I will never ever drink again. Ever. I had forgotten how shitty it feels the day after. I have only gotten drunk three times and today I remember why. Horrible hangover. I woke up around ten in the morning and almost got a heart attack. The giant wolf was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes today. He simply licked my face before running out again. I didn't follow him, knowing he is probably enjoying nature outside.

After eating breakfast, I went to the bathroom and rested on the bathtub filled with cold water. I closed my eyes and relaxed for about ten minutes, enjoying the peace and quiet. On the eleventh minute, Lysander entered the room wearing nothing. His eyes raked over me and sat on the floor, grabbing my hand and kissing it.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Somewhat." I cringed at my headache, still growing strong. "Last night, I don't really remember anything. Did I do anything weird? Did you laugh at me?"

The werewolf smirked. "You always do something weird and I never laugh at you. That's what a good mate does."

I smiled at that. He is a good mate, isn't he? "You liar. I caught you laughing at me the other day when I tried to climb a tree and fell."

"Okay. But that was really funny." He scooted closer to me and brushed a finger over my lips. His eyes darkened as he licked his lips before putting it against mine. My teeth caught his bottom lip and my fingers tangled through his hair, pulling him closer.

I pulled away from him briefly. "Do you want to join me?" I joked, knowing he despises cold water.

"I do."

"Wait what?" My face heated up as he stood up and positioned himself at the end of the tub, narrowing his eyes at me. "I was joking." My heart pounded as he moved towards me. He never got in the tub, just hovered over me like a cloud. I put a hand on his chest and sank lower into the water.

Then, the werewolf grinned and licked my cheek. In human form. "Lunch in a couple of hours when Rami comes back from his hangover walk."

***

Rami does this thing where he takes a walk when he has a hangover. He woke up while I was eating breakfast and said that he will be walking around the woods to get rid of his headache, which is just like what he had done before, when he had gotten drunk in Alverton and got a headache the next day when we were in the forest. The way I deal with hangover is laying down while listening to music and doing nothing until the headache goes away.

After taking a shower, I returned to my room to get dressed. After putting on black pants and a band shirt, the bed suddenly looked like heaven so I dove in and now I can't get up. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard a loud bang from the outside, followed by a bunch of footsteps on the wooden floors and voices blaring from the living room.

Those voices do not belong to Rami nor Lysander.

I quickly took a Sleeper from my closet. I ran out of the second hallway and the voices grew louder, making my anxiety worse. I also heard the frightening roar of the werewolf and I knew then, we were in trouble.

Before I could see what was happening in the main hall, I was pushed down to the floor and the Sleeper was taken out of my hand. I felt a foot on my back while my face is shoved down the floor by a hand. A hand that has the hunter's mark.

How the fuck did they find us here?

"Stay away from her!" Lysander screamed while the hunter who was holding me down laughed menacingly. He only grew angrier and his growls blared louder.

I felt ropes being tied around my legs and handcuffs on my wrists before I was picked up and shoved down to a chair. Another set of ropes wrapped around my chest and bound me to the chair tightly. I was then able to see the hunters properly. Some are familiar and some are not. The familiar ones included Dean, the woman who chased me with her car, and several others from West Grove and Alverton. The one familiar face that made my blood boil is that pale teenage boy that went to my school. That asshole vampire who started this mess. The vampire who works with the hunters and took Lysander to The Citadel. I want nothing but to stab him with silver. I have it in my room but I didn't think a vampire would find us here. If only I can free myself.

I tried to break free but the ropes are too tight and the handcuffs are making it difficult for any movement. "Let me go! Let him go! What do you want from us?!"

Lysander, like me, is bound. Not by ropes, but silver chains. I could see him flinching as his skin burns. He has been injected with wolfsbane. A hunter standing near him is holding the a syringe with purple liquid inside. I hate these people. Why can't they just leave us alone?

"The job is simple." One of the female hunters from West Grove answered me while playing with a Swiss Army knife. "We catch any threat from humanity. We get money from the government for keeping the world safe." She walked over to Lysander and slid the sharp end of her knife over his cheek, giving him a bloody scar. "And word has it that the military is looking for a werewolf. And we know where to find one. Once we give them the dog, we get the money." The sweet high pitch voice makes my skin crawl.

