9 Chapter Nine ~ Your mom's blood

Freya Rose

Two weeks had passed since our graduation and I'd had a lot of things to get my head around. One being the fact that my boyfriend, best friends, and pretty much the whole town were werewolves. I'd like to say that I could look back on my life and pinpoint a certain time were something strange had happened. So that I could now say, oh, that's why that happened, or that's why they did that, because they're werewolves, but I couldn't. I'd never noticed or suspected a damn thing. I didn't have a clue. They must have either been very careful not to raise suspicion, or extremely good at covering their asses. My whole life had been normal and straight forward up until now. Two weeks ago, the only things I had to worry about were, what I was going to wear that day, getting the occasional bad hair day, or having a pimple erupt on my face. You know, ordinary teenage girl stuff.

Now? Well now was way more complicated. I had so many strange and new things to worry about. It was driving me insane and I couldn't think straight. I had accepted the whole werewolf thing quite well at first, but I think that was just me being a stupid and naive human. Now that it had all had a chance to sink in, I was starting to freak out. My whole life was changing and furthermore, I was changing too.

Something was very wrong with me. I had nightmares almost every night, and the mood swings, oh my God, the mood swings were horrendous. I was getting ridiculously angry at the slightest things, and I don't mean a little tantrum here and there. No, I mean an uncontrollable rage that built up inside me. When it finally erupted like a damn volcano, it destroyed everything in its path. I had smashed my room up more times than I cared to remember in the last few weeks.

My alarm clock ended up in bits, after I'd hurled it at the wall. All the poor thing did was try to wake me up. It was now in tiny pieces and living in my trash can, along with my shattered mirror. I'd stood on a sharp bit of plastic from the broken alarm clock while cleaning it up, and my rage instantly built up again. Within seconds, my fist went right through my floor length mirror.

That one really hurt. I screamed the house down, because it had cut my arm to absolute shreds. My blood sprayed all over the walls, and by the time my mom ran into the room, it looked like a damn murder scene from CSI. I thought she would have taken me straight to the hospital, but she didn't. She just cleaned up the cuts, then patched it up with some bandages and a weird herbal sludge.

It worked well though. Too well, in fact. Within a few days the cuts had vanished. It was freaky, and with all the new supernatural stuff in my life, I was fully convinced that my mom was some kind of witch. Maybe that had something to do with my mood swings.

Maybe I am a witch too?

But that idea didn't explain the extra strength I had. I mean even the larger furniture in my room wasn't safe. The bed, the closet doors. I mean I even broke the damn sink one day, when my hair wouldn't go right. I couldn't for the life of me, understand how I'd had the strength to rip that stupid thing off of the wall. Everything had gotten way out of hand.

Tristan had been a great support throughout it all. He was replacing everything as soon as I broke it, so that my mom didn't have to keep buying it all, over and over again. I was sure that he was only doing it because, he felt like whatever was happening to me, was somehow his fault. I didn't think it was, but he wouldn't listen to me and just kept telling me that he would find out what it was, and then fix it.

Everything that was happening was scary, but the strangest part of the whole thing was, that my mom just acted like it was all perfectly normal. She said that it was just hormonal teenage behavior. Whenever I brought the subject up, she would just laugh and brush it off.

How could she not be worried?

I was freaking out, and at one point I even thought I might have had a mental illness of some kind. I asked her about my dad, who'd left us when I was a baby. I thought maybe schizophrenia or bipolar ran in his family or something, but she just said no and laughed at me like I was crazy for even thinking it.

I tried to bring the subject up again, but she said it was my hormones and refused to talk about it anymore. Then, when I said that I suspected she was a witch, it didn't go down too well, and we had a huge fight. That day was the day I broke the living room TV. She was definitely hiding something from me, and I needed to find out what it was.

