Little Red Riding Hood's Mate

9. Twisted game

Jason
"I understand that this must be hard for you."Noah was desperately trying to make me feel better."Every cell in my body is telling me not to do this. I don't think you understand how hard this is. Not only a sweet innocent fifteen-year-old girl will go through tremendous pain because of me but I have feelings for her. I feel like I am supposed to protect and make her happy. She is a good person and she doesn't deserve this." there was no way that my friend could wash the guilt away.
"You realize that this is the bond talking right." he said and I buried my face in my hands."She is a good girl Noah, even you know that." I groaned and he placed his hand on my shoulder."Serena is your destiny, she is our packs destiny. It's awful but we need to do the spell." I didn't want that to be true but it was and I had to do do something to ensure that destiny.
"I paid the witches, they said that they will ambush her, grab her and do the spell as quickly as possible. Also, they will take some blood from her. Blood of virgins is kind of important for many of the black magic spells." the beast inside me was looking for a way out, he was yelling scratching, biting and he would do anything to keep her safe.
"It is time." I announced and got up from the bench that I was sitting."In five minutes I'm supposed to be outside the coffee shop that I and Karma are supposed to meet." I was battling with myself, he didn't want us to do this."Stay strong Jason." Noah gave courage and I needed as much of that as he could offer."I really don't want to do it." I was shaking."There is no choice." he told me.
"She doesn't deserve it, Noah. All that pain, all that fear." he snorted."She is a strong girl she will be fine. Besides, you will feel extreme pain too." I knew he felt really sorry for her but the didn't want to express it. I would pay the witches to do the spell to me but unfortunately magic doesn't work that way. You see since I want the bond to be broken the spell must be done on her. If she wanted to break our bond then the spell had to be done on me."Yeah sure, I'll have a fever for like two days." he laughed."I don't think it's going to be that easy." whatever it would happen to me I would take it.
She wasn't there when I arrived. A small part of me had hope that she wouldn't come but that hope died when I saw her across the street. She looked absolutely stunning as always. When she saw me she smiled and approached me happily."Good morning, Moonstone." she greeted me with a big smile that confirmed that she was happy to see me."You know you can call me Jason, right?" I laughed nervously."I know I can I just choose not to." she giggled. Such a nice sound, her laugh. It like the most beautiful melody.
"Are you ready to go on an adventure?" I asked and she cocked her brow."I'm as ready as I'll ever be, fellow adventurer." she said and we started to walk towards the woods."We won't walk for way too long because my cabin is not that far inside the woods." I informed her."I just hope that we won't get attacked by wolves."We won't, no wolf would dare to attack me."We won't, don't worry and if they do attack us I will scare them off." I said growling and she broke into laughter."They will be so afraid." she made fun of me."When you'll see it you'll believe it, little thing." I loved the new nickname that I gave her, too bad that I wasn't going to be using it for long.
"I wonder..." her beautiful eyes were mirroring the sky's color."What?" I asked her grinning as we walked inside the forest."How does it feel to be the most popular guy in school?" I gave her a surprised look."Am I the most popular guy in school?" I questioned laughing."Yes, you are. I mean think about it, you are handsome, smart, captain of the basketball team, you have an amazing girlfriend, an amazing best friend and a ton of girls have a crush on you." she thinks way too highly of me.
"Well, I guess you can say that I am popular but I'm not the most popular guy in our school. Also, only Sydney has a crush on me." I pointed out."It's not just Sydney." she said like she was sure about it."Do you know something that I don't?" her heart jumped in her chest. My heart started to beat faster trying to catch up with hers."No, but I don't think she is the only one." she told me rather quickly."Well, it sounded like you knew another girl that likes me." her cheeks turned red."I'm just guessing they do." she looked at her feet. I liked the fact that she was all flustered because of me.
She likes us, doesn't she?
Even if she does it's too late now...
