I tossed and turned, trying to force myself into sleep.

I was tired, but I couldn't stop my trailing thoughts.

It was awkward with Duke was sitting a few meters away, probably watching me lay there.

Did he know I was still awake?

I faced away from the small lounges and kept my eyes on a nearby window, watching the eerie shadows of a tree swaying in the angry wind.

I thought of Ryde, and sudden fear would spear through my body.

He was out there somewhere, planning his attack.

I bravely turned my body around, and took a glance towards Duke.

Sure enough he was still sitting there, his head held down.

Almost as if I'd called his name, his head lifted

"Can't sleep?" He asked, his voice husky and deep, like he had been sleeping.

I propped myself up on my elbows "No"

"If you're worried about Ryde, you shouldn't be. That's why I'm here"

"You said yourself that he could bring an army in and attack, if that happens I'm as good as dead"

I heard him sneer

What was his deal?

One minute he was nice, and the next he was brutal.

I looked towards him, he hadn't moved an inch.

"What's your deal? I mean, do you have a personal problem with me, or are you a jerk to everyone as equals?" I asked, frustrated

"A jerk?" He repeated

I watched his figure lift from the seat and slowly stride towards me.

"You know, I should kick Riley's ass for what he's done. I don't think he gets the gravity of seriousness going on"

How had this suddenly become about Riley?

"We were just mucking around, it wouldn't ever be serious. Do you understand just how wrong that is?"

I felt bad for my words, thinking about he and Anna's relationship.

"Tell me Duke, what do my emotions say whenever you storm in on us?" I challenged.

I knew how I felt, it wasn't what he thought.

He leaned his arms on the bed, bringing his face close to mine.

My heart began to race at the sudden proximity. I could feel his breath on my face, my eyes could just make out his golden gaze.

"Your emotions don't react the way Riley's do" He confessed

"However, your emotions are erratic at times such as now" He continued, a small smirk tugging at his lips

Busted.

His words only seemed to heighten my reaction, my heart beginning to pump even louder and beat against my chest. It caused my palms to sweat in my lap.

His face inched towards mine, just as Riley's had. I could feel the difference in emotions myself.

When Riley had done it, it was playful, humorous. But now, with Duke, it felt intense, magnetic.

I watched him closely.

His expression told me he was enjoying this.

I wanted to move away, but something was stopping me, dragging me in the opposite direction.

I kept my eyes close on his as his nose lightly brushed against mine. My breathing hitched, and I expected him to kiss me, just like Riley had.

Instead he pulled away with one quick fluid motion.

My heart rate peaked and I let out my trapped breathing.

What was he doing to me? Was this some form of mind control? Why couldn't I stop it?

I watched as he took his seat back into the lounge chair, his ankle leaning on his other knee.

I had to do something. Break the awkward barrier that heavily hung between us.

"Duke" I began "If Grant couldn't read my mind, how come Seth can? And how can you feel my emotions?" I asked my voice still slightly shaky from the incident.

I needed to get the thought of him so close from my mind, I needed an exit strategy.

What Duke had just done to me, I had done to Riley, I now felt what Riley had felt and I guess I deserved it.

I watched as he shrugged

"I don't know. But I'm starting to think it's something to do with what you allow in, I think it's all in your control" He continued, trying to explain.

I guess it was somewhat true. I trusted him, Riley and Seth, somewhat.

I didn't want Grant or Harriss in my head. I knew nothing about them.

"Makes sense" I mumbled, laying back down, pulling the blanket up to my shoulders.

I rolled back over towards the window and tree, and rest my head on my hands as I shut my eyes.

All I could now think of was Duke, and just how close he'd come to my face with his own.

I had to admit, I did feel safe around him. I knew he'd protect me, something inside me told me he would, even if it were just for Thomas.

-

I was running, I was running so fast that my lungs were violently protesting, tightening with every stride. My breathing was frantic and panicking while I checked behind me, watching as the dark figure seemed to run easily towards me.

He was laughing, laughing at my feeble attempts of freedom. I looked forward again and took a sharp right into a dark forest, dodging pine trees.

I checked behind me once again, but this time I realized the figure was no longer there. I stopped and dropped to my knees, clutching my tight angry chest as I breathed heavily.

"There you are" A voice growled, spinning me around the darkness.

Ryde was standing in front of me, towering above me while I sat crumpled

He took a long deep inhale as his eyes shut for a moment.

"That smell" He breathed "I wish I could drink you all to myself, but there are other plans ahead for you" He smirked as he edged towards me.

I felt my lungs inhale the cold air, stinging my throat. I tried to back up, but my feet disagreed. I stumbled backward and tripped on a tree root protruding from the ground.

Ryde stood over me and cackled as he threw an arm forward grabbing my neck.

Strong hands around my shoulders began shaking me as I thrashed around in an attempt to escape.

