Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) (11 page)

It was as if she had magically summoned him with her will.

Green Eyes stood next to another man, both deep in discussion in front of a small cabin. It was strange, the location of a cabin in the middle of the woods, almost tucked away, hidden in the depths of the forest. Dahlia narrowed her eyes as she focused her gaze on the two, both almost ethereal in their presence.

Ethereal?

Dahlia snapped out of her weird thoughts.

“Did anyone follow you here?” voiced the unknown blond, his countless piercings glittering in the night against his olive-toned skin.

Green Eyes gave a dry look, as if almost bored. He retorted back curtly, “Are you kidding me? No one sees me—no one ever sees me if I choose to.”

The other guy grinned, almost mockingly, “Yeah, I know that. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t losing your touch. You seem a little, how should I say this?” He paused, as if deep in thought. “Out of it lately.”

Green Eyes paused, a frown forming on his face. “Out of it?”

“You know exactly what I mean. The girl. Dahlia.”

At the mention of her name, she took a step back, stepping on a twig in the process that snapped loudly in half as she flinched at the sound.

Crap.

The noise did not go unnoticed.

“What was that?” Eyes quickly scanning the area, the other man seemed to be so
aware
, as if he were calling on some extra senses.

Bracing back against the tree, Dahlia shut her eyes tightly, hoping she would go unseen as she rested her head on the bark. She wasn’t able to see them anymore but she still clearly heard their voices.

Green Eyes spoke calmly, almost too calmly. “It was nothing, probably just a squirrel or something. If I’m a little out of it then you’re the fidgety one. Relax, Maddox.”

“Fidgety?” The young man’s voice, Maddox, changed in slight indignation at the comment. “You know the situation we’re in. We need to do what we were told to do and that’s it, you know? Just like you told me. You having this little infatuation on the girl is a predicament I’d rather not be in, thank you very much. I’ve noticed the way you look at her. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun, just like I said. But this wasn’t what I had in mind, if you know what I mean.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Green Eyes’ voice carried a dangerous undertone to it, his voice slow and threatening as he said those five simple words.

Dahlia’s own heart sped up at the roughness of his voice, holding her breath as she waited for the response. From his tone, she knew Maddox had to be careful on how he answered. She really didn’t want to be him right now. She could only imagine the look on Green Eyes’ face with that voice.

Oh boy.

Maddox must have heard the message clearly because he shifted tactics as he gave a small, nervous, laugh. “Nothing. I’m just saying that I’d rather have this over with sooner than later. And I’m pretty sure other people would agree with me.”

“Fine,” Green Eyes said gruffly, his voice short as if he were done with the entire conversation.

But Maddox wasn’t finished. “We can’t, like, screw any of this up. If we do, we’re both dead.”

There was a pregnant pause for a moment before Green Eyes answered. “I know.” And with that, the conversation was over.

Silence.

It seemed to go on forever, the silence. Dahlia wondered why they were no longer talking. She slowly peered over the tree and was surprised to find no one there, not Green Eyes or Maddox. Even the mysterious cabin looked vacant, appearing dark and unwelcoming. Stepping out from the shadows, she just stood there, perplexed. The two were really gone—vanished. As if they had simply just disappeared out of sight.

It was something that was beginning to be a recurring theme in her life as of late.

This does not make any sense. Why does this keep happening to me? Do I have to register myself into a psychiatric ward?

Spooked, Dahlia shook her head as she tried making her way back to the clearing, desperately needing to leave the forest. But she was finding it difficult, every direction she went looking the same. Her brain filled with thoughts of what just transpired.

Why was everyone disappearing right in front of her?

As she continued to walk in circles, she stopped abruptly as her foot caught against something, causing her to stagger back. Regaining her step, she took her phone from her pocket and flipped it open so she could see more clearly with her flashlight app. She saw a branch that her foot had caught against but literally, inches away, Dahlia noticed a sudden drop in the ground. Pointing the phone downwards, she realized she stood on a very steep hill.

