The pounding of my heart reverberates like boulders crashing inside my chest, not at all helping the crawling feeling that pricks across my skin from Tarrin's penetrating gaze. I feel my stomach and nerves twist and clash, my breathing becoming shallower as I find myself suffocating in his grief filled, angry, frustrated, saddened emerald orbs. The familiar heat rises to my cheeks as I find myself incapable of even dropping his glare for a second.

Unable to do anything other than stare back at him, my eyes gradually take in his chiseled face set in stone as he tries to prevent several emotions I didn't know he could possess from leaking into his features.

His angled jaw ticks as he grinds his teeth together, clearly expressing his rising temper as well as the growing, throbbing pulse from his aura pressing unpleasantly into my mind. Taking in his face set in an empty, hard expression, my heart wrenches from the amount of hatred and resent that radiates toward me.

"Tarrin she deserved to know."

Brydene's confident, strong willed voice cuts through the silence like a sharpened blade as she stands out of her chair to move beside Kenneth, who settles a large hand on her slim waist reassuringly.

When Tarrin doesn't even blink from the sound of her voice, I begin to think he hasn't heard her in the unsettling, dead silence of the café. It seems every bystander is paralyzed, unable to move, frightened to do anything as if their subtle movements will set him off or end the tension brimmed moment. Without needing to look around at the villagers staring with wide eyes in anticipation of something happening, a thought occurred to me that not many exciting things happen here. When any drama or problems arose, people were quick to get in on the gossip. Wesley had mentioned something earlier that news spread fast around the village and I had no doubt this situation would be the next topic to discuss.

"Tarrin," Brydene hissed, her voice venomous and sharp, clearly angry by his lack of response.

Thinking back to when I first woke up in her house, a small feeling of guilt surges in my gut at remembering how I ignored almost everything Brydene had asked me or commented on. Even though I was scared out of my mind, I couldn't imagine how frustrated and angered she must have gotten, yet she somehow was able to keep her cool.

Now, it was plain to see she is a hair's width from blowing up in Tarrin's face.

My chest cavity crumples as if a bullet punctured through my ribs; his eyes shooting me one last cold glare, before swiftly turning on his heel and briskly walking out the entrance door in a dangerously calm fashion. The throb against my mind suddenly pulls away as it follows him out, relieving my head of the constant burden. I hadn't realized how heavily it was weighing on me until I became slightly light headed when the door swung shut. Watching him through the glass walls of the café, his arms rippled in strain as worked muscles flex to pull himself onto the black stallion's glistening back. The women and men watching from tables set up around the inside of the café suddenly burst to life, bringing up new hushed conversations once Nightmare's figure dashed down the street.

I stagger, struggling to decipher what just happened. Struggling to remove the burning hatred his eyes branded into me. Desperate to know about the hidden meaning behind those loathing filled pools.

"Are you okay Dawn?" Brydene asked attentively, bringing my attention away from the place Tarrin and his mount once had been to lock with her concerning pale gaze.

Words refused to form as I try to piece together the situation. Why he reacted that way. Why didn't he want me to know about his fiancé? Why is he so angered by me knowing? Biting my lip, I disregard her question because honestly, I don't know how to answer it.

"Dawn, this isn't your fault," Kenneth begins, his low voice attempting to sound calming, yet holding a stiff tone that gives away the fact he is more than irritated by the events that played out. He obviously noticed Tarrin's anger was directed at me, and it seems that he regrets his and Brydene's choice of telling me since it now laces his words. "Tarrin has always been this sensitive towards anyone mentioning his fiancé. Her passing wasn't exactly a pleasant recollection," he pauses, clenching his teeth with a hidden broiling anger for a reason beyond my knowledge. His free hand lying on the table constricts into a tight fist, knuckles turning white. "And it greatly affected him, to the point of never being the same person again..." Kenneth trails off, his jaw twitching, the space between his brows furrowing, eyes closing as he struggles to keep his tone even and composure cool. A slender hand finds its spot on his shoulder in comfort as Brydene's face falls into one of sadness. "It still affects all of us, but we have learned to move on and accept the past while he is still stuck in the memory of her," he utters. "Tarrin will inform you about it eventually... when he is ready, of course," he concludes with a saddened smile, although the lack of confidence in his tone and edge to his words makes it very clear I'll never learn about this tragic time in Tarrin's life.

Yet it confuses me as to why my heart sinks at the idea of not being able to understand him better and have that deeper connection with him. The connection of him trusting me.

The pad of Kenneth's thumb rubbing gentle circles on Brydene's hip catches my attention as silence engulfs us. Soon after, I avert my gaze away from the hushed couple solemnly caught in their memories, and find myself drawn back to the spot where Tarrin and Nightmare had fled moments ago down the street behind a few buildings and shops.

My brows pull into a frown and my chest lurches at the thought of Tarrin suffering again, alone in the memories of his fiancé; exactly like he had at Hollow Falls, how he was at the beach. The anguish and torture he was putting himself through was unimaginable. The way his body looked empty of a spirit, as if he was long lost and not able to be found.

Trying to push away the feeling creeping up on me, I fail as concern for the hunter washes over me like an unrelenting tide.

Where is he going?

Is he alone?

Is he okay...?

A few seconds later, I pick up the sound of Brydene whispering in Kenneth's ear to go talk with Tarrin, which is followed by his grunt of agreement saying he needs to inform him of a 'meeting' tonight anyways. The grating sound of his chair scraping across the floor sends my spine tingling as he rises from the table. I hear the quiet sound of Brydene's and Kenneth's lips connecting for a small sweet moment, before they pull away and Kenneth leaves the café in search for where Tarrin has disappeared to.

