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Damon had to physically pull me outside the door of the cabin. I no longer had the brain power to tell my body to put one foot in front of the other to walk. Cold air hit my face. It helped wake me a bit, however, I’d become numb inside. I could understand how a prisoner on death row felt on his last walk to the chamber. I shook my head to try to physically clear the fog out of my brain. I needed to focus and try to come up with something, anything. I had to fight.
Michael. His name made tears spring instantly to my eyes. I barely got to say good-bye to him yesterday. He had no idea how much I loved him or what he had done to bring color back into my life. I had spent the past eighteen years in shades of grey and black.
I had to wipe my tears with my shoulder when Damon grabbed my wrists and tied them together in front of me, with a rope trailing from them. I looked up confused. “Why? You never bothered binding me in the cabin?”
“I'm not having one of my so-called brothers claim my prize.” He started walking through the trees, giving the leash I was now tied to a hard tug now and again. Like a slave to his master.
Tears continued to course down my face, as I trailed behind him. I couldn’t stop Damon or figure out a way to live. Crying just helped feed the hopelessness.
I cried for everything I was going to miss out on with Michael. There was so much I wanted to know about him I would never get to learn. I would never get to share my life or experience anything with him. I should have told him how it felt to be with him. How we could talk, not just speak to each other. We connected as if we belonged together, like the Siorghra’s eternal love.
Damon yanked the rope, forcing me to keep up. I stumbled, almost falling, when a new wave of sadness hit me. Grace. I bit into my lip to try and stop the tears, which didn’t help because it broke open the cut Damon had given me earlier. I spat the iron taste out, the color bright crimson in the snow.
“Rouge!” Damon slapped my face hard enough to spin me around. I would have fallen if he hadn’t tugged the rope which forced me to stay upright. Pain shot from my nose and up into my eyes. More blood dripped, this time from my nose. I tentatively touched it with my bound hands, scared it might be broken. Thank goodness it wasn’t.
“Either start walking or I'll break your legs and actually have a reason to drag you.” Damon’s eyes darkened to a murky brown color.
I straightened, realizing the alcohol might be wearing off and he could change into a Grollic if he wanted to. I grew cold with fear and began to shake. Somehow, deep inside, I wasn’t prepared for him to shift, like an inner sense wanted me to wait for the right moment. Whatever that means... maybe after I die.
I carefully nodded. “Sorry. I'll walk now.” I knew enough from past life experiences that simple apologies and weak commitment might be adequate to avoid more violence. Pretending to feel bad and submit probably saved my legs from being broken. He turned and started walking again. I made sure to concentrate on following him.
As we walked through the almost knee-high snow, I tried to wipe my nose with the shoulder part of my sweater. The drops of fallen blood in the snow looked crimson compared to the brilliant white. My lip seemed to have stopped bleeding, and the blood from my nose slowed its rapid flow as well. I couldn’t pinch it with my hands tied, so I tried pinching it with the inside of my elbow.
The sky was still a dull grey color, but in a few lighter shades. An eerie quiet filled the leaf-less forest. I could hear the odd twig break to the left or right of us every once in a while, but saw no one. When a loud crack echoed to my left, a huge, ugly grey Grollic appeared. Its hideousness made me shutter. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of another to my right. They were probably flanked all around us to prevent Michael or anyone else from trying to rescue me.
We continued to hike around the lake but stayed inside the forest line. I wondered if walking by the frozen lake would leave the Grollics vulnerable to Michael’s family. A strange thought crossed my mind. Is there something about water Grollics don’t like?
Damon stopped when a very low and long howl erupted ahead of us – like a trumpet sounding. Damon pressed one knee to the ground, his head bowed and then stood. “My Alpha’s approaching in Grollic-form.” He shook himself and straightened his crumpled clothes. “If you care to live with hope of saving yourself or the Knightlys, don’t you dare look him in the eyes. He’ll kill you without a moment’s hesitation.” He leaned forward and freed my wrists from the tied rope digging into them.
More Grollics ret out the same howl as the first. We stood by a large tree. I leaned back against it for support, too tired to care if Damon bitched. Suddenly he dropped to one knee again and this time he didn’t get up, or look up. My heart rate quickened as anxiety flowed through my veins. Searching every direction, I tried to spot what might be coming. The air grew heavy, like just before a thunderstorm. My breath caught in my throat from movement in the snow straight ahead.
