Hey!

So, I'm updating today because it's my birthday! Ahhh! Sixteen! I hope you like this chapter - I don't know how I feel about it . . . I might go in and change/edit things! Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!

~ Lissa

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Later that night, after arguing with Drew about sleeping arrangements, which ended with him getting his way again, I found myself sucked into a nightmare.

The wind whipped at my hair and stirred the leaves around my bare feet as I stood in the forest, surrounded by towering trees. The sky was dark, splattered with glistening stars while the full moon hovered above me, casting shadows. It was cold - shivering, my breath came out in white puffs, before disappearing within seconds. Feeling exposed, I looked down, instantly frowning in confusion at the white, silky dress clinging to my body. The thin straps could've easily been pulled off my shoulders and because the dress ended above my knees, if I bent over, I guaranteed somebody was fully capable of seeing underneath.

Rotating in a circle, I glanced around, squinting through the darkness of the trees. The soil was soft in-between my toes, so soft that I buried them in the ground to keep them warm from the arrival of winter. Birds cawed from the branches of trees and in the distance, I heard howls from coyotes. The branches above me swayed with the wind and the rustling of leaves sent chills up my spine. What was I doing in the forest? Confused, I scratched the back of my head, before wrapping my arms around my torso, feeling uncomfortable in the dress.

Then, all of a sudden, the wind stopped.

The whistling of the wind disappeared while the birds stopped cawing and the coyotes stopped communicating. Now, in complete silence, the terrifying thoughts in my head pushed forward in warning. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out - I tried again in hope of somebody hearing me shouting for help, but nothing. Trembling, I brought my hand up to my mouth, dragging my fingers along my bottom lip in fear. What was happening? Why couldn't I speak?

A dark figure flew past me, bumping into my side with enough force that I stumbled backwards into a tree. Frantically, I glanced around, rubbing my shoulder as I staggered away from the tree. Terrified, I whipped around, prepared to take off running through the trees, when someone appeared in the corner of my eye. Slowly, I turned my head, looking at the person with wide eyes. Standing there with a wicked smile on her face was my mother, her head cocked to one side as she stared at me. What was she doing here?

She was supposed to be dead.

"Why didn't you help me?" she asked, swaying from side-to-side. I blinked, staring at her in shock. My dead mother was standing in front of me and she looked exactly how I remembered her with her auburn curls, dark eyes, and petite figure. My eyes flickered to her wrist, instantly landing on her butterfly tattoos that represented my brother and me. Tears pricked my eyes and I choked back a sob; how was she here? Her eyebrows knitted together, before she repeated. "Why didn't you help me?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but once again, no words escaped. She shook her head, rubbing the butterfly tattoos on her wrist. There was so much I wanted to tell her - how I missed her and how everything was falling apart without her around. I reached towards her, desperately wanting to wrap my arms around her again, but she took a step backwards away from me. I frowned and her eyes shifted to someone in the trees, widening with fear. She whimpered, clutching her hands to her chest as tears started streaming down her pink cheeks.

"He's going to kill me!" she cried, stumbling a step backwards. "Nora! Don't let him hurt me! Please! Help me! No!" A branch snapped to the left and I whipped my head around, squinting through the darkness of the trees. I didn't see anybody - I turned my attention back to my mother, gasping at the sight of her. I staggered a step backwards, shaking my head with tears rolling down my cheeks. Blood poured from her nose and purple bruises danced along her skin. Her swollen, black eyes stared at me, helplessly. "He's hurting me! Stop him! Nora!"

Urgently, I moved to take a step towards her, but I couldn't move. Frowning, I looked down at my feet, gasping at the dirty hands locking onto my ankles from underneath ground. The nails dug into my skin and I attempted to wiggle loose, looking at my mother in hope. Who was hurting her? I opened my mouth to cry out, but no sound escaped - I needed to save my mother or else he was going to kill her. More bruises began forming on her bare arms that reached out towards me, shakily. Sticking my hands out in front of me, I tried grabbing hers, hoping to pull her to me, safely. But, just as our cold fingertips brushed, she yanked away.

Her eyes shot to somebody behind me.

Then, with a cry, she took off through the trees.

Mom!