Screaming, my eyes shot open, bringing me face to face with Duke who hovered over me, his eyes frantic.

My breathing rushed as I realized it had been a nightmare.

Without thought I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Squeezing my eyes shut, relief flooded over me.

It wasn't real. It wasn't real.

I took long easy breathes, controlling my intake and outtake back to normal as my sobs slowly stopped.

I opened my eyes and took immediate notice to the hold I had of Duke, along with the hold he had on me.

One of his hands was on the back of my head, the other around my waist.

He wasn't moving, he was rigid and hard, and I knew why.

He probably hadn't been this close to a human since Anna.

I could only imagine just how tempting the smell of my blood was at that moment.

Embarrassed, I pulled away and wiped a few loose tears from my cheeks.

I didn't dare look up as his hands left my body.

Pulling the blanket back over my lap, I sat cross legged, keeping my head down on my hands.

"I-I'm sorry" I mumbled feeling idiotic. I could see from the corner of my eye as he lifted himself back up off the bed and stood.

"Its okay" He whispered back, his body still tense

He moved back to his chair and settled down into a more relaxed position. I noticed he had been holding his breath, and it wasn't until he sat away from me that he released it.

-

I woke to find my room empty. I had expected to wake up to find Duke at the sofa chair, but he wasn't. I somehow felt relieved.

After last night, I wasn't sure just how much more tension I'd created. I knew I'd definitely made it a lot worse than it had been before.

I made my way down to the kitchen after taking a long hot shower.

I'd dressed in a simple pair of black skinny jeans and a white loose T.

"Morning beautiful" Seth smiled as I shuffled into a dining room chair.

He looked rather intelligent. He had a morning paper propped in front of himself as he skimmed over the words. His hair was disheveled today and it made him look a lot younger than other times I'd seen him.

"How are you this morning?" He asked, eyeing me off as I leaned my head on my hands.

"Fantastic" I sarcastically mumbled

I took notice of Anna who was already preparing my favorite breakfast meal, eggs and bacon. I smiled when her gaze met mine.

"Where is everybody?" I asked

"Well, Riley will be here in a minute. He's just getting yelled at by Duke" He sighed, folding the newspaper and setting it down on the table

"Yelled at?" I asked

"Yep, about you two, heard Riley kissed you, how was it? Did he get the tongue in?" Seth joked.

"I didn't expect him to do it. He just did it"

"Yeah usually if you're teasing a guy, he's bound to react that way" Seth shot back

"We were just bickering" I defended

"Teasing, bickering, whatever it was or is, Duke is pissed about it. I haven't heard him get mad at Riley in a long while the way he is now" Seth smiled, seemingly amused by the entertainment

"Duke said that Riley wouldn't be allowed to watch over you on night duties because he's too distracted" He continued

I rolled my eyes, over the entire situation.

I slowly twisted my fork into a piece of bacon when Riley stormed into the room, taking a seat beside me, slouching. I looked up at him as he stared at me.

His face wasn't angry, nor was it upset.

He was amused, a long smile smugly pressed on his face as he winked at me.

"You got issues bro" Seth laughed as he picked up his paper and walked from the room with a shaking head

Riley shrugged "He's definitely jealous of us" He started

I rolled my eyes and dropped my fork "There is no us Riley. You started it" I defended

"Whatever you say pretty" He smiled as he leaned forward

"What did Duke say exactly?" I edged curiously

"Nothing much, just that I'm only able to watch over you during the day, I can't be trusted to protect you during the night when all I think about is making out with you" He shrugged as he picked up my fork and chewed on the piece of bacon attached to it

I coughed on my own spit

"Relax pretty. I just like to stir you, just like you do with me. Plus, it's nice to see Duke finally take an interest in another woman finally" He continued. I was automatically aware that Anna was standing in the kitchen.

Riley noticed me glance in her direction, and rolled his eyes.

"He needs to settle down. He's always so angry and hostile, then again, his brother is the same, but not quite as bad" He continued musing

"Brother?" I repeated, narrowing my eyes

"He has a brother, Darius. He's smarter, classier, 'hotter', his father's favorite, along with the ladies" He shrugged again as he took a hold of my plate and slid it towards himself

I laughed and shook my head, taking in the new information.

I wondered what he'd look like, what his personality would be like.

After Riley had eaten all my breakfast, we made our way into the study room.

Apparently Duke wanted to give me something.

Riley followed to stir him up. He was going to get himself beaten up and I had warned him, but he would just shrug me off and smile daringly.

Reaching Duke's study, I stopped at the front of his desk.

At first he eyed off Riley as Riley threw himself onto the white sofa next to the coffee table.

"Your friend Clora, she's worried about you. So I thought I'd give you the chance to let her know what's going on" Duke started, catching my full attention after he'd spoken Clora's name.

