I coughed as I awoke with my mouth dry.
I felt as if I had slept on a bed of rocks and when I opened my eyes, it was indeed a bed of rocks. And wet ground. How did I appear in the forest?
Then I remembered everything that had happened yesterday. A sob racked out of me violently. My dad was truly gone, I had no one again. And there was no way in hell I was going back to that horrible woman. I'd rather die. I let out an involuntary chuckle at the irony of my words.
Then I heard the howl.
Fear gripped my throat as I scrambled away from the clearing and behind a tree. It was almost morning, so it was only slightly dark. We're there wolves in this part of the forest? Dad had only warned me about the bears, he never said anything about wolves.
Except this wasn't a wolf, at least it didn't look like one. There were three and they were huge, the largest reaching almost six feet! I'd never seen anything like these, then they began changing. One second they were giant wolves, the next they were muscled, sweaty men.
I was definitely having a wet dream. I pinched myself, nope, this is real.
And then I began running. I could hear them behind me and I hadn't run far when they appeared right in front of me.
"A human." One of them snarled in my direction. He had thick blonde hair and almost red eyes. He looked like a prince from another time.
"How do you think she got here?"
"We'll take her back. Kai will know what to do with her."
The other two, both with similar chin length black hair and olive eyes, grabbed me by my arms. "Hey, let me go! You freaks!" I swung my arms and legs out like a mad woman, if they were kidnapping me, it wasn't going to be without a fight.
The blonde one leaned in close and cupped my face with a rough hand. His red eyes were like daggers and they seemed to look right into me. "You're fiesty. What's your name?"
He let me go and I spat on his shiny boot. "Like I'd tell you."
Blondie narrowed his eyes for a few seconds then he burst out laughing. He patted my hair, still laughing and I was instantly confused. "Oh, he's definitely going to like you."
The twins, as I started calling them, tied my wrists together with a long rope they pulled out from somewhere. They then tied it to one of their hands so anytime he'd take a step, I'd be forced to take one too. I fought like a rabid animal, even got a couple of scratches but I don't think they even felt anything.
What were thes people? Were they the same werewolves that I convinced myself was hiding under the bed? I'd seen them transform, or maybe it was my grief painting images in my mind. "What are you people?"
Blondie gave me side eye and said. "Now you're curious. You didn't answer my question, mortal."
I gave a deep sigh. I wasn't going to tell him my name however. "Dani." That was the name of the girl my boyfriend cheated on me with. I figured I'd I escaped and these monsters were looking for me, they'd find her instead.
"Well then, I can't tell you what you need to know."
"I already told you my name!"
"You're pretty, mortal. And brave. But you're a horrible liar."
I'd gotten distracted at that point because when I looked up, I was staring at the most beautiful castle I had ever seen. It seemed like it was part of the forest. Thick ivy climbed over the stone wall, there was even a moat and a river. It looked like something out of the seventeen hundreds. I then realized that Blondie and the twin's clothes were old also, like they came from a different time whatsoever.
One of the twins led me down the bridge and into the large castle. It was even bigger inside. Tall ceilings, and light streaming in from the windows. "What is this place?" I whispered in awe.
"This—" Blondie spread his arms in a circle for effect. "Is Whitebane. Home of the white wolf."
My eyebrows rose at this. I didn't even know why I was taking everything so calmly. But I feared that if I started freaking out, I'd just break down and cry. So I held my head as high as they could go and squared my shoulders.
"Dinah." Blondie called for someone.
A short woman with thick brown hair stepped forward. When she saw me, she gasped in outrage. "Elian! Why would you drag her around like this?" She tried to loosen my ties but failed vainly, then she smacked the twin that had tied me to him. "You brute! Untie her immediately."
They got to it immediately. I was starting to like this woman. They released me and blood started circulating as I rubbed my wrists.
"Come dear, let's go have a wash and freshen up." She put a hand on my back and I followed. It was either her or the men, and I would choose her in a heartbeat after that.
"Dinah." Elian gave a weary sigh. "She's our prisoner. Stop being so nice to her."
"Oh hush, Elian. You boys go freshen up. She's not going anywhere."
Um, yes I was. But I wasn't going to tell her that. I would wait until I was alone and I would skedaddle. So I walked along with Dinah up a winding staircase and into a room with frilly white sheets and curtains. It was beautiful. Everything about this place was beautiful.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Dinah asked, like she needed an answer. "It's been a while since we had mortal visitors."
