Chapter 4 Grace\'s Backstory (part 2)

Grace’s POV

I entered the office and instantly everyone went quiet. It wasn’t until that moment, that I remembered that I was naked underneath the robe. And that his parents were among the people present. I now also recognized the older man as the man who’d taken my blood, and the woman next to him was also present when they took my blood.

I blushed, realizing that I’d walked practically naked straight into a meeting. But I couldn’t help it. Something inside of me was urging me to go to Cole and I couldn’t ignore it. Besides this wasn’t the first time it had happened. There were times when I just knew things about Cole that he hadn’t told me. And I swear, sometimes it felt as if I could read his mind. It was stupid and of course, I kept that to myself. I mean, I’d always been good at reading people, but with Cole---

I was just better at reading him…

My eyes scanned the room, looking for the man. And while I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome, the way they all looked at me, had my skin crawling and my heart sank, as all these people – people whom I’d previously considered my friends – all looked at me as if I was dirt on their Armani shoes. The atmosphere was so heavy it felt like someone had filled it with sand. As if I just accidentally walked into a murder scene and now I was the only witness.

A loose end they needed to tie up!

“What’s---,” I gulped, trying to find my voice, as my eyes finally found Cole. He was sitting behind his desk, a vile with something black inside of it in his hands. He looked devastated, but the second he laid eyes on me, all that pain and hurt, turned to anger.

Directed at me!

My heart sank and an involuntary shiver had gooseflesh spreading all over my body. Suddenly all the warmth, love, and care were gone from his eyes. The only thing that remained was---

Hate!

“What’s going on?” I finished, hoping that my voice didn’t tremble the way my lips did. But without answering, Cole got to his feet and stormed toward me. His steps were fast and calculated, and I barely registered it. I gasped as he suddenly emerged in front of me and instincts warned me to run! To remove myself from the man in front of me. To get away from the danger…

But I never managed to take even a single step.

Suddenly I felt his hand wrap around my throat as he pushed me back up against the wall. I let out a startled scream, but I couldn’t.

I was in shock!

How---? How could he tell me he loved me just a few minutes ago and now, he looked like he would enjoy killing me? I tried to search his eyes. To see if there was even a trace left of the man, who’d just declared his love for me. But to my horror, I realized that he was gone. Gone was the kind, caring man from last night. Gone was my lover. And in his place had a cold, heartless monster appeared.

“Cole!” I cried out, feeling fear and terror creep up my spine. The warm pleasant tingles suddenly felt like fire licking my skin and it physically hurt.

“A witch!”

He hissed the words as if they were a curse. For a second my mind went blank. Hell, if the situation wasn’t life or death, I would have laughed.

Witch?!

Seriously?! At that point, I was sure that someone would grab my ex-lover – because that was so what he was from this second forward! – by the neck and ask him what kind of mushrooms he was smoking?! Followed by his mother confessing that she dropped him on his head when he was a child. But to my horror, they all just kept glaring at me. As if everything that was happening was completely acceptable. What kind of sick Dungeons and Dragons shit were these people into?

Fear made my blood turn to ice as I just realized that these people would happily kill me. And never spare me a second glance afterward…

“Reject her, Cole!” his father interjected a matter of urgency in his voice. “She’ll put a spell on you! Quickly before it’s too late!”

They were all fucking dilutional!

I wanted to scream it at them, but with Cole’s hand still wrapped around my throat, I didn’t dare to open my mouth. Perhaps there was still time. Perhaps I could reason with him? Play into their dilutions or some shit. Because I was ready to do whatever it took to get out of this alive---

“I Cole Knight, King of the werewolves,” Cole began, making me look at him in a new light of terror.

Werewolf?

Did he seriously say werewolf?!

“Reject you, Grace Bright, as my mate and queen,” he finished, but I was already shaking my head.

“What?!” I screeched, clawing at his hands in a desperate attempt to get free. He was mad! He was fucking bat shit crazy!

“W-what are you---?!”

My voice was cut off when his fingers tightened around my throat, cutting off my air supply. And less than a second later, I realized that perhaps it was for the best anyway. Because the pain that exploded in my chest made me want to scream to the high heavens. It felt as if something was ripped out of me. Not just my heart, but everything inside of me was torn to pieces. Every nerve ending was on fire and despite being unable to breathe, I felt tears forming in my eyes.

And they had nothing to do with Cole’s hands wrapped around my neck…

The intensity of the pain only lasted for about half a minute or so, but it felt like an eternity. My body felt dead afterward and when Cole finally let go, I slumped to the floor. There was no way that my body would keep me upright right now. Everything inside me hurt. My legs, my arms, my stomach, my heat…

Everything hurt…

As if I’d been training too hard and was sore all over. A dull ache that was impossible to ignore, no matter how hard I tried. And I felt exhausted. All I wanted to do was to curl into a ball and sleep. Or even better, I wanted to curl under a blanket and die. That was how painful, empty, and utterly rejected I felt.

