Page 10

He laughed at me for being a coward. But there wasn’t any humour in it. It was one of those dry and bitter types. He let go of my mouth, and I screamed.
“Shut up,” he said, giving me a smack. He had a light French accent. My cheek stung and I felt hot tears rolling down it. “No one can hear you.”
“You want money? Just take my purse.” I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
“No, girl. I’m not looking for any money. I’ll get plenty of that after I’m done with you.”
“You’re going to r**e me, are you?”
He pressed something cold into my neck. I felt a sharp object prick my skin—a knife. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt my blood run cold. I was going to die. “Even if you’re a pretty girl,” the man said, playing with my b****t. I felt pretty grossed out. “That’s not what I was asked to do. Now, just hold still. Cutting your piece to pieces will only take a second.” He laughed again.
I did the one thing my brother always told me to do. I kicked his crotch. He groaned and grabbed it without thinking. I tried to leg it, but he was too quick. He threw me to the ground, and my head made a horrible crunching noise.
He was on top of me now. I was trapped. I got under him and let out a bit of a grunt. “Get off of me.”
“I’d had enough of you. Time’s up,” the man said, and I saw him for the first time under the moonlight. He had dark, long hair that was tied back in a ponytail. I’d say he was probably in his mid-twenties.
“Get off!” I shouted.
“You heard her,” said a voice we recognised as we heard them coming up the alley.
“Hey Kieran, Kieran, Kieran. “I’m always the hero, right?” the man said, looking from me to him. What on earth was Kieran doing there?
“Silas, didn’t you hear the girl? Or maybe you’re deaf?”
Silas laughed. Then he looked back at me. He grabbed the knife and pressed it to my throat. I jumped when the cold blade touched my skin again. I tried to shout, but I could barely get out a few words before I lost my voice. “Can’t do. I’ll be more than a rich man once I’m done with her.”
I looked at Kieran again. My eyes welled up, and I begged him to save me. Kieran let out a growl, and then all of a sudden his clothes were ripped off and his skin was covered in grey fur.
I looked on in shock as the creature jumped over me, sending Silas and itself crashing to the ground. Silas let out a grunt, probably from the impact of the tackle. The beast had its paws on Silas’s shoulders. But Silas just laughed.
I was a bit freaked out, to be honest. I must be dreaming! I thought about that for a while. Yes, I was definitely dreaming. In a few seconds, I’ll wake up and go to school like any other teenage girl.
The beast looked over at me, its deep blue eyes twinkling in amusement. How could he possibly think that was funny? This beast looked so familiar. I looked at it with wide eyes as it finally clicked. It was the beast that attacked me about a month ago.
‘One, you aren’t dreaming, Tali. Secondly, I think you should calm down because you look like a stick has gone up your a*s,” a familiar deep voice filled my head—Kieran’s voice. Great, now I was just going a bit crazy. ‘You’re out of your mind. Just calm down, I’ll explain everything later.’
The beast’s eyes turned a dark black. It really caught the eye, even with the low lighting in the alley. I was still lying on the ground, propped up on my right elbow, trying to make sense of what was going on. I was looking at those two black eyes. ‘Just calm down,’ Kieran repeated. Then, out of the blue, I felt this warm feeling spread through me. It felt like a warm, thick blanket being placed on me during a cold winter’s night.
Silas chuckled, shaking me out of my daydream. But I kept my cool. I was still under the beast’s spell, or Kieran’s as it is also known. “Kieran, this isn’t a fair fight,” Silas said. I’m swamped at the moment because I’ve got a bunch of people asking me to do their jobs for them. I know you’re well aware of the rule the Experts have put in place. You don’t want to disappoint your dad, do you?”
They looked at each other for a second. “Yeah, that’s right. You could accuse me of threatening to kill the young woman. But maybe you’d like to find out who wants her fired?” Silas laughed.
They didn’t say much to each other. I got the feeling that Kieran was talking to him telepathically. “We’ll make a deal. Go back into your human form and we’ll deal with this like real men do.”
