chapter 24


    Waking to sound of whispers, I amying on a bed in a room I have never seen before. Heavy red


    patterned drapes hang from the windows. I could feel the soft breezeing in, sweeping over my skin


    lightly. The ceiling is high too high for anyone to reach without adder. What a bastard it would be to


    change the lightbulbs on the lights fixture hanging from the ceiling. Looking down, I am covered with


    grey duvet tucked tightly around me, making me feel ustrophobic. I wriggle my arms out. I feel like


    someone made the bed not realising I was under the nkets. Sitting up, I look around the room, it is


    huge. The bed is four poster bed with a canopy on top that matches the thick curtains. A huge bear


    skin rug is on the floor of the room, and it has a huge firece bigger than I am. A brown curved lounge


    sits in front of it. The stone walls fit perfectly with the mahogany and red cedar furniture. The room


    looks like something more fitting of a castle than a house. I look to the door which is slightly ajar and


    where the fast whispers of voices can be heard.


    I strain my ears to listen. I could tell it was the same feminine voice of the woman from the office.


    She sounded angry and was arguing with a man who’s voice I couldn’t recognise.


    “I will give you month, Tobias, Theo. Fix it, or I will. Whatever it is you have going on with that girl


    needs to end. Why you would you even think of doing this is beyond me.”


    “She is our Mate, what did you expect us to do? Ignore her?” Tobias whisper yelled back, his voice


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    rising.


    “Precisely, you should have left her alone to go about her life and forgot about her. You know the


    consequences for bringing a human into our world. You have condemned that girl now to a fate she


    has no idea about.”


    “If you really loved her like your mate, you wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. I thought you


    would have known better than to put her life at risk, Tobias.” I could hear the anger in the strange man’s


    voice.


    “One month like your father said. One month either you convince her, or we will have no choice but


    to kill her. We can’t risk being exposed. The council will have your heads if they find out you broke the


    most sacredw we have.”


    “And if she says no?” asks Theo.


    “She dies. We can’t have a human, running around knowing all our secrets. It’s too risky.” The


    woman’s voice sounded tired drained.


    “No, I won’t allow it,” Tobias screamed. His voice breaking, hurting my ears.


    “Either she chooses, or you choose for her, Tobias. I won’t risk our family. If you don’t fix this, I will


    kill her myself,” the man says.


    I gasped, fear consuming me. They are going to kill me.


    “Shh, she is waking.” The man’s voice grew softer. I heard the door creak. I quicklyid back down


    pretending to be asleep. The door closed again, and I looked up. I needed to get the fuck out of here.


    As quietly as possible, I walk to the open window and peer outside. I am about three floors up but there


    are vines wrapping around the stonework of the house and another roof of an outbuilding just below. If I


    can get to that roof, I know I can find a way down to the ground.


    Opening the window wider and as quietly as I could, I slipped my top half out the window, grabbing


    onto the thick vines before climbing outpletely. I swallowed, my mouth bing dry as I look


    down at the roof top below me, trying as best I could, I tried to climb down the vine, but the skirt I had


    on was making it extremely difficult. I tried to get a better grip and slipped, falling the couple of metres


    onto the rooftop below with a loud crash as the tiles broke underneath me.


    Knowing someone would have heard that, I get up quickly before tearing the side of my skirt up my


    leg to make it easier to run. Looking up at the window, the woman stuck her head out, noticing me on


    the roof. I panicked and looked around I had no choice but to jump, my so-called quiet exit suddenly


    now seemed loud, as I have been discovered.


    “Let her try, she won’t get far. Let her tire herself out.” I could hear the challenge in her voice. Not


    waiting to see who she was talking to, l jumped, my ankle rolling on impact and shooting pain running


    up my legs. I stood on shaky legs and began running, but I had no idea where I was. The entire


    property was surrounded by trees. Looking back at the house, trying to figure out which way to run, I


    see the house is a huge stone farmhouse. It had three levels of windows and a huge veranda wrapping


    around the entire house. Looking back at the tree line, I start running towards it. The sun was starting


    to go down. I knew I needed to get to the other side of them trees before it hit dark or I would be


    lost.


