by Amanda Jones
After a couple of minutes, she got used to the noises of the forest. From time to time, a bird would jump from one branch to another, or a small animal would cross her path, startling her. She thought about that first time when she had tried to run away, and how much the forest had scared her. On the other side of the school, the trees were not as old and tall, and there were portions where they were fairly scattered. But for her 10-year-old self, it had looked threatening even though it had been a little past noon. She had gotten lost in minutes, having lost sight of the main road that led to Myrtle Valley. She couldn’t remember having had a plan then. She knew that she had got out of the classroom, run down the stairs, and gone straight to the gate-keeper and told him about her hat that didn’t actually exist. She hadn’t taken anything with her, because she hadn’t really wanted to run away, but to scare the teacher who had upset her. It had felt like taking revenge. Now, at 24, the forest terrified her just as much, but she could keep her fear under control. Avelyn stepped carefully, avoided obstacles, and listened to the hum of the trees. Now and then, she checked her compass to make sure she was heading in the right direction. Sometimes, she would see pairs of small green or yellow eyes, and those were the moments when her heart jumped in her throat, threatening to make its way out through her mouth. Each time she flashed her light in their direction they would disappear and leave her alone, so Avelyn thought that the creatures couldn’t be more than foxes. She kept walking and repeating her mantra.
There was a pair of green, sparkling eyes which appeared regularly, mostly to her right. Avelyn tried to pay them no mind, but when another pair appeared to her left as well, she started to freak out. She stopped for a moment, put her bag down, and wiped the sweat off her brow. She moved the beam of her flashlight around her, in a circle, studying the trees. It didn’t seem like there was anything there, but the feeling of being watched was growing stronger in her panting chest. She bit her lips, trying to stifle a moan of fear. She had to keep her panic at bay and keep moving. There was no other way. She grabbed the handles of her bag and tried to keep her eyes focused in front of her. A noise, louder than the others, came from her left and made her stop in her tracks. When she looked that way she could swear she saw a flash of green, closer this time. “Oh God,” she whispered. She resumed walking, now flashing her light from left to right, hoping it would scare away whatever creatures were watching her, because she was almost sure there were two. The same noise she had heard to her left now came from her right, and it sounded too close. Tears stung the back of her eyes, and adrenaline urged her to walk faster, as if she had any chance of reaching the edge of the forest before those things with green eyes decided to attack. “I’m going to make it.”
This time, the noise came from somewhere ahead. Avelyn stopped and tried to see in the darkness. She was trembling like a leaf and she was barely able to keep her body from collapsing on the ground and simply giving in to whatever faith was awaiting her. She took another tentative step. She heard branches cracking softly, like someone, or something, was treading lightly on the ground. Then she saw them. She saw the green eyes getting closer and closer, growing larger. Her whole body stiffened and she was ready to turn around and run for her life. If she had to, she would hide inside the secret tunnel and endure the cold, the darkness and the humidity, if that meant survival. But would she make it? What if the creature followed her? What if it was way faster than she was? She took a step back, but the loud crack of a branch somewhere behind her alerted her it wasn’t a good idea. “Shit. I’m surrounded.”
Avelyn was frozen in place, panic slowly overtaking her senses. She didn’t dare turn to see what was behind her, her eyes trained on the large green eyes that were slowly approaching. As they got closer, she could see they belonged to a tall, massive creature whose shape became clearer in the beam of her flashlight. It looked like a large wolf. A werewolf, she realized. Avelyn looked at the creature in confusion and disbelief. Why would a werewolf, or two werewolves, because she was sure the thing behind her belonged to the same species, would roam the grounds of Myrtle Valley? It made no sense. Unless… unless they were rogue werewolves. Werewolves without a clan or a pack, independent beings that didn’t abide by any rules and didn’t care about the treaty. There weren’t many left because the leaders of the factions hunted them down right after the end of the war, but it was common knowledge that some of them escaped. Avelyn’s whole body was shivering feverishly, and her mouth and throat were so dry that it made it impossible for her to scream. No one would hear her anyway.
“What do you want from me?” she managed to whisper. A human wouldn’t have heard her, because she had barely moved her lips, but she knew that the werewolves’ sharp hearing caught her words. “Please don’t…” she swallowed heavily. “Please don’t hurt me.”
