Chapter 28

Angie’s POV

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The sound of the door shutting wakes me up abruptly and I look around the motel room, disoriented for a second before I remember where I am. I must have fallen asleep the minute my head hit the pillow last night, but I have an overwhelming need to pee and I hop out of bed and dart to the bathroom. I notice a note taped to the mirror and I lean over and grab it.

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Needed to pick up a few things.

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Be ready to leave.

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Talk to no one.

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I get ready quickly, it takes only a few minutes to get my stuff together, and now I’m left to wait for Stefan to come back. I pull back the heavy orange curtain and peek out the window. The sun is bright and everything is extremely quiet. There are only two cars parked in the lot and I feel anxious about the mystery of where we are going. It’s very clear that there’s more to this world than I ever knew and as I let my mind wander it always goes back to Leo. I have never seen him so much as raise his voice, and now he is going to have to fight for his life according to Stefan.

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I watch a couple leave one of the rooms, although I’m not really sure they’re a couple. Feels more like a hook-up. Each one of them is the owner of one of the cars, and when they drive off they go in different directions and the lot is left totally empty. I flop back down on the bed and turn on the tv, clicking through fuzzy channels until one of them is clear enough to make out images. Just my luck it’s the news. I let it play in the background while I repack things out of boredom and then I freeze when I hear my name. I look back at the TV and my picture is on it.

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“Are you packed?” Stefan comes through the door and I shush him and point to the tv.

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“Shit,” he says as he sets two bags down on the table. "It was going to make the news eventually, the human world reacts quickly with the media. I'm surprised it took this long."

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“Dead? They are reporting my death, Stefan. What the fuck! Found in the woods? Who? Who found me in the woods? I am clearly not dead!” I’m shouting at him and he walks to the TV and turns it off.

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“Angie, please. I needed to buy us some time. Or did you want Eric to come after you?”

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“What body? They found a body, whose was it?” I can feel my anger spike.

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“A girl, she died in the hospital. She’d been attacked the night before. I saw an opportunity and I took it. I took your ID and shoved it into her pocket and dressed her in some of your clothes. Angie, this situation is much bigger than you know. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

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“Is this because of Leo?” I ask.

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“It’s about Leo, yes, but it’s about you too.” He takes the bags from the table and starts to pack one of his duffle bags.

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“My parents, they must be devastated. I have to tell them. I have to let them know!”

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“NO! Angie, when this is all over you can go back, but I’m sorry, right now this is how it needs to be.” He zips up the bag and puts it on his back. “We need to leave.”

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“Where are we going? I want to know before I leave this motel. I don’t want to be kept in the dark any longer. If you think you can just drag me around and that I’ll just go blindly you’ve got another thing coming.”

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He looks irritated and squeezes his eyes shut tight and then takes a deep breath and opens them.

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“To an island. Alpha Roman, who happens to be the king of the northern territories, and Eric’s second-biggest enemy after Leo, owns it. He bought it from Leo’s father almost thirty years ago. It’s a safe haven for those that need to disappear and there are only a few people who know about its existence.”

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“Why do you know about it?” I sense he is getting uncomfortable with my questions.

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“I was very close to Roman and his beta, Lucas. I married Lucas’ wife's sister. We were family...once.” He packs a few more things and then turns to me, looking frustrated. “I was a good guy once, Angie, and I’m really sorry this is happening to you, and I'm really trying to do the right thing after a very very long time of doing the wrong things. I need to get you to the island where you’ll be safe.”

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“How is it possible that Eric doesn’t know about this place?”

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“The same way he didn’t know he had a nephew. The royal families are good at keeping secrets. Very very good at it.” Stefan opens the door and walks out, and I follow him.

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“We need to get moving. The only way to get to the island is through a hidden cave system deep in the woods. A plane is waiting for us on the other side.”

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“A plane?” I hate flying, I’ve only been in a plane a few times, but it always makes me nervous.

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He heads across the parking lot and I have to run to catch up, he’s walking so fast.

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“Come on, into the woods.” We enter the trees that line the small highway and it very quickly turns into a dense forest. We get a mile into the walk and you can barely hear the road in the distance.

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“Why don’t you just shift? We could travel like we did before?” I ask, but he shakes his head.

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“Can’t. Not here. This is human territory. Sometimes there are hunters out here and I don’t want to take any chances.”

