The Hidden Danger of Love

Chapter Two

Astrid jolted awake, everything rushed back to her as she regained consciousness. She felt her heart drop when she realized that she had only blacked out for a few minutes. Her fever was still there, but it wasn't as bad. Her head pounded when she moved. She gasped in pain when her mind started to function again and the shooting pain in her shoulder returned. The noises of the fighting seemed to die down a little and she could only hope that it was almost over. She felt tears stream down her face when she tried to grasp what was happening here. She knew that she was always told stories about werewolves but she never really thought they were true. She always thought that they were trying to scare the young kids in the orphanage so they wouldn't run away. She felt her body give a convulsion, smaller than the last ones she had. Astrid realized that the whole thing was going away now. She breathed a short sigh of relief, but it didn't last long when she heard people talking quickly and wolves howling.

"Retreat!" There was a snarl. "We aren't done, we will be back for her! She is on our territory and so are you which means she will be part of our pack!" The snarl faded and so did most of the paw-steps and howls. Astrid tried to get up and run. She had no idea what was going on bit she couldn't have that boy come back for her again. She managed to get to her feet and stumble off into the forest, hoping it was the direction toward the house she just moved into. She screeched when she felt someone grab her around the waist, she began to weakly kick out, her eyes clouded with tears. She reeked of fear, she could smell it herself. But she didn't care. She needed to get away from him!

Astrid felt another hand clasp over her mouth as she was pulled in the other direction and pinned to the ground. This time there was a different boy, who seemed just as strong as the other, who pinned Astrid down and covered her mouth. "Memphis I can handle her from here, go help Max round up the injured and get them back." The boys voice sounded smooth but it was edged with fear. Astrid still fought him, she had no idea what to do, all she knew was the other set of hand that helped him put her to the ground, just left. She she had a fighting chance to get away. She tried to yell, she tried to fight but then she stopped when her tear-clouded eyes met his. The boys eyes were ice blue, but they were soft and not threatening like the other boy was.

Astrid felt another shudder travel through her body, her gaze ripped away from his and she started to struggle again as the pain shot through her. What was happening? What were these werewolves doing to her? She looked up, when she caught the boy searching for her gaze and she felt herself calm slightly. He hasn't done anything to hurt her yet so she gave up and stopped struggling. Maybe he would set her free...She watched him for what seemed like a long time before he slowly and gently moved his hand from her lips. "No more screaming. I am here to help you not harm you." He spoke swiftly, he didn't sound very caring. At least not as caring as Astrid thought he would. She gritted her teeth, why should he care about her. "No moving. If I get up after letting you go, I want you to stay right where you are." Astrid listened to his smooth voice, trying to look convincing, but wanting to just leap up and leave.

She watched in silence as the pressure was removed from her rib cage and she heard him walk away. She waited a few more moments before she quickly got up and tried to sprint away but began to stumble instead. When she glanced back she didn't see anything so she thought she was in the clear. Astrid jumped back, startled when the boy appeared in front of her. "You are going the wrong way. And what did I say about staying still." There was annoyance that edged his voice. But his gaze was soft and calm. "I can either help you, even with the wound. Or I can lead you home and you can deal with it yourself." He growled lowly. Astrid stood there and thought for a moment before she looked down. She was starting to be able to see again, and as she looked up she felt her body stiffen when the boys eyes were on her, but panic rose in his gaze, along with coldness. "You no longer have a choice." he growled under his breath and grabbed her arm. Astrid was to in shock to fight. She was confused about what was happening, she just stumbled along behind him.

The two of them sprinted for what seemed like a very long time before they reached the edge of the forest, Astrid could see the foster house and began to feel relieved. She looked at the boy, he was purposefully looking away from her, Astrid couldn't make out what he looked like. She jumped away a little when he quickly turned to her. "Listen, I can't stay, and I don't have time to say why. Do not tell anyone what has been happening to you or what happened tonight." He hesitated for a moment and Astrid watched him closely. "Meet me here tomorrow night. In this spot. I will be here. And I will explain some things to you." Astrid felt a jolt go through her, but it was very faint. She didn't say a word as his gaze flicked back and forth across her face before he hesitantly backed away, letting out something close to a whimper, but she could have been hearing things becuase his eyes were more distant and panic-stricken.

