Darkness.
PENELOPE.
I’m not sure how long I sit in the basement alone. It can’t be all that long, but it feels like hours.
I’m anxious. I can’t hear any noise above me and haven’t since I got down here. The guys haven’t tried to talk to me through our mind link. I know nothing about what’s going on.
What’s even happened?
Did somebody try to attack tonight?
Why would they attack?
I know that there is a lot of tension between the shifters. They don’t exactly get along. Most of them clash. But this school is supposed to help that. They don’t want war. Nobody does.
But maybe this is the start of a war.
I know from my shifter history class that there hasn’t been a war in the shifter community for hundreds of years. And even then, the last big war was over a millennia ago. The entire supernatural community fought, and an entire species was wiped out—the fairies. It’s sad that there aren’t any left.
The fairies, from what we read in history, were a pretty peaceful people. They didn’t deserve their fate. But some people thought they were too powerful. Too dangerous.
That is the reason dragons don’t have anything to do with the rest of the shifter community. They themselves have been on the brink of extinction because of war. People think they’re too big—too powerful.
Why does it matter if they’re powerful? The dragons are peaceful. I don’t see what it matters if somebody is stronger.
I hear a noise at the top of the stairs. My heart leaps.
Thank God.
The boys are coming to get me.
As I look over, the lights go out, casting me into darkness.
“Guys?” I ask, hating how shaky my voice is.
I can’t see in the dark. The guys can. I can sometimes, but it’s on and off again. I don’t exactly understand my powers but being able to see in the dark would really help right now.
Nobody answers me, but I still hear footsteps on the stairs.
It’s not them.
I scream, but there is not use. Somebody much stronger than me jumps on me, knocking me over. I try to kick, but I’m being held down against the ground, unable to move my arms and legs. I feel a sharp pain in my arm and look over to see something shiny cutting into my arm.
There are two people there—men, I’m pretty sure. They’re tall and bulky. But I can’t bother to pay attention to anything about them because all I feel is a burn in my arm. It feels like somebody is simultaneously cutting me and burning me at the same time. I scream out in pain.
The marks don’t make sense. There is some kind of pattern being carved in my arm, but I can’t make them out. I just burn all over.
Suddenly, the weight on top of me is gone and the burning in my arm eases slightly.
The knife is gone.
“Penelope.”
A familiar voice.
The guys came for me.
I should’ve known they would come running when they felt my pain.
The pain is too much, so I give into the darkness that is overtaking my vision.
I carry Penelope up the stairs with Liam, Aiden, and Cole following me.
We have to get Penelope to a healer, but even then, I’m not sure what a healer can do.
Silver.
They had to use a silver knife.
There’s so much blood on her arm, but thankfully her bleeding has slowed down.
She heals fast.
Like us.
But silver always leaves a scar.
Liam runs out the door in front of me, screaming for a healer. The healers are all busy tonight. So many people were hurt. They were hurt trying to defend my mate.
My chest hurts as I look around. There are so many people lying on the ground. Some of the lucky ones are just injured, but there are a few unlucky ones that sacrificed their lives tonight.
Nobody was expecting this. It completely took us all off guard.
We don’t know who was behind the attack. We know nothing.
Well… I suppose we now know it was an inside job considering two council members attacked Penelope.
They’re dead now. Nobody could hold us back when we saw Penelope. She was lying on the ground, a small pool of blood surrounding her arm.
Those bastards cut her.
A healer rushes over when she sees that Liam was calling for a healer.
Alpha comes first. Always. Tonight, I am thankful for that.
If anything happens to Penelope, I don’t know how I would live without her.
She’s my everything.