Lover Of The Last

17. Into The Night

"The water is rising on a river turning red

It all might be okay or we might be dead"

Riley's POV

Silence swirled through the chilling wind as I sat on my hind legs in the clearing. Arabelle and I's clearing that I hadn't returned to since those weeks ago when I made my decision. My decision to come out of hiding an be a human, an experience I struggled with after being an animal for so many years.

My past was a blur and when I tired to see my future it to was unclear and incomplete. The fog surrounding me seemed to mock my cluttered thoughts as I stared forward.

Being alone when I should be with her made my chest feel hollow with loneliness. She was supposed to me mine and always by my side but I was ashamed. I knew she might be feeling the same but I was punishing myself by staying away from her and her sympathy.

"What are you going to do?" The low voice in my head I had identified as my Wolf spoke. "Sit and mope or try and find out what's going on?"

He had a point, things seemed off and I had been hearing William's name spoken in the villages and a high mention of vampires from it's people. Which unsettled me greatly after last night's attack. But what could be done? I couldn't do what I want, not yet, according to the others I had to wait till she was ready.

A strong gust of wind blew by and whipped my long fur around relentlessly, but I stayed still and continued to stare forward. I willed her to come to me. I longed for her to run into the clearing with a smile and outstretched arms, her black hair whipping in the wind like mine.

My ears strained to hear footsteps or laughter that usually signaled her arrival, but I knew better. She wasn't coming and I needed to leave. I needed to do what I came here to do, something I had been ignoring but now knew I had to focus on.

I wouldn't let her be involved in the darkness of her kingdom, I would take her away. It was what I was meant to do and would do. But she needed to be ready.

As I stood back on all fours and began to walk towards the path leading to the villages, the whispers of memories toyed with head. A barefoot girl giggling while hiding in the tall grass, my barking, her laughter, her tears, her silence and most of all her voice.

Riley. I stopped and searched around with hooded eyes. My claws dug into the ground when I was hit with a wave of loneliness.

The vampire venom that was still in my system played with my senses the whole way back to the village and I became numb to the dull hallucinations. At least they weren't as bad as last night's, I told myself.

I whimpered at the memory of my body thrashing around on the forest floor trying to find the difference between reality and venom-infused visions.

"Riley, Arabelle is dead." William stood above me, his skin transparent like a ghost but still all to real. "And you killed her." His dark eyes mocked me and he quickly disappeared into the blackness around me only to be replaced by a more heartbreaking hallucination.

Arabelle, laying next to me on the ground, with her silky pale skin seeming to melt into the cold air. I stopped and stared, my veins on fire with vampire venom.

I watched as she stood, her white dress giving her a haunting look. Fear erupted all over me as she changed, her beautiful skin slicing open with claw marks and bites. Finally a deep cut lashed through her throat and sent her jolting backwards into the darkness with all the other nightmares of my mind.

"No. No. Wake up, Riley. This isn't real. She alive and you need to get up and run." I yelled into my own throbbing head. I quickly tried to stand and to my surprise, I stayed on my feet.