I tread softly to the door, trying to make my footsteps as quiet as possible. I am trying to get out of the room without waking Landon up.

I make it to the door, and turn around. Through the haze of darkness, I can see Landon laying on his back, arm slung over his eyes. He seems to do that a lot when he sleeps. I don't want to leave him, but I think I slept most of the night with my mouth open, because my throat is completely raw, and I need a drink of water.

I leave the room, and silently close the door behind me.

I pad down the steps on my tiptoes. I don't need to worry about waking anyone else up, but the sound of my footsteps seems to echo.

I make it down to the kitchen, and the turn the light on. It blinds me for a second, because I have been immersed in darkness for some time. I blink away the feeling, and wander toward the fridge. I find a bottle of chilled water inside, and crack the lid open.

It feels nice to finally get water to soothe my throat.

As I sip my water, I stare out the window. I don't see too much, just the pouring rain hit the window wildly. Storms make me uneasy, I have to admit. I turn my back to the window, and rest my elbows against the bench.

I had just put my bottle down, and was about to turn the kitchen light off so I could go back to bed, when I heard a large sound resonate throughout the room. I turn around wildly, but there was nothing there.

"Thunder," I mutter to myself, running a hand down my face. I watch the window, waiting for a strike of lightening, so I could count the seconds between the thunder.

Then suddenly, a face appears at the window, shadowed by the night.

I scream, ducking down behind the bench. My heart beats quickly in my chest, as I kneel awkwardly on the floor. What was that? I take a moment to regain my breath, before scolding myself for being such a baby.

What if it is a guard who got locked out or something? And I am here hiding for my life.

I peek out from behind the bench, to see there is no one at the window. Had I simply imagined it? Kace is getting to my head.

But then, the face appeared again. This time I didn't move. I remained where I stood, completely overcome by fright.

He stares at me with eyes as black as night. His forehead is creased, which allows me to immediately tell that he is pained. I notice that he is shivering on the other side of the window, as he is completely drenched in rain. As horrifying as he is to look at, I can't take my eyes away from him.

Warily he brings his hands up, so they are in my view. They are covered in blood, dripping from his fingertips, and down his wrists. Looking into his eyes, it's like he almost can't be believe that he did it...Whatever it is.

I am suddenly faced with a tough decision. Let in the crazed wolf who might have killed someone outside. Run back upstairs and tell Landon. Or go back to bed and convince myself that I am for the first time, experiencing a lucid dream.

I like the latter.

I turn on my heels, going to leave the room as fast as possible, when a hard knock on the window made me turn around again. I know I shouldn't, but the knock was so loud, the sound gyrated in my ears.

Kace was writing something on the window with his fingertips with the blood on his fingers. I blinked, trying to make out the wobbly lines of smeared blood across the glass. I was reading it backwards, but as soon as Kace finished tracing the last S, I knew exactly what he meant.

Cyrus.

My cheating, almost mate.

My eyes widen, as I register the severity of the situation. Kace beckons me over with urgency. All I can think, is that he has done something with Cyrus, and I have to find out what.

I stumble forward toward the window, each step getting me closer and closer to the window, till the glass was all that separated us. Looking at him made me want to thrust my fist straight through the window, and into his face.

He opened his mouth, shouting something at me. I couldn't hear what he was saying through the glass, and over the thunder. I knew I had to open the window.

Using whatever semblance of strength that I could muster, I unlocked the window, and pushed it upward.

The sound of rain is louder now, pattering against the concrete outside. But what scares me the most, is the fact that Kace now has full access to the house, and me. Instead, he takes a step back, putting some distance between us.

"It's Cyrus," he says, in a cool, calm voice. I swallow. As much as I should be concentrating on pushing the fear away, all I was noticing was the trail of blood on the concrete, leading off into the darkness.

"What did you do?" I question, my voice breathy. Kace holds his hand out; the hand covered in blood. I pull back.

"You need to follow me, Cyrus is in trouble," he insists. And I believe him...

How could I not, when the possible killer is standing right in front of me.

So, without thinking, I follow my will and clamber out the window, knowing I would alert the Guards if I took the door. Kace tries to help me out, but I brush him off; I don't want anything to do with him right now.

In my night dress, I follow Kace into the rain and darkness. The cold rain hits my arm, but I push through. I stumble across the sloppy ground, splashing through puddles as I try follow the incriminating path of blood.

"Where is he?" I yell through the rain, the gust of wind forcing the rain toward me. Cyrus is ahead, and I use him as a guide. The light from the estate is getting further and further away, as we reach the end of the property.

Kace glances behind us, his eyes widening.

"We need to hurry, this way," he says. Ignoring my protest, he grabs my hand, and drags me toward the exit. I know where he is taking me...Toward the edge of the cliff that Landon's family built their empire upon.

"Althea!" I hear a familiar voice cut through the night. It's Landon, I know, but I can't turn around to look, due to the force at which Kace is dragging me.

The edge of the cliff comes into view through the haze of rain, lightening on the horizon lighting up the area every so often.

And what I see beneath a tree, is a body, sprawled on the ground.

I rip away from Kace to run toward it. It is definitely Cyrus; I can tell instantly.

"Cyrus!" I shriek, landing on my knees beside him. He is unconscious, blood seeping through his shirt. I tear at it, trying to pull the cotton apart. My fingers, numb from the cold fumble, but eventually I expose his chest. I can see in the poor lighting, the hideous gauge in his chest, still spilling out blood.

"I had to do it..." I hear Kace say from behind me. I swallow the bile raising in my throat. I knew it was him...But he isn't important right now, Cyrus is.

I grab Cyrus's face between my hands, his cold, lifeless face. There is no colour in his cheeks, and his eyes are shut. I can't feel anything right now, but I know tears are streaming from my eyes.

I stand, turning as I do to say, "Why did you do this?"

"I told you, I would do anything for you," he insisted, taking a step toward me. His back faces the light from the estate, so I can't see his face at all. It is like I am staring into a dark abyss.

"What makes you think I would want him dead?" I question loudly. I can start to fell fury peak through my misery, and if I don't calm down now, I am afraid I will act on it.

"He cheated on you!" he yells at me, like I am stupid. Like I should know that cheating warrants death.

I grit my teeth, fighting to see him in the poor light.

"Vengeance huh," I mutter.

I lunge at him, hands bared to wrap around his neck and kill him. It is all I feel at this point. I want him dead. I want him to join everyone who he has killed in the past.

He catches my hands just in time, trying to divert my attack from his face. But kick my foot out, striking his knee. He groans, letting my hands go. I take this chance to push him toward the edge of the cliff. Not enough to send him tumbling over the edge, but enough to scare him.

He stumbles back, and suddenly I can see his eyes. A look of betrayal...Like he can't believe I am doing this to him, after he committed his life to be my aid. But he doesn't stop his retreat, his foot slipping on the wet grass.

And that was the last I saw of him.

He completely fell backward, his back hitting the edge of the cliff, before gravity threw him completely off.

I screamed, as loud as I could. I didn't even have time to register what was happening before I felt hands on me. Warm, large, familiar hands of my mate.

I turn around and fall into his chest, stunned. I know he is looking over my shoulder, seeing where Kace had fallen moments ago. He must have seen...He got here just in time.

The cliff leads to a deadly fall onto sharp rocks below. There is no chance Kace could survive.

"Come on, we need to get you inside before he comes," Landon said quickly. He grabbed my legs, swinging me up so he was cradling me. I look up at him, seeing the rain coming off his face.

"Who?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"Kaden."