Chapter 19
She woke up in a queen sized bed with its headboard against the wall behind her, the only door she could see was a closet, on her right. She was laying on her back with her head on a pillow, and she was in absolutely no pain whatsoever. Realizing that, she sat up to have a better look around again. The found the door to the bedroom was beside her, the bed was just up against the same wall. She sighed with relief.
The sheets on the bed were all dark grey and the comforter was matched but with white and black lining on in, she dropped her bare feet down to the cold floor. That was all tiled, she continued to walk through the room to see if she could figure out by looking around where she was. The walls were bare, the nightstand was empty of trinkets, but she walked over to the dresser, and she opened it, it was filled with clothing in her size.
She was already dressed in black leggings and a slightly baggy black shirt. She brought the collar of it up to her nose and sniffed in Sids scent. He left her his shirt.
Ari walked over to the bedroom door and opened it to step out into a large hallway. She didn't recognize where she was, but it was very elegant, and modern. She was positive she wasn't in the hotel anymore.
She walked slowly down the hall, silently on her feet. She reached the end of it to find a staircase leading down to a large open room that looked like a huge living room. There was a fireplace on. Looking over the ledge beside the stairs to look down she met the gaze of Jackson, who was clearly on his way to check on her.
He didn't seem surprised to see her though, he even walked up the stairs to help bring her down the rest of them safely, knowing she was still probably a little dazed.
"Feel better?"
He walked her through the living room, past the big main entrance to what she was realizing was some kind of mansion. She was still looking around, trying to take everything in when he had finally asked her.
"I do."
Ari answered and she squeezed his hand in thanks as they kept walking through to the next room. It was a study, very similar to Daniel's. Bookshelves filled to the ceiling, a leather couch and chair to match by a fire place, and a large desk that sat in front of currently open patio doors.
Ari looked over at Jackson when he stopped with her by the desk and motioned for her to go out to the patio. He nodded outside again when she didn't move, before he turned and left the room the way they came in. He closed the door behind him.
She hesitated, looking outside but she couldn't see anything in the dark of night from inside. After a deep breath she walked outside onto the patio, she stood by an empty table and unoccupied chairs waiting for her eyes to adjust.
"It's nice to see you up and awake."
Ari didn't recognize the voice, but when she turned to her left she saw a man standing there watching her. She relaxed a little more when she couldn't see anything or anyone else around besides him.
"I guess I have you to thank for my speedy recovery, than?" Ari asked the stranger.
"Something like that." He answered as he came into better view to her.
His skin was pale enough it almost seemed to glow under the moonlight as he stepped closer. His eyes were dark, almost black against his complexion.
He was much more rugged looking then Elliot, she thought. Elliot didn't seem like the type to let his facial hair grow in, like he shaved everyday and this guy barely needed to touch a razer because it just suited him. The arrogance about him, however, made Ari almost want to agree with whatever he said so she didn't have to be near him any longer. He was handsome, extremely handsome, yet he made her feel uncomfortable right now. Even more so than Elliot and she thought he was hard enough to be around.
When he took a few steps closer, Ari continued standing where she was to stand her ground, but to also have him come more into the light that was coming from inside the patio door.
"I promise you're safe here." He said, almost like he was sensing her hesitation.
"I don't doubt that after everything you've done for me. So, thank you.." She shifted behind the back of a patio chair. Keeping it between them.
"Than why are you afraid?" He stopped moving towards her as he asked.
"... Where's Sid?" She ignored his question, looking back inside.
The stranger chuckled lightly and sat down on a chair close to the one she kept between them, clearly just trying to show her that she can relax.
"He's here, Ari. Jonah is fine too, he's probably back home by now." he answered her with a warm smile.
She moved around the chair she was using as a divider between them to sit down with him. She still wasn't sure, but she felt she had to trust that Jackson brought her here for a good reason.
"There you go." he chuckled again when she finally did sit down. He leaned a little closer to add. "Welcome to my home, Ari. My name is Malcolm."
"and.. Elliot works for you?"
She was starting to understand a little more, or at least what she thought might be going on.
"Don't let him hear you say that." He leaned back with another smirk looking up at the sky.
