ECHO

I felt the night breeze against my cheek and took a deep breath. It was pretty cold tonight and I was thankful I choose the outfit that would keep me warm.

While on the other hand, my two girlfriends were not bothered about the weather for they wore outfits that barely touched their knee. Well folks, those were the perks of being a werewolf.

"You can still be one, Echo," whispered a voice in my head.

Shaking my head and getting rid of those thoughts, I tried to focus on the people ahead of me.

I admired their outfits and was slightly jealous because they could pull it off well and I couldn't.

Molly wore an off white, cold shoulder dress that hugged her curves perfectly and brought out the green in her eyes. She looked stunning.

Thankfully, Molly didn't force Gems to wear the pink dress otherwise she would be dead right now – metaphorically. She wore a light green summer dress that flowed below her hips. She paired it with black boots which made her seem innocent yet badass.

"Babe, are you riding with us?" asked Molly.

"Uh-"

"No, she isn't. She's coming with me," Arlo interrupted.

Molly raised an eyebrow at him and then looked at me, but I just shrugged. I didn't know what was up with Arlo and decided to play along instead of asking too many questions.

All of a sudden he was all broody and closed off. I could feel that something was bothering him, but I didn't want to push because it was the one thing he had asked me to not do. And he doesn't ask much.

I figured I should respect his boundaries here. When the time was right, perhaps, he would let me in.

"I am driving and don't you whine," Gems gave Molly a stern look and Molly being herself, she flipped the bird.

I laughed at the two of them and their silliness. They might argue and fight, but deep down, they loved each other. They were like sisters whose bond was the strongest.

My heart sank as I saw them bicker because it made me think about home and my younger sibling.

"Echo?"

"Are you okay?" Arlo asked and I simply nodded not realizing that a tear slid down my face.

"I'm okay. Let's go," I assured him and put on a brave smile.

He pursed his lips and gave me a hard look before looking away and handing me a helmet.

I climbed onto the back of the motorcycle and put my arms around as I always did. He smelled like home, as people put it.

He tensed up for a moment and then his body relaxed before pulling out of the driveway. Molly and Gems were already ahead of us.

The whole ride to the club, Arlo didn't utter a word. For the first time, this silence was uncomfortable. And to make it worse, I was a nervous mess.

Being around creatures that ruined my whole life was not my idea of a fun night. Not in a million years would I have agreed to go, but those silly brats used my words against me and I couldn't ignore it – mostly because they were right as well.

The closer we got to the edge of town, the faster my heart started to beat.

"Calm down, Echo. Nothing will happen," Arlo shouted over concern etched in his voice.

"Just close your eyes and focus on your breathing."

And I did just that. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out everything else.

It helped a little for a while, and then it didn't.

As soon as Arlo pulled the brakes, I held him even tighter. I didn't have it in me to go inside and face all those wolves whether or not they knew about it.

I had tried to be brave and strong all my life. But at every turn, I was knocked down. Hard. And by none other than the wolves of my pack and my own family.

Safe to say, they ruined my mental space big time.

I wasn't scared for myself, but for my friends. It wasn't that I couldn't defend myself, I could, very well, but what came after the nervous energy passed was haunting.

I was very much the animal that wolves were, but my anger and hatred were directed towards them. All I could see was red followed by chaos.

So, I not only hated my family, my pack and the whole of werewolf kind, I loathed myself too.

Arlo tried to unwrap my hands from his torso and after several attempts, I complied.

I got down from the motorcycle, unclasped my helmet and took a deep breath.

He followed suit.

The club was called Vortex. Its sign was plastered just above the entrance in neon blue lighting.

My hands were clammy and tried to wipe it off with every step I took towards the club.

All of a sudden I was pulled back.

"What the hell?"

I turned around to find that it was Arlo and his hand held my wrist in a tight grip making it hurt.

Instantly, as if hearing my thoughts, he let go and raised his hands up that showed he meant no harm.

"I apologise, kiddo, but you weren't listening when I called out."

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

He didn't call my name. I was sure of it.

"Are you sure you are okay? You don't seem to be."

"Speak for yourself, Arlo. What's going on with you?" I stated and crossed my arms waiting for him to talk.

