The sound of a crane slamming metal was all Scarlett could hear as she struggled to open her eyes. She could only make out a hazy image and a continuous metallic sound. Now that she could hear the voices clearer, Scarlett could hear her father joining in on the laughter as they drove to the NBA game.
She remembered yelling that exact phrase, "There is a large bear on the road!" and then everything went blank after she heard her father scream.
In the dimly illuminated room, Scarlett awoke, panting loudly. Her entire body was drenched with sweat. Except for the ticking of the alarm clock, the mansion was quiet. With her hand, she located it and switched it off. Scarlett wanted to stay beneath the covers after her nightmare, but she was afraid that going back to sleep would trigger another bad dream.
She got out of bed and as she sank back into it, she became aware of how frail she was. Her head started hurting, and she could feel the bandages around her head as she put her hand to her head. She was perplexed as to how she got hurt. She wasn't the type to play rough, so how did she end up with a head injury?
Scarlett succeeded in rising to her feet once more and she left her room. To inform her father of the nightmare she was experiencing, she needed to locate him. When she had a complaint, her father would always have a way to make her feel better. Her father is someone she can't live without and if anything happens to him, she won't be able to handle the world without him by her side.
Strangely, she couldn't see anyone as she descended the stairs. Edward would have been drinking his early morning cup of coffee and reading his morning newspaper but there was nobody there. "Daddy." To avoid waking the rest of the family, she whispered her call.
Finally descending the stairs, Scarlett looked around the hallway. "That is strange. Where did Daddy go?" When she couldn't find him anywhere, she suddenly found herself in front of her parents' door.
She opened it slightly and peered through as she observed her mother sobbing in silence. While lying on her pillow, she nagged at the picture she was holding in her hand. "Why did you take Scarlett to the game? Edward, where are you? Please come back to me."
After hearing what October said, Scarlett shook her head. She had her hand over her mouth as she made an effort to hide her eavesdropping from October. She kept shaking her head in disbelief. "No. No. Daddy." She then recalled that her birthday had just passed and that her father and mother had argued solely over her.
After carefully shutting the door, she took a few steps backward, then ran back to her room. Scarlett started to cry as soon as her door was shut behind her. Not because of what she overheard her mother say but rather because she was unable to recall anything after seeing the bear on the road.
The bear!
Now it wasn't all a bad dream. As her father was with her at the time, she heard his screams. She gasped as she swallowed. Hard. Because of her, her father didn't come home!
Scarlett violently struck her head with her hand. "It's all your fault, Scar! It's all your fault!" She screamed, her hands pounding her head. No matter how much it hurt in her head, her heart was hurting more. She began to tremble and feel irrational, biting her fingernails. Then she heard a knock at her door.
She was startled, and her heart started to race as she turned her head in that direction. "Daddy. Is that you?" Quietly, she inquired.
Another knock echoed on the other side of the door, causing Scarlett to jump in panic. The moment her body began to move, she hurried to her bed and clung to the blanket with no intention of letting go.
The door opened and she could see Belly standing in front of it. Scarlett quickly covered her head with the blanket so Belly wouldn't see her disfigured, ugly face. She dislikes it when people witness her crying. They'd think she's frail and Scarlett wanted them to see how strong she could be without her daddy.
"You are awake. Good." Belly walked up and took a position in front of Scarlett. Then she took a seat on Scarlett's bed. Belly had to be the type of person who could be strong for her sisters because she was the oldest of her siblings. "Scarlett." She made a soft call. She reached for the blanket but Scarlett wouldn't let it go.
Scarlett had to ask while hiding under the blanket. She needed to be aware of what was happening. "What happened to daddy, Belly?" She sniffed and Belly got the impression that Scarlett had found out about what she had come to the room to talk to her about.
"First things first, remove the blanket from your face. This is a serious matter."
"How did I get here?" Scarlett asked. She didn't want to hear what Belly had to say, all she wanted to know was whether her father would be coming back to her.
Belly sniffed while attempting to contain her tears. Even though Scarlett had turned 18, she was still a child and if she doesn't learn to take care of herself without her father nearby, life will be difficult for her. "The cops found you unconscious in the car and brought you home."
Scarlett yanked the blanket away from her face right away. She questioned, "And Daddy?" When Belly turned to face her, she noticed how pale Scarlett was. "What about my daddy?"
"I'm sorry Scarlett, but the cops didn't see him in the car. Although they claimed it was some sort of accident, you weren't seriously hurt. They brought you home and Mom took care of you."
"Belly, that's not the kind of information I need from you." Scarlett yelled and gave Belly a ferocious glare. "Where… is… my… daddy!" This time, she yelled louder and her breathing quickened as she struggled to control it.
