Alpha Charming | Rheon

ELEVEN

A thunderous roar woke me with a start. It shook the walls and the windows, causing the glass to rattle in the frames. Shivers crept down my spine when I felt it vibrate through me.

My first instinct was to go investigate although I knew it was a terrible idea. A family of werewolves live under this roof, they can grow fur and fangs which I'm certain they put to good use when they're pissed off. What would stop one from chomping down on me if they were having a bad night and I just happened to stumble upon them in wolf form?

There was no time to decide whether I should listen to my head or my ever-growing curiosity as another blood-freezing roar tore through the castle, causing its very foundation to tremble.

In a beat, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my robe, and stumbled out of the room to search for the origins of the ruckus.

It's almost as if the castle had a mind of its own, altering its once fantastical atmosphere to match the apprehension of the moment. The mounted candles along the walls were dim, some doused by an unexpected cold breeze that escaped through an open window. I tugged the robe tight around my frame to trap in the little heat my body radiated.

If there was ever a time to feel like the character in a horror movie who deliberately goes to investigate the creepy sound she heard in the basement, that time would be now. I should be knocking some sense into myself for running toward danger, but my feet couldn't seem to stop as they sent me further down the corridor.

I didn't even know where that sound came from, how was I supposed to –

The next moment, I collided with a solid object. The force was enough to send me staggering backward, however, the object itself hardly budged.

I looked up to see what I ran into...and feel my heart jolting in my ribcage.

Before me stood a silhouette, looming and dreadful with tendrils of red smoke slithering around its legs. The temperature dropped in an instant, leaving me shivering in both cold and terror.

When it inched toward me, I uttered a panicked sound before turning on my heel and fleeing down the stairs. Thumping sounds followed at my back as whatever that thing was, set after me.

I begged my feet to move faster, to just descend the stairs two at a time. A breath of warm air fanned into my neck, causing every hair on my body to stand on end.

My heart nearly burst out of my chest when I felt a ghostly hand grabbing at my robe and, in a final attempt to escape its sinister clutches, I jumped down the remaining steps and made a bolt down the corridor leading to the study.

That thing was still behind me; I could tell as I noticed the candles flickering in their chilling presence. Just as I felt it grazing my back again, I burst through the door of the study and...it was gone. It disappeared into thin air and left me wondering if I was even being chased to begin with.

But the scene I witnessed before me brought me to a sudden halt, and I was filled with a newfound horror.

A wolf was going feral in the middle of the room, snapping its jaws at anyone who dared to go near it. My breath hitched when I saw how big it was - as if Clemmy wasn't the largest wolf I've ever seen, this one was thrice as big, and its head could easily be level with mine.

"Alex, the window!" Emric called at his son, who instantly moved to block the windows to prevent the wolf from escaping through them.

The Balfours all closed in on the animal, but it wouldn't let anyone near it. Seren tried sneaking up on it from behind but realized her plan was futile when it snarled at her over its shoulder. She cowered back and nearly bumped into me. If I wasn't mistaking, they seemed all too submissive to the wolf's barks and growls.