Golden: A Paranormal Romance

by Ellis Marie

  Like crystals, it is partially see-through with colours reflecting in the light and outlining the paths that weave themselves down the length of it, all the way to the handle—veins.

  “See? This weapon is one of a kind,” Matt says with a dreamlike tone to his voice. “It’s been made to be the perfect weapon against an alpha. Can you guess why?”

  I refuse to answer. Instead, I hold my mouth closed and narrow my eyes, determined to not let his words get to me.

  “No?” He chuckles, pressing the tip into his finger. “The weapon is designed to hold just the right amount of wolfsbane to kill even the strongest alpha. It’s made for it.”

  “You won’t get near him,” I spit, red tinting my vision. I’m vaguely aware that I can now move a step beyond Carter.

  “I’m not going to need to get near him.” Matt smiles, turning the dagger towards me as the cold pressure of it rests on my sternum. “Because he’s going to give himself up to save you.”

  He pushes down on the blade, letting it cut into my skin slightly, but I stand firm.

  “And when he does, I just need one good thrust—”

  I squeeze my eyes shut as his voice rises, his eyes burning. I swear that I can feel the blade slicing through me. It twists inside me and carves out my heart. My fingers curl and my knees lock.

  “And then the poison will be released and . . . goodbye, puppy,” he says.

  I shake my head, trying to block out his words. I can see it so clearly in my head; I can picture Trent on his knees, begging Matt to let me go. I can see him smiling at me, telling me that it’s okay, that we’re going to be okay, but I know that it’s not.

  “Your dad might give me a bit of sh*t for using you and setting things off a bit early, but I think he’ll praise my initiative.”

  I open my eyes to see Matt lifting the vial of wolfsbane, dangling it in front of his face. Without thinking, I leap forward. A scream breaks from my throat as I lunge for him, my only aim is to knock him over and watch the vial fly to the ground.

  Matt’s look of shock crumbles into a mask of rage as he raises his arm and blocks my advances, throwing me back in response while I continue to try and claw, desperate to harm him in any place I can find.

  “What do you think is going to happen after this?” I scream as Carter’s barricade of arms wraps around me again and cuts off my supply of air, causing me to wheeze as I kick my legs. “Do you think I’ll be yours again? That Cam will help you kill his own kind?”

  Matt seems to ignore my words as he takes a breath, pulling out the cork in the vial with a swift but careful motion.

  “I have zero intention of letting that mutt live,” he sniggers as he begins to pour it into the passage at the tip of the blade. “With Trent out the way, we won’t need him anymore, and I’d rather not keep stinking up the place with that wet dog smell.”

  Despite what he’s done and the betrayal that I feel, I don’t want Cam to die. At least not by the hands of Matt. He doesn’t deserve a second of satisfaction. No one deserves to die.

  “And as for you,” he continues, shaking the last drops of liquid out of the bottle before dropping it with a crash. “I think you’ll do whatever you’re told.”

  “I’ll never be yours,” I swear, my lips burning with every word. “You’d be better off killing me.”

  A shudder of fear passes through me as Carter’s eyes suddenly come into view, his rough hand tilting my head back so that he can sneer down at me. His hand comes across to grab on to my flesh.

  “Who said anything about being only Matt’s?” he says innocently, his eyes leaving a trail of slime down my figure. “You have a lot of making up to do.”

  Complete and utter disgust fills me as I see his plans in his eyes. I can already hear his dark and twisted fantasies, waiting for the time to enact them on me in any way he likes. He wouldn’t.

  I manage to pull my head back up straight. My eyes find Matt who stands and watches the two of us, viewing us like how someone might look at a video of bad food or how someone might react to being told they got a bad grade. Disappointment.

  “You’re going to learn your lesson one way or another, Anna,” he states, hardening his glare. “Maybe then you’ll realise how good you had it.”

  With a nod to the boys, he turns his back to us. His gaze goes back to the dagger in his hand and the way it gleams in the sunlight streaming through the window.