After Brydene watches her husband leave the café with a pitiful expression, she turns to me, forcing a gleaming smile that enlightens her perfect features. "How 'bout I show you the rest of the shops around Avalin? It will do us both good to forget about this for a while," Brydene suggests lightly, her mood changing abruptly as she vines her now free fingers around the loose end of the rope binding me and waits until I am standing.

I groan as my feet scream bloody murder from walking on them all day on the hard rocky roads. Letting my body melt into the dark brown clothed material of the couch adorning Kenneth and Brydene's living room, I close my eyes and try to ignore the pulsing throb in my soles.

After Brydene had literally dragged me around to every bakery, clothing store, pet shop, and trinket shop in the village, she finally noticed the sky turning darker and my steps falling longer and longer behind her quickened pace. The sharp devil rocks that had dug into my soles from the roads was something I wasn't used to and I could say I miss the moist forest floor cushioning the pads of my feet as I run for miles on end. Being that she actually has shoes, her delicate feet probably are ready for round two at any given moment.

The rest of the day went by quickly as Brydene continued to educate me on random topics to do with Avalin, and even taught me how to play card games like 'Go Fish', which intrigued me to no end. I had gotten to the point of guessing so well, that after the umpteenth game Brydene had gotten too frustrated and insisted she start preparing supper and that I could play Go Fish with Kenneth when he returned. She had left the guest bed with flushed cheeks and a frustrated sigh leaving me to clean up the cards.

Supper came and went, where she cooked us potato soup and chicken breast—which was extremely delicious—and Brydene shyly accepted my compliments of how amazing her cooking was. We sat at the table for another hour waiting for her husband to arrive home for the night and in that time, she continued to educate me on random topics and any easy-going questions that came to my mind.

The topic of Tarrin and the event that occurred earlier was carefully avoided.

Another hour passed and Kenneth still didn't show. By this time, Brydene anxiously ringed out her fingers every few minutes and glanced agitatedly at the clock with trepidation, then to the door which remained stubbornly closed. Every time, she'd stare at the door a little longer as if any second it would burst open and she could run into her husband's warm, waiting arms.

When Brydene urged me to go play with the cards after another half hour of Kenneth's lack of appearance, I was tempted to stay and comfort her since she was overly worked up and stressed over how late it was getting but I obediently listened. It was clear she wanted to be alone.

Brydene also ended up untying me so I could wander around the house exploring things without uncomfortable restraint as long as I didn't try anything. She had kept a close eye on me for a while, before deeming it fit to leave me alone as she hustled around in the kitchen preparing 'desserts' as she called them. Although I knew she was just making them to distract herself from her husband's absence.

A few times, the thought of escaping out the bathroom window occurred to me, or even the front door since I doubted Brydene was strong enough to stop me, but strapped around her waist was a small tranquilizer pistol that Kenneth had given her in a case of emergency with me. At first, he insisted persistently in a suggestive manner, even after she promised him I wouldn't harm her in any way... which after these few days of being around her, is true. With her sweet, kind, harmless nature, I don't think I could bring myself to hurt her in any way.

Yet Kenneth ended up making her at least to carry it around if she was alone and showed her how to load and pull the trigger nonetheless. Many times, I contemplated making a run for it but after many scenarios of what could go wrong playing through my head, I decided against it and was content being with Brydene for the night. It seemed she shouldn't have been alone anyways and me leaving would only make things worse for her.

The rest of the night I tried to play my new favourite game of cards, but soon gave up when I found it didn't work well with one person and Brydene wasn't in the mood to join me. Eventually, I gave up trying to entertain myself and surrendered to my fatigue, dozing in and out of consciousness in the spare bed I had woken up in my first day in Avalin. Brydene had gone to bed a few hours ago and I once again found myself considering getting up and leaving since she wouldn't hear me, nor have a chance to catch me if she did. When I found myself at the front door with my hand on the cool handle, my feet refused to move forwards as I opened the door. The frigid air sucked the breath out of my lungs that were once filled with the sweet, flowery, log scent of Brydene's and Kenneth's home as I stared longingly at the treeline visible a few hundred yards from where I stood. But when the sky long darkened to a starry black background, I was once again curled underneath the warm white covers of the guest bed drifting in and out of sleep.

Hours passed and I kept tossing and turning, lying in the bed adjusting every few minutes to try and get comfortable to no avail. Flipping onto my side, I stare at the clock, watching the hands of the circular object tick by 2am—as Brydene taught me how to read it—when the front door handle rattles loudly. Hinges squeal as the entrance of the house swings open, boots clomping onto the hardwood floor in a stumbling manner. I freeze in my spot, stomach twisting when Kenneth staggers into my field of vision.

My eyes widen in horror at his appearance.

His dark brown hair is messed up terribly; strands sticking out in all directions where other places were matted down from layers of sweat. His left cheek facing me has a fist-size dark bruise forming, as well a trail of dry blood trailing from his nose down to his chin to accompany it. A small, deep cut is slashed on his eyebrow, crusted over with a large amount of blood with smudges all around it as if someone had tried to dab the blood away but deemed it useless. The once nice flannel shirt Brydene made for him is now rugged looking and ripped in places. His entire body sluggish, crumpled, worn, as he kicks off his boots in fatigue, flinging his arms clumsily outwards to balance himself but falters and knocks over a picture frame instead, sending it clattering loudly to the floor.

