Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE ASSAULT AT DE-LAUREL

Natasha—struggling to walk, was pacing the room. She grunted with every step. It felt like she was learning to walk all over again. Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside the door and peeked her eyes to see what it was. She caught a glimpse of someone standing outside the door. She could tell from its shadow that it was a man.

"Who's there?" she asked inquisitively, but there was no response. Her eyes narrowed. Felt like she was being watched, and it sent cold chills traveling down the length of her spine.

"Hello?" she called out nervously, leaping cautiously to the door. "Dad? Is that you?"

A knock sounded on the door and Natasha—frightened, stopped in her path. For a moment, she stared quietly at the door. A thought came to her. Dad doesn't knock.

Heart pounding against her ribcage, she slowly shuffled backward, away from the door.

That's not dad.

She froze when she saw the doorknob slowly turn and the door slide open, giving off a terrifying creak. And she saw, standing at the entrance, her bodyguard.

"Derik! Oh thank God," she exhaled in pure relief, holding her chest. "For a second there I thought you were—"

He walked in rather rudely.

"Wait, did my dad send you to come pick me up?" she frowned, looking for more excuses to remain pissed at him.

"I no longer work for your dad," he answered, sounding terribly upset. "I just had a falling out with your dad. Trust me, it wasn't a pleasant one."

"Why?" she asked, a tone of sadness in her voice. "Did something happen? Did dad fire you?"

"Your dad did something terrible today. He made a rash decision that ended up killing hundreds of innocent women and children."

Gasping, she brought her hand to her mouth. "My God! How did that happen?"

"He thought those people were shifters and ordered that their houses be burnt—all of it." Derik went on tattling, a tone of frustration in his voice. "But he was wrong, I found no shifter among them, not one. We ended up killing all those people for nothing."

"Hold on a sec, I didn't catch any of that? You're literally speaking faster than my brain could process." She tried to calm him, trying to make sense of all he'd said. "And what are shifters, by the way?"

"They are human-animal hybrids. They look exactly like us, but they are not humans. They can shift themselves into animals."

"Is that even possible?" she asked sceptically.

"I haven't seen one transform before, but I have a feeling—" he trailed when he noticed T-Murek standing at the entrance, listening in on their conversation. His height and body structure were threatening—even to Derik.

Feeling threatened, he quickly pulled out his gun and pointed it at him. "Who the hell are you?"

T-Murek said nothing, rather he started walking towards them.

"Stay where you are!" Derik's grip tightened on the gun.

T-Murek didn't take the warning seriously. He kept right on walking toward them, eyes colour deepening, nails growing into sharp claws.

"Oh, God," Derik's eyes widened. "You are one of them." He quickly turned to Natasha over his shoulder and yelled, "Get back now!"

T-Murek was already standing before him when he turned. Before Derik could pull the trigger, T-Murek slapped the gun off his hand and gripped his neck, lifting him off the ground. The gun rolled off to the door.