He held out a flashy black blackberry towards me. I held my hand out and attempted to take it, but his grip wouldn't let go.

I looked back up to him to meet his gaze.

"You have a sick family friend in Camden. The family friend attempted to call your mother, but she was too, preoccupied. Your friend Belle then called you, and here you are" He explained, making a story up as he went along while we both gripped the phone at once, careful not to touch each others fingers.

"Camden? Is that where I am now?" I asked

"Yes, it is" He replied quickly as his eyes continued to bore into mine

My home was in Faulconbridge. I was now somewhere in Camden.

"Rosie, you want the phone or not?" He pushed

"Yes, thanks" I nodded as I took the phone and turned on my heel.

I walked into the living room and sat on the edge of the long red lounge, staring at the screen.

I dialed Clora's number and pressed green, holding the phone up to my ear.

On the third ring, she picked up

"Hello? Hello? Rosie?" She spoke, her pixie voice desperate

"Yeah Clora, it's me" I smiled, my voice cracking as I tried to stay calm

I wanted to tell her everything, I wanted my best friend back. I wanted a small part of my normal life back.

"Rosie! Where the hell are you!? I haven't seen or heard from you, you just vanished, I didn't know what to do, I was going to file a police report today! I thought you died!" She yelled.

I held the phone an inch away from my ear until I could hear her stop.

"Done?" I asked, somewhat happy that she was concerned about me

"No, far from!" She continued

"Relax Clora. I'm fine. There was a, there was an emergency with one of our family friends. She's sick" I spoke, trying to sound sincere and remember Duke's cover story

"A family friend is sick?"

She didn't believe me, I could tell.

"Her name is Belle, she my mum's old high school friend. She's come down with pneumonia and already has an auto-immune problem. It's serious, she's in hospital" I continued, trying as hard as I could to sound honest

"So where is that? Where are you staying?"

"At her sister's place in Camden"

"Her sisters place?" She repeated again "Why do they need you there?"

"They wanted mum to be here, but she was drunk off her face, so I lied and said that she was busy with work and that I would come instead, for support"

"And when are you coming back?" She asked, getting straight down to it

"I'm not sure. Probably not until we know what's going on with her. It could go either way" I continued to ramble on.

I just wanted to tell her the truth. She was my best friend, we told each other everything.

I tried to change the subject "How are things at home?"

I heard her sigh "They're okay. We all miss you like crazy at school, especially Kenai. I think he has a crush on you"

"Have you heard anything from my mother?" I asked curious as to whether or not she'd even noticed I was gone

"Not a word, sorry" She answered sympathetic

"It's okay, so what else has been happening, fill me in?" I chirped changing the subject once again.

After Clora had filled me in on everything that had been going on, we said our goodbyes and ended the call. I walked towards Duke and handed him the phone.

I thanked him, and wondered when I would get the chance to speak to her again.

"Where are Riley and Seth?" I asked Duke as he put the phone in his drawer, trying to avoid my gaze

"No idea" He shot back blank as he kept his eyes on the papers in front of himself

I gave him a sneer before turning back to the living room.

"Rosie" Duke called, stopping me at the living room door as he sat at his desk, this time his face angled up towards me

"My father will be here this afternoon. Dress nice, he wants to meet you" He told me before turning his head back to his desk

I rolled my eyes and walked off.

I checked both boy's rooms, and the kitchen. No sign of them.

I narrowed my eyes and clicked my tongue as a not so smart, yet spontaneous idea flickered in my mind. If I were to go out, just for a little while, I doubted Duke would notice. I wanted fresh air, I wanted to smell the breeze outside, watch the birds fly overhead, taste the freedom I had quickly lost.

I walked to the staircase quarters and instead of straight off swinging the door open and fleeing, I stood and inspected it, just in case Duke had decided to add more locking systems.

Fortunately for me, it was free.

I lightly held my hands on the door and pulled it open inch by inch, watching intently around for a sign of movement.

Great protection.

When the door was ajar enough for my figure to squeeze through, I peeled myself out from inside. The sun immediately beamed down on my vitamin d lacking skin. I shivered and smiled to myself.

I missed the sun. I missed outside.

I quickly snapped back to reality and lightly repeated the inch by inch steps to shut the door behind me.

I felt free.

I did plan on coming back, or being dragged back, either way. At the moment, I was just interested in doing something a little out of order, something to remind myself I was still human.

I made my way down the marble grey steps and stopped halfway down to turn around and peer up at the building I'd been stuck in for the last week. It was just as beautiful outside as it was inside. There was something historic about it. Dark grey exterior bricks lined the thick walls. The outskirts of the home were painted white, but clearly needed re-painting.

There was something dark and eerie about it, yet charming and unique. I took one last look, before turning back to the pathway and the teasing sun.

I began to walk the path until it ended on a dense shrub lined footpath leading down a secluded forestry road.