About to fling the covers off to go aid him, a figure flew out of the hallway from their room with a terrified expression on her face as she takes him in. I stay silent as she gently pokes and prods him, removing his shirt carefully to reveal more bruises forming along his side. When she reaches his face with the tips of her fingers, she gingerly cups his unscathed cheek to turn his head sideways with as much caution as she can muster. A small gasp escapes her lips when she catches sight of the darkening welt on his cheek, his bloodied nose, and the deep cut on his brow.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I bite my lip to hold back any sound when Brydene's muffled, heart wrenching cries meet my ears. Peeking an eye open, my insides churns with unease as I take in Brydene's once confident, tall figure collapsed weakly against Kenneth's battered body.

His arms curl supportively around her thin frame, his face buried into her neck as he supports all of her weight against him; even though he can barely stand himself. Her body quakes as a louder cry is stolen from her throat and penetrates the air, her arms winding around his neck to pull him into her.

I will myself to keep mute as Brydene tries to sober up, her voice barely croaking through the silence as she still attempts not to wake me even though I have been tossing for hours.

"Not again, not again," she repeats meekly, raising her watery eyes to once again take in his injured appearance before losing herself in his gaze. Solely relying on Kenneth to keep her from collapsing, she drops her head against his chest but flinches when he winces at the impact.

"I'm fine, love, really. They are just minor bruises and a cut that'll heal in no time," Kenneth soothes in a hushed tone, his one arm snaking up to braid his fingers within her soft auburn hair, the other holding Brydene upright.

"He can't keep doing this to you. I won't let him," Brydene sobs, her voice gaining an edge at the mention of him. Whoever him is.

"It is my fault, I haven't been able to work recently and I fully knew the consequences," Kenneth explains, massaging her scalp in a loving manner.

"You have been w-working. You are monitoring Dawn."

I stop breathing, skin crawling at the mention of my name.

I was involved in his work?

"You know the work I am talking about, love. I haven't gone out to track that pack with the group since our Dawn arrived, which isn't exactly looked highly upon in his eyes," Kenneth lulls quietly, running his fingers through her hair as he slowly inches their bodies closer to the hallway where their bedroom is situated. "He is getting anxious again with the sudden disappearance of the wolves."

I don't dare to move for fear of them noticing I am not fast asleep. Mentally, I beg for them to stay in the hall so I might be able to overhear them say something that might potentially benefit me.

"Damn him! He treats you guys so awfully, worse than slaves!" Brydene screeches, calming down slightly when Kenneth shushes her not to wake me.

"All will be well, my darling. I am getting paid sufficiently and not only is this job supporting us, but remember, I have a promise to Tarrin as well," Kenneth murmurs in her ear, earning a few sniffles in return. He sighs in relief when she finally calms to a more manageable level.

"Once you have fulfilled that promise you are getting a new job before I kill that man myself," Brydene murmurs angrily, finally unlatching herself from Kenneth's beaten form but keeping his hands firmly fastened in hers.

"Or we can do it together," Kenneth reiterates in a hummed tone, lifting his free hand to tilt her chin up with a gentle pointer finger. His actions done purely out of affection, motions so careful like she was a cracked porcelain doll and the slightest pressure would send her shattering.

As their eyes connect, spark, a small smile tugs at the corner of her lips, a hint of happiness lighting up her discouraged face from his suggestive words.

Instantly, a relieved, heartfelt grin spreads over his beaten face as he stares down at her with an expression bursting with so much adoration and love I feel my body tingle at the sight.

That tingling; the same strange feeling faintly developing within my chest with a meaning I didn't know how to pinpoint.

I urge it to settle.

"I like the sound of that," she murmurs in a compassionate tone, letting her eyes fall shut, tantalizingly reaching up to lock her arms around his neck and haul him into her.

Closing my eyes immediately to not intrude, the sound of their retreating footsteps fall mute as they made their way into the confinements of their room. Silence once again clouds around, enveloping me in a sympathetic hug.

Deeply sighing, I finally allow myself to breath, stretching out my limbs into a more relaxed position. Turning over, the soft comfort of the mattress molds against my bare-skinned back, trying to lull my eyes closed into the inviting depths of darkness.

As if I can fall asleep now.

Thoughts spiralled throughout my mind in a race, sprinting with the small amount of information I had overheard, things about 'him', his authority over the hunters, evident punishments if they haven't gone out to track my family which is their job... me being mentioned as well for potentially being part of Kenneth's job.

Monitoring...

Not only that, but what about this 'promise' Kenneth said he had to Tarrin as well? I couldn't think of a reason so important for Kenneth to keep a job. The purpose of his word was obviously enough to give Kenneth a reason to keep his job, while also being important to him on a personal level.

The covers ruffle as I reach up to run my fingers tiredly through my now knotted hair.

Like hell I was going to fall asleep now.

The next day came and went slowly. Nothing interesting happened since I stayed at Brydene's house all day and she refused to take me into the village because she was tending to Kenneth who I had yet to see after last night. He had stayed cooped up in the confinements of his room all day and Brydene had yet to inform me of what happened last night even though I already knew. Knowing it was useless, I had asked to see him but she adamantly refused in a sudden panic. I didn't press her further on it.

