“Ginger, you need to leave,” her voice was steady despite the deep internal shaking she was feeling.
“What? No, we have to leave now! Slowly start to move to my car and we’ll- AH!” The wolf was closer to Ginger now, her fair hair falling out of the messy bun it had been in, with her panicked movements.
“I’ll hold it off, you go. Don’t tell anyone you saw me, or… this,” she tried to keep her voice steady, but those icy eyes focused in on her again as it’s body turned toward her.
“I won’t leave you here! I’ll call for help, I’ll-”
“NO! Don’t you understand!? Get out of here!” she growled, slowly backing away from the wolf as it inched closer to her, growling all the while through its teeth which she could clearly see through it’s pulled back lips. “Tell no one you saw me! I’ll get in contact with the police on my own time, this dog won’t scare me again!”
“Again, what do you-” Ginger started to stand and head towards her friend, causing the wolf’s ear to twitch in her direction. Elizabeth took her eyes from the wolf for a second, planting her feet risking injury from the wolf to protect her friend. She stared into her friend's eyes, putting all her strength into her next words.
“Listen to me Ginger, and listen good! You will turn around, go home and tell no one you saw me! You will not remember any of this and you will go back to living your life. Now, go!” She saw her friend’s eyes go blank for a moment, before they returned to normal. She walked to her car, a cute little red sports car she couldn’t place the year of, and began to drive away. It was only after she saw the car make it to the little road she lived off of, that she returned her gaze to the wolf and saw it sitting quietly a few feet from her. She had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “Get lost, monster!”
It’s ears went down and it looked sad about being called a monster. Shocked, she looked a bit closer at the wolf. She hadn’t seen this wolf well before, but she knew this smell. It smelled of her pack, so she knew this had to be the wolf that bit her. Fear of it attacking her again or dragging her back to the pack she wasn’t sure, shot through her body as cold as being dunked into an icy river. She started to back away from it, until a voice hit her mind. It was gravely and rough, so she couldn't make out who it was, only that it came from the white wolf.
‘Stay, no run,’ it said.
“I’m not going back! I didn't go through all of this just to go back! I refuse to be trapped again!” Before she could really think about it, she turned around and allowed the wolf to take over. Leaving the shreds of her clothes and the white wolf behind her, she ran fast not caring where she was going. She heard the padding of paws behind her, so she knew it was following her, but she didn't care. She was fast enough to outrun him, she had to be. She had been taught in class one time to follow scent markers for when she was allowed out on her own so she could find the edge of the pack’s territory. No pack member was allowed to leave the territory, and her wolf wouldn’t let her run over the scent line, so she skirted the edge of the boundary line. She ran as far as she could, not caring which direction she was heading, just not back there.
Too much ran through her mind. She had finally gotten home, finally had a little bit of normal, but he had messed it up. That white wolf, he had ruined everything! She couldn’t even be near her friend anymore. She missed her easy life, working at the shop, seeing Mike, hanging out with Ginger, she even missed Dan. She missed being human and everything it entailed. But she couldn’t go back, not now, but she also couldn’t go back to the pack. She refused to be trapped again.
After what seemed like forever, she was forced to slow down, panting heavily. She flopped down under a bush, laying on her side in an attempt to rest. The padding of paws stopped following her winding path a while back, she couldn’t smell the pack borders anymore either. So she must have crossed out of their territory at some point. She would catch her breath and start making her way back home. She would go to the police, make up some story about her disappearance and try to return to normal. But could she really? She could barely handle being around her friend, much less more people at her job. She closed her eyes, trying to figure out her next move when her sensitive ears picked up voices. The pack shouldn’t be this far out from the borders, so maybe this was humans?
“Hey, I smell something over here!” It was a man, judging from the deeper tone of his voice. Boots crunched loudly through the twigs and underbrush. They were human, or at least human form. She sniffed the direction the sound came from, but didn’t catch anything. She didn’t know yet who they were, but she had to hide. She pulled her legs and tail deeper into the bush, being as quiet as possible.
“Yeah, I do too. Smells human. Smells hot too, maybe we can have a little fun with her!” another, lighter voice responded. Both were male, one sounding bigger than the other. The way he said the word made it clear they were not human. As they got closer, their feet coming into view, she managed to get a whiff of one of them and from what she smelled made her limbs grow cold.They were not from her pack, they weren’t here to take her back and two things became very clear. One, they were Ferals, wolves with no pack and no regards for any rules. Two, she had to escape!
Chapter Twelve
They were standing in the small clearing, only a few feet between their heavy construction boots and the bush she was hiding under. Her eyes darted around, searching for an escape route. The sound of their noses sniffing her out seemed to surround her as she finally saw an opening. Through the bush and around the edge of the clearing. It was risky, but she had to try. Slowly and quietly, she got to her feet. Trying to displace a little as possible, she moved through the bush ignoring the pulling of her fur on the twigs and leaves. As she stepped out from behind the bush, she startled slightly at the sound of a voice right behind her.
“Hey, I smell something else too. I don’t think it’s a human, Jayden.” The lighter male said.
