by Karen Ruth
“Mom what are you talking about?” I questioned her.
“I didn’t say anything.” She gave me a puzzled look. I didn’t have time to question her further, we had to get going.
Reed’s voice broke through mine and Lucas’s thoughts.
"They started following you guys but once they realized we were there, they started to back off. It looks as if they were determining whether to fight or not but decided against it. "
“Thank you, Reed!” Mine and Lucas’s voice broke out in unison.
“You’re welcome!” He responded as his voice got cut out as if he got attacked.
“Reed!” I yelled worried about what just happened. No response. “Lucas?” I asked my face worried.
“We need to hurry,” was all he said.
I grabbed my sister’s hand while Lucas grabbed my mother's. We tried to push them to run faster, but they kept stumbling causing us to slow down. Finally, we reached the gate access. Lucas let go of my mother’s hand and walked up to the gate to scan his body allowing us to all walkthrough.
“The castle is just right up there,” he said as he pointed to it. “Walk up the doors and someone will be there waiting for you. I must go see if the rest are ok.”
As he said that he began to turn away. I turned around with him prepared to follow him back and help the others.
“No, Nina. Stay and get your family safe inside.”
“Lucas please, I have to make sure everyone is ok. I have to help, it’ll destroy me if I don’t.”
Hearing this my sister said, “Nina, you are not going back there do you understand me?”
I turned around to face her “Cath, you’re not my mother. You can’t tell me what to do.”
Lucas’s voice broke out. “Nina stay with them they need you.”
Then his voice spoke in my head. “Get them to safety first and then you can sneak out and help.” I began to shake my head and then he said, “Either that or you won’t help at all. I have to get going though, I don’t know how much trouble they are in. Get your family to safety fast!” He then turned around and ran back into the woods.
I grabbed my sister’s hand in my right and my mother's in the left. We then began to run together once more without saying a word. I spotted a single tear fall from my sister’s eye to the green floor, disappearing into the soil. This was all my fault. If only I didn’t get involved with them in the first place, none of this would have happened. My family would be safe, and Reed and the others wouldn’t be in danger. It seems as though this is all I am doing these days, putting everyone else in danger.
I asked her “Cath are you ok?” she just turned her beautiful face towards me and nodded. The pain was evident on her face.
Finally, we reached the main door of the castle. My sister and mother both gasped in astonishment.
“Nina, what is this place? Are we going to be staying here? This place is huge.” My sister said to me.
Her mouth hanging wide open and her eyes sparkling in amazement.
“Yes, we will be here for a little bit. I can’t tell you more than that for right now.”
“Why not?” She asked me furrowing her eyebrows.
“Just come on.” I tugged her hand walking into the doors. Suddenly Cassie was there along with Sarah and Delilah. They were running towards us worry on their faces.
Cassie said, “Oh poor girls! Are you guys ok? Lucas fetched us and told me you need our help. Please come this way.”
We all jogged back to the room in which I was in previously.
“Wow,” was all my mother and sister could say.
Their eyes searching the room inspecting every inch of it.
“This one room is bigger than our entire house,” Cath said.
“I know I thought the exact same thing,” was all I could say to her.
Cassie was looking right at us saying “You guys will be safe here. Many different people will protect you here. You guys can live in this room for as long as you want. If you would like to follow me I will give you a tour.”
Without saying a word, we followed Cassie into one of the rooms.
“This right here is the kitchen,” She said waving her hand. “It has everything you should need for appliances along with utensils.” The room was a beautiful red color, way better than the floral decorations at my home. “Next, if we walk over here we have one of the bedrooms with a bathroom attached.”
“One?” Cath asked.
“Yes, of course, there are three different bedrooms. Each bedroom has a bathroom with one extra, so nobody must go through a bedroom to get to a bathroom. We want to make sure nobody has to share either a bedroom or a bathroom.”
“Wow,” Cath said in amazement. “That is super nice, no more sharing. No offense mother, but I would love to have my own things.”
“No offense taken.” My mother said in a very sweet tone. She appeared to be a little different right now. Sort of like she was in some sort of daze.
“This is the smallest of all the bedrooms. It’s not much but it has enough room for anything that you will need.” I peeked inside the bedroom.
“That’s the smallest?” I questioned Cassie.
“Yes, why?” She asked me. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, it is just huge. If this one is this big I can’t imagine how large the others will be.”
The bedroom was quite exquisite in a not-over-the-top way. For the style of the castle, this one had its own unique beauty to it. It had a large king-size bed that looked as soft as clouds. On the left side of the room pressed against the wall was a fireplace. Not something you would use in the month of June but just looking at it was still beautiful. I was too busy looking in the room with amazement to realize everyone was continuing on their way throughout the “room.”
“Nina?” My mom called out. “Are you alright?”
“Fine mother,” I said as I rejoined them on the tour.
“The next one is a bit bigger than the last but not as large as the master bedroom.”