Frantically, I tried chasing after her, but the hands grasping my ankles held me in place. My heart lurched and I clawed at the hands, hoping they'd release me. But, the scratches left behind from my jagged nails, instantly healed and the hands tightened. I heard my mother's panting as she sprinted through the trees, leaping over fallen trees and stumbling over treacherous roots growing out of the ground. Her heart was hammering in her chest and the sound of her blood pumping through her veins sent chills up my spine.

Then, she screamed.

No!

The wind returned, whipping my hair and blowing away the tears streaming down my cheeks. Leaves circled around my legs and the branches above started swaying again, their leaves swooshing. I couldn't hear my mother anymore; not her breathing or racing heart. She was dead - I couldn't save her. It was my fault she was gone; I shook my head in disbelief, just as hot breath appeared on the back of my neck.

I froze, eyes wide.

I craned my head, prepared to peer over my shoulder in fear when somebody came emerging from the darkness of the trees. His black hair brushed his shoulders, blowing softly with the wind. His emerald eyes widened as he took a step towards me, cautiously. I recognized him - it was Caine. He held out a hand, gesturing for me to approach him, but the hands gripping my ankles were keeping me from doing so; didn't he see that? His captivating eyes flickered to the person behind me and he shook his head.

"Nora, you need to get out of here," he said, his voice low. "Leave!" His shout caused birds to flee their branches, circling up in the sky above us. I opened my mouth to explain to him that I couldn't, but no words escaped; the hands tightened even more and I flinched. Finally, his eyes shot to my ankles, instantly narrowing. Then, with anger swarming in his eyes, he shouted, "What did you do!? You stupid girl! You destroyed us!"

I shook my head, frantically.

I didn't do anything!

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back into a warm chest. The hands grasping my ankles released, submerging beneath the damp dirt, finally. I gulped loudly, seeing Caine stumble a step backwards, shaking his head in anger. The arm turned my body around, forcing me to face the person standing behind me. He wasn't familiar; his hair was spiky, black as midnight. He stood tall, about a head taller than me, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His massive build wasn't what terrified me, though; it was his eyes, his red eyes. I opened my mouth to scream, but all that escaped was a weak whimper.

I held my breath as he lifted his hand, placing his fingers on my chest, right below my collarbone. I shivered at his touch and he smirked, his red eyes gleaming underneath the moonlight.

"I've been waiting for you, princess."

Then, I jerked forward in bed, releasing a scream at the burning sensation in my chest.

* * *

I didn't know what was happening - the world was spinning. Black spots danced in my vision, taunting me; seeing Drew's worried face sent chills down my spine. People were shouting, especially Drew who kept shifting me in his arms in hope of me preventing from closing my eyes. For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes; the big bad Alpha was scared. The burning in my chest was increasing as my vision wavered, focused on the lights dangling above in the hallway. I didn't know where he was taking me, but at the moment, I didn't care. I tried pushing myself out of his arms or assuring him that I was okay, even though that was definitely not the case, but I couldn't. Like in my nightmare, I couldn't speak.

Warmth overwhelmed me and as the lights above shined brighter, the pain in my chest started fading. It's okay, a voice in my head assured me, soothing. It's okay. I found myself moaning in response, suddenly calmer by the words. Drew's eyes dropped down to my face, widening when I suddenly grew tired.

"Nora! No, don't close your eyes!" he shouted, though his words were faint to my ears. "Please, sweetheart, stay with me!" I wanted to scold him for his stupid nickname for me or respond with 'dipsh*t', but I couldn't speak.

Next thing I knew, I was overwhelmed with light.

And, the voices around me disappeared.

Stumbling up the front porch steps, I exhaled loudly and grabbed the handle, pushing the door open.

The smell of pumpkin candles shot up my nose, though as I squinted around through the darkness of the living room, I didn't see any lit candles. With my mother's hectic schedule, I assumed she was sleeping, so I walked to the kitchen, quietly. Moonlight streamed in through the windows, stretching across the floorboards and providing enough light for me to see the shapes of furniture. Setting the sacks of groceries on the cluttered counter, I took a deep breath and headed towards the refrigerator to flick on the lights.