Belly shook her head and averted her eyes from Scarlett. She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes. Finally opening her eyes, she said, "They discovered one leg of his shoe, as well as a broken window."
Scarlett then remembered hearing shattered glass and screaming before passing out. "What?" Scarlett gave a weak response. Her hand was on her face. Glass breaking instead of creaking metal was the sound she now remembered.
"They think he ran away, but they don't know why."
Scarlett's eyes grew wide. "No. Daddy didn't run away. Daddy could never run away."
"I know that too but the cops said…"
"Don't listen to what the cop says. Daddy would never abandon me and leave. Belly." Belly was able to sense Scarlett's trembling as she reached for her hands. "Yesterday, I remember a bear being on the road."
Belly became attentive. "A bear?"
Scarlett gave a nod. "Yes. It was big and black. Really huge and…"
"What else?"
"I don't know. I can't remember." She shook her head.
"Scarlett. Try."
"I can't. It is hard." Quickly, she spoke.
"You have to try, Scar."
Scarlett dropped Belly's hands right away. "How does that matter? It's just a bear, Belly."
"It is not–" Belly wanted to say something to Scarlett but the doorbell called their attention away before she could even finish her sentence.
"Daddy." The door caught Scarlett's attention. She jumped out of bed and sprinted for the door. Belly followed behind her.
Scarlett and Belly ran to the front door after descending the stairs and Scarlett smiled as she opened it. However, her smile vanished the moment she noticed two men in place of her father in front of the door.
She felt perplexed.
"Good morning, we are looking for Mrs. O'Hara." A man in a grey suit stood tall next to another man in a black suit.
"And who are you?" Belly asked.
"Detective John." The man said.
Detective? Scarlett was bewildered.
Belly noticed footsteps coming and whipped her head around. "Mom. They are here for you. The detectives."
"Detectives?" October asked as she approached the door and saw two men standing.
"Mrs. O'Hara?" Detective John called.
"Yes. That is me. Why are you here? It's still early."
"It is concerning your husband."
Scarlett looked at Detective John as Belly and October exchanged glances. "My daddy?" She asked.
Detective John gave a nod. "Can we come inside?" He asked.
October made a fake smile. "Yes, please." She led them inside, and behind the detectives were more men dressed in masks and gloves over their black overalls. They were standing outside. "What's going on here?" October asked.
"Bring it in." The men were instructed by Detective John to bring the items they found into the house.
Four people entered carrying a large, black bag that appeared to be heavy as they sat it down.
"What is this?" Scarlett asked as she walked up to the bag.
"Mrs. O'Hara. We discovered this man in the woods while conducting our investigation. His face wasn't totally destroyed, so we were able to identify him." After pausing, he continued. "I'm sorry to inform you, but your husband is dead."
"I'm sorry to inform you, but your husband is dead."October stumbled to the ground but was caught by Detective John after hearing this over and over in her head. Scarlett was shocked as she stood in the room, unable to move her legs. Like water falling from a fountain, tears were streaming down her face.Belly, on the other hand, was attempting to keep her cool for the sake of her family. Mia? She had no idea why her mother was on the ground when she descended the stairs."What is going on here?" She asked. Mia was only aware of the time that Scarlett was returned to her home by the police last night. Her mother had told her that her father went on an errand and would be back the next day but seeing her mother on the floor, Mia was expecting an answer.Her eyes then fell on Scarlett as she approached her. "Scarlett?" She touched Scarlett, startling her from her thoughts. "Why are you all crying?" Mia asked.Scarlett scowled as she turned away from her sister's eyes. She shouldn't be
Only a thin line separated love and hate, and hatred was something Alpha Simon was familiar with. Love was never his thing; he stopped believing in it after the death of his parents, which he had watched as they were brutally killed by the hunters two years ago. He desired vengeance. At any cost, he is going to exact the vengeance he so desperately desires.Like his wolf, Devil, Simon developed his ruthlessness when he became an alpha two years later, after putting in a lot of training and closing himself off with hatred. He was shielded and comforted by his wolf, but just as his wolf doesn't have a heart, so does Simon. He was a leader, and a leader must set an example by showing no mercy to humans or his own kind when they do something wrong.Humans have wronged him, so he won't forgive all of them. He'll keep killing them until he can round up the last few hunters and exact his retribution. He was 6'2" tall, had dark hair and brown eyes, a mixed skin tone, broad shoulders, and a ja
