Her Soul Bonded Mate

Chapter 13

“So, I was thinking that this weekend we could go to that Halloween party, on the hill,” Taylor whispered excitedly while the teacher showed us videos of murder cases and unsolved mysteries. It had been two weeks since Liam and I started dating, and while Sam still wasn’t okay with it, no one else seemed to mind. Either that or they were really good at pretending. It wasn’t like it bothered me one way or the other. No, what was bothering me were the voices in my head as well as my parents’ case.

In the two weeks since I had been dating Liam, I completely stopped investigating my parents’ murder. It wasn’t because I doubted what I knew. On the contrary, after being attacked twice by wolves, and those people that looked like they were in the middle of transforming into wolves, I had come up with the answer. It was a wolf that had attacked my parents, but not just any wolf. It was a werewolf. A werewolf that for some strange reason targeted my parents, then left no trace of themselves.

I knew the idea sounded crazy, but after the attacks, I couldn’t help but come to this conclusion. The reason I wasn’t trying to find them was because of Liam. I didn’t want him to worry about me, plus there was the whole what might happen if I went all Van Helsing on werewolves thing. Most likely I would die, and I wasn’t ready to stop living yet. Maybe a few weeks ago I was ready to join my parents in the afterlife, but after starting this relationship, I wanted to live and see justice done for my parents. But how can I get justice when my opponent is a supernatural character that shouldn’t exist?

I can help, if you let me. The voice in my head said. Ever since the voices started, I had been doing my best to ignore them. No sane person could hear voices. This was all thanks to my anxiety and loss. That is what I kept telling myself.

“Hey, are you listening to me?” Taylor asked, to which I only shook my head no, both because it was true, I wasn’t listening to her and also as a way to get rid of the voice that only she knew about because there was no way I was telling Liam that I was hearing voices, because I knew he’d either dump me or call my aunt and I’d have to see a shrink. “Really?” She asked annoyed.

“We are in class and I am trying to watch the documentary,” I lied. I wasn’t paying attention; I was too busy thinking about what I would do next to pay attention to anything. On the plus side, my grades had gone up and neither of my teachers attempted to bother me.

“Yeah, but still, this is important. Did you want to go to the Halloween party this weekend?” She asked, wide-eyed and holding her pencil up to her cheek, waiting patiently for my answer.

“Sure, why not?” I said, not really caring one way or the other.

“Really?” She gasped loud enough so the people next to us could hear her. She then covered her mouth and looked around embarrassed before whispering, “You really want to go? Like for real, for real?”

I shrugged, “Why not? I don’t have plans this weekend,” I assured her. Which was true, because Liam had said something about hanging out with the guys or whatever for the weekend.

“Oh, that's great. We should hit the mall when we leave for our costumes. So, do you know what you want to be? I was thinking I’d be a fairy,” she said, then gasped and said, “no, I think that would be perfect for you. Either that or a pixie. Oh, I’m so excited I can’t wait to go shopping. I think we should skip our next classes and just go,” she said, staring at me with the biggest smile on her face, showing all her teeth.

I c****d my head to the side, then squinted my eyes, unsure of what to say. This was so typical of Taylor, when she was planning something she’d always go overboard, especially when shopping was involved. “Breathe,” I ordered, and she took in a deep breath, then closed her eyes and let it out. “You ok?” I asked, a bit worried about her.

She shook her head, yes, “I’m just happy you’re going. You never want to go anywhere, unless it’s with Liam,” she said, his name with an eye roll, then quickly recovered, “but it’s cool if you want to hangout with him. That’s what boyfriends are for,” she said, with the same annoyed tone she’d had for weeks.

“So, what can we gather from this case? Do you think it was truly a wild animal or were they murdered by people like the daughter claimed?” I heard the teacher ask. Mostly everyone’s hand shot up, while I turned my attention towards the paused documentary that I hadn’t been paying attention to. The image on the screen was that of a bedroom that looked so familiar to me and the moment I saw the purple curtains, I knew why.

A loud gasp escaped my lips and tears began to flow down my cheeks at the sight of what I knew was my parents' house. A house I hadn’t seen since the day after their funeral. Suddenly, my chest felt tight and I couldn’t breathe. My mind then flashed back to that day. My mother and I were sitting in my room talking about that party that Beth and I would be going to. She even helped me pick out the outfit. The party itself was fun. The majority of the time I spent pretending to talk to my friends while stealing glances of Liam. My friend Beth and I even tried to figure out the right pose I should make just in case he noticed me. Then I went home. The lights were out except the porch light. During that time, I half expected my parents to be woke, but given how late it was, it didn’t surprise me that they weren’t.

The moment I entered that house, I knew something was wrong. My heart was racing so fast that I couldn’t hear myself think. Then there was the smell. It was so strong that it nearly knocked me out. My first instinct was to call the police and run as far away from that house as possible; however, my feet wouldn’t move, and my eyes kept looking towards the top of the stairs as if something or someone was beckoning me to come. Luckily, no one was there, but it still felt as if someone was.

My worst fears were realized the moment I entered my parents’ room. At that time, I was carrying my phone in one hand and keys in the other. Then I saw a scene that was straight out of a horror movie. My parents were lying in their bed, eyes closed with what looked like a claw mark on their neck. The mark was so deep that you could see their insides and blood was everywhere. Of course, I screamed and, like a fool, attempted to wake my parents and myself from that nightmare, only to discover that it wasn’t a dream. I don’t even remember calling the cops or anyone for that matter, I just remember screaming and feeling numb inside. Now in front of me, in another country and city far away from home, I was being shown a sight that I could never forget, while the teacher called on my peers to answer questions related to me.

“This looks like an animal attack, but I think the daughter is right that it was a murder. There is no way an animal could climb into the house without destroying anything, then leave without a trace. I think the real question, professor, is, why did she kill her parents and try to blame it on someone else,” one of the girls asked. Her question ignited a lot of whispers and allegations about me that were completely false. The discussion was so intense that I could barely focus on anything.

“Are you okay?” I heard Taylor ask through all the noise. I then felt a warm hand on my back, but it didn’t help.

Without any thought, I grabbed my things then stood to leave, only to be stopped by both Taylor and the teacher. “Ms. Hill, where are you going?” The teacher asked, sounding both concerned and guilty for showing me such a graphic scene after learning about my past.

I only shook my head, then ran out the room and straight into Liam, who held me in his arms. “What’s wrong?” He asked. I said nothing. There was nothing I could say or wanted to say. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I kept seeing was their faces. I had told myself that I would let it go, because I didn’t stand a chance against the beast, but the moment those images popped on the screen, I knew what I had to do. I had to find the ones responsible and somehow make them pay.