Five

I heard Trin's soft laughter, seeming to find the whole situation highly entertaining, but Matteus' voice sounded strangled. Panicked, even. "AVA! Please!" he cried out, and I could hear the heartache in his voice, a sound of something lost.

The others heard it too, and it only seemed to infuriate Saxon even further, Matteus' pleas cutting off with a loud crunch, sounding like it was inflicted by a solid fist. More sounds of a physical altercation followed, though it ended quickly, no doubt by Saxon's brute strength.

I kept my back turned, and simply kept walking. Whatever followed wasn't my problem. Or so I thought. It was only moments later that I felt a strong pair of hands around my waist, easily lifting me and draping me over his shoulder. Haden, I realised. It seemed he had a knack for creeping up quietly.

"Put me down!" I hissed angrily, squirming and struggling against his grip, trying to make him drop me. His only response was giving my ass a firm spank, making me cry out more from indignation and shock than from the actual sting. "Cut it out," he said impatiently, as he carried me back over to their group. "No! Let me go!" I growled angrily as I struggled all the harder, earning myself another firm spank.

"You're not going anywhere," he said, all too calmly, his grip still holding me firm. "Except with us," Saxon added, coming closer and squatting down near my upside down face. He tangled his hand in my hair, firmly, yet more gently than Matteus had done the day previous, and forced me to look at him. He lowered his voice, his eyes flashing with a look of fierce, possessive jealousy, "Despite what these pathetic runts seem to think, you belong to me."

My eyes widened as I stammered wordlessly, trying to shake my head, though it was held firmly in place."And you'll find me to be very protective of what's mine," he added, in a voice that send a cold shiver right through me. "I'm not going back there," I insisted, finally finding my words again, and he raised an eyebrow at me, "Oh? And where exactly do you plan on going?"

"Anywhere but there," I growled stubbornly, glaring at him in a way that could only be taken as a challenge. His eyebrow climbed higher as he looked at me for a long moment, but I held his stare, despite the knot of uncertainly forming in my stomach. Suddenly, he gave a soft laugh, shaking his head as he straightened again, "Fine. Trin, you seem to find her.. amusing. You can babysit while she gets herself lost out here. We'll find you on the way back."

Trin seemed delighted, "Oh, this should be fun!" she exclaimed with excitement, "Seri, you should join us!" The other woman with their group snorted derisively, "Not a chance, you can keep that kind of 'fun' all to yourself." A few of the others laughed softly, and then louder as one added, "Yeah, you wouldn't want to break a nail, Serena." As Haden turned me upright and put me down, I noticed Serena's frosty, piercing glare at the one who uttered it, and got the distinct feeling that she wasn't someone to cross.

Trin immediately began walking over to me, smiling brightly, but Saxon caught her arm, whispering something in her ear that made her smile falter, just for a moment. She studied me closer then, and nodded, the faintest of frowns on her features, before her wide smile returned just as quickly as it had faded. "Have fun, see you in a few days!" she said cheerily as she stepped next to me, linking her arm through mine and grinning at me.

The rest of them began moving again, Saxon pausing to pull the twins roughly to their their feet, both of them looking worse for wear, though not badly injured. How much their rapid Lycan healing might have to do with that, I couldn't tell. Haden lingered a moment, giving Trin a long, pointed look, and she nodded, looking more serious again for a moment.

"I know," she whispered reassuringly, only loud enough for the three of us, "She's safe with me." Haden nodded, and turned to me, giving me a small, but warm smile, as he reached out to touch my cheek gently with the back of his fingers. It almost seemed.. tender. "See you soon," he said quietly, before reluctantly turning to follow the others, sparing a few glances over his shoulder at us as he left.

Saxon turned to do the same, I noticed, though he made it look like he was waiting for Haden. Yet I could feel his piercing, icy gaze, somehow seeming just as reluctant to turn around and leave. This kind of sudden, possessive behaviour would have been unsettling enough from just one of them, but from both, especially combined with the twins' change in demeanor, it was enough to make my head spin.

"Seems like you're real popular," Trin said teasingly, as we watched them go. The twins were looking back now too, and I shook my head, confused. "That couldn't be further from the truth," I muttered, turning and trying to walk towards the South again. She kept her arm linked with mine though, allowing me to walk, but only further forwards the East - and further into Crimson Forest's territory.

She raised an eyebrow at me as we walked aimlessly, "Yeah?" she asked, and I nodded. "Yeah," I said flatly, not really wanting to discuss my life with her, especially now that I had so many unanswered questions about it myself. She was determined though, or perhaps just incapable of taking a hint, "Well, you could at least tell me your name," she suggested. I sighed, "Ava," I said shortly, and she paused, studying me a moment, before continuing on.

"Huh. It's pretty, but it doesn't suit you," she said, still sounding so bubbly, and I blinked in surprise at her bluntness. "It.. doesn't?" I asked, and she smiled, shaking her head. "Nope, not a bit," she said, quite happily, and I frowned at her, "Why? And how do you know? You don't even know me.."

She laughed brightly at that, "It's too.. precious," she said, grinning as I raised an eyebrow at her, uncertain whether to be offended or not. "You're pretty, just like the name, but you're fierce, too. I can feel it." I stared at her for a long moment, falling quiet, and she smiled, "I'm right, aren't I?" she asked as we continued walking, and I nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess you are."

Her smile widened, "Mine's Trinity, but it doesn't fit me either," she said conversationally, "So everyone just calls me Trin." I nodded silently, and she seemed to take it as an invitation to keep talking, "I guess it's kind of hard to shorten Ava though. Only three letters and all.." I nodded again, and she sighed, stopping, "So are you really just planning on walking aimlessly?" I shrugged, and she rolled her eyes.

"What else would I do?" I asked her, "I'm certainly not ever going back to Silver Waters, and I've never been anywhere else to know.." I trailed off as she grinned, a look of sudden enthusiasm in her eyes. "What?" I asked impatiently, and she grinned wider, turning us in a slightly different direction and continuing on. "Well, lucky for you, I do know," she said, without elaborating any.