The Realm of Question

Chapter 15

It was late at night as I looked down at the dense foliage of the forest I had just left only a few days ago. I sat on the ledge with the white cushions right beneath the window. I listened to the howls and snarls of the Hunters off in the woods getting their fresh meat. I wrapped my lavender blanket tighter around me. I couldn't leave the house because if I met up with one of them in their wolf form they would not think twice about dismembering or decapitating me as Kevin so beautifully put it. I chewed my lip thoughtfully. My hand was wrapped around cup of creamy hot chocolate with exactly eleven marshmallows. Not too many not too few, just perfect. The leaves were turning brown. All the green was being sucked away by a giant imaginary vacuum. The air smelled musky and woodsy, along with a sweet tinge of chocolate, I loved it. I ran my hand up my sweat pants that were rolled up, leaving my ankles bare.

"You're so beautiful."

I gasped. Mason was sitting on my bed leaning back, supporting his weight on his hands. He was smirking as he lifted a hand to flick the hair out of his eyes. He walked lithely towards me, each step exact and as perfect as the last. It was so different from my clumsy constant tripping with my wedges too often slipping to the side. He came up behind me and circled my waist in his arms. He slid his hands up, memorizing and mapping each part of my body.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice nervous and apprehensive. My heart was going as fast has a humming bird's wings.

"I didn't like not seeing you," he whispered in my ear. I shivered but it had nothing to do with the cold wind coming through the open window.

"You shouldn't be here," I said, my voice getting weaker and less forceful.

"Neither should you, truthfully." He squeezed me hard. I arched my back.

"And why not?" I asked.

"If you hadn't noticed, the moon is full," he said, gesturing to the glowing orb just above the forest.

"Yeah, I was kind of looking at that when you appeared out of thin air," I said.

"Yes, and any second now, one of those wolves could come up those stairs and rip out your heart," he said with a slight growl.

"I thought that was your job?"

"I asked my 'siblings' about it and they said that's what they target as well. They were wondering why I was asking but none the less they thought it harmless to share their perpetual knowledge with me," he told me bitterly. His face looked like he had just taken a bite of a lemon.

"Josh would never hurt me."

"Oh, so he just wanted you to pet him when he had you pinned against that tree?" he scoffed.

"No, but it was only a day or two away from the full moon. His emotions were running haywire."

"And you say he would never hurt you?" He quirked one perfect midnight brow.

"Not purposefully," I reconsidered. He could hurt me quite easily with his sharp claws, razor sharp teeth, and massive body weight. He would hurt me if he lost control or if I went outside tonight.