Bite or Howl

Chapter 25

Phoebe POV

The West Wing is cold. Just like how I remembered. Dust is still growing on the walls and tables from the lack of use they receive. The hall is dark and gloomy for the sun hasn't risen yet to light it up. I'd taken the guards around the castle, giving me time to spend in my first home. I twirl around in the centre of the hall, looking straight up to the ceiling where paintings of wolves prance around. They all look straight back down at me. Unimpressed. I'm a vampire.

I've betrayed them.

I stand back and let my memories run through me, engulfing me in the sense of happiness and dread. I can see myself twirling around my imaginary ballroom, hand in hand with the brother I still love. Eyes looking into each other and searching for the soul beneath our hidden personas as he twirled me around. My eyes shut close with the feeling of love and care. I miss Felix. With my shattered heart in my hands, my legs walk me over to the one place I'd missed dearly. Standing at the very end of the wall, my palm pressed against its cold build, I look out into the window and watch as the sun slowly rises upwards. 

The entire atmosphere is dark with a brink of light slowly piercing its way through the sky and giving it life. The stars slowly disappear as the sun outgrows them, covering them up with a layer of golden orange highlights. I've never seen anything as beautiful.

I used to think I was broken. That I had no purpose. I really didn't. There was no promised throne for me. There was no promised love. And there wasn't a promised family that I'd cuddle with when my first boyfriend broke up with me, when I'd fail a grade in a maths test or when I'd just feel sad. There was no promised love. Just a broken heart. But a heart doesn't just break, it just stops working. Dies out. It slowly crumbles down like ash. A piece of glass that's been shattered. A dead vine on a tree that slowly starts to crumble off, making way for something new. That's a heart. My heart was like that once. Dead. Hanging onto its tree just barely. Alone in this very hall. This dark and lonely hall. These walls have heard my struggles. My cries. These walls have been painted with my tears while my ancestors, drawn onto the ceiling watch down on me, repulsed by my existence. These walls have kept my secrets. While they slowly start to crumble down too.

But then Chase came. He'd swept me off my feet and ripped me out of these walls, torn them apart to get to me. With his own hands, he'd seen me on the floor, picking up the shards of my glass heart that had been shattered. And unlike everyone else, he bent down beside me and helped pick up the broken shards from the floor and slowly started to put me back together. Like humpty-dumpty. 

"Oh, Phoebe! I didn't know you'd be here." A voice brings me back to reality, pulling me out of my thoughts and letting me take a step back on the ground. I turn around, tearing my gaze from the beautiful sun that had already managed to get over the forest trees and shift the sky a light blue. How long had I been standing here for?

When I turn around, Catherine stands behind me. Her hair is displayed down, letting her dark brown locks fall straight down. Her smile is mixed with shock emotion but she still manages to keep it on, greeting me. This is what I love about Catherine, she always tries to maintain a smile even though she may not be happy. It's like people's happiness is more important than hers. "Hey." I manage to say, returning back her smile. "I didn't expect you to be here." I say, stepping forward. She fiddles with her hands, twisting her fingers together. "Yeah, I came just now actually." She says. "With some guards, obviously." She stutters.

"So what brings you here?" I ask, leaning my back against the window. "Oh I came along with some of the guards. I don't have anything to do back home so I decided to go exploring." She explains to me, motioning to the hall around her. "This place is beautiful." She says, breathless. I take a step forward and stand in the centre of the hall. "Yeah, it really is. This is where I grew up actually." I tell her, taking a seat on the ground, crossing my legs over the cold stone floor. Her mouth gapes open in shock as she gives me an are you serious type of face. "Yeah, really. I'm actually surprised you managed to get here. It's kind of hidden away from the rest of the castle." I comment and she flushes. Her face grows a bright pink and she suddenly laughs. "Yeah, I am kind of an adventurer."

She then turns away from me, walking over to the window I was once standing against. She rests her palms on the windowsill, leaning forward and gazing up into the sky. "It's beautiful, right?" I comment. She nods, still facing away. "I always do that, gaze up into the sky. It really is amazing." I say, getting up from the ground and making my way towards Catherine. "It's amazing." She replies, breathlessly. "It's so much warmer on this side. Like the sun actually feels so warm against your skin." She tells me, still facing the window. I admire her side profile, looking straight at her.

"Mount Verona is just too cold, isn't it?" She laughs, turning to me. I nod and let out a small giggle. "Definitely. It's freezing there." I comment. "But the sunsets there are much more pretty." I add which she then agrees on. Her smile falls though as she turns back to me, letting her hand graze my shoulder. "I'm really sorry about your brother." She mumbles. "I heard about what happened when Chase went down to talk to him. Must have been scary, right?" She murmurs. 

The mood around us suddenly changes, weighing more than the light and happiness it would have normally been. "Yeah, I just can't actually believe it." I reply back, choking out the words. "Do you really think it's true though? Something possessing Felix? Or maybe even someone?" She pushes. The last bit of her sentence scares me, pushing my boundary by a bit. "I don't know and I don't think I want to." I stutter, turning back towards the window.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Catherine then realises and brings her hand off of my shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay now. I've been waiting for you to wake up, actually." She changes the subject. I smile weakly and nod. "Well I'm gonna go back outside in the sunlight, you'll be fine, right?" She asks and I nod again. "I really love the feeling of the sun against my skin. Especially when I was coming in when the sun slowly came up, it really is spectacular." I open my mouth to say something but then an uneasy feeling makes my stomach turn.

What did she just say?

"This is as far as I can go." Chase tells me, bringing me off his back and setting me on the ground. "What do you mean? You came through just as fine last night." I ask. He shrugs and explains, "Royals of the vampire kind can't go through werewolf borders during sunrise or sunset. We'll just burn dead."  So how did Catherine come through? Holy shit.

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Catherine says, worried. I flinch at her touch when she grazes her fingers on my arm again. Her touch is cold and hard. Somewhat viscous. "I'm okay." I manage to stutter out. Catherine nods slowly and steps back. "Okay then, be careful, Phoebe. You never know if Felix really was controlled. And if he was, the real culprit could be anywhere." She warns, stepping further away.

I stare coldly at her and grit my teeth. "Oh don't worry, I won't be trusting anyone."