Halfway through the day I had asked if Wesley could come take me somewhere, but she had shot down my hopes when she said all the hunters had to work full time—which was useless since all the Charm wolves were gone for now—for the next few weeks, except for Kenneth. It was a surprise to me since he was punished for not going out tracking for three days, and now he was getting another span of work off to do nothing but heal his injuries. Then again, his injuries were of plenty.

With nothing to do, my day was as dull as the grey sky on a cloudy afternoon.

That night seemed to drag on for eternity. I'd repeatedly wake up to play yet another game of solitaire—a different card game Brydene had taught me in a haste to get back to Kenneth—on their polished wooden floor, before I'd pad into the kitchen to make peanut butter and honey covered bread from the ingredients Brydene left out for morning breakfast. Unskillfully, I had managed to make myself four pieces with uneven amounts of substances on each. The food didn't look appealing at all like how Wesley and Tarrin had made them, but none the less, I wolfed them down and savoured the alien tastes on my tongue.

The next one and a half weeks continued like this. Countless card games, Brydene tending to Kenneth and not paying much attention to me, tossing and turning in bed, aimless wandering around their house until I'd inspected everything in all detail, watching Brydene swiftly work around the kitchen to prepare meals, and lastly, Kenneth never leaving their bedroom since that night.

Not once did Brydene explain to me why he wouldn't come out nor why I couldn't see him, even though I had saw the entire event role out. My questions now centered around who had done it, why they were starting to get ramped up over the lack of Charm wolves' appearances and how they considered me a part of their work now. I understand I am a strange girl they had 'found' in the forbidden Charmed Forest, but for them to officially link me to their work which included my family, it scared me to think they may be considering me to be somehow connected to them.

That is something I need to find out and soon before they can start making irrational guesses of anything else before things get worse than they presently are.

Being stuck in a locked house waiting for something to happen made my skin crawl and the wolf within me howl with the need to be released, pushing against my skin and testing my control to contain the urge to shift. No doubt, this is the longest I had ever gone without shifting into my wolf. I had never gone longer than two days before being captured.

After a total of two weeks being cooped up, I couldn't stand being contained anymore. Glancing at the little hand on the clock, I can see it was just past the 8 symbol. Leaving the cards splayed out on the floor, I haul myself off the floor and trudge over to the front door, pausing when I notice two latches preventing the door from opening. Fiddling my fingers together and biting my cheek, I wonder if Brydene and Kenneth would be upset if I went outside for a bit.

Gingerly reaching up, I jiggle with one of the two locks and jump back in alarm when a popping noise meets my ears. One of the latches unhitch. When the second lock opens after repeating my actions from the first, I enclose my fingers around the cool, silver coloured door knob. Before opening the door, fresh memories of the first time I tried leaving Wesley's home skip through my brain before a twist of my wrist causes the door to creak open unnaturally loudly, bouncing off every surface available causing me to cringe.

After a few more tugs, the rusted door swings open and I am temporarily blinded by the morning sun. Squinting, I close the door as quietly as possible behind me, stepping off their porch onto the gravel path leading to the road before veering to the right onto their lawn.

As my feet touched with the grass, I collapse on my back into the long natural growth and bury my fingers within the strands, completely ignoring the dew that rubs off onto my body.

I never knew I'd miss the feeling of grass.

How the strands tickle my bare skin and kiss every part of my body with their loving tendrils. How alone, a single strand is crushed under my weight but together, they envelope me to embrace my entire being. How the breeze gives them enough motion to brush along my body, whispering sweet nothings as I laze away the day.

I could lie in grass for hours with not a single care in the world.

After who know how long of lying in the grass, soaking in the sun and dazing in the freedoms of my mind, the fine hair on my neck prickles abruptly, and I feel a pair of eyes on me.

Within the moment, I'm crouched on the balls of my feet, hands balancing some of my weight, adrenaline starting to feed into my veins, body ready to launch at my visitor.

Yet I dismiss my anxiousness when my gaze settles on a familiar small girl with golden blonde locks brushing past her thin shoulders and big innocent brown eyes, peeking from behind the short picket fence bordering Brydene and Kenneth's property. Even though I now know the source of my anxiousness, the hairs on my neck still seize to calm down and the tingles down my spine refuse to relax.

A gentle smile tugs on the corner of my lips as I fall back onto my butt, stretching my legs in front of me before crossing them and folding my hands harmlessly in my lap. Cocking my head sideways to analyze the small fawn-like girl, she immediately shies away behind the white fence from being caught, or away from my heavy inspecting stare.

Unsure of what the toddler wants or how to approach her since I have little experience with anything other than wolf cubs, I lie back in the comforts of the grass and close my eyes, feeling her curiosity growing towards me and knowing it'll only be a matter of time before she chooses to confront me. Before she is overcome by her imagination of who I am.

When I hear the skip of rocks across the ground a minute later from shuffling shoes, I know she can't stand her curiosity anymore. Peeking an eye open suddenly, she jumps in surprise and jerks herself back behind the fence to hide, but not before I catch the small hint of a rosy colour tinting her cheeks in embarrassment.

I can't help but let a heart-warming smile spread across my face when seeing her big doe eyes trying to peer at me between the spaces in the fence, before realizing I can still see her and jolting back so all I can see is the sides of her poofy light blue dress not hidden by the fence.

Taking a deep breath, I choose to break the ice first.

"You don't have to be afraid," I assure, sitting up to try and see her reaction although she still refuses to show herself fully. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

More rocks shuffle followed by a dainty small hand appearing, grasping the edge of the fence, with wary, cautious eyes peering around the wood to meet mine.

