Chapter 2 The Journey

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

I was half-screaming, half-sputtering when I lunged at Cyrus. Because what else was I going to do?!! He had just cold-blooded killed my stepdad like he was swatting a fly!

Judas lay there gasping, eyes open, blood blackening his shirt, a terrible art piece. The metallic tang was already curling in my nostrils, turning my stomach. I just couldn't process what I had just seen. One minute, he was standing there, saying the same-old, same-old, and the next - dead. Just like that. As if his life hadn't mattered.

Cyrus, the absolute beast, didn't even look the slightest bit affected. He just caught my wrist in mid-air like I was some troublesome cat mid-pounce, whipping me toward the door with comical ease. His grasp was firm but not painful, as if he were cradling something delicate that happened to be extremely annoying.

"We're leaving."

His tone was way too fucking casual, as if we were going on a weekend trip rather than escaping a murder scene.

I dug my heels in, breathing short, panicked bursts. "The hell we are! He has kids! A family!"

Cyrus piqued a brow, his demeanor barely changing. "You mean the man who sold you for a goat? That family?"

Okay, fair point, but STILL.

"That doesn't mean you - you just -" My voice shook. My heart raced so fast it was as if it was trying to burst out of my ribcage. I whipped around to my mom, who I figured would react, break down, scream, act like a person.

Nothing.

She just kind of stood there, staring at Judas's cooling body as if she was waiting for it to get up and apologize. Not a single tear. Not even a gasp of shock.

My stomach curdled. "Mother?"

She blinked at last, as if I'd only now appeared in her field of vision. Her lips opened slightly and she exhaled through her nose, looking - give me a second - tired. Not sad. Not horrified. Just tired. "Agnes... go with him."

That stung. More than it should have. More than I wanted to admit.

I felt my throat constrict as I looked for some flicker of hesitation in her face, some signal that she didn't really mean it. That she was simply in shock and would come out of it any second. Any second now.

But she didn't.

She shifted her eyes between me and Cyrus, her face unreadable. And just like that, she was gone. Like this was already over. Like I was already gone.

My fists balled, nails digging into my palms. "You can't be serious. He just - he just murdered your husband!" And you're just accepting of this?"

Only her shoulders tensed slightly, a hint of any real emotion. "He wasn't a good man."

I emitted a stuttering laugh, half disbelief, half hysteria. "Oh, great. So murder is perfectly okay then, right?"

Cyrus made a low, amusing sound. "See? Mommy dearest agrees. Now let's go before I lose my patience."

His grip tightened. I hardly had a moment to gasp before he all but shoved me toward the carriage waiting outside.

The Carriage Ride of Doom

I folded my arms across my chest and glared daggers at Cyrus.

Hours stretched between us without words. Literally.

At some stage, I fell asleep, which was to become the worst mistake I ever made.

Because I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder.

And-OH DEAR GOD-DROOL.

I sprung up so quickly I nearly catapulted myself out the window. "I-YOU-THIS-"

Cyrus looked down at his very expensive-looking shirt, on which a shiny wet patch of my betrayal glimmered.

Then he looked at me.

I gulped. "We can pretend this never happened."

Cyrus tilted his head; the smirk that crept onto his infuriatingly perfect face was a slow one. Or you can wash it when we get home."

Damn it.

I scowled. "Or, and hear me out - big-brain idea - we get someone else to wash it. Like, I don't know, a servant? A very dedicated raccoon?"

He arched his brow. "Are you comparing yourself to a raccoon?"

"No, I'm saying that a raccoon would be better at this job." They have tiny hands. It's pretty much everything they do."

He hummed as though not impressed at all. "Fascinating. Now, wash it."

I puffed, spinning around to yank the carriage curtains open - and regretted it instantly.

Just blackness and trees, trees, trees.

I blinked. "...Are we in a forest?"

Cyrus reclined, relaxed as ever, as if he hadn't just pulled me into a horror story setting. "Took you a while to notice."

"Notice?! We're in the middle of nowhere! Shouldn't we stay at an inn or something?! Or maybe somewhere with, I don't know, beds? Civilization? People who don't go around murdering people?"

"Oh," Cyrus said failing to hide his dramatic sigh, as though I was wearing him out personally. "We don't need an inn. We have a destination."

"Great. Love that for us. And how do we survive being eaten by something with more teeth than a dentist's nightmare?"