The wolf got so near that he entered her personal space. Avelyn dropped the flashlight and her bag. She could feel the creature’s hot breath on her face, and she was painfully aware of the fact that the other werewolf had also closed in on her. She felt trapped. Like a bird in a cage. She kept her breath and closed her eyes, quietly surrendering to her faith. The wolf’s cold snout touched her cheek as he smelled her, then the creature retreated a couple of steps. Avelyn started breathing again, and opened her eyes when she felt the air was clear of the smell of fur. What she saw made her gasp.
The body of the huge gray wolf was twisting before her like something was breaking the creature’s bones from the inside. Avelyn heard cracks and saw how the fur was retreating inside the pores. The werewolf was turning to his human form right before her eyes, and, at that moment, the only thought she could focus on was that it was the most extraordinary thing she had ever seen. In less than a minute, before her stood a young man, his body lean, yet strong. His brown hair was sticking into his eyes, heavy with sweat. She noticed that his green eyes didn’t look so threatening anymore, but rather cold and indifferent. The other wolf had rounded her and she could now see him from the corner of her eye. He was still in his animal form, but he was a bit smaller than the gray one, and his fur was yellowish.
Avelyn couldn’t help but stare at the perfect body before her. The tall stranger was completely naked, his skin glowing in the faint moonlight the color of honey. There wasn’t a single hair on his chest, nor on his crotch, his limp cock resting on nicely sized balls. Avelyn’s eyes snapped back to his eyes, realizing that admiring his body was wrong. She expected to see some kind of reaction to her shameless inspection, but the wolf’s face was as straight as a statue’s.
“Miss Avelyn, we are here to take you back to Alma Venus,” his voice was well-measured and impersonal.
“What?” Avelyn stammered. She couldn’t seem to process his words. Nothing made sense.
“You must be tired, so, if you kindly allow my partner to carry your luggage, I will retake my wolf form so you could ride on my back.”
“Wait, no. I don’t understand. What’s happening? Who are you?”
“My name is Caleb, and this is Daniel.” The yellow wolf nodded his head lightly in a respectful form of salute. “Mr. Blackmane asked us to make sure you are safe until he gets back from London to pick you up.”
Avelyn’s blood started boiling with anger and frustration. “That bastard! He actually went as far as to leave his bodyguards to guard me.”
“I must say we didn’t expect this task to be so difficult.”
Was that a hint of a smile on the guy’s lips? A sarcastic smile. Avelyn would have loved to punch him in those pretty balls of his.
“Now, I hope you’ll agree there’s no point in making things more complicated than they already are.”
“And what if I don’t?” She knew it was pointless, but she had to show him how much she hated the situation.
“It wouldn’t matter,” he said impassively. “You’re coming with us either way.”
“Thought so…” Avelyn hung her head in defeat. She was cold, sweaty, and tired. The fear and panic whi
ch had coursed through her in the last two hours had left her void of any kind of energy or determination. She realized she was done fighting. For now, at least.
CHAPTER FOUR
Trapped
The break of dawn found Avelyn sitting on the windowsill, watching the young sun rays chase the clouds away. She had arrived at Alma Venus around 4 AM and found both Delyse and Claudia awake, snuggled in Claudia’s bed, chatting about what had happened. Amelia was sleeping peacefully in her own bed. Avelyn told them what she had gone through, but she didn’t have the energy to be upset about it anymore. She just wanted to take a long bath, change her clothes, and drink a huge cup of coffee. Now, as she was admiring how the garden glowed in the pale sunlight, Avelyn smiled bitterly at the thought that at least she hadn’t gone down easily. Of course, Miss Delacroix had been informed, and right before Caleb took Avelyn to her bedroom, she had promised her they would have a serious talk in the morning. Then, Caleb decided to stand guard at the door, while Daniel was making his rounds outside. As far as she could tell, they had no idea how she had managed to get so far into the forest, and she had no intention of letting them know.
A loud knock on the door made Amelia stir in her sleep.
“What? So early?” asked Claudia. “It’s only 7 AM.”
