“I don’t know what I expected from you Anne. Maybe a little trust and cooperation.” Sal grumbled as he began to walk away. Once he was upstairs, I drank another bottle of water, and used the toilet chair, before curling back up into a ball on the mattress. I willed myself to sleep again.
**********************************************
I felt a strange tingling in my body, all over. I snapped my eyes open looking around. Was I being electrocuted? I couldn’t see a thing, since it was pitch black outside. As I pushed myself into a sitting position, the tingling shot to my hands. My eyes opened wide with excitement. Could I finally have my powers?
I didn’t hesitate. I tossed the throw blanket off to the side and grabbed a hold of the damn metal cuff around my ankle. I focused all my might on the clasp where the chain was secured with a padlock. “Why won’t you break?” I asked the lock through my teeth.
Then I saw a spark. It made me jump a bit in shock, but the lock snapped open and the cuff fell onto the mattress. I did it! I got my powers and broke my chain off. Now how to get out of here?
I walked over to the window and looked carefully at it. I could possibly fit through it. I opened my wings and thought about flying, hoping that’s how it works and was pleased when it did. I managed to fly up to the window, where I unlatched the lock and gently pushed the window open. I was relieved when it pushed out instead of up, I grabbed the window sill with both my hands, steadied my feet and closed my wings to ensure I didn’t damage them on accident. I almost slipped when my left shoe lost its grip on the cement wall, but thankfully my arms were strong enough to heft myself through the open window. I rolled onto the cold hard ground, thankful to be in the open air again.
I spared myself only two minutes to catch my breath, before I refocused on the rest of the plan. I glanced up at the house, to see if there were any windows, and to my relief there were none on this side. I quickly opened my wings and lifted myself into the clear, cool night. I had no real idea where I was, but I needed to get away from here as fast as possible. I let my instincts guide me carefully over the woods and fields. Where were we that had this much wooded areas? I hoped I’d get a sign soon to try to figure out where I am and how to get back to Charlie.
The moon was beginning to go down, which told me sunrise was fast approaching and I knew I can’t fly during the day. That would draw too much unwanted attention. I decided that in order to keep moving, I’d fly until sunrise, then land and walk. Hopefully, I put enough distance between me and that house before Sal notices I’m missing. As the sun came up, I found a quaint little town to stop in. I landed, closed up my wings and walked as casually as I could into town.
People were just beginning to open up shops, and some stopped to look at me. I can only imagine how I must look. Three days since my last shower, make that now four, beaten and disheveled. My hair hasn’t been brushed in four days either. Needless to say, I know I look like shit and smell pretty damn close to it. I made a mental note to try and find a bathroom to freshen up a bit in.
I ducked into a little shop that sold trinkets and souvenirs. I read the label on the souvenirs; I was in a little town in Iowa? Shit, I’m no expert on geology, but I’m pretty sure I’m a bit far from home. So much for hoping to be home by morning. I went over to the cashier with a smile. “Could I use your bathroom? I seem to be a bit lost and really need to use a toilet.” I asked.
“You look it. Here, the bathroom is straight back.” She replied, handing me a bar of soap. I looked at it hesitantly. “No charge. You look like you’ve been through hell dear. I’ll grab you some fresh clothes as well. Any chance you want to talk about it?”
“I thank you for your hospitality, but the less you know, the safer you’ll be.” I appreciated it, but if Sal or Henry come through this town and catch my scent here, she could be in danger. The faster I moved on the better off I was, and anyone I could encounter will be.
The cashier smiled and stepped out from behind the counter. She walked over to some clothes rack and grabbed me a t-shirt and sweater, a pair of sunglasses and a hat. She handed them to me with a smile. “I may have a pair of pants in the back.” She explained as she motioned for me to follow her. She pointed me into the bathroom and disappeared around the corner.
I stepped into the bathroom, turned on the light and closed the door. I spared a look at myself in the mirror and had my eyes popping out of my head. I really did look terrible. A knock on the door had me jumping two feet off the ground. I calmly opened it with a forced smile. She held up a pair of yoga pants, and a hair brush. Thank god, she realized I needed it. “I don’t have any money.” I admittedly was ashamed.