Seeing how large this one was, I didn’t really like it. It was way too big for my taste. I like things plain and simple, while this room possessed a lot of fancy and expensive things. It even had an old-fashioned chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It had jewel-encrusted mirrors on a stand that looked like it was designed for make-up. Definitely not my taste, I thought it would be better for Cath. Thinking this I looked over to her and saw her facial expression. She looked like she really wanted it.
“Do you like it?” I questioned her.
“Oh yes!” She exclaimed. “It’s beautiful!”
Seeing her this happy made me smile especially after something so terrible just occurred. Remembering this my stomach dropped and churned. I called out to Lucas in my head.
“Is everything ok with you guys?”
“Yes, Nina relax.” He said to me. “It was just a false alarm. It appears that they thought they could trick us by putting their sent on a deer as it ran into our territory. It caught the pack off guard, but they quickly figured out it was only a deer. Seth and the rest turned back into the woods. There is no sign of them. We redid the markers at the territory and we will make sure to do several checks a day. We will keep you safe Nina, I promise.”
“Thank you, Lucas.” And with that, I snapped back into what was happening with my family.
“And this right here is the master bedroom.”
My mother was the first to look inside gasping as she did so. The first thing she did was jump onto the bed and lay straight down. Giggling like a child. Cassie gave me a questioning look and I simply just shook my head signaling to her I had no idea what was wrong with her. The room was lit by candles all over. The bedspread was white and crimson. It was the largest room I had ever seen in my entire life. By looking at my mother’s face I could tell that she loved the room.
“Hey, mom!” I called out to her.
“Would you be interested in living in this room?” I asked her.
/>
“Oh yes! Nina, please can I?”
I simply laughed and said “Of course. You don’t even have to ask me, you are the mother. You can make the decisions of who stays where.”
“Oh, thank you, Nina!” That was all she said before she just shut the door leaving us all in the hallway.
“Umm ok then,” Cassie said. “Carrying on we have the living room. This is probably the best room for you all to get together. I tend to like this room myself, to be honest.
“Hey, Cassie?” I asked her.
“Yes, Nina?” She responded.
“Is all the rooms this big?”
She laughed. “Oh heavens no! You guys got one of the biggest ones since you’re so important. Well at least for the size of the rooms. Some of the other rooms need a little more space since the family size is bigger. Don’t get me wrong, the rest are big but just not to this extent. Such as my room has almost the same layout as yours. It doesn’t have its own private bathroom per bedroom. It only has one bedroom and one bathroom. The only people who have bigger rooms are probably Adelina, Lucas, and the King and Queens rooms. Any more questions?” She asked me.
“No Cassie, thank you so much, I think we will be good for now.”
“You're welcome, why you guys were touring the rooms Sarah and Delilah were watching your facial expressions on which rooms you liked better. They filled your clothes up in the rooms that they thought were the ones you liked the most.”
“Wait,” Cath said. “They filled our new rooms up with our clothes? They went back to our house to get them?”
I just looked at Cath giving her a sad look. “No, we got you some new clothes that we have here. I hope you don’t mind.” Cassie said.
“Oh, no it’s ok. Thank you so much.” She said. I could tell by the look on Cath’s face that she was upset.
“Hey, it’s ok. I can promise you that I will take you back to the house as soon as I can.”
“Who will look after the pigs and cattle?” She asked me. I didn’t even think of them, they were the last thing on my mind.
“I’m sure Lucas and the others will look after them for us.”
“Hmm ok,” she said looking upset. I wish there was something I could say to make her feel better, but there really was nothing.
Delilah and Sarah re-entered the living room and I thanked them for stocking clothes for us. They said that they were surprised that I picked the smallest of the rooms available. Usually, girls like us pick the largest. I assumed they meant that werewolf girls who are spoiled pick the biggest and I explained to them that I’m not really like them at all. I guess they clearly agreed by their facial expressions and the way they shook their heads. After this conversation, all three of them said their goodbyes and left the room.
The first thing Catherine did was go to the room she was mesmerized by. “Do you think this one is mine?” She asked me in a happy tone. I could tell that she really did hope it was hers.
“I’m positive Cath,” I said to her.
With that, she opened the door and squealed in delight as she saw a sign on the wall saying, “Welcome home Catherine!” There were also balloons to add to the excitement. The first thing she did was grab my hand and throw me onto the bed with her. She started jumping up and down still holding onto my hand.
“Come on Nina! Jump with me!” She squealed. I laughed at her amusement and began to jump along with her.
“Aren’t we a little old for this Cath?” I asked her. “I mean you’re supposed to be my big sister and all. Shouldn’t you advise me against jumping on the bed?”
“Shh, you got to be a rebel sometimes in your life Nina. What others don’t know won’t kill them.”
I admired how she could be so easy and free going. This is the side of her that I hardly get to see. Usually, all she wishes to do is please my mother resulting in her always telling me things not to do. I miss this part of her. She grew up way too fast for her own good.