"We owe it all to a certain scientist named Ronald Rai. Ever heard of him?" Dean, the first ever hunter I've seen, stopped in front of me with a tablet in his hand. He tapped the screen, revealing a video. Doctor Rai is the thumbnail. Just by looking at it, I saw that he is in an empty, small room, beaten up and tortured.

Dean pressed the play button and I was forced to watch the doctor.

"Where is he?" An unknown voices asked in the background.

"I - I told you! I don't know!" The man cried, right before blue lights sparked all over his body. I narrowed my eyes at the thin wires around his body. Blue lights lit up and Doctor Rai screamed in pain. Electrocution. I cannot believe these people. These people are humans and they cause more pain than anyone. How could they do this to Doctor Rai?!

"Where is the girl? You know her. Where is she?" The same voice in the background questioned.

Doctor Rai closed his eyes, already preparing himself for the unbearable pain. I looked down, not wanting to watch the torture but my head was held up forcefully to watch. The growling from the other side of the room grew louder but we both knew there was nothing we could do. We are outnumbered. I can only hope Rami doesn't choose to arrive now. He doesn't deserve this.

"I don't know."

"And the boy?"

"I don't know!"

Every answer is a wrong answer. Doctor Rai gets shocked every time he speaks.

"Is there any other people involved with the werewolf's escape?"

"I don't know."

The man was screaming and crying for them to stop but they never did. My vision blurred as my eyes watered and tears pricked down my face.

"Where did you find the wolf?" The deep voice behind the camera asked calmly.

Doctor Rai didn't answer at first. Instead of getting shocked, a woman came and punched him, causing his face to bleed. "Where did you find him?" It was the woman who is holding the knife. I glared at her across the room and in return, she gave me a sick wide smile.

"Tell us where you found him or we will come after your fiance. He's a teacher, isn't he?"

My heart dropped even more at the fear on the doctor's eyes. "Please don't."

"We will leave him alone if you tell us where you found 17."

Doctor Rai let out a shaky breath. "Redwoods. I found him at Redwoods National Park."

The voice behind the camera laughed. The woman who hit Doctor Rai nodded and smirked as if she had won. In the background, I listened to the voices of the hunters, though the camera is still focused on the beaten up man.

"Giles reported spotting the wolf with the girl and boy at their city."

"They lost them at the road but they were heading west. They are most likely going to be returning to Redwoods, in California."

"And how the hell are we going to find the dog with a place that big?"

"We take Uriel. He will track him down like he did before. It shouldn't be a problem. The kid's immune to sunlight."

"Alright. Let's go. Gather up the other hunters."

Just when I thought the video was going to end there, it didn't. Not before a loud noise came from behind the camera and Doctor Rai suddenly fell lifeless. A bullet was shot through his heart and blood began to pour down from his chest. The asshole vampire ran in front of him and bit his neck and the video ended.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't look away from the screen. I couldn't look at anyone around me. These people are disgusting and cruel. Still, that would not have happened if it wasn't for me. He lost his life in the hands of these monsters and it's my fault.

"How could you do that?" I croaked, clenching my fist so hard that my own nails dug through my skin. "You claim to get rid of threats to humanity but here you are, killing a human for your own selfish reasons. For money!"

"Tough world, kid." Dean threw the tablet on the couch. "You gotta do what you gotta do to survive."

"Fuck you."

"Sharp tongue." A hunter next to Dean commented. "Maybe we should cut it off."

"Leave her! Please!" Lysander yelled as loud as he could, though it sounded weak as his body loses energy from the wolfsbane and silver. "It's me that you want. Take me and leave her out of this!"

I shook my head as tears poured down my eyes. After all we did, we just lost. Everything was a waste. We still lost in the end. I couldn't save him.

"Andromeda."

I shook my head and closed my eyes. It's happening again. I failed to save the ones I love.

"An." My breath hitched as I stared at Lysander. He never said the three words out loud, but his eyes did.

"This is sick, you know." The woman with the knife stepped between us, preventing us from looking at each other. "A human girl and a werewolf boy. It's disgusting. We are doing you a favor, girl. We are saving your life from this beast. Look at him! He could kill you if he decided that he doesn't want you anymore."

