The Falcon Ridge Series Book 4: Art of a Girl

(Chapter song ‘Scars’ by I AM THEY)

SAMMY

I crack an eye and swallow the dryness in my throat. My eye focuses and all I see is dark. I don’t remember falling asleep. I barely remember what happened. All I remember is kissing Bastian and all hell breaking loose.

I remember hearing Bastian calling to me, but it was like something was holding me back from him. It was much different than my regular episodes. It’s strange, but all I know is, it was Bastian who found me in my mind. I don’t know how, but I’m so glad he did.

I sit up and run fingers through my hair. I lift my arm and place a hand on the bandage that's on it. I wince that the pain underneath. I wonder how many this time.

My stomach growls and I grip my stomach. I can’t remember when I last ate. I better get something into me or I won’t sleep.

I grab my robe and throw it on. As I tie it up, I slip on slippers and leave my room. The house is dark and quiet.

I quietly head downstairs and walk to the dim foyer. My stomach growls more as I head to the dining hall.

Once in the kitchen, I search the fridges. I pick up a Tupperware dish and open the lid. The smell of pot roast hits my nose and I'm in heaven. I close the door and sink to the floor with it and pull off the lid.

As I lean against the sterling silver fridge, I shove pieces of the cold meat into my mouth. I lean my head back, chew and thank God for this. I feel like I haven’t eaten in a month. Mouthful after mouthful, I savor every piece to its fullest. In the dark, I chow down and feel more satisfied with each bite.

"You know. The chef's going to be pissed when he finds out."

With my cheek stuffed, I turn my head to the voice. My heart thumps in my chest until Bastian steps out of the darkness.

I swallow, blow out a breath, and look up at him. "What?"

My body fills with embarrassment as he chuckles, steps around the prep table and sits down on the floor. He leans against a cabinet and looks me over. “That good?” He points to the dish.

I pck up a piece and put it in my mouth. “Yes.” I grin

“I see you’re feeling better.” His face softens as he crosses his feet.

He's wearing track pants with no shirt. His hair is pulled up high on his head. I’ve never seen him dressed so down before. I casually glance at his body and lightly smile as I feel my cheeks heat.

I hold up my arm. “Did you do this?”

He nods. “I did.”

My lips fall. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for doing what I had to. I’d do it again in a heart beat.” He says as he rolls his head to me.

I tuck my hair behind my ear and pick up another piece of meat. I sit up, criss-cross my legs and lean my elbows on my thighs. I pick a piece off, pop it in my mouth, and lift an eye to him. “Why are you up?”

"I couldn't sleep. I was doing paperwork by the fireplace and pleasantly surprised to see this tiny woman sneaking around in the dark." He softly chuckles.

I blush and chuckle, too. I pick up the dish and hold it up to him. “Want some?”

He takes out a piece and puts it in his mouth. "Thanks." He mumbles with a full cheek. "So, you're awake."

I nod. "I guess I am." I lean back on the fridge. “It was a bad day.”

He agrees. "You want to tell me about it?"

I set the dish down on the floor and pull my knees up. I wrap my arms around them lean my cheek on my arms with my head turned to him. I feel like if he wants to accept this, he has right to the whole story.

"I was riding in the back of our family car. My mother was singing songs to me to keep me entertained on the drive home from visiting my grandmother.” My voice is quiet as I call up the nightmare that’s haunted me for my entire life.

“As we drove past an open field, my dad told me to look out the window. When I looked, I saw a white wolf running across the field. My parents were impressed with his size. I just wanted to pet the doggie.” I smile and glance at Bastian. He laughs a little.

"He ran along the edge of the field as I waved to it. I was so excited and happy to see something so amazing.” My eyes sting and I hug my knees tighter. “My dad was even more excited when he joined us on the road. He ran beside our car like it was nothing. His massive head filled my window and I squealed like a girl at Christmas. He looked at me and I showed him my little red riding hood doll.”

I place my chin on my arms and look out into the dark kitchen. “Then he body slammed the car. It shook so bad, I screamed and my parents freaked out. He hit the side of the car a few more times. I watched my car door bend in as my mom yelled for my dad to faster.”

I started to shake as I fought tears. “I cried out to my dad to make it stop. He tried. He tried so hard, but the damn thing wouldn’t let up. He bit our tire and we lost control. The car rolled and we crashed in the snow.”

Bastian crawled across the floor and sat beside me. He held my hand and I glanced at him as I held up our hands and played with our fingers. I felt calmer when his skin touched mine.

"My dad woke up first. He unbuckled my mother and then me. He hugged me because I was so scared.” My eyes well and Bastian lays a hand on my head.

He kisses my hair. “That’s horrible. I’m sorry.” He mumbles then puts his forehead on the side of my head.

“It got worse.” I whisper as a tear falls. “My dad was going to find out where we were and get help. My mother held my hand as my dad hugged me to calm me down.” I couldn’t fight the tears anymore. “He was ripped out of my arms. The monster came back, smashed through the windshield and took my father from me. We both screamed for him and I watched the animal rip him apart. My mother pushed me and told me to get in the back. I stood there in shock as the monster grabbed her, too.” I turn my eyes to Bastian. “Then it came for me.” I hitch.

He wraps his arms around me as I relive my horror. “He heard me scream and came for me, but he was too big to fit through the seats. He snapped his teeth at me while I screamed and kicked at him. I cried my little heart out for help, but no one came.” I take in a shaky breath as Bastian wipes my tears. “I tried to climb into the back window as he pushed past the seats. Then the monster attacked. He grabbed my coat and tore it off. He also bit me in the process. I barely felt it, I was that terrified.” I touch the shoulder with my scar.