"Pinky promise?"

Her whisper of a response was unexpected and the barely audible volume of her airy voice clearly shows how uneasy and timid she is around me. Especially without her mother here to drag her away from my view in a shielding manner.

A smile travelled across my lips as I fidget with my fingers not knowing what to say but wanting to analyze her before she hides behind the fence again or leaves. Her light pink coloured shoes grate back and forth against the rocky ground nervously as she stares at me with apprehension, as if waiting for a response. Her puffy blue dress reaches to her mid-calf, accompanied by golden blonde hair bouncing with loose curls against her shoulders. A complete different style than the first time I saw her with her hair pulled into a bun. Fragile fingers curl around the edge of the wooden fence, clenching and unclenching as she stares at me with round, expecting brown eyes that remind me so much of Accalia's.

And in that moment, I'm instantly protective of her.

After a few seconds of awkward silence and no one moving a muscle, it suddenly hit me she said her response as a question. Pinky promise?

Furrowing my brows, I hadn't a clue what to say. What in the world does that mean? Was she trying to get me to promise something terrible? Get a grip, she is just a child.

"Pinky promise?" She repeats, a little more urgent and forceful, her body straining to stay back while also tipping forwards wanting an answer to her awful question.

Taking a slow deep breath before blowing it out, I pull my bottom lip gently between my teeth. Get it together Dawn! Just answer her question! I can only hope this is what she expecting.

"Pinky promise," I answer, observing her form to see if I had responded right.

With a little hesitation, she emerges from behind the fence into full sight and I can't help but notice she has to force herself to stay put under my heavy gaze. Dropping her hand from the fence, it dangles freely at her side before fisting the side of her dress to twirl it, while lowering her gaze to the ground to avoid eye contact. With measured, tentative steps, I hold my breath as she makes her way toward my sitting form.

Slow, cautious steps, driven by her curiosity just like the baby fawn the hunters had killed. She resembles quite like the young offspring and I can't help but adore her a little bit more.

Drawing closer and closer, I unfold my hands from my lap and slowly extend out a hand, palm facing up in an inviting manner; much like how I coaxed the deer to come to me.

Ever so slowly, the girl approaches me, glancing around nervously as if waiting for something to jump out and take her away.

Then, when she is just out of my reach and I am waiting for anything to happen, she bites the inside of her plump cheek and holds her breath, before shoving her little balled hand towards me with an outstretched pinky finger.

Jerking back at the sudden movement and pulling back my hand to my chest, she jumps back a little at my reaction before persistently shoving it back to where it was with her pinky finger extended eagerly, her face set in a determined pucker.

I analyze her awaiting balled fist and look at her questioningly, uncertain of what she wants.

"You pinky promised," she says unwaveringly, her little finger waggling at me as if a small worm waiting to be snatched by a bird. Not knowing what else to do, I lift my hand to hover beside hers, copying her balled fist while extending my pinky out.

Before I can process what is happening, she thrusts her hand towards mine and wraps her little finger around my own and gives it a gentle squeeze before releasing it, retracting her hand to clasp it behind her back with her other.

Still stuck on what just happened, I scan my pinky finger top to bottom wondering what she just did to me.

"Now you promised not to hurt me and you can't go back on a pinky promise. It is not allowed," she explains in a self-assured tone, nodding her head in approval of what she supposedly bound me not to do. As if this 'pinky promise' could prevent me from hurting her.

Not like I would.

"So... what's your name?" She asks shyly, circling the tip of her pink shoe in the gravel to draw nothing in particular, while occasionally stealing a glance at me to see my reply.

Watching as she twists her hips in an innocent, slightly nervous manner to get her dress to swirl around her, she leans forwards, cocking her head to get a better look at me with those large, questioning brown orbs.

"Dawn, what's yours?" I inquire, more than happy to learn more about this little girl who is just bubbling with questions I can see are on the tip of her tongue.

"Lilith. But you can call me Lily if you want... I like that too," she gushes, standing back up as her cheeks heat up to a rosy pink and she stares down at her shoes, glancing at me to continue the conversation. But I don't get very far as she cuts me off the rattle of another question.

"So is it true you come from the Charmed Forest?" Lilith pipes, eagerness evident in her voice to see if the things she's heard of me are true. Her swirls of brown meet mine once again and I try to suppress my irritation of the topic already arising and knowing where I come from isn't a safe thing to talk about to these humans. Even if it is just a child eager to learn more about a strange girl showing up to their village who is so rumoured about.

"Yes, Lily," I answer, not wanting to indulge further on that, until my heart plummets into my stomach when seeing her hopeful face fall at the lack of information.

Biting my lip, I briefly consider the consequences of telling her more, before deciding to do so. She is just a child. What can I have to lose? It isn't like I will tell her I am a half breed, just the basics.

"I have lived in the Charmed Forest all my life, from a baby to where I am now," I continue, seeing the excitement once again appear in her eyes that lights a warm fire under my heart that encourages me to keep going. "It is a wonderful place to live and is nothing like here in Avalon. You get to explore the land as far as the eye can see and live alongside all types of animals like birds, chipmunks, rabbits, deer, elk... anything you can imagine! There are no boundaries out there. Only your imagination can tell you how much you can do, how far you can run, or what you can see and explore..."

As I continue to talk about where I live, the delight and eagerness in her eyes continues to flicker and grow, soaking in everything I have to offer and then some. Not only is she losing herself in my words and letting her mind run wild, but my chest tightens with longing to go back to the paradise I left a while ago.

