Crystal

I felt groggy when I opened my eyes. I was lying on a small bed covered with a large gray blanket. A small lamp beside the bed was lit and I looked around the bare room trying to figure out where I was. My heart sped up as fear and panic set in. In the fog of my mind I tried to remember what had happened.

When the last memories I had came flooding back, I sat up and pushed the blanket off me. My arm ached and I held it to my chest. It had been cleaned and bandaged. I swung my legs to the side of the bed and as I looked down I saw I was dressed in new clothes.

For a moment I panicked, thinking they had gone through my bag, but then I realized the clothes weren't mine. They were a size too big, and black. They had obviously cleaned me up once they had seen to my wound.

Where the hell was I? I remembered Flynn, the dark stranger who had helped me. He was going to get someone to see to my arm and then he was going to take me home. But then I had passed out.

I stood up quietly and walked to the door. It was closed. Feeling frightened, I opened the door softly and peered into the passage. It was empty. I had to get out of here as quickly as possible. I thought of Flynn and what he was able to do. I knew what he was and I had to get away before he discovered my true identity. My life depended on it.

The stories I had been told had ensured I knew how dangerous my existence was. Thankfully, the wolfsbane hadn't worn off, so to them I was still human but it wouldn't last. I needed my backpack. That thought made me hesitate before I stepped backward.

There was a small closet and I walked over to it. When I opened it and found my backpack at the bottom of it, I felt relief. I retrieved it before closing the closet door as quietly as I could.

Now that I had what I needed, the next thing I needed to do was to get out of here as quickly as I could. Slinging the backpack over my shoulder, I made my way out of the room.

I walked down the hallway slowly, taking in my surroundings. It was quiet, a silence that chilled me right down to my bones. I kept reminding myself they had no idea I wasn't anything more than a human girl who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and who had been attacked by a vicious rogue.

Most of the half dozen doors I passed were closed. The ones that were open were rooms like the one I had just left. The hallway opened up and I found myself at the top of a set of stairs. I was in a massive house. As I looked down the stairs I could see a massive foyer that led to a set of double doors. My way out.

I took a deep breath and let it out before I started to descend the stairs as quietly as I could. My hope that I would be able to escape without anyone seeing me was dashed when I got the bottom of the stairs and I heard a voice say, "And where do you think you're going?"

Stunned, I stopped, feeling my heart hammer in my chest as adrenaline pumped into my veins. I turned to the owner of the voice and found myself staring at a man I had never met before.

If Flynn was intimidating, this guy scared me to death. His dark eyes studied me. Could he tell I was hiding something?

"I..." I started to say.

"Flynn brought you in," he said, taking a step closer to me. His cold eyes swept over me and it took everything in me to remain where I was. "You were badly injured and you needed to rest."

There was no emotion in his voice despite his words. There was a coldness and lack of emotion that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He was as tall as Flynn with dark brown hair with gray flecks on the sides cut short and neat. His dark brown eyes had no warmth as they held mine.

I didn't know this man but I didn't like him or trust him one bit. I hadn't known Flynn either but somehow I trusted him. There was no logical explanation. It was more a gut feeling that told me to stay away from this guy because he was dangerous.

"I need to get home," I said, trying to keep my rising panic out of my voice. I had to get out now.

"You're not going anywhere," he said. "It's dark and dangerous. You don't want to have another run-in with a werewolf, do you?"

Remembering they only saw me as an innocent human who had been attacked, I shook my head and allowed fear to show on my face. I had to play the part well, since my life depended on my acting skills.

"You should be resting," Flynn said in a clipped tone as he stepped into the room, beside the guy who'd caught me trying to leave.

"I wanted...to go home," I stuttered. Flynn frowned slightly before closing the distance between us with two strides.

"It's too late and you need to get some rest," he told me. His voice was calm but firm. His hand wrapped around my uninjured arm.

I couldn't exactly make a run for it so I let him lead me back up the stairs and to the small room I had woken up in. He took my backpack from my shoulder and put it back in the small closet.

I got into the bed and pulled the blanket to cover myself. My eyes were fixed on him. Before, in the forest, he had been ruthless without any remorse and now there was something more in his expression. His features were a little softer.

"You need to rest," he repeated. "You have nothing to fear here. No one will harm you."

I wasn't convinced that extended to the guy who I had encountered downstairs. I had a really bad feeling about him. Hell, I had a really bad feeling about the whole situation I was in.

"Who was the other guy?" I found myself asking, needing to know about a person who could make me feel so unsafe.

Flynn paused for a moment before he answered. It was like he was trying to find the right way to say it.

"His name is Travis," he said. "He is in charge."

Oh, great! That gave me the chills.

Flynn watched my reaction. I had to remind myself to play the part of the frightened human. If he suspected I wasn't who I said I was, I would be in big trouble.

"What are you?" I asked, and despite my nervousness I held his gaze. "Humans can't do what you did to that...werewolf."

He contemplated my question for a few moments.

"You're right. I'm not human, I'm a Keeper," he replied.

I knew what he was. The second he took in the rogue, I knew without a doubt what he was, but hearing him say it out loud brought home the reality of my situation.

"What's a Keeper?" I asked, making as if I had never heard of them before.

He seemed to weigh up his answer before he replied. His long finger rubbed his jaw.

"We are the Keepers of the Order. The Order of the Orion," he told me. I completed my brilliant acting with a look of confusion.

"We're the ones who make sure the werewolves don't break the rules," he said, simplifying his answer. There was hatred that shone in his eyes when he said the word 'werewolf.' I swallowed my nervousness. He wouldn't be so kind to me if he found out who I really was.

I couldn't allow him to discover the truth.

"Did that...werewolf break the rules?" I asked softly.

He nodded.

"It is forbidden for them to attack humans."

He was right but why, after all these years, had they come out of hiding? They were a very secretive group, so secretive few packs knew about them.

"It's your job to keep the werewolves in line?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "If it wasn't for the Order, the werewolves would become out of control and lawless."

I had to stop myself from frowning. I disagreed with him but I couldn't voice it. The way he spoke you would think all werewolves were like the rogue who had attacked me. And I knew for a fact that wasn't the truth.

"Are all werewolves bad?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

His jaw tensed.

"Yes, although we can only administer punishment when certain rules are broken."

I was stunned. Killing the rogue werewolf had been 'administering punishment'? I swallowed my fear as the Keeper watched.

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