07/28/2017

Kristin turned on her other side for the millionth time.

She had been tossing and turning ever since she had come home and her parents made her rest in bed.

She knew she could have used more rest, she felt tired. However, she did not want to be left alone to her thoughts, haunting her and keeping her awake.

Plus, every time she had tried to close her eyes, she would just see images from the prison.

It all felt surreal to her.

Thinking back, she couldn't believe everything that had happened yesterday.

She couldn't believe people were gone, today. Forever.

Kristin had never really seen death that close before, especially violently forced upon others.

Before this, she had never seen anyone close to her-- or even relatively close to her-- killed.

Everyone around her were werewolves. Plus, they lived in a relatively peaceful pack, meaning the number one cause of death was old age.

Which was natural, even for Kristin to see.

But murder, she had never imagined she'd ever be so close to that evil.

She quickly kicked the blankets off her, feeling claustrophobic.

She felt like she had to do something, but she didn't know what.

She almost felt like she belonged somewhere else, like she was meant to be in another place right now.

Sighing, she got up, not even trying to stop her thoughts anymore. She knew they couldn't be stopped, especially when she was alone.

Deciding to take a shower, she tried cleansing herself of the bad memories.

It didn't work.

Later that night, she had finally fell asleep, her body exhausted.

However it wasn't a peaceful, resting sleep.

If anything, it felt like it was exhausting her more. Her dreams were filling her with anxiety and pain, and they all felt so real.

This time she was back in the cell, huddled up in the corner.

She was quietly cringing, trying to keep her eyes from looking beside her.

But the cell was closing in, becoming smaller and smaller, so she was forced to scoot closer to the body on the floor.

It was lifeless, covered in blood.

Although she had seen these things repeatedly in her dreams and memories, she was still terrified.

She even knew she must have been dreaming by now, even with how real everything looked.

The problem was that she felt trapped in her own mind. She couldn't wake herself up, and she couldn't escape the dream.

It added frustration to her anxiety and fear. She was doing this to herself, creating these images in her head. Yet she didn't know how to stop them and end the dream.

She was trapped in the cell for what felt like hours, unable to find a way to escape.

It got to the point where she knew she was dreaming, but she had no idea how to wake up. She had no control ove her mind and body.

This spiked her fear and panic filled her sleeping body.

She tried crying out for someone to hear, but she was too quiet. There was no one in the room with her either.

No one alive, that was.

Out of no where she felt hands appear from the darkness of the cell, and grab her shoulders roughly.

She yelled and tried to fight back, tears streaming down her face.

"Kristin! Kristin wake up!"

Kristin's eyes finally flew open, and she was met with her mother looking down at her worriedly.

"Kristin, you were dreaming," she said in a soothing motherly voice, trying to calm her daughter.

Kristin felt the hot tears rolling down her cheeks in real life, anxiety and panic still engulfing her.

"It's okay," her mother repeated, pulling her in for a hug.

She didn't speak. She knew if she tried, she would start sobbing.

Her mother's embrace calmed her in the slightest and she glanced over her shoulder at her father standing in the doorway.

His forehead was creased, as he watched his wife trying to comfort their daughter.

He had heard her crying and knew something was wrong.

When Ryder had brought her to him yesterday, he had informed him that Rickard had locked her in his prison.

He also mentioned she had seen some horrible things, mentioning his brother.

John knew what he was talking about then. He had heard the news of his brother's death.

He looked back to Kristin, feeling helpless. He couldn't do anything to fix this, it was too late.

He knew what it felt like to watch people die. It haunted you for the rest of your life.

When Kristin's parents finally left her room, the sun was beginning to rise outside of her window.

She opened her blinds, in addition to leaving her light on, and wrapped herself in blankets.

Despite feeling even more exhausted than when she fell asleep, she forced herself to stay sitting up in her bed.

She wouldn't let herself fall asleep anytime soon.

The feeling of being trapped inside of her dreams, without being able to wake up, still haunted her.

After what felt like forever, she checked the clock again, in hopes that it was finally an acceptable time to wake up.

