chapter five//

Two weeks later, Percy remained in our company. Tyler still held onto an obscure grudge against him, but at the request of Billie, he toned it down. As for our training sessions, Tyler was forced to lock himself in his room until it was over. Personally, I would have much rather had Tyler there. It seemed as if every time he was there, I never had to worry. He was doing it for me.

Jared took part in assisting the training process--giving Tyler some peace of mind. His positive attitude made up for the injuries I inflicted on him. According to Billie, it was imperative that I develop a pattern while training. My main objective was to stay alive. Every punch and every kick, I gave it my best. With every transformation, it became easier to morph into the beast inside. Still, my other half--the blood demon--remained dormant. After questioning every person in the household, I discovered no one could help. Billie recommended someone, but considering Luka was gone, all hopes in building my skills drastically flow down the drain.

I wondered what Luka thought of Percy and if he ever met him. Surely he knew of his existence if he had such wonderful ties with the Black's. Percy beams adventure and excitement. Luka was quite the contrast. If anything, Luka and Tyler had more in common. Both signal a leadership vibe along with hard exteriors, but Luka tends to have a gentle spirit. Luka was wise in knowledge while Tyler acted on venomous instinct. Percy is spirited, and holds dominance(similar to Tyler), but lacks wisdom. The space where he lacks, he fills with flirtatious remarks and fascinating tales.

Off of that draining subject, today, I was told the origin of the cave in which I was forced to train in.

A long time ago, a tribe of shape-shifters recovered this dark cave, which hidden from the world around, and refurbished it into a training facility. It was useful to those who accepted their heritage instead of those who banished it in their minds. Their fate usually crash-landed with everyone else's: a human with the capabilities to change into a wolf. It was unavoidable. The cave was passed down, leader to leader, in every new generation.

After being lectured on the Black tribes history, I knew a few things: the origin of their shape-shifting came from the gods in the sky (angered by the total of deaths, they appointed few with the abilities to become the protectors of the tribes), they don't eat humans but protect them from the immortal creatures that possess harm to them.

However, there were only a handful which were different. Some were created as angelic wolves: ones who posses a power so great and so powerful, they could briskly destroy Earth if given the chance. There have been accusations that one still exists, but many distrust the notion. The few who've claimed to have seen them have mysteriously vanished. So many have theorized and concocted expeditions in search of that power being, but all missions failed.

"Ah, the righteous few." Percy smirked as he draped each arm over me and Jared. "Kicking ass and taking name."

I shrugged his arm off as the three of us continued to walk out of the training cave. I was still warming up to Percy (along with everyone else around here). Him throwing his arm around my shoulder and insinuating the three of us were a team, made me feel less at ease. Some may be flattered, but I certainly wasn't. He didn't seem to care about my action.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you guys at the house." I said before quickly scurrying away from the two. I was thankful neither followed me. Tyler would have demanded I stay with them, or tag along. My time was seldom spent alone, unless I was showering.

The light, wispy snow trickled from the dark grey sky. I carved my own path through the three inches of snow which blanketed the ground. An arctic wind swooshed over me causing a deep shiver to vibrate through my entire body. The trees began to howl as the wind swept throughout the chilly evening air.

"Why did this happen?" I whispered as I overlooked the rolling mountains in the distance. I marveled at the beauty displayed before my very eyes. I tried to co-hearse myself into pushing aside my pity party life, and focus on the goal at hand: complete my training.

According to Percy, my training was just beginning. He should know, he's been fighting in numerous battles for quite a few years now. Still, I wondered if that was the cause of Tyler's fury towards Percy. Tyler was the alpha of the tribe, so with his duties to the tribe, perhaps he's jealous of Percy because of the freedom he holds. Many ideas and thoughts percolate in my head--each one making sense--but I could not place my finger on the exact reason.

Another gush of cold wind pulled me from my thoughts. I shiver and cross my arms over my chest to add some heat--if any. As I kept walking, all of the sudden a voice calls out to me.

"Are you lost?"

I spin around to investigate the strange voice, only to find a man inching his way to me. A patch of dirty blond hair was brushed back on the top of his head--the sides, shaven. Two piercings clung to the top of his brow, while huge black gauges rested on either ear lobe. His breath-taking icy blue eyes was the next thing to catch my attention. They were simply mesmerizing. His chiseled jaw line complimented his hard-edged features. His broad and bulky body was a girls dream come true.

"I-I... Um..." I stutter. He caught me off-guard. I search my memory to see if I knew him, but nothing came into view.

"Stuttering... That's cute." He chuckled, slowly circling around me. "What's your name?"

"B-Belle... What's yours?" I inquired, trying to get a grasp on my nerves.

He hesitates for a minute. A quick flash of confusion bursts in his eyes before fading into a combination of lust and something else; something I couldn't quite decode. He smirked, but wouldn't reveal his name for what felt like the longest time. His mysterious demeanor was intriguing.

