I could hear growls and screams faint in the background, but that was all drowned out by the pounding of my heart, so loud I swore I could almost hear it in my ears. To say that I was terrified would be an understatement, and I kept my mouth clamped shut as I looked up at him. Some people babbled in the face of danger. I, on the other hand, remained deathly silent.

Three full seconds ticked by before a flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes, and then he swallowed roughly, falling a step back from the closet. It was just in time too, as another man entered the room, his brown hair sleeked back and eyes sharp.

"Alpha, we've got most of them cornered in the hall, but we couldn't – " He stopped when he saw me. "You found her?"

The other man didn't reply. He placed my knife beside me, along with an iPod with black earpieces.

"What're you – " the question was on the tip of my tongue but I trailed off in surprise when he shrugged out of his jacket in one swift move, placing it on my lap before I could even blink. His scent was earthy – that was the first thing I noticed, and I was so caught up in my confusion that I barely noticed him exchanging a quick glance with his friend before leaving the room altogether.

I stared at the brown-haired man when he took a step towards me.

"Luna," his voice was polite, and he inclined his head. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

I frowned, my fingers slowly but surely reaching for the knife. Just in case. I had deposited the fork somewhere and if I had a spoon, it'd be a full set – but, really, I was more concerned with picking the utensil that could keep me alive. "Are you here to kill me?"

His eyes widened. "What? No, I'm here to rescue you." He smiled and held out a hand. "Beta Adrian Massey at your service, Luna."

Tentatively, I took his hand. "It's Quinn actually." I froze when he held out his friend's jacket for me. "What're you doing?"

"Alpha's orders," he said, pulling the jacket up my arms.

I faltered. "The man earlier—he told you to do this?"

"Yes," Adrian returned calmly. Tugging the hood over my head, he reached for the iPod and stuffed the earpieces into my ears.

"But why?"

"To keep you safe. Come on, we have to get out here before they seal up the perimeter again." He smiled at my confusion, before tapping the play icon on the screen of the iPod. I couldn't help but wince at the sheer decibel of the music. "Music on," he said, just loud enough so that I could hear. He reached down to take my other hand and placed my palm over my eyes. "Eyes closed."

Uneasily, I kept my eyes shut as he led me out. I didn't know where he was taking me, but I did know that I had to leave this place.

My mind, however, was cataloguing every detail of my surroundings. He led me through what seemed like a narrow and never-ending hallway, before entering a place that somehow seemed dangerous, if the way he pulled me closer to his side or tightened his grip around my arm was any indication at all.

We managed to make it out unscathed. He removed my hand from my face and I opened my eyes, pulling off the earpieces. We were standing next to two black cars. The building that I'd been locked up in was a good way behind.

Adrian opened the door of the first car. "Get in."

I hesitated. A part of me was grateful for what Adrian and his friend had done for me, but another part of me feared them. You feared the shadows when you couldn't see the light. And when you hadn't seen the light for awhile, you feared everything. "I don't think this is a good idea – "

"You have to come with us. You're no longer safe on your own."

"But my home – "

"No longer exists."

I froze. "What?"

He swallowed, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face before he continued to speak, slowly, like he was bracing himself for my response. "That place you call home? It no longer exists. Bianca and her men raided it the night they captured you. We had to step in and do some damage control. Everyone thinks you've moved across the country. There's no trace of you left behind, and there won't be any to leave."

Something in his words was so final that I felt my chest tighten. "I don't understand. I know that I'm in danger now, but I can go back when things simmer down, right?"

He shifted, falling a step back like my question had unnerved him. "I'm sorry, but going back is no longer an option. You're with us now, and you'll be safe with us."

"If you're not letting me go back then you're keeping me against my will, which is exactly what Bianca has done. And you're not like her. Are you?"

"Of course not," he said. "Look, I don't know how to explain things without scaring the hell out of you, but just trust me on this. If not, then trust him – "

"Him?"

Adrian had just started to answer when footsteps sounded nearby. The man with dark hair and green eyes was heading towards us, with five others in tow. He gave me a cursory glance, then went round to the other side of the car and got in.

Adrian nudged me. "Please get in, Luna. If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for him. The longer he stays here, the more danger he's in."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

But Adrian was already pulling open the door by the driver's seat. I made a split second's decision. Either I could go with them, or I could take the path less travelled, literally, and find a way home myself. And after the episodes I'd been through with Diego and Bianca, I had no wish to find out what other kind of hazards lurked out there in the dark.

So I picked the lesser of two evils.

With a resigned sigh, I climbed into the car and strapped myself in. Adrian shut the door after me, before climbing into the driver's seat and cranking up the engine. Moments later, we were pulling out of the driveway and speeding down a path that seemed familiar to them, at least. There was an almost unnerving silence in the car. The man Adrian addressed as Alpha was staring out of the window, and I glanced at him. It wasn't the best time to be noticing trivial things like these, but the aristocratic slope of his nose and piercing green eyes made him look intimidating in the shadows, but breathtaking when the faint moonlight hit him.