"Mortal?"
"Oh sweetie, you should have noticed by now you're not like us. How did you even get here anyway? The void shouldn't have allowed you to pass through."
I shrugged because I would also have liked to have an explanation for whatever happened. And what I was now in the midst of werewolves. "You're not going to eat me, are you?"
Dinah's smile vanished. "That's offensive."
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it." You've been here all of ten minutes and have already put your foot in your mouth. Bravo, Amara.
She grinned, and she suddenly looked very young. "I was joking."
She escorts me to the bathroom where the iron tub is already full with sweet smelling water. "Get in, you don't want to smell like last night when you're having dinner with them."
"Who's them?" I paused at removing my clothes and Dinah, thank God, turned around and left. She only stayed at the door to make sure I don't run away.
"Alpha Kairos. His beta is Elian. The twins, Xerxes and Xanthus. And a few other people." She paused. "They won't hurt you. If you're worried about that."
But she doesn't sound too sure of the fact. I don't think about it too much. When I get out of the tub, I immediately feel better. Dinah hands me a thin dress to wear and when I come outside, she's laying a purple gown on the bed.
"Who's room was this?" I asked. More importantly, whose dress was I wearing.
"Kairos' mother. When she died, her room was left untouched."
I didn't know what to say about that. I didn't feel all that comfortable wearing a dead woman's clothes. But Dinah, despite all her smiles, didn't look like she'd take no for an answer. She squeezed me into a corset and undergarments, proof that I was in a different time entirely, and then the dress came on.
It felt like silk. It had ruffles everywhere the eye could see, and these flared sleeves that stopped before my wrists. It was beautiful. Dinah helped me tame my hair to the best of her ability, then gave up.
I was beginning to feel nervous when she began leading me to "dinner." Even though I was certain I just woke up. Even after all her comforting statements about how I wouldn't get eaten, I was definitely here for something. And I didn't like not knowing what it was.
We stopped at a set of double doors and she pushed them open. I was expecting a room full of people but the only person there was a man sitting at the end of the table.
He stood as I entered and I completely froze. He was easily the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. He had thick black hair, piercing crystal blue eyes that seemed to swallow me whole. And he was about a foot taller than me. He cleared his throat and I shivered. It was obvious he was very powerful, he had this confident aura that instantly told you he was not to be messed with.
He was goggling me the way I was him too. His eyes ran down my entire form, then back up to my eyes. Did he like what he saw? His expression didn't shift from one of mild irritation.
I don't even notice when Dinah left. "Amara." He growled, and my name had never sounded better. "Have a seat."
I didn't. "How do you know my name?"
Everything about him was just so graceful and beautiful, but he had a deep scowl and furrowed brow so he didn't make me feel at ease. How could I? When he was built like a giant who could snap me in half?
"You shouldn't concern yourself with matters such as that."
"How do you know my name? Where the hell am I? Can someone answer my questions and stop with all this mysterious shit?" I was starting to get really annoyed. "How did I get here?"
"I should be asking you that." He tilted his head, gazing at me with such emotion that it was beginning to look like revulsion. "You are an odd girl, Amara."
"Thank you. I don't even know your name."
"Kaison."
The Alpha. Of course. That made sense. He was the Kai Elian was talking about. I tried a different tactic. I moved closer to him, my hands behind my back, faking doe eyes like I'd seen girls at my school do a million times. "I just want to go home, Kaison."
Suddenly, his face hardened and his scowl deepened and he looked menacing. "Sit down."
I sat. I watched him sit. He gestured to the spread in front of me. "Eat."
I didn't hesitate. I was starving after the whole day's adventures that I didn't even bother fighting again. Everything was delicious and I wanted to inhale it down. I was at the other end of the long table and Kaison was still watching me. I grabbed my glass of water and started drinking to hide my blush.
"Werewolves and humans have lived side by side for a long time." Kaison started. His voice had me enraptured throughout. "Except humans don't know we even exist. We live on the other side of an invisible barrier called the void. As you can see, here we are several centuries behind. Time moves different."
My appetite was slowly leaving me. In its place was this thumping of my heart that almost felt painful.
"Humans cannot enter the void but werewolves easily can. Which brings me to you," He leanedforward and the heartburn worsened. "What brought you here wasn't a mistake. It was fate."
"Amara, you are my mate." I couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth. "And now you will be my wife."