Dawn

16

Hayden

I watched her since the moment she fell unconscious in my arms. Occasionally I would reach out and stroke the mark on her neck lovingly, relishing the fact I had branded her as mine. Tucked up in our new bed, she resembled an adorable angel snoozing quietly. Her hair tumbled over the pillows, filling me with the urge to tangle my fingers in it, but I didn't want to disturb her.

The whole day had been exhausting, going from Dawn sketching unwillingly, to me revealing myself as a werewolf; her finding out about the Prophecy and Indie; her reading the scroll from her necklace; me pressing her birthmark, sending her into the air screaming in pain, and finally marking her. And to think, all of this happened in the space of about five hours.

Outside, the sky was beginning to darken and I knew her parents would be worried. I stood up and paced the room, stopping at the window to distract my thoughts. Seeing Dawn in such a state earlier had broken me; I couldn't wipe the images of blood seeping from her nostrils and mouth out of my mind. Biting back a yell of frustration, I clung to the windowsill, accepting the the coolness of the air blowing into the room from the open window. I reached out and pulled it shut, though, hating the thought of Dawn getting cold.

"H-Hayden?" A heavenly voice whispered behind me. I spun around and rushed over to the bed, where Dawn was attempting to sit up.

Pushing her down, I whispered, "Shhhh, it's okay. Lie back down and rest, you need to get better."

"I need to get home," she countered, her gaze finding the dark sky outside the window. I moved in front of her her vision and distracting her from the time.

"You'll stay here tonight," I said firmly.

"But my paren-"

"It's okay, I'll take care of it," I assured her. She frowned up at me, but relented, realising how weak she was.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"This is your home now, with me. I'll call your parents and tell them the truth."

She blanched, "The truth?! What are you talking about?"

"Please, baby, don't worry about it," I cooed. She huffed but lay back down and closed her eyes.

I needed to speak with her parents anyway; their connection to the necklace couldn't go unnoticed. Dad had the same idea, and met me downstairs.

"She awake yet?" He asked.

"She was, but she's gone back to sleep," I replied.

"Good, she needs to rest. What happened earlier was not right, Denny, and I need to know why this is happening to her."

"I know, Dad, but the only explanation I can think of is that her family is involved with us somehow," I tried to explain. He seemed to understand what I meant and I sighed in relief. All I wanted to do was talk to Dawn's parents and go to sleep with my mate in my arms. I pulled Dawn's phone out of my pocket— I'd taken it from her while was sleeping. Unlocking the phone, I opened up Address Book and scrolled down to find her mum's phone number. Dad took the phone from me, and soon after I could her a dial tone.

"Hello, Dawn?" her mum answered.

"Hi, Mrs Lumley. It's Harvey here, Hayden and Ash's father," Dad said.

"Oh, hi, it's nice to talk to you again. Um, where's my daughter?"

"She's not feeling well, so I thought I should call you and let you know. Would you mind dropping by with your husband?"

"We're on our way," she said worriedly. Around ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Racing to the front door straight away, I let Dawn's parents in and led them to the living room.