Avelyn went to open the door. It was only Caleb. She had been summoned to Miss Delacroix’s office, and she had to follow him downstairs right away. As she was walking next to him, Avelyn couldn’t help stealing glances once in a while, from the corner of her eye. Caleb was a handsome young man, of that there was no doubt. His hair was now neatly combed, and he was wearing a smart suit that made him look like a businessman. “Or a pretentious jerk,” she thought. She knew she was being mean. The guy didn’t talk much and was respectful towards her. He was just following orders, and he probably didn’t like it any more than she did.
Before she opened the door to Miss Delacroix’s office, Avelyn made sure defiance was firmly written across her face. But her defiance turned into a wave of anger and spite when she saw Max Blackmane standing in the middle of the room, hands crossed behind his back, his black eyebrows furrowed, his rigid posture giving him an air of authority. He was wearing a black suit that hugged his strong body in all the right places, and Avelyn had to admit he looked stunning. His black hair had been combed back, a single strand falling casually on his forehead. His lips were pursed, and his green eyes were throwing daggers at Avelyn.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” said the headmistress and went past Avelyn.
She noticed the woman looked pale and tired. Monique Delacroix had always kept her composure even in the most difficult situations, but now she was twitchy and agitated. Avelyn was sure she wanted to tell her a couple of things, and she was annoyed that Blackmane had taken that pleasure away from her. She heard the door close behind her. For the second time, she was alone with the werewolf. She took a deep breath, ready to unleash all her rage on the arrogant bastard who thought he could come into her life and ruin all her plans.
“You don’t get to speak, Avelyn,” he stopped her in a dead serious tone.
Avelyn was taken aback, not sure if it was because of his words or the way he had spoken them.
“Excuse me?”
Max took a couple of steps towards her, his hands still behind his back, his face straight and unforgiving.
“You lost any privilege to say a word, or make any kind of decision when you decided to run away in the middle of the night. Tell me, how did you even get that far?”
Something told Avelyn that his attitude and posture should have made her shrink in fear and defeat, but everything about him only managed to make her angrier and more eager to punch him, or destroy something. She clenched her fists, positive she could have broken all the furniture in the office in a fit of anger.
“That is none of your business. Nothing I do is any of your business.”
“But it is, you see? You’re my bride and I will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”
“Your bride?” Avelyn raised her voice, then laughed in disbelief. “Your bride? I’m not your bride. I didn’t agree to anything. You just did exactly what your filthy species does best: you stole something, someone, that didn’t belong to you. What? Do you expect me to come with you voluntarily and turn into some kind of obedient wife? You’re delusional!”
Max looked away for a second, struggling to compose himself. He realized then that the woman before him could bring out the worst in him. She could bring the beast to the surface.
“Enough! You are coming with me and it is not up for discussion. I don’t care what you think or want.” His stomach churned when the last words rolled down his tongue. They tasted bitter. “Listen carefully, Avelyn: what you did last night will not happen again. Not if you don’t want to suffer dire consequences.”
“What will you do?” There was mean sarcasm in her voice. “Make your wolves guard me around the clock? Will you tie me up to your bed if I try to run away? Lock me up in those dungeons people keep talking about?” She stepped closer to him, entering his personal space. “What will you do, you big bad wolf?” She saw him cringe at her words. She knew she was pushing it too far and that she might regret it, but she didn’t think he had it in him to actually hit her. Maybe, somewhere deep down, she wanted him to hit her, so she would have an even stronger reason to despise him. “I listened to you, now you listen to me: you will never have me. Ever.” She stepped back, satisfied by the effect her words seemed to have on him.
Max breathed evenly for a couple of seconds, wondering for the thousandth time in the past 24 hours if he hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his life. The woman standing in front of him was fierce and defiant. He was impressed by how well the blue jeans she was wearing hugged her thighs and hips, and how the loose sky-blue pullover hung on her chest, making her breasts look bigger and fuller. Her reddish blond hair was tied in a high ponytail, a few curls framing her beautiful face. There were dark shadows under her eyes, proof that she hadn’t slept in more than 24 hours. Looking at her, he had to admit that she might have been a mistake, but a sweet one. He couldn’t imagine himself leaving the UK without this woman by his side, and living his life without seeing her again. The torture of keeping her prisoner in the Schloss was far easier to endure than the torture of living without her.
“I do hope you’ll change your opinion one day. Caleb will accompany you to your room and help you carry your luggage. I’ll be waiting at the gate.”
