C7 To protect you

Lucas went to see Gwen the next morning.

"you have to stay here" he said without preamble.

"I don't know how you got here or why you have the same face as my sister, but you have to continue to stay here. Nobody has to find out you aren't Elena, until she returns"

She couldn't believe what she heard. After what she witnessed during the full moon, he expected her to stay here and risk her life? Her gaze swung up to him

"what?"

"do you have any other solution?" he queried. "my sister is missing and they all think you are her. they should continue to think that way until my sister is found "

"No! No! I can't!" she reiterated, shaking in fright. "I can't spend another night here... I can't...."

"why? what's the matter?" he asked

"I'll die " she wailed. "I was much more safe with my family. Even if they didn't care about me in my world, at least I was safe "

she remembered standing and watching in fright, the full transformation of a human being into a scary animal. she stifled a yelp. she was now very scared. did Magdalena send her to this world to die? she wasn't Elena and they all thought she was. what will happen to her when they found out she really wasn't Elena. Will they all gang up and tear her body apart? she imagined herself being torn apart by wolves. she just wanted to go home. living with Imogen was far better than living in the fear of death. the thought of wolves tearing up her body made her release a distressed shriek.

"you're safe here too---"

"with wolves?" she cut him off

"no one is gonna harm you"

"no, Lucas, I can't stay here!" she tried to leave but Lucas grabbed her hand, in a bid to stop her

"you can't leave this place alone, Gwen. it's the alpha's domain and it's guarded heavily by the sentinel wolves. they won't let you leave without the alpha's permission"

"if you knew that, then why did you stop me when I tried to leave" she gazed at him with suspicion

"to protect you" he said, "let me explain that" he added when he saw the look she gave him

"we can't let Raphael know you're not Elena. If you go out of here and you try to leave the Alpha's domain, the sentinel wolves wouldn't let you pass, there would be a huge fuss, and you would be reported to Raphael"

she stared at him and didn't speak. he had a point.

"come" he led her back to the bed and they sat down

"if Raphael comes to know of your actions, he'll suspect you because obviously, you'll claim to be Gwen, not my sister"

"why can't Raphael know that I'm not Elena?" Gwen asked

"I've known Raphael since I was a child and up till now, I can't predict him. He's hot tempered"

Raphael explained further

"only my sister could calm him down whenever he got angry"

She still didn't reply. she wanted to listen to him.

"when he finds out that you're an impostor, I really don't know what he would do to you, so we can't risk it"

"he would surely find out" Gwen interjected "for, I only have the same face as Elena, but I can't act like her"

"that won't be a problem" said Lucas "I know Raphael would someday find out that you aren't his mate but it won't be now. I'll teach you everything you need to know about my sister"

"what I need to know about Elena?" she asked

"yes. her likes, dislikes, the way she normally relates with others, the way she acts around Raphael, I'll teach you everything"

even if he presented a remedy to her problems, she couldn't help but feel scared. for goodness sake, there were wolves here. real life, sharp toothed wolves. she was indecisive.

"Gwen...." he called

"why do you badly need me to stay here? I mean you could just let Raphael find out about me and...."

"have you punished or killed?" Lucas completed for her

"you and I both know that you don't want that for yourself"

she stared in silence

"I want you to stay and act like my sister because I want to uncover the mystery surrounding my sister's kidnap"

"mystery?" asked Gwen, confused

"when Shawn and Maya see you, they'll be forced to bring my sister out of where they kept her. they'll be forced to come clean"

that was a killer plan, Gwen thought. she was needed here, unlike in her world where she wasn't needed. now she was beginning to realise why Magdalena sent her here.

"who's Shawn and Maya, if I may ask" she'd been hearing about them, but didn't know anything about them, aside from the fact that they were psychopaths.

"Shawn is Raphael's elder brother. he's the Beta wolf, the head of a particular pack. while Maya is Raphael's ex girlfriend"

wow, Gwen thought. She'd heard about and seen these things in movies. she never thought she'd witness it in real life.

"what's their deal?" she asked " why did they kidnap Elena?"

"to use as a leverage. Shawn and Maya know that Raphael is in love with Elena, so they kidnapped her get what they want from him"

"what do they want from Raphael?" she couldn't stop her curiosity

"Shawn wants to be the alpha and Maya wants to be the alpha's mate"

"Raphael fell in love with you, I mean, Elena and he ditched Maya "

Knowing that fact, pleased her somehow, even if she wasn't Elena.

"why does Maya want Raphael so badly?" she asked "her and Shawn make a great team of villains"

"She had always loved Raphael. in fact, she literally obsessed with him. Raphael couldn't curb her excesses, that's why he fled from her"

Gwen had everything set for her to stay here, but she still had doubts which had to be cleared.

"what would happen when everything is over and Elena is back?"

Lucas kept mute for a moment, then answered

"I know of a witch, she answers Greta, she stays far away from here. according to what I heard, she's the last of her kind. she can help you with the... teleportation "

that was good to hear. at least he had a way of escape for her. he had everything meticulously planned out.

"okay, that solves one problem, the next is my safety" she said. "now that it's been established that you can't hurt me, it's remaining Shawn and Maya. For them to have succeeded in kidnapping Elena, they must have an army at their feet. when they see me, won't they send their army to kidnap me too?"

"even if they do, nothing will happen to you"

she rolled her eyes

"what makes you think so?"

"like I said, the alpha's domain is fiercely protected. and even if that fails, you have me" said Lucas "I'll protect you"

she tried her best not to react to what just said. but she couldn't help it, her heart skipped a beat. She didn't understand what she was feeling for him.

"uhhh..." she began "I'm still freaked out by these wolves. I don't want them hurting me"

"I will protect you " he said again

what the hell was she feeling? that singular declaration from him made her heart beat in an irregular rhythm. she stared at him. was this what Magdalena had in store for her when she sent her here?

As their gazes locked, she felt some sort of understanding and desire pass between them but suddenly, the moment ended before she knew it.

His expression was solemn now.

"I'll start teaching you everything you need to know about Elena by noon" he said

"get ready"

she nodded in agreement, knowing she had a whole new life ahead of her.