I stayed at Roses' that night, we made a girls' night of it, we watched movies and gossiped until the both of us fell asleep. We never did meet up with Damien on the Saturday, we were both so tired and hung over, instead we went for a swim in her pool and drunk cocktails. We listened to music all day doing facials and our nails, we made a full day out of it, we enjoyed each other's company very much, it was then that we realised we were going to be the best of friends. We chose to go out Saturday night, we went into the city that night, we thought about going to a club, we had driven into the city and neither of us wanted to be the designated driver, instead we decided to go shopping and see a movie in the cinemas. It was around One O'clock before we made it back to Roses' house, Damien, sitting on Roses' front porch, the dim light darkening his features,
"What are you doing here?" we both asked confused,
"I I I need help," he coughed, blood splattering out of his mouth as he spoke.
I started to freak out, I didn't know what to do,
"What the hell happened?" I yelled,
"Be quiet E and help us" Rose demanded as she tried helping Damien up, I ran over to his side, only then realising the blood on his t-shirt and pooling around him,
"they're here, they're after her Rose, we need to protect her" Damien murmured through the blood in his mouth.
We got him inside and laid him down on the couch, grabbing towels, a first aid kit and water Rose rushed around her house, it was as if she had done this before.
"We are you doing Rose? We need to call the police or the ambulance," I was in a panic state kneeling on the floor in front of Damien, tears streaming down my face as I watch this man slowly die.
"He's going to be fine EM, you need to trust me," Rose tried comforting me, her voice soft and calm, how can she be so calm I thought to myself, Damien his bleeding to death right in front of us and she's trying to tell me he is going to be fine.
"What the hell is wrong with you" I hissed turning around to face her,
"He is dying, can't you see that" my voice startling me as it was louder than I expected.
"Rose," Damien uttered, "Rose you need to protect her, you can't let them get to her".
Rose jumped up from where she was sitting, scrambled around her house, it looked like she was looking for something, minutes go by, she returns with a vile, red liquid swirled around in the vile as she rushed over to Damien.
"Damien drink this, you need to drink this, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier" Rose spoke softly, he gulped it down the pain resonating in his eyes, a tear fell from my eyes as I watched this man, I cared deeply about suffer.
Sitting in silence Rose and I watched Damien as he fell asleep, I couldn't understand why Rose wouldn't let me call for help and just wanted to sit around and wait for him to die. Everything around me was getting darker as I started to drift off to sleep, I could hear Rose speaking softly to someone, I'm guessing it was over the phone as I couldn't hear a response. It wasn't till the sun was shining through the curtains that I realised I had dozed off, rubbing my eyes a yawn escapes my mouth, as I open my eyes properly, I start to remember everything that happened that night, I look around Rose is gone and so is Damien. I jump up from my sit and start pacing around the house trying to find everyone, I walk into the kitchen, Rose and Damien were sitting around the dining table talking, the talking stopped as I entered. Damien looked perfectly fine, the colour was back in his skin, he didn't look like he was in pain, I couldn't believe it, he looked normal, it was as if nothing happened last night. I standing in the kitchen doorway shocked to the point where I couldn't move, my legs started to shake, my body swayed back and forth, I felt as if I was going to collapse, Damien flew across the room to my side, I felt his arms around my waist as he attempts to hold me up, my knees buckle from under me as I fall into his chest, water fills in my eyes, he falls to the ground with me in his arms. Curled up on the fall, Damien holds me tight, trying to calm me down,
"How are you ok? You seem perfectly fine, like nothing happened last night?" I whimper,
"Shhh, I will explain everything shortly, just calm down" he whispers in my ear.
A short period of time passes, Rose has been cooking in the kitchen as Damien and I sit on the floor, Rose walks over and helps me up off the floor, she directs me to the dining table, as I take a seat, Damien sits next to me, Rose walks back over to the kitchen, she brings out some pancakes, bacon and eggs and waffles, she brings me over an orange juice and takes a seat across from me. We sit in silence as we begin to eat the food Rose made, I didn't know that Rose knew how to cook, I scoff down a plate of pancakes, waffles, and bacon, I've never been so hungry in my life.
"You two going to explain what the hell happened last night?" I snap, I look at them both, concern, and anger in my eyes,
"How do you seem perfectly fine Damien? You were dying" I ask,
"It's hard to explain EM and you won't believe it," Damien murmurs,
"I don't care if you think I won't believe it, I need the truth, I need to know what happened" I yell, they both looked shocked and amused,
"Can you just trust us and wait for us to explain it to you at the right time?" Rose requests.