The one called Jayden sounded farther away as he responded, “Oh yes? Pity, coulda used a Turned to order around. What you think it is?”
“Smelled like a Pack-Rat. She still smells hot though, so maybe we can still have a little fun with her?” The voice moved further away from the frozen Elizabeth, as if checking somewhere else.
“Bah! You know that those Pack-Rats ain’t no fun! Besides, if she is a part of a pack, maybe we can have some other kind of fun with her,” Jayden sneered. “I bet her Alpha will want her back, seeing as females are so highly valued among them. Maybe even a mate is missing her!”
“I could use a good scrap! Been a while since I had one. Can I fight the mate this time?” The lighter voice drew closer to the tree that Elizabeth was hiding behind. It was a small tree so she froze and sunk down, trying to blend in. She held her breath, trying to not give anything away as to her location. ‘Just move on,’ she thought.
Suddenly she was grabbed from behind by the scruff, letting out a yelp of pain as she was jerked off her feet. Curling in on herself, she growled loudly, pulling back her lips to bare her sharp teeth. She saw that it was indeed two males, both strong in their own right. Slim though he was, she could see the lean muscles under the one not holding her. Judging from the grip of the male who’s fingers dug into the fur of her neck, she guessed he was Jayden.
“Well well, you were right, Tom. She is a beauty. Perhaps we can have a little fun with her. I’m going first since it’s been longer for me than you.” Jayden jeered behind her. She felt his other hand brush her side and she tried to twist her head to snap at him, causing her body to swing widely in the air. He dropped her with a laugh. She landed on her side, curling into herself and edging away from them and into a fallen tree. The one named Tom stepped up to her, looming over her menacingly.
“Why should you go first, I’m the one who found her!” He shot a look at Jayden as the bigger man took off his shirt. Elizabeth’s body began to shake, violently. No, not again. She couldn't go through this again!
“Becau
se I’m in charge and I say so, now go watch the area, I don't want to be bothered. She smelled really nice when she’s scared, and it’s been so long…” His words ended in a growl as he shifted into his wolf form. He began stalking towards her, and she snapped at him. Her wolf started to push her human mind aside, protecting the fragile psyche from the violence that was coming. Just as Elizabeth felt herself being put into that bubble of protection, she heard it again. That loud growl, echoing all around them.
“Who the hell is that?” Tom said, his shirt half over his head. Elizabeth’s eyes darted around, taking control back from the wolf. Jayden was inches from her, sniffing her neck and apparently not hearing his friend anymore. “Jayden, I don't think we should be-”
He didn't get to finish whatever he was about to say what they shouldn’t be doing as a mass of white flung itself from behind Elizabeth, mouth wide as it clamped its jaws into Tom’s shoulder. The slim man shouted in agony as it tried to pry the white wolf off of him, but it only made him hold on tighter. Jayden finally realizing that his fun would have to be put on hold, turned to the fighting pair and growled low, jumping at the white wolf knocking them all to the ground. Claws tore into white fur, drawing bloody trails down the flank of the massive beast and causing it to release Tom and turn on Jayden. They circled each other, the white wolf stopping only when he was next to Elizabeth and she realized that this wolf could take on both of these others with ease. His size alone was easily double the other two, even the beefier Jayden who had been about to...she wouldn't continue that thought.
Jayden took his chance and jumped at the white wolf again, only to be batted away like a fly out of the air by a massive paw, bloody claw marks across his muzzle. He hit the ground hard, but still got back up unlike his smaller friend. Growling low, the dark grey wolf that was Jayden tried again to get around the lighter wolf, and once again failed this time worse for the wear. The white wolf pounced his opponent, biting him in the neck and twisting his head intending to snap the bones underneath. The smaller foe yelped as he was brought to the ground, the white wolf releasing his neck to clamp down on his foreleg. There was a loud crunch before an equally loud yelp of pain as the wolf submitted to the bigger male. Elizabeth saw his foreleg bend at an unnatural angle as he tried to scoot farther away from the massive wolf. Elizabeth looked up at the white wolf who had forever altered her life, but had also saved it just now. She looked into his deep blue eyes and swore she’s seen them before. It wasn’t until he started to change back that everything really clicked into place. Legs became arms, paws into hands and he was slowly brought to his full, human height. And, she was immediately aware, he was completely naked. When he spoke, it was only a little out of breath, as if he’d just jogged up on the scene and not fought off two werewolves.
“Elizabeth, can we go back home now?” Nicholas said.
***************
It seemed as if Elizabeth had blinked and Nicholas was magically dressed and presenting her with a simple sundress. Did he get that from her house before coming after her? Did he know this would happen and she would need clothes? No, how could he know she was very nearly abused by a pair of Ferals wandering too close to pack turf. With another blink, the two males were tied up and Nicholas was dragging them over to her and leaning over to help her to her feet. When had she shifted back, or even gotten dressed?
“Liza? Can you stand? I can carry you, but it’s going to make getting back a little hard while I’m dragging these two back for Beatrice to deal with,” he said softly, warmth in his eyes. She tried to move her mouth, to say something, but nothing came out. She swallowed and tried again.