"Do you see this path over there?" I inquired."Yeah..." she answered."It leads to a lake. It's the most beautiful place in the whole world." I informed her."One day you should take me there." my sweet Karma, if things were different I would marry you there."You'll like it." I said plainly trying once again to fight the urge to tell her that she is in danger and that we have to leave this place right now because the last thing I want is anything to happen to her.
" I wish I lived here when I was younger." truth to be told I wish the same thing. I would have met her earlier and we would be together now."The life I do here is way different than the one I did in the city. I hate big cities." she stated."They can't be that bad." I shrugged."You say that because you've been living in this paradise since you were a baby. I didn't even know I loved nature that much before I came here." she sighed.
"I'm glad that you're here now." I admitted. It doesn't really matter if I get a little closer to her now, does it? It's my way of saying goodbye to her."Why?" she asked me flustered. I loved the fact that I made her so nervous. I licked my lips."Because we met. You're a really good person Karma honestly." a big smile appeared on her beautiful face."I'm glad I met you too, even though it wasn't under the best circumstances." we both laughed at her comment."I still remember Serena's face when you ruined her shirt. It was priceless." I said and she laughed even harder."It wasn't even my fault Leo texted me." I rolled my eyes. I hate that stupid vampire.
"Are you still thinking about him?" I inquired."Kind of, I thought we had a connection." she said casually. Even I thought they had one. Leo doesn't let girls go if he doesn't drink their blood first, he liked this one."I'm sure you'll get over it." I'm not sure though if you will ever get over the thing that I'm going to do to you."Well, I'm going to. Besides, I didn't know him for that long." she said and shrugged.
"Look! That's my cabin." I pointed at the little house which was my lovenest with Serena."It looks so nice. Your dad is the best. You must have been so happy with his present." she said in a dreamy voice."Well, yeah it was an amazing present. I bet that if you tell your dad he will be built one for you too. Then we would be neighbors." I joked. She gave a forced pained smile and I frowned.
"He would but he is not alive to do it." I felt my heart sink."Oh, shit Karma, I'm so sorry." I and placed my hand on her shoulder. It was the first time that I ever touched her. Her skin was soft and I didn't want to take my hand away."It's ok.Relax." How can I relax when I know that something as traumatic as losing a parent happened to you?"How did he die? If you don't want to you don't have to answer." she sighed."It was a robbery gone wrong. They never found the guy who killed him." her voice breaking.
"I can't imagine anything worse happening to a child than losing a parent." she laughed sadly."I wasn't exactly a child, I was fourteen." she said and I dared to look her in the eye." This is your dad we are talking about, Karma. Don't try to act like it doesn't bother you because I know it does. I understand that you don't want to talk about your feelings with a stranger but don't pretend that you don't care that much." I wanted to cry for her, for the pain she once felt, for the pain, she must be feeling in his memory.
"How can you always tell when I try to hide my emotions?" she asked me her big blue beautiful eyes staring intensely at my face, looking for an answer."You're really easy to read." that and she also is my other half."You know grief is by far the most painful emotion. I still remember the day that the police called me and my mom and told us that my dad is dead. My mom got mad at first thinking that this was some kind of a sick joke but when she realized it wasn't the expression she had on her face made me feel that this was the end of the world. I don't think I'll ever forget it." she was shaking and I caressed her cheek trying to calm her down, that and also since I touched her I couldn't keep my hands to myself.
"I loved my dad. We used to be so close. It took a long time until me and my mom could stand once again on our feet." she said and I did something I shouldn't have done. I hugged tightly and she hugged me back with the same force."You made it though and I bet your dad is so proud of you." I took a step back.
It was time for me to do what I have to even if that means that I will never be able neither to forget it nor to forgive myself."Well, now that we're closer, race you to the cabin." I started to run. She followed me, she was fast for a human. She was laughing thinking that this was some kind of game and it was but it was a really twisted game and unfortunately for her, I was a werewolf and I could make sure that she would lose me.
