Lycans Of The Woods

Chapter 19

"Olivia Hamilton."

I came to a halt immediately, eyes slowly closing and teeth grinding hard together. My hands held the bag of clothes for Alec tightly, and my body shuddered from the cold. I could feel Eric's eyes on me as I, at first, refused to further acknowledge him.

There were several people outside of their homes, and some had begun to watch us. I spotted Helda amongst those outside. Her aunt stood beside her and even from the distance, I could see the stiff, almost accusatory expression on her face as she watched me.

The sound of his approach made me turn immediately, and I adjusted the straps of the blue bag, heaving out a breath nervously before greeting him tersely. "Goodnight Eric."

His eyes narrowed and I licked my lips, moved my gaze beyond him to my house and the soft glow of the lights emitting from it briefly.

"What is in that?" Eric asked, taking several steps closer towards me. His eyes slowly travelled up and down my body, and then rested pointedly on my bag. I could smell the hint of whiskey from his breath, and the way his eyes seemed to glaze over as he held my stare.

"Clothes for a boy." I finally bit out the truth, just as Eric hauled the bag from my hands and began searching through it himself roughly.

My fingers slowly curled into fists and I counted the seconds that passed as he did so, urging myself to remain calm. He finally thrusted the bag back into my arms, clothes almost tumbling from it, and I exhaled softly, deciding to keep my eyes casted towards the snow.

"If that is all, I must be on my-"

"The clothes are for Alec, are they not?" The scent of alcohol drifted closer to me again, and I could feel my body stiffening further. I nodded,

"Yes. He was imprisoned and I- we rescued him." My eyes slowly raised towards Eric's when he said nothing else, and I knew then as I met his piercing gaze, that he somehow knew the truth, and I had a strong suspicion that he had been aware that I'd been in the storehouse whilst Bryant and himself had conversed.

My stomach dropped, and it suddenly became difficult to breathe as I felt myself slowly shake my head, dread spreading in me like a poison.

Eric's lips curled downwards and his hand grasped the back of my neck as he pulled me forward, spittle hitting my cheek as he snarled,

"Walk with me, you foolish traitor."

I was helpless against his pulls, and the bag which held the clothes intended for Alec dropped to the snow. Struggling did little to help me escape his grip; his strength was superior to my own.

"Where are you leading me?" I finally demanded, hissing in pain when he applied painful pressure on the back of my neck. Wordlessly he directed me towards a black building, and my stomach churned at the smell which came from it.

Almost immediately, I knew this place to be a prison, and tears pricked my eyes as I was forced to walk down the steps that would lead me inside.

None of the cells were occupied by living beings. Instead, the skeletons of many remained on the floor, and a decaying body was in the last cell. My fingers raised to my lips in horror as I immediately recognized it to be a teenaged boy who had trained with me.