Oh, please. Let me die, I thought desperately, I don’t want to live through this shame.
Noah grunted as he scrambled to lower his trousers.
It was at that moment that I head the most beautiful sound in the world.
A murderous, thunderous growling filled the entire room, shaking the candles in their banisters. It was the sound of my saviour. My love.
“What the-?” Noah spun around for the source of the noise, though it appeared that we were quite alone.
My breathing quickened and I found that I was able to move my fingers now. Slowly, inch by inch, feeling was coming back into my limbs.
Noah scrambled away from the bed and backed into a wall, “Who’s there?” He demanded to the empty room.
The growling grew louder and I felt it vibrate against my chest before a feral snarl filled the room. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in fear.
Noah was edging towards the door, which was ajar, ready to flee down the hall and make his escape from the unknown creature in the room.
I turned myself over stiffly, my muscles aching from the control Noah had placed upon them. It was then that I saw him.
Hawthorne.
But Noah could not see him. His drunken gaze slipped over the camouflaged beast which had taken on the colour of the carpet. Hawthorne’s hair was raised threateningly, and his body was sunk low to the ground to avoid immediate detection. It wouldn’t be long before he was spotted. His camouflage was not fool proof.
Noah fumbled with the door and went to wrench himself from the room, but there was someone there already, waiting for him.
In one swift movement a fist snapped forwards landing in direct contact with Noah’s face. Someone had been hiding behind the door leading to the hallway.
Noah fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes and didn’t budge. He had been knocked out cold.
Jack stepped over Noah’s limp body and looked at me, sprawled across the bed, my uniform hitched around my waist. The look he gave me quite clearly said ‘I told you so’.
I couldn’t seem to form words. They had saved me.
Hawthorne hurried to my side and whined anxiously, propping himself up on the bed and licking at my face.
My body was still stiff and weak from Noah’s Power, but I felt myself gradually gaining control. I then realised that I was shaking uncontrollably.
Jack hurried forwards and helped me sit up, “Here.” He muttered, lifting me slightly and fixing my uniform, giving me some of my dignity back.
“J-Jack.” I cried, tears flowing freely and slipping down my face.
“It’s all right, it’s all right.” He patted my hair, “Don’t talk.”
Hawthorne whined and nudged Jack with his nose, trying to communicate something, but I was beyond understanding.
“Okay, Hawthorne. Are you sure?” Jack asked him. What was he talking about?
I felt so cold. My body shook as though I had been dunked into a freezing pool of water. My skin screamed at me as I shook uncontrollably.
“She’s cold.” Jack said to Hawthorne. Had I been saying that out loud?
Jack lifted me into his arms but showed no signs that I was too heavy for him to carry. The next moment he had put me astride something very warm and fluffy. Hawthorne. I entwined my fingers into his fur and rested myself against him, burying my face in his neck. He was so strong; it felt as though I were atop an extremely hairy horse. I could not hold my weight up, so I simply sagged against Hawthorne.
“Can you manage?”
Hawthorne’s arrogant snort reached my ears, and I knew he would be rolling his eyes at Jack.
“Okay, okay, sorry. You wait here and I’ll put this piece of trash into his bed. He’ll wake up and think he just passed out. He’s so drunk I doubt he will remember anything from tonight.”
I wanted to tell Jack and Hawthorne how thankful I was, but I couldn’t find my voice. I felt as though I had left my brain somewhere else, and I was just an empty doll.
I heard Jack’s grunting as though from a distance. He was probably moving Noah. After what seemed like an eternity, I felt Jack’s hand in mine, as he walked beside me astride Hawthorne, who carried me away from Noah’s room. After that, everything went black as I slipped into oblivion
Chapter eleven
Flight
I opened my eyes and everything was a blur. A shape moved around the room, pacing it seemed. It took me a while to realise that I was lying in a bed under several blankets. My vision cleared slightly and I found that I was in my own room. Jack was there, pacing back and forth. I could make out a large, grey mass of fur curled into a ball beside my bed. Why was my Hawthorne sad? I didn’t like to see his coat anything but its happy white.
It occurred to me that he was sad because I had been in danger. Questions exploded into my mind. I didn’t know which one to ask first.
I tried to speak, but found that my throat was extremely dry. Jack noticed however and hurried to my side. Hawthorne’s head popped up, instantly alert.