At first I could barely make anything out, but as the trees became thicker the white fur became prominent against the bark. Moving at a speed which seemed impossible for any man or animal, the silhouette matched Damon’s when he’d shifted.
Running towards us strode a terrifying, yet awesome creature. He was bigger than Damon, actually he made Damon look like a runt. The snow didn’t shine nearly as much as the beast’s coat and his eyes were a ruby red color. About twenty feet from us he slowed and rose to his hind legs... then walked like a normal human being, but still a Grollic. The beast had to be seven or eight feet tall. I jumped when he let out a guttural bark and stopped inches from Damon.
Damon rose slowly and leaned away from me. The Alpha ignored him and walked straight to me. His eyes narrowed and focused in on me. I tried to avoid meeting his gaze, as Damon had instructed, but I couldn’t. The Grollic cocked his head to one side and stood inches away. He stared down, his hot, putrid breath slapping my face.
He had to weigh three hundred pounds, maybe more. He was massive, with not a speck of dirt on his white fur.
Craning my neck, I couldn’t turn away even if I tried. The bright red of his eyes reminded me of blood, and I saw my reflection in them.
The beast made a noisy, wet sound as he inhaled. I cringed when his cold nose pressed against my neck and paused to smell the blood on my coat. I pressed myself closer into the tree trunk without even realizing until the rough bark scraped my cheek.
The Grollic stepped back and moved around the ancient tree. A second later he appeared on the other side in human form, completely naked. He must’ve been about fifty, extremely fit, white hair and the same birthmark as Damon just below his clavicle on the left side. His mark appeared darker and raised, almost as if burned onto his skin.
“This the one?” He looked at Damon.
I now had no problem avoiding my gaze. He’s apparently oblivious to the cold and snow.
“Yes.” Damon’s head bobbed up and down.
“All this trouble for her?” He snorted and threw his hands up in the air. “It's weak and female! You’re positive she’s the seventh?”
“Seventh generation. Seventh descendent. Seventh of Bentos.” Damon bounced up and down with each syllable. I wished I could wipe the grin off his face.
“Does the demon’s offspring know?”
No, they’ve got no clue.
Damon scratched his birthmark. “She had no clue. If they know, they kept it from her.”
They don’t. Michael would’ve told me. Then why was I wondering if it might be true?
“Scoundrel,” he scoffed. “Will they fight for her?”
“The twins will without a doubt. We're not so positive about Caleb. He’s not too keen on the girl.”
The Alpha leaned forward and slapped Damon across the face. Hard. Really hard. Howls erupted and glancing around, I nearly jumped up the tree to climb it. My heart exploded into rapid beating. The other Grollics had formed a semicircle around us. I hadn’t noticed their approach. I’d been too focused on the Alpha. They were not as huge as the Alpha but big like Damon, and all different shades of ugly.
“Insolent!” the Alpha shouted at Damon. “I will not fight unless their Alpha is here! Why send for me if you're not sure?”
Damon cleared his throat. “We – I believe – Caleb will protect his understudy.”
“And this girl, she is the offspring of Bentos? Without a doubt?” He asked the question again to Damon. Would a Grollic lie to his Alpha? How tight were their bonds?
Even in naked human form, the Alpha was terrifying. He charged toward my still frozen frame near the tree and grabbed my chin. Forcing my head left then right, he dropped his hand in disgust. “She stinks. Like liquorice. Her bloods tainted.” He spat. As he spun around he swung back and pulled my collar down, scratching my skin. “She’s not marked.”
“She’s the one.” Damon shook and then whispered, “She is the last one, my lord.”
The last? Of what? Had Damon somehow found me as the perfect target for this horrifying tirade and planned to use me to try and impress his Alpha?
“I’d don’t believe it. She’s a coward.” He shook his head once. “Bait her for the Fallen, and kill her.”
“With pleasure, my lord.”
Suddenly a shaggy-haired Grollic came running out of the forest and jumped over the circle of Grollics. As it leapt into the air, it changed into human-form and dropped one knee down as he landed.