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I don’t ask any more questions. I just try and keep up. I’m caught up in my own mind anyway, thinking of my poor parents who are probably planning a funeral. It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it.

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We walk for several hours and take only a few breaks. The sun is bright overhead creating shadows across the forest floor that almost seem menacing. The deeper and deeper we go, the surroundings change and the heat of the afternoon sun and the dampness that is clinging to our clothes is starting to slow me down.

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“Do you need a break?” he asks me and I’m thankful for it. “Are you hungry?” I didn’t realize it before he asked, but suddenly I’m starving.

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“Here, let’s just sit for a few minutes.” He doesn’t say anything else, he just takes some fruit out of one of the packs and a package of granola. We only stop for fifteen minutes, but it’s enough time to gain a little more energy back, and we head deeper into the forest. After another few hours of walking, there’s an odd break in the trees.

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“We’re here, we crawl right through there.” I scan the area and have no idea what he’s looking at. I look all over and he leans down and moves some branches from the ground revealing a small hole in the side of a hill.

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“You’re joking,” I say looking at this tiny little crevice. “We crawl through there? I don’t know how I’ll fit in there, how the hell are you going to?” I bend down and peer into the hole and see nothing. It’s pitch black.

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“You’ll need to just squeeze through. There’s about a three-foot drop once you’re in and then the cavern opens up.” He takes his backpack off and shoves it through the small hole and then takes the ones I’m carrying and does the same. I just stare at him as he finishes pushing everything through and he gestures at me. “Ok, let’s go.”

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I lay on the ground and my heart starts racing as I scoot my feet through the hole, and then my legs. When I get to my waist I start to panic. “I don’t know if I can do this.” My feet are now dangling down into the hole and I want to crawl back up.

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“You have to.” Stefan gets down on the ground and starts to push my body through as I fight him. I’m gripping his arms begging him to pull me back up, but he just continues to lower me into the hole.

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“Please, Stefan, please!” I beg but he loosens his hold on me and although I’m clawing at the mossy surface I can’t keep my grip and I drop down the hole, hitting the ground with a thud and hearing my scream echo around the pitch-black cavern. I sit up, trying to see anything around me, when I hear another thud, and rustling around the ground.

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“You okay?” he says.

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“I- I think so...” I reach around the ground blindly for the backpacks and finally find one. I dig through it and pull out the flashlight and flick it on just as Stefan does the same. The light dances on the cave walls and I real e we are in a massive cavern. I see Stefan flash his light on his watch and then over to me.

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“Let’s go. We don’t have much time, the plane will be here to pick us up in an hour.” He puts bags on his back and stands, the top of the cave nearly touching his head, and I see now why he can’t shift down here. His wolf is far too big for that.

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We walk through the darkness and as we go deeper into the cave the temperature is rising to the point where it is almost unbearable and I feel like I might pass out.

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“Angie, we’re almost there.”

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“I feel sick,” I say as the weight of the backpack suddenly feels like it’s a thousand pounds. I fumble with the flashlight and drop to the ground hearing Stefan call to me in the distance, his voice sounding further and further away as darkness wraps around me and I pass out.

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“Angie, come on, I need you to wake up.” I hear a voice and something cold across my forehead. I open my eyes and slate-grey eyes are staring back at me, they have little flecks of blue in them too. It takes me a minute to realize I’m staring up at Stefan, and he is holding a glass of water to my lips. “Come on, drink this.” He tips it and I drink every drop. “Good girl,” he says as I look around and shuffle myself up to a sitting position. I see a small window and realize we’re in the air.

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“What happened?” I ask and take the bottle of water that he hands me.

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“The heat was too much for you, your body couldn’t regulate it. You fainted.” I look up at him and he genuinely looks worried.

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“I’m okay,” I take his hand in mine and squeeze it and overwhelming feelings hit me hard. This man saved my life, he risked everything to keep me safe. He looks at me startled when I reach over and hug him. “I’d be dead if it weren’t for you,” I tell him and he pulls away and squeezes my hand back.

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“We’re landing soon. See, it’s just over there.” I look out the window and I see what looks like nothing really. There are no trees or structures, it just looks barren.

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“That’s where we’re going?”

