Tammy's POV
I close the front door of my house with a sigh, sliding down it and letting out a huff as I bury my face in my palms. As I try to shake off the feeling of unease, I realize I need to take action. I left the cafe feeling even more drained than I did when I got there. The encounter is still fresh in my mind, and I'm torn between helping out the mystery man's people and avoiding him and the mystery surrounding him. An idea strikes me, that has me jumping up from my place on the ground and scrambling around to find my laptop, as I'm determined to uncover more information about the mystery man. After a few minutes of searching, I finally find the laptop in my room, under a pile of clothes on my beanbag chair. "How did it even get here?" I chuckle, picking it up and turning it on as I move to sit on my bed. I open a browser and begin typing to search for the mystery man, but then it hits me that I don't even know his name or any means of finding out who he is. I jog my memory, looking for a possible direction to show me how to go about it. "Eureka!" The man from the hospital was a relative, so if I can find out where he came from, I might have a chance of knowing about the identity of the man, and the town he comes from. The realization that I don't have any information about the man that can help me out dawns on me. I decide to call Nurse Roseline, seeing as she's the head nurse at the hospital, in hopes that she might be able to provide some insight. I pick up my phone and dial her number. She picks up on the second ring. "Hi, ma'am," I greet her. "Tammy, how are you doing, dear?" she asks. "I'm good," I reply. "I called to ask about the patient from two days ago." "What about him?" she asks. I know my next request is out of bounds, as we aren't meant to disclose patient information, so I cross my fingers and say a silent prayer in hopes that she'd budge. "I need his medical record," I tell her. Her end of the line goes quiet, so I quickly explain, twisting the truth a bit. "Honestly, what I really need is the name and number of the man who came to claim his body yesterday. I need to know his identity, as he mistakenly left something of his with me." "Alright, dear," she says. I begin rejoicing, then her voice comes through again, cutting it short. "You could just bring whatever it is to the hospital, we'll take care of handing it back to him." Squeezing my eyes shut, I mumble some profanities under my breath - which I hope she didn't hear. Trying to make my voice as pleasant as possible and hiding the frustration in it, I reply. "No ma'am, you really do not have to. I don't want to put you through the stress of it. Besides, he left it with me and I feel it's my responsibility to return it back personally." "If that's the case, I'll help you out. But you must promise me you'll be careful." "I promise, ma'am," I say. Nurse Roseline hesitates for a moment, and I hear some shuffling in the background before speaks up. "I'll send you a picture of his record. But you have to delete it after you're done." "Yes, ma'am," I say, and she ends the call. My phone beeps, and I check my email to see that Nurse Roseline has already sent the record. With her information in hand, I sit down at my laptop to continue my research. I get to work, reading through the details while watching out for any information about where he's from. I spot it in the lower section of the page – he's from a small town on the outskirts of the city. I search for small towns in the area, but there are too many to narrow down. I decide to change my strategy and search for towns with recurring sicknesses. Still, I don't find anything that stands out. As I stare at the search results, I start to feel frustrated. How can one person be so hard to find? I've already spent four hours searching, and still, I have nothing tangible. In normal circumstances, I would end everything and avoid the man entirely, but there's something in me that keeps pushing me to find him even when everything about him screams for me not to. Now I'm torn between giving up and continuing my search. "Just a sign, just a sign, just a sign," I mutter as I take a closer look at the his records, hoping to find information that I may have missed. Just as I am about to finally give up, something catches my eye – a mention of a street name that seems familiar. "Why hadn't I seen this before?" I go to the search engine on my computer and type in the name of the street. When it's done loading, I make a search on the town the street is in. Crossing my fingers, I close my eyes and say a short prayer, hoping that I've finally gotten to a solution. On opening my eyes, I'm left broken by the results I see. "The town was emptied ten years ago?"Tammy's POV It's been a week since the full moon - and Adam and I were together. I haven't seen much of him since then. There have been some changes in the pack. Most of the people who fell into the curse-induced sleep have woken up. Only about five people have not woken up - of which Jackson is one. Thinking about it sends a sliver of dread down my spine. Because if he never wakes up, it'll be my fault. Aside from the people waking up, my dreams have become more frequent. And stranger. Other unusual things have been happening too.The day before yesterday, I was shaving my legs and accidentally scraped my skin. I felt the sting and saw the blood. But when I looked again, there was no injury. Not even a scratch. I would have convinced myself into believing I'd imagined it, if not for the other oddities that have been piling up lately. I also had a dream - or maybe a vision - about the handbook. It opened to a page, and I could clearly read what was written. I can't be sure I was
