Chapter 3

AMY RUN! That was the most obvious choice. I couldn’t risk it; something about that man screamed danger. I slid my phone out of my pocket and briskly dialed Clara’s number. “Shit! Amy, give me a minute, I’ll be right back,” Rose muttered angrily as she headed to one of the food stands opposite us. “Rose, wait.” I wanted to chase after her, but John grabbed my wrist, holding me back. “That’s her boyfriend.” He pointed to the guy who had his arm around another girl’s waist. Both of them were giggling while Rose headed right for them. “I think we should let them sort out their issues.” But that was the thing, I couldn’t be alone! Not when I had a potential stalker trying to hurt me, a werewolf at that. I hissed silently as I tried Clara’s number again impatiently. She was probably engulfed in this buzz. “Face painting?” John suddenly chirped. I wasn't a fan, but I would have done anything just to get away from that place. “How about your stand?” I replied. He scoffed. “No one’s gonna steal it.” ”I don’t mind a little face painting then.” I smiled and he quickly took off his apron and tossed it behind the counter. “Come on.” We walked side by side through the crowd. I looked all around while trying Gabriel's number. “So, you like Lilyview yet?” he asked. I paused with a slight frown. “Is something wrong? Am I bothering you?” “No, no.” “You’ve been on your phone ever since Rose left.” I slid my phone back into my pocket and shot him a smile. “Wanted to check out for my brother. He tends to get wild at places like this,” I lied while. “Let him have his fun. It’s not every day we get to have a huge celebration in this town.” “You’re right,” I answered after ascertaining my stalker wasn’t around right then. Maybe there was no need to run after all; maybe he wouldn’t dare do anything to me with John by my side. “You know, I don’t mind giving you a tour around town after this though,” John said as we continued. “So you give tours to every new girl in this city?" “Only the ones I find beautiful, and that rarely happens.” “So I’m one of those rare occasions.” He smiled so deeply that couldn't help smile right back. He had charm, no doubt. “So is that a yes?” he asked. A man sonorously played his guitar on the stage, drawing our attention to the other men with their instruments all around him. They were certainly in their mid-twenties, dressed in matching black and white clothes. Judging from the loud cheer they received from the crowd, anyone could tell this band was probably a town favorite. “Shit! It’s The Harmonizers!” John blared excitedly. “Oh yay,” I remarked dryly. “Are you kidding me?! They're a big deal around here. Come on!” I sighed as he pulled me towards the center of the audience. “Lilyview, are you ready to party?!!” the band leader yelled through the microphone while the crowd screamed in return. “Nah, I don’t think you all are ready!” he laughed. “Make some noise and show everyone how Lilyview does it!” I blocked my ears as the girls screamed like this was going to be their last concert ever. Even John went all out too. Just as they were about to dabble with their strings, my skin started shuddering in fear as I felt warm breaths breeze across the back of my neck. “Amy Lockwood,” he whispered and I froze. My breath hung in my throat while my eyes widened. “You’re my prey,” he whispered enough for me to hear as he gripped my butt cheek so hard. The music started at a deafening volume while the others danced and screamed like crazed people. My heart pounded like it was going to explode as I slowly turned back... but he was gone. It had to have been that stalker! Everything about him screamed death. I knew this feeling so well, it was the same one I had felt ten years ago when my pack was attacked. I looked further, trying to locate him. “Looking for me?” he said. I turned sharply to where that voice came from and there he was, a few feet away, rewarding me with a devilish grin. “What do you want with me?” I didn't know if he could hear my whisper above the blaring song. I heard his sinister chuckle as he disappeared amidst the crowd. “Amy? Amy!” John tapped my arm, but I didn't respond. I could pick out this man’s scent but I couldn’t trace it; there was just too much noise, too many people around. “Amy, what’s wrong?” “I- I need a minute!” I slipped my phone out and this time dialed my brother’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Who keeps their phone switched off at a time like this?! “Amy?” “I said I need a minute!” I yelled while I briskly dialed Clara’s number. Gabriel's wasn’t any different. Where were these people, for goodness sake?! I turned to John. “Can you walk me home? I need to leave this place now.” “Why?” “I just... can you do it or not?” He gazed at me for a while before nodding. “Let me drive you,” he said while he slid his hand into his right pocket. “Shit, I forgot my keys at the stand. Come on.” He held onto my right wrist as he bustled through the crowd, but someone bumped into us and his hand slipped free. “John!” I yelled. “Amy!” he yelled, but I had lost sight of him; these people were just too tall to locate him. “Amy, where are you?!” “John!!” “Trying to run?” that icy voice blurted. I turned backward sharply and he was just a few meters behind me. His fangs were showing and his eyes were on the verge of flashing golem yellow again. The only thought that my brain could form was: RUN! I pushed through the crowd with as much strength I could muster and when I finally got into the open space, “I can see you, Amy!” I ran in a panic. I didn't think I could get back home on foot before he caught me, so without much strategy I dashed toward forest across the field. It was happening all over again. I swallowed my panic, pushing through branches and thick leaves, trying to escape from my enemy. My breaths came at a great pace as my strength faded, but I kept moving forward, hoping whoever this bastard was he wouldn’t find me. “Fuck!” I screamed when something sharp pierced through my left sneaker and I thudded to the ground. “Shit shit shit!” I tried to pull out whatever I'd stepped on, but then I heard the crumbling of dry leaves. As I struggled to a standing position, a massive brown wolf appeared in front of me. I needed no one to tell me it was the man from the fair. Its eyes gleamed with only one thing: bloodlust. It circled me like the predator it was. If only I'd known how to transform into my wolf, it might have aided me. But I was a helpless human girl. On one foot. “Who are you? What do you want from me?!” I whimpered, but it only growled, waiting for the best moment to attack. My phone started chiming in my pocket. It was definitely Clara or Gabriel, but I couldn't get my hand to move. The fairgrounds seemed a million miles away right then. “Please don’t hurt me,” I whispered. As if that had irritated it further, it jumped at me. I yelled as its claws dug into my stomach. I struggled against but it pressed me to the ground with a weight three times my own. Its salivating jaws hungrily aimed for my neck, but I blocked them with my left arm. It almost crushed my bone as it bit down hard. The fresh, metallic scent of blood filled my nostrils as scorching pain overwhelmed me. Tears blurred my vision as the last of my strength flowed away with the blood. So that was how I would die. At the last moment, when it could have delivered the final blow, the winds blew past us like a sudden summer storm. A tall, dark-haired, muscular man appeared in a flash, kicking the wolf into the nearby tree, which splintered on impact. “Filthy rogue. How dare you?!” he barked in the iciest voice I had ever heard in my life. If I'd been scared of my stalker before, then I didn’t know the true meaning of fear. This man's eyes were a deadly shade of red that simply lost the will to even move. The wolf charged at him and in a flash, its head was detached from his body. He had ripped the animal in two like the rogue was paper. I forgot how to breathe. Blood splattered all over the man's suit. He turned to me as he tossed the body aside like a stuffed animal he'd won at the fair. I should have been terrified of him. but instead I felt a rather explosive chill that made my body and soul come alive. Covered in blood and viscera, his gaze met mine. His eyes reverted to a golden hue and I found myself ridiculously enchanted by them. “Who are you?” he asked in his deep baritone. My legs trembled from the chills that I felt. I didn’t even think about it twice before my lips parted. “Amy. Amy Lockwood.” He smiled. “You’re coming with me, Amy.” I frowned. He'd saved me, true, but there was no way I was moving an inch with this stranger. “No,” I blurted out. “It is not a request.”