After a while a made sure she lost me and waited to be sure that the witches found her. It was one of the rare occasions in my life that I wanted to cry. A few minutes later I heard calling me worried, she felt scared without me. That was when I heard her scream and I knew I had to go because if I stayed there I would go and save her and because I wasn't thinking clearly I made the mistake to turn into my wolf.

Karma
"Well, now that we're closer, race you to the cabin."Jason said playfully and started to run, I followed right behind him laughing. I love spending time with him, I even talked to him about my dad. I don't usually talk about my dad but for some reason I trusted Jason and he seemed able to read me very well. We kept running but after a while, Jason was nowhere to be found.
"Moonstone?" I yelled laughing thinking he was hiding from me."Jason where are you?" I asked a little more worried."Jason?" I was all alone. I started to walk towards the cabin trying to find him. Then I heard something. "Moonstone I swear the god if you're playing a game with me I will punch you." I started looking around like a maniac.
At first, I thought it was my idea but then I heard the same sound again."Jason, it's not funny anymore." I said desperately. I was scared, I just wanted him to come out and hug me. I had a really bad feeling."Jason!" I yelled once again but he was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly someone grabbed my hair and threw me on the ground. A woman appeared in front of me. She was saying something in a language that I couldn't understand. I quickly got up and got ready to start running but then more and more women appeared and formed a circle around me. They were all talking that weird language which I assume was Latin. I was scared to death.
"Please come and find me, please." I whispered closing my eyes hoping that Jason would come to save me."You'll come, you'll come and save me." I looked at the women who kept talking terrified. One of them was holding a huge knife. I had to get away immediately. So, I started to run towards one of the women pushed her away, another one tried to follow me but they stopped her."Don't worry she won't go far." a middle-aged woman said.
They were performing some kind of ritual and I really didn't want to be a part of it. I started to run but exactly like she said I didn't go far because I felt a really sharp pain in my chest, it felt like someone stabbed me. The pain was so intense that I could barely breathe. I dropped to my knees because as the time past the pain got worse and worse. I thought that my mind was playing games with me, that I was having some kind of panic attack. I couldn't believe that the thing these insane women did was actually affecting me.
The women approached me once again and formed a circle around me and that time they were holding hands with each other. Their eyes turned black and that was when I started to realize that this was no panic attack, they were killing me."Stop!" I tried to stand up. My legs were shaking but I made it and started to take small steps maybe if I broke their circle that pain would stop. I was taking small and sharp breaths because breathing normally was way too painful.
Then the women started talking faster and louder. My vision became blurry and my stomach started to hurt too. I fell on the ground not able to walk anymore. That was when my hearing started to fade too. My body was falling apart slowly. It felt like my torso was being stabbed repeatedly and I was losing all my senses.
The next thing that happened shocked me even at that state, I felt my body lifting from the ground and soon I was floating in the air. For a few seconds, I thought I died and my soul was leaving my body but that wasn't it because then the pain got even worse, it felt like these women were skinning me alive.
I don't even know for how long I was in the same position. I wanted to scream and I couldn't. At that point, I couldn't see or hear and breathing was a luxury. I wasn't long until I started choking, I was trying to breathe and I couldn't. I was dying and my death was going to be awful. That was going to be my end and I had to accept it.
So, I did the only thing I could so that I could ease my pain a little, I let go. I tried to relax and die because I could stand the pain anymore. I wanted to find peace and I found it, slowly the pain stopped. I felt free, I believed that my soul left my body and that it was floating in the skies.
That didn't last long though, I fell on the ground, my vision came back on and I could hear the women scream. I looked around and realized why they were screaming. Roots were coming out of the ground and swirling around them. I don't know who was doing this, I don't know who was kind enough to save me but I loved the fact that they were as scared as me now. I could see the roots tightening around their bodies and I smiled.
They deserved it.
"Stop it!" one of them pleaded but my savior did not stop."Don't stop, they had it coming." I said arrogantly."Please, you're choking me!" the fear she felt was portrayed in her grey eyes"You're killing us." another tried to scream but her voice wasn't coming out. She was referring to me though, I could tell."I'm not killing you!" I started to look around to find the one who was doing that thing to them. I couldn't see anyone and if I couldn't see them how was I supposed to tell them to stop.