I jerk up from the seat, pacing around in a circle I can feel their eyes on me, a puzzled expression crosses their faces,
"How am I supposed to just wait for you to explain this, Damien you were bleeding, it looked like you were going to die, Rose, you stopped me from calling for help, the next thing I know its morning and you both seem completely fine, like last night didn't happen! So please explain how I am supposed to just wait for this explanation, that I'm apparently not going to be able to believe?" I shriek, Rose pleads,
"EM you need to believe me, we will explain everything in a few days, after we know it's all true. Please trust us."
I look at them both, neither of them seeming to budge and tell me what happened, I walk around for a bit and go to grab a drink in the kitchen,
"I will give you those few days, if you guys haven't explained anything, well I guess I'll know where our friendships stand," I grab my purse and walk out the door.
I am about half-way to my car; I hear the door slam behind me,
"Amaris where are you going?" Damien yells,
"I'm going home Damien, I'm tired and want my bed, is that ok?" I snap,
"No, it's not ok, you can't go home" he shouts,
"What?!!" I bark,
"They weren't after me EM, they were after you, you go home you're putting yourself and your' aunt in danger" he cries,
"And why exactly would someone be after me? And why would they hurt you to get to me?" I question,
"I can't explain it right now, but we have to protect you" he explains,
"What! You and Rose are going to protect me from these people you say are coming after me please?" I snidely remark. I turn and walk to my car, I come to a stop as Damien turns up in front of me,
"What the hell, how?" I question, he snatches me off my feet and hangs me over his shoulder.
I yell and shout for him to put me down, he ignores me and keeps walking, I hear Rose come from another room, she starts yelling at Damien
"What the hell are you doing? You can't just kidnap her,"
"We need to protect her Rose, if she's not going to listen, I will do it against her will," he whips around and continues walking.
All I can see is polished wooden floor and we come up to a staircase, they are heading downwards, he continues to walk down them,
"Put me down Damien" I yell, kicking my legs and hitting him in the back.
We get to the end of the staircase, I hear a squeak from a door, I can see the concrete floor, he walks into I'm guessing the middle of the room, he slowly puts me down from his shoulder,
"I didn't want to do this to you my little puppy, but I need to protect you, you'll be safe here," he whispers into my ear,
he turns around and walks to the door, I thought he was going to leave but instead he closes it. He starts to walk towards me, every step he takes, I take a step backwards, I end up with my back against the wall, he stops in the middle of the room, exactly where I was standing. He sits on the floor, a feeling of relieve shots through my body, I start to look around the room and see all the gym equipment and weapons, a shocking expression crosses my face.
"What the hell is this place?" I scream, "you can't keep me here, you can't just kidnap me,"
"You're not a prisoner here Marie, I just need you to be safe and you're not safe out there, your' aunt will be here shortly" Damien explains, he stays sitting in the middle of the room,
"What is this place for?" I queried, "we train down here, all of us, you'll understand one day" he said.
I hear footsteps walking down the dark mahogany polished floorboard steps, I squeeze myself in tighter to the corner of the room I decided to sit in, my legs curled tightly to my chest. A knock on the door has Damien leaping straight up to his feet, he's across the room in a matter of seconds, the door comes flying open to my surprise my aunt is standing in the doorway, she gives me a glance over, concern leaving her face as she sees me. She pulls Damien and Rose outside and closes the door, I walk over to the door and try to pull it open, but it is as if someone is holding it shut. I stop pulling against the door and settle my breathing, I put my ear up against the door, I faintly hear what they are speaking about.
"Are they really already here Damien? She hasn't even transformed yet, how could they know, it's not like they could've sensed it like you normally can," I hear my aunt question Damien and Rose,
"They are here Ms Marsh, Mr Steele needs to know about this, she needs to know about him" Damien states,
"She can't be told the truth, not just yet she won't be able to handle the truth, she will break, and it won't be good for any of us" my aunt snaps,
"She needs to know the truth about herself, she needs to learn to protect herself, we need her, we need her to lead us, we need her to be safe and she can't be safe if she doesn't know who she is" Damien pleads.
I walk away from the door, I feel this strange heat of rage fill inside me as I try to comprehend what they are talking about, I can feel my pulse rising, I can hear my heartbeat as if it was right next to my ear, the muscles in my body start to ache, I feel this need to realise the anger, I feel that if I didn't I would explode, without comprehending my next move, I smash my fist into the concrete floor. The door flies open, they see me curled up in a ball in the corner of the room, fear in my eyes, the concrete floor has a hole with large cracks surrounding in. I look up to see Damien, Rose and my aunt, concern and confusion expressed on their faces, Damien is the first over to me, bending down in a crouch position, his hand gently placed on my leg and back,
"Are you ok Marie, did you do this?" he asks comforting,
I look up at him, tears falling down my cheeks, my vision blurs, the room darkens, the last thing I see are those beautiful features, looking so serious and concerned, those features that have been lying to me since the day we met, then black.