A few more steps and she would have found herself at the bottom of said hill.

She took a deep breath in relief and paused a moment longer to look down but didn’t observe anything strange. Dahlia found it a bit reckless that the place wasn’t closed off, considering how dangerous. She shook her head over the fact then tucked her phone away, stepping back before turning around.

But before she could move, a huge gust of wind suddenly emerged from behind and knocked into her, the cold stunning her on contact as she stumbled on the balls of her feet. Unable to catch herself, it was as if the wind took a hold of her as she was again, roughly shoved forward. She felt herself falling, her feet feeling nothing beneath her but air, only one word on her mind.

Shit.

She crashed with a heavy thud as her body contacted with the ground below. The back of her head slammed hard against the cold ground, the impact causing a sharp pain as she saw stars, head spinning. Dahlia still had her backpack on, so she landed in an awkward position, her body in an arch. Stunned, she laid there for a moment and blinked a couple of times as she discovered how far she had fallen, wondered why she wasn’t dead.

Trying to get herself up, she moaned as her head started to pulsate. Rolling herself over, Dahlia painstakingly took off her backpack as she slipped her arms out of the straps and set the bag aside. She took deep breaths as she forced herself not to throw up as the feeling of nausea took over. Spinning onto her back again, tears formed in her eyes at the intense pain she felt. The pain took over her entire body, like fire ants crawling all over her skin, leaving no doubt in her mind that something was broken.

Someone had pushed her.

Dahlia looked back up from the bottom of the hill but saw nothing. Although she didn’t see anyone, she could have sworn that someone had been physically there and had pushed her from behind, the place where a hand contacted her back still cold.

There was no way that was just the wind.

Still lying on the hard, cool ground, Dahlia slowly reached for her pocket and groaned at the painful movements. She withdrew her phone, praying it didn’t break from the impact and breathed a sigh of relief as she flipped it open and found light still emanated from it. Punching in the proper numbers, she anxiously awaited as the phone rang four times before he finally picked up.

“Hello?” Sam’s carefree voice carried into her ear causing some reprieve. The pounding in her head was still there, comparable to a sledgehammer against her skull.

“Sam?” The strain in her voice was apparent as she spoke, gasping. She took a deep breath and tried again, more steadily. “Are you still at the school?”

“Yeah, I just finished my test and I’m heading home.” He spoke slowly then paused as he noticed the tone in her voice. “Why, what’s up?”

“I need you to come and get me.” Dahlia paused and took a deep breath again, her voice stuck in her throat.

“Come get you? Aren’t you home by now? Where are you?” She could almost see his confused expression in her mind, eyebrows definitely furrowing as he waited for her answer. She’d laugh if she weren’t in so much pain.

“I took a detour through the woods and…fell.” She didn’t mention her suspicions on her fall.

“What?” The concern was apparent in his voice. “Are you okay?”

Dahlia paused then answered slowly. “I’m fine.” She wasn’t completely lying.

She wasn’t dead or anything.

“Where are you?”

She looked up to where she fell from, and then commented, trying to hide the tears in her voice. “I don’t know. There’s this steep hill.” She paused then said rather dryly, “If you look down, you’ll find my helpless body.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He abruptly hung up, leaving Dahlia staring idly at the phone as it went silent. Closing it, she placed it on top of her backpack next to her, bringing her arms beside her body as she sighed, staring up at the sky above her. Her body ached, the pain pulsating from within as she locked gazes with the bright, full moon. The stars were seen in the periphery as her gaze remained transfixed above.

Visions started to flow through her mind of wolves, mysterious men and an expressional face with large sunglasses, all disappearing then reappearing into thin air. She even felt like something was licking her delicately on the face, almost in reassurance. The images spun repeatedly in her mind, voices speaking one on top of another until she cried out and heard a reply in return.

“Dahlia?”

