"Andrew, wait for my word to bring her down to the field," Mr. Davis' voice cut through the air.

What. . . ?

My head was throbbing, and when I tried to open my eyes I was met with a blinding light.

"Copy that," Andrew replied back and then I heard the bedroom door slam shut and what sounded like a lock being turned.

"Andrew?" I managed to choke out. My throat was raw and felt like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together when I tried to speak.

"Hey," Andrew said quickly rushing to my side and talking in a soft voice. "Hey, don't move too much. You'll hurt yourself and you need to save all the energy that you have left."

I finally managed to pry my eyes all the way open and look past the blinding light. "Please," I tried to say but Andrew cut me off. He was crouched down right in front of me, he was wearing different clothes than before. Hre was dressed head to toe in all black, with what looked like a knife strapped to each of his legs.

"Drink this," he said holding up the water bottle that was on the ground up to my lips and tilting it to pour down my throat.

"Thanks," I mumbled. My throat didn't feel as raw anymore, but it still hurt a little bit when I talked.

I glanced down at my hands and feet, both of which were still tied tightly to my sides on the chair.

"You have to promise not to run," Andrew said desperately as he pulled one of the knives out from his leg holster. "Promise me, Addison."

"I promise."

Andrew carefully cut the ropes away that were binding my hands down and hen moved onto the ones tieing my feet together before finally cutting the one that was binding me to the chair. He made sure not to cut my skin, and I was grateful for that.

My skin was rubbed red and raw from where the rope was. I would for sure leave brusies that would take days, if not weeks, to fully disappear from my body.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked confused. "I already know that Mr. Davis plans to kill me in front of Xavier. So why not make me suffer anymore?"

"It's not what you think, Addison," Andrew said letting out a big sign and backing away from me. He sipped the knife back into its holster and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not the bad guy here."

"Well, you could have fooled me," I spat out. I still haven't moved from the chair, I was afraid that my legs would give out if I tried to walk on them. They were still sore and ached even while I sat here. I don't know how I was going to make a run for it when I couldn't even walk without most likely limping.

"Let me explain, Andrew said dropping onto the dirty mattress at the side of the bedroom.

I didn't say anything. I just nodded my head to tell him to go on and explain what could have possibly made him team up with an awful person like Mr. Davis and want to kill me. Because right now I couldn't think of any good reason myself.

"I grew up here, in Midnight Creek, but I never knew the truth. That the supernatural, that werewolves were real," he took a breath before continuing. "All I knew was that half this town seemed to have this huge secret and any hiker or animal death was blamed on a mountain lion. Even though they aren't native to this area. It just never made sense to me. But then I met Mr. Davis."

There was a distinct sound of running in the background.

"And he told me the truth. He said that I was a smart boy and deserved to know what was happening in the place I called home. But what I didn't know until it was too late was his end game. Was that he wanted blood for blood."

I wanted to say something but the words felt stuck on the tip of my tongue.

"All Mr. Davis told me was that Xavier and his friends were cold-blooded killers," Andrew went on. "That they killed his mate for no reason whatsoever. And then you came to town and he saw the way that Xavier looked at you, and the way all the other wolves bowned down to you and the silent respect they gave you. And he knew that you were his mate. His weakness."

The sound of running grew louder and louder.

"My mom died when I was young, some sort of animal attack. And that's how Mr. Davis got me on his side. He told me that it wasn't an animal attack, but a werewolf one. That this town had killed her, more specifically, that Xavier had killed her and also killed his mate. That we both deserved revenge for the people he took from us. And the best way to get that revenge was to kill what Xavier loved most, you."

"Andrew," I whispered. I felt like I was about to cry. I knew the pain of losing a parent. How it tore you up inside and left you as just a shell of who you once were. I knew how he felt.

"So that's why I agreed," Andrew's voice began to shake. "I was still mad and upset over my mom's death after all these years. But Mr. Davis lied to me. It wasn't a werewolf that killed my mom, it really was an animal attack. I read over the reports and saw the DNA they found in the marks. It wasn't because of some blood-hungry wolves, it was because of an animal. But b the time I really did know the truth about how my mom died it was too late. You were already in danger and I knew that the only way to help you was to keep playing along."

"You don't deserve this." I sued what little energy I had to push myself up from the chair and take slow, wobbly steps over to Andrew before dropping down beside him on the mattress. "You need to leave. I won't tell Mr. Davis what you told me. I tell him that someone from Xavier's pack dragged you away. And I'll tell Xavier the truth, I'll make sure no one hurts you. You don't deserve any more pain."

"I need to lay in the bed I made," Andrew said firmly. "That's why I kissed you, and wouldn't leave you alone. Because I told Mr. Davis that I would hurt you, I told him so he'd leave you alone. You don't deserve to die, Addison. No one does. And that's why I'm going to help you."

I know that I shouldn't believe Andrew. I mean after everything he's done to me. I know that Xavier would call me insane. But I believed him. I could hear the truth laced in every word that he said, and I could see the fear and regret in his eyes.

"What's the plan?" I asked after a few beats of silence between us.

"Here," Andrew said getting up and walking across the room to the backpack hanging by the door. "You probably want to change." He held out a pair of blue jeans and a top to me.

I smiled softly up at him and took the clothes. He turned around and faced the corner of the room so I could change.

I was still wearing the dirty clothes I had on from when Mr. Davis took me, they were caked in blood and dirt. My hair was now loose and wavey and fell softly down my back.

"Thanks."

". . . It's time, Andrew." Mr. Davis' voice echoed through the empty room from the walkie-talkie attached to Andrew's belt.

"Copy," Andrew replied into the speaker.

It was time. Andrew had a plan to keep me safe and I wasn't going to let him get hurt because of it. I wasn't going to let him suffer or anyone hurt him anymore. I couldn't.

"Together," I breathed out grabbing Andrew's forearm and giving it a gentle squeeze as he unlocked the bedroom door.

"Together."

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