All he did was sigh and shake his head.

"It's nothing."

"It's definitely not nothing," I scoffed.

"Echo, just trust me, okay?"

"Not before you tell me what's going on. You've been acting weird since before we left the house. Something is bothering you and I would appreciate it if you didn't hide – especially if it's something concerning all of us and our safety."

Arlo looked away, not meeting my eyes. It seemed as if he was having an inner turmoil and couldn't decide what to do. But as minutes passed by, he finally gave in.

"I-I have heard things about this pack."

"What things?"

"It's the Bloodrose Pack," he stated and looked straight at me as if I was supposed to know something.

"Am I missing something here?" I asked confused.

"Echo, the Bloodrose Pack is cursed. And the Alpha who runs the pack is the most ruthless of all. I had just heard stories of the curse passed down from our ancestors and also about a legend. I didn't know that this was their territory otherwise I would have never gotten us here."

I had no words.

I didn't want to believe a bunch of stories, but I did and it scared me because all color had drained from Arlo's face. He had never been scared of anything, but the mere name of the pack had him shook.

"Just be careful, Echo. Don't wander off and don't leave my side."

All I could do was nod.

Confusion and questions swirled in my head, but there was no turning back tonight. We had to walk through that door, into a room filled with werewolves and the most ruthless Alpha there ever was.

As we neared the entrance, Arlo told me that the two bouncers were wolves, but he also caught a whiff of human scent. That meant the club was not only filled with werewolves, but humans too. Great.

The two huge burly bouncers eyed me with a questioning look on their face.

"We are here to meet the Alpha. Stone, your Beta, has arranged a meeting tonight," Arlo said curtly.

One of the bouncers seemed to mindlink someone, probably the Beta because the next moment, we were allowed to go inside.

"Where are the girls?" I asked Arlo because they weren't there when we arrived.

"They probably are inside," he shouted over the loud music playing inside.

I could feel almost everyone's eyes on me as Arlo guided me towards the bar. I wished the ground would just swallow me up and put me out of my misery. But hey, tough luck.

We were about to order our drinks and text the girls when someone tapped Arlo on his shoulder.

"You Arlo?" asked a guy.

He had a deep, but playful voice. Dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with ruffled hair, he looked quite handsome. This guy could easily be in his late twenties.

"Yes, and you are?" Arlo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am Stone," he said with a smirk.

Hearing his name, I quickly turned my back to the both of them. I was going to avoid the high ranking people as much as I could.

But sadly, fate had other plans for me when Stone spoke to me directly.

"And who might this beautiful lady be?"

"None of -,"

"She's with me," Arlo interrupted before I could get the words out and ruin everything.

"She's human." He said as confusion laced his voice.

"And that's a crime?" I questioned him.

"No. Just unusual."

He looked at Arlo and said that the Alpha would be arriving any minute and that he should follow him upstairs to the VIP room.

Without another single glance at me, Stone turned his back and walked away towards the stairs at the other end of the club.

"Go. Don't worry about me."

"Text Molly and ask them to meet you here. I get a feeling that we aren't too welcome here," Arlo pointed it out.

"You got one thing right."

He waited for me to say something else, but when I didn't he left in the direction Stone did. My gazed followed him until he got lost in the sea of sweaty bodies dancing at the beat of the song.

Out of nowhere, I chill ran down my spine that made me shudder. So I ordered a shot and downed it pretty quickly, but I still felt restless.

Neither Molly, nor Gemma had returned any of my texts and I was quite close to walking out the door.

I scanned the crowd looking for them, but it was in vain. I didn't have clear night vision anymore, just the human one.

My eyes travelled from one end of the club to another and finally landed on the VIP room that overlooked the club.

My gaze locked with a pair of cold blue eyes andit knocked the air out of me. Suddenly everything and everybody seemed to fadeaway leaving me at the mercy of those blue eyes.

-

A/N:

Whew.

This was a lengthy one, but I hope that you guys like it. Let me know if you prefer short or lengthy chapters.

Who do you think those cold blue eyes belong to?

I am loving all the comments that you guys are leaving! Thank you for supporting me!

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Love,
Grace Clarke xo