“Don’t worry about it. Think of it as assistance from a friend. You need help, and I can provide this little bit.” She smiled. I let out a little sigh of relief as she headed back out front.
In the bathroom, I quickly closed the door and stripped. I used the toilet, happy to have an actual one to sit on. Then quickly grabbed a few paper towels, wetted them, rubbed the bar of soap on them until I got suds, and began scrubbing my body. I have never done a sponge bath, but I needed one now. I washed the essential areas; my groin area and my butt, under my boobs and my arm pits. When I was done scrubbing, I tossed the paper towels in the trash, grabbed a few more to wet and wipe my soapy areas clean. Then finally dried off. I washed my face, and dried it before I pulled on the yoga pants and t-shirt. I tossed my dirty clothes into the trash bag, and slipped my sneakers back on. I quickly ran the brush through my hair, then pulled the sweater over my head, before tucking my hair under the baseball cap. I tossed the brush and bar of soap into the bag as well. I have every intention of taking my dirty scent with me to lessen the danger this generous lady is in for helping me. I took one more, quick glimpse in the mirror, quickly shut the light off and walked back to the front.
“Feel a bit better?” The cashier asked. I nodded with a smile.
“Thank you. Do you mind if I take these with me? I have a bit of a journey ahead. I’m trying to get home to Kansas.” I informed her.
“Of course. I wish I could do more to help.”
“You have done enough. Thank you again.” I called over my shoulder as I walked towards the door with the trash bag. I slipped the sunglasses onto my face as I opened the door.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and began to walk along the road, just inside the woods. When I found a dumpster a few miles out of town, I tossed the trash bag into it. As I walked, I was constantly aware of my surroundings. If I heard a car approaching, I slipped deeper into the wooded area, or ducked behind a barn to ensure I didn’t attract attention from the road.
When the sun set, I let out a little sigh. As soon as it was dark enough, I took off the sweater, wrapped it tightly around my waist and opened my wings. I lifted off the ground and continued to fly south. I’m not a hundred percent sure which direction I should go, but my instincts told me to keep moving south.
A few more hours passed, and I felt myself getting tired. I can’t change even an hour nap, not with how fast Sal can run in wolf form. I need to keep flying, and hope to find something in the morning. The sound of a wolf’s howl broke through the quiet night air. My heart stopped a moment as panic gripped my throat. It’s not Sal’s howl, I know what he looks and sounds like in wolf form, but it could be Henry.
I pushed my wings to fly a bit faster in a panic. Then another wolf’s howl sounded from a few miles in front of me, and a smile spread across my face. I don’t know who it belongs to, but it definitely belongs to a wolf in Charlie’s pack. I heard it a couple times when they were training. I flew in the direction of the wolf’s howl. If I find this wolf, I’ll be safer than on my own.
Then I saw it, in the woods below me, moving fast. I spun around and flew back to land in front of it. As I landed the wolf let out another howl, then sat down in front of me. I looked at the tan furred wolf, closed my wings and took a tentative step towards it. I know I recognize it, but I still have no ide
a who it is. I pulled off the hat, and held up my hands.
“I need you to shift so I know who I’m talking to, please.” I pleaded with the wolf.
The wolf nodded and shifted. After a few moments of bones cracking into place, Paul stood naked in front of me. I burst into tears and closed the distance between us, wrapping him into a tight hug. He awkwardly patted my back, as I pulled myself together.
“I’m sorry, I’m just so glad I was right. I recognized your howl and your wolf from the pack house. I just never paid attention to who is who.” I explained pulling away from him. “We need to keep moving. Sal is working with a crazy wolf named Henry and it’s possible they're close.”
“Charlie will catch them; he’s moving in from the west. I found Sal’s scent in Missouri headed here to Iowa. Steve’s in Missouri now. How are you?”
