Dawn

20

Dawn

I couldn't look at him.

The violence shocked me; the pure hatred glinting in Hayden's eyes shook me to my centre. I had never witnessed him act so crazily, so maniacally.

He was wild.

He was an animal.

I still had no clear understanding of what had taken place, only the memory of waking up to a booming voice and an unfamiliar hand on my face, with eyes that didn't belong to my mate staring down at me before shifting to the other figure in the room. Confused, I shuffled away from Dylan and tried to make sense of what was happening.

Did Dylan try something? Why is Hayden all the way over there?

"What's going on?" was all I wanted to know in my sleepy state. With the anger clearly written on Hayden's face, I knew that I wouldn't be getting a clear answer from him. He was distracted by his madness, but I saw his piercing scowl directed at Dylan in response to my question. I guess it was all I needed. Trusting Hayden's judgement and piecing together a probable scenario in my mind, I turned to Dylan wearing a similar expression to Hayden's.

It all happened so fast.

Flashing before my eyes, Hayden slammed Dylan against the wall, ignoring all of Dylan's pleas and snapping at him. I sprang to my feet. I could see the fangs slipping through his lips, the claws protruding from his knuckles. Hayden's judgement had gone haywire. I had to do something: I couldn't watch my mate murder his own best friend.

"Hayden!, don't!" I called. And I regretted it instantly. 

A terrifying roar ripped from Hayden's jaws, and I watched in horror as his claws dashed through his skin and headed straight for Dylan's throat. My instant reaction was to look away, so I did so with a petrified cry.

It was met with silence.

Peeking up, I noticed that Hayden had stepped away from his friend, who was shorter than Hayden and unsurprisingly shaky. Hayden moved further back from Dylan; I moved further back from Hayden. All my mind could think about was getting away, escaping. I heard Hayden growl something at Dylan, but his voice was muffled by my pounding heartbeat. The next thing I knew, the front door was slamming and there was no sign of Dylan. I was alone with an animal.

"Are you okay, Dawn?" Hayden spoke softly. I couldn't reply, simply inched away from him further, my face frozen in fear and my hands visibly shaking, poised midair.

"Dawn," he whined. It was a plea. 

But I couldn't see past his black eyes that still shone in the dimness. 

His hand touched my arm and I jumped a mile high, stumbling slightly as I edged backwards still. His hurt and regret was a pained expression clear on his face. As his eyes faded back to their usual hazel shade, I relaxed slightly. I remained terrified, though. 

If I irritate him, will he do that to me? If we argue, will he slaughter me like he was about to with Dylan? 

But my subconscious knew he wouldn't. He would never hurt me. Just now, with Dylan, he was protecting me. He hadn't actually hurt his friend, he'd exercised self-control and let him leave. That was enough for me.

I smoothed my hair, took a deep breath and swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "Yeah," I nodded, shooting him a small smile. "I'm okay."

"Good. Come here." I sped over to him and inhaled his relaxing scent— his embrace was like cuddling up in warm, fresh towels after an ice bath.