Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Whispers in the Woods: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

I shook Mum off. She was protecting me out of instinct, but it wasn’t needed anymore. I went to Brodie, but stayed slightly behind him. Not because I needed to, but because I knew it was what he would want me to do. Until I knew more, I had to respect what he would want. The two werewolves just stood there, facing each other. I wondered if they were communicating, but it was like a standoff. Neither was overly aggressive, but they were both on edge, waiting for the need to fight if necessary.“Who is it?” The dark charcoal-coated wolf was a stranger to me, but then I had only seen Brodie and Rachelle in wolf form. I looked into his eyes, but it gave me no more clues. His eyes didn’t seem as fiery as Brodie’s, they were softer almost. They were nearly completely grey, just like their fur, but had bright purple flecks dotted throughout their iris. There was a kind of gentleness there and I realised it was Jackson before Brodie even had the chance to tell me.He must have

I stopped running when I reached the same clearing where I had found my dad. I just needed a minute to work everything out. I didn’t even know what half of it meant. It felt like Jackson was confessing that he loved me and that he had told Brodie. If that was true, then how had Brodie ended up hiding in the trees outside my house?“I came to kill you. To remove temptation for my brother. Except once I had seen you, felt you, I couldn’t stop coming. It was ages before I realised that we could communicate with each other subliminally. I got to know you more with each visit, and the idea of killing you became an impossibility. There was a connection between us that Jackson never had with you. You were always supposed to be mine, not his. I hate that I hurt him, but I can’t change fate.” I turned around looking for him, but he wasn’t there.“So, how do I know I’m not fated for Jackson? He was the one I was drawn to when I first started uni. I thought he was the one coming

I had always thought I was locked away against general dangers. Other creatures like Brodie, but also general dangers. I had always thought it was because my parents were invulnerable and I wasn’t, that it made them more nervous about normal things. I just sat there looking at my dad. He couldn’t have dropped a bigger bombshell if he had tried. What was I even supposed to do with that kind of information? I wondered if they had told Brodie or if he had already known and just kept it from me as my parents had. I couldn’t believe they had kept that sort of information from me my entire life. I had a right to know.“If they have been hunting me for so long, how have they not found me?” We were out of the way and I wasn’t allowed outside of the woods until recently, but my parents still left the house. Vanessa was known in the vampire community as being close to my parents, and she came to the house. It didn’t seem to make sense that they had been looking for me and just being up

I knew I had to pull myself together, but it was easier said than done. The first thing I needed to do was get my own memories back. Not to mention telling my parents exactly what I thought of them. I had been accepting of everything my whole life. For fuck’s sake, I didn’t even know if that was true anymore. I dragged myself off the floor. I couldn’t go any longer without having my own mind. I felt like they had taken everything away from me. My freedom, my memories, even my free will.When I got down the stairs, they were all in the kitchen whispering amongst themselves. “Fix it now!” They just looked at me like they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. “Mum, you either fix what you did or I walk out of here and never come back. I won’t be going back to the pack either. I won’t be under the protection of the woods, so it’s your choice.” She looked at my dad as if she was asking for his permission. I turned and went to leave the house. I was done playing games.

I ran in the last direction my parents would ever think of looking for me and headed north. It wasn’t an area I was familiar with and I knew it was a stupid move, but I also knew it was one no one would expect. I purposely conserved my energy and only ran until I was far enough away from the camp to not be followed easily.The area of the woods I had chosen was close enough to camp to still have crystals dotted around. I was betting on being able to lure Marcus into the woods and it being enough to lessen his powers at least. I knew I needed every advantage I could get. For all I knew, he wasn’t alone.I stood on the edge, looking out onto the green field beyond. It seemed so bright out there. It felt so wrong for danger to be lurking in the light and for there to be safety in the darkness of the trees. In so many ways, my life had turned completely upside down and left me with no idea which way was up anymore. I knew once I stepped out into the sunshine that he would