Sensing eyes on him, he turned suddenly and looked at me. I blinked, before tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear in an almost self-conscious manner. "So," I started delicately, shifting the knife wrapped in cloth carefully in my hands and cracking a polite smile at him. "You're the ring-leader of this midnight mission, huh?"

He nodded, once, before averting his eyes from me and turning to face the front.

"Well, I appreciate it. Thank you – both of you.."

Adrian smiled at me in amusement. "Don't mention it."

I smiled back before turning to the man beside me. "I know this is a lot to ask, but is there any way I can go home? Not to live there, but just to see it one last time?"

My words were met with a stony silence that lasted for so long I half thought that neither of them had heard. But I didn't miss the way Adrian and the man had exchanged glances through the rearview mirror several times.

After what seemed like forever, Adrian sighed. "Fine. We can go tomorrow."

"Really?" Relief surged through me and I smiled at him. This wasn't ideal compared to my original plan of actually returning home, but one step at a time. "Thanks!" I said, before turning to the man beside me. "Thank you."

His eyes flickered to my face and he stared at me for a mere second before he turned back to stare out of the window all over again. But I could've sworn the hardened expression on his face softened almost imperceptibly when he looked at me, before he was consumed by the shadows once again.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The house was the kind of dark I knew my eyes could never get used to.

The drive alone was a winding, exhausting one, but I'd forced myself to keep awake so that I could at least have a good grasp of where they were taking me. Eventually, though, I'd lost track. There were so many turns, so many paths, so many shadows that I felt like I was trapped in some sort of labyrinth.

But when we finally pulled up to a dimly lit driveway, I realised that the house looked no better than the one I'd left behind earlier. Granted, it was far bigger, grander, like it had stood for many years and then some, crafted by some fine architect way back when. But vines crept along the sides of the house and everything was dark.

Instinctively, I shifted closer to the man with green eyes. "This is where you all live?"

"No," Adrian sounded amused. "This is where you live, and that," he pointed east, and I turned, only to realise that there were several other houses lining the driveway. Far smaller ones, but all lit in varying degrees. "That is where we live."

"What?"

"Just go with him," Adrian nudged me towards his friend. "He has a spare room all set up for you."

Logic and caution warred within me. Going into a dark house with a man was literally the beginning of a horror movie.

But logically, this situation wasn't exactly setting off any warning bells. Why would a man who'd rescued me and gave me back my weapon want to hurt me? Then again, there was always the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, but –

"It'll be okay, Lu – Quinn." Adrian's voice sounded beside me, and his lips lifted up in a reassuring smile. "He's not going to hurt you. Believe me, you're safer with him than you'd be anywhere else."

I looked up, realising that the man was waiting for me on the front porch. Throwing one last hesitant glance at Adrian over my shoulder, I smiled faintly at the others standing silently behind, before heading towards the house. The man placed a hand on the door as he waited for me to step inside, letting the door swing shut when the both of us were in.

He tapped a switch on the wall and the hallway was lit with a dim glow. Still wasn't enough light for me, but it was far better than nothing. He looked down at me, green eyes meeting mine for a moment, before he jerked his head as an indication that I follow him. Nervously, I followed him up the stairs, my fingers gripping the knife wrapped within the cloth tightly, my mind churning with please be a sheep, please be a sheep as I went along with him.

He opened the door to a room and flipped the light switch. I was greeted by a sight that stunned me. The room was spacious. A large bed, a study desk, a private bathroom—and that didn't even begin it.

I turned to him. "This is all mine?"

He nodded, his eyes still dark and indecipherable, and I absent-mindedly pulled open the remaining door that lined the wall. My eyebrows shot up when I saw the walk-in closet inside, each shelf stocked to the brim with clothes.

Feeling rather overwhelmed, I quickly closed the door and glanced over my shoulder at him. "You guessed my size?"

Much to my surprise and amusement, he flushed, the smooth planes of his cheeks tinting a faint crimson before he retreated from my room, shutting the door firmly behind him. My lips twitched up in a vague smile at his abrupt departure, but as I looked around, I suddenly felt myself swamped with a strange feeling of solitude.

Which was ridiculous, given that I'd lived alone for a long time.

But this was – this was different. How could I even begin to explain it? Home was that one fixed point for me. It was my centre; my 0, 0, 0. But now, my world had shifted off its axis and I had no idea how to right it.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm. Deep breaths. One thing at a time. I needed to take a good, long bath after being manhandled by Bianca and Diego. Yesterday, I was just a waitress and today, I was – well, I didn't know what I was but yesterday sure seemed like a lifetime ago.

As I went to remove the jacket that the man had given me, I remembered the iPod tucked into one of the pockets. I fished it out and studied it. It wasn't until then that I noticed the faint words scratched on the edge.

Jed

With a sigh, I lifted the iPod closer and scrutinised it. "So you're the Jedidiah Trevino," I mused quietly, my voice barely a whisper in the silence as I thought about the man whose path had unexpectedly crossed with mine. "Defendant. Murderer. Rescuer." I plugged the earpieces in, listening to the first song that began to play as I curled up on my side with the jacket clutched to my chest, my finger tracing across the letters of his name. "Who are you, really?"