Bloodline (Completed)

12

Summer vacation is almost here. It's been about two weeks since I was kidnapped, and now I'm back home, back in my old routine, and happy as can be. Well, for the most part, that is ...

You see, I am now officially the leader of the Pittsburgh Clan of Skinwalkers, and I'm not overly sure I'm the best choice. I am also going to be going out on my first ever date with Nick.

I'm terrified I'll do something wrong, or upset him somehow. I don't know exactly what I should or shouldn't be doing, so what if I mess it up?

Oh, god. I probably should call it off now ...

"Hey," says Mom. She walks into my room and looks at me in the mirror.

"You look gorgeous," she says softly.

I smile, but I don't feel gorgeous. In fact, I feel awful.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"I'm not overly sure," I say. "I'm just really ... I feel weird."

She frowns. "Weird how?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm just all discombobulated and such."

"Well, I think I might have something to help with that," she says. She then proceeds to pull out a piece of paper from her pocket. She hands it to me.

"What's this?" I ask.

"It's a letter from your grandmother. She said to give it to you if you ever accepted being the Leader."

"Oh."

She nods and pats my arm. "Good girl." Then, she leaves.

I sit down on my bed and I feel something off. I sit up and look around, trying to pinpoint exactly where the "off" feeling is coming from. But then, I sense something akin to someone fleeing, running away from here.

Who?

I jump up and run to the door, looking out into the hallway. I don't see anything or any signs of something being amiss, but then the feeling returns full force. I look at the other end of the hall, and I can see the back door is ajar. Who is running away?

Unable to drop the issue, I walk into the hall and then bolt into the night time air. I morph in mid jump, and land as a wolf. I take off running through the woods, chasing the scent of whoever it is that is running.

Whoever and whatever they are, their scent is weird. One minute, it is going one way, the next it's going another. In no possible way that an animal was doing this erratic movement. It almost has to be a person.

Someone who's trying to lose me.

But what are they doing out here? How'd they know where in Squirrel Hill that I live? I run and run, going after them.

After what feels like forever, I finally stop and sense them nearby. I stop and listen closely, and I can hear someone's breathing rapidly.

"Did I ... did I lose her?" a female voice says.

"Not quite," says a male voice.

Then, a woman emerges into the light of the moon. She has pale skin, black hair, and brown eyes.

I morph back into my human form then. She watches it all without blinking, and when I emerge from the morph, I see her gaze is on my eyes.

She smiles. "Ah, Regina Tso, I assume?"

"Depends. Who wants to know?"

She grins even wider. "Good. You have some survival instincts after all."

"Who. Are. You?" I demand.

"I'm no one of consequence. I'm simply here to deliver a message to you."

"Oh? If that's the case, why run?"

She shrugs. "But of a game, actually." Then she gets a serious look on her face. "And I'm sorry, but ... "

"But what?" I ask when she trails off.

"Your beloved boyfriend has been taken. And if you don't get to him before tomorrow morning at six, he will be killed."

Then, she's gone.