My breath suddenly caught in my throat at the idea that it might be close to the first full moon soon. Almost halfway until my family returns home. Halfway until Father will realize I'm not there if I don't get back before the second full moon.

I still have time...

"That sounds amazing! I wish I could live there... I've always wanted to see a bunny in real life. The only ones I've ever seen are the ones the hunting group brings back for the village, but they are always in the after-life as mommy tells me."

Lilith's inquiring, gentle voice brings me back from my wandering thoughts and I meet her chocolate brown depths with a small smile, forcing my serious thoughts to vanish for the time being.

"Can I ask you something else?" Lilith asks, crouching down low to steady herself before plopping down cross legged in front of me, entwining the grass between her fingers and meeting my eyes once more.

"Anything," I respond lightly, hoping it won't be absolutely anything.

She holds my gaze nervously, her eyes flickering between mine for a few moments, contemplating whatever her question is that is tumbling around in her head, urging her to just let it out.

With a timid 'uh', she finally asks, "Why is everyone here so afraid of you?"

My breath is stolen from my throat like a constrictor wrapped around my neck.

She really had a knack for anything.

Definitely hitting a sore spot from the beginning of my arrival here. A question I knew the underlying answer to that I hate admitting. An answer that meant meaning I don't fit in anywhere. Not with the wolves, not with animals, not with humans.

"Because I'm different."

I immediately feel bad as my words cause her to shrink away from my harsher tone, yet I don't regret my answer. It is something that just goes along with that question. A simple answer I have now come to terms with.

Hence why I am here rather than with my family up North.

Twiddling her thumbs, I can easily see she still wants to explore further into the topic despite my snap of an answer.

With the heat returning to her cheeks to change them to a light pink, Lilith timidly looks back up to my face set in stone and winces at the expression she caused. Yet she continues anyways.

"I don't think you're different..." She trails off, dragging her hand lightly through the grass absentmindedly, watching as the blades tickle her skin and move along the length of her fingers.

"Well I am," I snap, cutting off any further things she may want to say or ask.

More than you could ever know.

"Is it because of your eyes?" She pipes directly, forgetting her fingers to look back up to me with cluelessness to my clear indications to drop the subject.

"In simple terms, yes."

This conversation needs to end, now. Red flags were going off everywhere in my mind, screaming at me to stop answering her questions since they were coming dangerously close to important secrets not needing to be accidentally revealed.

Yet her inquiring deep brown spheres and eagerness about me seem to bend me to her will. The opposite of what Accalia does to me since I am able to get her to do everything with me, good or bad. East Point View is a valid example.

"How did you get them?"

Clenching my teeth, I refuse to answer.

"It comes with what I am," I murmur, blurting it out with distaste on my tongue before I can stop it. And once it is out, I know the question about to following it. Dropping my glower to the grass-covered ground so it isn't directed at her innocent, friendly self, I knew I screwed up.

Now you've done it.

"What are you?"

There it is. The question all of the people in Avalin would love to know and the question the hunters would die to find the answer to.

"I can't answer that," I say sharply, careful to make sure she understands the urgency in my voice. The need for her to see that is as far as I am willing to go with these series of questions and answers. My stomach churning is a clear indication this little girl has struck some major cords within me and I wasn't sure I wanted to think about the things she mentioned.

A small hand suddenly enters the corner of my vision and I'm about to move away from it, but I find I can't and no sooner do I feel a warmth upon my cheek, seeping into my skin and flooding my senses with her purity and kindness. Leaning forwards, her blonde curls barely tickle my skin as her lips find their way mere inches from my sensitive ears.

"Well whatever you are, I think it is a good kind of different," she whispers softly, sending my heart swirling with a strange sensation.

Before she has a chance to say anything else, she is ripped from my proximity.

"LILITH WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!" Her familiar, terrified mother screeches, yanking her away by her upper arm, nearly dragging her away down the path so rushed Lilith fumbles to get her feet underneath her.

"Mommy it is fine! She won't hurt me! We pinky pro-"

"She is dangerous, Lilith! She isn't like us!" She scolds, cutting her off as she burns her eyes into me as if I killed her child.

Before Lilith can object, her mother stops and shoves her behind her tan coloured dress blocking her from my view, and steadies her fuming eyes onto my slightly alarmed ones at the sight of her handling Lilith like that. With her lips set in a stern purse, teeth jamming together and arms holding Lilith in place sheltering her from me, she fully turns her wrath I knew was coming onto me.

"I never want to see you around my child ever again! You don't belong here and you never will. You should just leave to that blasphemy of a forest and never come back, you... devil!" She shrieks, shooting one last hate-filled glare that sizzled through my body before pivoting on her heel and storming off with Lilith trying to persuade her otherwise of me.

As I watch her storm off down the path onto the gravel road, I knew I could've said something, done something, anything to try and help Lilith out of this, convince the mother I am not all that bad... but what is the point in something so useless? Nothing.

And now I sit here, mulling over everything that just played out; me finally feeling grass underneath me once again, meeting Lilith and her unrelenting, uncensored questions toward me, my answers back, her last words to me, her mother's harsh words before dragging her off to get further scolded and now me, back to being alone with the many tendrils of grass.

Except, even though Lilith is now gone with her outraged mother, I notice the hairs on the back of my neck refuse to settle and my spine still tingles with the feeling of being watched.

