Chapter 03

CARISSA POV

Matthew opened the door for me, and when I stepped out, I was somewhat confused by the surrounding scene. We weren't at some fancy building location. We were at what looked like an old warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm confused. What is this? Where are all the people?" I asked. I looked at my mother, and she shook her head in annoyance at the question.

"It's a surprise, remember. They parked behind the building." She began leaving Matthew and me behind and walking to the building—our invitation in her hands.

I looked at Matthew again. "This doesn't make sense."

Something about this wasn't settling right with me. Why would we all wear formal clothes to arrive at a dirty abandoned warehouse? If the cars were to be hidden, then why did they park out front alongside the tall grass and the ditch?

I had too many questions, and I knew Matthew was watching them flash across my face through my expressions.

"Let's just get inside; it'll all make sense once we do. Don't worry. It is a surprise you can not miss." He smirked his trademark smirk and closed my door, linking his arm with mine.

That in itself was also confusing.

My brother and I weren't the ones to have physical contact. That was a him and Britt thing only. No one ever touched me endearingly—unless it was Ginny, and now it was only Lindy. My father hugged me for the first time the other night. It was surprising but warm. I had planned to try for another after his award ceremony, but something wasn't right with this building. It felt like a trap.

I wish I had my wolf. She would help me figure out what I was missing, but I didn't. Females didn't get their wolves until they were eighteen. I was only seventeen, and without my wolf, I had no choice but to push down the unease in my gut and follow my brother's lead.

Looking down at the ground, I could see my mother's heel impressions in the dirt. I also noticed that they were the only ones.

If people were waiting inside for a grand celebration, would there not be people, or at least, left-over footprints?

"Matthew, I think I left my lip gloss in the SUV. I'll just run back and get it." I pulled my arm out of his before he could protest.

I made a quick sprint to the SUV. I popped open the door and pretended to look for the lipgloss. What she grabbed was the first aid emergency kit under the seat. I wasn't sure how to do this, but I knew the survival gear was inside. If I were overreacting, I would retrieve the kit before we left, but there was that gnawing feeling in my stomach. Something bad was about to happen.

"CC, let's go!" Matthew growled in annoyance. I quickly tossed the kit into the tall grass and treeline near the SUV and prayed he didn't see.

"Matthew, I just—" I started to panic.

I needed more time to understand what was happening. Next, I grabbed Matthew's forgotten cell phone from the console between the front seats.

Call for help! It seemed the most logical thing, so I started to search for our father's number to call him. I needed him to confirm what was happening. Something wasn't right here. There was no sound coming out of the warehouse. I didn't need to be a master warrior to know I was in danger.

I saw the top of Matthew's head through the window. I was out of time. Without thinking, I stuffed his iPhone into my bra while pretending I was adjusting my dress and just applying lip gloss.

"Enough, already! We don't have time for all of this. Let's go!"

Matthew grasped my elbow, pulled me to him, and slammed the car door again. He assertively walked me to the warehouse. I attempted to slow our steps, but my smaller stature was useless compared to his legs' strength, size, and length.

The moment the door was pushed open, I was roughly pushed inside.

Stumbling, I lost my footing. I fell to the dirty, dusty, hard ground inside.

I was right.

There was no celebration within this abandoned warehouse.