Deadly Nightshade

An obscene light shined into my eyes as I turned a different way in my bed. My eyes snapped open and I groaned. Another night with the same dream. The dark man's eyes haunted me even as I got up to get ready for another day of school. As I showered, the image of his bloody lips shot through my mind and I shuddered. Not out of fear, just out of feeling something new. A warm love for him, even with the blood.

My morning moved on as most do, as blur of clothing and a little makeup. I grabbed a waffle from the toaster and made my way to my beat up Mustang. I waved to my mother who was engrossed in her large book, but was able to call out a "Good Morning" to me.

I threw my heavy bag into the passenger seat and buckled my own seat. For about a minute I saw there, trying to sort out my thoughts. As I physically tried to shake out his face, I turned the car on and began my thirty minute drive to the high school.

The day was cool and sunny, the kind of day where most kids wanted to be outside laughing and relaxing. It smelled like fruit and the ocean, even though we were a few hours away from it.

Somehow, I ended up in my first class without even knowing it. I wish I would stop wandering off with my mind. It was a little unnerving. I took a deep breath and let a smile cross my face as a few of my friends walked over to me from the courtyard. I greeted them sweetly, giving all of them soft hugs. Johnny, one of the crazier ones of the group, grabbed me and spun me around like an amusement park, while my equally crazy friend Tessa jumped on top of me.

With all of the joking aside, we all went our separate ways for our classes, only Tiffany and Ashley staying with me to go to our homeroom. Our day went on like any other, of course much funnier than the normal person's day. I was incredibly lucky to have such great friends with amazing senses of humor. I had laughed the day away yet again with them, barely needing to put effort into my studies since I knew all of it already.

I felt a little tickle at the base of my neck as I drove back home on the small road surrounded by forest. I frowned and tried to viciously itch it, but it didn't go away. As I drove, something was moving alongside my car. I could see it now. It was large and black and fast. Images of the dark man came into my mind and I just about slammed on the brakes, but the figure was gone before I would get a good look at him. I shook my head and turned up my music to drown my own thoughts out. I parked my car in the garage and went straight to my room, but I was stopped by my mother.

"Oh, hi sweetie! How was school?" She asked from the bottom of the stairs. She was munching on a peanut butter sandwich while she looked at me expectantly. I observed her long brown mane that was getting a few silvery hairs at the front and the sweet crow's feet she was developing from smiling so much. My eyes softened and I tried to smile.

"Uneventful. Like always. I aced a French test today" I offered her when her face fell a bit. She brightened up and grinned.

"That's my girl! You get your smarts from me." she winked and walked off, most likely to go outside and read more. I sighed with relief and went into my dark red room. The coolness greeted me sweetly as I stripped off my jeans and tee shirt to put on a blue sundress and a pair on small shorts under it. I took down my hair and sat at my window with my newest book, already finished with my homework for the week.

Again, I saw the dark figure out in the woods, moving closer to our house. Our garden was quite large, so it wasn't terribly close to the actual house, but I got anxious. It stopped suddenly and I took a closer look when it turned toward me. I gasped as I looked into those golden eyes for the first time in a year. He hadn't visited in so long! He stared for a moment and took off into the woods again.

I bolted down the stairs, tripping on the oriental rug at the door and took off for the lake, where we used to meet every so often. I jumped over the sharp branches bare foot, how I usually walked around. My feet sped over the soft grass that had overgrown during the rainy season and I was there in no time. My wolf was no where to be seen.

Instead, a tall man dressed in all dark clothes stood with his back facing me, his hands in the pockets of his dark wash jeans. His dark brown hair was tousled and wavy, while his black shirt hugged his muscles lovingly. He turned an ear my way when I approached him, but stayed where he was. I stepped closer to this man, somehow knowing no harm would come to me. My heart pounded harshly against my ribs and my skirt seemed to rustled so loudly in the quiet clearing.

He finally turned to me completely, smiling softly. He towered over me when I stood in front of him, breathing heavily. I searched his eyes, looking for any sign of cruel intentions and found nothing but a calm, caring man. It hit me then. He was the dark one in my dreams. His eyes were so familiar because I had seen them before. Pulling me out of this very lake that we stood in front of. My wolf.

But he wasn't a wolf. I knew he was, but how was he a man, too? I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He looked at me patiently, as if waiting for the pieces to fall into place. As the minutes passed by quietly, my legs buckled, but he caught me and we sat on the ground without loosing eye contact.

"Hello." he finally said. "Do you remember me?" he asked is a smooth, deep voice. The very same voice that I had conversed with many times before.

What a stupid question. I narrowed my eyes and scooted away from him.

"Kain." I whispered.

He grinned at this, not noticing my look of annoyance. "Ahhh, my little Airin! It's been so long!" He chuckled and stretched his legs out beside me.