“Well, I got my powers late last night. They allowed me to break the shackle they had on my ankle, and thankfully I have wings so I could escape through a window that was near the ceiling. They kept me locked in a cement basement, changed to the floor with a five-foot chain, a lumpy old mattress, and a toilet with a bucket under it. I found a friendly shopkeeper who gave me clean clothes and allowed me to freshen up a bit in the bathroom yesterday.” I quickly explained as Paul just eyed me carefully.
“When was the last time you slept?” Paul finally asked.
“The day before I left. I was asleep when my awaken powers woke me up. I’ve been moving on pure adrenaline since. I know Sal is fast, and he would have discovered my unexplainable escape around eight yesterday morning when he brought down my breakfast and to empty my bucket.”
Paul just shook his head. “You need to sleep.”
“Not yet. We need to keep moving back towards Steve, and you need to tell Charlie to meet us there.” I insisted. “I heard another wolf. It could be Henry.”
“It was Charlie. He’s meeting me here. Lay down and rest. I will keep you safe, Anna.” Paul assured me. “When Charlie arrives, he’ll wake you up. I need to shift to give Charlie my location.” Paul explained as another wolf howl sounded. It was the same one as before, and a smile spread on my face as Paul shifted and howled back to Charlie.
“Does he know I found you?” I asked. Paul’s wolf shook its head. Then I remembered only Steve can communicate with the whole pack. “Is he close enough for our mind link to work?” I wondered out loud as another howl pierced the night sky. Paul shook his head again. I sighed sitting down on the ground. Just sitting down reminded my whole body how tired I really am. I laid down on my side and curled up into a ball as my eyelids snapped shut.
Chapter 18
Charlie
I kept traveling east towards Paul. Every time I let out a howl, he responded from the same spot. What the hell? Why was he staying put? I groaned and let out another howl, he howled again telling me I was now about two miles northwest of his location. Since he stopped moving, I needed to change directions and double back.
As I began to head towards his direction, I caught a fresh scent of Sal. Could that be why Paul stopped? Had we stumbled upon where Sal was hiding Anna? I pushed myself towards the last location I heard Paul’s howl from. If Sal was close, we were going to kill the son of a bitch for kidnapping my mate.
I caught up to Sal’s jet-black wolf in no time. I caught him by surprise and jumped him from behind, biting his right shoulder. Paul burst out from behind a tree a few feet away and grabbed Sal’s paw as Sal struggled to toss me off his back. I was going to enjoy killing him. Sal knocked Paul off, and gave me a toss as Paul went in for another attack. I landed near the tree that Paul was behind.
I stood up, and paused as I saw a chunk of blonde wavy hair sticking out from behind the tree. I peered around it to find Anna sound asleep. She must be out cold, since she hasn’t stirred at all this commotion. I shook my head, knowing if I got distracted Paul and Anna would be in danger from Sal.
I turned back around to see Paul kick Sal off of him. I lunged at Sal again, biting one of his hind legs. I tasted his blood in my mouth as I reared up for another attack. Paul and I shared a quick glance at each other with a simple nod I signaled for us to finish this battle.
Paul lunged and clamped down on Sal’s front paw, as I lunged and bit down onto a hind leg. We pulled in the opposite direction as Sal yelped and howled in pain, just before we each tore the limb, we were biting off of him. Sal laid whimpering in pain, as I pounced on him, pinning him to the ground, before ripping out his throat. His warm hot blood sprayed my fur as I watched the life leave his body.
Satisfied that the job is done, I shifted back to my human form, and Paul followed suit. “Anna’s here?”
“She found me a few hours ago. Anna has wings and can fly?” He replied in shock.
“Yeah. She was out for four days after they tore her back open to sprout.” I confessed. “But I didn’t know she could fly. Is she okay?”
“He was working for another wolf named Henry. They treated her like a prisoner, and man not going to lie she looks rough. Beat up and in desperate need of a good night’s rest. But before you rush to your mate, go to the stream about a mile east of here and wash up. I can clean up this mess, but if she sees you covered in blood in her condition, there’s no telling how she’ll react.” Paul advised. “I’ll stand watch until you come back.”
