CHAPTER 3

Ash POV

I don't know any of them. A whistle rings out. “You are prettier than I thought. Hi, beautiful," he stands up from the couch and walks toward me. 

I take a step back. I don't care who they are, I just want them out. “Get out!" I am annoyed, sad, and heartbroken. I don’t want to deal with anything else other than my emotions right now.

“No, no, no. That is not how to treat guests," he stops walking and does a hair flip. He must think he is quite good-looking, to me he looks like he was dropped as a child and landed on his face. 

“Guests! You broke into my house." I point to the broken window.

“Your house, last I checked this place is abandoned."

“It belongs to my parents."

“Belonged, beautiful. They are dead, have been dead for years."

I frown, “Who are you?” It is pretty obvious at this point that they did not randomly find me. They know who I am whereas I haven’t seen any of them a day in my life.

He claps. “Finally, you are asking the right questions. Prince charming, my dear," he responds and throws himself on the sofa, he sprawls all over the sofa and I cringe at the sight.

“Don't be ridiculous. You broke into my house. The least you can do is give me a proper introduction.” My voice shakes a little.

I am absolutely terrified, there are five strange men in the living room and by their scents, they are all werewolves. I can feel my body shake. I can feel tears building up, the last thing I can do is show a weak front. However, I am sure my scent of fear is all over the room.

He stands again and gives me a mock bow. “I am Tyler Crimson, son of the Alpha of Crimson Moon Pack. The one and only Tyler gracing you with his presence, you are welcome. " He announces with pride.

“Get out!" I scream again.  My vision blurs and I see red, it is suddenly very hard to breathe.

“Calm down, beautiful. I am not here to fight, I just want to talk okay?" He raises his hands and takes a step back.

“Why would I want to talk to you?" I blurt out.

"Because I am the only one who will take you in. You have been chased out of the Grand Crescent, tsk! No other pack will touch you but the Crimson Moon pack, I can convince my father. I also hear you are mateless, I am sure I can do something to change that."

He walks forward and I take a step back. “You must be out of your mind. Why will I join up with the pack that killed my brother?"

Tyler blinks and his hands fall to his sides. He studies my face, “Are you serious right now?"

“Don't act like you know nothing about it. If you are truly the Alpha's son then if you didn’t join, you know the people that did.”

Tyler frowns, he looks truly confused. “I did not kill your brother. Who told you that?” He throws his head back and laughs.

“What do you mean?” I am genuinely confused. “But you had a dispute with my-the Grand Crescent pack,” I remember that I am no longer a part of the pack.

“Yeah, but there was no reason for anyone to die. We just had arguments and negotiations. Why would we want to go to war with the Grand Crescent Pack?”

“You are lying,” I scream and grab my head. This isn’t true, if the Crimson Moon Pack aren’t acknowledging then who killed Nathan?

“I am not lying and I was totally surprised when I heard he died. Nobody is saying how but to say it is our fault, that’s a huge lie.”

Tyler is still speaking but I am no longer listening. My legs are shaking and my ears are ringing. I got enough surprises today, I just want it to end. I can’t take it anymore. I grip the wall so I don’t fall.

“So you will join us right?” he walks even closer, at this point he is barely two feet away from me. “Consider this a favor. You got kicked out of one of the top three packs, it is going to be hard for anyone to take you in. And don’t worry about the payment, that can be easily covered.”

I don’t know if Tyler is dense or stupid or both or he really does not care about my reaction because I am on the verge of a panic attack and all he can think of is me joining his stupid pack.

“I am not joining your stupid pack!” My two hands are on the wall as I scream out, my entire body resting on it. I want to be left alone, I want to crawl into a hole and die. I don’t believe Tyler, can’t believe him but peradventure there is some truth to what he says then my brother was murdered.

I dig my nails into my palm so hard it brings blood. The physical pain brings some kind of relief, it brings me to the present, to the fact that my life could be in mortal danger.

I look at Tyler and I see his pupils both turn to slits, he must hate what I said. The color changes and I can’t help but feel fear, the cold kind. The one that grips your heart so hard it hurts.

He jumps towards me and I fall to my butt, he bends over me and grabs my chin. “I know I said it like you have a choice in the matter but you don’t. Join my pack,” he says and slowly brings his lips close to my ears. 

His smell is overwhelming, I hate it. It is nasty, it makes my eyes water and my skin crawl. I can feel a sob in my throat but I clamp my mouth shut as my body freezes up, afraid that if I make any unnecessary movements, I might not make it out of here alive.

He licks my ears and takes a deep breath, “You smell lovely. Join my pack and I can guarantee your safety. Not just from the thugs at the back but everyone else.”

Silence.

I can’t speak, fear clamps my throat. It is all I can feel and taste. Sweat breaks out of my body and I am surprised I am still conscious but by the way I am feeling, not for long. I can’t black out here. 

My eyes do a quick scan of the room, none of the people seem trustworthy. I wouldn’t leave a dead person with them let alone my unconscious body. A horrible mental image appears in my mind and my eyes well up with tears.

“What say you, beautiful? You won’t have to stay in this dump.” As he speaks his other hand trails the side of my neck, the first one is still holding my chin up. “I will take care of you, more than your brother, more than Conall ever did.” He smirks. “I will keep you warm at night, every night.”

I can taste bile in my throat, he arches my head so I am forced to look at him. “I won’t leave or chase you out. So yes or yes beautiful?”

I can’t believe a stranger is threatening me with such personal things. As if my complete helplessness isn’t enough. No one is coming to my rescue, absolutely no one. I try to talk but I can’t, not with the fear clogging my throat.

“I am pretty sure your daddy taught you better, baby boy.” I hear a voice say. I have heard a lot of voices but this one immediately stands out. I know it is a voice I can’t forget. “You won’t get girls that way.”

They all turn to the broken window, I can’t turn my head but when I turn my eyes just a little, I can see an outline standing outside the window. The remaining four stand to their feet and I can hear growls from them. He jumps into the house through the window.

“What do you think you are doing Caspian?” 

“You know me,” he sounds genuinely shocked. “I thought daddy boy only knows about things that concern his selfish interests.” I can’t see his face, his voice, however, tells me not to worry. It is fierce and soft at the same time. Thick like a narrator’s voice but with depth.

He is by my side in an instant, Tyler immediately lets me go and takes a step back. His hand is the only thing keeping me upright and I fall back as Tyler lets go of me. Deep voice -Caspian catches me before my head hits the ground and lifts my entire body off the floor.

I raise my head to look at him but the tears in my eyes blur my vision. He feels warm and he carries me so gently, the relief I feel is intense. I could cry, I do and everything goes black.