After a few minutes, I got up to go to my own bed exhausted from hardly sleeping the night before. As I walked in I noticed the same message and balloons that were in Cath’s room. The first thing I did when I entered the room was checked to see what clothes they left me. Happiness filled my entire body as my eyes scanned the clothes. They obviously remembered that I didn’t like dresses based on the lack of dresses in the room. Clothes that definitely fit my style littered my dresser. I closed the dresser and went towards the closet. My mouth dropped open when I realized that the outfit that I was wearing before was magically in the closet. To make sure that it really was the outfit I picked it up to examine it. It had to have been based on the little bit of ash that remained from the forest fire. I would have to ask Cassie how they managed to find it.
I put the outfit back in the closet and went straight to the bed. It was only about noon but my body was so tired from everything that has been going on these two days. My mind began to race through all of the events unfolding like they just happened. Even though it was in the middle of June I couldn’t help myself. I got out of bed and went towards the fireplace. I noticed that there were fresh logs there in which would be used for the fire. I was pretty sure nobody would get mad at me if I lit it. They probably would think I’m crazy, which is probably true, but they wouldn’t freak out at me or anything. After going through my conflicted thoughts on lighting it, I decided to just go for it. I lit a match and watched the logs light up in a brilliant hue of bright orange flames. It was stunning and relaxing. I curled back up into my bed and drifted off to sleep not worrying about anything.
Chapter 8
I awoke to the sound of a knock on my door. Jumping from the bed I quickly noticed what time it was. Four hours had already passed by. Could it really have been that long? I thought I just closed my eyes for a few minutes. Obviously, I was wrong, I must have been exhausted. I walked over to the door and opened it seeing my sister’s face.
“Hey. Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. The guy who was here earlier wants to talk to you. I think he has some sort of book in his hands. Anyway, he’s sitting down in the living room waiting for you.”
I thanked her for the information and began to walk towards the living room to join who I could only guess was Lucas.
Once I entered the room, he walked towards me and asked if I was ok.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied to him.
“Your face isn’t entirely healed yet. What exactly happened?” He asked me.
“Shh not here,” I said to him. “Come with me into my room, they won’t listen in there.”
“We could just speak to each other differently you know.” He said back to me.
“That would be weird for them if they thought we were just sitting here saying absolutely nothing don’t you think.” I challenged him.
“Hmm yeah, fair enough.” He commented to me beginning to stand up from the chair with a book in his hands.
“What is that?” I asked him. He just smiled at me and said that I would see soon enough. I then began walking to my room, Lucas following directly behind me.
Once I reached my room Lucas just lifted his eyebrows and gave me a puzzling look.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“Nothing just thought you would choose the bigger room, not the smallest one.”
“I’m not a fan of a ton of attention. Never have been. I prefer things small and simple.” I replied back to him.
“Very well,” he said nodding his head as I opened the door.
I went to sit on the bed. Lucas just remained standing very awkwardly.
“You can join me on the bed if you want,” I told him.
“Are you sure? What if your family comes in? Will they get upset?” He asked me.
I simply laughed and said “Come join me, Lucas, you don’t always have to be a gentleman. It's ok, I promise. I can deal with my own family.”
He then walked over to me and sat on the bed alongside me.
“So, what did he exactly do to yo
u to cause you so much pain that you wouldn’t heal instantly?” He asked me as his thumb brushed along my cheek where Seth hit me.
He had a sad look in his eyes as he asked. I blushed in embarrassment and gently pulled away. Not because he was touching my cheek, but because of why I got hit. I huffed and started telling him everything from the beginning.
“He called me and said he had to ask me something. First, he figured out that I lied to them about what you told me yesterday when I first met you. I didn’t want him finding anything out about it. Apparently, Rafiq told Seth everything that I told him. I thought I could trust him.”
“I’m so sorry Nina,” Lucas said. “
It’s ok, I just thought I could trust Rafiq. I never knew that he was so close to Seth.” I used my hand to wave it off. “After this, he flat out asked me to marry him and I obviously declined it. I turned around from him and he grabbed my arm and spun me back around.” Remembering about this, I grabbed my arm to see if there were any marks left. Lucas followed my gaze towards my arm as well. It looked like my arm healed very well, only a small bruise remained. The only thing indicating a real injury was the streaks of blood that engraved my skin. I dropped my arm and looked back up at him. I tear started to slide down my cheek before I could wipe it away, Lucas thumb brushed ever so gently against it wiping the tear away.
“Sorry,” I said looking away from him.
“Don’t be Nina, you’ve been through a lot. Nobody expects you to be strong all the time.”
“Thank you,” I said to him in all sincerity.
He nodded his head to me.
“He told me to marry him again and I told him he was crazy and that he needed to leave me alone. This time I guess I deserved a slap across the face with his wolf nails out slashing my face. He then threatened my family and I took off running straight for them. That was when I contacted you for help. Thank you by the way. Without you, I could be killed, or worse, they could have been.”
“Nina, you do not have to thank me for my protection. I will always protect you. You are one of us and it is my duty to never let any harm come to you.” I smiled at him showing him my gratitude. “I can’t believe he would force you into marriage. I always knew he was a bad man, but I never thought he would do something as stupid as that.”
