~Thea
I swing the dog's leash back and forth as I walk, watching the fake leather gleam in the dull light. Above my head, vicious clouds swoop in, looming over me with threatening shadows in it's wake. It makes me sigh irritably.
The Devotion Pack is situated centrally within the Pack Quarter. It can get warm here, but the weather remains typically gloomy and dull. It doesn't put you in the best mood when you look up and see a darkening cloud overhead that never results to anything.
I've decided to return June's stupid dog today. Might as well do it today and walk home in the daylight. After last night, June made me walk home with the small dog she thinks is protective. I decided to take the long work through the town, rather than delve into that forest. I nearly lost Squiggles...or whatever she calls it.
The village is pretty small. There are other townships within the Pack, but they are all miles away and desolate like our own. It's so tightknit, no one leaves, and no one comes in. At least, not since people started believing in Phantom's again.
Too scared to step foot out of the village, most people have accepted a simple life away from any other civilisation. Many people, including myself have also accepted the idea of never finding our mates. It sucks, but in some people's eyes, it is safer to stay away from where Phantom Wolves are said to lurk.
I just won't leave because my dad won't. And as a nineteen year old living with her father, who works part time at the local diner, I don't see myself doing anything else anyway...
The little Jack Russell June calls her guard dog skips ahead on its little legs. I'm not sure if dogs are allowed on streets this close to stores, but no one is really around to question it. It's a Monday, so the little amount of children in the area are at school, and everyone else is working.
"Maybe it will actually rain one day," I muse, not sure if the dog really listened to my mindless words. It cocked an ear, but that was it. I just listened to its claws click against the concrete, wishing my life was as simple as his.
Maybe it is as simple. I don't go anywhere. My boyfriend will probably have to mark me on the grounds that neither of us are likely to find our own mates. My dad works most days. My friend is a crazy lunatic sometimes. And I don't have enough money to move out...Okay maybe it isn't that simple.
I stare into the store windows as I pass by, wishing I could afford some of the nice clothing and what not. Instead, I am left looking at my own hazel eyes, and frumpy clothes.
I need a miracle...
Suddenly, my eyes catch on something taped to the store window of a second hand clothing shop. It has my sneakered feet finding a stop, my eyebrows raising past the line of mussed brown hair that swoops over my forehead.
A piece of paper, newly printed with bold text, with a photo vibrant that's surprisingly eye catching. But not as eye catching as the title it is.
"Missing Person"
My heart rises in my throat, as I assess the name under the familiar photo. "Jessica Holmes."
I went to school with her. She was the epitome of an introvert-kept to herself, always drawing in her notepad or reading some high fantasy novel. I think she was better friends with the town librarian than anyone in our year.
I stare at the long mass of curly auburn hair that tumbles down her shoulders. She was quite pretty, if you look past her thick rimmed glasses, and her eyes as cold as chunks of ice. The traits she has, she shares with most of us in this Pack. Dark hair, hazel eyes. Average.
But she had gone missing. Missing? No one ever leaves this town.
I am a very curious person. I can't ignore it. I used to read thriller novels before I got a job, and ever since the slightest sign of a mystery has my heart racing. And since nothing ever happens here, I am instantly intrigued.
With a jingle of the bell atop the door, I stroll into the store, the poster in hand, having left the dog tied to a pole outside.
The clerk at the desk glances up as I walk in, probably not expecting someone to visit at this time of the day. Since everyone knows everyone here, I don't have any trouble identifying her as Ms Morris. Elderly, cheerful, but the worst gossip in town.
And her partner in crime shifts clothes around on a nearby rack. That is Ms Slater. Both mateless. Both probably the biggest entertainment in this town.
"Thea dear! What a lovely surprise!" Ms Morris chirps, clapping her hands together at the sight of me. I force a toothy smile onto my face, wishing I was as optimistic about life as these two. I can't imagine how they lived so long all on their own...
"I saw this in the window," I tell her, getting straight to the point so that I don't have to be stuck talking about how boring my life is with them.
