Chapter 2

"Probably an attack," says Tyrus with his eyes frantically scanning the direction from which the scream had come, "Come on."

Without wasting another second, all three of them start running at top speed in the direction of the voice, all their senses heightened and on alert. They looked like three strong gusts of wind winding their way through the trees. Soon they hear a deep howl. They know now that it was surely an attack and the Lycan was inviting the other members of his pack to join in. They had to reach there before his mates. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to save whoever was attacked if by any chance they were still alive.

Finally, they see a werewolf hunched over a girl who looked like she was still alive. Brent turns around and notices that Damion had transformed into a wolf and was ready to attack.

"We will take care of our wolf pal and you save the girl. Take her to the place we stayed in two days ago, we will meet you there," says Tyrus and goes on to transform as well.

***                                             

Lilia was barely conscious now, but she could hear more footsteps, a voice, and more growls. The wolf has called his mates, and I am going to be eaten alive, she thinks, petrified.

Suddenly, she realizes that the weight on her chest has been lifted. She uses all her willpower to open her eyes a smidge to see what is happening. She sees a scuffle to her right and then feels a pair of hands lifting her off the ground. She finds herself staring into a pair of hazel brown eyes for a second, just before she faints.

Her head feels heavy, and for a few seconds, she can't remember what had happened. But then it all comes crashing back, and she feels the fear taking hold of her again. Her brain is filled with images of trees, wolves, and blood. She is petrified and has no idea whether she should move or not. She did not know how on earth she was still alive after everything she had witnessed. Was that all just a dream? She did seem to be lying in a bed. But it all felt so real.

Her head is throbbing. She touches it and realizes that it has been bandaged. She opens her eyes and looks around. It is a small but comfortable room, the lights are dimmed and through a gap in the curtains on the window to her left, she can see that it is still dark, but the sunrise seems to be right around the corner. There is no one else in the room. She tries to get up and it's a struggle. Her back is hurting, probably from the fall and the pressure of the wolf's legs. She shuts her eyes in pain and tries to sit upright supporting herself with the bed frame.

Suddenly, she feels a pair of hands around her shoulders. Her eyes fly open in shock and meet the same hazel-brown pair she had seen before fainting. She finds herself face to face with a handsome guy, somewhat older than her. She hadn't heard him enter at all. He has brown skin, black hair, and a nicely chiseled jaw. There is something very captivating about his eyes, but right now they reflect concern.

"How are you feeling?" He asks in a low-pitched voice. It seemed like he was whispering but every word was clearly audible and enunciated. "Do you have any injuries other than your head and your hand? I've cleared both of those."

"My back is hurting. Who are you and where am I?"

He ignores my question and gently turns me around to examine my back.

"You don't seem to have broken anything. It's probably aching because of all the pressure of being pinned to the ground. You should rest and you'll be fine. Nothing seems to be permanently damaged."

"Who are you?" I ask again, "How the hell did you manage to get me out of that?"

"My name is Brent Quintus."

He gets up, opens a bottle of water kept on the bedside table, and hands it to me along with two pills.

"Take these, you'll feel better."

She looks at him skeptically.

"I am not poisoning or drugging you. If I wanted that, I wouldn't have saved you and treated your wounds."

She takes the medicine.

"I am Lilia Forbes, by the way," she says in a much more relaxed tone, "Thank you for saving my life."

He nods.

"Tell me where you live, I'll drop you home. Your family must be worried. What were you even doing in the forest at such a time?"

She sighs and a look of sadness etches all over her face.

"I just- I don't know. I kind of got carried away. I was having a rough day. I didn't see where I was going. As for my home- "

She stops mid-sentence. There is a sound of footsteps downstairs and sure, soon enough two more guys enter the room.

"How is she?" The one with the blonde hair asks Brent.

"She's fine D."

He looks over at her and she notices that he has deep electric blue eyes, a slightly round and charming face complemented by his blonde hair that fell casually and messily onto his forehead. He was quite attractive.

"Well, at least there is one good news tonight. Wait till you hear what happened after you left." The third guy who was a little shorter and more heavily built than the other two guys said. He also has black hair along with a nicely trimmed beard.

That is one attractive group of people, Lilia thought to herself.

"But first we need to send her back home," he continues.

"Yes, I was just asking her about that," says Brent.

All three of them look over at her and this makes her a little nervous. She glances down at her hands and mutters, "I-uh-I don't have a home or a family. I am an orphan. I stayed in a small chamber on the first floor of the café I worked in. But I lost my job yesterday and I don't have anywhere to go. That's why I was wandering around in the forest. I didn't know what to do with my life. I just have a small backpack of my belongings that is still at the café. You can leave me there and I'll figure out something."

