Aunt Carol didn't talk more. She switched on the TV and from talking about mythical creatures, we flipped on watching a documentary about the pyramids.

I thought I could change my thoughts for a minute but I failed. While watching the documentary, I chewed on my nails and continued thinking about what my Aunt had just said.

It wasn't enough.

I wanted to know more, so much more.

Most of my life, I spent getting high or drunk at some shady part of the town, waking up with no memory of what I had done or where I had been.

It was awful.

Before my parents were murdered, I was a child, unable to have memories or do anything and after they passed away, I turned back to the child I was, not caring about growing up.

It had been a while, a minute since I parted my way from my ex-boyfriend who had been the main focus of my life till recently. Ever since slipping out of the relationship, I had begun seeing things, noticing people, and growing.

"You seem tired. You should head upstairs and get some sleep. Those medicines must've been working on you." Carol said, pressing on the mute button for a minute.

Arching my back, I laid my head over the couch and breathed heavily. The questions were getting louder in my head, clanking with my every thought.

Alphas.

'Their leaders, Alphas.'

Carol's exact words repeated and it took me to the moment where the doctor was speaking to King Emerson inside the same hospital I was admitted into.

There had to be a connection.

"What did you mean by they could shift?" I questioned Carol after giving her a minute of long silence.

She turned her attention from the TV and her wide eyes ran through me. "Ah, you're still there, Eos." Her hand flew in the air and her lashes fluttered as she tried to ignore the question I had asked. "It's just myth, baby, nothing more."

"No, I'm just curious." I learned forward, my kneecaps met with each other and I continued, "It's interesting—wolves and humans being in the same form. I have never heard or even read anything about it." I tried to act calm and collected even when I was trembling from within.

Things were rounding.

Making sense.

"Well, there are many things we don't know about. But at the end of the day, it's all a myth, a story, a fiction made up by a lot of people who are now dead." Aunt Carol responded, as interested as I was. "I lived here my whole life and this town has a dark history—from its founding till the town evacuation took place."

"What happened before that?" I blinked.

Carol shrugged, still holding the remote to the TV in her hands. "Living here was odd before it. There was a lot of violence and rumors but after the evacuation, something changed and now, it's blossoming more than ever." Her lips curled into a smile and she cozied up to the cushion beside her.

I mentally noted everything in my head, every word that came out of Aunt Carol's mouth.

A few moments after, she resumed watching the documentary while I pulled the laptop to my lap and ran King Emerson through the search.

My brows tightened when numerous pages and articles on him appeared in front of me. I glanced at Carol once more, she was sitting far away from me this time and her entire focus was on the TV.

My eyes drifted back to the bright screen and scurried through the words of the article. I read them thoroughly, not even missing a single word.

My skin crawled whenever the name King Emerson appeared on my laptop.

Most of it all mentioned him and his success in the city nearby where he had owned companies and enterprises. He had been awarded more than a hundred times by various organizations and other companies. His close family wasn't mentioned but his far cousins and other family members were.

It wasn't hard to find everything about it since it was on display everywhere.

He was a billionaire, he had been photographed with a hundred women—shirtless, images of him partying, drinking, and working was all over the internet. His mansions at the creek, his golf clubs, his ranches nearby the city, and his collection of luxury and classic cars were also displayed all across the internet.

What was this man doing here?

I slammed the laptop close and stood up from the couch. My legs burned and turned sore from sitting at the same spot for the past hour.

I ran my hand through my hips, rubbing them gently while I looked over at Aunt Carol who had slept on the couch while watching the documentary.

By the time I walked past her, she had begun snoring. It had been a tiring day for her, I understood her. She had all my responsibility forced upon her even when she didn't want it.

No one could blame her.

I quickly slipped into her bedroom and grabbed her blanket from the bed before placing it over her.

"Goodnight," I whispered before heading upstairs to my own bedroom.

My body was weakened by the immense pain I had felt earlier. Most—all of it had been gone after the Doctor had given the IV. Whatever was injected inside me did wonders and saved me from the pain I had been going through for hours.

I pushed myself up from the stairs and opened the door to my room. Cold air attacked my body, forcing a shiver to crawl down my back.

"Shit." I cursed, rubbing my arms and warming myself.

My eyes clicked to the window that had been opened up. The wind screamed and rushed into the room before whirling around. I rushed in and slammed the windows shut as quickly as I could.

When I looked outside, into the dark street, I found the night calling for me. My tired eyes dropped low and I sighed before closing the curtains and walking over to my bed.

It had been a wild month.

My hands reached for the phone tucked inside my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the date for a long minute. I had been sober for over six weeks now—six and I couldn't hold it any longer.

I dialed a number, a very known and familiar one, and silently hoped he was awake at this time of the night.

The call went through and after several rings, he picked up, "Hello, Eos. I wasn't expecting a call from you." He said, his tone loud and all fresh as if he hadn't even thought about sleeping.

I gulped down a breath of air. My heart ran a thousand miles an hour. "Hey. Oh, yeah, I got a little sick but I'm doing fine now!" I quickly said before he assumed something more was wrong. Acting like I hadn't seen him at the hospital was difficult.

"That's terrible. How are you doing now?" He asked, his tone now warming to me.

"Better."

I raised my free hand and curled my finger around a strand of hair. My heart thudded in my chest as I collected the courage to ask, "I was wondering if you would be free tomorrow evening? We—we could grab some drinks. I mean, I totally would understand if you were busy but if not..." My words fell on each other but King stayed silent on the other end till I finished.

"I'd love to." He responded.

My finger froze while swirling the strand. Every nerve in my body tightened at his unexpected response. My eyes set close and my lips curled themselves into a smile.

"That would be amazing! Well, I'll see you at eight. Goodnight." I quickly said before ending the call and feeling my pulse rush with every minute that went by in silence.

It had been my first time asking a man out on a date and certainly the most awkward.

I placed the phone on the bed and then dropped along with it. The cheer over my face decided to stay for a bit longer while my imagination rushed over to the moment at the town hall where King was buried inside me.

It felt so right and wrong at the same time.

Something cold twisted in my gut when I turned over the bed. As much as I liked him, I couldn't have feelings until I knew the secrets he carried along with himself.

He had them.

And a lot of them.

I didn't want to go through another heartbreak, another breakdown, another year of tears and sorrow.

King's record to me was clean, I couldn't find anything wrong but his appearance at the hospital earlier today, his car parked at the cemetery on the same night I was bitten, his presence in this town and his attraction to me was all odd in different ways.

I couldn't wait to hear him spill his secrets to me after the sixth round where one of us was certainly going to get out of control.

And it wasn't going to be me.

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