The Silk Of The Predator (Book #1 In Series)

Althea

Everything hurt.

It felt like my body was still trying to fight off death, even though life was fully in my grasp. I didn't feel like me. Elias told me that he had felt this and that it would go away, that it was just a side effect of dying, or near dying in my case. I still felt... off. Like I don't fit my skin any longer. Charlotte told me these feelings would wear off, they would go away in a couple of days or so. I wanted to believe them, I wanted it to be true. I hated these feelings, and Elias seemed to sense it.

"Come on," Elias said one day, twining his fingers through mine. We had been sitting on our bed, and I had been sorta, kinda sulking. He pulled me off the bed, and dragged me out into the hallway. "Elias," I groaned, as he tugged me down the hall. He glanced over his shoulder at me, "Shh. Stop complaining, and just come on,". I glared at the back of his head.

He glanced back again, and grinned at my look. "Where are we going? I just want to sulk in our room," I whined, and he stopped. He turned, pulled me into his arms, and pressed his lips to mine. I melted into him, and wrapped my arms around his neck. Together we stumbled back, and he pressed me lightly into the wall. A smile spread slowly across my lips, and Elias pulled back, grinning down at me.

"Oh, alright. You won, take me wherever it is you want to take me," I gave in, my voice quiet yet happy. He gave me another quick kiss on my lips, "Thank you. Love you,". "Love you too," I smiled. His grin grew wider, and he grabbed my hand again. We walked down the hall together, letting our joined hands swing as we walked. He led me to the back yard, where I froze.

There was a large tree, with thick branches close to each other, and between a couple of branches, there was a platform of wood. On the platform, there was a picnic set up. After helping me climb up, we sat down on a really comfortable plaid quilt. Opening a large wicker basket, Elias pulled out a variety of foods, and, to my surprise, a small chocolate cake. "How?" I asked in a amazement, staring at the cake, which looked big enough for only two people. He grinned at my reaction, "A magician never revealed his secrets,". I narrowed my eyes at him.

He laughed, "Okay, okay. Some friends of Matt had some left over cake mix, and I just took a little of it. Don't worry, I asked Matt for it, so you don't think that I stole it or whatever,". "Like I would think that," I told him, smiling.

He shrugged, "Anyways, I'm guessing that you would like to have dessert first?". "Yes!" I nearly yelled with excitement. He laughed, then sobered after a few moments. "Ally, when was the last time you've actually had cake, or anything like it?" he asked. I thought back on it, "The last time I remember was a couple of weeks before everything went downhill. You?". He paused, "I don't know. I know Rosa made it for me, but I can't remember when the last time was,".

We were silent for several long moments, then Elias cleared his throat, "Okay. Let's move on to a more pleasant topic,". I nodded, then got excited again when I saw him move to the cake. He cut it in half, put one half on a plate, and handed it to me. He laughed at whatever expression was on my face. "What?" I asked and he shook his head, still laughing. "Nothing. You're just practically drooling over it," he laughed and I laughed with him. "Seriously?" and he nodded.

After our little picnic, I felt a lot better. My mood lightened, and I actually felt more like me. "Eli?" I asked as we were heading back inside. "Yes?" he asked, turning his head to look at me. I smiled at him, "I love you,". He smiled back, "I love you too, Ally,". "Elias and Althea sitting in a tree," Gray teased as he walked by. "What are you? 12?" Elias shot back, turning to grin at him. "Oh come on! You're giving me to much credit. You know I'm like, 5," Gray said, mock serious and earned a laugh from both Elias and me. Then Eli and I went back to our room.

We had been laying back on our bed for a few hours when someone knocked on the door. We sat up quickly and Eli called, "Come in!". Gray came bursting into our room, breathing heavy. I jumped to my feet and I sensed Elias rise with me. "Gray, what's wrong?!" I exclaimed. "H-he got h-him," Gray gasped. "Who?!" Elias exclaimed. "Matt- Matt got him," Gray was still gasping for breath. "Got who, Gray?" I asked. "Wade," Gray breathed.

Wade, he sat before us, chuckling. His laughter grew by the minute, until he was doubled over, clutching his stomach, laughing. Gray punched him in the face, breaking Wade out of his hysterics. "They will come. When the winter comes, and the snow covers the ground. They will come. They will come for you, for all of you! Your precious Althea will finally come to her last test!" Wade cried. "Who? Who will come? Answer me!" Gray roared. Wade just started laughing again, laughing even as blood drizzled over his lips. "My time is gone," was the last words he said, then he slumped forward. A heavy silence fell over us, snuffing all of the life out of the room. Our time was almost gone.