Chapter 8

Lowell Keeler

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He was about protecting his mate again that night but things turned out differently when he went into her house and met it empty. He'd almost ran mad.

"Eden?" He opened her bedroom door. Empty. "Eden!" When he rushed into her study room, she saw a large white sheet draped over a board.

He stepped closer to take a look.

"What is this?" He grabbed the sheet and pulled it down only to be met with newspapers, magazines and pictures of people. It was a typical view of a Detective's board.

Cross lines from one picture to the other, ranging from the first newspaper that talked about killing in the woods. The other newspapers are the ones collected from different days and times concerning each cases of the supposed "bear attack".

"Carlsen." He grunted.

He's been tormenting the humans far enough and it's high time he ensured that bastard paid for his actions.

He checked each victims and realized that most of them have something in common. They were all rich and either them or their parents were looking to hide in Willowbrook. It could only be for one reason.

Carlsen...

Now, Eden had found a way to link the killings to Werewolves and there his picture was. At the rear end of the board.

He looked at the study table and saw scattered jotters and pens. Her laptop was on and the screen displayed a quick analysis of the case.

Only one thing was obvious...

"She thinks I'm the killer?"

Scrolling upwards, he saw that the only location of residence she could link him to was the forest and she was heading towards the woods at the moment.

He banged the table with his fist before rushing out from where he'd come in; a broken door in the attic.

Lowell ran on the mountain road that leads to the woods, his heart racing faster than he is.

As he got to the forest, he yelled her name but got no replies. However, going deeper into the woods, his eyes caught them both. Carlsen had transformed and was about to attack Eden who was now sitting on the floor. Within seconds, he'd transformed as well, jumping on Carlsen and rolling away.

The both of them went down the slope, scratching and scrubbing through the thorns.

"You bastard!" Carlsen growled. "The pack would have had a peace of mind if you'd minded your business."

"No." Lowell barked, breathing heavily. The two Werewolves stood facing each other. "Everything would have been better if you hadn't connived with your fellow evil doers to lie against my dad!"

"Nobody lied against him. He was just being plain stupid. Trying to relate with the humans and giving them hints about our existence."

Only the sounds of their labored breath could be heard in the woods. Then, two shots...

Lowell looked back, trying to figure out what happened but was met with a massive blow across the face. He fell, face flat on the floor. Carlsen howled loudly and then grabbed his neck, pressing hard against his bones. One could hear them crackling until he was bleeding from the mouth. He looked before him and saw a branch on the floor which he grabbed and impaled Carlsen on the side. The huge beast growled and rolled over, clutching his bleeding side.

"That's what you get for messing with me." Lowell stood up quickly, breathing raggedy.

"You're lucky I haven't broken the curse or it will take me nothing to kill you."

Carlsen laughed. A mocking and sinister sound.

"I'll love to see you try." He stood up, his wound healed. One of the effects of the curse.

"Till we meet again, Falcon."

With that, he dragged himself away. To ensure Eden was still safe, he ran to her house and waited for her there. He was however disappointed when he looked outside the window and saw a certain tall douchebag kissing his mate.

It took all his willpower and all the restraint in the world to not move closer and ram a punch through the man's nose.

"How dare he?" He clenched his fists.

As soon as he sat on the chair, he was naked and had to cover himself with a navy green overall coat that he found draped over the chair. The door opened and the switch flipped.

Eden jumped.

"Lowell!"

"Eden!" He had forgotten about what he saw and just wanted to wrap his arms around her in gratitude. "You're okay."

They stood there and kept looking into each other's eyes. Lowell was lost in her blue eyes, looking so naive and innocent, yet widened by a new discovery. After a moment of long silence, he was shocked when she rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey...I..."

"Thank you." She whispered into his ears. "I saw it..." her voice was shaky. "It was so scary. I..." She paused. Unwrapping her arms, she placed her hands on either side of his face, examining the wound.

"You're hurt." There was something warm and compassionate about the way she said it. It made her seem different from the strict cop he'd always known her to be.

"It's nothing. I can take care of myself." He grabbed her wrist.

Eden looked up into his eyes, a small smile curving her lips.

"It's okay to ask for help. Let me help you." She made him retire on the couch, laying on his back. As her fingers brushed his skin, he could feel his body reacting instantly. She walked to the kitchen and came back hastily with a towel and a bowl of water.

"Eden," Lowell tried to stand but she pressed him back down.

"Relax. I'm not gonna arrest you." Her voice lowered. "At least, not anymore."

"You believe me now because you've seen the beast transform in your presence? Because he confirmed my story?" He asked.

"Maybe it's because I finally believe you." She snapped.

In silence, she squeezed the wet towel and dabbed at his swollen face. "After this, I'll give you some Aspirin to use before you go to sleep. Where do you stay?"

"In your heart?" He replied jokingly and had thought she would snap at him when she shot him a glare. He raised a brow, sending her a smirk. Her lips curved downwards and then upwards before breaking into laughter.

"My heart is not a fine place to be."

"Why?"

Eden paused what she was doing. She stared into space for a while.

"Because it's dark. Darker than I can ever explain." She looked at Lowell. "You'd need a flashlight for the rest of your life if you lived there."

He laughed. "Aren't we all like that? Dark on the inside. We just mustn't let it get into the real us. I know you're a good person and your heart is the light to your life's pathways. I'll be more than glad to make it my abode."

"Well," she straightened. "I'm done. You need to cleanse these small cuts on your skin as well. You'll probably do that when you get home, right?"

"Who was that man?"

Her hands stopped moving.

"What man?"

"The one who kissed you on the porch. Who is he?" Eden felt like she'd been caught committing a crime and she couldn't tell why. When she'd kissed Peter, he saw her and was now pissed off.

"So, now you're stalking me? I expected you to do better, Lowell."

He rose, shoving her hands off him. "You're my mate, Eden. You should only be for me and not for any other man. You should be lucky I held myself back." She tried to move away from him but he was fast enough to grab her arm. "You're mine!"