Astrid didn't say a word, or look back once she was across the yard and back up into her room. She quickly got back into bed and let out a shiver. she checked the time on the alarm, it was 2:58am. She let out a long breath. Astrid didn't get much thinking in before she drifted into a hollow, uneasy sleep, exhausted from the events of the night and the pain in her shoulder.

"Time to wake up! We leave shortly!" Astrid groaned as she rolled over to the side of her bed and opened her eyes. She could hear Dawn's cheery voice from the bottom of the stairs. Slowly, she rose from the bed. Her body felt numb as she began to recall everything that had happened that night. She looked at the door to make sure no one was there before she checked her shoulder, a shiver went down her spine when her eyes focused on the visibly swollen and red bite mark. She remembered the dangerous and controlling gaze of the one male. She knew his bright green eyes from somewhere but she didn't know where. Astrid sighed and covered her shoulder up the best she could. It could not be visible at all, so she threw on a thick blue hoodie to cover her long-sleeve shirt. It was nice and soft, so she was okay with it.

As she walked downstairs, her mind was clouded with the thought of what could have been happening to her last night. It was close to eleven o'clock in the morning, and she felt perfectly fine, no fever, no sign of illness, she was actually surprised she was allowed to sleep in so late. She shook her head mentally, clearing all of the thoughts as she walked to the kitchen area of the house. She smiled at Dawn, secretly happy that she was the only one here. "Jonathan went to work today, so it will be just the two of us today in town." The bright woman said with a smile, but her eyes sparked with concern. She handed Astrid a plate with toast and peanut butter and looked back toward the oven. Astrid said her thanks and sat down at the bar-stool table. "That is okay. What will we be doing?" She asked quietly, it was the first time she actually talked to her foster parents. The woman shrugged, her back to Astrid. "Whatever we can do during the day. We will probably go shopping, explore the town a little more." She said over her shoulder, pulling her own toast out of the toaster. Astrid ate her food slowly and thought for a moment, she was a little excited to go look around, but with the werewolves around she didn't feel very safe.

She thanked Dawn for the food and walked to the bathroom, where she shut the door and leaned on the sink. As she looked into the mirror, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Meet me here tomorrow night... I will explain some things. The voice of the boy ringed in her ears, it was almost as if he was here, talking to her. She blinked open her eyes and looked around to check, she even looked out of the window which overlooked the street. Just like in movies, she was expecting to see someone there, but no one. She breathed out a sigh. Don't be stupid, you have other things to worry about today. She told herself in her mind, luckily, growing up in a place where those thoughts always came to mind, she knew how to get rid of them. Usually. So soon she just brushed her hair and teeth, the thought drifting to the back of her mind as she walked out of the bathroom smiling. "Well someone looks cheery!" Dawn chuckled as she grabbed her purse and car keys. "Lets not waste any time, we better go!" She added and walked out of the house. Astrid was kind of surprised, how much these people trusted her not to go anywhere, and how much they trusted her to listen. It wasn't like she would try anything anyway. Yet. She added with a huff as she got her shoes on and walked outside quickly, getting into the car.

As Dawn carefully pulled out, Astrid listened to her ramble on about one of the shops in town, but she wasn't really paying attention. Every once in a while she would agree or disagree with the blabbering woman but she was mostly focused on the view outside. Their house wasn't to far from the end of the street heading toward the town, which was nice. As they turned off of the street they took a few more turns but were very soon in the main street of the town. Astrid was surprised that there were so many shops in the town, there were a few clothes shops she noticed a candy shop and pet store. There was also a few variety, and gift stores. "So where do you want to go first?" Astrid could feel Dawn's narrowed eyes on her as she spoke. Astrid shrugged and let out a small smile. "Up to you, I don't really know anything here." She said as she looked back out the window. She wouldn't mind walking around the streets today, the sun was out and shining, she assumed that the rain cloud that was here just passed right on by. "Okay, well lets start at the thrift store, then we can move onto some of the variety stores." Dawn smiled and began to pull over to the curb.