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“It’s not what it looks like. There’s a spell on it, the same coven that hid Leo also placed a spell on this place to conceal it as a wasteland. Even if people do fly over it, there’s nothing they see. Because it’s owned by a private entity no one is allowed to land there without proper approval either. I’m not surprised that Eric never knew of it, and it doesn’t show up in any of his assets.”

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“Was he, Eric I mean, included in any family business?” I ask, not understanding how the brother of the King would be so completely left out.

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“His father made sure that he was completely cut out of everything. Eric displayed aggression as a young boy, and as a young adult, he assaulted the now Queen of the North, Anna. When Eric’s father set out to create a partnership with Roman’s father, the two quickly agreed that the treaty would only work if Eric was removed from his position. It was absolutely tragic when Eric challenged and killed Augusta. None of us really understand how he did it, he shouldn’t have been able to beat him.” He pauses in his story and looks nervously out the window. “We’re getting ready to land.”

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I look out the window as our altitude drops. The dusty vision from above starts to disappear and to my amazement, it is replaced with luscious greens and blues that are lit up by the full moon. We bounce a few times on the runway and the plane breaks hard as we come to an abrupt stop.

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The plane door opens and a small staircase flips out.

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“Thank you,” Stefan shakes the pilot’s hand and we exit the plane. “Come, this is our car here.” He points to an old VW bus and we toss our bags into the back and start driving away from the airport and approach a small town. “We have to park here, no cars are allowed in the city itself.”

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We head into the city and it’s truly stunning. Every building is a different color and flowers are pouring out of the windows. There are people walking through the streets and they are all dressed in bright colors, going in and out of little shops and cafes. Even the road is beautiful. The bricks are painted into a vine pattern down the center.

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“Come, this way,” he says and we walk into a small square and sit down at a café table where a woman approaches us and sets down two coffees.

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“Does she know you?” I ask and he shakes his head.

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“They know we’re new. Every person on this island is in hiding, the only new people that show up are like the rest of them. In need of protection. I haven’t been here in over twenty years but they know I’m your handler. This is the place they instructed me to take you. You’ll be placed with a family here, and they will take over.”

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“What do you mean take over? Are you leaving?” I ask, suddenly realizing he is just dropping me here.

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“I can’t stay. You didn’t think I was staying here with you, did you? Look, Angie, I’m just getting you safe and then I’m going to find Leo.”

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“So you’re just going to leave me here?”

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“I made a promise to Luna Aria, Leo’s mother, that I would try and protect him. It’s my fault he was found, I can’t live with myself if I don’t try and save him.”

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"No, no way! I'm going back with you! If I would have known you were just dumping me here I neve-" I'm interrupted by a woman that's approaching us.

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“Angie?” A beautiful woman walks up to the table and smiles at us, and my eyes must be deceiving me. I look at Stefan and he looks like he isn’t breathing.

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“Y-yes,” I force myself to respond, unable to understand the person in front of me.

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“My name is Nira, I’ll be taking you in for the next few months until you get yourself settled,” she says sweetly. Her hair is pulled back with a blue ribbon and her eyes are bright, you barely notice the scar that runs down the side of her face and down her neck. I look at the rest of her and she has several scars that cover both of her arms as well. “I’ll be right back, let me get you both something to eat, you must be hungry after such a long trip.”

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She walks away and Stefan looks like he's in shock.

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“It can’t be her,” I say, even though the resemblance is uncanny.

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“It, It’s her...” He stands up, his hands shaking, and he accidentally spills his coffee on himself. Within only a minute or two the woman comes back to the table and sets two sandwiches on the table.

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“Sadia?” He asks in almost a whisper. He approaches the woman and she takes a step back. “Sadia, it’s me. It’s Stefan, don’t you remember?” He’s reaching his hand out but she isn’t taking it.

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“I’m sorry sir, I think you have me mistaken for someone else,” she says politely and retreats another step back. The next sound we hear is a young boy giggling and he comes dashing from next door and wraps his arms around the woman.

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“Mommy! Look, I made it!!” He holds up a drawing and she picks him up and kisses him on the cheek.

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“Ben, what are you still doing up? Where’s Katrina?” She asks and the boy giggles again.

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“She fell asleep, I got tired of waiting for ya. Who are they?” He points at us and the lanterns light up the boy’s eyes and they are replicas of Stefan's. I hear his breath hitch as soon as he sees them.

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“This is Angie and she’s going to be staying with us for a little while,” she says and I look at Stefan who is frozen in place.