***

Tyrus looked over at her. She was a distinctly beautiful girl. She had brown hair that fell to just below her shoulders in waves, beautiful green eyes, a small nose, and plump lips. But she had an air of being worn out about her and after listening to her story, he knew exactly why. He felt a wave of pity, sympathy, and liking for her. But more than that, he felt a sort of identification. She reminded him of his younger self.

"You can stay with us." He says.

Both Damion and Brent look at him incredulously.

"No, she can't," Damion says.

"Why not?"

"What do you mean? She's human."

"And we should protect her if we can."

"Protecting is one thing, but inviting her to stay over with us is a whole other story," Brent interjects.

But Tyrus knew, in his heart, that it was the right choice to make.

"She has no family, no home, no job. We can provide her with a future she deserves. We can provide her with the education she needs to build a comfortable life for herself. We can't help everyone, but we should help those that we can."

"I don't know if-" Damion interrupts him.

"She doesn't have to know everything about us. Moreover, I know what it's like to be young, naïve, helpless, and without the right guidance. If only someone had given me a helping hand then, my life today could have been entirely different. If you two disagree, I understand, but I can't just leave her like this."

"You're right." Brent says and then turns towards Lilia, "You can move in with us if that's okay with you."

She smiles and a glow spreads over her entire face, "I'd like that." She turns towards Damion, "What did you mean by she's human?"

"Oh, nothing. I just meant that you're young."

She looks at him quizzically and then laughs, "That's a weird way to put it."

"Well, we are weird people," he winks, "we will pick up your things tomorrow and then leave."

The three of them return downstairs.

"So, what happened after I left," Brent asks the two.

A grim expression appears on their faces and Damion replies, "Gremin and his two men are dead."

"What!?"

"What we understand is that the mates of the wolf who attacked Lilia must have found them. They must have suspected something. There must have been a fight and they ended up being killed."

"So it was all a waste. Just when we thought we had made some progress."

"We must leave this place as soon as possible and think of something else." Damion sighs.

2 years later

Lilia walks into the Quintus mansion and notices Brent sitting on the couch in the lavish living room, his legs resting on the table and reading a book. She walks over to him and takes the book out of his hands, "My high school is hosting a homecoming and I want a handsome date to go along with. I want you to come with me pretending to be my date." she says matter-of-factly.

"Did someone call me? I heard the word handsome." Damion says walking into the room with a glass of wine. 

Lilia rolls her eyes and chuckles.

"I can't pretend to be your date. Why do you even need a date in the first place?"

"Oh, it's like a couple-themed dance sort of thing. I could have asked someone else but I don't like anyone currently. Plus, why should I go through all that hassle when I already have a handsome option available. Oh, come on! Don't be such a spoiled sport! I could have asked the other two but they didn't go to that high school so I can't."

"Fine, I'll go with you."

"Great! It's tomorrow. Be ready!"

The next evening Lilia is getting ready. She had already done her makeup and was trying to get into her dress. This wasn't proving to be as easy as it sounds. The zipper at the back of her dress seemed to be stuck. She couldn't pull it up, no matter how hard she tried. She takes off the dress and tries the zipper and it is working perfectly well. She puts the dress back on and tries again but with no success. It must be the angle, she thought.

"Are you ready?" Brent calls out from outside the room.

"Almost- um- actually, could you come in for a sec, I need some assistance."

Brent enters. He is wearing a dark maroon tux and a white shirt with the top two buttons open. He looks exceptionally handsome, even more than usual.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Could you zip me up, I can't."

He steps closer.

She moves her hair to the front.

He reaches for the zipper and tries to pull it up. It doesn't budge. He slides one of his fingers to the back of the zipper. It feels slightly cold against her skin and she feels a shiver run up her spine. He slowly slides the zipper up with his finger grazing lightly against her spine. She finds herself holding her breath as her heartbeat increases. What is all this about?

The zipper gets stuck again, three-fourths up her back.

"There's a piece of thread stuck here," he whispers and tugs at it, "this will damage the dress, I will just cut it off okay?" Lilia nods. She couldn't speak even if she wanted to. She couldn't understand what was happening to her. She had never felt this way before.

He bends his head and cuts the thread off with his teeth, exhaling lightly. Lilia feels goosebumps rising all over her body as his warm breath touches her skin, very unlike his finger. She became aware of her uneven breathing. This was bizarre.

He finally pulls the zipper to the top and says, "All done."

They look at each other in the mirror for a moment too long while Lilia tries to work her head around what just happened and wonders if he knows the effect all this had on her.