The Hunter, The Hybrid and the Vampire... A Royal Disaster

Colours... so many colours. Pink, red, blue, any colour you could imagine I was staring at. The fabric lined up in a colour-cordinated fashion along the rack, lighter colours to begin with before the darker tones descended along the metal rail. What was I looking for again? “See any you like?" Josie's voice echoed from behind. The sound of her heels clacking against the surface followed shortly after, as she quickly joined my side. Furrowing my brows, I turned to face her. "Earth to Willow? Any birthday dress potentials here?" She waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me back to reality. Right, birthday dress. How could I forget? It wasn't that I wasn't excited for my birthday, but I wasn't exactly excited either. Everyone seems to anxiously wait for the day they turn 21, you're officially an adult at that point, right? The worlds your oyster and so on... But I'd always experienced this strange sensation of dread whenever my 21st was mentioned, almost as if everything would change. Everyone glared at me like I was crazy whenever I mentioned something of the sort, but this nagging feeling within me wouldn't subdue. I blinked at my friend, redirecting my attention back to her. "Sorry, I completely spaced out." I mumbled, not failing to notice the frown on her face grow. "Birthday dresses, right. Let's see." I put on my most excited smile, turning to face the dresses yet again as I inhaled a deep breath. "Everything alright in there, Willow?" Josie eyed me cautiously. "You seem more distracted than usual today." She pointed out, not incorrectly. I most definitely was. A line drew between my brows as I waved my hand, dismissing her comment. "I'm just tired, I've not been sleeping well." I muttered, tracing my fingers along the dresses hanging off the rack. “Maybe it's from the stress of your party?" Josie queried, sliding the hangers forward one-by-one as she inspected each dress. I causally shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah, maybe that's it." That definitely was not it. I'd been having these dreams over the last few weeks, they had started off once or twice a week before escalating to practically everytime I closed my eyes. It wasn't as though they were scary dreams per say, but they felt so real. I woke up every morning feeling more exhausted than I did when I went to sleep. It always started in the exact same place, I'd be standing in the middle of a beautiful meadow filled with weeping willow trees and grass beds lined with daisies and peonies. I hear a voice call out my name in the distance, beckoning me to them. Without thinking, I would follow the sound of the voice, before finding myself deeper and deeper within the surrounding woods. My bare feet would ache as though I had been walking miles, yet I could never remember the actual journey from the meadow. As I continued following the voice, another would echo around me. They both whispered my name, drawing me in as though my sanity depended on it. The pace of my movements would quicken until I was essentially running through the woods, weaving between tree stumps and jumping over the overgrown roots, desperately trying to reach the two calling out for me. Eventually, I'd find myself at the edge of a peaceful stream. The waves would subtly crash against the rocks as the water flowed through the stone bank at a steady pace. As relaxing as the stream was though, it was never what captured my attention. On the other side of the stream stood two men with their bare backs to me, forcing my eyes to trail along the lines of their delts with each subtle movement. They stood at an unreasonable height, even from across the bank I knew they would tower over me, like I was a toy they would be able to pick up and put in their pockets. My breathing seemed to completely still as my heart pounded against my chest, waiting for them to turn around and acknowledge me. The need to see their faces was unnerving, but overwhelming. The brunette always turned first, wearing a smile that stopped my heart in its tracks. His emerald eyes pierced through me, making me feel naked under his gaze. His quiffed, chocolate hair rustled from the draft of the wind so much that I swore I could smell the his apple-scented shampoo even from the distance. His chiseled jaw lowered as his smile deepened, showcasing the two dimples in his cheeks. My eyes lingered down his bare chest, taking a moment to appreciate the outline of his muscular chest before I found myself practically drooling over the prominent V-line tracks against his abdomen that cascaded beyond his black shorts. Just as I would snap out of my lustful daze, I found myself drooling all over again as the icy-blonde man turned. He was slightly paler than his friend, but no less attractive. Sporting a similar build, his naked torso was heavenly as my eyes fixated on his washboard abs. “My eyes are up here, sweetheart." His cool voice sent shivers down my spine, as my cheeks quickly grew crimson. His full lips were tugged into a smirk, as his golden orbs narrowed in on me. They both watched me like a hawk, like they were the hunters and I was the prey. The sane part of my consciousness screamed at me to run, but no part of my body was willing. The primal urge to be near them, feel them, was overwhelming. My heart called out to them like a siren, like I was drowning and they were my air supply. No, I couldn't leave. Closer, I needed to be closer. “Come to us, Willow." The brunette cooed, holding out his hand for me to take. My feet headed to the edge of the stream bank, my hand reaching out to his, but they were too far away. The bank was 2 meters wide, I didn't have the confidence to make the jump. “You can do it, Willow." The blonde praised. "Then we can finally be together." “Jump, Willow." The brunette encouraged. My legs betrayed any reasoning my brain issued, deciding that they could make it work. With all my force, I leaped from my spot to try and get to the other side, but panic soon set in as the sensation that I was falling took over. Suddenly, I found myself screaming as I fell into darkness, desperately flailing my arms in an attempt to catch something, anything to stop me. The two men called out my name from above, reaching out for me, but it was too late. I was too far away. And then, I would wake up covered in sweat and panting like a maniac, having no idea what the hell had happened. “How about this one?" Josie asked, dangling a vibrant red, satin bodycon dress in front of me. Damn it, I spaced out again. I flashed her a warm smile. "I think it's perfect." Josie grinned, before taking the dress to the counter for the sales assistant to package up for me. I let out a quiet breath as I rubbed the palm of my hand against my cheek, I was not looking forward to going to sleep tonight.