I continue to receive more threats from my former colleagues. Silvaus has somehow managed to disappear and my world's starting to fall apart. Maybe I could just move...no that wouldn't fix anything. There's only one choice left. We have to run.

      I fear that if Julian were to stay here any longer, they would come after my head and tear him apart. I really want to avoid this mess and I still don't know if I can take a whole guild of manly wolves. One female werewolf with a hybrid man who almost always has a mid-life crisis. This is going to be the talk of the century. At the end of the day, It's either kill or be killed. I wasn't having any it. Not as long as I live. If they want to threaten me and cry. They could.

I open my eyes with a groan and slowly pull myself up. The digital clock has been buzzing for 5 minutes and I want to smack it. With sudden realization, I jolt out of bed and scurry to the bathroom. This is the day we decided to leave.

      Julian stretches his arms out and glances at me with concern. I could definitely see the tiredness in his eyes. He has been up all night worrying and trying to help me make a plan. I'm sure he'd come to realize we're screwed as of right now.

      "Phira? Are you alright?" He asks me with a slight yawn.

I quickly turn my head towards him, "No, we're both going to die and the cause of it...is me." It's hard to believe but yes I told him that. I made a mistake and now my dad has ventured off probably drunk or whatever.

      Julian looks away from me for a moment. He turns his face towards me again. "I never meant for this to happen. Maybe I should just leave..." he whispers in response. I stop what I'm doing and turn to face him. "Oh no, you're not. Look, you're my responsibility. I'm not dropping you to go save my life!" I scold him. Julian shakes his head with a quiet sigh. "Fine. Not like it will get worse the longer I'm with you" he responds sheepishly.

A pang of regret hits me. His words feel cold. Not bitter but cold and hopeless. Is he really guilty of this? I wanted to say it wasn't his fault but couldn't. I hope for this mess to be over but what will it cost?

I sit down on the floor and place a card game in front of him. Julian looks down at the box and frowns. "Is this a game? I don't seem to have any chips on me" he says. I roll my eyes and laugh. "No. Its a family card game called Uno. I haven't played it in years" I pause and furrow a brow at him, "Are you telling me you've gambled before? You didn't strike as the type of guy to do that."

Julian turns his head and coughs. He glances back at me and bites his lip. "No...well I did it once with a bunch of humans. A bunch of half-rats if you ask me. There was this one man who defiantly had my mind boggled. He was such a hornswoggler I had no idea what to think. The other half of me is confusing, to say the least" he stops and looks up at me, "Oh! I'm terribly sorry. I forgot I'm in a different time. Just ignore my ramblings" he apologizes, looking away in embarrassment.

I shake my head. "You're fine. I was a little lost but I'm guessing those are terms you're used to. I'm not shaming you at all. Just maybe...try to warn me next time" I suggest quietly. He nods and we begin the game.

After an hour I slam the cards in the box. This was the most annoying experience I had ever had with this game. I had a headache and we both got bored quickly. Card games are not my thing and they never will be. On top of that, I kept forgetting the rules and Julian was just as confused as me.

I glance at my phone and look outside. The sun is starting to go down and the sky is slowly turning to dusk. Only a few hours to go. Once the clock hits twelve a.m, we leave.

      I tiptoe out with the door slightly open. Julian follows behind and tries his best to avoid noise. His boots on the wooden floor of my house are a little...loud. I hear a few howls and tense up.

I look around for a bit then I dart for it. I hide behind a tree and signal him to follow. Turning my head for a second, I catch him almost tripping over his own feet.

      I shake my head in disappointment, watching him barely catch himself. Julian scrambles to his feet and approaches me. "Sorry that...wasn't planned I swear" he clears his throat in embarrassment. I roll my eyes and grab his arm, tugging him along.

***

      I knew something bad like this would happen. I should have thought twice about staying with her. Now her own kind is against her because...of me. It hasn't even been a month and they're sniffing me out. I just hope her plan works.

      The sky is flooded with stars and my legs grow weak. It has been at least several hours from when we left. Ophira is cutting the to the point and I dare not complain. I just want everything to get better. I never meant for this to happen. Only if I could tell her in person.

