Chapter Three

I still didn’t see how this was going to help. We’d been walking through the forest for over an hour and still hadn’t arrived at Shayne’s ‘ultimate hunting spot’. My frustration with him was growing by the minute. Who did he think he was, saying that I was going to help out then asking me to get the food? Like I could hunt, anyway; Robert had taken me a few times but after I almost killed him with an arrow we both decided that it was best for me to stop.

“How are you feeling, Eden?” Shayne asked, idly attempting small talk. I looked at him with disbelief and his smirk turned to a frown. “We’re all here for you if you need us, you know? You’re not alone.” Then, just as I was going to give him a grateful smile, he grinned widely as if mocking me, and I turned away scowling.

The dirt path that we’d been travelling along suddenly came to a halt. Shayne placed a steady hand on my back and directed me towards an opening in the masses of trees before us. I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Eventually, a thought crossed my mind, and I was hoping that Shayne would answer this question.

“What happened, you know... that night?”

“The night we were rescued?” Shayne looked at me out of the corner of his eyes with curiosity, an eyebrow raised.

“And before then.” I added judiciously.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second longer than he usually did.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to... I’m just kind of in the dark about the whole thing at the minute; I was hoping that you’d tell me.” I looked up at him hopefully.

“Well, I’d rather tell you than get Hayley to tell you; she’s not doing well at the minute. We were captured just after you were. They were originally coming after Robert, so when they found you instead, they thought you’d know what they wanted to find out.”

“Which was?” I prompted.

“His secrets; how powerful he was before, why he went into hiding and whatnot.”

“Why would this help them?”

“I wish I knew.”

We walked on; the way through the forest was getting increasingly difficult to travel through. We weaved through the large trees until finally there was an opening.

“Wait here,” Shayne whispered. He slowly arched his back and bent his knees until he was concealed by the bushes ahead. He took slow, stealthy steps and stayed perfectly still to view his surroundings. Curiously waiting ten meters away, I leaned in forwards to get a better look of the clearing.

“Oh my god,” I muttered. It was beautiful. The grass started as soon as the forest ended; it was the brightest green imaginable and surrounded a large, natural waterfall that fell into a stream leading off into the trees. The prettiest flowers in all colours, shapes and sizes were scattered across the clearing, and the whole place was crawling with wildlife; from bees to butterflies, birds and even a few deer. It was utterly breathtaking...too good to be spoiled.

“Ok, I’m going to show you how to shoot,” whispered Shayne from the bushes. “Come here, and don’t make any noise.”

“Shayne,” I whispered faintly, unable to take my eyes off the beautiful animals. “Can’t we just buy food?”

“What?!” A moment later Shayne was by my side and looking down at me like I was mentally ill.

“I don’t want to do this... Not here,” I told him, mind buzzing. “I can’t.” I added.

“Of course you can,” he said. “We can’t go to shops, not for a few weeks until we’re sure they can’t track us. We can’t risk it, Eden.”

“I don’t know, it’s just so pretty,” I looked up at him then to see a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Instantly, I knew I’d said the wrong thing. This was my chance to make myself seem useful, capable, and there I was marvelling over the beauty of a few animals.

“Come here,” Shayne said, still smirking.

I readied myself for an embrace that never came. Instead, he gently grabbed my wrist and tugged me towards the bush where he had hidden.

“Crouch here, good. Now take this-” he reached for his bow which had been slung around his body. “Hold it like this.” Steadying my elbows and relaxing my muscles was harder than he’d probably thought it would be, but eventually he was happy with the position I was in and stood back to admire his creation.

“Wow, you actually look tough,” he laughed. I scowled at him. “Apart from the facial expressions, of course. We’ll have to work on that.”

“What do I do now?” I asked through gritted teeth, trying to stay as still as possible.

“Give the bow and arrow back,” he told me simply.

“What?!” I exclaimed. Then I heard rustling from the opening and realised that I’d scared away all of the animals.

“Sorry,” I sighed. I gave back the bow and arrow to a still-amused Shayne and sat back on the forest-floor.

“Don’t apologise, I’ve just won a bet.”

“Excuse me?”

“Marshall said that you wouldn’t agree to do it.” He crouched down to my level. “He thinks you’re too pure,” he whispered. His eyes sparkled with malice and in that moment I saw something that I’d never seen before in our family gardener. He’d only worked for Robert for a few years, fresh out of College, but I’d always imagined him as being quiet and reserved, but serious. This was the first time I’d ever seen him come alive. It was like a whole new person, like I was seeing him for the first time.

“What is it?” he asked. I pursed my lips for a moment before laughing.

“When did you get so playful?”

“You didn’t know me before,” he smiled. “This is me.” He sat back and spread his arms wide, grinning wider than ever.

“So all of this was a joke?”

“Mostly, though we really do need to get food, and I wanted to talk to you, but that can wait. How about you head back and I finish up here? Hopefully you haven’t scared everything away-”

Crack. In an instant Shayne spun round and readied his bow and arrow in one fluent move. I slowly sat up, not daring to breathe, and then something appeared out of the trees twenty meters away.

First appeared a bloodstained snout, then a head with matted brown fur, and slowly a gigantic body formed where once was nothing but overgrowth. Its loud, steady breaths could be heard from where we were kneeling, and as it approached us I tore my fearful eyes away from its huge figure and onto Shayne, who was lowering the bow and arrow to the ground.

I felt both panic and disbelief as the beast strode menacingly towards us, the low grumble growing louder and louder. What the hell was Shayne playing at? This thing was going to kill us, which was clear from the blood dripping from its mouth. Without stopping to consult Shayne for permission, I grabbed the weapon from the floor and positioned myself the way he showed me. I took a quick, deep breath before releasing the arrow into the beast’s shoulder.

“No, Marshall!” Shayne cried out as he ran towards the wolf. I watched in horror as he tugged the arrow from its body and covered the wound with his hand.

And then it changed back into a man.