“What say you, scout?” the Alpha barked.
“Th-Three of th-them...” the young man panted. “One’s fighting Janice at their cabin... Two are headed this way.”
“The twins?”
“Two men, my lord. I believe one is their Alpha.”
My heart skipped. Michael and Caleb.
The Alpha clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Finally. I want that ol’ bastard destroyed.” He shot a glance at me. “Damon, take the girl by the water. Make sure they see her, and then drown her.” He turned to the others, “You take the lesser male. No one kills the Alpha but me.” He released a low hum which turned into a howl as he shifted into his grotesque Grollic-form.
Damon grabbed me, and threw me over his shoulder. He began to run towards the lake at breakneck speed. I bounced around and tried to keep my teeth clamped tight so I wouldn’t bite my tongue.
“Put me down.” I pounded against his back and tried thrashing my legs. He tightened his hold, his shoulder knocking the breath out of me as he dug it into my gut. My nose started to bleed again, and as I tried to suck air in through my mouth, I watched drops trail from my nose into the snow. I had nothing compared to the strength of Damon - human or shifted.
Tears sprang at the thought of Michael and the risk he was taking. I didn’t want to die, but it seemed inevitable now. Would Michael? What could he do once surrounded by the pack of Grollics?
I continued the feeble beating of my fists on his back which probably acted more of an annoyance than causing any pain. I wanted to get back to dense forest and help Michael. Do something, not be so weak and useless. I hated myself, and despised the grollics even more.
Damon’s running slowed to a walk and his arms came around my hips to toss me over him. I landed in a snowdrift and, angry as I felt, began shaking. I hadn’t even realized the cold until the snow pressed against my bare skin and thin top.
Instinct made me stand and try to shake the snow off my exposed hands and wrists. I began rubbing my hands and blowing hot breath on them to warm them up. Blood mixed in with the snow and turned it crimson. Disgusted, I tried flicking it off.
Damon, standing fifteen feet away from me, laughed at my meagre attempt to create heat. The laughter stopped when I met his gaze. “What do think of your wonderful life now?” he mocked. “You’re about to die, about to have your immortal boyfriend die, and all for what?
Nothing but a silent war I knew nothing about and an idiot saying I was the one they wanted dead.
“How ironic does it feel?”
I refused to answer. Ferocious growls and sounds fighting erupted in the forest, but here by the frozen lake, it was silent. With my back towards the water, I could feel the wind coming off it, making me shiver even more.
“You still don’t get it, do you? Wait.” He paused, tilting his head slightly. A grin full of scorn spread across his face. “You think you’re one of them! You think, because you don’t know your folks you might have their blood inside you.” He snorted. “Impossible! You are the Seventh Mark.”
My heart dropped lower than my stomach, which had just dropped itself. “I’m not marked,” I whispered.
“Not above your chest.” He pointed, his finger stabbing in my direction. “But you are. When you’re dead, I’ll cut your heart from your chest and find it. How about I show it to your boyfriend?”
My voice caught in my throat. I had nothing to say and nothing to protect Michael with.
“Answer me!” He snarled, and stepped closer, his arm now drawn back and hand balled tightly into a fist. “I want to see your fear and terror! How does it feel to know you are about to die from the one thing you despise? And I’m not going to kill you quickly. I promise you will hear Michael scream before I finish you off.” He laughed a horribly, vicious laugh.
I forced my shoulders back and straightened, pissed at my own weakness and his pure evilness. “Screw you! You’ll never be half the person Michael is. What do you have in your life? A pack of beasts who’ll try to beat you any chance they get?” Damon’s jaw tightened and his hands clenched together. Ahhh, hit a nerve there. It fuelled me with more courage. “An Alpha who doesn’t give a toss if you live or die? You’re expendable to him, you know? I’d choose torture and death over your life any day.” I couldn’t be sure if I now shook from rage or cold. “And here’s something you don’t know: I have Bentos’ book. I know everything.” I knew jack squat, but wasn’t about to let him know that. I spread my arm out towards the forest. “I can kill you, and your whole damn pack.”
Damon’s face turned dark red. He growled, and his eyes burned dark, ugly yellow. Like the sun covered in blood. He took two steps and leapt, midair changing into Grollic.
