A Howl In The Night by Lorelei Sutton (best novels for students TXT) 📖

through the tunnel and you will come out of the portal at that destination.”

“You talk too much, Soka,” a dangerously deep voice interrupts our conversations, “you shouldn’t be telling all this stuff to the prisoner.” I look back and I can barely make out the outline of his face.

“What does it matter, Zayn? She’s not going to last very long at Headquarters. Who cares if I tell her a few of our secrets?”

“We don’t know that. She might get lucky. Ferrars seems to like the look of her.”

“He was just acting like a gentleman. It wasn’t because he liked her.”

I say nothing, slightly offended.

After a few minutes we see a light at the end of the tunnel. Excitement flows through me as I realize that I am so close to getting out of the tunnel and seeing the “Headquarters” for the first time.

“Do you need me to carry you?” Soka laughingly asks as I almost trip on a root. As we reach the light, I can finally see his face as he makes fun of me. I punch him in the arm, surprised at how comfortable I feel with this guard, especially considering that he is bringing me here to die. I guess it is because inwardly, I feel like I am going to be okay.

As long as I have Scotty.

“It’s so bright!” I shield my eyes as we step out of the tunnel. I feel immense relief as the world greets me once again. The grass is perfectly green here, the trees elegant and healthy. Even the sky here is just as clear as it was in the sanctuary.

But even more beautiful is the castle right in front of my eyes.

It is so big, with its turrets reaching towards the sky. A sparkling, crystal clear lake lies behind it, wrapping its arms around the entire castle like a moat. There is a gigantic wall surrounding the entire area, which makes it seem even more like a castle out of a fairy tale.

“This is where the council lives?” I ask Soka.

“This is where everyone who is important lives,” Soka says plainly, “and yes, that would include the council and their mates.

“Is there any children living in there?” I ask, remembering Ray’s words when he told me about the impossibility of having a child between two werewolves.

“Rarely ever are children born in the castle.”

“But what about the leader?”

“That… was a special case.” Soka loudly snorts and Zayn knees him in the back. “Ouch, man! What was that for?”

“Show proper respect,” he says fiercely. As I glance back this time, I can see a large scar stretching across his rather grotesque features.

Ferrars heads to the front of the group, his long golden hair shining in the light. “Guards, take the members of Pack 101 to the dungeon,” he commands, unsmiling. As Soka drags me past Ferrars, however, he stops him. “You’re coming with me,” he says, grabbing hold of my arm. Soka disappears into the train of soldiers who are vanishing into the castle. Xavier, as he passes us both, shoots Ferrars the glance of hell.

Ferrars laughs. “Your friend is funny. I think he likes you.”

“Maybe.” I decide not to tell him about Xavier and I. That would not help either of us.

He starts walking to the castle, dragging me along. He has a surprisingly tough grip, one that I could never break out of. “You better count yourself lucky that I’m feeling nice today,” He grins, “you don’t want to be where your friends are, that’s for sure.”

I keep silent, determined not to give him any sort of answer. Looking at my feet the entire time, I am whisked through the castle, sadness finally beginning to creep into my heart. Where is Scotty? The whole reason why I did not put up a fight was because of him, and now he is nowhere to be found.

“Here we are,” he finally says, stopping at a small door. “This is a little bit better than those dungeon rooms. Even though you are our prisoner, you are still a lady and deserve to be treated like one… especially since you might not be staying here very long.”

I finally lift my head as the door swings open to a simple room about half the size of the one at the mansion. However, it looks clean and probably is way better than the dungeon cells. “Thank you,” I softly say, walking into the bedroom. The bed is pretty large and inviting, beckoning me to lie upon it.

“If you want to change into some better clothes there are some in the closet,” he smiles, walking over to a door and opening it to reveal quite a few outfits. “There are also a few necklaces in this drawer that were left here by some of the ambassadors.”

I search through the closet until I find a beautiful, yet simple top with a skirt that gathers at the side. Closing the door so he can’t see, I change within seconds. It is amazing how fast I can accomplish things now.

I exit the closet and move over to the drawer just to look at the jewelry these people left here. All of it is beautiful, but the one that stands out to me the most is a small emerald orb dangling on a thin silver chain. If I stare into it, it almost feels like I am looking into Xavier’s eyes.

“Let me help you,” Ferrars’s voice turns seductive as he takes the necklace and fastens it around my neck. I can feel his breath on my neck as his fingers play with the ends of the chain. “You look very pretty,” he comments, smiling at my form as he steps away.

Against my better judgement, I look away. I wanted to yell at him for hurting my friends. For capturing us against our will. Even though I know it will do no good.

Friends. I have friends now.

