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12: But This Bet Is Between Nox And I
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Of Teeth and Claws 13: It's More Than Awful. It's Heartbreaking
(Song: Right Left Wrong by Three Days Grace) I wake up in my hotel bed partially oblivious to getting here. I fell asleep in the car and Lyra had tugged me awake. In a daze, I trekked up to the second floor or did Lyra walk with me? Either way I made it here, changed and crawled into bed. I can't complain. It was a nightmare free night but I swear I had a dream about Nox. But like most dreams the details disappear upon waking up. I might not remember what it was about but it leaves an anxiousness that settles heavily on my chest. Pushing it aside, I roll out of bed. My head is feeling better but still groggy with sleep. The first thing my eyes land on after stretching my limbs awake is the box. Was I carrying it? Maybe Lyra did walk with me back and she carried it. My eyes scan the room for my phone. A panic engulfs me. I tear the bed apart, look at the nightstand and desk once more, check the bathroom, even my clothes that I had been wearing last night. It's nowhere. And then it
Of Teeth and Claws 14: It's As If You Knew I Was Coming
(Song: Fire Up The Night by New Medicine) Our ride back to the hotel is fairly quick, which I’m grateful for. An icy numbness chills my bones and it’s not from the mild weather of Fairbanks. I can’t stop thinking about who I saw at the cemetery. It could’ve been just a random person visiting their dead loved one, but where did they go. They just disappeared like they didn’t want to be caught. If it was Nox, he wouldn’t run and hide. He would make himself very known. It still could be Wes. Stepping into the lobby of the hotel, Lyra turns on me, “Dinner, tonight. Here?” She tosses her thumb in the direction of the restaurant attached to the hotel. “Say in a couple hours?” With all of us in agreement, we break off to our rooms. Lyra and Eden turn left down one of the main floor halls as I go right to hop on the elevator. It takes forever to open up and with so many people hustling around. But I wait it out because I refuse to take the stairs. I’ve been able to ignore the stranger with
Of Teeth and Claws 15: The A**hole Bit Me
The restaurant in the hotel isn’t too fancy and not overly busy either. That doesn’t help settle my nerves or my stomach. My thighs still burn from Nox’s roughness. I don't know where my head was at. I just let him manhandle me. My mind races as we sit down and order. Thankfully, Lyra’s too busy texting someone that I hope isn’t Stryker. But Eden is very observant. “Are you okay? You seem a little off?” You could say that. “Is it about visiting your mom today?” Immediately, I’m filled with shame. I visited my mother’s grave for the first time and not even a couple hours later, I’m doing despicable things with a stranger. What the fuck is wrong with me? “It's just a lot being back here.” Which is true. It’s like I’m turning into a whole different person being here. “Maybe you should stay, you know, longer than a week.” Lyra doesn’t know how terrifying her words are. “I know there’s a lot of heartbreak here, but maybe you can come to terms with it. Maybe it’ll help you move on witho
Of Teeth and Claws 16: Secrets. Answers. Lies.
(Song: Anymore by Lo Spirit) The guilt that consumes shifts as my eyes go from the floor to the dresser and land on the box my grandma gave me and find the lid open. Did he look at whatever is inside? Pushing past my own terror, I grab the box horrified and eager to see what's inside. To see what Nox possibly saw. Deep breath in, holding it in my lungs, I look inside. At first glance the box is filled with pictures and letters. On top of the stack is a picture. It's face down, the back of it has curvy handwriting stating two names. I nearly choke on my spit as I read it, Elara and Gideon. Elara is my mother’s name and Gideon…I still have no clue who he is, but this proves that he does in face know my mother. My dad could be right. Gideon could be the wolf that was after my mother. Flipping the picture over, I stare at my mother, much younger than my memories can give me, standing next to this Gideon. It’s nice putting a face to the name, but the face is unfamiliar and it doesn’t
Of Teeth and Claws 17: It Tells Others You're Mine
Walking out of the hotel is a blur. All I know is that Eden takes the backseat as usual and I get a clear view of where we’re going up front. We leave the city to enter the suburbs. Whose house are we going to? The whole situation keeps getting worse. With one turn the empty streets are suddenly filled with parked cars. My question of what kind of party this is, is answered. It’s definitely a frat type party. Finally finding a spot to park, Lyra has the biggest smile on her face all while I could throw up on her floor mats. She’s the first to hop out followed by Eden. Then the two of them coerce me out of the car. Smashed between the two of them, they guide me to the house that has music streaming out its open windows and people lingering in the yard. My nerves get the best of me. My legs get shaky and my breathing becomes shallow. I can’t decipher if it’s in anticipation of seeing Nox or something else. Something else. Definitely something else. Something with teeth and claws. Ma
Of Teeth and Claws 18: He's A Predator. And I'm His Prey.
(Song: Werewolf by Motionless In White) Pushing past her, I barge out of the door oblivious to the stares I get. Once outside I don’t stop. I don’t know where I’m going. Lyra and Eden are still inside and I can’t tell them of the fight I had with Nox. A fight that was more personal than anyone one of us can comprehend. He tossed things in my face that I’m completely clueless to. And I don’t know if I can trust him in giving me truthful answers. He's been acting like a dick out of spite. I keep going until my feet hurt, constantly looking over my shoulder. But in my panic, I find myself on unknown streets, blocks away. The music that had been blaring through the open windows of the house is far off in the distance. Suddenly, I’m engulfed with a different kind of fear. Turning around, planning on heading back to the house to find Lyra’s car, I come to a halt. A shadowed figure stands in the middle of the sidewalk. It isn’t Nox. It’s disturbing how I know that. “Wes?” No answer. “We
Of Teeth and Claws 19: Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures
(Song: You Broke Me First by Out Last Night) The night air is unusually cold and the damp ground seems to penetrate my bare feet. The woods I find myself in block out most of the moonlight, but it doesn’t take much to know where I am. Stumbling around, flinching at the rocks and broken branches that jab at the soles of my feet, I try to navigate my way out. The feel of eyes watching me has me anxious. And clumsy. I nearly fall face first into a clearing. But the clearing isn’t a clearing at all. It’s a grassy ditch. Frantically, I start to climb out, but the wet grass has my bare feet slipping. I’m unable to get the leverage I need. From out of nowhere, in the woods behind me, a deep guttural growl brings my nightmares to life. A wolf, large and vicious, struts out from between the trees. Its fur is muddy brown and its eyes are red like blood. It advances on me. With each slow calculated step forward, I’m barely able to take a step in retreat. I claw at the wall of the ditch, despe
Of Teeth and Claws 20: Alpha's Orders
A man rushes into the room. Nox steps aside and that man, that stranger, attacks me by swooping me into his arms. “Oh, thank god.” He pulls me away from him. Gideon looks just like he did in the picture from my mother’s box. “I’m so glad you’re safe.” He rattles off. Kneeling beside the bed, keeping me at an arm’s length away, we look at each other. Past the blue eyes and blonde hair, my gaze gravitates on a scar across his neck. I’ve seen that before. His frantic words shake me from the growing memory, “when I heard that Nox found you wandering around in the woods…where your mother died, I was worried sick. Especially after Cato attacked you.” What? Wandering the woods? No, that was a dream. Right? At a loss for words, all I can do is shake my head. Was it real? Was I really in the ditch being stalked by wolves? Was I sleepwalking? Forcing myself to remember, I try to recall the dream…if it even was a dream. Bits and pieces come back. The differences stick out like a sore thumb. T
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