We spent the rest of the evening doing general kiddie camping things, toasting marshmallows, telling stupid ghost stories. What a waste of a good weekend. We could have gone clubbing, or even going to the movies and for burgers afterwards would have been more fun than this.

As far as I was concerned the only high light of the evening was when Amber came up with the age-old prank of wet-leaves in the boy's sleeping bags. Rick screamed when there were a few slugs in there. That was very funny. He wouldn't go back in his own tent, so poor Jesse's all alone and Rick's snuggled up with me in mine.

I groaned and turned over, pulling my pillow over my head. Typical I have to pick a boyfriend who snores like a pig. Outside I could hear sounds, like rustling in the leaves, footsteps...I kept telling myself it was all in my imagination. There was no one else but us out here. We were going to go home alive.

And yet, all the reassurances seemed to sound hollow. Eventually I couldn't take anymore. The noises were driving me mad, and I needed the bathroom too. Yuck. I waited until I couldn't hold on any longer. I was going to have to find a bush or something. I had no choice. Groaning again, I pulled on jeans and a sweater. As the darkness had increased, the temperature had decreased. It was freezing outside. I reached for a flashlight and checked to make sure it worked. For a few seconds the tent was illuminated with yellow light. Good. I switched it off, not wanting to waste the batteries.

"Seraphin?" Rick grumbled. "Where the hell are you going at this hour? You hate the woods."

"I have ladies business to take care of," I said briefly. "And I can't wait until morning."

I left the tent then and pulled on my sneakers. Once outside I put the light on. Some of the darkness disappeared, but not much. I glanced up at the sky. Millions of stars twinkled like ice chips, millions of miles away, and an almost full moon hung in the sky. Didn't the full moon bring out the lunatics? Oh great. And we were still in the middle of fucking nowhere.

I debated on taking Jesse's car keys while he slept, and just leaving now. But the woods around me were pitch black, hardly any light came through, and even with my flashlight, there was no way I was going in very deep alone.

Something rustled behind me and I spun round. The flashlight beam bounced off the trees, creating eerie shadows. "Rick?" I called out. "No fair playing games on me, you asshole. Go away."

Now I wished I hadn't said that. I wished I'd woken him and made him come with me, and then I wouldn't have been alone. Or maybe I should have woken Amber. Oh the hell with it. I didn't care anymore. All that mattered to me was getting back to the clearing.

I started pushing my way through the trees. The clearing where our camp was should be right...here.

But it wasn't.

The clearing was empty. Confused, I turned back the way I'd come, or as close as I could find in the dark. No camp. Shit. I was lost. How could I have gotten lost in such a short space of time? I guess it must be with everything looking so fucking similar.

Panic was starting to well up inside me. God, I'd really done it to myself now. I opened my mouth and screamed as loud as I could. Surely they'd hear me. They'd come and see what was wrong and find me and I'd make them all pack up and go home right now. And then they'd be feeling guilty for weeks because they'd scared me so bad.

I screamed again. Nothing. No one. This was ridiculous. Where the hell were they?

The rustling sound came again, from somewhere to my left. Thank God. They'd heard me and had come. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I'm gonna kill you guys for this! I don't care what time it is, we're going home *right* *now,*" I snapped.

And something came flying out the darkness at me. Not one of the boys playing tricks. Not even Amber playing tricks. The thing snarled and growled. I stood, frozen in terror, staring as it flew at me.

A wolf.

There was a large *wolf* flying at me.

I ran.

Charged with the supernatural strength the terror gave me, I screamed and ran, just ran, not caring or knowing where I was going, only knowing that I had to get away or this wolf would eat me. Its teeth would dig into my flesh and rip it apart and I would die a terrible death.

No one would find my body for days. I'd have rotted, all alone out here in the woods where no one knew I was there...

No. No. I had to get away. But it seemed so hopeless. The more I ran, the faster I tried to move, the closer the monster behind me seemed.

Something smashed into my face - a branch or something - and not paying attention, I shrieked and fell.

Damn.

I'd blown it.

The creature landed on top of me. Its claws were digging painfully into my shoulders, turning the pain into a heated agony that spread over my body.

I was crying now, I could feel the cold tears spilling down my cheeks, taste the salt on my lips.

I was going to die.

Now.

Right now.

The creature seemed to be studying me. It ran a black paw through my hair, its muzzle rubbed against my face, as if trying to wipe the tears away.

A voice came out of nowhere. At first I thought I was hallucinating. The voice was inside my head.

~Don't be scared,~ it was saying.

~Don't be scared?~ I thought. ~Hah! You loose in that department pal, I'm scared shitless and have been since we first set foot in these woods.~

~Don't be afraid,~ the voice continued. It was surprisingly gentle and seemed unnervingly convincing, and the more I listened as it told me not to be frightened, the more my fear seemed to seep away. My mind was completely numb.

I felt nothing as the creature tore my throat out.

* * *

"You've been warned about this before Blaine, you can't just go attacking girls who come camping."

The voice was unfamiliar. I didn't recognise it. I tried to sit up, but a hand pushed me down again. My vision was kind of blurry. Shapes and colours whirled before my eyes, seeming to take on no definition. My mind was a humming blank. I didn't remember anything except going to bed last night. I felt nothing too. No pain, no fear.
No surprise as to why this was happening to me.

What had happened to me? Where was I?

"I know Isabella." A male voice. Quite young, a little older than teenage, probably early twenties. "But...I needed a companion. You have one. You picked yours out the way I did mine." That remark sounded kind of defensive. So it was my guess that this guy had done something and broken the rules.

What rules?

My vision was staring to clear now. I could make out two figures, one male, sitting on a chair by my bed. He was quite handsome, his hair dark blond, brown roots. Endlessly deep dark eyes, and a little smile pulling at his lips as he looked at me. A hand reached out to stroke my hair. I cringed away.

The woman snickered a little. I didn't see what was so funny. The guy was giving her a furious glare. The woman looked a couple of years older than he did. And she had an aura of power and authority about her. Black hair cascaded down her back like a dark waterfall, and cold green eyes eyed me. Her face was pretty, her features delicate. The effect was spoiled by her expression. She was eyeing me as if she'd just found a fly in her Chardonnay.

"You'll have to make sure she feeds once the moon's up," the woman said, turning away. Glancing around I saw a small window. The sky outside was grey. I couldn't tell what time of day it was. "You explain the rules, and make it very clear what happens if she breaks them." And the woman left.

I shook my head, utterly confused. I was in a strange place with people who sounded out of their minds, and I wasn't screaming my head off? What the hell was wrong with me? This time when I tried to sit up, the guy didn't stop me.

I looked at him, and he looked at me. He looked as if he were trying to decide how he should explain this all to me.

"You can start at least by telling me who you are," I offered.

He shrugged. "All right. My name is Blaine. I'm a werewolf."

* * *