Friends who mean so much to me, even though I would never admit it.

Ferrars frowns when I don't say anything in response to his compliment. "Are you worried about your friends?"

I nod slowly, and he walks even closer to my side. He takes both hands and places them firmly on my shoulders. Electricity arises from his touch, shocking me to the bone. Is he insane? What is he doing?

I try to calm down my anger, knowing that it will not get me anywhere.

"It is true that your pack has committed a grave offense," he starts solemnly, "surely you understand the necessity of enforcing the rules. Without rules that are respected an followed, our entire world would fall apart. With that being said, however, you have just met probably the only person right now who can help you out here, and maybe even your pack. So please... please do not cry." His voice turns tender and he drops his arms as a small tear begins to run down my cheek.

I'm... crying? Over what?

After questioning myself in confusion, I look back into Ferrars's bright eyes. "Could you save us? I'll do anything."

 His eyes darken with my words, clouding in its center. I wait for a few seconds impatiently. "Ferrars? Did you hear me?"

I don't even know why I am begging the enemy for help. Since when have I ever been so desperate?

"Uh... yes. I did. I don't know what came over me. I apologize. Uh... don't worry about it. I'll take care of you, I promise."

I do not like where this conversation is going. I suddenly realize that one of his hands have been touching my shoulder this entire time. No wonder I have been shivering so much.

I treat him with one of my best, though obviously fake smiles. “Thank you, I really appreciate everything you have done.”

His face suddenly freezes, and contorts into a scowl. “What are you doing to me?!” He asks, extremely frustrated. It is as if he has become another person, staring at me like I normally would a piece of steak.

That's it! I knew he was bipolar.

“Doing what?” I ask, shocked. There is a blur of motion and then suddenly I find myself on the bed, pinned down by Ferrars.

He looks like an animal now more than ever, staring at me hungrily. Fright jolts through me as he reaches to unbutton the top of my shirt. “Please…” I beg, tears beginning to form and roll down my cheeks.

Completely ignoring me, he impatiently rips open the first button, then the second. I almost scream as his eyes begin to glow bright like the sun…

But then they stop glowing almost as soon as they started. His face is full of bafflement as he seems to return to his normal self. “What is this?” he asks angrily, “you are mated?”

I look at the mirror to the side and suddenly notice a small mark near my neck. It is in the shape of a crescent moon with a circle around it. “How long has that been there?” I wonder aloud, rubbing the spot with my fingers.

“And what is this?!” He stares at the gap between my shirt and the skirt, where a similar mark lies on my hip. “But you have such an irresistible smell… this is impossible! I can’t even control myself around you, yet you are mated to not one but two men?”

He backs away, staring at me with fright. “What are you?”

“Can you explain to me why you assaulted me just then?!” I ask furiously.

A slight pause follows as Ferrars tries to recover. “It’s your smell,” he groans, “it is so intoxicating that it nearly knocked me down when I first saw you. I was planning on marking you as my own, but looks like two people beat me to the punch. It should be impossible to be mated and smell like that! I don’t understand at all.”

“Did you say… I was mated to two men?”

Ferrars roughly steps forward and points to both of the markings. “These are mating markings. The reason why my eyes were glowing was because I was trying to mark you, but I stopped because of the shock of discovering that first mark by your neck. If you are mated, you are supposed to smell kind of like a rotten egg to everyone but your mate, but you are not like that at all.”

He nearly runs away from me, staring as if I am an alien. “Good night, Mona. I apologize for my rudeness, but right now it would be best for both of us if I stayed away from you. There is some food on the tray.” He shuts the door quickly, and I hear a click shortly after. He locked me in.

I stand up and examine myself in the mirror. I had never really noticed the markings before, with them being almost like regular, minuscule birthmarks. Today has definitely been a day of surprises. For one, I’m surprised I am still alive after Ferrars looked at me like he was going to eat me.

Totally exhausted, I plop back onto the bed, wondering how the crap I got two markings. It is almost too much for me to take in all at once. Is Ferrars a genuinely nice person or is he the person that I caught a glimpse of tonight?

I remember Ferrars’s angry question, “What are you?”, with complete confusion.

What am I?

A few minutes later, the door squeaks open to reveal a majestic, beautiful dog. It shuts behind him as he comes towards me. “Spotty!” I smile, patting the spot to my left. “Come and sit by me.”

As he joins me, I find myself telling him everything that has happened with Ferrars. Spotty has always been so easy to talk to… I was always able to tell him anything that was on my mind ever since I was young. Minutes stretch into hours as I pour out my fears, hopes, and past since he left.

His big eyes search mine as I confess, “Ferrars… he was going to mark me until he saw these.” I show him my two