It was four thirty in the morning, but she hopped in the shower, starting to get ready for the day.

She routinely applied her makeup and dried her hair, skipping the straightener and letting her natural waves loose.

She pulled on a simple mauve skirt and a comfy white sweatshirt, grabbing her phone and wallet off her nightstand before tiptoeing downstairs.

It was useless, as her father was already downstairs, drinking coffee.

"Where on earth do you think you're going at five thirty in the morning?" he asked her, surprised she was ready this early.

Kristin shrugged, walking over to make some breakfast.

Her father was right. If she wanted to go somewhere, she'd probably have to wait a while.

She really wanted to go see her friends, but they were probably still fast asleep.

Her father watched her as she made herself breakfast.

"Kristin, I know you probably do not want to talk about what happened, but I know you're having trouble sleeping."

"I am," she replied, focusing on cutting a banana.

"It may not seem like it right now, but it does get easier," he replied.

She turned to face him, wanting to find reassurance in his words.

"Just know that it will get better, Kris."

She nodded, giving him a small smile of thanks.

It was finally seven in the morning, and Kristin grabbed her keys and headed out to her car.

On her way over, she called Allison to see if she was awake.

"Kristin?" Allison's sleepy voice said on the other end.

"Hey," Kristin said, knowing she had woken her up, "I was going to come over if you were awake."

"Yeah, I'm up!" Allison made her voice cheery, like usual.

Kristin just chuckled, knowing she wouldn't turn her down even if she had just woken up.

Before she could reach the door, Allison opened it and crashed her with a hug.

"Kristin, I haven't seen you in forever! I heard what happened and I wanted to come visit you, but your parents said you were resting so I didn't and--"

"Breathe, Allison," Kristin laughed, appreciating her friend's worry.

Allison practically dragged Kristin up to her room.

"Okay sit down and make yourself comfortable, because you need to fill me in."

"Well," Kristin hesitated, fumbling with her ring, "What all did you hear?"

"That Alpha Rickard kidnapped you but he's dead now, and Ryder brought you back yesterday, and his brother was killed so he's the new Alpha of Nightfall."

Kristin cringed at her friend's words, not wanting to go into detail about what happened.

She nodded, "That's true."

Allison's eyes widened, "Are you alright, Kristin? Did you get hurt?"

Kristin sighed, shaking her head, "Just mentally scared."

Allison nodded, probably just thinking that Kristin was 'scared' from being kidnapped.

There was a lot more to it, but Kristin couldn't bring herself to talk about it. She knew Allison would be comforting and understanding, but Kristin didn't want to talk about anything right now. She wanted to distract herself.

An hour later, Logan joined them, and they all caught up. Allison stopped asking about what happened to her, and Logan seemed to sense it was a topic Kristin didn't want to talk about.

Instead, Allison shifted her focus to Ryder.

Kristin almost told them the whole story about her and Ryder 'not being mates.'

The only thing was, then she'd have to tell them about why he lied and followed his father's orders, and she really didn't give him the chance to explain what happened.

So she decided to wait, and undergo their questions about how her and Ryder were doing.

"I heard you got engaged!" Allison shrieked, remembering.

Kristin looked down to her hand, almost expecting the engagement ring to be there.

"Uh, yeah," she said, "I left the ring at the house."

"You have to show me it! Is it beautiful?" Allison asked as Logan rolled his eyes.

Kristin chuckled and nodded.

Truthfully, it was really beautiful.

Kristin's thoughts shifted to how she was actually Ryder's mate now, so they actually would get married.

Not for a long time. She needed some answers first.

Nerves settled in her stomach, but she also felt herself wanting to go see him.

Kristin had been hanging out with Allison and Logan for almost four hours, when she left.

She told them she had to go home, but on her way back she felt herself turning the wheel to go the opposite way.

Yes, she knew it took a couple hours to get to Nightfall.

Yes, she knew that her parents were expecting her to go home later.

She didn't care though. After everything that happened, she needed to see Ryder.

At least that's what she told herself.

She was going to make him finally admit they were mates, whether he liked it or not.

•. •. •. •. •.

Capítulo veintidós!

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