Sam’s voice fluttered from above and she opened her eyes but couldn’t see him anywhere. She didn’t know how long she had been out but it must have been awhile. She swallowed and cleared her throat, her voice dry as she tried yelling out hoarsely.

“I’m over here.”

All of a sudden, Sam’s head peered from above the shadows and Dahlia could clearly see the relief on his face. He carefully made his way down the steep hill until he reached where she lay on the ground.

“Are you hurt? Are you bleeding anywhere?” He quickly rushed over to her and knelt beside her as he inspected her body, eyes concerned.

Dahlia focused on her body, realizing the agony felt earlier had subsided drastically. She wiggled her fingers and toes, then the rest of her limbs, not finding anything wrong. Tentatively sitting up, she reached behind her head to detect the pain originally there was also gone.

Completely.

“You’re bleeding, Winters!”

“What?” Dahlia looked over at Sam who stared gaping at her hand, covered in blood.

“The back of your head is bleeding.” He maneuvered his body so he was behind her, still kneeling. “Let me check.”

“I feel fine.” Dahlia felt perfectly fine and wondered why he was making such a big deal over a little bit of blood. She was just thankful nothing was broken, as she had first thought. She tried getting on her feet but stumbled on her toes, Sam catching her before she could fall.

It was probably just a small cut.

“What?” Dahlia saw the weird expression on Sam’s face as he helped her up to her feet.

He glanced from her hands and then back up to her face again, gesturing with his own hands. “Your head. There’s blood all over your hair but I don’t see a wound anywhere. Where did all the blood come from?”

Where did all the blood come from?

Dahlia paused at his words, slowly staring down at her red-stained hands. She remembered a time long ago when she heard those exact words from the people at the orphanage. No one had believed her then and looking up at Sam, she knew he would be the same. Realizing this, she did the only thing she could think of.

She didn’t say anything.

Chapter 10

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?”

Sam looked at Dahlia out of the corner of his eyes as he voiced the question. He slowly pulled up to the driveway of their home and, putting the car in park, turned off the ignition.

“I’m positive.” She unclipped her seatbelt and opened the door, making her way out of the car. Slamming the door shut, she looked over at Sam who stared warily from above the car roof, carrying their bags in his arms. She smiled in reassurance.

“Don’t worry about it, Sam. I’m fine.” She started to walk toward the doorway to the house.

He followed her from behind. “What about the blood?”

She turned around and made a face at him. “I was a klutz and fell. I hit my head and got a small cut. You probably just couldn’t find it in the dark.”

“But it’s a lot of blood, Winters.”

“Head wounds bleed like crazy. It’s fine—
I’m
fine. False alarm.” She nodded toward the door. “Let’s just head in and call it a night.”

“Okay, fine.” He stayed quiet as Dahlia unlocked and opened the door as they both stepped inside. She turned around as she watched Sam close the door. Walking over to him, she clutched his jacket tightly with her fists, staring deeply into his worried eyes. Her own eyes were anxious.

“Don’t tell your parents, okay? I don’t want them to freak out for no reason.” She abruptly released him then stepped back as she took off her shoes and grabbed her bag from his hand. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she quickly rushed upstairs to her room, leaving Sam alone in the foyer staring after her with a deep frown on his face.

As Dahlia closed the door to her room, she rested her head against the wooden surface as she tried to slow her beating heart. Dropping her things to the ground, she rushed to her connecting bathroom, startling herself by what she saw in the mirror.

A disheveled mess, her large doe eyes looked even larger than normal as blood stained her hands. Blinking a couple of times, she frantically stripped out of her dirty clothes and entered the shower. She turned on the pipe and shut her eyes away from the blood that washed down the drain.

She refused to admit that there was in fact a lot of blood.

She stayed under the warm shower until she finally felt clean and the water began to cool. Turning the tap off, she opened the curtain and stepped out of the tub while grabbing a towel. Wrapping herself tightly, Dahlia walked into her room and sat on her bed, thinking about earlier.