As if the cosmos had determined to embrace the very soul of spite, a distant, blood-curdling wail pierced the silence.

I froze.

My blood ran cold.

Gradually, I pivoted to Cyrus, hoping-if only this once-that he would give a little slack measure of concern. Just a little. A fraction would be comforting, even a small one.

Nope.

The bastard looked bored.

"Don't tell me you didn't hear that," I whispered, my voice at the verge of squeaking.

Cyrus sighed and picked at his nails, as if he had better things to do than acknowledge my imminent doom. "You really suck at this whole not panicking stuff."

"NOT PANICKING? WE'RE LITERALLY ABOUT TO BECOME WOLF SNACKS.'

He looked at me slowly, judgmentally. Then deadpanning, he added, "I'd love to see them try."

I blinked. What.

My mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. "Excuse me - do you think you're scarier than whatever just made that noise?"

His smirk widened. "You tell me."

Oh, for the love of-

I threw my hands up. "Fantastic! We've officially crossed into the "Cyrus believes he's an untouchable badass" segment of the evening. You know what? Let's just invite them over! Perhaps they'll value your bravado more than I do!"

There was another howl, nearer this time.

I was on the edge of my seat." "Oh my gods, we are really going to die.

Cyrus stretched, perhaps enjoying my misery. "You really lack faith."

"Faith?! Faith in WHAT? The fact that you possess the survival instincts of a brick?"

He rolled his eyes. "I want to see a brick tear someone's throat out."

I made an indignant noise. "Not the point!"

He looked me over for a moment, then leaned across and gave my head an absent signal.

"Relax. You're with me."

I swatted his hand away. "That is not comforting!"

"It should be."

"Well, it's not!"

His smirk was still there, but with something else mixed in. Something dark. Amused. Dangerous. "Then maybe you aren't as intelligent as you say you are."

I let out a hard breath, squeezing the bridge of my nose. "You know what? Fine. When the wolves come, you can fight 'em, and I'll be over here, screaming and crying like a sane person."

His eyes sparkled in the lowlight. "That's the best thing you said all night."

I sank into my seat and groaned. I was so doomed.

Despite the confusion this caused me, Cyrus dismissed it with a wave and shut his eyes as though prepared to nap.

The moonlight fell through the window, and I was still looking at him-

-And his eyes blazed up through a bloody and violent red.

My breath hitched. My hands went clammy. My stomach dropped.

Cyrus, still completely calm, whispered, "Close the curtains."

I did. IMMEDIATELY.

And that's when it dawned on me - hit me like a damn truck.

"...You're not human, are you?"

Cyrus cracked one eye, a wry smile flitting across his face. "What do you think?"

"I-I don't know! A demon? A witch? A vampire?"

Cyrus scoffed. "Vampires are extinct. Insufferable little bloodsuckers."

I stared. "You are acting like you know them personally."

Cyrus smirked. "Maybe I do."

I gulped.

Oh.

Oh, I was so fucking screwed.

The Arrival - And the Immediate Regret

After two days of agony, we finally reached our destination.

And boy.

It had been a stone fortress-massive, intimidating and shrouded in darkness. It seemed like the sort of place where happy dreams went to die.

I climbed down from the carriage and instantly clutched Cyrus's sleeve.

Why?

Because there were wolves. Everywhere. Huge ones.

And the worst part? There were humans too - laughing, chatting, totally unfazed that literal giant beasts were just chilling outside.

My brain refused to compute.

Then - LIKE THIS DAY COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE - a wolf charged at me.

I let out this ear-piercing scream and I think my soul slipped out of my body.

Cyrus, unflappable as ever, covered my mouth with a hand.

Before I had time to process that I was going to die, it altered in the air;

And just like that - a naked man appeared in front of us.

I CAME SLAP, SLAP, SLEEPING IN MY HANDS OVER MY EYES.

"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?! " I shrieked. "YOU EVER HEARD OF CLOTHING?"

The man, completely unbothered, laughed. "She's loud."

Cyrus smirked. "Very."

I pulled one hand away just far enough to glare at him. "OH, I'M SORRY-AM I THE WEIRD ONE HERE?! "

Cyrus crouched, a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. "Welcome to the Ghysen, the Pack of the Northern Wolves.

I blinked.

Then blinked again.

Then slowly, the realization of my total impending doom settled in.

I had just been sold to a pack of werewolves.

Oh.

Ohhh.

...Welp. I was so freaking dead.