I couldn’t sleep. I was awake until midnight, restless and thinking. Dinner came just as Aaron promised, and it was delicious. I ate in my room, and a few hours later, I retired to bed but didn’t sleep. Countless and never-ending thoughts clouded my mind, and it was none other than leaving and finding safety and sanity away from all of this. I felt stuck and needed an escape from everything.
I wanted protection more than anything, but at what cost? Losing it all to Aaron? First, I’d lose Zion and then my senses. Was it worth it?
I sat up in bed and ran my hand over my face, wanting to step out but knowing the door may be locked. After sitting and staring at it, I took my chances. I moved to the door and turned its knob. It opened to my surprise, and wasting no time, I stepped out.
The hallway had no light, and I did not know where my legs were taking me, but I didn’t stop walking. I couldn’t remember the path Zion and I went through yesterday when we took a walk, but I wanted to get out, get air, or something.
I paused on my step when I saw a figure standing before me not so far away, and my heart skipped a beat. I hated not being able to tell who exactly it was. The Harts brothers had almost the same body build, and the only way to differentiate was by their voices and faces. However, this one before me hasn’t spoken, so I couldn’t tell.
I was still deep in my thoughts when I saw his eyes glow a shade of red in the dark, and my heart clenched in my chest, but I told myself it had to be Aaron. So far, he’s been the only one whose eyes glow red. The figure approached, and his movement didn’t look like that of Aaron. I would know. I had kept my eyes on him since I came here, and I’d watched him move a few times. Whoever it was, his movement felt less dominating. Yet it terrified me to not know who it was. Despite this, I didn’t move back or try to run away. I stood with my feet glued to the floor, though my heart skipped in fear.
He transformed into a big black wolf with red scary eyes, terrifying in his stand. This had to be a dream, I told myself. There was no way a human would become a wolf, but that was what just happened to me, and I wasn’t hallucinating. This was what being a werewolf was, and I was still in denial because I’d never seen it live.
He growled and climbed onto the wall to the left, and my stomach dropped when he ran swiftly over the walls as if it were nothing. His claws dug into the walls and created a crack in them. He landed in front of me, and the terrifying growl leaving his mouth caused goosebumps to erupt over my skin. Thank God for an empty bladder, or I would have peed myself out of shock.
I took to my heels, running as fast as my legs could take me out of the house. The cold night gripped my skin, and the blue blouse and trousers I had on did little to prevent it. The wolf still chased after me. I felt it, but didn’t dare to look back. I ran out into the night, still running fast, before tripping and falling face down. I coughed and groaned in pain, and I almost stayed there until I remembered someone or something had chased me out.
I flipped on the ground and found him approaching, a low growl leaving his mouth even as his blood-red eyes stayed on me. I swallowed and remained still. Perhaps this was it; this was my end, and nothing I would do would save me from it. I should have stayed inside. It was much safer there.
I swallowed and waited for the worst.
“Enough, Damor!” Aaron ordered from behind, and I turned to find another figure behind me with glowing red eyes.
Damor shifted back to his human form, naked, and Aaron tossed the clothes in his hands to him.
“You know what? You are no fun, brother.” Damor replied, and the next moment, his glowing red eyes disappeared: “She’s human. She needs to know what we are about. You can’t hide her away from it forever.” He wore the trousers and pulled the shirt over his head while I tried not to look at him.
“She’s under my protection, and that means you do not get to scare her or lay a hand on her.”
He grunted under his breath, clearly not liking the terms Aaron had just set before him. “Again, no fun. With the pace you’re going, I see why you won’t live as long as our ancestors did,” he pointed out before turning to face me. He must have smiled because I saw his perfect teeth on full display.
“I am sorry to have scared you, Zera.” He offered me his hand, but I didn’t take it; instead, I pulled myself up on my own and dusted off my dirty trousers.
I stared at him in silence and felt his gaze move to Aaron, who stood behind me. “Is she suddenly dumb or something?”
“She’s not dumb, but after the scare you just gave her, I wouldn’t want to talk to you either,” Aaron said in my defence, and Damor scoffed.
“The energy you carry is flat. I’ll go find me, Sesi. We have a pack to lead tonight,” he said, walking past me, whistling melodiously.
“I am sorry about that,” Aaron said once Damor departed.
I didn’t want his “nice self” to come into play. They would numb my senses and make me think of things I shouldn’t. I didn’t want any kind gestures from him; that wouldn’t help.
“I doubt you’re sorry.” I turned around and walked back the way I came. My heart still hammered heavily in my chest despite no threat or danger before me. Damor had set this fear in me, and I don’t know if it would go away anytime soon.
I entered my room and didn’t bother shutting the door since the only way to lock the stupid door was from outside.
Not long after, the door cracked open, and Aaron stepped into the room. I spun around, my heart still skipping in my chest from the scare Damor had earlier inflicted.
He had a worried eye as he beheld me, but I didn’t want to see it. “You must think I’m not, but I am sorry. This world isn’t the one you and Zion are used to.”
The scare Damor just gave me told me I wasn’t safe here. “Then why not just let us leave?”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that, and you know why.”
I would not act like I do. “What I know is that there are as many bad people here as there are on the outside. Your brother is one of them.”
This was my fear speaking.
He took a step forward. “Damor plays dangerous games, but he means no harm. We might look bad to you, but one thing we will never do is harm you. The bad ones outside, just like Henry, would seek to harm you.”
“You do not know that.”
“I think we both know that.”
“I’ve lived in the outside world for twenty-six years of my life. It’s been five years since I met you and over four years since I had Zion. I have lived in peace and never had my life threatened before. Not until you brought yourself back in, so, in my book, you guys are the bad guys. For all I know, Henry was the only one out to hurt me.”
“Henry was a pawn.”
“Says you.”
His eyes fluttered, and he drew a deep breath. I could tell he was having a really hard time with this argument, but I would not let him have it easy. “I know you resent me, but you’re smarter than the argument you’re making.”
“Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not. I just want to get back to my old life, to the way things once were, when I was innocent and naive.”
“There is no going back, Zera. Not after what you’ve known, not after what you’ve discovered. And there is no safety, not when those who wanted you dead are still waiting for the next chance they will get.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of my own life? It was my life the last time I checked.”
“And you’re the mother of my son. That automatically places you under my protection,” he said in a flat tone as if expecting no further argument, and that made me boil.
“I don’t need your protection!” I snapped, charging towards him.
He took a step forward to meet me halfway. “Strange you would say that. I didn’t see you put up any fight when Henry had you in his grasp. You were defenceless, and you would have died if I hadn’t stepped in when I did. So instead of this continuous rebellion, how about some fucking gratitude?” he snarled at me.
“Fuck you!” I cursed.
Red flashed in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth. My heart skipped when he took another step closer, and I realized how close to his reach I was. “You will remain here until I say otherwise,” he said, and he stormed out of the room, slamming the door hard on his exit.