Tristan had been asking around his pack, but he hadn't managed to find out any answers. I'd had to wait two weeks until I could do a pregnancy test to rule that out, and we planned to do it tomorrow morning. I doubted I was pregnant because we'd always been so careful, and besides, I'm not sure if a werewolf can even get a human pregnant.

Can they?

I was just finding everything so damn hard to cope with. What made it even worse was that the only people I had to talk to about it all, were the same people, that had kept me in the dark and lied to me my whole damn life. I needed to stop thinking about it all, I was winding myself up and I needed to go to sleep. I stretched and yawned, then tried to settle down for the night.

The Dream

It was dark, but I managed to see a little bit because the room was dimly illuminated by some disco lights. The DJ was pumping out loud chart music, and I could hear people laughing and having a good time. There was a crowd of people around me, but I couldn't focus on anyone in particular, and when I tried to, their faces completely blurred over. I looked around the room trying to see if I could recognize anything or anyone, but I couldn't.

I turned around once more, and my eyes landed on Tristan. My heart instantly swelled, and I began to relax knowing that he was there with me. He was standing over by the bar talking to a tall, dark figure. I couldn't quite make out the other guy, but I could see Tristan perfectly. He was bathed in a brilliant ice-blue spotlight. It seemed as if the moon had shone into the room and her only job was to illuminate him.

"Tristan," I shouted at him trying to get his attention, but he didn't turn around.

He must not have heard me.

I began to walk forwards so that I could get to him, but I struggled to push my way through the huge crowd of blurry faced people. They kept stopping and standing in front of me, then they began grabbing me, and spinning me around trying to get me to dance. I ignored them the best I could and carried on pushing them out of my way.

I need to get closer to Tristan.

A monstrous growl echoed through the room, and suddenly everything was plunged into darkness. The music had cut out and the disco lights had vanished. There wasn't any laughing or fun in the room anymore, and the blurry faced people had disappeared out of sight. I knew they were still there though, because I could hear their low whispers. Although, I still couldn't understand what they were saying.

My heart jumped into my throat when I felt something brush past me really fast. When something grabbed a hold of my arm, I screamed out in surprise. I heard a man's deep, and evil chuckle, and I quickly pulled my arm away from his tight grip. I spun around trying to catch a glimpse of whoever, or whatever, had grabbed me, but I couldn't see a thing. The room was just too damn dark, I could barely see my hand in front of my face.

"I will not let you take her!" Tristan's masculine voice boomed.

I turned my head around towards the bar, just in time to see Tristan punch the dark figure in the face. He tried to grab the figure, but it instantly vanished. Then faster than the light could follow, it reappeared behind him.

"Tristan look out!" I screamed.

Damn it! He didn't hear me, I thought as I balled my fists up in frustration.

The figure grabbed him around his neck and put him into a chokehold. I screamed out again and tried to run towards them, but I was grabbed and held back by what felt like a million hands. I guessed it was the blurry faced people trying to stop me from getting involved or even hurt. Or, they were going to kill me then eat me. I wasn't entirely sure what their intentions were, and at that exact moment in time, I didn't really care about my own fate.

Tristan was kicking his legs and reaching for his throat, trying everything he could to break free from that monster. But just like Landon had with him, he was losing the strength to fight, and fast. Eventually, his efforts to free himself ceased, and he wasn't moving anymore.

I panicked and thought that, I had to get to him quickly and save him. I wriggled and kicked, trying to break free from all the hands, but they wouldn't let me go. I had no choice but to stand by and watch helplessly while my beautiful boyfriend slipped away from this world.

The dark figure finally released Tristan, then vanished into thin air again. Tristan plummeted to the floor and laid there completely motionless. I prayed for him to get up or even just to move a little, but he didn't. I began to frantically grab at the hands that were holding me back, but each time I pulled one away, another one replaced it, and it was never-ending.