I nearly jump out of my skin as the door to Kenneth and Brydene's house slams open, rattling the house in an aftershock and I swivel my head so fast my neck cracks uncomfortably.

"Grab the rope and call the hunters! She can't have gone f-"

Kenneth's words halt in his throat as his dark blue eyes settle on my relaxed form sitting on his lawn. Not having tried to escape. Not at all gone.

I continue to stare as does he with a flabbergasted expression, jaw slack and hanging open, rippling arms carrying a large black gun with little red feathered tranquilizer darts clipped onto the side of the deadly weapon, eyes scanning over me in bewilderment as if he can't believe I am still here.

Right under his little hunter's nose.

A small smirk threatens to plant firmly on my face knowingly, but I refrain.

"I called the hunters and have the rope, where do you thi-"

Brydene rushes out of the house, abruptly running into Kenneth's solidly built back only to peek around and see me which morphs into the same dumbfounded facial features.

Except she doesn't waste any time.

"Dawn!"

Within seconds, she comes sprinting down the porch and launches herself at me, winding me as she bowls me over so I land on my back in the grass with an 'oomph' with her half on top, half beside me. Her arms desperately cling around my neck as she presses her face into my neck, saying something so heartfelt I feel a flutter under my ribcage.

"You didn't leave... I'm so glad," she whispered with so much emotion hanging on her words like she did to me, before unlatching herself and pushing away from me with a sheepish smile and a guilty appearance crossing her perfectly flawless features.

"Although I am quite surprised," Kenneth murmurs skeptically, released from his speechless spell as he comes to stand over Brydene and I. I flicker my gaze up to Kenneth who towers over us, smiling at the fact his voice still holds a small hint of happiness to it with the fact I hadn't left. At my grin, he soon bares one of his own to mirror it.

"But delighted nonetheless," he comments with a chuckle, slinging the large tranquilizer gun onto his back with ease as it lands with a thump. Reaching up to rub his jaw with fresh stubbles of hair, I can't help but notice the once purple, welting bruise on his left cheek is gone without a trace and the deep cut on his brow was nicely stitched up and well on its way to healing.

Seeing him standing tall and confidently in front of me definitely made my day better and the pit of unease about his welfare I had, subsides greatly.

"We better get back inside and call the guys to tell them it was a false alarm... They won't be too impressed with this," Kenneth mutters, running his fingers through his light brown hair, about to head inside before the rumble of the ground jostles beneath me and the clopping of hooves rackets inside my ears getting louder with each passing second.

"It seems they are already here," Brydene grumbles, clambering off the ground to brush off her dress, fix her auburn hair and help me up, clearly irritated with their arrival even though she had called them in the first place.

In a ruckus, four horses came to a standstill in front of their property with four prepared hunters accompanying their muscular backs. All equipped with different weapons with the purpose of capturing my escaping self, who now stands with crossed arms eyeing the hunters and instantly recognizing Wesley's worried stunning hazel eyes seeking my own and having relief wash over them like a rushing tide at seeing me. Like I am the only thing that matters to him at the moment.

Holding my gaze for a moment too long, Brydene clears her throat awkwardly which makes a familiar heat creep to my cheeks as I continue skimming down the line of hunters on horseback.

Christopher is currently cocking a brow at Kenneth with an adorning look of 'you just wasted my time since she is standing right there', and beside him, a man I have never seen before with brown short hair and dull auburn eyes unnerving me in a way I don't like. The way his jaw clenches as he takes me in, sizing me up in the way an enemy would to his next opponent; his muscles tensing, as if he is itching to grab his gun from his belt and plant a bullet straight through my head.

Glancing at the last hunter who came, I locked eyes with the same intimidating man with green spheres much like Tarrin's that Wesley and I had run into after I was almost crushed by the horse and cart, looking me up and down with a hungry gaze I'd rather not know what meaning it held. A suggestive smirk quirked his lips once meeting his predatory stare with my own glare, creating a small dimple on his cheek I wanted to slam my fist into.

Seeing my features morph to anger building towards that man, Wesley swiftly dismounted his horse with precise ease and came to stand in front of me, blocking my view of the excuse of a man with his breath taking white smile and hazel eyes instantly calming me.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Dawn. Especially when you aren't running away from us," Wesley teases, shocking me when he reaches toward me to pull a blade of grass from my messy hair, before gently trailing the pad of his thumb down my cheek with a wake of sensations following.

Hoping no one noticed his strange actions, I spare a fleeting glance around and am horrified to see them all staring wide-eyed at him. The green eyed man's orbs darkening with envy and desire, shooting daggers into Wesley's back, while Brydene, Kenneth and Christopher all gawk at him incredulously, eyes wide with disbelief before masking over with alarm. As for the man lodging glares into me like knives, he seemed as if he could care less and only wanted to wrap his twitching hands around my neck.

"N-nice to see you too," I stutter uncomfortably while backing up out of his touch to try and put some distance between us. Dropping my gaze to the grass matted ground fresh with dew, I'm stunned into silence by the remnants of tingles webbing across my cheek from his thumb causing a new wave of flustered blushing to overcome me. Daring to flicker my gaze up at him, I take in a his jaw twitching and a slight appearance of hurt flashing across his beautiful hazel eyes, before being masked with that butterfly emerging smile and eyes shining with an emotion I can't decipher.