  Carter and Luke begin to move us, bringing us over to the couch where I now see what was handed to Matt earlier—tape and rope.

  I begin to struggle at the same time Kristie does, the two of us twisting our bodies in any way that we can. Our only goal is to not be trapped by the three sickos who are currently holding us.

  Growling above me, Carter demands that I stop. His huffs become more and more irritated as I continue to wiggle, kicking my feet out at his legs with all my strength.

  “Get off me!” Kristie screams, pulling my attention to her as Luke throws her down onto the material of the couch. Her face hits the armchair on the way. He doesn’t hesitate before lying all his weight on her back, pushing her further into the cushions.

  “Kristie!” I cry in anguish, trying to reach her, but that second of redirected attention gives Carter the perfect opportunity to pull his arm back and throw it into my gut, knocking the wind out from my lungs and making me keel over. I choke, my stomach heaving as I retch. I try to inhale a breath into my now aching body.

  As I let out a cry of pain, Carter takes the opportunity to tie my hands behind my back, the rope scratching my flesh. There’s a noise in the distance, a sound far off but drawing closer—a warning, like thunder.

  Everyone seems to freeze. Kristie and I attempt to escape, but it falls away as we both tilt our heads up to look at Matt. He’s by the window that he has been infatuated with since we got here.

  While fear seeps into me, the opposite seems to happen to him. His mouth breaks out into the biggest grin that I have ever seen him wear. It shakes me to my core.

  “Hear that?” he whispers, an excitement in his whisper that digs its claws into my muscles, making me go numb.

  The sound happens again, this time louder. Closer. Angrier.

  A howl.

  Matt slowly picks up the blade, the sound of it sliding along the table. It makes me wince as though it’s nails against a chalkboard.

  He stands there holding it, looking like a warped and cruel version of a knight in shining armour. His appearance is so angelic, but his expression is one of pure twisted evil and venomous rage.

  It’s the first time I’ve ever truly been scared of him, and that’s because I know that there’s no stopping him. Any sign of the boy I once loved is gone—completely and utterly gone.

  “You know what?” he snarls, his tongue dripping with promise as he grins at me. “I think it’s time to kill an alpha.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  I can barely breathe.

  Every step that we’re dragged outside feels like another dagger into my chest. It makes my legs weak and my eyes water, my heart threatening to lurch from behind my ribcage. The tape across my mouth doesn’t help either.

  Kristie is dragged behind me. Luke holds her with her arms tied behind her back. The rope around my own wrists burns my skin as I try to loosen it, the sharp pain minimal in comparison to the dread that is filling me.

  I have to warn him.

  I try to talk to Kristie over my shoulder, to show her in some way that she’s not alone, that we shouldn’t be afraid. It’s silly, but I think that she understands me, her shining eyes crinkling in reply.

  It’s cold outside. There’s a wind whistling around us and the sky, which was blue earlier today, now has grey clouds stretched across it. Like the aftermath of a fire. I wonder who will get burned?

  As we come around the corner from the building, I stumble onto the grass, the sounds from my throat like sobs as I try to push the figure holding me out of the way.

  I hav
e to stop this.

  “Stop struggling,” Matt hisses in my ear as he twists his hands, causing the rope to dig in further as he yanks me into him. His eyes are like ice. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Anna. The quicker you cooperate, the quicker it’s over.”

  I want to scream at him, to tell him that I’ll never cooperate or give in. I’m determined to make this as difficult as possible for him to succeed. How could I think that I would just stand by? But all it sounds like is the muffled growls of a desperate woman, one without a voice.

  “Her name is Elle.”

  At the sound of his voice, everything goes quiet. My body goes still. It’s like the words are a breath of air into my lungs and knowing he’s close lets me breathe again. It stops the world from crumbling around me—at least, for a moment.

  He’s standing across the field, his steps strong as he makes his way towards us with his hands clenched into fists at his side. As soon as I see him, all the ideas in my head, all the questions and conspiracies, they all die. Seeing him makes me realise how stupid Cam’s accusations are, how crazy it is to think that the feelings I have for this man are anything less than pure love and adoration. There’s no spells or powers, no persuasion or control; he is mine and I am his. Always.

