Submit to the beast? Never!

2:sacrifice

After thinking for some seconds, she hurriedly packed up her kit. She raised her head and looked at him, his eyes were still shut, and he looked quite pale as well. Her chest tightened with a pang of guilt as she reconsidered just abandoning him there.

She clutched her trauma bag tightly beside her hips as she stood to her feet. The smell of the damp trees struck something deep in her heart as she took one last look at him.

"Yup, I need to leave," she muttered to herself and immediately started running forward. The scent of rain-soaked forest filled her nostrils as she pushed through the thick bushes, her legs sinking into the uneven ground. She didn’t look back, not even for a second.

"Argh!" she groaned as her shoes sank into the soft soil. "What the...?" she cursed, shaking the mud off her aching feet. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to gauge just how long the path ahead was.

After running for another twenty minutes, she reached a fork at the end of the forest path and spotted a small clearing.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out, bending down and resting her hands on her knees as she gasped for air. Taking another deep breath, she approached a nearby house cautiously, taking gentle, slow steps so her feet wouldn’t make too much noise.

"Is anyone there?" she asked, turning her head from left to right.

"Helloooo?" Her voice echoed into the night air.

"Anyone home?" She asked again, her eyes scanning the environment. She stopped suddenly when she noticed some clothes spread out on a line to dry.

"Oh, thank God." Without a second thought, her legs skidded as she ran toward the line. She grabbed a set of clothes and instantly changed into them. She felt clean—and a bit safer. With a heavy sigh, she sat on a block. As she looked around, her legs began shaking so she wrapped her arms around herself to steady herself.

She had to find a way out of here. The sounds of crickets filled the air, and goosebumps rose on her skin as her eyes wandered through the darkness suspiciously.

"It's just crickets," she tried to comfort herself, rubbing her arms. "You'll be fine, Irene."

The man she had just left... he was probably just a psychiatric patient, she reasoned. But then, why was he hit by an arrow?

“Nah," she shook her head, "it was probably some movie stuff."

"How dare you break into my home?" a loud growl broke through her thoughts.

Irene’s head straightened and she instantly bolted upright as a figure ran into her view. The figure was holding a long iron poker, pointing it towards Irene.

"Hold on, hold on!" Irene lifted her hands and hurriedly started backing away. "I can explain!"

"You’re putting on my clothes!" the lady snarled, the sound vibrating from deep in her chest. "Look, I may be some wolfless omega, but I’ve got tools!" She narrowed her eyes on Irene, taking steps toward her. “Don’t dare me, else I’ll dig this poker into your heart."

"Look, I’m sorry!" Irene shouted, taking another step backward, she held her medkit against her chest. "I met…,” she swallowed in fear, her eyes closing in on the poker in her hand. “..there was a man back there in the bushes. I think he’s gone crazy or so… he keeps talking about wolves, Alphas, and some silver-tipped arrows…"

"What!?" The woman’s eyes bulged and she instantly stopped in her tracks. "What the hell are you saying? Which man?!"

"Never mind!" Irene rolled her eyes. "He’s either mentally ill or they were acting in a movie. But why the hell was he wearing contacts? I saw his eyes change color."

"Contacts? what are you talking about? An Alpha?" The woman hissed. She bent her head, staring at Irene. "I’ve not seen your face before. Are you from a neighboring pack?"

"Pack?" Irene laughed. "What the hell are you saying? Are you insane too? Look, I’m just a nurse who was brought here. I’m telling you there’s a man who is saying he’s the Alpha in the woods. I left him there when he kept talking about the silver that hit him…"

The woman’s face lost all of its color, and she instantly shot the poker into the ground. "Silver? He was hit with silver?!"

"Yeah, I think he also mentioned wolfsbane," Irene rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Can I use your phone now, please? I need to call my brother."

The woman grabbed Irene’s arm so tightly that it hurt. "Take me to him. Now!"

"Hey! You’re hurting me!" Irene shook her arm, trying to wriggle from her hold. "Let me go—"

"NO! If he was hit with silver, and you left him there, he will be dying by now. If he dies on my land, the Council will burn this house with me inside!" she panicked. "So move it!" She shouted.