The dark figure abruptly appeared a few feet in front of me, and then hissed loudly. The blurry faced people instantaneously let me go, and silently crept away. I stood up straight trying to look brave as I glared right at the dark and monstrous figure. It was definitely the shape of a man, about six-foot-two ish, big and strong. It was pure black but slightly see-through like a shadow, and had soulless black eyes, with a slight red glow to them. The eyes made my blood run cold even though I'd only glimpsed at them. It stood there for a while just studying and watching me.

"What the hell are you staring at?" I screamed at it trying to sound as strong and fearless as I could.

It tilted its head to the side and let out an amused chuckle, then said in a deep and velvety voice,

"You will be mine, Freya Rose."

The words slivered of off its tongue, sending chills down my spine.

"Like hell I will!" I roared.

I began to charge right at the bastard. The blurry faced people frantically screamed at me, every time I ran past one of them. I heard them clearly now and they shouted things like,

"Stop please!"

"It's not safe."

"He's dangerous."

"He's evil."

The last one weirdly sounded like my voice. I ignored every single one of them and charged even faster at him. I dropped my shoulder down ready to tackle him, like I was a football player. Just before I reached him, he spoke.

"I will see you very soon. You will be mine, Freya Rose."

I charged even harder at him while he strangely bowed down to me. I closed my eyes as I prepared for our imminent collision, but the impact never happened. Somehow, I just carried on running, which made no sense to me.

I should have hit him by now.

I gradually stopped running and spun around trying to find the creep, but he'd completely disappeared, leaving only the darkness and the brilliant ice-blue spotlight that still illuminated Tristan. I turned my attention to Tristan and sprinted over to him, then screamed out when I reached his lifeless body,

"Tristan!"

I got down onto my knees and lifted his head up to rest it on my lap. I began to plead with him,

"Wake up baby, please."

But to no avail. I checked his pulse, and there was nothing. He was gone. I erupted into tears while I rested my head on his. My tears flowed down my face and fell onto his cheeks. I kissed his forehead and said as I cried,

"I love you always, forever be mine."

The bright ice-blue spotlight that had been surrounding him slowly faded away, leaving only the empty, and silent darkness.

"Freya… Freya... Freya," a soft and familiar voice called out to me.

"Huh?" I questioned sleepily.

"Open your eyes baby," I heard Tristan tell me, his voice was laced with concern.

I did as I was told and immediately opened my eyes. I was surprised to see Tristan hovering over me with fear in his eyes. He held my face and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Mmm, what was that for?" I asked as I yawned and pulled my arms up into a stretch.

"I was worried about you. You were screaming out my name in your sleep."

"You usually love it when I scream your name," I countered with a sleepy wink.

"Ugh."

He huffed then collapsed onto the bed next to me. Then said in a frustrated tone,

"I'm trying to be serious Freya."

He put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. I rolled over and swung my leg over his hips, then sat up. He lifted his knees up for me, so that I could rest my back on them.

"What's the matter, T?" I asked him softly.

I really didn't have a clue why he was so freaked out. He inhaled deeply, then let out a sigh.

"I woke up when you started screaming. You sounded petrified, Freya." He paused then glanced over to me and said, "I thought you'd woken up at one point, because I was leaning over you and you shouted, what the hell are you staring at?"

He let out a giggle breaking some of the tension that weighed heavy on the room. It didn't last long though, as my eyes grew wide and visions of the dream, I'd just had begun to flood my brain. He looked away again.

"That's when I tried to wake you up, but when I called out your name, you just burst into tears."

I gasped and stiffened as I suddenly remembered everything.

"What's up, babe?" Tristan asked in a troubled voice while he sat up.

He held me around my waist with one arm, then pushed against the mattress with his legs so that we both went further up the bed and rested his back on the headboard. Tears swelled in my eyes when he asked me, "What's wrong baby? Tell me, please."

His hand reached up and cupped my face. I closed my eyes then began to relay my dream to him,

"I remember my dream. We were at some sort of party or club, and you had a fight with a guy because he said I was going to be his. You said you wouldn't let that happen and then… then…" I couldn't finish my sentence as sobs of emotion took a hold.

