TERESA "Tell me everything," Gretta said and the words snapped the silence like glass shattering. Her eyes were so sharp like ever before and they rested on Keller. The room was so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Keller drew in a slow breath. His voice was low and almost breaking. "It started with the curse,” he said and I watched him closely. The way his shoulders tightened, the way his fists clenched on the table. He didn’t look at me or Bennett. His eyes were only at Gretta. "My father warned us," Keller continued. "He said something was moving in the shadows, something older than any wolf. At first, we thought it was just stories. Then… it spread. It touched me and it also touched Bennett. We don’t even know what it wants, but it’s eating away at us. Day by day, Night by night." Gretta didn’t move and her face gave nothing away. “We came here because you are the only one left who might know what it is. You are the only one who can tell us
TERESA "Where am I?" I asked no one in particular. The place I was in felt so strange and the worst part was my head was pounding like drums. My body felt so heavy and my chest ached with every breath I took in. I opened my eyes, and what I saw made no sense. There was a bed, sheets, four walls and a candle glowing on a desk. This felt like a bedroom. I sat up too quickly and almost threw up from the spinning in my head. My last memory was fog. It was a cold, heavy and choking fog and Keller stepped forward when I begged him not to. Then I felt nothing all of a sudden. "This isn’t real," I whispered to myself. "We were in the woods. This isn’t real." The door creaked open and I jumped, my heart leaping into my throat. An old woman walked in. Her gray hair was tied neatly, her eyes sharp but she didn't look unkind. She looked at me and smiled like she was expecting me. "You are awake," she said calmly and I pressed myself back against the bed. "Who are you?" I a
KELLER "You’re back," Teresa’s voice filled the air but I noticed that it sounded so shaky, but it was clear enough to reach me. I turned and saw Bennett, his chest bare and his body cut and bruised. Thankfully. He was human again. His eyes were still sharp and it was glowing faintly red, but the wolf was gone for now. "I’m fine," Bennett muttered, though his voice cracked a little "Don’t look at me like I’m cursed. I hate it when you two stare at me like that!" I didn’t say anything. Neither did Teres because different things were going on through our mind. We didn’t stay there anymore because it was so uncomfortable. The ground was soaked with rogue blood and the trees were also stained with it. We kept on hearing howls from a distance and it reminded us that the night was not over. I led them away, deeper into the woods because we still had a long way to go. My sword stayed in my hand, in case we had a repetition of what happened earlier. We found a hollow clearing
TERESA"Did you hear that?" I asked, rolling my eyes as my voice became so thin like a fragile glass. The answer came before either of them could speak and I shivered. It was a howl. A low, sharp howl that was filled with hunger. It stretched across the dark forest, scraping the sky. My blood froze and I began to shake in fear. Another howl followed, then another and I couldn't take it anymore. They were close! They were too close.Keller’s hand instantly pressed to his sword and his jaw tightened. "Rogues!" He blurted out and Bennett cursed under his breath. "Of course. As if this night was not cursed enough already."I wanted to say something that would get us out of this place. Anything at all but my throat closed, surprisingly. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard that I thought it would break free.The shadows between the trees moved and we all knew that it wasn't the wind. There were dozens of wolves. Each of them, slipping from the dark.Their eyes glowed wildly an
TERESA"Tell me I’m not walking straight into a nightmare," I muttered under my breath, but the words slipped out louder than I intended.I never wanted anyone to know that I was this scared because I was in a forest. Although, that was the case. Anyone who found myself in my situation would also be scared. The forest didn’t answer my cry and it only gave me that awkward silence that pierced deep into my skin. The kind that pressed against your ears until you wondered if you were going deaf.I was scared. No, terrified because Scared seemed to be a little milder. Stories of forbidden magic always sounded like dark fairy tales back when I listened around the fire. They sounded like warnings wrapped behind thick shadows. They weren’t supposed to be real. They weren’t supposed to be something my feet carried me into.But here I was, walking deeper, breathing the same air the stories warned about.My palms were slick and my legs wanted to turn back but Keller’s figure was standing a
TERESA"How much longer do we walk before my legs fall off?" I groaned, trying to protect myself even though I thought no one could hear me. My throat burned and my stomach twisted, and every step felt like dragging chains across the earth.But of course, Keller’s head turned a little, his eyes flicking back at me. My heart jumped inside my chest and I tried to hold myself down. Did he hear me? I bit my lip quickly and looked away, pretending like I said nothing.The morning was usually quiet except for the crunch of our boots against the dirt and the faint rustle of leaves above. Finally, I was back in my body, but it felt heavier than before. Every step I took reminded me that I was getting fragile and weak. My hunger gnawed at me, clawing from the inside, but I kept silent.I didn’t want to say anything and I also didn’t want to ask.What if they laughed? What if they got annoyed? What if they told me Omegas don’t deserve food before warriors eat?So, I stayed quiet and I pr