But, before I even touched the light-switch, my foot connected with something in my path and I plummeted to the floor, crashing to the ground with a painful thud! I moaned, scrambling away from the object on the floor in confusion. What the. . .? I thought, using the refrigerator door to help myself to my feet. It took me a moment to realize a sticky substance covered my shirt and I touched it, realizing it was warm and thick, like syrup. With a whimper, I dragged my hand along the wall, searching for the light-switch. Something was definitely wrong; a chill shot up my spine in warning as the house grew colder by the second.

Finding the light-switch, I flicked it on and within seconds, the lights above flickered on. My heart stopped and my breath caught in my throat; lying on the floor was my mother, her arms and one of her legs ripped from her body. Multiple puddles of blood were forming around her and I gagged, covering my mouth with my hands. I couldn't breathe - this couldn't be happening. "Mom?" I cried, blinking frantically in hope that I was imagining this. But, no matter how many times or hard I blinked, she remained scattered on the floor in front of me. Tears welled in my eyes as I dropped to my knees at her side with trembling hands. Releasing a whimper, I looked at the bites wound on her her skin and choked back a sob.

"No," I murmured, just as a cold breeze blew softly at my face. I shivered, looking at the sliding glass door leading out into the backyard, which was shattered. Large pieces of glass scattered around from someone - something - bursting through it. "Mommy, y-you can't be. . ." I looked at her pale face, frantically hoping her ripped off limbs would reconnect and her eyes would flutter open, full of life.

I looked through the gap where the door should've been at the tree line of the forest. Squinting, I noticed dark figures shuffling around, definitely not human - almost dog-like. With the four legs and wagging tails, I told myself they were just some runaway dogs, despite the warning tugging feeling in my stomach. My eyes drifted upward towards the sky, praying for a miracle to happen - for this to all be a messed up dream - and at the time, the full moon hovering in the sky didn't mean a thing.

*

"Man, she's fine," a familiar voice came, assuring the one person who I desperately wanted to see - the mate-pull was definitely growing stronger. Judging by the calm voice, it was Cole; honestly, I didn't know whether or not he would've wanted me dead. After all, I smashed a vase on his head, then fought against him when he taunted me. He probably didn't give a sh*t about what happened to me, but considering Drew was his best friend, he was probably concerned for him - for his feelings at the moment. "Come on, you need to sleep. She'll wake up eventually."

"No."

The harshness in his voice surprised me. Chills shot down my spine; was he angry? Cole exhaled loudly, sounding close. "You've been sitting at her side like a guard dog for two days - how about you start taking worrying about yourself, huh?"

I waited for a response, but there wasn't one. It took me a moment to process Cole's words; I had been out for two days? How was that possible? All I did was have a nightmare, which involved a burning sensation in my chest, but how the hell did that make someone unconscious for two freaking days? Knowing that I had been unconscious for two days worried me; a lot could've happened in two days in the world I was living in. What if war begun while I was out? Or, somebody died? I felt a pang in my chest at the possibility.

"Look, if you're not going to sleep, then I'm bringing you up some food," Cole said, his footsteps retreating. "And, if I have to shove the food down your throat, I will." I heard a door open, before close; he had left.

Drew took a deep breath and there was some shuffling, followed by a dip in the bed next to me. I wanted to pry my eyes open, prove to him I was stronger than this, but I couldn't. And, as hard as I tried, I couldn't speak either. I felt warmth on my leg and it took me a moment to realize he was holding my ankle, gently. "I-I don't know how this happened - God, I've never been so scared in my life. I know, you're probably thinking I'm being stupid since we've never been that happy, typical couple, you know? But, you're still my mate, Nora. I c-care for you. . . you're going to hate me when you wake up. I swear, I-I didn't know what else to do! You were close to dying. . ."

My heart was hammering in my chest at his words.

What the hell did he do?

"I'm sorry, Nora," he said, quietly. "My first instinct will always be to protect you." Then, I felt something warm again my forehead - his lips. He kept them there for several moments, almost cherishing the contact. He really cared for me; the mate-pull was definitely pleased. When he pulled away, I expected him to move away, but he didn't. He remained sitting there, holding my ankle and protecting me until I awoke.