I slide the piece of paper across the countertop, giving Ms Morris a perfect view of the missing person poster. The moment her gaze touches the paper, her face pales, and her mouth form a tight line. I have never seen her without a smile..
"Ah yes. Poor Jessica," she says solemnly. I feel Ms Slater stroll up behind me, thick heels clicking against the linoleum floor. She leans over the counter as well, drinking in the sight of the young girl.
"The poor family," Ms Slater muses, smacking her pink tinted lips together. "I can't believe she would do that to herself."
My heart stops. "Do what?"
The two ladies exchange glances. They look so similar, I realise, as they contemplate whether or not to tell me about Jessica. Both have the same fluffy white hair and sun damaged eyes. They dress the same, and even put on the same makeup everyday. I don't judge though, because it's familiar. I grew up thinking they were sisters.
"She killed herself. She walked straight into the Phantom Forest and those wolves killed her," Ms Morris exclaimed. My jaw clenched.
Just like the rest of this town, these women are one drumstick short of a picnic basket. No one has ever seen a Phantom Wolf, and here they are convincing themselves that they do actually exist.
"Did they find the body?" I ask, wondering why there would be a poster up otherwise. The women shrug at the same time.
"No...But she was a little bit strange, so we don't doubt it was a suicide-"
I want to roll my eyes.
"And we think the wolves are getting closer to town. Maybe she got scared and gave up," Ms Slater assumed. This isn't the first time I have heard their ridiculous assumptions.
"Do the police know about this?" I ask, my index finger tapping impatiently against the countertop.
Glances are passed again. I mean, our police force consists of two men. A father and a son. There job is hardly necessary in this town...Well, until now I suppose. The son, my boyfriend.
"No...But we can't think of any other way," Ms Morris informs me. It takes my entire being not to sigh at the batty old women.
I could have gone anywhere in town and found reliable evidence, but instead I made the mistake of coming on here.
"She might have just left home. She was old enough," I muse.
"Can't be. The librarian saw her leave, and her parents never saw her come back. She was either taken, or she killed herself," Ms Slater stated, trying to confirm the lack of information.
I take a few steps backward, leaving the poster. This is stupid...
People don't leave. Ever. And if people don't leave, then people don't mysteriously go missing. In assumption is that she left home, simple as that.
Leaving the shop, I grabbing the dog and started on my way again. My detective work for the day is over, and I decide as I walk, I'll keep it to myself.
Because I know exactly what June would think, if she found out about the missing girl, and the idea of it maybe being a Phantom.
~Thea"We are going to die..."I nestle my head between the cushions of June's beaten up old couch, wishing it would completely drown out the sound of her insistent voice.I had shown up here believing fully that she wouldn't find out about Jessica going missing. She never leaves the damn house-I even have to buy her groceries for her-and I assumed her parents wouldn't tell her either."Missing? No one ever goes missing here," she says, sounding so distressed I almost felt sorry for her. Too bad she thinks it is a fictional character that is the cause of the disappearance..."She hated everyone here," I try to convince her. "It wouldn't surprise me if she just up and left."June doesn't look convinced. Her fingers fiddle with the bottom of her shirt, which she does when she is nervous.
