Moonlit Betrayals

Isabella Danato's dress flapped around her, and her hair sloshed across her face. She secluded her arms around her racing heart, shutting her eyes despite the horrible feeling that crawled within the depth of her belly. The leaves whooshed harder, and the crickets sounded almost near her ear. This sound, of standing in this spot, had never sent her heart racing before. It had never made her skin crawl like this before. Maybe this wasn't just a feeling, and maybe... maybe something else was really going to happen. Maybe the fearful scream of Mateo, that night, resurfacing wasn't a coincidence. Maybe... Suddenly, Isabella was transported back to that fateful night. "Matt, hold on!" she screamed, following her brother as he ran away with difficulty through the underbrush. The tree branches and twigs stretched and dangled around like broken and deformed limbs, faint lights glimmered from the bushes, leaves rustled and twig snaps underneath our shoes, as we hasten through the bush. A figure emerges out of no where, a tall compilation of shadows, claws and fangs. Sweats ran along her back and her hands clamped around her ears. Terrified, a loud deafening scream broke out from her lungs. "You're okay" Matt's sweaty arms secured her small fragile frame to himself. . Hastily, Matt’s hand closed around her hand and they both spun around and stumbled into the woods. The creature descends after them, sliding through the woods like a wind. "You're mine" The loud terrifying sound echoed through the woods. Matt's hands slipped off her, and she fell head first . Isabella's eyes snapped back to the present, her heart racing with the memory. Her breath relapsed as something snapped around her, and a heavy air whooshed out of her. Her head snapped back in the direction of the sound so fast, she could taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, and the ringing pain on her tongue. The silence was soon broken by the sound of a twig snapping behind her" "Isabella." Her pulse fluttered at the sound of his voice, The hairs on the back of her neck rose. She needn't have turned around-. "Of course you'd find me here," Isabella said, She kept her gaze on the moon-lit path ahead, refusing even to recognize her constricted breathing at the sudden sight that so came forward. Leonardo Salvatore-a face she knew far too well, and a name which had been poison in her life longer than she would care to recall. The smooth drawl of his voice was threaded with subtle humour which always seemed to strangle her. "Still mad at me?" His tone teased, but Isabella knew better. His smirk masked whatever regret or guilt lay buried beneath. "Mad?" Isabella shook her head; "No, I'm not mad. I'm furious." Leonardo's lips quivered into a smirk. his boots hushed on the wet earth, tall, warrior-muscled, brown hair dripping from his head to his shoulder, he was all she detested, what had destroyed her life. Yet, she could not ignore the weakest flash of guilt in his eyes. Or perhaps something else. She didn't care. "You don't really seem like the 'angry' type," he said in a low tone. "More the 'strategic' one, but okay, I hear you. You are angry. You've been angry for years." Isabella clenched her fist. Her whole body was burning in anger, and yet she refused to rise to him. Not today. "You think I’ve been angry for years?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I haven’t just been angry. I’ve been plotting. I’ve been planning my revenge. There’s a difference." Leonardo chuckled, "Revenge, huh?" he said, his eyes glinting with something dangerously close to mirth. "Should I be worried?" "Oh, you should be," Isabella returned, an edge of a smile playing upon her lips. "But first, I think we need to speak of something a great deal more vital." Leonardo's eyes narrowed; "What is that? She inserted her arm inside the coat pocket and then pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with ink muddled on it. But it was everything. The symbol. The insignia that had haunted her dreams. The Valmont mark. "I’m not here for revenge alone," Isabella said, "I want answers." The change in Leonardo was immediate. His confident posturing faltered, eyes shifting as he saw the paper in her hand. The silence stretched between them, suddenly he broke the silence "You found this with Marco?" he asked, the smirk gone from his lips. "Yes," she replied, "and I think you know precisely what it means." His gaze had dropped to the floor, She looked at him-the weight of the moment-a silent, elastic stretched taut between them. He was drawing away now, digging into his past, into where all that guilt and loyalty tangled. But Isabella was not waiting to see him fight himself out from the hole. She hadn't