"Where is the other one?" The asshole vampire spoke for the first time. Uriel. If looks could kill, he would be dead within a second. "The boy. Where is he? I know he's with you. His scent is all over the place."

My body grew cold. Not Rami.

"He left."

Uriel walked towards me. I wished the house would suddenly fall apart and all the woods would pierce through his cold, slow beating heart. He is immune to sunlight. That's why he is able to go anywhere and anytime without hiding unlike the others of his kind. What a wasted gift for someone so sinister.

"You're lying."

"Am I? Where is he then? He would never leave our side if we were on good terms. But we aren't. He wanted out of the whole supernatural madness and I don't blame him. He went off to join his family not too long ago." More tears poured from my stinging eyes. "But why do care? You've got what you wanted." I spat on him and I got a slap in return.

"Stop!" Lysander tries to break free from his chains. "Once I'm free from this, I will kill you with my own hands." He threatened calmly, though his body is shaking with anger.

The vampire did not look scared at all. "Who said you'll be free? You will be anything but."

"The helicopter will be arriving soon. Let's get the hell out of here." Dean said to the hunters. "Bring the girl to the cave and make sure she stays there. The rest of you, come on."

Everything had happened so fast. While Lysander was dragged like a dog on a leash, I was carried like a sack of potatoes. The door was broken down as Lysander was the first one to be taken out of the house. It took a lot of hunters to make sure he didn't try to break free. Hunters surrounded him from every direction. As for me, a man carried me while another is behind, watching over me like a hawk.

Someone had put a cloth over my mouth, which prevented me from using my mouth as a weapon -- whether it be used for talking or for physical stuff like biting someone's face off. I really wanted to. Over the house, there are two vans parked. One black and one red. Lysander, along with many hunters, went on the red van. I was only able to look at him for a quick second before the doors slammed and I was pushed inside the black van. A hunter joined me and closed the door.

"I know you can't move or talk but I swear if you pull anything, I'm going to kill you." She hissed, resting on a corner away from me.

I could not do anything but cry. I know crying won't save me but I couldn't help it. I was so angry and disappointed at everyone and everything, including myself. How could I be so stupid? Why did I think of going to Redwoods? Why wasn't I smarter? Why wasn't I strong enough to save Lysander? Doctor Rai deserved better. He has a family and they all deserved better. None of this is right. Hunters catching Lysander and selling him for money? And what would the military do? Kill him. Change him. Weaponize him and cause more destruction and violence. Lysander deserves better. He deserves better than me. Why couldn't it have been someone else that took care of him? Someone stronger and smarter? Someone who could have saved him. And Rami. He deserves better. I dragged him through all of this and it was all for nothing. He has education. He has a family. I shouldn't have gotten him into this. He is too good for this kind of world. I hope he is somewhere out there, safe. I need him to be safe.

***

The vehicle stopped and the hunter covered my eyes with a blindfold. I heard the door open and I was once again carried to a place. I don't know where I am, but I could hear the distinct sound of the sea and birds flying on the sky. The person holding me walked for a long time and I could hear them breathing heavily, exhausted. Then, the person walked a little more and soon I felt cold. The sound of birds and the sea faded and was replaced by voices echoing.

"Is that the wolf girl?"

"Must be."

I reached out my hand to feel something. My surroundings. I felt the wall, which was hard and sharp. Like a rock. I couldn't do it for long because someone had smacked my hand. "Don't touch anything." It was the woman from the van. She really doesn't like me.

"Take her there. The security is on."

My holder suddenly dropped me on the ground and I heard a clicking sound, along with metals. I removed my blindfold and my eyes hurt at the bright lights around me. I was in a bright room, behind metal bars that have wires around them. I put a hand out between the bars and I screamed in pain as my hand was shocked with electricity.

"You can't escape, child." A man laughed as he watched me cower helplessly. "I don't know how long you'll be here, but I don't reckon long enough. They will probably just kill you since they finally got the mutt. I have to say, I'm impressed that a small woman like you made it quite a catch for the hunters to get the dog. But no matter, you'll be in here and there is nothing that can help you now."

He left the room and I was left alone. I cannot see beyond the room. I could not hear anything beyond it. It's just me trapped behind bars with nothing to help me. I breathed heavily as I backed away in a corner, sliding down to the ground as I hugged myself. This is it. This is how it ends. I failed.