“Thanks man.” I shifted back to my wolf form and ran in the direction Paul told me. I found the stream and rolled around in it. Trying to get Sal’s blood off of me, but to be entirely sure that I got everything, I shifted into my human form and scrubbed at the last bit of blood.
I shifted back, shook off and headed back to Paul and my mate. When I approached, I shifted into my human form and made a beeline for the tree. Paul began dragging Sal’s corpse away. He’s right, there’s no need for Anna to see that. Sal was her first love; she may be upset if she saw his lifeless body in front of her.
I laid down next to her. I wrapped and arm around her before pulling her onto my chest. She instinctively nuzzled her cheek on my chest, and stretched out her hand to rest on my shoulder. I gently kissed her forehead before allowing myself to doze off for a bit. I know we have a trek ahead of us, and I’ll be carrying her on my back the whole way. I just hope she’s not in the mood to battle me on the idea of me carrying her.
Paul returned and laid down a few feet away in his wolf form. If we encounter the other wolf, we’ll be ready for him, but for now we all need to rest. “Paul, check in with Steve.” I mumbled to him as my eyes began to close.
**********************************************
Anastasia
I woke up with the rising sun, nuzzled up tight to… Charlie. My heart tugged as I opened my eyes to see my gorgeous mate holding me. We were still in the woods next to a tree, but he was here and felt so warm. I was safe as long as I was in his arms. I could hear Paul snoring a few feet away as I smiled at Charlie.
He is so perfectly mine, and he came for me like I hoped he would. His entire pack was out looking for me, and that made me feel like I belong. Are they becoming my family too now? I wonder how close Sal is now. Should I wake them up and insist we keep moving?
“Stop panicking baby. You're safe, Sal won’t hurt you anymore. He attacked Paul last night, we took care of him. I know you probably don’t want to hear that, but I need you to know you're safe.” Charlie told me through our mind-link. He didn’t even open his eyes, he just pulled me closer, squeezing my side with his hand.
I smiled at the sound of his voice in my head. “I knew you would come rescue me. I love you Charlie. I tried to link with you every day and night, not realizing that I was two or three states away.”
“I love you too Anna. I did the same, until Paul found Sal’s scent in Missouri.”
“Sal was working for a wolf named Henry. He was like Sal’s foster dad, since Sal was 14 when he first shifted. Henry wanted me to use my powers to help him avenge his pack or family. None of the stories matched up, the only thing t
hey had in common was that he wanted me to use my powers to do his bidding. I played stupid about knowing I’m a fairy when they were telling me. I wanted to know what Henry knows about my family.”
“That was smart. Did you gain any intel?”
“Well, he and my grandfather fought after he sought my grandfather’s help. He tracked me down through my grandfather’s line. And enlisted Sal’s help to gain my trust. I also learned that Debbie is an elf, because she was the other target for Sal to gain access to. The only flaw in Henry’s plan was that Sal fell in love with me.” I continued to explain about the condition I was held in and how Henry kept beating me. I also informed him about how Sal tried to care for me even though he was clearly scared of Henry.
“We’ll find this Henry at a later date. Right now, I want to take you home, get you a shower and into our comfortable bed. Carol will be relieved to see you safe and sound, but I still call all your attention for like two full days before I share you with the rest of the pack.” Charlie chuckled.
I lifted my head and kissed his lips gently. He adjusted us, pulling me on top of him, as he continued to deepen our kiss. I began grinding on him as his hand tangled in my hair, tugging my head back so he could kiss my neck. I moaned in pleasure a bit as his teeth grazed over my skin. “I want you to mark me Charlie.” I whined against his neck, as I kissed my way down to his shoulders.
“Do you know what that entails?” He cautioned.
“Sophie told me when I asked her about it.” I admitted kissing his lips again. I slid my tongue over his bottom lip, before diving into his mouth. I wanted him so badly, but I knew we had to restrain given the circumstances.
He finally broke the kiss looking at me intently. “We still should discuss it before I mark you. If you asked, I would have told you.”
The Beta's Mate Page 19