The first thing that hit me was the pain. It began at my fingertips, before spreading up my arm and to the rest of my body like a fire that couldn't be put out. It made my vision hazy, and I knew I was falling in and out of consciousness. There were people all around me, and male voices shouting incoherently. I couldn't concentrate on the voices, the pain was too much. The pain in my right hand especially, it felt like it was being stabbed by daggers. Beneath it all too I felt a dull throbbing anger like I had never felt before.
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Suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath me as someone swept me up, and the world spun as I was being carried upstairs. I couldn't believe it; I had just found Emma, but now I was going to lose her again as I got further and further away from her. I tried to fight back, I tried to kick, but my limbs refused to move. Before I knew it I was being set down on an achingly soft surface.. a bed.. I opened my eyes to see who had carried me up. Damn. It was Thunder. I did my best to glare at him but my eyes kept sliding shut.
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"Sleep." He commanded, before slamming the door on his way out.
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Oh, how he annoyed me. How I would love to get my hands around his neck and wring it. I was shocked at my thoughts. It seemed violence was contagious.
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I had to get Emma out of this house, before she turned into an animal like everyone else.
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I would rescue us both.
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Once I'd had some sleep.
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*
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I woke up to a completely dark room. I struggled to sit up, but was pushed down roughly.
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"Don't sit up."
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I groaned in frustration, rolling my eyes. It was Thunder again, but I couldn't see him anywhere.
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"Don't roll your eyes at me." He sounded annoyed. He always sounded annoyed.
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Woah. He could see in the dark? I would never have done this to anyone else, but I flipped him the finger.
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"I saw that." To my surprise, now he sounded amused more than annoyed.
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I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to make sense of it. Emma had gone missing two weeks ago. I'd gotten Spiral to tell me the truth about where she was. I'd seen her kissing Dante (eww) and gotten various injuries, including a mysterious burn on my right hand. I went back to the house at Spiral's insistence and he trapped me in the house with Emma. And now I was in a room with a gorgeous male who could see in the dark. Nope. Nothing made sense to me. I frowned, biting my lip as I always did when thinking.
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A growl came from the shadows. "Stop biting your lip."
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Anger flared up in me and I was determined to disobey him. I struggled to sit up again. "Stop telling me what to do." I shot back, rolling my eyes at him and biting my lip in direct defiance of his orders.
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Another growl, closer this time. I could even feel his hot breath on my face. I gagged, burrowing back under the covers. He laughed cruelly at me.
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"Go away!" I screamed. I'd never felt so angry in my life and it was all because of him. This anger both emboldened me and frightened me as it bubbled and boiled under my skin, I felt I might burst from it all. I had to let it out. Hot burning tears began to flow down my cheeks.
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"You can't be serious." He sounded annoyed again. I felt him move toward me and I scrambled backwards until my back hit the wall. "Fuck I can't deal with this," He muttered, retreating again and the bed shifted as he got off it.
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I heard the door open and slam behind him with his voice shouting, "Get Emma!" The darkness descended upon me again, only now it felt more peaceful knowing that I was truly alone in the room. I felt horrible and my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and who knew how long ago that was.
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Right on cue the door creaked open again. "Isis, it's me." Emma said gently as she pried the door open with her foot as she balanced a tray on one hand, the other reaching for the light switch. "Close your eyes."
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I did as I was told, watching the light dance behind my eyelids as Emma flicked the switch. The room brightened, before dimming again until it was safe to open my eyes.
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"You must be hungry," Emma smiled at me, laying the tray over my lap. I nodded, hardly looking at the food. I was scanning her face, looking for any signs of abuse or mistreatment.
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"Are you okay?" I asked her. When she nodded, I pressed on. "What did they do to you? Why are you living here? Who are those men?"
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Emma sat on the bed and folded her hands over her lap. She leaned forward, brushing the last remnants of tears from my cheeks. Then she sighed. "I guess I have to tell you the truth, or you'll never let me stay here."
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"If this is about being kicked out of the orphanage you know my mom and I would be only too happy to let you stay with us. I mean, why do you have to stay with them? It's not safe Emma. I don't trust them."
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"Listen to me. You're my best friend right?"
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"Forever." I said at once.
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"Good." She smiled. "Then you'll believe me."
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"That depends on what you tell me."
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She grinned at me. "I don't know where to start. It's a pretty incredible story, but it explains so much. You know how I've always felt isolated from the rest of the world? Like you were my only friend?" I nodded, not sure where this was going. "Well, it's because I'm a werewolf."
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I was too stunned to reply.
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"Werewolf." She nodded, grinning at me. "And not just any werewolf, but the reincarnation of the original werewolf's daughter. But there's this curse, see.."
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"Woah, woah. Slow down there. Werewolf? Aren't those like, fictional?"
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Emma frowned, poking me in the ribs. "Do I look fictional to you?"
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"No.. so are vampires real too?" I teased.
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Her expression darkened. "They are more real than you think, Isis. And they pose the greatest danger to werewolves."
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"Let me guess.. does this involve an ancient feud that goes way back in history?"
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"Yeah.. but this is serious! Stop acting like it's a joke!"
