Chapter 4

Monday 18th August 2014

My mouth falls open. I have no idea if I had been planning on screaming or not when I'm further thrown off balance.

"Serenity?" Mai's honey-sweet voice drifts through the quiet. A random image of leaves floating slowly down to a moss covered forest floor flashes through my head. I stare at her, glance back at the eyes and frown when all I can see is darkness. I search the empty space, but there isn't a hint of luminescent green anywhere.

Mai tries again. "Serenity, what are you doing out here?" She sounds worried, and I don't blame her: I probably look half-mad right now.

"Uh, nothing. I was just going for a walk and I thought I saw …" I stop. Her eyebrows rise. "Never mind, I must have just been seeing things."

Her eyes flash to the patch I had been staring at so intently and they narrow slightly. "Yes, well. Why don't you have a jacket? You must be cold." I shiver suddenly, as if just remembering that yes, in fact, I am cold.

"She can borrow mine." I jump as the deep voice comes from behind me. I spin around, only to be greeted by a tall, muscular person with flaming green eyes and a seriously cocky smirk. My heart stutters to a stop. Luca. Man, what was he going to say to me now? I shouldn't be wandering around by myself in his town? That there were plenty of things that could befall a young girl all on her own?

Mai echoes my thoughts from behind me. "Don't you go saying anything you'll regret, Luca Hale," she warns.

Luca just rolls his eyes, shucks his jacket, and offers it to me with another of his annoying smirks. I hesitate just long enough for him to raise an eyebrow before the shivering wins out and I accept the damn jacket. I pull it on, embarrassed because Luca seems to find this highly amusing, watching my every movement.

A warm, musky smell overwhelms me. It reminds me of summer rain as it settles into freshly-turned soil, with a sandalwood undertone. I bite the inside of my lip, aware that the boy whose interesting scent I smell is still staring at me intently.

"Thanks," I mutter, and I have the distinct impression that he is retraining himself from asking me to repeat myself. How considerate of him. I turn to Mai, every one of my five senses highly attuned to the warm heat that is beside me.

God, get yourself together! Why on earth am I behaving like this? Sure Luca is attractive – unearthly so – but I seriously need to stop with the skittish behavior. Jumping every time he spoke to me isn't exactly the most endearing habit. Mai is glaring at Luca, and I have no doubt that he is just smirking at her. I can just about feel the arrogance bouncing off the back of my head.

I feel a wave of awkwardness wash over me, as though I just interrupted something private.

"Well, looks like I am sufficiently clothed now, so I'll just leave you guys to what you were doing and be on my way." I try my best to sound cheerful, I really do. Judging by the rueful smile on Mai's face, I think I just come off sounding like I'm high on something.

"Don't be silly. You're here now, so you may as well join us," she says, her eyes flashing up to above my head, a vein of steel hardening her gaze. I assume that she and Luca are having one of those silent conversations that only people who have known each other for a long time can successfully pull off.

Luca sighs behind me, and just like that the argument is won. I shiver again as his breath blows against the back of my head. God what is going on with me?

"I'll go ahead and let the others know," Mai says. With a final commanding glare at the air over my head, she steps into the shadow of the trees and disappears.

That leaves me alone with Luca. Just my luck.

"The others? What did she mean?" I do my best to avoid looking at him as I ask. He begins walking in the direction Mai went and I assume I'm allowed to follow. I do so, almost trotting to keep up with his long stride.

Luca glances back at me and I get the strange impression that he is sizing me up in that one look. He shrugs and steps behind the tree line.

I want to stop so badly and just review how damn creepy this night was becoming, but I'm well and truly hooked. My curiosity is not going to allow me to back out of this now. I just hope I'm not about to get myself killed. Swallowing my fear, I tentatively follow Luca into the darkness.

"She meant the other people in our… group." Luca clarifies, but doesn't elaborate further.

I wait a second to see if he is just pausing for dramatic effect, realize he isn't going to say anything else, and say the stupidest thing I possibly can.

"So, it's not a cult you guys are in, is it? I mean, I'm into trying new things, but I have to draw the line somewhere." I mentally smack myself in the forehead. Here I am, in the middle of the night, following a guy I just met into the woods alone. And now I'm asking if he's in a cult? I need to work out where exactly I do draw the line.