I can see this man, a man who looks incredibly familiar, I cannot pinpoint where I recognise him from. We are surrounded by beautifully tall trees, the moon is out at its highest, I can smell the crisp air of the salty ocean nearby, the smell of the damp leaves under my feet, I seem to have forgotten about this man standing about 100 metres away from, I am taken from the surroundings, I feel as I recognise this place, I have been here before.
"You have been here before my beautiful Amaris, you were very young, you will come here a lot more after a few days" this man says, I try to answer "Amaris Esmeray Rieka, your' mother and I found it very difficult to pick the perfect name for you, for what you can be, for what you stand for. Amaris, child of the moon, Esmeray, dark moon, Rieka our last name, peaceful ruler, power of the wolf, collectively your name means the royal wolf, dark child of the moon. You face two vastly different paths, my child, trust yourself, you will feel the truth, find the journal, it will help you through this journey, it will tell you everything".
The trees begin to fade, the moon seems to shine brighter, I can feel the softness of the couch cushions beneath me, through blurry vision I can make out the figures and features of those around me,
"Where is he? Where is my dad" I blurt as, I start to gain consciousness, I begin to realise that it was all a dream and I have no idea what any of it meant.
I feel the warmth of a fire near, the faint tinge of burning wood drifting through the air, the familiarity calming, I can hear whispering from another room, I try to stand up to walk into the kitchen, a jolt of pain resonates through my arm.
"I need to find a journal," I state as I walk into the kitchen,
All eyes turn on me, the stares of those in the room make me feel nervous, confusion crosses their faces, I can feel the warmth in my cheeks rise as blush form across my face,
"My dad told me I need to find a journal, this journal will explain everything and help me understand all that's going on and is about to happen and will apparently help me make decisions in the future I will need to make," I quickly blurt out.
No one answers me, they exchange short glances, expressions crossing there faces.
- 'We need to tell her, the full moons coming, she needs to be prepared' –
- 'It's not our choice Damien, it's Ms Marshes decision' –
- 'Her dad wants her to know, it's the only reason he would take the chance of exposer to talk to her in her subconscious, the only reason he would tell her about this journal' –
- Ms Marsh are you sure, his been watching over her for years, why now?' –
- The protection has worn off, they will be able to track her now, you're right Damien she needs to be prepared for what's about to come, how are we supposed to explain it though?' –
"STOP IT!!," I scream, "What the hell is going on? I need answers, why do I need this journal? How did my dad get into my mind? Was any of it real?"
"We're werewolves Amaris, just like you are, just like your' mum, and your' dad, your family have been werewolves for centuries, your part of one of the first lines of werewolves, a royal line," Damien exclaims, "we need you now Marie," he pleads.
I feel my jaw drop, the colour from my face fades, my knees wobble as my legs threaten to give out from underneath me, confusion written across my face. Memories come back to me as flashes, memories from my childhood that I seem to have forgotten, conversations I overheard begin to make sense. I understand the majority the conversation my aunt was having over the phone the other day. My knees hit the floor as I fall to the floor, I blankly stare as my world seems to be changing in an instant.
"YOU'RE LYING," I shout, "werewolves don't exist, why would you make up such a ridiculous lie, why can't you just be honest with me? What would be worse?" panic reverberates throughout my body.
I can feel the strength in my legs recuperating as my anger deepens towards the people I love, towards the people standing in front of me whom claim to be family, who claim to be my friends. My body straightens, the floor declining as I rise from knees. I turn towards the front door, tears falling from my eyes as the feelings of disbelief and betrayal surge through my body, I walk towards the door, I can hear them speaking towards me, but nothing penetrates my thoughts. My hand touches the door handle, the coldness peaking my sensations, the feeling of warmth overwhelms my body, the sensation of those behind me creeps up my spine. I turn around to see, my aunt, Damien and Rose standing a mere meter away from me.
"We're not lying Em" Rose states, "We're telling the truth, what can we do to make you believe us."
"Show me!" I condition, "if you can prove it, maybe then I'll be able to believe it, but as you can't do that goodbye."
I push down on the handle, I pull the door towards me as a creak in the old hinges crack the awkward silence, I have the door half ways open as Damien shouts,
"Stop!! We can show you; I can show you; you just need to give us some benefit of the doubt and close the door"
- 'What are you doing Damien?' –
- 'She needs proof Rose; I'm going to give her proof' –
- 'How exactly are you going to prove to Em that we are werewolves Dam?' –
- 'You already know how Rose, just make sure nothing bad happens' –
"Fine, how are you going to show me?" I demand as I slam the door shut.
Damien grabs my hand, pulling me towards the basement, I obediently follow as I am curious to see what is about to happen. Damien opens the basement door and pulls me inside, slamming the door shut behind us, I walk into the middle of the basement, I hear the lock click behind me, I twirl around on the spot, fears creeps across my face, overwhelming my entire body.