into the dark - Caroline Swan - 1

I Confront the Universe About My Abysmal Luck

This chapter is not proofread. Sorry about this being two weeks late, I've been really stressed with some summer school and family stuff. As always, love this chapter or don't! <3

May 18th, 2006

"Elijah, Gabe, Charles, Peter, and Corvin are here?" I choked out.

"Wait- isn't that. . ." Bella asked, looking to Edward for confirmation. He nodded once as I struggled to keep oxygen flowing through my lungs. 

"Honey, is something wrong?" Renee questioned, rushing over to the couch I was sitting on and wrapping her arm around me.

"N-no. Nothing." I said quickly, summoning the fakest smile possible. Gullible Renee believed it though. She stood up quickly and clapped her hands together excitedly,

"Well! I'm going to make my famous Ceaser Salad!" she announced before dashing off to the kitchen. After a moment Bella seated herself next to me, placing a hand hesitantly on my shoulder.

"Carol," she whispered, "you can't shift in the house," Shit. I hadn't even realized I was shaking. I stood up, brushing her hand off as Edward shifted near Bella protectively. I slid the back door open, tossing my rings and bracelet onto the coffee table so they wouldn't break if I could find a safe place to shift. If anyone from the pack went more than two days without shifting, it was almost like a hoard of bugs began to climb under our skin, urging us to shift. The nasty feeling wouldn't go away until we gave into the demand. Sam said it had something to do with that 'there were still vampires around' and it 'went against our very nature for them to be around us with being killed.'

"I'm going for a run. Let Renee know." I told Bella sharply before jogging out of the house. It was already past ten pm from the long plane ride. The chill in the air should have had me shivering but with my high temperature, it merely felt like the brush of a ghost.  

As I jogged through the unfamiliar neighborhood, I mentally cursed the deity ruling over this planet. I nearly stumbled off the sidewalk and into oncoming traffic when my phone rang shrilly. I answered it grudgingly, attempting to put my mind off the fact that I couldn't shift once while in Florida. Stupid forest-lacking Florida.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone.

"Hey Caroline," said an unwelcome voice. I froze, mid-step on the sidewalk. 

"How did you get my number, Corvin?" I demanded. Corvin had been Triston's best friend back in Mexico. It was just my luck that the twins, Charles and Corvin, had moved to Florida and the rest of their pack was visiting.

"Dude, your mom was practically giving your number out like free advice." Snickered the seventeen-year-old boy. "And trust me, she gives a lot of that out."

"Why are you calling me Corvin?" My voice shook. There was silence on the other end before Corvin sighed,

"Elijah wants to see you. He knew the second an unknown shifter passed into his territory."

"How do you know if it isn't me?"

"Cause I can smell it off you." Corvin chuckled. I tried not to be offended. "You also smell like a vampire. What's with that?"

"My sister's boyfriend." I said shortly, spinning around to look for any hiding spots Corvin could be lurking in.

"That's disgusting." repulsion dripping from his voice. "Why haven't you killed the anomaly yet?"

"Can't. There's a pact that prevents it." I huffed before running my hand down my face. "Where does Elijah want to meet?"

"The beach. He thought you might enjoy the good swells coming in." Corvin was so charismatic is was nearly impossible to hate him. "See you tomorrow at seven Caroline." The line disconnected as I shoved my phone into my pocket. I cursed loudly before punching the brick wall in the space between two shops I had made my way into. A large fist-shaped hole was left behind as brick dust sprinkled on the ground.

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"So, Caroline, how have you been?" smiled Renee. I moved my lettuce around on the plate, my stomach growling like a wildcat.

"Fine," I replied over the awkward dinner. "I'm supposed to be going surfing with a couple of friends tomorrow."

"Oh! Really?" Renee exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together. "Your old surfboard is still in the garage!" I summoned a wimpy smile and chowed down on the meager salad. Edward was 'sleeping' while Bella and I ate. I was going to be starving later tonight. Stupid Renee and her stupid diet starving my wolfy need for an immense amount of food.

That night I 'slept' on the couch. I urged myself to not constantly berate Paul or Jared for details on how the pack was faring. I had to meet Elijah and his pack at seven in the morning tomorrow. Maybe they would be kind enough to bring lunch that Christy, Elijah's imprint, would have made.

I finally fell into a restless sleep filled with nightmares of Triston.