What the hell just happened…?

Cole also looked like he was in pain but hid it better than me. He stumbled back, gripping the edge of his desk as he continued to glare at me with a mixture of horror and stunned surprise. As if he hadn’t been expecting this. His family also looked on in shock, their eyes drifting between me and him.

But before anyone could speak, Cole’s eyes hardened again and he was looking at me as if I was his greatest enemy.

“I should kill you,” he hissed, his hand still clutching his chest as his eyes darkened to an almost black color. A new wave of fear washed over me. Despite the pain and exhaustion, I knew that if I gave in now, it would mean certain death…

“I should kill you!” he growled again, this time not hiding the animalistic sound. Shocked at gaped at him, unable to believe that a human could make that sound.

What the hell was he?!

“Get out!” he bellowed, standing to his full height. But I was frozen on the spot, unable to take my eyes off him. I’d seen his eyes change color from time to time, but I’d always just assumed that it was the light playing a trick on me.

Couldn’t blame the light for this!

Because before my very eyes, I saw him change! His fingers grew into long, claw-like blades. Black fur sprouted along his arms and he physically seemed to grow bigger. His eyes became pointed. His eyes turned yellow. And his teeth elongated, becoming sharp fangs.

I opened my mouth to scream. But I couldn’t make a sound. Too scared, too shocked to what was going on right before my very eyes…

Suddenly Cole moved, picking up a glass object--- and hurtled it straight at me. Reflexes took over as I curled into a ball, trying to protect myself. And I screamed as the vase crashed against the wall right next to me.

“GET OUT!”

It was a bellow that shook the walls. It wasn’t even Cole’s voice anymore. It was as if some kind of animal was in the room. A beast that had taken over Cole’s body and turned him into a monster…

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the pain. As fast as my tired and throbbing legs could carry me, I rushed to the front door. Throwing it open and ran into the darkness outside. At first, I didn’t care where I was running or what direction I was heading.

I just needed to get away!

I ran and ran, tears streaming down my cheeks and my heart felt so unbelievably empty. Every beat felt like a knife piercing through it and the more distance I put between us, the worse it got. As if I’d left something important behind.

Yet there was nothing for me there…

After what felt like hours I crashed to the ground, the sobs making my entire body tremble as my breathing came out ragged and hoarse.

Idiot!

Idiot! You’re such an idiot! I reprimanded myself. I knew it was too good to be true. For someone like me to get a fairy tale happily ever after with the prince of her dreams? It wasn’t for someone like me. It was too good to be true. That someone like Cole could ever love someone like me!

Delusional!

Which reminded me that I should probably go see a doctor. Because what I’d seen tonight definitely didn’t make any sense. Hell, I couldn’t even comprehend what had happened. I’d seen my ex turn into a monster. Right after he tried to kill me!

Yeah, Freud was going to have a field day with this…

A cold breeze made me shiver, as the sobs finally quiet down. The forest was quiet, except for the occasional hoot of an owl or some other forest animal here and there. And I finally began to think about my next move. I’d escaped Cole, but now I was lost in the forest somewhere and I didn’t have a dime to my name. I didn’t even have my phone to call for help…

I’d never been much of a nature girl. Hell, the last time I went camping, it was in my parent's RV. I had no idea how to survive in the wild. I didn’t even know the first thing about---

“Are you lost, darling?”

I gasped and jumped to my feet the second I heard the voice. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but it was still hard to see. But I vaguely could make out the silhouette of a person not far from where I was. And judging from the voice, it was a man.

Fear was quickly becoming a familiar companion, I realized as I took a step away from him. My instincts were telling me to run, yet not to turn my back on him at the same time. For some reason, I knew I was facing a predator…

“I-I…,” I stuttered, my lips trembling uncontrollably now. “No-no, m-m-my friends---”

I was cut off with a low growl and I jumped when I realized that I was surrounded by wolves!

“Oh god,” I exclaimed in terror, tears spilling down my cheeks. My legs were shaking as I slowly realized that I was about to be eaten alive by a pack of wild wolves…

“You really need to practice your lying skills, girly,” the man from before chuckled, and to my surprise, he gestured towards the wolves around me. At first, I thought he was giving them permission to kill me and I whimpered. Too afraid to face my death, I closed my eyes and waited.

And waited…

The sound of bones cracking and flesh reshaping filled the air. At first, the sound made me sick, thinking it was me. That my mind was in shock and that was why I didn’t feel any pain.

But then I saw it!

The wolves transformed into men!

And suddenly something Cole had said rang clear in my mind.

Werewolves!

They were all werewolves!

“Take her,” their leader commanded, and the men descended on me. I screamed, kicked, and clawed. But they easily overpowered me. Strangely, all the while, a part of me still hoped for a miracle. Hoped for a saving angle. Hoped that Cole would swoop in and save me.

But he never came…