Alexander's POV A muffled groan escapes me as I pull at the chains binding my wrists, the cold metal biting into my skin. It's futile. No one has heard me in twenty years - I doubt today will be any different. Footsteps echo through the cave. Then, a familiar sound. "Tch tch tch." My captor clicks his tongue as he steps into the dim light. "What have I told you about making noise, Alex?" I don't respond. How can I, when I've lost my voice? He chuckles, low and cruel. "Oh, that's right. You can't speak."He moves closer, stretching out his hand. The moment his fingers hover near my skin, the searing pain begins. I should be used to it by now, but the agony never dulls. My mouth opens in a silent scream. "You know, I should have grown bored of this by now," he muses, watching me writhe. "But it still pleases me. Why is that, Alexan?" I glare at him, hatred burning in my eyes. It only amuses him. "How pitiful. The mighty Alpha of skyline pack... reduced to this. And yo
Third person's POV "Arabella!" Freya's voice cut through the stillness of the woods.'Where has she gone now?' her mother thought, pushing into the forest, searching for her daughter. Her eyes darted between the towering trees, searching for her daughter. The girl always wandered off, and Freya always had to go looking for her. A sharp squeal rang out behind her, followed by the sound of laughter. Freya spun around, heart lurching. "Arabella, come back! It’s just a bug; it won’t hurt you!""No, go away! You're gross!" The voice was closer now, high-pitched and teasing.A second later, Arabella came barreling through the trees, her black curls bouncing with each step. She crashed into Freya’s legs, giggling, until she glanced up and saw the stern set of her mother’s jaw. Freya folded her arms. "What have I said about you running off into the woods?"Arabella’s laughter died. She clasped her hands in front of her, eyes cast downward. "Not to go too far."A rustling came from the
Unknown person's POV I have been observing the girl Adam brought here - Tammy - for a while now, and none of them even suspect a thing. She isn't just a normal girl, no matter how much she tries to deny it. That night in the meeting, when she first arrived, I sensed something off about her. Something different. Her scent burned hot in my nose, too intense, too unnatural. At first, I thought it was just my heightened senses playing tricks on me. But when I saw her up close again, I knew it wasn’t. Even the people who woke up from the curse-induced sleep testified that they had seen her doing something to them. I can't believe that even when Adam was there to witness it firsthand, he still didn't try to investigate her properly. And when he eventually did, he convinced himself she was a Wanderer. He proves to be a fool at times. I'm incredibly glad that I've gotten somewhat close to them and I was able to get access to the book on Wanderers. And I'm also relieved that he wa
Tammy's POV I sit up, intrigued by what he has to say. "It happened when I was seven," Adam begins, his voice quieter now. "Around the time the curse started and my mom died. I can't seem to remember the details, but I remember thinking about the ashes on every tree. I decided I liked the color grey that day. I couldn't like the color of the ashes because of the sad memories attached to it... so I picked the color closest to it.""Shouldn't that have been white?" I tease, a soft laugh escaping me. He chuckles. "Grey's probably felt more like me. A dull, heavy nothingness."His words settle between us, and I frown. Something about his story doesn’t sit right with me. "All those things happened at once?" I ask, my brows furrowing. "That's three questions, Tammy," he points out, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "And to answer your illegal question - I don't know. My memories from that time are a blur. I only remember what came after.""That seems odd, don't you think?"He ex
Tammy's POV "What do you mean you can't find the key, Ophelia?" Adam's voice booms, vibrating through the thick, wooden door. He's asked her that, for might be the hundredth time, this morning. I'd woken to the sound of Adam's escalating shouts. Ophelia had so conveniently misplaced the key - my room key! And of course, there's no spare one around, because the keys were in a bundle.I fight to hold in a laugh as Adam's face flushes red, his frustration radiating off him. He's definitely tired of being trapped with me for so long. I don't blame him. After hours of forced proximity and a pretense of casual conversations, due to Ophelia's ingenious plan. We tried our best to make things less tense between us, but that has worn thin. And now, it's either Adam leaves, or we see how long we can ignore the obvious tension lingering between us. "Ophelia!" Adam roars, his fist slamming against the door again. "Find that key right now, or I swear you won't like what happens when I get out