The day was losing its light and night was on its way. My feet hurt. I was running for such a long time, not knowing where to go. People along the road passed me and looked at me scornfully as if I were mad.
"Don't walk near her, Hun," I would hear them say, pulling their child close to them.
Not being able to bear it anymore, I ran across the road into the forest, away from everyone. I soon lost energy and sat next to a tree, resting my back on the large tree trunk. Tears streaked down my cheeks. I was sad and tired of bad things happening to me. I thought that leaving Phyllis's cell would bring me peace at last, but life had only got worse every day. I cursed the day I was ever born. I did not understand why I was conceived to suffer. I would never be happy, I thought.
I sank my face into the palms of my hand. My face became soaked from my tears. I gently removed my hand from my face on hearing the rolling of thunder. I was worried about it raining. I had n
I jumped up quickly, remembering that I'd tried to drown myself in the pond. I was lying on a bed in a small room, painted in dark brown. I looked at my body and saw I was dressed in a black short dress. Where was I? I got up, losing my balance and falling to the floor with a crash. The bedroom door opened and there I saw Francine and Cindy. "You're finally awake," Cindy said, as she ran over to me, helped me off the floor and hugged me. I returned her hug and broke down in tears. "Help her back to the bed," Francine said, and came close to me, assisting Cindy to get me back on the bed. "How did you find me?" I asked them. "We found you lying in the forest," Cindy said. "It seemed that you'd passed out in the rain, for when we found you, you were soaked," she told me. "Near a pond?" I asked them, knowing exactly where I was. "No," Francine said. "When I and Francine found you, you were nowhere near a pond," Cindy said.
We stood silently in the small room, listening to the footsteps outside, waiting for them to disappear. The gray-haired man, placing one of his fingers across his lips, turned to look at us. I jumped as we heard a loud crashing sound. A dark cloud of sadness covered my entire body, knowing that the red-haired man outside was not my father. But who was he and why was he there? "Ah," I heard Cindy make a strange sound as if she were in pain. I turned to look at her, trying my best to be quiet. Her body was soaked in sweat and she was shivering like a leaf. "No," I heard Francine say softly and rushed over to her. She caught her as she was about to fall. The gray-haired man ran over to them and carefully lay Cindy on the brown board floor, resting her head in Francine’s lap. He stooped over Cindy and glanced at Francine. Cindy lay there shivering. Worried, I went over to her. "No, no, this can't be happening," the gray-haired man said. I
I followed Francine into the kitchen, accompanied by her mate. Questions flooded my mind. I wanted to know why she wanted me to follow her. Was she planning on asking me to cover up her lie to Cindy? I hated the thought of doing that. Taking notice of the place that I would be staying in, I saw that the light inside was very dim, but still, I could manage to see where I was going. Inside gave me a warm feeling of comfort and made me feel safe. Soon we were in the kitchen. I stood silently, staring at Francine, eager to know why she had brought me there. Also, I had some questions I wanted to ask her. "This is my mate, Frank," Francine said. I nodded. Finally, she told me her mate's name. Suddenly, I found myself asking her about lying to Cindy. I wished she had told her the truth that she was only protecting us from being discovered. "It was a good thing to do or she would have run off to him and reveal Christian's secret spot," she told me.
I pulled away from Cindy, jumped off the bed and ran from the room. I was not able to take in the shocking information I'd received from her. I spun around the house in search of Francine, until everything around me was spinning. It was as if I was losing my mind. "Reds," Cindy called, worried. "What is wrong?" she asked me, pulling me into her embrace. I pushed her away from me. I didn't want to feel anyone’s touch. I shouted for Francine. I heard her running toward me. The minute she entered the living room, I shouted, "You lied to me! You lied to me." I was disappointed in her. How could she lie to me? Why? I was angry and didn’t care if I hurt her feelings. Her husband rushed into the living room. "What is happening?" he asked his mate, and held her hand. "You said that if I found my father he would give me the Valerian plant to save Christian when you know it's here," I told them angrily. Surprise covered their faces
"No, Cindy," I stopped her, pulling her back into the bedroom. "I need to save my mate," she cried. Tears filled my eyes, seeing the great pain she was in. I wanted to help her save her mate so badly, but leaving the cottage would be a great risk. "Let me get Francine," I told her, pulling my hand from her grasp. "No," she stopped me. "You can't let her and her mate know, or they will never let me save him," she said, pleading with me. I sighed heavily and held my head, not knowing what to do. I wanted to help Cindy, but I did not want to ruin Francine and her mate's plan. If any of Pharaoh's men discovered Christian's home, it would no longer be a secret, and Francine and her mate would be in terrible trouble. Cindy held my face and stared into my eyes, pleading with me to help her. I did not know what to say. I did not want to let her down after she had been so good to me. "Please, just let me inform Francine about this before we lea
"Help me put him on the couch," Cindy told Frank. Francine's mate ran over to her and held the red-haired man under his arms, while Cindy held him by his feet. They lifted him onto the brown couch. I stared at the man with the long red hair, feeling a strange feeling rushing over my entire body. I did not know what it was, but the feeling was much different than any I'd had before. It was not the feeling I had felt when I met Josh or that which I felt when Christian protected me. I felt that I had found what I'd wanted all my life, and that was a family—people who loved me and treated me much better than my evil grandmother, Phyllis. "Please help me, Francine," I heard Cindy say. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the feelings that were consuming me and ran over to Cindy to help. It was the worst thing I did. The closer I got to her injured mate, the stronger the feeling got, pulling me to him. I couldn't stop myself from stroking his long red hair.
l could not stand to see the look on my friend's face as she stared at me while tears pooled in her eyes. It was as if I had betrayed her. I could no longer stay in the cell. I had to leave. I had to move away from her mate. "Wait," I heard Cindy's mate call out to me as I ran from the cell. I stood in the kitchen, nervous, and hating what my friend was going through. I heard the red-haired man shouting angrily and banging against the bars of the cell. Soon I saw Francine running into the kitchen with great worry on her face. "We need to calm him down before he allows someone to discover our hideout and ruin our plan," she said. I looked at her, wanting to know how I could help. Suddenly a dark cloud of sadness covered me as Cindy entered the kitchen. I stared at her, wanting to tell her I was sorry for what had happened. "You need to calm him down," I heard Francine say, as she held my hand. I turned my attention to her and then back to Cindy
His strong hands moved from my hair and touched the tip of my chin. I closed my eyes, enjoying his soft touch. "What are these feelings I am feeling for you?" he asked me. "I don't know," I said softly, as I opened my eyes and watched his fingers play with my chin. "You are as clueless as I am," he said, as he moved his hand away from my chin, disappointed. "I'm sorry I can't help you," I told him. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about, beautiful," he said. My cheeks became red, hearing him call me beautiful. "No," I said softly, not for him to hear, as I shook my head, reminding myself that he was not my mate, but Cindy's. "What is wrong?" he asked me, worried. "Nothing," I said. Ares smiled at me. Seeing he was harmless, I wanted to free him from the cell, but first I had to let Frank know Ares would never hurt anyone. "I don't understand what these feelings are and why we both share the