Chapter 1
“Oh Daddy, stop worrying about me, I will be fine. I have been jogging at the same time and in the same park for the past year. Nothing will happen, I promise you” Melissa kisses her dad on the cheek. He has always been protective and concerned about his only daughter, since his wife passed away two years ago, it was only the two of them looking out for each other.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Melissa” He looked at her in annoyance. She knows he is right, but she is stubborn and wants things her way. It is not safe to run after dark, but she is adamant about jogging after the sun sets, she does not feel that she is in any real danger.
Besides, there are so many people in the park at the same time as her. “Please Daddy don’t be mad at me” She pouts, and she can see his expression softens. Melissa knows that she has got him wrapped around her little finger. “I promise Daddy, I will be careful, I just love running in the park and to run just as the sun sets is so beautiful,” she says with a sparkle in her eyes.
“I wish you wanted to take someone with you, someone to protect you. I can arrange security details for you”? He says looking up at her. The look of concern doesn’t escape her, he is just being silly. He is trying to keep what she likes most away from her, because of his overprotectiveness. She cannot relax and enjoy herself if there is someone with her the whole time.
“Thank you, but no thank you, I prefer to run alone.” She planted a kiss on her father’s forehead and ran out the door before he could stop her. This happens every night when she just wants to go and run, in peace. Nothing happened for the past year, why should anything happen now? Seriously? He is so overprotective; it is driving her crazy. She loves her father, but sometimes she feels that he is suffocating her.
She just wants to do what she wants to do when she wants to do it. She knows that she is not eighteen yet, but in her book, she is an adult. She is very mature for her age. She runs down the stairs of the mansion she calls home, jumps into her car, and speeds off.
Seth Montgomery gets up and looks through the window when she speeds off. He shakes his head, he spoiled her, he knows. But she is the apple of his eye, his only child. All he can do is hope and pray that she will come home safe after her jog. He knows he is too soft on her, but he doesn’t want to drive her away for being too strict on her. Seth is the head judge of the Northern County.
The island consists of four counties, the werewolves take up two of the counties, the one to the North and the one to the East. The county to the West is occupied by Shifters, witches, and faeries, and the county to the South is occupied by the Vampires. Humans live amongst the supernaturals in all four counties. The humans are unaware of the supernatural beings living among them. Different species also live in counties that are not mainly occupied by their own people. Everyone is living in harmony and respects each other.
Seth is a very respected and fair judge, well-loved by the people in the community. The courtroom does not scare him half as much as raising his teenage daughter. She can be difficult and stubborn. When he cannot see her car anymore, he turns away from the window and disappears into his study.
It is almost 18:15, the sun will set at around 18:30, which gives Melissa enough time to get to the park and do her stretches before her run. She arrives at the park and finds a parking spot. It is a huge park with lots of decorative statues of angels and faeries, and there is a big pond close to the entrance. During the day the ducks and geese enjoy themselves in the water.
Scattered around the pond are benches under the trees. Beautiful flowers are everywhere in the park. She walks through the always-open gate and the smell of roses hits her nose. She takes a deep breath taking in the lovely smell and the beauty of her surroundings. Walking paths are found all over the park, there are also hiking and jogging paths in the wooded area surrounding the park.
She stands and listens to the chatter of the birds as they try to get a place to sleep for the night. She looks up at the trees and smiles. Every creature has its place. Squirrels are running up a tree to find their resting place before the sun disappears. She could just stay in this park forever; she absolutely loves it here. On the west side of the park is a dome construction, not very big, but romantic with fairy lights and creepers with beautiful flowers decorating it. A lot of couples like to hang out there.
Looking at her smartwatch, she decides that it is almost time. She does a few stretches so that she is not too stiff the next day. At exactly 18:30 she puts her headphones in her ears and presses the play button on her iPod. Brave by Sara Bareilles starts playing and she starts to jog. She runs the same route in the park every day, she knows it by heart.
She is so focused on the song and her jogging that she doesn’t realize someone standing in the pathway until she is almost on top of the person. An uneasy feeling creeps up inside her about the man in front of her. She stops to look at him. He is a big bulky man with a black T-shirt and black jeans. He’s got a few tattoos on his arms and a scar right above his right eyebrow. His hair is shaved short on one side of his head and on the other side his black hair is unruly. He’s got a five-o clock shadow and his dark eyes look at her as if she was prey, suddenly he grins at her. Her blood runs cold, the anger and hatred in his eyes giving her chills. She starts to back off, away from him, but before she can turn and run, she sees his eyes flash yellow.
Panic sets in and she is really frightened by this man, she turns to run in the opposite direction, but another man is standing on the other side of her. He is also big built and is wearing a black T-shirt and black leather pants. He looks a bit like the other guy, but he is clean-shaven, and he is bald. He too has got tattoos on his arms. He laughs, and the sound sends chills down her spine, she can see sharp teeth that terrify her. Melissa feels like a deer stalked by predators.
In a split second, she decides to take the wooded path to her left. As she steps onto the path that leads through thick trees she catches a glimpse of the bald guy, he is not following her, he is still standing in the same spot, looking at her with a snarl. Maybe he wants to give her a head start and hunt her like prey. She stops thinking and starts to run as fast as she can. Due to all her exercise and jogging, she is quite fit and feels that she can easily outrun them.
To her, they look too big and bulky to be fast. She was sorely mistaken. In seconds the man with the scar is right behind her, she can feel his breath on her neck, and it gives her goosebumps. A scream caught in her throat. Focus. Her brain is trying to process everything around her. It is much darker under the trees, luckily, she turned on her headlamp earlier. The light makes it a bit easier to see where she is going, but it is still difficult as the terrain is uneven. Twigs are breaking behind her and she can hear footsteps to the right of her and then to the left. The realization that they are indeed hunting her, makes her heart skip a beat. They are clearly much stronger and faster than her, however, they just keep on chasing her, without trying to catch her.
Maybe they just want to scare her and will let her go when they have their fun. Her heart is pounding, and adrenaline is rushing through her veins. Animalistic growls are coming from them both. Branches scratch her and leaves brush through her face, but she knows that she cannot stop, not now, not ever. Suddenly her foot gets caught on something and she goes down with a scream. The headlamp flies off her head and she crashes into the ground. Too scared to turn around or even just look, she keeps her head down and starts to cry, she is shaking all over.
The sounds of steps coming closer make her shake even more. It sounds like a predator stalking its prey. She shivers at the thought of being prey. She never thought of herself as a brave person, but she decided that she wanted to look her attackers in the eyes. She turns on her back and looks up, the man with the scar is basically on top of her, standing right over her. He bares sharp teeth at her, teeth that resemble those of animals and his eyes glow bright yellow. To the right, is the bald one, he is looking at her with a wicked evil smile. It is too dark to see the bald man clearly. Her gaze goes back to the man with the scar, and she starts to plead with them. “Please just leave me alone. I didn’t do anything wrong, please, I won’t tell anyone about you….” Right in front of her eyes, the man closest to her turns into a wolf and pounces.