They were actually killing them, they shouldn't do that, the right thing was to call the police. If that happened though what was I going to tell them that these women by the looks of were witches that tried to sacrifice me to Satan or something and roots came out of the ground and stopped them? They would think that I was a lunatic, maybe I was though."Please stop, it's not funny anymore you're killing them." my voice shaking.
"You're doing it. Stop it." a woman with long red hair spat."I'm not doing it." I defended myself."Yes, you are. Please stop, we're begging you. I don't want to die." a girl cried. She had to be around my age."I don't know how to stop. I don't know how I'm doing it." needless to say I was panicking."Your fists are bolded, relax your hands." an older woman instructed and I looked at my hands. She was right.
I did as she told me and slowly the roots went back inside the ground. What the hell is happening? When the women were freed from the roots they started to run. They all vanished except from one."What are you? How did you do that without a spell?" she asked. I didn't want to answer her though I just wanted her to leave."Answer me!" she demanded and I pointed at her with my finger and roots came once again out of the ground and moved towards her."Freak." she barked and started to run like all the others.
I was indeed a freak, a monster.
"Karma!" I heard a familiar voice yelling and my heart jumped. He was late but he was here. I turned around and bumped into his naked chest. Why isn't he wearing a shirt? "Thank god you're fine. Karma, I came for you. I regretted it." he bewailed. My eyes traveled lower to his body and realized that the shirt wasn't the only piece of clothing that he wasn't wearing. He was completely naked and I saw his lower regions.
That was when it realized that he was working with them. He kind of admitted himself. I screamed and started to run."Karma, stop, listen to me." he started to follow me."You wanted to rape me and kill me." I yelled at the top of my lungs and kept running."I would never do any of these things to you, just listen to me!" there was nothing for me to listen, I was scared for my life, I was terrified. With whatever strength I had I kept running, I kept running for my life.

Jason
I opened the cabin's door and Noah came inside looking worried. He was right to be worried."I came as soon as I saw your text. You don't look good." he sat down on the dark red sofa. I sat next to him."Well, I'm not good." he sighed running a hand through his hair. It felt like I was going to burst into tears at any minute.
"Is she alright? Did something happen to her?" he asked and I took a deep breath."How could she be alright after what I to her? There was blood all over her face Noah." I shaking just by replaying the image on my mind."You did it to save your people. It's all over now. She will get over and we will move on with our lives. Don't forget why you did it, you'll marry Serena and everything will be perfect. It's going to be alright, Jason." I laughed bitterly.
"I have to confess something to you, my friend." I prepared myself to tell him what actually happened, in how much trouble I was. He looked at me intrigued and I cleared my throat. It wasn't easy to tell a member of my pack and a friend that we will probably go to war with Serena's dad sooner or later that if Karma ever talked to me again. Only the thought of her avoiding me for the rest of her life pained me.
"I made a decision." he sighed, he knew what I was going to say."I chose her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I can't run away from my feelings for her. I couldn't do it, my friend. I just couldn't. I turned into my wolf to run away but ended up coming back to find her. I couldn't fight it, dude. I went to attack the witches but by the time I got there they had fled away. I appeared in front of her naked and I don't want to know what she thinks about me now. What am I going to do Noah?" I asked him and hoped that he would answer me because I was lost.
"We're so screwed...We'll find out something but it ain't going to be easy. That was the worst timing ever to decide on that alpha, you must face the consequences now." he said calmly."There will be consequences for the pack too." I felt the guilt consuming me. They will suffer because of me."Everybody in the pack adores you, they worship you, Jason, and they know the kind of leader you are. They will gladly fight by your side." that was really hard to believe."I'm sorry." I said honestly and he laughed."At least you know what you want now." I nodded. He was right, I knew what I wanted.

***

Above the chapter, you can see how I imagine Jason's and Serena's love nest.