"It's ok baby, shhh. It was only a dream," he explained trying to reassure me.

"No!" I snapped at him then sat back, "You don't get it. I have been having the same fucking dream for months now, and each time I have it, more stuff happens. It's becoming clearer every time," I said as tears continued to run down my face. Tristan raised his hand up to wipe away my tears, but I slapped it away. I wanted to finish telling him about my dream.

"The guy you were fighting with had jet black eyes with a red glow. He killed you, then told me I will be his. I tried to kick his ass, but he vanished into thin air before I could get to him."

Tristan grabbed me by my waist, lifted me off of him, then gently placed me back onto the bed. He rushed off of the bed and frantically rummaged through his jean's pockets.

"What are you looking for, T?���

"My fucking, phone!"

I wasn't in the mood to be shouted at, so I snapped back,

"What the fuck?" He straightaway stopped rummaging and looked over at me.

"I'm sorry for snapping baby, I just really need to find my phone," he said apologetically.

I sighed and nodded, then decided to help him out.

"It's on the charger over there," I said while pointing towards the dressing table across the room.

He looked to where I was pointing, then walked over to it, and unplugged it.

"Thanks, babe." He walked back over to me and kissed my head. "I'll be back in a minute."

He then rushed off into the bathroom. He had the phone to his ear and shut the door behind him with the sole of his foot. I sat on the edge of the bed and heard him lock the door.

What was all that about?

I tried to listen in to find out what he was up to, but I couldn't hear from that distance. I stood up and crept slowly towards the bathroom door, but when I got halfway across the room, I heard him turn on the shower. I huffed as I threw my arms in the air.

What the hell's going on? Why's he being so weird?

I had one of my headaches coming on, so left to go and get some water and painkillers from downstairs. I walked along the landing towards the stairs. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I could see that there was a light on downstairs.

Mom must still be awake, I thought as I made my way down the stairs. I didn't even know what time it was.

It can't be that late, if Tristan is ringing people, I thought.

I got to the bottom of the stairs and walked into the kitchen. I turned on the light and took some painkillers out of the drawer. I popped two out and put the box away. I made my way over to the fridge, reached in and grabbed a bottle of water. After opening it, I threw the pills into my mouth. I drank some water to wash them down and then closed the fridge door.

Bang

The back door slammed behind me. I jumped out of my skin, and the water flew out of the bottle, landing on my head. The front right side of my hair was soaked, I must have looked like a drowned rat. I spun around to investigate, but there was nobody there.

It must have been the wind, I laughed to myself.

I calmed myself down, then walked over to the back door and locked it. Thinking nothing more of it, I made my way back into the hallway, and saw that it was the living room light that was on.

Mom must be in there.

"Mom, you left the back door wide open," I said as I walked into the living room.

I expected her to be sitting on the couch, but she wasn't there. I looked around the room and then spotted something written on the mirror above the fireplace. I walked closer to inspect it, it looked like it had been written in blood. The water bottle fell from my hand plummeting to the floor as I let out a terrified scream. It read.

I will see you very soon.

You will be mine,

Freya Rose x

"Freya?" Tristan growled while he ran into the living room. I couldn't move, I was frozen in fear still staring at the mirror.

"Are you okay, baby?" Tristan asked as he stood in front of me and held my face in his hands. "Baby please say something!" He pleaded with me.

I stayed silent and just grabbed his waist, turning him around to look at the mirror.

"What the fuck is that?" He asked while he walked over to the mirror and touched one of the letters, smudging some of the liquid with his fingers. He pulled his now stained fingers up to his nose rubbing them in a circular motion with his thumb, he then inhaled deeply. His eyes turned black instantly. He looked up at me and said,

"Freya, this is blood. It's..." I quickly cut him off and choked out,

"I know it's fucking blood, Tristan!"

He shook his head at me, then replied,

"No Freya, you didn't let me finish. This is, your mom's blood."