"f**k!" Irene snapped as she shook the woman's hand off her. "Okay, okay! I’ll lead the way, just let me go!"

Irene led the way, returning on the path she had left. "Crazy people," she muttered under her breath.

She turned to the lady beside her, "I’m sure when you see the man and the clothes he’s wearing, you’ll see he’s insane."

The lady remained silent and was now shaking her head, her jaw tightening. Why was the woman looking so serious?

"There he is," Irene said as she saw the man, lying exactly where she had left him. His skin looked pale gray, and few dark veins had branched out of the wound like a spiderweb.

Taome instantly ran to the man’s side. "Oh Moon Goddess...!" she dropped to her knees, her mouth gaping in pure horror. "You i***t!" Taome turned and shouted at Irene. "This is f*****g real! Don’t you know him? This is the Alpha!" she yelled at Irene. "If he dies, the whole pack will fall apart!"

Pack? Irene turned her head. What the hell was the lady talking about?

"Are… are you being serious?" Irene’s voice shuddered as she asked—the slow possibility of a different reality was beginning to work its way into her mind.

"f**k!" Taome hissed. "We have to go!" She rose up to her feet and grabbed Irene by the wrist, pulling her into the bushes. "Come on! We’ve got to go. Now! If anyone sees us here, they’ll assume we tried to kill him.”

"Wh—what?!" Irene’s jaw dropped. "I’m just a nurse!" she panicked. "Why would anyone think that I—"

Huuuuuuuu— The sound of weird chants filled the air.

"f**k! Get down!" Taome grabbed Irene’s hand and pulled Irene to the ground. Together they both tiptoed to another corner of a bush.

"Who are they?" Irene asked.

"Shush..." Taome placed a finger on her lips. "They’re the hunting group the Alpha just assigned."

"Hunting group?" Irene asked. "What animals are they hunting for?"

Taome’s eyes scanned the bush. "Not animals, it’s us!"

Irene’s eyes bulged.

"Yeah, they’re looking for a woman to sacrifice to appease the Moon Goddess."

"Sacrifice? That’s insane, that’s kidnapping!" Irene’s voice rose.

"Shush!" Taome quickly clasped a hand over Irene’s mouth. "Keep quiet!" she hushed.

Irene’s eyes glistened with tears as they both watched men emerge from behind a line of trees. The men moved so swiftly that even in the darkness, it was impossible not to notice them. Goosebumps rose all over Irene’s skin as she felt the men’s eyes scanning the area they were hidden.

"Alpha—!" One of the men shouted, instantly troops of men ran in the man’s direction. Irene watched as the man bent to his knees and stretched out his hand to touch the wound.

"The wound is still fresh,” the man growled, his hand gently grazed the suture, “and there’s some sort of thread in it?” the man turned to the men around him, "scan the surroundings. I’m sure whoever did this can’t be so far away."

Irene held her breath as she turned wide-eyed to Taome.

"Whoever you are, I know you can hear me, just come out now!" the man shouted into the air. He turned to the man beside him, "we need to rush the Alpha to the healer.”

"You and you," the leader pointed out some huge guards and they ran up to him, "get him to the vehicle and straight to the healer." The men nodded and instantly bent to carry the wounded Alpha.

"The rest of you quickly spread out, I can feel some presence here," the leader ordered.

"Damn, we’re finished," Irene panicked.

"Keep quiet!" Taome snapped.

"I will not ask a third time. Come out, or I’ll burn this place up!" The man’s voice was closer now. Irene knew it wouldn’t be long before the man was right in front of them, hence she stood hurriedly, raising her hands in surrender, and Taome followed.

"I swear to God I found him like that!" Irene cried out.

“Come forward,” the man ordered them and both of them moved forward, stopping just a few feet in front of him.

"You’re a scavenger," the man spat, eyeing Taome disgustingly. His eyes darted to Irene and he walked to her, closing the distance between them.

Irene’s breath stuck in her throat as the man stopped right in front of her. "I’ve not seen this one before," he said with glee as he raised her chin.

“Perfect!" he called out as he turned his head to the troops. "Send word to the other troops to stop the hunt. We’ve found the perfect sacrifice!"