
Instead of being a good guy for once and complying with my wish, he leaned against the wall across the hallway and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why are you crying?"
I snuffed at the obvious question. "It's a human weakness called bad dreams. I'm sure you've never heard of them."
"Why do you call your mother by her name?"
The question made me snap my head up at him and I blinked a couple of times to gather my thoughts. "Because she's not my real mother. Judy's my step-mother."
"What about your real mother? Where is she?"
It was an innocent question on his part. Yet without knowing he had ripped the bandage off the still healing injury.
I scrambled away from the wall, unable to remain there any longer.
"She's dead."
It was all I managed to get out before I ran back to our small room.
***
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- E