Luca raises his eyebrows at me. Is that amusement I can see on his face? No, it can't be.

Oh but it is. "Depends if that's the kind of thing you're into," he says, facing forwards again, but I swear I heard that damn smirk in his voice.

I'm confused for a moment. Then it dawns on me that what he just said could very well be mistaken for flirting. At the very least, a… sexual reference of some kind. As I'm mulling over the implications, I almost run into his back.

Bringing myself up short before there is a very awkward (on my behalf) collision, I peer around his rather broad back and realize that he had stopped for a reason.

We are standing at the edge of a small clearing. Ahead of us is a cluster of tree trunks, laid on their sides and dragged into a crude circle. Perched on these and standing nearby is a whole freakin' crowd of people. Gulping, I try to reassure myself that some of these people I know (barely), but nevertheless I feel a steady tremor start up my spine.

This is totally out of my comfort zone and when Luca steps forward and away from me, I feel the loss of his body warmth like a jolt.

"I think some introductions are in order," Mai announces, and I watch as she moves into the space between me and the rest of the group. "Everyone, this is Serenity Oaken, and she will be joining us from now on." She pauses, looking around as though she expects someone to say something, and when no one does, she narrows her eyes at Luca.

In the process of pouring himself a drink from a bottle on the ground, he rolls his eyes at Mai, but straightens up and turns to the group anyway. Something changes subtly then. He appears to grow taller slightly, and there is a commanding air about him that although it feels natural, seems almost forced.

While I had been watching Luca with fascination, someone had approached me without my realizing.

"Hi, I'm Cloud," a soft, melodic but masculine voice speaks from beside me. I jump, startled and more than a little embarrassed. The speaker is a boy who looks to be about a year older than me, and the only word that I can think of to describe him is beautiful.

His shaggy platinum blond hair falls to his shoulders and from the way it also fell into his eyes I get the impression that he has a lot of trouble taming it. Unreadable moss green eyes and unsmiling but slightly plump lips overall help emphasize the serious expression he wears.

I feel my heart tap dance an irregular beat for a moment, and I curse myself for reacting like that. What is it about these guys that makes me feel like this?

"Um hi," I murmur shyly, hoping my blush wouldn't be noticeable in the dark. A slow smile spreads across his face and a slight quaver runs down my spine. I could have kicked myself for my reaction.

"Did you want a drink?" He holds out a plastic cup to me, which I accept gladly, if only to try to fit in better. Peering into the cup, I try to think of what it could possibly be with my meagre knowledge of alcoholic drinks. "It's just soft drink, but I think Victorie may have spiked the bottle with some vodka," Cloud offers helpfully. I can't be sure, but I think his smile was slightly bigger than it had been a moment ago.

"Thanks," I say, feeling myself drawn to him strangely. I need a distraction.

Bracing myself, and hoping I'm not making a terrible mistake, I take a tentative sip. Finding that the taste of alcohol is basically non-existent and the soft drink is quite refreshing, I quickly finish off the contents. Glancing up at Cloud, my blush deepens when I realize he's observing me closely, an odd look on his face.

"What?" I ask, somewhat defensively.

Before he has the chance to answer, another distinctly male voice speaks from behind me. "Keeping the new girl all to yourself are you, Cloud? Nice to see that his Royal Highness offered our new friend a drink, though." The tone is light and mocking, but from the way Cloud's face completely closes off, it's clear this other person's comments are far from welcome.

I turn around and come face-to-chest with another abnormally tall and muscled male specimen. "And you are?" Try as I might, I can't stop the words as they slip out of my mouth. This guy's attitude is really getting under my skin, and apparently with the meagre amount of alcohol in my stomach, my mouth is taking liberties.

Whether he is truly surprised or not will forever be a mystery, because he immediately takes to sarcasm. "My, oh my! The little one has an attitude, doesn't she? Come on, Cloud, ain't ya going to do the introductorys?" When no answer comes from behind me, the guy continues as though Cloud hadn't just totally blown him off. "I'm Mason Black. Motorbike enthusiast and lover of potato chips." Just to top it off, he finishes with an exaggerated and sweeping bow to me, as though I'm some princess.