On a Sunday afternoon, Scarlett was standing in front of a large group of mourners who had gathered in front of a coffin. They were holding umbrellas over their heads to protect themselves from the still-pouring rain.As she stood next to October, she struggled to hold back tears in the hope that it was all just a bad dream and that her father wasn't already gone. Her auburn hair had recently been dyed black and was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was dressed in a long, black gown."Go on, Scarlett. Put the flowers on the casket," said October. As her mother's hand slipped from her shoulder, she walked over to her father's coffin to place the flower on it. "Say something to him so he can hear it," her mom added.Scarlett wasn't the kind of girl to hold those beliefs. She was the kind of girl who was knowledgeable about things that other people weren't. At two years old, she was already aware that the tooth fairy was a myth made up to make kids happy. She didn't go through financi
"Now, tell me. What secret are you and Mom hiding from me, Belly?"Belly scoffed and began to laugh. "I have no idea what prank you are pulling, but you can trust me Scar, Mom and I are not hiding anything from you."Slowly, Scarlett nodded. "Okay. I'll end the conversation if you say so. That's Mia you're looking for." Scarlett said as she peered over Belly's shoulder. I will find my way back to the car." She whirled around and started moving once more. When she arrived at the car, she unlocked the door when a recognisable head suddenly emerged and startled her by blowing confetti in her face. "What are you two doing here? You scared me." It was her very best pal. Cornelia and Avery.Cornelia and Avery have been Scarlett's friends right from childhood, and their parents are also each other's best friends.Avery has long black hair. She wore ankle boots over her short, pink leather skirt. She was standing next to Cornelia, who was petite. She wore long blue jean trousers with an open
Shortly after leaving the funeral home, Scarlett and her friends arrived at Tucker's house, but they didn't get out of the car until after eight. Scarlett ignored Mrs. O'Hara's repeated calls and threw her phone into the car's storage area.In front of a white glass mansion, Scarlett was standing between Cornelia and Avery with her hands now entwined with those of her companions. She took a deep breath. "Here we are." She spoke while fixating on the house. Tucker's house.At 15, Scarlett was aware of Tucker's intense love of partying and it was one of the barriers preventing the two of them from being together. Whenever his parents are away, Tucker takes advantage of the chance to party with his basketball teammates every weekend. Even though they still liked one another, the fact that Scarlett was a bookworm and Tucker wasn't didn't make them compatible.The mansion had a large pool in front of it and music was playing inside. People from the lower classes who weren't invited to the
Scarlett came to a stop in front of the trees. Where could he have gone? She thought. She turned her head in all directions, but all she could see was the shadows. She took a step forward before turning around and walking backward, telling herself it would be foolish to follow that boy inside.The part of her that was in love wanted to follow him to find out what he was up to, but another part of her warned her against even attempting to do so.After waiting outside for a while, Scarlett exclaimed, "Fuck it." She had to go inside to look for the boy because he hadn't come out. She turned on the light on her phone before entering the woods, but all she could hear were the sounds of crickets.Following that, she stepped on something that made a noise, which startled her; however, when she flashed her light in its direction, she saw that it was nothing more than a thong of dry leaves. She moved forward and kept looking, but she couldn't find anything. "Where did he go?" She asked herself
Simon understood that the only way he could catch his prey was by luring it. He had only attended the party for that purpose. He was well aware of his attractiveness and it had always been to his advantage to entice women into the woods with him so he could eat them.No exception applied to the girl he met at the party. She was infatuated with him at first sight and he could even read how her heart was beating when he caught her in his arms. She would be too simple and sweet to consume.She was also beautiful and he couldn't deny that. Although Simon thought she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen or was about to eat, he needed to stop deluding himself. No matter how beautiful she was, she was going to be his dinner. He watched her until she climbed into her car. Acting as if he was having an argument on the phone was all part of the plan to lure her into the woods and he didn't believe it would work.What a fool!The moment he changed into his wolf, he smelled her fear. If
Simon stretched out his naked body and assumed a human form beneath the rounded red moon.Why would a human be selected to be the alpha's mate? He pondered.Why would the moon goddess be so cruel to him when she knew how he had hated humans for years?Lunas cannot be humans. It didn't make sense at all to Simon.He was the next in line following the passing of his parents. He rose to the position of pack leader, and now his Luna would be a human? A human would be his partner?Simon scoffed. How could the moon goddess do this to him? How could his wolf be drawn to a human?He was about to return to where he had left his clothes—in the leaves—when he felt something sharp beneath his feet. When he looked down to see what it was, he discovered it to be a phone and beside it was a pink handkerchief.As he knelt down to pick it up, Simon scoffed once more.He picked the handkerchief up and saw the embodiment "Scarlett O'Hara" written on it with white treads, but it was at the bottom o