Kieran slowly backed off from Silas. He didn’t take his eyes off the guy, not even when he stood up. Kieran shook out his fur, almost like a dog does. Then, all of a sudden, his fur disappeared and his smooth, golden skin was on full display.
“Who is it?” Kieran said, frowning.
“You’re just like your dad. Impatient, rude, and demanding,” Silas sighed.
He got that one right. And Kieran thought I looked like I had a stick up my b**t? I thought to myself, as I rolled my eyes, that he looks like he has one stuck up his a*s every day.
I heard that Kieran lost it, the cupcake.
“Anyway, I’m really busy at the moment. “I’m pretty disappointed to be honest. I could’ve been a rich man,” Silas said, disbelievingly shaking his head. “It goes by the name of Iron Justice.”
“What kind of info is that?” Kieran’s voice got louder and louder, echoing off the walls in the alley. “Was it a woman, a man? What did they look like?”
“I’d like to know myself. We did the business by email, though. So that you know, they offered a lot of money. They’re set on getting rid of her. Before the police get here, I reckon we should all get out of here. I’m not sure why you’re concerned about a human being, but that’s not my problem.” Silas walked away from the alley, the sound of his footsteps ringing out.
I curled up into a ball and started swaying back and forth. “Oh my gosh, I’m really going crazy. I’ll wake up from this horrible nightmare any second now,” I whispered to myself.
Kieran appeared out of nowhere and parked himself right next to me. I looked over at his body, and he was still naked. I went bright red and looked away quickly.
“Oh, sorry,” he said. I had a rummage through one of my shopping bags for one of the jeans Elias bought for himself. I threw it at Kieran, and he changed.
I looked up at him and he just gave me that smirk. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and I couldn’t take my eyes off his six-pack. Oh my, why does he have to be so sexy?
“I heard that, cupcake,” Kieran said, smirking.
“H-how?”
“Come with me. It’s not safe to talk here.” He said sincerely, holding out his hand, but I never took it. He let out a sigh. “Trust me, just this one time.”
For some strange reason, I did. I got up and dusted my jeans off and followed him into the woods at the back of Shopping Street. I would’ve been scared to walk into the depths of the trees, but being with Kieran made me feel safe.
It was completely and utterly dark as soon as we stepped into the eerie woods. A quick wind blew through, carrying with it the fresh scent of dirt and trees. Kieran walked right past me. I just couldn’t work out how he could see this dark at night. I couldn’t see anything at all. The trees were blocking all the light from the moon getting in. I heard a strange noise and jumped. I just grabbed Kieran’s hand.
He laughed and took my hand. It wasn’t an electric shock; it was more like a warm feeling. It made me want more, to be honest. I couldn’t stop thinking about how well my hand fit in his. I know it sounds cliché, but it really felt like we were meant to be. I mentally kicked myself. I was with a stupid, idiotic, selfish jerk here.
“Scared, cupcake?” Kieran’s deep voice said in the dark. It had a bit of a humorous vibe.
“N-no. I just can’t see it,” I stuttered.
“Right,” he said sarcastically.
We walked in silence. It was just the two of us holding hands, and I reckon he was probably smirking—egoistic brat.
“We’re here,” Kieran whispered as he pulled me into a clearing. There were a few logs on the side. Even though it was really dark in the woods, this was the only place that had some light. The moon cast a dim light onto the clearing and the grass was all shiny and wet. There were some flowers and wild plants scattered here. It was absolutely gorgeous here.
I let go of Kieran’s hand as soon as I could. I thought I saw Kieran stiffen out of the corner of my eye. I think I was probably just hallucinating again. “It’s beautiful here,” I said.
“Yeah, the pack and I like to come here when we go hunting.” I looked at him, clearly confused. Kieran didn’t say anything. He was standing by a tree, leaning on it and cross-armed, looking at me. “What do you want to know first?”
“What’s that about?” I said, trying to find the right words. “What exactly are you?”
“A werewolf,” he said, shrugging.