MasukScarlett couldn't sleep. All through the night, she tossed and turned restlessly, plagued with images of Tabitha's dead body. One time when she managed to doze off, a bad dream terrified her. She saw herself standing before Mirah's dangling body, while Tabitha and Gretchen lay underneath her, their bodies slowly decaying. Then a mysterious figure appeared out of the darkness and pointed a finger at her, followed by an eerie whisper that said, "You are next..."She jolted awake with a shrill scream, her skin glistening with sweat. Her heart raced heavily as she got out of bed and hurried to the bathroom to splash water on her face. "Please come back, Dylan." She whispered. "I don't think I can do this without you here."She remained in front of the mirror for a while before returning to her room. The sun was just rising, sending streaks of dawn into the sky. She hadn't gotten any sleep. She felt like hell. A soft knock sounded then, alerting her. "Who's there?"The door opened an
A persistent ringing echoed in Scarlett's head as she stared at Tabitha and Gretchen's body. It seemed they had been dead for a while. Flies buzzed over the bodies, and around the filthy froth in their mouths. She staggered forward and dropped to her knees beside them, tears pooling in her eyes. With a shaky hand, she reached out to touch Tabitha's face. It felt cold, icy cold and stiff. She touched little Gretchen, and a wave of guilt hit her. She shouldn't have left them with Jordan. She should have brought them to the mansion herself. They would be alive if she had just stayed beside them. Now Tabitha would never turn eighteen. She would never find her mate. Her life had been cut off prematurely. "I'm so sorry, Tabi." She whispered as tears softly spilled down her cheeks. Behind her, Caleb stood frozen. He didn't expect Tabitha's death to hit him so hard, didn't realize that Scarlett was right all along. Now it was too late. He leaned down beside her and touched her arm. "S
Scarlett waited for hours for Jordan, but he didn't return. Her instincts told her something must have happened, but she ignored it. She knew he wouldn't do anything to harm Tabitha or her sister. He would protect them. So she waited, pacing around the bedroom impatiently. But when noon passed and Jordan still didn't return with both girls, she couldn't keep pretending everything was okay. She rushed out of the room and hurried down the stairs. Strangely enough, the mansion was empty. The guards were gone. The maids were nowhere to be found. She was the only one inside. "No," she gasped and hurried towards the front doors as fear started to creep into her heart. As she rushed out the door, she bumped into Caleb who was just returning. He grabbed her arms, steadying her before she could fall. "Caleb!" She exclaimed. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He questioned. He looked exhausted, and the smile he gave her was tired. "I have to find Jordan. Have you seen him?" "Jor
Scarlett stood frozen behind Tabitha, her eyes pinned on the lifeless body dangling from the tree. Guilt hit her with a crashing wave. She should have told Dylan before he left. She knew something was wrong, but she had ignored it. Now it was too late. Tabitha's screams echoed in her ears, agonized screams which came from deep within her. On one side, Winona held little Gretchen as she cried hysterically, stretching out her arms to her dead mother. The sight was so heartbreaking that Scarlett didn't know when she started to cry. The other shifters just stood around the tree, mumbling amongst themselves. No one made a move to bring down the body. Someone touched her arm and she jumped, startled out of her wits. It was Jordan. He had a look of guilt on his face too. "I'm so sorry, Scarlett." He said softly. "I should have listened when you told me something was wrong. I just didn't expect..."He trailed off, looking towards the dead body again. Scarlett turned to the left and sp
Dylan stood at the foot of the enormous cave deep inside the forest. Memories of the nights he had spent there in pain and anguish tried to surface in his mind, but he pushed them away. He exhaled deeply and stepped inside, with Caleb and half a dozen guards following behind him. They held heavy, silver chains, thick as tree trunks, so heavy that they had to strain as they dragged along the ground. Their hands were covered in leather black gloves to protect them from getting burned by the silver. They dragged the chains into the deepest part of the cage and anchored it on the wall while Dylan stood there silently.Once night fell, the blood moon would appear in the sky. He would have to be held down behind those silver chains all night, for as long as the blood moon appeared. He still had scars from the past years, scars on his arms and chest from being burned for hours by silver, enduring the pain to keep his beast contained. When the guards finished, they turned around and bo
Dylan was gone before she woke up the next morning. She felt his absence before she even opened her eyes. His side of the bed was cold, like he had been gone for hours. It was daylight, but the curtains remained drawn, keeping the bright light out. There was a note beside the bed when she sat up. She grabbed and unfolded it, rubbing her eyes to clear the last traces of sleep. The note was short and straight to the point, but it managed to make her heart race with excitement. |I didn't want to disturb your sleep. I will see you in a few days, wife. Until then, stay safe and wait for me.||Dylan.|She fell back on the bed and squealed, kicking her feet in excitement. It wasn't much, but the fact that she and Dylan were getting incredibly close each day tugged at the strings of her heart. Maybe being forced to marry him wasn't such a bad idea anymore. She carefully folded the letter and jumped out of the bed before heading to her room. Tabitha was changing the sheets when she ste