"Uh, hi." I say, thrown totally off guard. This guy has to be a joke, surely.

"Seriously, Mason?" A girl's musical voice comes from a slim, tall and very beautiful blonde who had just walked over. I'm momentarily disorientated by her bright outfit – hot pink shorts and matching zip-up hoodie with pink sneakers – but quickly close my mouth when I notice her glaring at me. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you're already over here flirting with… her."

I'm shocked by the hostility in her voice. I don't even know this girl!

"Babe, I was just being friendly, you know that," Mason's voice turns almost child-like, as though he was in time out for something he didn't do. The blonde doesn't reply, just shoots each of us a look of contempt, and stomps off, Mason trailing after her.

"That was Victorie Rhodes, resident drama queen." I jump slightly, having almost forgotten that Cloud was there in the midst of the spectacle.

"Does this happen a lot?" I ask, looking back at him. I feel a thrill go through me when I notice he's a lot closer than he had been before.

"You have no idea." Is his rather cryptic reply. This group of people was becoming more and more interesting by the minute.

"Serenity!" Mai calls to get my attention as she pushes past a couple people to get to where we are standing. "I thought you could do with a drink, but I see that Cloud already handled that duty." She laughs, and again I feel more than a little jealous. She seems so comfortable here, and here was me standing in the shadows with a guy I barely know because he's the only one talking to me.

"I think she could do with a refill, though," Cloud interjects. "She's already been subject to Mason and Victorie drama." He adds with an eye roll.

"Seriously?" For the most part, Mai doesn't really seem that surprised, backing up what Cloud said earlier about it happening a lot. "Well anyway, I'll introduce everyone else to you."

I have time to say a quick "bye" to Cloud before Mai drags me off to meet everyone else.

All up, there are about ten people here, including me. Most people I had met already, but I was re-introduced to Jesse, Avery and Kailya, along with another girl, Reina Hart. She's the most quiet I had seen so far aside from Cloud, and it's a nice change.

An hour later and I'm feeling less like an outsider and more as an acquaintance to everyone. Well, almost everyone. Victorie is definitely not a fan, and although he isn't outright rude, Avery does make sure to keep his distance.

"Hey, I'm headed home, you want to walk with me?" I'm somewhat surprised by Mai's question: I had been under the impression that she wouldn't be one of the first to leave the party.

I glance around, a part of me longing to stay and further become part of this seemingly tight-knit group of friends, but at the same time, I get the feeling that everyone is becoming a little tense. It felt like it was time to leave.

"Okay, I'll just give Luca his jacket back –"

"Don't worry, he won't miss it. There'll be plenty of chances to give it back to him later on," Mai says, tugging me towards the trees in the direction of home. I get the distinct impression that she's nervous to get me away from here as quickly as possible.

With a last longing look at everyone, I give in and allow myself to be dragged away.

After a few minutes of silence, I can't keep it to myself any longer. "Why were you in such a hurry to get me out of there?" I ask, trying not to make it sound like I was interrogating her.

Mai seems to brace herself. "They tend to get a bit… enthusiastic, on nights like this, and it always weirds me out. I thought it might be a bit too soon for you to see." As I watch, I visibly see her brighten up, as if to lighten the seriousness. "I mean, we don't want to scare you away already when you're just getting to know everyone."

We leave the darkness of the trees while I'm lost in thought. "Is it some big secret that I'm not supposed to know because I'm an outsider?"

"You're no outsider, Serenity. Your family has been a huge part of this town's traditions and history since it was first established. And you will know every tradition we hold so dear soon enough, Luca just thought we should give it a little time." Before I can even begin to start thinking through that particular conundrum, she continues, "Not that we have a lot more time, what with school starting soon and everything." And then, as we near the street my house is on, "Hope you enjoyed yourself! I'll see you soon!" And she's off down another street.

Standing there, alone in the shadows created by the streetlights, I stare after her, shocked at the sudden one-eighty. From not-so-far-away I hear a wolf howl, followed by a second and a third. I don't need anyone to spell it out for me to start running the rest of the way home.