The Masked Stranger

Chapter 6

Jade's P.O.V

We had driven for a decent amount of time when suddenly James stopped the car.

“Why are we stopping?” I asked him.

“Well I don’t know about you but I’m hungry and also I would prefer not to drive for three days straight so we are going to get food then a hotel room.” He said while getting out of the car. I silently followed. I looked up at the restaurant sign and it read Marina’s grill.

“Come on slowpoke.” James called to me. I rolled my eyes and then ran over to him.

“Welcome, let me show you to a table.” The hostess showed us to a booth before leaving us with menus. I picked up the menu and looked it over.

“Hey Jade?”

“What”

“Are you sure you're okay? You seemed kind of scared in the car when you woke up earlier. Is everything alright?”

“Honestly I’m not sure.”

“Well I just want you to know I'm here and I will help you if you need it. All you have to do is ask.”

“Thanks, that means more than you know.”

“Anytime.”

After we finished eating we went back to the car and drove to a hotel. When we got there I suddenly had a bad feeling. My instincts kept telling me not to get out of the car.

“James stop.” I said while grabbing his arm.

“Huh what is it?”

“No matter what, don’t get out of the car we need to leave now. I can’t tell you why but I have a really bad feeling and with everything that’s happened lately I don’t think I'm just being paranoid.”

“Okay we can continue driving for tonight then.”

“Thanks for trusting me.”

“Yeah well I have no reason not to. Besides you are my mate so if I didn’t trust you I would be an ass.”

“Well an ass wouldn’t drive three days just to protect someone.”

“I guess so.” He said looking away with a small blush on his face.

###

The rest of the driveI couldn't shake the feeling I had, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"What exactly is this feeling you have?" James asked me.

"I don't know ... it's just something that feels off," I say, stuttering a little mid-sentence.

"Okay, well there isn’t a lot we can do until we get to my pack territory. Do you think that this feeling has anything dangerous behind it?”

“I have no idea, I just get the feeling that something bad will happen.”

“Alright from now on we are going to take the freeway. It will have more traffic easier for us to get lost in so if someone is following us we’ll be harder to find.”

“Okay”

###

Once we had driven on the freeway my bad feeling went away and I relaxed a little and before I knew it we had arrived near James pack territory.

“Where are we?”

“Near the outskirts of my territory.”

“Uhm this looks like the middle of the woods?”

“That’s because it is. How do you think werewolves hide themselves from humans? All pack territory has a barrier around it. Only those who are traveling with a werewolf from that pack can cross over into their territory. The world is actually a lot bigger than what humans think. Other species also use barriers to hide their existence. It’s the reason why humans haven’t discovered our existence and why they think werewolves only change on full moons. There is some truth to the full moon thing, but I'll explain it later.” He said as he turned the car right onto a dirt path.

“Interesting” I said while looking at him quizzically.

“Anyways for now we should just focus on figuring out what, or who is after you so that we can ensure your safety.” After he said that I nodded and then stared out my window.

We drove down a dirt path for a short while then turned left and the road became a bit more curved and had more ups and downs before we reached a hill. When we got to the peak I saw what appeared to be a town below and we followed the road into it. When we reached the small town we drove through it until we reached the very end and pulled into a circular driveway where James parked the SUV and got out. He stopped and looked back at me.

“Well are you coming or not.” I opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle just as James handed the keys to somebody who then proceeded to drive the car somewhere.

I walked over to James and followed behind him closely so I could avoid getting lost in the giant house if you could even call it that which was infront of us.

“Jade this is Crestview Manor or as I like to call it home.”

“Wow I knew you were rich based on your mansion in New York, but I did not think you came from such a background that everywhere you go there’s a mansion waiting, but I guess that’s my own fault for not expecting that.” I sighed then followed him inside.

“Once I walked through the threshold two women greeted us and one took my zip up jacket and hung it on a coat rack while the othe placed slippers on the floor in front of my feet so I took off my shoes and put the slippers on and one of the ladies placed my shoes on an angled metal wire frame right next to where James shoes went.

“Marina, would you please give her a tour of the place and then have her meet me in the office.”

“Yes sir.” The blonde of the two women spoke and then gestured for me to follow her.

Marina led me to a room off to the left of the entrance when I stepped ingto the room. I noticed the large white tile floor, dark oak cabinets with granite countertops and a long oak table the same as the cabinets and hanging above it was a glass or crystal chandelier. I couldn't tell all I knew is that it was grand and probably expensive.

She took me towards a door in corner of the kitchen I thought it led to a pantry but as usual I was wrong it led down a staircase and to a basement in said basement there were a total of four rooms the main room you entered once down the stairs, where there was some beanbag chairs and a couple old arcade games along with foosball and air hockey tables. The room on the right was a bathroom with double sinks. The room next to it was a room with just a poker table and mini fridge in it. The last room to the left of the stairs was by far the most interesting. It was a home movie theater but with couches instead of chairs with plenty of blankets in cupboards and game consoles and a dvd player and VHS complete with a popcorn maker and a small snack bar right by the door before you enter the room.

After showing me the entire basement and the kitchen Marina took me to the room on the right of the front entrance. The room had double doors and all that was in there was some couches and a coffee tablel along with a tv which could be hidden by cupboards and some picture frames. I took a close look at the pictures and they were of a kid and his parents through the years on one side but the others were all blank.

“Marina?” I asked

“Yes Miss?”

“Why is it the frames on the right bookshelves have pictures but the ones on the left shelves don’t?” She seemed shocked by my question.

“It is a tradition in the family that there are pictures of the previous generation’s family on the right shelves and the current generation’s family on the left.” Her green eyes then began to look melancholy. I thought about asking her what was wrong but decided it would only be worse if I pried so I left her alone and didn’t ask anymore questions.

***

Once the tour of the manor was over Marina showed me to a door on the second floor and she gestured for me to go in. I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. When I walked in the room I was greeted with the sight of James sitting at a desk looking at some papers. The room was decorated with a three cushion couch under the window on the left wall with bookshelves in all four corners of the room. The desk was thick and very sturdy.

“Oh you’re here well then why don’t you take a seat and we will discuss what happened, all you need to do is describe what happened before you asked me to get you out of New York.” He said before he stood up and came and sat next to me on the couch.

“I can try to explain but it’s all still a little foggy in my mind I remember there was a lot of blood and one of my teachers he was there only he looked different almost…not human. James I don’t know what’s going on I just know that somehow for some reason I’m in danger and that terrifies me. The worst part is I don’t even know why.” I said my voice breaking more with each sentence before I burst into tears. “I’m just scared.” I sobbed out the last three words.

“Gah you know what, don't worry about it I’ll figure this out you just don’t worry I’ll take care of whatever is after you.” James pulled me into a hug where I proceeded to cry for a long time. I was truly grateful for him even though I’d probably never admit it.