I look up and sigh in relief. The sight of an inn was just a few steps away from us. I really need a nap or something. It feels like the claws of stress are wrapping themselves around my neck.

We step inside the inn and Ophira closes the door behind us. A cozy fire with seats, wooden interior, and hanged animal heads. It seemed like something I grew up seeing.

"Oh! Ophira. What brings you here?" The innkeeper asks, greeting her from behind the counter.

I find her eyes trailing over to me. The woman raises an eyebrow then looks back at her. I feel really uncomfortable somehow. Maybe she actually knew about this werewolf hunt or what I did. Ophira seems to be a local her. Silvaus may have also brought her here several times in the past.

I shake my head and try to calm my thoughts. At least we are in a safe haven. Well, for now, that is.

***

"Oh just traveling out. With a friend" I answer quickly. The woman looks up in confusion. She doesn't say anything at first then sighs.

"Silvaus came here no too long ago. A week ago. He was rambling about this castle somewhere. Did he send you any info?" She informs me with a worried look.

I was taken aback...did she say that he was here? Seriously?! I could've just looked here all along. Well, I guess there's a reason I didn't even bother. Still...what was this whole mess about? What did it mean exactly? Hopefully, this wasn't set up because I don't want to risk any lives. Even...Julian's.

"Yes, he also left a note saying something about a witch or witch doctor. Why? I have no idea" she adds not looking at me.

There was something odd about the way she said it. Did she know anything else?

I glance to see the Innkeeper continuously eyeing Julian. "I think it has something to do with your friend here. Did they meet each other?" She then asks in curiosity.

Now that I think about it...no. Silvaus sort of stayed away from him. Now I'm worried about this. Was Julian a secret weapon made by his family to wipe us out? Silvaus knows something we don't. It's really annoying and I never asked for this mess.

"Not that I know of. Can we just rent a room please?" I sigh impatiently.

The brunette nods and calculates the one night stay. "Okay...two for a one night stay. That'll be 35.90."

I gulp. Geez, that much?! I'm so used to Silvaus paying when I was younger. Whatever though...It's just one night.

I pull the money out of my pocket and hand it to her. She leads us to the room and we walk in. There was only one problem...one large queen-sized bed. Two of us...really?

The room has a brown wooden floor with a blue and black striped rug. The rug lays underneath the bed and a white lamp stands next to a nightstand. To the left of the room, there is a dresser with a TV. The funny thing is the tv barely has any channels.

I close the door behind us and let out a heavy sigh. I go over to the bed and sit down. Looking up, I see Julian standing there. A hint of pink spreads across his face. I roll my eyes at him and pat the bed. "Look, this is the only way. Unless you'd rather sleep on the hard cold floor. Your pick, not mine."

I see him frown and he slowly makes his way towards the bed. He sits next to me and looks away. I also turn my head and my heart races. I know he's used to his own space but...what's the worst that could happen? Just one night...probably suffocating and cramped next to each other. Fantastic...just fantastic. Why am I even thinking about this?

"Sorry I just can't fathom how odd I feel sharing the same room and bed with a woman. It's different" he whispers, looking away from me. He looks back at me and shakes his head. "Not that there's anything wrong with that..." He then chuckles nervously.

I peek at him and huff. This man never ceases to amaze me. Each day something weird comes out of his mouth.

We finally go to bed and try to give each other space. Well, we have space but Julian and I agreed to disagree. It was peaceful was the next few hours.

I decide to move just a little bit closer just to get some more warmth. The comforter wasn't as nice as I hoped it would be. I wasn't sure if I would wake him up or not but it was worth the try. I'm used to a large blanket in the cold for my only warmth but this was fine. Until I heard an oh so familiar noise...did he just?

Then I remembered him saying how garlic might give him gas. Yep...we had something to eat with it in it. Oh, right. The beef Stroganoff. There was barely any in it but apparently, that won't stop it from happening.

I jolt upwards and hover over him. Julian's eyes shot open. He let out a wheezy laugh, "Sorry...it's a defense mechanism." I glare and snarl at him. "Oh, you are sssooo funny! I'm definitely choke slamming you out of this bed!"