come for that. "What is this?" she exclaimed, "How in hell did my brother end up with this mark? You don't find these things lying around." Leonardo hesitated, running a hand through his wet hair. "It's complicated," he muttered, the words slowing. "Complicated?" Isabella said with anger, "Complicated? You really think I don't know what you mean? You don't get to complicate me anymore, Leo. Not after everything." Leonardo's jaw dropped. For the first time, his eyes met hers with no smirk, no charm-just cold, bitter truth. "The mark," he said quietly, "it's a sign of allegiance to the Valmont Pack. But it is far more than that. It's a mark reserved for an exclusive group-which my father heads." Isabella interrupted him, "Your father?" she repeated, "Marcus Valmont? That tyrant who thinks he’s some kind of werewolf king? That’s the group you’re talking about?" Leonardo nodded. "Yes. That’s the one." A chill ran down her spine, "So, Marco wasn't killed by a rival pack, was he?" her voice fractured with realization, while her hands had started to quiver. "He was murdered. Because of your father's twisted game." Leonardo said nothing. His face was impassive behind the mask. as it sounds like a confirmation between him and Isabella, he really needed to explain that her brother wasn't killed over any banal rivalry. He'd gone as part of something big, of which he was so dispensable: all directed by the Valmont Pack. And this was merely prologue further. "So now what?" she asked, "Now that we know this is bigger than we thought-what are you going to do about it, Leo?". her heart racing, but she held it all inside. She would make them pay. All of them. She would tear the Valmont Pack apart. Guilt hung in the air, and Leonardo's eyes clouded. "I don't know," he said, "But I'm not letting this go. We need to find out what Marcus is after, really. That means cooperation. "Believe me," he said dryly, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't want to suggest it either. But it's the only way. A vortex swirled in her head-ten years of hate, betrayal, and trust broken between them. And now she was to work with him? It was just outlandish. Yet, as much as she hated this, she couldn't deny one simple truth: to bring down Marcus Valmont, this weird dance with the man who had hurt her most was something she was going to have to go through. "Fine," she said after a long silence, "But don’t think for a second that I’m doing this for you." Leonardo’s grin returned, "I wouldn’t dream of it." She turned away, Her heart was pounding loudly within her chest as it hit her-what she had just chosen: working with Leonardo Salvatore, betrayal, vengeance, alliances, this was only the beginning. She snapped out of it when there was a rustling in the underbrush. It was too quick, too deliberate to be an animal. Isabella instinctively went to her knife at her side; her instincts began flow with this sound. "Leo, what was that?" Her voice was steady, but she knew her pulse was racing. Leonardo said nothing. His gaze flashed to the trees, and his muscles flexed, The arrogance was gone-just much, much graver. "You are not the only one being hunted tonight," he said finally, almost as a warning. Before Isabella could utter a word, another noise sounded once more, much closer this time around. Closer than the last one had been when it had been so cloaked from sight, whatever it was-a deep rumbling guttural growl echoed in the distance. Isabella's heart leapt into her throat. The hair on the nape of her neck prickled up in instant awareness. Whatever it was, an animal it was not. It sounded … different. "Leo." Her voice shook, and then she grasped hold of her calm again. "What the hell is that? Leonardo took another step nearer her; his hand fell silently on to the hilt of his sword. The grim face lost a confidence of some time ago and ordered curtailed, "Get behind me, and not a word." Isabella moved backward, her heart racing maddeningly in her chest. The growling sounds raged louder, echoing among trees. She turned into the darkness, her senses high, gazing out into the greenish darkness around her. No more Marcus Valmont, no more revenge-the motive had changed; for something out there, it didn't belong in this world. Behind the treetops, then in the dark, two eyes gleamed bright, Someone or something was staring at them. Isabella heart trembled. Whatever this was, it wasn't any coincidence. It had come for them. Leonardo’s voice was tight, the hint of fear he usually kept hidden creeping into his words. "Stay close to me. Whatever happens next, trust me—you’ll need to." As the growls grew louder, the dark shapes moved closer. And for the first time in years, Isabella felt the icy grip of fear.