Lana's POV The sound seemed to be pulsing in my head. A loud heartbeat matching my own.. A rhythm steady and harsh, thumbing in my head.. Beating quicker and quicker, louder and louder. Yet, it wasn't mine. The sudden gush of cold air over my body seemed to instantly bring me back to my consciousness. My mind seemed to had awakened, but it took me a few seconds to get aware of my surroundings. Goosebumps formed all over my skin as the freezing wind blew towards me. I felt my body shivering as I somewhat looked around, like it was the first time I was opening my eyes, when they were open the whole time.. I was standing on the back wooden porch, only a simple step away from the door, staring at the endless darkness before me. I looked down and realized I was standing barefoot on the wooden porch, wrapped in a simple sheet. Panic hit quicker than my consciousness did. The sounds disappeared the very second I became aware of my surroundings, only proving that it was all in my head. I felt a harsh pressure in my chest and realized that my breathing became so hard to the point of exhaling as deep as to feel pain in my lungs.. My mind seemed to struggle getting used to the sight before me. I found myself frowning and taking a step back. How the hell did I get here, was the question I refused to ask myself because it wouldn't be the first time trying to find an answer to that dilemma, and the scariest part was, this time I had an idea or two on who was responsible for that. The first thing that hit me was the plain picture of the three witches, appearing in my head like a sudden hit of terror, a nightmare that that night was, followed by finding Christian unconscious on the floor and losing my mind whether he was alive or not. That was the summary of that night of the ball that was hunting me ever since. Yes, I had nightmares after that, after seeing that picture of Christian seemingly dead.. But I hadn't heard the sound of that heartbeat ever since a few days before the ball when I was in the woods with Christian. And just when I thought I was done with being played like a rag doll by those witches, I was proved wrong. Anger hit me quicker than fear did, because no, I was not scared of those freaks, but was furious with the realization that they kept trying to control me. I could take them down, I still believed in that, but what caused panic inside me was being the one to possibly hurt someone else while being under their stupid compulsion, and that someone else could had easily been Christian. I tightened the sheets around me. How did I even wrap the sheets around myself? I- Christ, I wasn't aware what I was doing. I was practically sleepwalking. And it wasn't the first damn time, so something kept telling me it was Adam who was behind it, and maybe not the witches. I found myself cussing underneath my breath when the cold air hit me again, taking a step back and walking back in the house. I closed the door quicker than I intended, and even though I refused to allow myself get scared, I was already acting like I was controlled by my panic and fear. But my cheeks heated with nothing but anger. Nothing but fury. I was clenching my teeth in order not to yell because firstly it was the middle of the night, and second it wouldn't matter because Adam couldn't hear my threats or swears no matter how loud I said them. Apparently, only I could hear him.. His disgusting dead heartbeat. I stood in the dark room, leaning on the door while holding the sheet tightly wrapped around myself.. I stood in silence for a few seconds and tried concentrating on my hearing, just to check if there was something unusual that I could hear.. But there wasn't. The silence was so thick, it was almost buzzing in my ears. I managed to find the switch with my hand somehow, turning on the lights in the kitchen since the back door were between the fireplace area and the kitchen. The fire was off of course, and not a single sound crept in. The wooden house had some spell on it so it was invisible to others, which was supposed to make me feel safe.. But I felt even more paranoid because I was just once again mind controlled by a half dead vampire that was supposed to be hundreds of miles away. The first thing that came to my mind was Christian, and I seemed instantly washed by a wave of heat from the plain thought of him hurt, but the very second I pushed myself off the door to go back up the few stairs, I heard footsteps from that direction, and soon heard his voice. I instantly took a few steps towards the kitchen sink for some reason, not wanting to face him right in that moment because I knew I looked panicked. I started pouring some water in glass when I heard him speak. "Lana," His footsteps got closer from behind as he walked towards the kitchen, but I already started drinking the water and didn't turn around just yet, feeling his voice itself starting to somewhat sooth a part of me. I put the glass away and turned around to look at him, but the smile I flashed him didn't cause that worry to disappear from his face. "You alright?" His voice was raspy and deep, causing a part of me to melt and forget what all that panic was about. The fact that he was in nothing but his gray sweatpants, shirtless and all perfect made me gulp and try to escape eye contact with him, just to find some calming first before I start talking.. But how could I when he walked in looking all grumpy sleepy and damn gorgeous with that messy soft hair on top of his head? The anxiety was still remaining like a stone at the pit of my stomach, so I decided to focus on him and try somewhat forgetting what happened only a few minutes ago. I cleared my throat. "I- yea, I just needed some water." He looked at me up and down and walked closer, allowing a wicked grin to stretch his lips, making me dizzy from how damn good he looked smiling. His hands wrapping around my waist pulled me closer to himself, and I seemed to fit so well to the point where all there was left for me to do was place my arms around his neck and allow him to feel my heartbeat against him because that's how close he pulled me. I felt him leave a kiss on the side of my face, another one near my jaw before I felt his breath near my ear. "You really think that lying is the true solution?" I somewhat registered his words, but had trouble processing them because the question surprised me to the point of me pulling away slightly.. Instead of allowing me to move, he continued. "Tell me, Lana, is that how you plan on beating me?" His voice was changing into a softer, unfamiliar one, and my heart seemed to stop dead in my chest the very second he said those words. I pushed him back with the realization that it wasn't Christian who was holding me.. Christ, how-.. How was it possible? No, it couldn't be him. Adam. It wasn't possible. My mind went blurry for a second as his words repeated in my head. The second I pushed him away, I heard a dry laugh and looking up, instead of seeing a pair of pitch black eyes, I saw bright blues that made me take a step back and hit in the counter behind me..