"Well, since Dawn is obviously not escaping, I have work I need to attend to and food awaiting me at home, so I'll see you guys later!" Christopher dismisses in a chippy, yet irritated tone for being dragged out here for nothing. Going to wave goodbye, Kenneth halts him with a pointed stern look that instantly causes his frame to go rigid and concern crease his brow in confusion.

"Since we are all here except for Tarrin, I need to speak with the group anyways," Kenneth states calmly yet authoritatively, turning to shoot Brydene a keen look to take me away. Coolness slips within my hand as slim fingers entwine within my own and I'm tugged away from Wesley who watches me leave with a lingering gaze that makes my heart thump heavily.

Once far enough away, I hear Kenneth's voice start speaking in a hushed urgency. "I have gotten a call and we have another meeting tonight. I assume you will all-"

I am cut off from their conversation when the door suddenly slams shut behind me, rattling their house as Brydene swivels around to stare at me with glaring pale blue eyes, accusing me of something I didn't know of. Hands on her hips, brows scrunched, lips pursed and gaze set in a scowl directed at me, I jerk back at her sudden change of attitude.

What got into her?

"Do you realize what you just put me through when I came out this morning to see you weren't here?!" She seethed in an uptight tone, throwing her arm in the direction of the living room. Following her gesture, I see an empty bed I once occupied with rumpled white covers strewn to the foot of the mattress and hanging off the edge.

Oh... That's why she is upset.

"I'm sorry," I apologize sincerely, my voice smaller than I anticipate as I lock eyes with hers, startling me when I see them filled with hurt. Fiddling with the smooth waistband of my shorts, I try to muster up a small apologetic smile that turns into a wince when she instantly shoots it down with her stark features.

"A sorry doesn't cut it," she snaps in a clipped tone, almost pout-like as she crosses her arms over her full chest before adverting her gaze elsewhere. She shuffles on her feet and repositions her arms agitatedly again as she observes the picture frame Kenneth had knocked down that night, deep in thought.

It is clear she has more to say and the words were only a second away from spilling from her mouth.

"I thought you were gone," she says in a quiet whisper, dragging her suddenly glassy eyes back up to meet my shocked ones affected by her words. My body tenses under her teary gaze, throat closing, chest compressing, stomach swirling with discomfort at the amount of emotion held within her pastel orbs securing my being in place.

I know what that look means.

I had seen it countless times before.

I can't let her in...

She watches my every move with scrutinizing detail, trying to dissect what my thoughts and reaction mean but becomes frustrated when I give off nothing.

Biting her plump bottom lip in trepidation, her watery eyes flicker to my hands momentarily before reaching out to grasp both my hands and I am suddenly hauled into her thin frame. She wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her face into my neck as her body gives a soft shake followed by a sniffle.

She's crying...

My pulse seemed to pick up, hammering against my ribcage as she almost desperately clings to me, tightening her grip around me as if I'd slip away if she'd loosen her hold, yet I don't do anything.

I'm stuck speechless, panicked, terrified at what this means and I can't bring myself to comfort her soft sobs reaching my ears like distressed mewls of an abandoned offspring crying for its mother to return.

I do nothing but force my hands to lie loosely at my sides, arms limp but itching to reach around her thin frame and comfort her quivering body. Eyes staring straight ahead, I try to ignore her, not let her get to me when she doesn't even know how close she it to just that.

But at the sound of her cracked voice, my self-control begins to crumble like rocks continuously battered by relentless crashing waves.

"I know I shouldn't, I know I am not allowed... But I can't help it, you somehow managed to wiggle your way in anyways and now it is your fault. Your fault I've grown attached to you and now I can't bear to lose you... You mean too much to me, Dawn" she says while tightening her arms around my neck, her words broken with heavy heartfelt words that weigh on my conscience.

Squeezing my eyes shut and balling my hands into fists, I try and control my need to give her back the affection she was giving to me; the same affection my family surrounds me in every day. Yet they weren't here to give that to me.

I hate to admit that Brydene is filling up a small portion of the hole in my chest from the past few weeks that my pack had taken with them up North.

It scares me a human has been able to do this.

It terrifies me it is a human closely in connection to the hunters who brutally killed Mother that has now found a place in my heart and I feel the growing urge to protect her and keep her safe like I would my family.

With trembling, unsteady hands and a voice in my head screaming at full volume to for me to stop, I unfurl my hands, raising them before they settle upon the comforting feel of Brydene's smooth back not covered by her dress underneath my skin.

She relaxes against my hand as if waiting for its reassurance. As if that one touch was enough to let her know I felt the exact same way.

Warmth instantly flooded my senses as my hands wove around her, pulling her tightly to me as I press my face against her shoulder, breathing in her sweet scent that lulled my anxious senses; that eased my mind and doubts of pushing her out.

---------------------------

IMPORTANTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

I am terribly sorry.

Very. Terribly. Sorry.

I cannot even ask for your guy's forgiveness.

SOO much has happened and this school semester was absolutely dreadful and I had been caught up with it all.  I would tell you guys everything but you guys probably don't have time for that and it is too long of a list.  One of those reasons includes me hitting an all time low and was swamped with everything around me.  But I am much much much better now and summer is here!
 

WHICH ALSO MEANS I START WRITING AGAIN!

I have made this update especially long for you guys and I hope it isn't annoyingly long and it makes up for the 1/10000000 things I owe you...

Also thank you guys so much for 6.93k reads!!! I am so happy and all your guy's comments and demands for me to update have honestly pushed me to make time to write... so thank you so much <3

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed the chapter as well :)

Happy Reading ^_^

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