Her Dark Secret

Chapter 20

The first thing I woke up to was a killer headache. The second thing was a hard chest pressed against my back. I screamed into my pillow and instantly regretted it. A fresh wave of pain greeted me. I felt Kade move beside me as he rested a hand on my back.

"This is why you don't let people talk you into drinking," he muttered. "Damn that Ryder. If I had a good reason to kick him out of the pack, I would."

"It was Ky who talked me into it, actually." I winced in pain. "But you can blame Ryder for bringing me to the party."

"Still."

I turned over just as Kane got up to go fetch some aspirin for my headache. He returned with a bottle of those goodies and a glass of water. I took the pill and flushed it down with large gulps of water. It didn't help much instantly, but over the next half hour my headache thinned.

"How are you feeling?" Kane pressed his hand against my forehead and decided I was fine.

"Better," I admitted. "Thank you."

"Anytime, babe."

"You're perfect, you know that?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

"You're perfect to me."

I leaned toward him and gave him a peck on the lips before heading to the bathroom to do my morning business. When I emerged in the room Kane was gone, leaving a faint smell of cologne in his wake. I inhaled the smell. That probably sounded creepy, but it was all I could do to keep from tearing down the halls just to be by his side.

I was about to reach for the door but then I realized that I had nothing to do. Ky was probably suffering the way I did when I woke up. Kiki and I weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment. Lin's was God knows where... but I could try to find her.

I searched everywhere for her. Inside, outside, her room. She was probably out for a run or something of the sort. I went out to sit by the pool, where a couple strewn beer cans littered the ground. I sighed and dipped my toe into the icy water before retracting.

Deprived of any social activity, I leaned forward to stare at my reflection in the pool. My red hair had regained its glossiness and my face its happy glow. Blue eyes met mine and I smiled at myself. I was back to my old self again, the one that was madly in love.

But this time, my love was real.

I was still comparing myself now to myself then when I felt a presence nearby. I looked up but my eyes saw only forest trees and dark shadows. But I was certain I heard something and that it came from there. I dismissed the silly thought. Maybe it was just a wild animal.

A low growl sounded from the forest, yet farther away from before. I bit my lip. But then if it was a wild animal, why was I having this supernatural feeling?

I slowly removed myself from the pool and stalked off into the shadowy trees as quietly as possible. I wasn't sure where I was going or what I might find. If I was lucky, maybe it actually was a wild animal or a pack member and I was just being paranoid. I'm sure Kade would know if someone unwelcome was in his forest.

A meter into the forest and I'd spotted nothing unusual. I was about to turn around and go back when I felt something wet splotched my cheek. I wiped it off the back of my hand. It was sticky and had an overwhelming, sweet scent. I raised my hand to my face and nearly screamed. 

Dark red. Sickly sweet. Sticky. Blood.

I looked up. Hanging from a tree branch was a human being. That's when I truly did scream. I couldn't even figure out the person's gender because his or her face was unrecognizable with deep wounds oozing with blood. The eyes, wide open, were entirely black and motionless.