Max opened the door for her and Avelyn had no choice but to leave the office and follow Caleb back upstairs. She was still boiling with anger, and the thing that boggled her mind the most was how stubborn he was. His actions made no sense to her, and she was sure they made no sense to anyone. He had chosen her over Delyse, who would have brought him incredible political advantages, and he had persisted in this crazy feat despite her fierce opposition. What in hell’s name did he think would change? He was truly insane if he thought Avelyn would not try to escape again.
Back in her room, she said her goodbyes for the second time in a complete daze. She was vaguely aware of her friends’ hugs, and she almost missed Amelia’s whispered “I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way you wanted”. All she could think of was a warm bed and the luxury of being left alone. It was 7:30 AM when she climbed down the stairs. The headmistress was waiting for her at the bottom. She was calmer now and she seemed relieved that it had all ended well. She had probably been nervous that Max would cancel the contract and storm out of Alma Venus without even considering the possibility of replacing Avelyn with the more desirable and malleable Delyse. She had been afraid that Avelyn’s crazy attempt would affect the school’s reputation and bring the Delacroix legacy to ruin.
“Take care of yourself, child,” the headmistress said, squeezing Avelyn’s cold hand. “And, for heaven’s sake, don’t do it again. He might not be so reasonable the second time.”
Avelyn didn’t say anything. She looked i
n the woman’s eyes and was surprised by the flicker of compassion and understanding she saw there. She could almost believe Miss Delacroix was human after all. Her gray hair was pulled mercilessly in a tight bun, making her look serious and professional, but the wrinkles around her eyes and thin lips showed she was growing old and weak. She could still rule over Alma Venus with an iron fist, but for how long? For a second, Avelyn wondered what would happen to the boarding school after Miss Delacroix was gone. The headmistress didn’t have any children, and her husband had long passed away. It was stupid, she knew it, but Alma Venus had been the only home Avelyn knew.
As she crossed the large hall towards the main door, she couldn’t help throwing a last glance at the walls and up to the tall celling. Caleb walked ahead of her, his light, gracious steps barely disturbing the cobblestones on the alley that led to the main gate. Avelyn followed him and felt her eyes blur with tears. This time, they weren’t tears of anger or frustration, but of regret. She had no idea that leaving Alma Venus would make her feel so emotional. Max was waiting for them outside the gate, the door to the black car already opened, ready to trap her in with him. As she approached him, she thought of wiping her tears, but then she realized she didn’t care what he thought of her. She’d never change to accommodate him. She turned to look at the huge school building for the last time, and smiled in sadness seeing that she was finally outside the gates of Alma Venus but didn’t feel free at all. On the contrary, she felt trapped. This man was taking her to her cage. No matter, every cage had its weakness.
***
Schloss Blackmane was a medieval castle that stood tall and proud at the top of Mount Halbmond, at around 2,800 feet above sea level. When Max told her to look out the window of the private jet that had taken them from the Myrtle Valley airport to the Black Forest Mountains, Avelyn grumpily obeyed and stuck her nose to the cold glass. The view was stunning. Noticing her excitement Max decided to give her some general information about her new home. The castle dated back to the 11th century, but it had been restored three times by different Alphas of Clan Blackmane. Mostly, the renovations were needed because the structure degraded in time, reminding the residents how nothing built by mortal hands could ever be eternal. However, each Alpha had also wanted to give the castle his own personal flair. The last time it had been renovated was between 1855 and 1867 by Max’s father. Nikolas Blackmane was an art lover who had a fascination for the medieval architecture of France and England, and that’s how the Schloss ended up sporting a neo-Gothic style that Avelyn would later recognize, after stepping out of the plane. From above, she could see that the court was a semi-circle, adorned with flowerbeds here and there. When she asked how many rooms there were, Max’s heart warmed at her enthusiasm, and he told her there were 140 rooms, and that she was going to love the library. He could already imagine her running up and down the stairs of the castle, inspecting all the chambers, and studying the furniture and the paintings. Then, at the end of the day, he would find her in the library, lying in his father’s comfortable armchair, reading under the warm light of the Victorian lampshade he had bought some years ago from an antique store in London. He hoped that the Schloss would conquer Avelyn’s heart, determining her to give up her possible plans of running away.