“How did you know where I was?” she asked.
“Which time? When you snuck out of the pack den, or when you ran from me after I saved you from taking a chunk out of your friend?” he said while helping her to her feet. She walked carefully over twigs and crushed shells, not having any shoes but her feet were tough. She slowly came to the realization that he must have gone to find one of the duffle bags the pack had stashed away for such emergencies as not having clothes to wear. The dress she wore was from her own closet back at her house, so he must have grabbed that and found his own somewhere else. In the duffle must have also been the rope he used to tie up Jayden and Tom. He gagged them too, thankfully.
“I guess both? How long have you been following me?” she asked. It gave her a distraction from everything she had just gone through, so if she could talk about something safer, like her escape, all the better.
“Well, I thought something was up when I sensed that you had shifted into your wolf form. So, when I went to your den to see what was wrong and you weren’t there, I figured you had gotten out somehow,” he answered. “How did you get out without being seen?”
“I’m just that good. So, once you knew I was out you knew where I’d go. Or did you use some kind of sixth sense to find me that way, too?” She hoped he had had to search for her at least a little.
“Well, I knew where your house was for… obvious reasons, so I figured you’d try to head home. I got there not long after you had fallen asleep, I think.”
“So you just hung around my house, watching me? Why didn’t you drag me back?” She honestly wanted to know the answer to that one.
“Because I wanted to see if you could handle it. Maybe we were wrong and you could handle it outside. Not all of us live in packs underground you know, this just works for us. I guess we were right though, you aren’t ready.” The sadness in his voice made her look at his face to see if it was there to. It was.
“Look, I’m sorry I just… I thought I could handle it, and I realize now that I can’t. I thought I could make things go back to the way they were, but it won’t ever go back to normal.” Her shoulders slumped forward as she admitted to herself what she had been avoiding. She would never be human again, and she couldn’t live a human life. She inhaled deeply the cool night air, allowing it to cool her aching heart at the loss of her old life.
“I forgive you, I just hope you can forgive me now that– well, now that you know why I wasn’t allowed to show you my wolf form. I was the one who turned you. Even now, I can’t tell you why, I really don’t know. I understand if you won’t forgive me or if you never want to see me again,” the way he talked, if he had wolf ears right now, they would be hanging down sadly. The thought almost made her snicker.
“If it wasn’t for you, I would have attacked my friend, never met Camila, and who knows what they would have done to me.” She tried to lighten his mood a little.
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in danger at all,” he growled out, jerking the rope a little for emphasis.
“Yeah, I would have lived a boring, normal life. At least now I’ll have some excitement. I guess in a way I’m kinda glad you attacked me and my… my chickens! I haven't fed them, oh no!” Nicholas suddenly straightened up, looking forward and not at her. She raised an eyebrow at his sudden action. His eyes darted around and he remained silent for some time.
He broke the silence as he cleared his throat. “So about your friend, Ginger was it? I think you handled that pretty well, all things considered.”
“Right, almost tearing her throat out, that was ‘handling it well’,” she scoffed. She admitted that she wasn’t ready for life outside of the pack, but what exactly did she do to Ginger? “Hey, I felt something when I ordered Ginger leave. What was that? The truth now, please since all our secrets are out in the open.”
“Well, I don’t know about ‘all’, but you influenced her. We werewolves have a hierarchy which I’m sure you know of in the pack. Well, you are, technically speaking, ‘higher’ than her, so when you gave her an order she had to obey,” he explained plainly.
“I guess that makes sense? Will she remember anything about tonight?” She felt worried about revealing werewolves to the world.
“Maybe, but don’t worry. No one would believe her. Her friend, who had been missing for more than two weeks, sudd
enly appears but is taken away by a giant white wolf? They’ll think she’s over stressed and dismiss it.” He shrugged as if that happened often. She wondered if it did.
She began to pick up familiar scents, indicating that they were back in pack territory. She felt relief wash over her, inhaling deeply the scents of her new home. Her friend was safe, she was safe and Nicholas… She had seen him naked. All of him. Her cheeks heated up so quickly that she had to turn her face away as she tried to not remember all his muscles, his legs and arms and… distract yourself! She yelled at her brain. If he noticed her inner turmoil, he said nothing as they continued walking. He didn’t seem to be bothered, which she assumed was because he was born a werewolf that getting naked was a common thing for them. She was very uncomfortable with herself and various things about her body. As she was trying to figure out a way to say something to distract herself, he broke the silence for her.
“So, since we are clearing the air here of secrets, maybe you can tell me how exactly the Alpha threatened you? I’d like to know what I’d be defending you against, should it come up,” he asked casually. She struggled with this question for a while. Could she tell him? He did break the Alpha’s rule about letting her see his wolf form, causing her to discover who he was and, while she did want to know more of his secrets, maybe this one was still too big for her to share yet. An image of her dark blonde wolf nuzzling her neck appeared in her mind. She took that to mean her wolf would be there to support any choice she made. With a sigh, she decided to confide in him something she hadn’t talked about to anyone in over two years.
Pureblood (Pureblood series) Page 12