~TheaI lay under my covers, listening intently to the sound of heavy rain pattering against the roof. It's an addictive, lulling sound that has me wanting to stuff my head into my pillow and sleep for a few more hours.But I had promised to meet Luca at the diner for lunch before my shift. I glance over at my bedside table to see I have to be there in an hour...I'm out of bed in a second, and into the shower. Luca hates it when I am late, and personally I do to. Unfortunately, I am not the most organised person in the world. So when I am finally dressed and towel drying my hair, I guess the knock at the door is Luca hurrying me along.And I keep thinking that, until I open the door.My towel slips from my fingers, pooling at my feet. Eyes wide, I am stuck staring at the most attractive man I have ever seen. No one got close to contesting that thought. Not Luca...No one."Good morn
~TheaThe diner has been a special place to me since I was a little girl. Having milkshakes after school with June was a ritual, and I always told the ladies at the counter I would work here when I was older. Fast forward ten years, I am living the dream.Except the dream is hardly what I thought it would be. Sometimes, it's more of a nightmare."Four hours late..." My boss, Janet Dupree muses, arms folded over her chest. "Four hours I had to spend doing you work."I sat meekly behind her desk, head hung low. I'm no stranger to embarrassment, but the looks the other two waitresses gave me as I walked in was enough to have me hold up a white flag.Janet's office is a tiny room tucked into the back of the diner. We always refer to it as The Cave, because sometimes our boss hibernates in it. In the unlikely event you did something foolish, or against one of her rules, we would have to sit beneath the p
~TheaHis hair slips through my fingers, that tangle around the light brown strands.Luca is mad. Furious actually. So irked by Casper's comments, he had taken it upon himself to prove that he could make me climax. I think he was proving it to himself more than anything.But as I lay there, feeling the assault of his tongue against the most sensitive part of my body, I didn't feel anything but uncomfortable. Fuelled by anger, not love, Luca had decided to go down on me, and I wasn't enjoying it in the slightest.For a start, I couldn't get Casper out of my mind. How he knew about me faking orgasms was chilling. People shouldn't just be able to look at others and tell that from one glance.
~TheaDad was sitting at the dinner table when I walked back inside.Despite the fact that he is slightly balding, and the scuff of dark hair on his chin suggests something like a beard, we look alike. Everyone says we have the same nose, and our eyes have the same dark tint around the outside.He smiles, setting his newspaper down on the table, letting me get a glimpse of the front page. Jessica's face was printed large scale, with a daunting title and most likely a degrading passage on how she was depressed and how it was suicide. If the town believed that, then no propaganda would surface, and everything would be okay."Hey honey," he greets, peering at me from behind his reading glasses. I smile at him warmly, dumping my backpack on one of the dining room chairs as I go to sit in the seat opposite him."I was just at June's," I
I woke again, and this time, it's morning.I sit up, mind awake in an instant. I'm not sure where I thought I would wake up, to be honest, but back in my own bed wasn't an option I had considered. Lifting my bed sheets, I see I am even dressed in my pajamas.I have never gotten out of bed so quickly.Pushing open my door, emerging into the lounge room, my best friend June sits on my couch, reading from a book as big as the bible. I stare at her in disbelief, as he glances up at me."About time you woke up," she says. Warily, I wander further into the room."What are you doing here?" I question, narrowing my eyes.For a moment, she looks offended. "I came to show you something."I sit beside her on the couch. I trust June...She is my friend, and would never do anything bad to me. Despite her
~Thea For a good second, I was stunned.I could have not believed him. I could have told him he was crazy, and that walked away. But not only did I see the truth in his eyes, he relayed what had happened to me with not a single falter in his voice, in his expression."What...What do you mean?" I ask, my voice breathy. "These people that you trust are planning something, Thea. Something terrible, and I need to get you out of here before they can-"Suddenly a hand clamps on my shoulder, tight. I jump, but don't bothering to turn around to see who is behind me, because I know it is my boyfriend. His touch is one I know, especially when he is angry."Thea, it is time to take you home."The look on Casper's face, in his eyes is something that is almost impossible to put adequate words to. It could almost be compared to utter malice brewing under his skin, and by the way his fists clench by his side, I can tell he is considering letting Luca get a taste."Don't go with him Thea," Casper s
I stare blankly at him. Whoever he is.He glances back at the road, paying attention to where he was driving for a second. But I couldn't help looking at him, letting the words process in my brain."Jasper is dead," I say clearly, more to myself then him. I wanted to hear the words so I could understand them, believe them. He shakes his head slowly. "I was dead, but not anymore."Out of everything that has happened today-with my boyfriend trying to kill me and my father disappearing-this just passes through me with ease. Perhaps I am just numb to everything right now with all the stress..."Many years ago, my father cursed me," he tells me, his words pronounced as he tries to get me to understand. "He turned me into a Phantom Wolf out of jealously. My own father did not want me to become Alpha, and as a way to not arise suspicion, he told everyone I had committed suicide, when really I was sent to be a Phantom with many others in the Pack."I just sat their, patiently listening."I a