Contract Bound [Rewriting]

Chapter One

As Belinda forced her legs to keep moving, she soon found herself surrounded by nature. At the hoot of an owl, her large, steel-blue eyes scanned her surroundings, but the cloak of darkness veiled her vision, thwarting her from detecting anything hiding within the thick foliage.

The branches of the trees creaked in the breeze as birds sang soft melodies from above. In the distance, frogs croaked, and crickets chirped. All of which were familiar sounds whenever she entered the forest surrounding her small town.

When her body shivered, she wrapped her arms around herself. She should have grabbed her jacket before heading out, but concern for her friend Aurora, who turned twenty today, had flooded her. She feared her friend would be marked and end up murdered like the rest.

Belinda raked her quivering hands through her ash blond curls. A twig snapping had her heart palpitating like a frightened bird in a cage. She pivoted around, her eyes meeting deep emerald ones. Aurora always had a dazzling smile on her lips that displayed her perfect teeth and revealed her dimples, but tonight, her face showed nothing.

"What?" Belinda asked.

Aurora averted her gaze. "They found another."

A pressure built up in her chest, which threatened to crush her heart. "Aurora—"

Aurora placed her hand on Belinda's shoulder and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I was sent to look for you. C'mon."

When she seized Belinda's hand, she jerked away. "Aren't you afraid? Another chosen has been found dead."

Aurora stared at the forest floor, the breeze pushing back her coal-black hair. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

"In a few minutes, you're going to stand in the chosen zone—What if you're chosen?"

"Then all I'd have left is to hope I don't end up like the rest."

Without another word, Belinda embraced her friend, begging God that one of the supernatural wouldn't choose her.

In the past, it had been an honor, but all that changed when chosen ones began to appear murdered three months ago. Her hold around Aurora tightened, recalling the memory of the woman they had discovered while hanging out with their friends in the woods.

Belinda remembered vividly when the droplets of blood splattered against her face. At first, she thought it started to drizzle and suggested they return home before she touched her face and noted the blood coating her fingertips. Her friend Ezra pulled her away as she glanced up to find the woman chosen last week suspended from a branch by her feet, blood pouring out from the deep laceration on her neck. The copper-colored tattoo-like wolf mark on her shoulder had been clawed at. Two weeks prior, another woman from a nearby town had been discovered with her throat also slit open, but her symbol had been a silver crescent moon.

Belinda permitted Aurora to guide her back to the town. Once there, they came to a halt. Darkness overwhelmed most of the town save for the streetlights casting a golden glow across the pavement. The two-story homes surrounded the chosen zone like the bars of a cage. The small golden lit candles confirmed the town was prepared for the ceremony, despite having found another body.

As Belinda observed her friend, she was certain the bravery in her eyes was feigned. Tomorrow, Belinda turned twenty, and the mere thought of being chosen sent a chill through her body. She gave Aurora's hand a soft squeeze. "Perhaps you won't be chosen."

Aurora met her gaze, her glistening eyes confirming her suspicions. "When has a woman been rejected?"

Belinda did her best to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. "Many haven't been chosen."