As soon as she parked the car, Astrid took her seat-belt off and opened the door. She stepped out onto the side-walk and waited for Dawn to walk over, she was very slow when it came to getting her stuff together in the car. As she waited, she looked around the street. There were people everywhere, walking in all directions, yelling at each other and laughing. Astrid almost felt overwhelmed, being able to hear all these voices. She wondered why her senses were so strong lately but she kind of shrugged it off. She turned around, just in time to think she noticed the ice blue eyes of the boy, but it was gone in the crowd to see anything more. She sighed. There were lots of people with blue eyes, she was seeing things.

It took her the next ten minutes of walking to convince herself of that. As the two of them walked through the store, they looked at almost everything. It got to the point where Astrid was getting kind of tired of it. But she said nothing and just put on a smile as the two of them went store to store. It was about two hours before they actually stopped to take a break for a few minutes. Astrid sighed and looked around after sitting on a bench, Dawn had to take a phone call and wandered away so that left Astrid at that spot for a few minutes. As she gazed around the inside of the strip-mall they had wandered to she had to admit, it as a pretty nice town. And there were quite a few more people than she thought there would be.

She froze when she caught the hostile gaze of a boy, who looked to be about eighteen, staring at her. His dark hair was short and pointy at the front, but his eyes were a deep color, she had to stare for a moment before realizing that they were dark red, and on the side of his neck there was a long scratch. She shivered, instantly getting a feeling like he was there last night. And not on the side that had helped her. She looked away, but out of the corner of her eye she saw him instantly get on the phone. He looked slightly suspicious, with the black leather jacket and ripped black jeans. Astrid gritted her teeth as fear struck her and the feeling of last night started to just edge back. And not the fever, illness feeling. The feeling of the bite and the scent of hostility and dominance. She let out a small huff of relief when Dawn wandered back, her eyes glinted with a look of impatience and slight annoyance. "We need to go, now." She said, with a slight hint of panic. Astrid narrowed her eyes, but nodded. She got up but before she left with Dawn, she glanced back at the boy. He was now talking to a shorter, muscular girl with shorter, shoulder length brown hair. They were rushing with there words, but he met her gaze for a second before turning back to the girl. They both also looked panicked.

Astrid huffed a little as she walked behind Dawn, she didn't know such a little woman could walk so fast! "Why are you in such a hurry?" Astrid asked wearily, not wanting to set her off at all. Dawn stopped didn't answer or stop walking until they were at the other end of the mall, near the exit. Astrid's neck prickled with unease when Dawn looked at her, her gaze was soft and cheerful but distant. She knew Dawn was faking it. "I have to go drop something off at the bank that i forgot all about and it closes soon!" She said, not letting in another word from Astrid because she turned back around and left the mall and right to the car.

Astrid sighed when she buckled in. They had seen the whole town within three hours and now headed to the bank that was on the outskirts of the town. In the other direction. She was a little annoyed with what went on today at the mall, she was actually having fun with Dawn until the phone call, and the odd people in the mall. But then again, Astrid was used to being disappointed. The ride to the bank was silent and uncomfortable, it took almost half an hour with all of the traffic and lights, to get to the bank. At this point, Astrid was drifting off to sleep against the window when they pulled in. "I will be just a few minutes." Dawn assured her before rolling down the windows and getting out of the car. Once she entered the bank, Astrid closed her eyes, her head rested where the window was rolled down, and the sun beating onto the side of her head.

