Chapter 2

Eliana POV

Days passed without any incident, and I almost forgot about the run-in with Wilson and “the guy”.

Almost.

Wilson hadn't been back, not that he was missed. In fact, all the younger waitresses celebrated his absence. I personally suspected he was hiding out waiting for his face to heal up before he'd return, and there was no way in hell I was going to tell anyone what I had seen. The way he looked at me still made me shiver with repulsion.

"No use thinking about that waste of flesh," Ayla grumbled, irritated that I was ruining our celebrating mood with thoughts of Wilson.

She was right. It was my mom’s fortieth birthday and my twin brother, Elijah, and I had planned to go all out for the surprise party - streamers, balloons, a massive birthday sign and the most delicious cake from the bakery down the road.

"I'm sorry I can't help you set up for your mom's surprise party, but I promise I'll be there as soon as I can," Sarah sighed, unlocking her car. "I'm secretly hoping Danny's game ends early… or is cancelled. Either one would be great!"

I laughed and shook my head at her comment. “You know you’re proud of him for making the team, even though there were only a couple of kids who even went to the tryouts. You’re still a great mom and you’ll probably cheer the loudest when the game starts.”

She grinned but ignored my comments, throwing her bag onto the passenger seat. "Are you sure you don't need a ride?"

"No thanks, Elijah is coming to pick me up," I grinned, happiness bubbling up inside me.

With a wave, she drove off and a few moments later Elijah’s beat up car pulled into the parking lot, 80’s music blaring out of the windows while balloons of every colour bobbed up and down in the back seat, as if jamming to the beat.

“Woah, woah, woah! Careful the cake!” my idiot brother shouted as I swung open the passenger door. “Had to flirt pretty damned hardcore to get it done in time.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Casanova,” I drawled, lifting the cake onto my lap before clicking my seatbelt into place. “Can we go already? We've got a ton of things to get done.”

He revved the engine in response, as if he was some sort of Formula One driver… and then pulled carefully out of the carpark emulating an eighty-year-old grandma. Hardcore image, my arse.

We took the back road through the forests, like we always did; Elijah’s car wasn’t exactly roadworthy so avoiding cops was a priority. Suddenly the steering wheel started to shudder and there was a weird sound. My brother pulled to the side of the road, swearing under his breath as he walked to the front of the vehicle.

“It’s a fucking flat tyre! Just perfect timing,” he grumbled as he opened the trunk and retrieved the spare. “Make yourself useful and put that reflective triangle up before some idiot crashes into us.”

With a sigh, I unbuckled the seatbelt and placed the cake carefully on the seat before I found the triangle in question. “How far down the road must I set it up?” I asked, walking backward as I spoke to him.

“Put it close to that bend in the road, that way people coming around the corner can see it in time,” he indicated with the tyre iron.

My phone beeped so I dug it out of my pocket, reading the email from my varsity as I slowly returned to the car.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I heard Elijah shout, his voice taking on a sharp edge.

“What..” I started to respond in my defence, but the sight that greeted me stopped me dead in my tracks.

Four men stood around Elijah, their clothing tattered and torn, their hair matted and their eyes darting from one thing to the next as madness claimed them. The one lifted his head and howled, a sound no human would ever be able to produce.

Rogues.

“Get out of here!” Elijah screamed at me as the four men converged, shifting into their mangey beasts as they leapt at him. He had no chance – we were lonewolves, not aligned to any pack and not trained in warfare like pack wolves were. The only fighting experience Elijah had included a few bar fights with humans – and even then, he often came out second best. I watched as he shifted into his grey wolf before I lost sight of him amongst the rogues.

"Run!" Ayla screamed in my mind, fear evident in her voice.

Panic slowed my response and it took a few moments before I felt my body respond to what my mind wanted it to do. My retreat was quickly halted, three more rogues emerging from the trees and enclosing in on me.

“Well, this was easier than he said it would be,” a rogue with long dreadlocks and a tattoo across his face laughed, reaching out for me.

I jumped back, avoiding his grasp but he only laughed harder before he lunged at me. I felt his calloused hand encircle my upper arm and felt bile rise in my throat as terror gripped me. He licked his lips as I struggled against his hold, his yellowed teeth bared in an attempt at a smile.

“Come on, baby, I heard you were a fighter. You're disappointing me,” he crooned, pulling my body up against his. “It’s just too bad I’m not allowed to fuck you, that might have brought out a little bit of the fight in you."

"Give me a chance, I'll show you a fight," Ayla's growled words echoed in my mind, but I couldn't let her out - she would get us killed for sure.

I felt a sharp pain as someone hit me on the back of my head. Stars danced across my vision before everything went black, a cold dampness creeping across my skin as laughter rang in my ears.

I can’t say how long I was out; it could have been hours, it could have been days. I awoke to a splitting headache and a strange taste in my mouth which might have been blood. Nope, it was definitely blood. My whole body ached, and in the darkness I could tell that someone had changed my clothes, a satin negligee - which was definitely not mine - now clinging to my curves. The thought of the creepy rogue undressing me sent a shudder down my back and made me feel filthy.

"Eli? Are you alright?" I called out into the darkness only to be rewarded with silence. No Elijah.

"Ayla, I can't feel you. Are you there?"

My whispered words faded with no response. I tried to shift, but nothing happened. I felt the start of a panic attack coming on, my lungs feeling as if they were being squeezed so that no air could enter them.

“Relax, Elie. It will be okay, it’s all a mistake. It’s just a hoax and someone will come in here and say that it’s all a big joke. That’s all.”

My little personal pep talk seemed to work slightly as I concentrated on my breathing just as my mom had taught me.

“Wakey, wakey, sunshine,” a feminine voice called out to me as the door to the room swung open, a dim light from the passage illuminating the tiny room furnished with only the foam mattress I had lain on. It was dirty, covered with blood and other unmentionable bodily fluids.

"Good thing you're up. Old Ajax hit you a tad too hard and we were worried you'd be too out of it for the sale tonight," the woman chatted, setting a tray with a chunk of bread and some water down on the floor in front of me. "Now eat up before the event starts."

"Event? What do you mean?"