"He was about to attack again, but howls came from outside the car. He left the car and ran. I watched from the wreckage as the car was surrounded by thousands of wolves that came out of the dark and ran past me. The car shook as they stampeded through. The monster joined them. It was a whole pack of blood covered white wolves.” I wipe my cheeks and fix my hair.

“When I was sure they were gone. I crawled out of the car. I was bleeding, freezing, and scared to death. I called for my mother as I walked to my parents' bodies in the snow. When I got to them, there was only half bodies, but I still tried to shake them and I begged them to wake up. I gave up and looked around. I was alone in the freezing dark. The only thing I saw was a sign that said 'Welcome to Silver Lake'. I figured the best thing to do was to listen to what my mother told me. I got in the back of car. I wrapped myself in my coat and I managed to sleep until highway patrol found us the next morning. I was sent to hospital and my parents declared dead at the scene. I was patched up, treated for hypothermia then sent to an orphanage. I told them everything that happened.”

Bastian leans back and raises a brow. "Sammy? When was this?"

"Twenty years ago." I clean off my cheeks and blink at him.

"Come with me." He grabs my hand and we go to his office.

He sits me down at his conference table and goes to a bookshelf. “How much do you know about shifter laws.”

“Not much really. I never got involved with those kinds of studies. I was just trying to make it though school and not become a research project. Why?”

I watch him take a large book off the shelf and bring it to me. “We have all the laws you’d expect, but a major one. One that would land you in my prison, is the Turner law.”

I scrunch my brow. “The Turner Law.”

He nods. “As a whole, shifters can’t bite humans. 99 percent of the time, the humans die. Our venom is too potent for their bodies to handle. So, we declare shifters to be non turning creatures. But every thousand years, you get one of these.”

He places the book in front of me and opens it. The book is old and faded. The words are written in a weird type of English I can’t read. In the center of the page, stands a wolf on a hill with wolves and humans around him.

“A turner.” He eyes me. “A wolf with capability to turn humans, build armies and destroy the world. There aren’t many because it depends on two things.”

He flips the page and on one side is a red moon and on the other is a blue moon.

He points to the red moon. “Every thousand years, this moon rises. Every year, the blue moon rises. The year that the red moon rises, the time between it and the Blue Moon is when turners are born. It’s suspected that the radiation in the red light changes our genes temporarily and any offspring will carry the change in them. Any wolf born between these two moons will be a Turner. I believe you were attacked by one of the fiercest turners I’ve ever met.” He flips back to the wolf. “If what you tell me is true, I believe the wolf who bit you was the Harbinger of Death himself.”

“Harbinger of Death.” I whisper.

He stands and crosses his arms. “Draco Torrent.” He walks to a file cabinet and pulls out a file. He opens it, pulls out a photo and drops it on the table.

I stare at the black and white photo of a man who looks young, but feels old. He stares back at me with evil eyes and has short, messy, white hair. He's pale and has sharp features. He’s dressed in some form of black leather uniform and stands tall. He looks like a dictator.

He points to the picture. “This man sent an army made of turned humans, called The Dragons, across the country and killed thousands. I believe your parents drove right into the middle of Draco's attack on Silver Lake.”

I swallow. “Where is he now?”

“Dead.” He picks up the photo. “Sammy. What did the wolf look like? In detail.”

My lips fall. “Come with me.”

I lead him back to my room and into my art room. I rush to a back corner and throw off a sheet. “He started coming to me when I hit 13. He's not white, but the details are all exactly the same.” I grab a canvas, take big steps to an easel, drag it to face Bastian and slam the canvas on it.

His jaw falls as he slowly walks to the dark painting of a wolf standing tall on a hill. He’s completely black with a white cross on his forehead and glowing red eyes.

I point to the picture. “If dreams are often inverted, this was the wolf that killed my parents.”

“You dreamed him?” He cinches his brow.

“Every night for years until my doctor blocked him.” I hold myself and give him serious look.

He nods. “With the exception of color, that’s Draco. I’d know that wolf anywhere.”

“The problem I’m having is you said he’s dead.” I say.

“Yes. Four years ago.” He answers.

I press my lips together. “I painted this last week. I know it could be my memories, but it wasn’t, Bastian. He’s real.”

Bastian raises his brow. “What do you mean?”

I walk up to him. “I mean, he’s not a part of my head. I don’t know to explain it, except to say, it’s like he just walks into my mind and it’s not only the wolf.”

“What?”

I turn to the sheet covering my latest haunting. “There’s also him.”

Bastian walks over and pulls the sheet off. I see his face turn to shock when he sees the man on the canvas. “Sammy? Who is that?”

“I have no idea.” I choke.

“Oh my God.” He looks at the painting and down at the picture in his hand. He slowly raises the photo to the side of the man’s face. “Sam. Do you see what I see?”

I stand beside him and flick my eyes between the two faces. “It's uncanny. With the exception of the black hair and maybe the eyes…Bastian, what does that mean?”

He looks at me with concern. “If you strongly believe this man is real and I know for a fact Draco is dead, it means we have another player on the field.” He turns back to the pictures. “Sammy, it’s possible you could be dreaming about Draco Torrent’s son.”

A deep, icy shiver chilled me to the bones as my eyes get lost in the man’s. “Just fucking perfect.” I grit with tears as Bastian takes me in his arms. I bury my head in his chest and try to absorb the safe feeling he gives me as I process this.