    The grass stung my legs as I start to run. I ran through the paddock surrounding the house, only to


    stop. When I finally make it to the line of trees, I keep running refusing to slow my pace no matter how


    much body hates me for it. The branches and twigs dig into my feet, making hiss in pain. Tears start


    streaming down my face as I realise the words, of them monsters, the intention behind them. They


    wanted me dead, and now I was running from what? I had no idea but something, I know is sinister and


    dark. When the light disappeared, I could feel myself starting to panic, anxiety over every noise I heard.


    One thing I did find weird though no matter how far I have run, I haven’t seen one animal, not even a


    bird. The ce was eerily silent, the only noise was my feet breaking twigs while I ran and the sound of


    my heavy breathing.


    I was on high alert, but I waspletely exhausted and incredibly thirsty. Finding a fallen tree, I sit


    on its trunk trying to catch my breath, but the fear to keep moving has me standing up again after only


    a few minutes. Knowing if I stop, they might find me. But where do I go? The bush is thicker than I


    thought and seems to have no end.


    I didn’t know how much further I had to go before I came to a road, let alone which direction to go


    in. Hearing a noise rush past me, I spin around. I know I am not alone out here anymore. The wind


    rushes past behind me again and I spin around trying to catch sight of whatever keeps running past


    me. My body breaking out in a cold sweat as my heart rate increases, my eyes wide trying to see


    anything in the darkness that surrounds me.


    “You don’t need to be scared, Imogen,” Theo’s voice says next to me, making jump and fall t on


    my ass as I stumble over the tree trunk I was just resting on. I scramble backwards, trying to get away


    from him. He walks slowly towards me, stepping over the fallen tree. I try to scramble further back


    trying to get to my feet when my hands suddenly touch bare feet. I look up and Tobias is staring down


    at me, shirtless and only wear draw string shorts. I crawl away and get to my feet grabbing a broken


    branch holding it between me and them as they surround me.


    “Put the stick down, Imogen,” Tobias voice cuts through the silence that had enveloped.


    “No, stay back,” I tell him as they both ignore me, moving closer.


    “Come back with us. We won’t hurt you, I promise. Come on, you will catch a death out here. It’s


    freezing.” I hadn’t noticed the cold, adrenaline pumping keeping me warm. They stepped close, too


    close. I swung the branch and they stepped out of the way.


    “Imogen put the fucking stick down. You will only hurt yourself,” Tobias voice booms, annoyed at


    my defiance. I grip it tighter. Tobias eyes changing back to deep ck orbs, he looked like a demon,


    possessed and very ticked off.


    “What are you? Stay away from me,” I screamed. My hands trembling holding the stick out in front


    trying to ward them off.


    “I’m a werewolf, Imogen.” His voice calmed and the light returned to his eyes. Iughed. Really,


    they expect me to believe they are werewolves? Out of all things I have thought of while running,


    werewolves wasn’t one of them. Maybe demon or something more believable, but to believe a person


    could change into a dog is ridiculous.


    “You expect me to believe you both turn into furry dogs?”


    Tobias huffed clearly insulted by my words. “He does, not me,” Theo’s voice rings out. I forgot he


    was standing there, my attention mainly on Tobias as he was closest, but now Theo was only about a


    metre away. I turned and swung the stick at him. He moved quickly avoiding being hit.


    “Then what are you then? We have Fluffy over there, what furry creature do you turn into?” I spat


    sarcastically. I could hear Tobias growling from behind me, making my skin crawl and shiver run up my


    spine. My body breaking out in goosebumps as his feral growl echoed off the trees, the sound of bone


    snapping made me cringe, I dropped the stick to cover my ears; the noise was horrendous. I turned to


    look at Tobias, but it wasn’t him but the stray stalking towards me, teeth bared and dangerously sharp.


    Then Theo’s voice was in my ear.


    “I’m something much worse.” His voice sent chills down my spine, and I screamed as he grabbed


    me.