Astrid shot her head up when she heard howls. She didn't have her eyes closed for more than two minutes when they broke out from somewhere close by in the forest. She recognized them from the night before, but she wasn't sure which group they were from. Which scared her a lot. She watched as Dawn appeared from the bank and walked quickly to the car. Giving Astrid a weary smile. "Time to go home!" She said cheerfully, rolling up the windows and backing out of the small parking lot. Trying not to look to interested in the commotion that was going on, Astrid only glanced at the forest as they drove, she wondered what was going on out there now. It sounded selfish, but she wondered if it had something to do with her.

She didn't like how she couldn't stop thinking of the group in the forest. When Astrid got home, she brought the few things that Dawn bought her, up to her room. As she placed the new, soft pillow on her bed, she thought about them again. Usually she can keep useless thoughts out of her head, but for some reason they kept appearing. After she put everything away, she flopped down on her bed with a sigh. She turned her head, glancing at the alarm clock. It was almost four o'clock already. This day went buy so fast! She thought to herself as she closed her eyes for a moment. She tried to deny it all day, but she couldn't wait to go back into the forest tonight. The silence of the trees were calming, which helped her relax after all of the different smells and noises in the town, even if it is small. Astrid sighed, she rolled over and got back up. Walking toward her window, she opened it back up. As soon as she did, she heard a single, faint howl coming from the place where she wandered yesterday. Her skin tingled,itching to move forward to the large green forest, but she knew if she went now then her foster parents would know where she went. But why should they care? Astrid shrugged, took a deep breath and climbed out the window without looking back at the door.

The grass was soft and cool, once again she felt the urge to take off into the forest. But right before Astrid was about to take off, the gate opened from beside the house. "Where do you think you are going?" A deep voice called out from behind, she froze as soon as she recognized it. "I was just going for a quick walk in the forest to get some fresh air." Looking down, she turned to face her foster father. There was a moment of silence before howling could be heard once again in the forest, it seemed closer but it could be just her imagination. Once she gained enough confidence, Astrid looked up, meeting the mans angry gaze. Why did it matter so much? "You will come back into the house with me, we have been over this. Never go into the forest." His voice was so low it was almost a growl when he talked. She felt a cold shiver go down her spine when his eyes flashed a dark shade of red for a second, then it was gone. Just like that boy at the mall today... She thought to herself, quickly walking to the front of the house, walking through the doors. Something was off about him, and the teenagers at the mall today but she couldn't think of what it was.

After she got into the house, Astrid quickly went back up to the room before Johnathan came back into the house. What now? It was only the second day, and she already wanted to leave this place. Letting out her breath, and closing the door, she began to feel like something was wrong. All she could do now was wait until it was night in order to go find the boy, unknowingly, there was something different about him. Something that she couldn't see. Astrid was frustrated, she began to wonder why the two groups fought over her. Were they fighting to see who would kill her and eat her? But if that were true, the boy with ice blue eyes would have gone home with a full stomach last night.

Astrid must have drifted to sleep, becuase when she blinked open her eyes, the door was wide open and bickering was heard from downstairs. Quietly, she tip-toed over to the door and sat down, listening to the conversation.

"Once marked tomorrow, you wont have to worry about it anymore, dear." Dawn's soft voice was in a whisper.

"I know, but there is a chance one of them is waiting, right now, to get at it!" The harsh voice of Johnathan was slightly louder, but also in a whisper.

"Keep your voice down, we will talk about this later... when she is sleeping." Dawn's voice sounded worried and more calm than his, but there was a slight edge to it.

