TWO: THE TRAPPED

~Nyra

“Why do werewolves always like to get in our way?” the lead vampire demanded.

“You’re in our territory. Hand over the girl and you get to walk away alive,” the golden-eyed brother stated.

There was authority in his voice, and I figured the triplets had to be men of high status in the pack. I never really paid attention to the hierarchy of this pack since it had only been a month since we moved, and I had been more interested in feeding my mother and I than sightseeing.

Rufus laughed as his grip tightened against my neck. “She’s ours to take.”

With that, two of the vampires leaped forward at the triplets while Rufus kept holding me in place.

Sudden and strange fog scattered across the space, and I was in time to see the triplets’ eyes change color. Each of their left eyes morphed into a crimson glow, just like the vampires, and they released animalistic roars.

In that instant, I knew the vampires were no longer the predators but the prey—and the triplets had become the monsters to be feared the most.

The fog around us thickened, and it became impossible for me to see what was happening. Rufus had to join in at one point because the screams were only coming from the vampires.

My body shook with fear, and I was too scared to even move an inch. I was so close to wetting myself when all the noise suddenly died down and I was left alone, standing in the fog.

My tremors intensified as I shakily looked around, waiting for my own doom to come for me. Those monster triplets were probably going to kill me next, just like the vampires.

To me, they were even worse than Eryndor, whom I had spent the past years running from.

The fog began to clear, and I saw them—the monsters—staring back at me from where they stood.

They were shirtless now, their clothes obviously torn from their murderous activities. Their strange fangs were out as they assessed me.

The one with golden eyes stepped forward and I gasped.

“Stay back!”

He chuckled as his fangs went back into his mouth. “It will be morning soon. I guess we’ll just have to continue this some other day, don’t you think so too, brothers?”

He slowly licked his lips as if he were already imagining savoring me as his prey.

His brothers nodded in response and, just like that, they vanished into thin air—like they never existed in the first place.

That was when I released the breath I didn’t know I had been holding. The tears from the fear I had just experienced started flowing down my cheeks and I sobbed quietly.

It took a while before I regained my composure. I tried not to look at the corpse of the fallen vampires that lay on the floor as I started to run down the streets.

There was only one way to avoid my impending doom from Eryndor’s vampires—who had already caught up to me—and this new target I had on my back from those strange triplet brothers…

It was time to run away again.

I released a shaky breath as our small house came into view. I ran to the front door and tried to push it open when I realized that it was locked from the inside.

The sun was already beginning to rise; I had stayed out too long and I knew that my mother was going to make a fuss. I didn’t care—the plan was to walk in and start packing immediately.

So I started banging hard on the door, not caring that I would wake the neighbors. We were leaving anyway.

“Gods! Who the fuck is banging at my door so early in the morning?” my mother’s voice resonated from behind the door.

I heard her unlock it, and when she saw me and the state I was in, she gasped.

“What happened to you? Where have you been? I waited forever for you!” she cried, her hazel-brown eyes twinkling with worry.

I released a shaky breath as I walked into the house and locked the door behind me twice. I couldn’t have any more unexpected visitors.

“Mom, we need to leave,” I whispered shakily as I walked to my room.

“What? Leave? Why? We just got here and I’m already getting comfortable,” she complained.

I shook my head at her as I entered our only room and pulled out my luggage. “Mom, it’s no longer safe for us here. I almost got kidnapped.”

She gasped. “Eryndor has found us.” Her voice grew cold with fear instantly, and I looked up to see that she had become pale.

“Yes, he has. We need to leave now before he sends more vampires after us. It’s a miracle I’m still here.” I began to throw my clothes into my bag.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Nyra.” I saw her fidgeting, but I pushed it aside.

Whatever it was couldn’t be as serious as us getting away from here.

“Mom, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say after we have left this place. You need to start packing now. We don’t have much time. I can’t afford to go back to Eryndor again, not after what we went through together at that place.”

I turned to the wardrobe and decided at the last minute that it was better to travel light. All these luggages were going to hold us back.

“You know what—no need to pack. Just take what is necessary.” I grabbed a small bag and threw in a few clothes.

I released a satisfied breath, only to turn around and see that my mother was still standing behind me, idle.

“Mom! Didn’t you hear a word I said? Why aren’t you packing? We need to leave!” I yelled in disbelief.

But she shook her head at me. “That’s what I’m trying to talk to you about, Nyra. We’re not leaving.”

I gaped at her in shock as if she had grown a second head. “Why not?”

She showed me her left hand and I caught sight of a bracelet I didn’t recognize. Then I saw a ring with an emerald gem on it. “We don’t have to run anymore.”

“I don’t understand—what are you trying to say, Mom?”

She sighed heavily. “I got married today, Nyra. I got married to the most powerful man in the world.”

I kept staring at her as if she had lost her mind.

“I got married to Lycan Reid Thornevale, King and Alpha of Blood Hollow Pack.”