What?" I gasped.

Another silence descended. Not even the wind dared make a sound. The only sound I heard was the roaring of rushing blood in my ears. The tension in the air thickened, static and charged. No one moved. I never even realized I was holding my breath until my lungs started protesting. I inhaled deeply, attempting to somehow clear my mind and decipher piece by piece what I just heard.

They wanted... me?

What did that mean? Why? Slowly, I turned to Xander who had been the one to reply and cautiously asked with a shaking voice no longer fueled by the determination to figure out this complicated jigsaw, "What do you mean? Why the hell do they... do you want me?"

My father was the one to answer me. "That cannot answer you. All we know is that they demanded you be handed to them on your eighteenth birthday as compensation for rescuing you."  

Handed to them? On my eighteenth birthday? Payment for saving me? How could this be?

My eyes landed on Xander once again. "Is this true?" I already knew it was. My parents would never lie to me about such matters.

Xander's wolf head nodded. His eyes were filled with so much emotion and intelligence that no ordinary wolf could ever feel or portray, but I couldn't decipher a single one.

Words failed to describe how I felt. 

Xander's form started shaking, then the familiar gruesome echoes of bone cracking, breaking, reforming and reshaping echoed once more. He shifted back to his 'human form', the fur that once coated his entire body disappearing, the claws retracting and the whiskers vanishing. There really was no denying what this being before me was now. Xander now stood on his feet instead of on all fours, only he was as naked as the day he was born in.

I didn't think I had ever seen someone so gloriously wonderful in their birthday suit before. He possessed the physique of an athlete or a Greek god, impressive broad shoulders on top of a muscular front sporting a stunning eight-pack. A thin line of sandy hair crawled down his torso, the V of his body then creating a... 

A shiver raked my body when I realized what I was staring at and I instantly looked away, the most wicked and embarrassing of all blushes spreading across my face and neck, setting my entire form on fire, my heart stuttering and stammering and choking, my back tingling -more like burning- like crazy

I saw the corner of his mouth lift up in a smirk that basically screamed: I know you have the hots for me.

It infuriated me beyond description, even if it were true.

This all seemed like it had been ripped out of a ludicrous fantasy movie! How could this pack of werewolves demand me as 'payment', even if they did save me, like I were some sort of mindless animal? From what I could see, Xander and his werewolf friends were the animals, though apparently very devious and cunning to have cornered my parents into submission and agreeing to giving away their own daughter! Of course I was also angry at my parents for having agreed to such a preposterous thing, but I also understood their choices were very limited at the time and they probably didn't have much time to decide either. I knew my father and mother well; they were not the sort of people who'd just decide on something so drastic and life-changing without thinking things through a millions times and then a million times again. 

Yet... I found it extremely hard not to stare at them reproachfully and accusingly, or feel betrayed for that matter. 

"What if I don't want to go with them?" I challenged bravely, taking a step back. This time, I would not think twice about charging toward the car, and I did not care who –or what- chased after me.

"You have to." Mother shot me a horrified look, paling considerably, her skin tone matching the snow beneath my feet.

"Why, mom? They can't make me! Who do they think they are!? Why should I be the one to pay for a deal I didn't make?" I was about to turn around and run like the wind, but what my mother said next stopped me.

"If you refuse to go with them, they'll kill us!"

That gave me pause. My eyes found Xander and narrowed into two slits and I pursed my lips. Would he really? 

Once again, an unreadable expression was plastered across his face, making it impossible for me to tell if he would really kill my parents and possibly me if I didn't agree to go with them. And then I quickly recalled that he was a werewolf; half man and half wolf like all the urban legends told, and not a shadow of a doubt remained that he, in fact, would.

Dear Carly, happy 18th birthday. Be prepared. We're coming for you. The words written on that card attached to the roses I received popped in my head, chilling me to the marrow of my bone. 

"Choose quickly, Carly. And wisely," he said darkly. 

I ignored the shivers that skittered down my back at the deep, rumbling sound of his voice and concentrated instead on devising a plan to us out of this mess. 

The sun occasionally emerged from behind the thick, grey clouds, still high in the sky and shining brightly. 

What the hell was I supposed to do now? there a way out? I felt like I was a fly stuck in a sticky web and Xander was the spider, awaiting the poison infused in the threads to completely immobilize me, then he would set in and devour me.

My eyes shifted from Xander to my mother and father and then back again. I wanted to crawl into the nearest hole, curl my body and press my hands to my ears. Why was this happening to my family? Where was heavenly justice?

Oh God, please help me.

Just come with me, Carly. There isn't a third or better option.

I didn't like the bastard intruding on my mind and filling it with his own thoughts one bit. If anything, this ability he possessed took the term invading privacies to a whole new level.

Stay out of my mind! 

I hated to admit it, even inwardly for fear of Xander hearing my very own thoughts, but there really was no other option than to agree to this outrageous deal that didn't make in the first place! 

This was not fair. 

"Hurry up." 

"Just wait a second! I'm thinking!" He wasn't supposed to rush me when I had such a mighty decision to make! My hands flew to my head and clutched my throbbing skull, my nails digging into my scalp till I felt them drawing blood. More than anything, I wanted to scream and shout, desperation taking over me. Where was Xander's home anyway? Would going with Xander mean that I would never see my parents again? And what exactly did these werewolves gain from bringing me along with them?

An image of being chopped to tiny pieces and served as some sort of main course to these werewolves flitted into my brain, paralyzing me for a second or two. I blanched. What if that was why they were after me so badly?

We're not going to eat you! Xander's voice announced exasperatedly in my skull. 

"Stay out of my mind!" I commanded again, shooting daggers at him with my eyes, hating this invasion of privacy as much as I hated Xander. He stared at me long and hard, and then nodded, albeit reluctantly from what I could tell of his 'expressive' face.

Someone from the group approached us, a man of large posture and build with olive skin and platinum blonde, long hair that I supposed reached his shoulder blades. The intimidating man wore blue shorts and nothing else. He walked on the snow with bare feet as if the feeling in them was dead. I, who was clad in clothes perfect for the winter, felt the cold and was shivering slightly, although I suspected part of it was from the thought of being taken away from my parents, my home.

The man moved toward Xander and whispered something in his ear, his grey eyes trained on me. Since he was approximately a head taller than Xander, he had to bend a little for his mouth to be in level with Xander's left ear. Once he was done, he didn't retire back to the other strangers –who I presumed were werewolves just like Xander- but instead backed away till he was standing a few feet behind Xander. His looming figure watched me steadily, his eyes the color of the clouds above and so very daunting. I could see the bulging muscle of his arms and the popping cords that stretched across his powerful, large arms. He could choke me to death with only one hand. My heart stuttered and I gulped loudly.

Like things weren't hard enough already! The last thing I needed right now was the watchful gaze of a mammoth!

"What will it be, Carly? I've given you enough time." Xander raised his chin as our gazes locked as if to demonstrate he were superior or something, his shoulders squaring. Somehow, I sensed his muscles tensing as he awaited my decision.

As for my decision, it had already been made the moment I found out my parents' lives were on the line and there was no other option which guaranteed their safety except for the one I dreaded the most. Fateful seconds ticked by in which everyone waited for my decision, expecting gazes fixated on me. Strangely, my heart stopped racing and now beat at a normal pace so very different to the rate it had been dancing to only moments ago. And an even stranger calm descended upon me like blessings from above. It was wretched 'peace' that accompanied the knowledge of knowing something was inevitable. 

"I'll go."