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I was taken aback. Emma had always been soft-spoken and gentle. It was that contagious violence again. "What happened to you?" I asked her, feeling bone-achingly sad all of a sudden. I felt like I'd lost my best friend all over again.
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She looked disconcerted, her features softened, as if the conversation had taken a turn in the wrong direction. "What do you mean, what happened to me?"
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"You're different.." Now that I looked closely, she was different on the outside as well. Her usually pale cheeks were flushed, and her eyes looked a shade darker than usual. Her hair was more tame now, flowing in soft curls around her face. She looked like she had grown up in the two weeks I hadn't seen her. Then again, it could be the dim lighting.
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"That's exactly what I've been trying to tell you!" She enthused. "A long time ago a curse was placed on the wolves. They were forced to live in the bodies of humans, only able to change back into their true forms every full moon. But they're not normal, and normal humans sense that and stay away from them. That's why I've always felt so isolated! When I found Spiral and his brothers it was as if everything became clear. I really feel like I belong here with them."
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"You weren't alone, Emma. You did have me, you know." I sulked. She made it sound like she had been made to sit alone every Lunch period, as if I hadn't been there with her all along.
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"Oh my gosh, I've been dying to tell someone all of this but they made me swear not to tell anyone. I would have told you. I swear I would've."
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She sounded like she was trying to convince herself instead of me. I tried putting myself in her shoes. If I'd felt isolated my whole life like she claimed she did, would I have abandoned my only friend to live with my own kind? My mind was still struggling to wrap itself around that last part. Werewolves.. what had my grandmother told me about them? That batty old woman believed in vampires and werewolves but my mother always told me not to listen to her.
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"You do believe me, don't you? Do you understand why I had to leave?"
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I wasn't convinced in the least. But seeing the hopeful look on her face, I couldn't help but nod. "So um, do you have any cool powers?" Like seeing in the dark, perhaps?
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She laughed. "Well.. you know I've always had faster reflexes than anyone else in class." Oh, yeah. Emma was a terror in dodge ball. "And I can see in the dark.. Oh that reminds me! The full moon is in a few days. We're all very excited! It'll be my first hunt."
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"Hunt?" I repeated. Like terrorizing cute little rabbits type of hunt?
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"You'll see." She grinned at me. I was not looking forward to that.
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"No she won't." Thunder stood in the doorway, an intimidating figure. His scowled at us with his arms crossed over his chest. "You haven't told her."
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"I told her. She believes me." Emma insisted.
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"You haven't told her." He said again, leveling his full glare at her. Emma flinched. Obviously I wasn't the only one he seemed to hate.
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"She did," I pipe up, in defense of my best friend. "Um.. she's a werewolf. You're all werewolves. Including Spiral.. that.. ughhh... that traitor. And you're cursed. Vampires are real. You're in some kind of epic rivalry, etcetera." Something about Thunder being in the room made me want to throw things around. You could have told me all this two weeks ago, you know.” I added to Emma, semi-accusing and still hurt that she had chosen to disappear.
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To my horror, Emma began to cry. I could tell she was trying hard not to, but her bottom lip quivered. "I-I-I can't.." was all she managed to get out. All I wanted to do was comfort her, and I reached forward to hug her, but Thunder wrenched her from my grasp.
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He hunched down such that he was face-to-face with her, his hand gripping her chin so she couldn't look away. She closed her eyes tightly. "Get out." He said bluntly, releasing her. She didn't need to be told twice, not even sparing me a backward glance and running out the door.
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I stared at him in shock. "You had no right to do that!"
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"No?" He inquired lightly, closing the door. "It's my room."
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His room.. meaning this was his bed! I scrambled to get up, but got tangled in the sheets. I could feel his gaze on me as I struggled to release myself. "Fine." I said, managing to get a foot onto the floor, reaching out to steady myself with one hand on the wall. "I don't want to be anywhere near you. Since this is your room, I'll leave."
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In a flash he was in front of me, blocking the way. I looked up at him questioningly, and, receiving no response, reached up to push him away. His hands closed unexpectedly over mine, keeping them on his chest. I couldn't ignore the jolt of electricity that spread from where we touched. The mood in the room shifted. I was suddenly very aware that my heartbeat had sped up, and there was an odd thrumming in my ears. "What is that?" I whispered. "How come when we touch weird things happen?"
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He snorted, releasing my hands gently. Slowly he pulled off the glove on his right hand, revealing to me what I already knew. His hand looked suitably burnt as well. I don't know what came over me, but I raised my hand to his and pressed it to his open palm. He tensed. His hand was much larger than mine, my own looked small and pale next to his. Faint white lines ran along the back of my hand, like faded scars, spreading out from the point where he had grabbed me. "What does this mean?" I looked up at him again. He was staring at our joined hands with an intense look on his face, jaw set as if concentrating on a very difficult crossword puzzle. Christ, he really was gorgeous. If he wasn't such a prick.. As if suddenly aware of my gaze on him, green eyes flicked to mine.
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I could feel the heat spreading on my face, feeling guilty for being caught staring at him. I couldn't look away. The look in his eyes was intense and calculative, and I knew he was debating whether to tell me the truth. Hoping to placate him, I gave him my sweetest smile.
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His eyes narrowed.
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"It doesn't matter." He sneered, pulling his hand out of my grasp. "Your friend is going to die."
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