  All I want is to go back to this morning, to go back to the feeling of waking up in his arms and knowing that he’s holding me. Will we really only get to have that one time?

  My moment of happiness quickly falls when my mind puts two and two together; his human form only wearing a pair of shorts and the empty space behind him. He’s alone . . . and vulnerable.

  When he finds me, I see his face morphe. His eyes roam over my tear-streaked cheeks and my knees that are grazed from hitting the ground so many times. By the time he makes his way back to my face, he looks both furious and distraught.

  “Are you okay?” he says softly, his voice floating across the space between us while ignoring Matt’s scoff of disapproval and his mocking voice. I nod in response, my heart fluttering when the creases between his brows seems to dwindle a little in relief.

  God, I wish he could hear me.

  “So nice of you to join us,” Matt muses, brushing his nose against my hair. “I was starting to think you were going to miss all the fun.”

  I hold in the whimper that threatens to bubble in my mouth, my determination to be strong washing over me. I need to stand my ground. I can’t let Trent see how scared I really am; he can’t give in to Matt. I rub my wrists together, and I try to ignore the burning sensation across my skin.

  “How could I miss it?” Trent growls, his voice lower than I’ve ever heard before. “Then there wouldn’t be anyone here to kill you.”

  Matt stops chuckling to peer down at me. His expression is full of arrogance, but I can also see a flicker of fear as he clears his throat. He knows Trent could kill him. All it takes is one wrong move and Matt could lose the advantage.

  “It’s interesting that you’re acting so confident when you’re here on your own and I’m holding the girl you’re meant to be in love with,” Matt sneers with a twinkle in his eyes as he smirks back at Carter who steps up beside us. “After all I’ve heard about mates and packs and loyalty? I expected more. It’s almost like you’re not alone.”

  With his words, I see Trent’s jaw grit. It’s a sure sign that Matt is right, but he’s trying to cover it up. He isn’t alone, is he?

  That’s when I feel it. Through the panic and fear that’s flowing through me, the ringing in my ears and the burning in my lungs, I feel it. Like a prickling on the back of my neck, a breeze from the forest, beckoning me to follow it. My heart pounds.

  There’s a flicker to the right of us, a tiny movement in the trees—barely visible. Fur. A wolf.

  My gaze swings back around to Trent. My eyes widen, trying to ask him the questions that are filling my head, the warning that I want to scream at him.

  How many of them are there? Who is it? Could they overpower Matt? Are we going to get out of this alive?

  Trent tries to keep his face neutral, his eyes glowing as he stares at me wordlessly. Now, I kind of wish I had been marked; at least then, I would have been able to talk to him.

  Behind me, I hear a scuffle breaking out—curses and cries combining with grunts of dismay.

  Kristie.

  She turns her body as she kicks her leg out at Luke’s knee, pushing it back the wrong way as he cries out and falls forward. His grip on her is gone as she manages to stumble a few steps into freedom.

  I know she’s trying to distract them, to give us a chance to escape, but as soon as there seems to be a split second of hope, Luke gets over the pain in his leg and he takes Kristie down with one lunge. The two of them hits the ground with a resounding crack that echoes. My eyes squeeze shut as her chin hits the hard surface.

  Luke forces his weight on top of her, this time with his fingers wrapping around the back of her neck. My lungs burn as I scream at him to get off her. As her face turns a dark red colour, he presses into her. A sharp cry of pain echoes around us, making bile rise in my chest.

  It’s then that the wolf bursts from the trees, his howl like a battle cry as he charges towards my struggling best friend and her screams of help.

  I know who it is immediately—Cole.

  For a brief second, I imagine him getting to her, knocking Luke clean on to his back and pulling her to safety. I can see Trent taking the moment of distraction to fly at us, overpowering Matt and knocking out Carter in the blink of an eye.

  We win. No one gets hurt.

  A pipe dream.

