4

ARIA

My breathing picked up as I sat up suddenly, my fear finally spilling over.

“Where are you taking me?” My voice shook despite my effort to steady it. “Where are we going? Why are we so far from the city?” No answer. The car kept moving.

“Why are we in the middle of nowhere?” I pressed, my voice rising. “You can’t just take me like this, I told you, I’ll help pay the money back, just give me time, I’ll…”

“You make a lot of noise.” His interrupted mine. “Be quiet.”

Something in his tone made me keep quiet, my instincts made my body obey before I could argue.

My lips parted slightly, then closed. Silence swallowed me and I turned away, shrinking into myself again, my heart pounded violently as fear went through me.

The car finally slowed down and gravel crunched beneath the tires. A tall and imposing iron gate loomed ahead like something out of a nightmare. It creaked open slowly, it sounded as if it had been expecting us.

We drove in, and my eyes widened slightly as I looked around.

Trees were literally everywhere, thick and endless. Why would anyone live here? Why would someone leave the city… and come to a place like this? The car came to a stop.

A soft click sounded as the doors unlocked. My heart jumped. Now.

I moved before I could think. I shoved the door open and ran. I didn’t look back, didn't even stop to think. My feet pounded against the ground as I sprinted into the darkness, branches scratching against my skin, air tearing through my lungs.

They didn’t follow.

That should have relieved me, but it didn’t. It made it worse. Why aren’t they chasing me?

The thought hit hard. Do they think I won’t make it?

Fear surged, but I forced my legs to keep moving. I had to get away. I had to...

Something hard hit me. The world spun as I was slammed into the ground, air knocked violently from my lungs. A gasp tore from my throat as pain exploded through my body. A weight pressed me down, and I froze.

I slowly looked up and i saw Alaric. His hand gripped me tightly, his body pinning mine effortlessly. And his eyes...

My breath hitched. For a split second, they weren’t normal. There was something there. Something wrong. They flashed, just for a moment. Then it was gone, like it had never been there at all.

Had I imagined it?

“Don’t.” His voice was low and dangerous. “Ever try that again.” A shiver ran down my spine.

“I am not known for patience,” he continued, his grip tightening slightly. “Do not test what little I have.” Fear rooted me in place. But still.

“Let me go!” I cried out, pushing against him weakly. “This has nothing to do with me! It’s money, just money! I’ll get it for you, just let me go, please!”

He didn’t respond. Didn’t even acknowledge it.

Instead, he stood, and lifted me like I weighed nothing. A gasp escaped me as I was thrown over his shoulder.

“No, put me down!” I struggled instantly, hitting against his back, kicking and fighting. Pain shot through my stomach as his shoulder dug into it.

The fight drained out of me almost instantly.I stilled, not by choice, but because it hurt too much not to.

He carried me back like that, as if I was nothing more than something he had picked up off the ground. When we reached the car, he finally dropped me back onto my feet.

“Behave,” he said coldly, like one would to a disobedient child.

Humiliation burned through me and I didn’t respond, I couldn’t. Something in me had already started to break.

We walked toward the house.But he suddenly stopped and so did the others. The air changed, I felt it immediately. Something was wrong.

The men around me straightened, their bodies going rigid, their focus sharpening like they were waiting for something. For what?

Why were we stopping? “Why are we...”

“Quiet.”

I shut up immediately. Then there was movement, it was too fast. Two figures lunged out of the darkness, I didn’t even see where they came from.

One second, nothing.

“Take her inside.”Alaric's voice was calm and deadly.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs. “What… what’s going on?” I stammered as hands grabbed me again. “What is happening?” They pulled me back.And then, it happened.

I don’t know how. I don’t understand it.

But I saw it. I saw him, Alaric. And then he wasn’t.

A massive black wolf stood where he had been.

My breath left me. That’s not possible. The wolf moved fast. A blur of black and fury. The men didn’t even get a chance. A snarl tore through the air, deep, terrifying, inhuman, and then there was blood. So much blood.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I just stood in the doorway, frozen, as it all happened in seconds. My mind broke.

“Did you see that?!” I screamed, panic exploding out of me as I struggled wildly. “Did you see that?! He… he turned into… what is going on?!” Tears streamed down my face as I shook my head violently.

“I want to go home! I don’t want to be here! Please, just let me go! I don’t understand what’s happening!” My voice rose higher, more frantic, more broken.

“This isn’t real! This can’t be real!” The world spun around me. Nothing made sense. Hands tightened around me as they dragged me inside, their voices low, trying to calm me, but I couldn’t hear them.

I couldn’t hear anything over the sound of my own panic.

“I’m not a part of this!” I cried out, struggling harder. “I don’t want to be here! Please!!” A sharp prick hit my neck, and i froze.

“What...?”

Warmth spread quickly through my body.

My limbs grew heavy, and my vision blurred.

No, no, no. Darkness crept in from the edges, swallowing everything. As everything faded, one thought echoed weakly in my mind.

Please… someone save me.