Free Timeless (Immortal Love Series) by Amy Richie

not the villain.
    I laid my head back down on the pillow and rubbed furiously at my eyes. I yawned a deep yawn. Maybe Nicolas was right, I did need to rest. I flipped over to my side and let my eyes drift closed. I could worry about everything else later.
    Before sleep could claim me a scene played out in my head. It was so vivid and real, it left me gasping for air. I was sure it must be a memory, a clue. In my mind, I was in the forest and I was running, running as fast as I could. I heard the sounds of someone behind me. Someone was chasing me. My expression was one of terror and I kept tripping over branches and tree roots. My arms and face were scratched up and bleeding in several places. The sounds behind me were getting closer.
    I bolted upright and covered my mouth. No screaming, I didn’t need Nickolas to come running. Something had definitely been chasing me. What was it? Maybe it was the wolves. I looked at my arms again. No cuts. I jumped quickly out of bed and almost fell. I caught myself and made my way to the stand with the mirror. The bowl on it was full of water and there was a cloth of some sort draped over the side. I ignored the bowl — I wasn’t thirsty — I needed to see if there were any cuts on my face. The small mirror showed no cuts on my face either, though. Maybe the vision wasn’t real. “But it was,” I whispered.
    My steps were surer as I walked back to the window. Trees. I must have run through those trees, to this house. Nickolas’s house. But why? Why was I in the forest? What had been chasing me?
    The only conclusion I could come up with was that I lived nearby and that I really had been attacked by werewolves. But I was absolutely certain that the angel was not my sister. So what did my dream mean? Who was she? I sighed heavily. Every answer I could come up with only brought more questions. A sudden thought occurred to me then, Nickolas must already know who I was. If I lived somewhere close by, he would know me and my family. That is — if he lived here.
    With determined steps, I went over to the dresser and pulled open the first drawer. All I found were socks and other bits of fabric. I pulled one out and held it open. It didn’t look like anything I had ever seen before. I threw the fabric back and opened the next drawer. More clothes. This drawer was full of shirts and the next was filled with pants.
    These must be men’s clothes, I concluded after taking stock of my own clothing. All I had on was a tight fitting shirt made of a thin white fabric and short pants of a similar style. I turned to look around the room for any other items that would prove this was Nickolas’s room. There was a door that I hadn’t seen before. I quickly went and pulled open the door. More clothes hung there in a very small room. I was confused. How many places did one need to put their clothes?
    I backed out of the small room and shut the door. I pressed my back against the cool wood of the door. He must live here. So he knew my family. After only a moment of hesitation I made my way to the doorway that Nickolas had disappeared through earlier. He had said he wouldn’t go far; I needed to find him while my memory was still clear. Maybe he could fill in some missing pieces.
    I was a little hesitant about leaving the safety of the bedroom. I hadn’t been out of it yet, and Nickolas had told me to rest. He seemed nice enough but would he be mad at me if I disobeyed him? I bit the inside of my lip. Well, I wasn’t going to be able to rest until I knew so before I could change my mind I ducked through the doorway.
    The house was very simple in its arrangement. There was a large open area with a dead animal on the floor. I crinkled my nose in distaste. “Eww,” I whispered. Against one wall were two chairs made of wood and a hole cut out of the wall. The hole was full of black stuff. From where I was standing it looked almost like ashes. “Eww,” I said again. Situated between the dead animal and