Lena's POV
I woke up looking at the mark on my wrist. I thought it was going to eventually go away but it had not yet faded. It was still there, shining, like a reminder of everything that had happened. My thoughts were a whole bunch of mess. I tried to console myself that it was all but a nightmare.
A bad dream that I could wake up from. But deep down, I knew it was all a lie. Asher... wasn't just a dog. There was something about him. Something that didn't make sense.
I rubbed my hands over the mark again, wondering if it was the reason I was feeling this way, But nothing still made sense. I had to understand what had happened. I needed to know what I had gotten myself into.
I turned my head to look at Asher, who was still lying on the floor. His body was fully stretched out, his fur still glowing a little. He has not moved from that spot since last night, but his presence felt different now. I feel like he was watching me, those amber eyes aware of every move I made.
I stood up, slowly, not removing my eyes off him. But it didn't even make him shift, neither did he even blink. "You're not just a dog, are you?" I whispered to him, hoping that he would hear every word I said.
His ears moved, and his head shifted, but just a little. It was small, but enough to make me wonder if he really did hear what I said to him. I found myself walking over to him, my feet carrying me slowly.
I knelt beside him, feeling a strange sense of curiosity and fear. My fingers were rubbing his fur, but I didn't touch him yet. I wasn't sure what would happen if I did. The moment I touched him, he stood up, his body getting stiff.
My heart skipped a beat forcing me to withdraw my hands back, but his eyes didn't leave me. It carried with it something deep and intelligent, something...more human.
I shook my head, shaking off the thought, it was nothing but my imagination. This couldn't be real. But still, my heart was beating faster as I backed away a few steps, trying to clear my mind.
Maybe I was overthinking this or maybe I was just tired and probably still shaken from the events of last night. But the more I thought about it, the less I believed that it was my imagination.
I looked out the window, trying to distract myself, but the feeling of someone watching me kept coming back to me over and over and over again. This time it wasn't from Asher. I turned slowly to see who it was, my eyes watching the whole room.
Something was wrong, I just knew it deep inside of me, immediately, I saw it. A shadow. outside of my window. Its movement was too quick, I could barely see it to even tell if it was real or not, but I just knew that something was there, waiting, watching me.
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. This was no longer just my imagination. My heart immediately began pounding in my chest. I moved closer to the window, my hand on the edge of its blinds.
But there was nothing, The yard was empty. I looked down at Asher, expecting him to be calm, but he wasn't. His body was tense. His eyes locked onto the windows,I could feel his muscles forming like a volcano, ready to explode in an instant.
And then, without warning, it happened.
Asher's body started to transform. It was slow at first, his fur disappeared, melting into his skin. His limbs stretched, and his muscles shifted under his fur as his body transformed. my breath caught in my throat as I staggered back in shock, trying to process what the hell I just saw right now.
Asher... no longer looked like a dog.
His body was partly covered in fur, but his face was human. His amber eyes, those same eyes that were always watching me from the beginning, were now replaced with something different. He was a man now, but still... but rather half man. His features were .. unnatural.
His hands began to shake as he placed them on the ground, pushing himself to stand up straight from the kneeling position. ''I had to be insane'' I said to myself as I was still witnessing this sight.
I could barely speak, every word I wanted to voice out was getting stuck in my throat, and getting dried on my lips. I staggered back again, my heart racing, my mind racing with messy thoughts. "Lena," his voice was low, rough,. But definitely human.
The same voice I thought that I heard in my head the night before. The same voice that growled at the attackers. My eyes opened in shock and it felt as if the ground was already opening up and was getting ready to swallow me.
"What... What are you?" I whispered. Asher was still looking at me with those intense eyes. His expression changed just a little, but it didn't make me feel any better. His voice was steady this time around as he spoke again, but the words were hard to swallow.
"You don't need to be afraid," he said, sounding serious. I closed and opened my eyes because this felt too much like a dream, this had not to be real. "You're... you're not a dog," I managed to speak, my voice shaking.
He nodded slowly in response, his eyes locked with mine,"No, Lena. I'm not."I... I don't understand," I whispered, my voice still trembling from fear.
Asher let out a long breath, as if he was preparing himself to say something shocking.His face changed, it darkened with something else…. Something intense.
"The mark on your wrist," "It's not just a symbol. It's part of you now. And you're not safe."I blinked my eyes, trying to make sense of his words. "Not safe from what? He took his time before responding back to me, his eyes looking away from me.
"From them."
"Them?" My voice barely heard, more than a whisper.
"They know you're the key," Asher continued, his voice low. "And they'll stop at nothing to get hold of you."
What did he mean? What was the key? Why me? Why now?I kept asking myself.
Before I could even answer myself or ask Asher these questions, I heard something. A faint sound at the front of my doorstep, it started growing heavier, cold "They're here," Asher whispering to me with a low voice,
The next thing that was heard was a loud crash echoing from somewhere outside the house, followed by another. "They're here," Asher repeated, his voice sounding more urgent this time.
I watched around the house, panic creeping into my chest. I didn't know who they were, I didn't even know why I was the key or whatever Asher was desperately trying to protect me from.
One thing that I was sure of in all of this was that I was not ready, I could feel my hands shaking as I looked at Asher, my mind drifting with a whole lot of thoughts. Asher was no longer a dog, He was now a man, or not anyone either.
He was something else entirely. And I had no idea what that meant for me. I wasn't planning on facing whatever was coming, but I had no choice either; it was already here for me.