That arrogance she thought he had a few moments ago seemed to have been a mask, because after every smile he shared with her, his demeanor was much softer.
"Can I ask you something, Ari?"
He watched her carefully as she nodded.
"You do understand the danger; that staying with those boys will bring you, correct?"
"Death is kind of inevitable, isn't it?" She asked him honestly, before she could give him an answer to his question. He smiled, leaning forward.
"But so young? Don't you want a family?"
Ari snorted out a laugh. "Please, don't start."
"You are strange.." Malcolm admitted.
"Because I don't want children?" She snapped.
He laughed. "No. Strange because of how you choose to communicate your feelings. You can be very aggressive and forward. I admit I'm not used to that kind of behavior from others."
"Neither was Jackson." She found herself smiling at her own joke.
"He is, now?" Malcolm asked.
She cleared her throat, realizing that Jackson would be furious to find out that Malcolm thought of her as aggressive. She didn't want him to find that out at all.
"I'm sorry." She sat up straighter. "No. I don't get away with it around Jackson. We've had a lot of.. Lessons in behavior."
Malcolm grinned almost from ear to ear, looking at her again before he spoke.
"I don't plan to report my experience back to him, little one. The boy is lucky to have the power he does, and it is hanging by a thread right now." Malcolm still seemed amused by her behavior while speaking of Jackson.
"That's why Daniel is.." She shut her mouth again.
Ari realized that she sat in front of the man in charge of even Daniel. She had a hard time trying to work the whole thing out in her mind that someone like Daniel would even have to report to someone else, especially someone who seemed so much younger. He looked closer to her age.
"Why am I meeting you? I mean.. I can barely get a full sentence in with Sids dad. What's so interesting about me, that I'm here in front of you? Why did you help me?" Ari asked, throwing polite Ari away for later.
"You've been making quite the impact to some of my businesses, very quickly. I think it was in my best interest to meet you, Ariana." He crossed his arms over his chest as he continued. "As for the help, consider it a favor you are about to repay."
"With what?" She asked, when he didn't speak for a bit longer than she could wait.
"An experiment." He smiled and stood up. "Follow me, and no questions."
When Ari followed Malcolm back inside, she saw Elliot talking with Sid and Jackson by the entrance hall of the mansion. Sid looked furious and when he saw Ari, he tried to go her, but Elliot held him back and gave a shake of his head. Jackson and Ari shared a similar face of worry towards each other as he made his way over to her, instead of Sid.
Ari looked up at Malcolm, not understanding what was about to happen, but he was only looking towards Jackson.
"Turn her, Jackson." Malcolm ordered.
Jackson nodded, still walking towards her. Ari was silent as she stared at Jackson. His pupils were changing, just like she saw Sids change once before when he got angry. She opened her mouth to object to whatever he was about to do, but he was so close, he took the opportunity to kiss her instead of letting her speak.
She closed her eyes, kissing Jackson back and let him kiss his way down her neck where he suddenly bit her. His sharp teeth pierced the skin, it seemed like a stronger bite than a human should be capable of. She let out a pained yelp from under him, which made him grip her tighter.
When she still couldn't pull away from Jackson's grip, she looked up to see him licking the red stains from his lips. He looked back at her with the clear expression that he was craving more. She leaned her head against his chest, stuck in his arms but not wanting to look at him anymore. She held onto her neck with her hand, wincing at the touch, as it bled out.
"Elliot, let him go." Malcolm said.
But when Elliot released Sid he just stood silently, watching Ari. He wasn't moving, and still didn't when Jackson released her from his arms to be taken in by Sid, but he was just frozen. Elliot grabbed his shoulder, and shook him lightly to bring him back to reality.
"Hey. She'll need you now more than ever. If you fuck this up, it's her funeral. Get your shit together." Elliot looked at Sid, but was talking to Jackson as well.
They both nodded, staring at the fragile little redhead they thought they had just sentenced to death. No female has ever survived their first shift into a werewolf, and they weren't confident in Malcolm when he said he may have found out how to resolve the issues. He just preferred to try it on a female who proved to be strong enough to begin with. Unfortunately for Sid, that was Ari.