Drawing Blood

Chapter Five

Adam stopped dead in his tracks.

"You won't," he murmured. And he threw me a glance over his shoulder. He moved slowly then, turning, making his way back towards me. His eyes narrowed as he focused upon my tiny frame. He had the outward appearance of a predator, I thought to myself. My dreams had not done him justice. I held my breath in anticipation as I found myself taking a step backwards with every stride he took, until I eventually backed up into a tree, unable to escape him. It did not stop him. He came to a halt in front of me, and in one fluid motion, his arms came up, his hands landing on either side of my shoulders, trapping me. "You won't stay here without me," he warned. "You won't survive."

Our eyes locked in a silent battle. I found myself swallowing. I realised that a small part of me agreed with him. He was the only person who would be able to help me. I knew I would never stand a chance without him. The tension hung heavy between us, and I could feel the electricity rising off his chest. It made it impossible for me to think. "You can't make me go anywhere with you," I whispered, determined to stand my ground. "I will stay here."

"If I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you away from this town, I will," he growled.

"Will knows I'm here," I alerted him. "He'll come looking for me, if I don't return, soon."

He paused to consider what I had said, but didn't withdraw from me like I had wanted him to. He only remained. My little speech about Will seemed to momentarily stop him in his tracks, but that was all. It had no affect on him whatsoever. He continued to peer down at me, his breath warm on my face. I noted his mouth was only inches away from mine. It would take very little effort to lean into him, to kiss him. "You won't stay here without me," he repeated. When I asked him why, he answered, "Because I won't let you..."

The blood rushed into my cheeks. My insides betrayed me. There was an unmistakable fire in his eyes. He was enjoying the challenge. "You're being unreasonable," I said quietly.

"I'm not being unreasonable."

"...How can you be so cold?"

"I'm not being cold, I'm being cautious."

"You just want to win..." Frustrated, I turned my face from him. The air escaped my lungs. It did me no good being this close to him. In fact, I hated being this close to him. In that moment, I hated myself for being unable to resist him. I began to take a mental note of all the things in my environment, in an attempt to ground myself. I wanted nothing better than to detest him forever. Yet, I knew that would never happen. "Adam...."

"Rose..."

"Just listen to me, please..." I begged. The loose change I'd been toying with fell from my grip, and I sank my nails into my palms, needing the pain. "Everyone I love is here..."

"Look, I don't want to hurt you, Rose," he explained gently. He sighed. "I've never wanted to do that. You must believe me."

All he had to do was move another inch, I told myself. We would be touching, then. If you had a credit card, you wouldn't be able to slide it between us. Remaining silent, I stared at his chest again, wondering which one of us would make the first move. I could smell his aftershave, the faint aroma of soap where he had showered making me lightheaded. I was struggling to breathe - to think - being so near to him, my concentration was zero. "Please..."

"I am sorry, Rose." he spoke, "We leave. My decision is final."

"If I leave with you Adam, how can you be sure another werewolf won't find me and kill me anyway?" I implored. "What happens, then?" I took my hands from my pockets and began wiping my eyes with the back of them. I was horrified to notice I was crying now. I did not want him to see me like that. I did not want to give him the satisfaction. I tried to make it look like I had something in my eye. "Haven't you thought about that?"