"My friends call me King." He stopped in front of me.

"That's a, uh... Unique name." I forced the words out of my mouth. He laughed and agreed, saying,

"I reckon it is. Do you live around this area?" He motioned to our surroundings and I simply shrugged.

"In a way, yeah." There wasn't much to say to a complete stranger. I didn't want to unleash my entire story of the past few weeks onto this man. I could already sense the awkward silence.

"I live just beyond that mountain over there, so if you ever want to stop by, please do." He pointed to a nearby mountain with a smile. Something about him was alluring, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Possibly his gorgeous looks, or maybe the way his masculine, sculpted body flexed without him clearly trying.

At that moment, the world around us hushed. The wind calmed. The snow ceased its descent from the heavy sky. We became engrossed in conversation. It was refreshing to discuss topics other than my parent's, my training or Percy's adventures. Although King had some colorful stories as well.

"And that, my lovely friend, is why I had to cut my hair like this. Thank you Uncle Thomas." He chuckled at my fits of laughter.

"Your Uncle sounds very eccentric." I gasp for air to slow down the laughs skipping out of my mouth.

King shrugged his shoulders as a soft laugh passed his lips. We sat together on a nearby rock, shoulder-to-shoulder, overlooking the rolling mountains and deep valleys. As the sun cascaded behind the mountains, the sky's beautiful gradient of pink and purple took my breath away. The temperature in the air dropped tremendously. I suppose the terrific time I was having with King made me lose track of time. Up here, the temperature lowers come nightfall.

However, my admiration of the beautiful scene before us was quickly shut down. My heart began to pound in my temples as a throbbing pain overwhelmed my head. I pressed my fingers to my temples and massaged gently.

"Belle!" Tyler's voice began to echo in my ears. I look to the shadowy woods to see if he was strutting towards us, but there was no one.

"Belle, where are you?" His voice was thick with worry. Where was his voice coming from?

"Are you okay?" King inquired, quirking his brow.

"I... Uhm... I believe so. I've just got a sudden headache." I paused. I stood up before continuing. "It's getting pretty late."

King agreed, stood up and smiled. "Seriously, consider coming by my place. I'd love to get to know you more."

I force a smile onto my face through the headache. "Will do."

"Tomorrow. Same place?" King hunched down to even our heights(considering he was six foot one and I remained at a consistent five foot four inches). I let out a slight chuckle at his action and confirmed our next meeting. A grin crossed both of our lips before we parted ways.

I hurried home as the sudden drop in the temperature began to catch up with me. Once I opened the door, Tyler's greetings were all but kind. He jumped from his spot on the stairs and ran towards me.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you come home right after training?" A bitter Tyler hissed. Tyler was inches away from my face. Instead of succumbing to his overpowering dominance, I allow the resentment for Tyler to slowly unravel.

"You're not my dad." I frowned as I pushed past him, heading towards the stairs.

"He's right Belle. The woods are not safe at night." Billie sides with the angry Tyler. I bite back my pride and apologize--for Billie's sake.

"I'm sorry. I should have came home with Percy and Jared." I prayed they didn't detect the sarcasm and artificial sass in my voice. Thankfully, Billie accepted and I was sent on my merry way.

My hopes that Tyler would do the same were greatly exaggerated. I heard his huffing and stomping trailing my every move up the stairs and into my room. I toss my coat onto the extra bed before taking seat on mine.

"Why didn't you answer when I tried to talk to you?" Let the interrogation begin. May the odds be ever in my favor.

"Wait..." Once it clicked in my head that I wasn't going crazy and it was actually Tyler talking earlier, I was instantly confused. "What?

Tyler opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. For a short second, he studied me. Finally, he said,

"You didn't know... It's the wolf telepathy. We hear one another through howls." Tyler continued, "Did you have a headache when I tried to contact you?"

I nodded my head, not saying a word. As crazy and unrealistic as it sounded, I came the conclusion that anything is possible. If I was a hybrid beast, surely telepathy was real as well. I sighed heavily before falling back on my bed.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep. I still have a headache." Tyler immediately claimed the extra bed. I peered over at him and frowned.

"Alone, Tyler." I say hastily. My hopes that he would get the message still remained. However, Stubborn Mule over here converted himself into a human stone when I try to push him out of the bed with my feet.

"Tyler!" I beg for him to leave once more, but my pleas go unrecognized. I gave up and simply fell asleep. I knew the battle for me-time between myself and Tyler would be endless. It wasn't worth it tonight.

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Thanks for reading you guys! I'm sorry if some of the story seems distorted. It's 1:45AM as of right now (posting time) and my head is hurting from lack of sleep. Anyways, please tell me what you think in the comments! Don't forget to vote! <3