Chapter 11
1570 Words
"Casper?" I murmured when I opened my eyes and caught the glimpse of a familiar cleft in a firm, hairy chin just as said person laid my body on the ground and against the trunk of a tree. I'd recognize that chin anywhere.
Casper was one of Dad's brothers. The second-born. So he was technically my uncle even though he was actually more of a big brother to me.
He reached Dad's height perfectly, but was more muscular - though not more than Albus - and had a beard. Casper's blue eyes then clearly shone in the moonlight with concern after I'd taken in a shaky breath.
From the looks of our surroundings, it seemed as if Casper had brought us to a random portion of the woods, a part where I strangely didn't recognize. But as long as we were far away from those other werewolves, I couldn't care less about where I currently was.
"What happened, Kara?" Casper questioned sternly the minute after he felt satisfied with my position. "What went wrong?"
It took me a moment to answer. "You didn't keep him away long enough," I replied, absently rubbing across the fading marks on my fingers as my body gradually climaxed its healing process. I then gazed away from his shimmering orbs and stared down at my bloody hands. "I thought you'd buy enough time for us to escape."
"I did. But hell, I could swear that he had suspected my actions to be suspicious." Casper ran a hand across his face and his beard. "Honestly, I hadn't even expected him to fall for it. But then he did, and then you guys almost escaped. And now we have this problem."
I didn't bother to ask what "this problem" meant because I was sure that I had a fair idea. "You heard what went on about your father, didn't you?"
"Yeah." He let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed a finger across his short beard, furrowing his eyebrows. "Dammit, I can't believe he's still alive."
Me neither.
"Everyone heard it," he continued. "Except for the others who are guarding your mother, the rest of us who waited for your father's signal in the shadows did."
I immediately zoned out all the other information and focused on that one forgotten fact. Mum.
"My mother?" As if the name suddenly flipped a switch, I was on my feet in a manner of seconds. "You know where she is? Tell me!"
"Whoa, Kara lower your voice!" Casper hissed out and cupped his hand over my mouth. "Don't talk too loud. Someone might hear us and come," he chided, diverting his gaze to eye around us, sniffing the air too in the process.
"They're busy trying to fight off Albus, Casper," I retorted, pulling his hand away, but still heeded and kept my voice low. "Well? Where is she?"
His lips thinned. "Frankly, I have no idea. When your father was appointing some of the members to watch over your mother, it was obvious that he'd entrust one of those positions to me, his Beta."
"But he didn't."
"No." Casper shook his head. "It was then I realized that he had lost his trust in me, if there had been one in the first place."
He then sighed when he saw the dejected look on my face. "Kara, I'm sorry I can't help you. I'm positive that I'm already on his death list now that he suspects me of treachery somehow."
I held in a deep sigh of disappointment. I knew that I would be at loss without help in my search, so I held hope deep down that Casper would meet me somewhere and lead me to wherever Dad was keeping Mum.
Casper was one of the people I trusted. He had really helped my mother and I by stalling my father by whatever means in order for us so to make our escape. And even though that plan had backfired, I was grateful for the constant help he had always given to me in times of need.
However, it seemed as if this time, luck had turned its back on me.
I stepped away from Casper and didn't even bother to wince when my momentum was cut short by my back colliding with a tree's trunk.
"I'm sorry I was of no help this time around," he apologized again, resting two firm hands on each of my shoulders. "I'd stick around longer to comfort you, but it's time to go now. Don't worry about your mother Kara, she is and will be fine."
I didn't answer, because I knew he was right. Dad wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Physically, anyway. But that didn't mean that she was happy. Why couldn't anyone understand that?
Casper, unaware of the thoughts swirling in my mind, pulled his hands away from my shoulders and instead held my arm with one. "Come on Kara," he said softly, pulling gently. "We can't stay here for long."
Unable to help myself, I took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves and doubts. But as I breathed in the night's air, a tingling familiar scent wafted through my nostrils. A scent that made my breathing cease and my body stiffen in awareness.
"Casper," I called quietly as my eyes roamed the dim-lit surroundings, searching for a certain tall and scarred giant. My heart thumped in suspense. "Casper, I smell something familiar. We've got to-"
Almost immediately, his grip was wrenched away from my arm before I could fully usher out the warning I'd intended and I let out a shocked cry when I caught the motion of a body blur past me, taking Casper along with it.
"No!" His body smashed against a random tree's trunk and my eyes widened as the towering human monster snarled right before thrusting his claws in the middle of Casper's chest.
Before my conscience could point out that I would be of no help to him and that said victim was already a dead werewolf, my body jumped into action and I charged forward. When I got close enough, I stood tall on my toes and wrapped an arm around Albus' neck, hooking my hands in order to get a firm hold on him as I tried my hardest to choke him or inflict any sort of pain with my weak human strength.
Unsurprisingly, and yet frustratingly, he didn't even budge.
"Stop it!" I screamed, tugging harder. "Stop!"
But before I could get another word out, Albus grabbed my elbow and easily removed my arm from around his neck, tossing me aside.
Once again, pain shot up my back as I fell with a loud grunt. However, when I looked up to where Casper and Albus were standing and saw the state of Casper's condition, breathing became painfully difficult.
Blood proceeded to splatter out of his mouth as he struggled to resist the pressure of Albus' claws that had sunk deep within his chest and the agony that came with it. Casper gritted his bloody teeth in an attempt to fight the pain, but then let out a heart-wrenching roar as Albus slowly pulled his heart out.
I sat there and watched - helpless, heartbroken and in terror - as Casper's life was robbed from him.
"You monster," my voice uttered with a great amount of disdain as Albus stepped away from the corpse which had dropped lifelessly to the ground, tears trickling in the corners of my eyes. "He didn't do anything."
Albus said nothing until he'd moved to stand directly in front of me. "He took you away from my side."
"I am not Alba." I raised my voice, not caring how loud I was anymore. "I am not your worthless mate, grandfather. And plus, I would've died if I had stayed there with you!"
"Do not blame your feebleness on me. If you had turned, your life would not have been on the line." Though his voice was calm, its tone held a deadly edge to it that despite my anger, sent cold shivers down my spine. "And never call me that again."
Having no response to that, I glared up at him instead then muttered, "Don't you dare come near me again."
Albus glistening grey eyes narrowed. "You do not have the power to tell me what I can and cannot do. I can do whatever I want with you and to you, and you are going to stick with me no matter what." He gracefully knelt down to my level as his pupils brightened into a familiar hypnotic shade of silver.
Oh no.
Quickly, I looked away.
"Look at me."
Right after he'd spoken those words, something weird subtly tugged within my chest before it began to spread all over, making me feel helpless. It was after that strange feeling erupted that I felt my willpower slipping. Fighting back for control, I shut my eyes as I struggled against my mind and body's will to surrender to that authoritative yet entrancing voice.
"I said look at me."
Dammit! That damn voice was so cool and alluring. Too alluring that my once loyal eyelids treacherously began to blink open slowly.
As my eyes, halfway open, glided towards his kneeling figure, I felt a finger brush roughly down my cheek. "Look at me, she-wolf."
I did. And ever did I regret it.
"Sleep."
- Writer