The girl got up and quietly went back to her bed to sit down and wonder what they were talking about. She shook the blonde ponytail that she had in and sighed, at least it was now dark. Glancing at the alarm clock, it was almost nine o'clock. What made her sleep so well? Suddenly, Astrid didn't feel so good. Did they drug her to make her sleep? Or was that to much of an over-reaction? She was no longer hungry as she flopped backward onto the bed more. Only a few more hours before she could go meet the boy again. She felt her body shiver slightly when the thought came into her mind from the last night. She was so deep in thought, it startled her when Dawn suddenly stood in the doorway of the room, a faint smile on her face. "Hello dear. You must be tired, you have been sleeping lots within the last few days?" Dawn's face contorted with slight worry when she talked, but it was gone within seconds. Unless you drugged me. Astrid thought with a spark of anger, but it was probably an over-reaction. "I have been very tired, probably from everything that has gone on." Astrid replied, trying to make her voice sound cheerful and happy. Dawn nodded, there was something else on her mind, something she came up here to talk to Astrid about. "You know, Johnathan isn't that bad once you get to know him. He seems angry but today he was only angry becuase he was worried you would get harmed." The woman started, walking to the edge of the bed and sitting down, facing Astrid. "There are very large predators in that forest, we have big w...timber-wolves in there that are deadly. That's what the howling is about, the population is out of control here..." Her voice trailed off a little when she glanced over at the window, that Astrid noticed was now closed. Suddenly everything came to realization to her. There weren't any werewolves! They were all timber-wolves that hunted her yesterday. The boy and other teenagers just happened to find her and help her out.

Astrid's face lit up with relief and joy when Dawn gave her this information. "That makes a lot of sense!" She said, sounding convincing. "If you would have told me that earlier I wouldn't have even thought about going into the forest!" She exclaimed with a small laugh. She was relieved when the woman's face relaxed and looked very relieved. "I am very glad we got that figured out. Please keep your window shut tonight, we don't want any of those wolves to scent you and come in here." Dawn said, more of a tease than anything, the woman got up and walked back to the door. She said goodnight and closed the door as she headed down stairs.

Astrid inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. It made so much more sense now, it all fit! She felt stupid for thinking there were werewolves, now. "How couldn't I think that before." She said to herself with a smile. Tucking into the blankets, Astrid curled up to get some rest. She would still go meet the boy, but she would explain that she understood what was going on. There was no more need for him to explain what was happening. Suddenly, her life seemed to be turning for the better.

It was almost 1:00am when a closing door woke Astrid. She looked up, knowing that someone just left the room, but she assumed it was just Dawn checking up. Quietly, she got up and went over to the window, the sleep evaporated from her eyes almost instantly. It didn't take long for her to get out the window, but this time it needed to be shut again. So once she managed that, it only took one agile leap to reach the soft, dew covered grass that flowed across the yard like a small green ocean. Astrid quickly sprinted to the edge of the fence, jumping it easily and wandering a little ways into the forest. She didn't go far, the thought of the timber-wolves began to startle her a little. "After that conversation with your father, I didn't think you would come." A voice spoke quietly from behind her. Spinning around, Astrid saw the shadowy figure of a boy, with ice blue eyes, facing her. "Look, you don't even need to talk. They told me everything that is going on." She said with a small smile, his gaze didn't flicker from hers at all when the surprise and fear shot through it. "Oh yeah? What did they tell you?" He asked, curiosity edged his voice. Astrid watched as he took a step toward her, they were now only about four feet apart. "They told me about the timber-wolf population that is growing and that they have been howling all this time." She spoke with pure confidence in her voice as her face lit up. But the boy wasn't impressed. In fact he looked angry, which to her, was actually pretty scary. "They lied to you." He hissed through clenched teeth, his ice blue gaze turning cold. Astrid looked at him, confusion flared through her like a raging fire looking for fuel. "If you can go on believing them for one more day..." He whispered to himself, she could barely make out the words. "They were werewolves. They weren't timber-wolves. They all are and are out to mark you. You need to believe me but don't tell anyone. You are in the wrong territory and I cannot protect you here." The boy continued, talking faster. "You are like us, the fever? The convulsions? Happen every time the moon is up and out of the clouds. You are turning slowly... I can't stay here any longer. You will be alone with the change until you seek me, or I can safely seek you." His voice almost turned into a whisper.

Astrid's breaths came shallow and she almost froze when he came closer, his sweet scent flooded over her, she could almost taste it. The warmth of his closeness made her body tingle.

But within heartbeats, he was gone.