Chapter Three

Caitlyn’s POV

“What the hell!” I exclaimed when other wolves jumped out of the woods and attacked the ones that were after me. Their roars shook the entire woods and just being in the presence of such mighty beasts made me feel like I was flat lining.

I sprinted as fast as I could away from them, the faster I ran, the more strain I felt in my chest. I felt hopeless like I could never outrun them.

I attempted to jump over a tree log when I slipped and hit my head. I tried getting up but my vision had suddenly become a blur. Blood dripped down from my forehead into my eyes as my strength began to elude me.

“Help,” I called out weakly before collapsing. Face down on the dirt, I felt a presence hovering over me. Unlike what I experienced earlier, this was soothing that I felt relaxed and drifted into the darkness of my subconscious.

*********

“Hold on to me, Caitlyn,” I heard my dad's voice.

“Don't let it take control. You have to hold on to me. Caitlyn!”

“Dad!” I jolted awake. The bright light from the sun blinded my vision as I struggled to stand up. All my body aches but at the same time I felt relieved. It was like the strange pressure in my heart had suspended but it was replaced with something equally intoxicating. Images of what I saw the previous night.

“Holy crap!” Someone came out of the woods. His face turned red when he laid eyes on me.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Uh… where… what,” I couldn't find my words, tried thinking but nothing came to me.

“What's going on?”

“Lady! I should be asking you that. You are the one that's naked in the middle of the woods,” he reacted with frustration.

My heart sank when I realized that I was in my nature's bathing suit, covered in dirt.

“Here,” he threw his coat to me.

“Thanks,” I quickly wrapped myself in it. I couldn't recognize anything around, everything seemed different.

“Just point me to the direction of the Fang’s mansion. I'm sorry,”

“Fang? Upper town? I can't point it out because you are like miles from the avenue,” He responded as he picked up his fishing gear.

“But I can drive you there and maybe you would like to share why you are naked in the woods,”

“No clue,” I exhaled.

I followed him out of the woods to his truck that was parked by the roadside. I spotted his ID in the truck, he was also a student in Aurora high.

The drive was quiet but I could feel the glances he threw at me.

“I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Theo,”

“I'm the one that's sorry. You shouldn't have… seen me like that,” I responded.

“No, it's fine. It's not like it was bad,” he said.

“Well, I'm not saying it's good, not that it's bad but just good that I saw you. Not good I saw you naked though, I just —”

“I get Theo,” I halted him with a smile.

“ Drop me here,”

“Are you sure you don't want me to drive you in?” He offered.

“I'm good,” I alighted the truck and picked the easiest route to sneak into my room.

“Thanks again and I will find a way to return your jacket,”

“Wait,” he stopped me.

“I didn't get your name,”

“Caitlyn,” I ran off, taking the garden path, one that would make me unnoticeable from anyone viewing from the upstairs windows. I got to the tree close to my window and an idea popped into my head.

I easily climbed the tree and jumped into my room through the open window.

“Wow,” I was surprised by how athletic I was.

*******

I freshened up and got ready for school. I took a look at the mirror and realized that I had no wound from where I hit my head that night — almost as if I never fell.

I attempted to sneak out but my plan failed when I ran into Joanna.

“Hi,” I smiled and tried to walk past her.

“I didn't hear you come in last night. You weren't in your room when I checked at seven,”

“I was sight seeing. I came late at night and didn't want to wake anyone,” I replied swiftly.

“I'm late, I have to go,”

She wanted to say something but I didn't give the chance. Any more questions could lead to me being busted.

I hurried to school, slowly getting my memory piece by piece but I still couldn't remember how I wandered miles away from where I collapsed.

“Hey,” I walked to Theo who was smiling at me from across the hall.

“Here you go,”

“It's good to see you with clothing,” He received his jacket.

“Maybe we will catch up later, I need to head to class,”

“Bye,” I muttered. I watched him walk away and the moment I turned, I bumped into someone. Air seized in my lungs when I felt his grip on my hand, his eyes pierced mine like a cold.

“What do you want?”

“You fascinate me, pup,” Tristan voiced softly, his hands drawing me even closer.

“You knew it was me,”

Those words confirmed what I was trying to get out of my head.

“It's not… it's not possible. There is no science,”

“Science? It's almost like you are putting yourself in a position for me to save you everytime,” He leaned forward, my gaze fixated on his lips.

“I couldn't find you after. What happened?,”

“Enough,” I gasped.

“This can't be real, it shouldn't. It's not —”

“Come with me,” He headed for the exit.

“I have Advanced Math now,” I hesitated.

“Okay? How is that a problem?” He retorted and I was speechless.

“Let's go, pup,”

I walked behind him to the woods after the soccer field. I didn't know why but I trusted him enough to keep walking with him. It felt compulsive like I had no choice.

“We meet again,” Mira voiced as she emerged from the adjacent direction with another girl who had her arms around her.

“Orion, this is Caitlyn,”

“I couldn't recognize her,” Orion said with a smirk.

“She looked pretty scared last night,”

“Cut it out,” Tristan demanded. He walked up to me, waiting for me to say something but I was speechless.

“We have shown you ours. Now show us yours,”

“Mine?” I cowered backwards as he came closer.

“She’s really a pup,” Orion commented.

“She knows nothing about this,” Tristan whispered.

“It's not about her not knowing,” Mira chipped in.

“It's about what's going on. She doesn't have a scent, what is she?”

“What are you guys talking about?” I placed my hands over my head to ease the ache I was feeling but it didn't help. Anytime I looked at them, I could see the wolves from the previous night. It was like my instinct was telling me who they were in image flashes.

“Are you okay?” Orion helped me sit back on a tree.

“Regular folks have a scent and so does someone that shares our curse. It's unique, different,” Tristan explained with a cold look.

“You don't have any,” Orion said with a suspenseful tone.

“It's like you don't exist. We all witnessed it last night,”

“A curse? Are you saying the founding families? The wolf protector myth is a curse?” I inquired curiously.

“That's another story but for now, we need answers,” Tristan responded.

“Where were you last night? I searched everywhere for you but couldn't find you.”

“ I passed out,” I said softly. The images that came to my mind were no longer memories I recognized.

“Are you sure? We found you nowhere around but we saw your clothes, shredded into pieces,” He tossed my torn shirt to me. The flashes became blinding when I gripped the shirt, images flooded my head with a sharp excruciating pain.

I saw myself struggling to think, fighting against myself but I wasn't in the woods. I was in my parents car, back at the night of the accident.

“It's happening, Joe!” My mum shrieked in fear.

“Caitlyn, hold on to me,” My dad cried out as he held me. My clothes ripped easily off my body as I roared loudly. The flashback ended with their screams filling my head, causing tears to gather in my eyes.

“I…” I couldn't hold back the tears from trailing down my face.

“You what?” Cameroon and his sister emerged from the bushes.

“What do you possibly have to say?”

“Back off!” Tristan warned fiercely.

“What do you want?” Orion asked.

“Isn't it obvious?” Cameroon responded with a smirk.

“We are here for her,” he pointed at me, causing a chill to run up my spine.