The Poisonous Rose

Chapter Two

Forsythia jerked awake with a cry. She was shivering and her body was soaking wet. She looked up at the sky, where rain fell through the branches. Her nightgown was see-through now that it was soaking wet. She felt self-conscious and hoped no one had walked by where she was sleeping while her nightgown was wet.

She stood up, feeling a sharp pain in her ankle. She looked down and saw that it was cut and bruised badly. She couldn't remember much from what happened last night after she ran into the woods. All she remembered was that she'd been determined to get far away from the village.

Forsythia wasn't sure if her parents would want to look for her, but just in case she started moving along. She covered herself with her arms. Her skin was soaked to the bone and it didn't help that she was only wearing a nightgown. She looked around and noticed an old beat up blanket lying on the ground. She picked it up and shook it out. She wrapped it around herself, just in case anyone came near her.

She felt scared. She wasn't sure if it was because of all the stories she'd heard about the woods or if this was a genuinely scary place. It felt so empty and every time she heard a noise, her heart beat picked up.

There must have been a lot of animals around here, because she heard so many twigs snap and a lot of ominous noises. Once the rain stopped, her nightgown finally had a chance to dry. Forsythia's stomach growled and she picked some berries from a bush, making sure they weren't poisonous first.

She sat down on a rock and ate them, her nightgown returning to its original form, no longer see-through. She was glad about that. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and started on again. Forsythia nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a croak. She turned around and saw a body of water near her. She realized it was probably a frog.

Scary images kept coming into her mind. She imagined herself facing the darkest and scariest creature there was, getting eaten by it. As she imagined it, she tripped on a root. Nearby there was a small slope and she slid down it, letting go of the blanket, staining her nightgown with dirt. How she wished for some regular clothes.

Forsythia stayed on the ground, trying not to cry. Her whole body ached now, cut by thorns or roots or whatever it was she had fallen on. She curled up in a ball and wished she was anywhere but the woods.

~~~

After seven years of searching, he'd never considered the possibility that she might have blended in. He'd thought she'd be weighed down by the burden she knew and would have been easy to find. He thought she would have stood out like a horse would have in a group of people. Instead, she was living with an adopted family and looked quite happy. Up until what had happened the night before anyways.

Those two men who'd been walking near Lucas's castle just happened to mention the monster child while they were passing in front of the gate. Lucas hadn't been sure if it was her, but as soon as he'd set eyes on her, he'd known it was. He freaked out when he saw her looking at him, and he fled into the woods, not expecting to see her again until a few days later. Instead, he saw her that night. She didn't realize it though, since he'd been in his other form.

He sat in an armchair, still thinking over everything that happened with astonishment. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten out of his chains the night before. Ever since his alpha died, he hadn't been able to control when he turned. In order to control it, you had to be at complete ease with your wolf self, but Lucas wasn't, not anymore.

He still wasn't sure how he'd been able to control himself around the alpha's daughter. He'd blacked out like he usually did, but as soon as he set eyes on her, everything became clear again. He couldn't understand why she'd acted unafraid. She'd even knelt down and offered her hand to him. It was as if she'd completely trusted him.