  Before Cole can so much as let out another howl, Carter moves from beside me. He pulls something out from behind his back. Without any warning, he steps out in front of us, his body turned to face Cole and his oncoming attack.

  He launches it from his grip, his aim terrifyingly accurate and powerful. With every intention to kill.

  I don’t even see it soar through the air. I just see it hit Cole’s chest. I hear the impact.

  As it buries himself into his fur, making the creature stumble and fall to the ground. An agonising wail comes from his muzzle, and he collapses, his body convulsing.

  I’m frozen. Blood pounds in my ears and makes me dizzy. My eyes are unable to pull away from anything other than the collapsed body of a person who had become one of my closest friends. Kristie’s muffled screams create the soundtrack of the moment along with Carter’s self-rewarding, prideful laughter.

  “Oh, shut up!” Matt screams back to Kristie, my blood curling at the tone of his voice. “He’s not dead, you idiot. It just paralysed him for a couple of minutes.”

  If it wasn’t for the tape across my mouth, I think I would have vomited.

  Momentarily, the idea of Matt lying invades my thoughts.After all, he could just be bluffing, but when I see Cole’s body change with the fur retracting and turning into skin, I know he’s telling the truth.

  He doesn’t have a weapon to kill anyone other than his one true target, which is even more terrifying, because it means that he knows Trent is going to agree to his terms.

  I see Kristie’s expression change from confusion to shock, watching as the boy that she sits beside in English appears where the wolf previously was. She blinks a few times as if trying to commit it to memory and to make sure that she isn’t imagining things, but when he fully changes and lies there, his eyes squeezed in pain and his body frozen, I know she believes everything I’ve told her. She glances at me, and in her eyes, I see a look that hardly ever lives there; it’s unheard of in the land of Kristie Kennedy.

  Hopelessness.

  The fight in her seems to die too. Luke drags her over and throws her at our feet, his sadistic grin twitching as he rubs his bad leg.

  I hope it gets ripped off.

  I can see that Trent wants to get to Cole, to make sure that he’s alive, and to check that another person in his life hasn’t died while he’s safe, but he doesn’t. Instead, he clenches h
is jaw and he turns to look at Matt, an acceptance in his features that causes a chill to go up my spine.

  No.

  “What do you want?” Trent seethes, his voice steady but barely holding.

  “Now that . . . that is the million-dollar question, dear Alpha.” Matt grins, flashing his perfect white teeth as he rubs his cheek against my own.

  He pretends to think about it for a second, pulling my head from side to side like a ticking clock. His cheeks only grow with amusement as I flinch in pain.

  He’s enjoying this. I hate him.

  “I want money, a career. I want a good house and a wife waiting for me at home who doesn’t disobey me or leave me for another man.” Matt’s fingernails dig into my scalp as he says the last bit, pulling my head back so that I can see the vile look in his eyes and feel his spit hit my cheekbone. “But from you, Alpha, I want you to pay for everything you took from me.”

  Matt presses his lips to the side of my temple, and my chest heaves with the sobs that are building. My fingers tingle as I squeeze them, trying to not let the tears fall at the feeling of my skin being torn apart.

  I have to do something.

  “I didn’t take anything from you,” Trent replies, his voice tight but booming across the empty space. “She’s not an object, and you didn’t deserve her in the first place.”

  Matt tuts and pulls my head back further, the pain causing me to cry out. I see Trent step forward, beginning to raise his arms as if he’s going to attack.

  “Ah, Ah!” Matt laughs, bringing the blade of the dagger up to my neck where the cold steel of it presses in. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. This isn’t for show. Unlike you, I don’t have a biological advantage, so I had to make sure I came prepared.”

  Trent hesitates, furrowing his brows at the weapon in Matt’s hands and the way that it rests on me, threatening to end my life at any moment.

  “Don’t make me use it, Trent. It would be a shame to spill her blood after you’ve worked so hard to prevent that.” The blade presses in and the sharp sting pricks my skin.

  “All that work, for nothing.”