Confusion

Was it possible that this man really loved me? So little time had passed that I was sceptical. Seth had carried me in his arms after I had almost been run over and injured on the road. My brother could have killed me if he had a few more minutes.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, my eyes watering and trembling with shock.

“I told you, Lysa, that I'll always love you. You're the woman of my life.” Seth narrowed his eyes so tenderly. “I know it's hard to understand. But it's my truth, you know about the ranks and hierarchies of wolves, but you know nothing about us slayers.”

That was the last thing he said before leading me back to his house where I'd be safe from my brother. Although my eyes were tired, I could see that this place had changed a lot. The men at the entrance carried large calibre weapons with which they fervently guarded the door. The murderous looks possessed an indescribable power; they had to be the other hunters. I noticed that their eyes were a mysterious amber colour.

“What are they doing?” I asked Seth, snuggling against his chest as he carried me up the stairs.

He smiled.

“This is war, my beloved. We must be ready if someone decides to attack our shelter. We can't give up our defences now.” He said confidently.

“I understand.” I replied, even if it was a lie.

We reached the room and he pulled some comfortable blankets over me to make me feel safe. It was comforting to be back in the house, under the protection of such a strong man. But something in my heart made me want to search this fortress.

“This is your lair, isn't it, hunter? It's covered with feathers and ornaments, but it's still threatening.” I've always been the weak and sickly omega, I said confidently.

What else did I've to lose? I saw him smile at my surprising confidence, he gently took my hand in his and looked up at me with shining eyes. He was so attractive that I could never look at him with eyes other than those of romantic attraction.

“I like that you won't shut up about anything, because you've been like a scared puppy since you arrived here. You'll show your teeth when it's time.” Seth kissed me on the cheek.

In one motion I moved my lips to his, I needed to kiss him so badly, it was an irresistible pull. My heart was beating wildly. My love for him seemed to grow by the minute, as did my fears.

“You can search here all you want, this is your home. Just be careful with the challenges, my beloved, some might find you suspicious.” He whispered in my ear, which made me shiver.

“Will they attack me if they find out I'm hanging around?” I asked, my eyes narrowed with doubt.

He nodded and kissed me again, a long kiss this time, and I felt his tongue almost burning. It made me feel safe and happy, stronger, an inexplicable feeling of rising euphoria. It even made me want to turn into a she-wolf, to seek out a version of my unknown.

Seth was going about his work, which had to be dangerous, I could easily sense that. I took a deep breath to relax and stretched across the width of the bed. With doubts in my mind, I stared at the ceiling.

The image of my mother and sister came to my mind in that minute of reflection.

“Save yourself, Lysa!” my mother's voice screamed in my own head.

The screams were so horrible that I wanted to cry uncontrollably. I sobbed helplessly and wiped away my tears with the sheet. I had to do something, my brother could have killed my mother without mercy... I couldn't live with that doubt, and the guilt would always be mine.

I took a bath to try to forget these recurring visions. But they seemed to intensify more and more. As the almost boiling water washed over my body, my eyes began to see a different colour in the landscape. It was as if the world was turning completely grey. I couldn't explain why this was, it even scared me.

“Lysa, don't abandon your family. Your flock...” a voice in the toilet began to say.

It was a familiar, feminine voice that made me cry even more. I didn't cry out in fear, because there was no one there. It was part of a vision, like the ones I had with my mother and sister. Memories, memories or things that were happening now. I couldn't know for sure.

“Omega. The most useless of rejected omegas.” said another voice, this time it was male.

This made me angry and I felt my head burning with fever. I came out of the bathroom with clean and new clothes. I walked down the hallways for no apparent reason other than to return to my room or to look for Seth.

A smell wafted down part of the hallway, making my sensitive nose hurt. I had never possessed a keen sense of smell. I followed the trail and used my awakening sense of smell, not having much confidence in my abilities.

The path led me to a wood-coloured door, polished, inlaid with bronze. I peered through a crack that did not allow me to see much. The darkness inside the room was palpable. But the stench was still there.

Suddenly, a sound entered this part of the corridor that hurt my ears a lot. It was a howl, the most recognisable sound in the world to me. But it was soft, different.

The door opened in the wind so I could see a little more of the view. Then I saw it, it was one of the thin, sickly Omegas I had seen when I first arrived. But it was different, in its current wolf form it shone like a star. His colour changed from the dull, brittle coat to a shiny coat that was the colour of silver, like silk. His eyes were a startling violet.

I knew something was wrong, and I ran away, back to my room, so that no one would notice what I had seen.