Embracing Our Fate (Book 2)

CHAPTER 4

“Breech! Breech!”, someone screamed as they ran through the house. I sat up with a start and grabbed Alex’s arm, “Alex, wake up”, I yell-whispered while shaking him. He jumped at the contact and then sat up quickly, “What’s wrong?”, he asked, panicked. “Something’s wrong, someone was yelling out there”, I said. 

He jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on a pair of pants, “Stay here and lock the door. Don’t open it for anyone but me”, he ordered as he ran out and pulled the door closed behind him. I got up and flicked the lock over, then went back and hid under the covers. 

I worried about his safety and I was terrified of what the breech was, I wanted to be out there with him. After a few minutes, I couldn’t stand being alone any longer, I had to go and help my mate. I pulled one of his t-shirts on, one that went down to my knees, and then headed out to find him. 

I tried to mind-link with him, but it was useless. It was like he had blocked anyone from being able to talk to him. “Alex!?”, I yelled out. 

The entire house was completely dark, and no one answered. “Alex!?”, I yelled louder. 

“What the hell is going on?”, I whispered to myself. As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard some shuffling noises coming from the kitchen. I took each step as quietly as possible, trying not to alert whoever it was to my presence. When I got to the bottom, the shuffling stopped and a large dark figure stepped out of the adjoining room. “Who are you?”, he said in a low, gruff voice. 

“Who are you?”, I replied. The man took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. “You smell lovely, almost floral in some way.” 

I took a step back, “Get out of my house!”, I screamed at him. He chuckled and took a step closer to me, “You must be Luna Freya, then.”

I could feel Harlow itching to get out. She had a bad feeling about this guy, and she didn’t want me anywhere near him. I turned and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. I needed to go back to my room and keep myself safe, for Alexander. 

The man’s heavy footsteps were close behind me as I ran. When I was only a couple steps from the top, he grabbed my leg and pulled it back towards him. I screamed out in pain as my face made impact with the edge of the top step. “Alex!!!”, I screeched at the top of my lungs. I could taste blood pooling in my mouth and feel more blood running down my face. 

The man dragged me down a few stairs and then grabbed a handful of my hair, pulling me up to my feet. “Looks like your mate isn’t here to save you,” he growled. I threw my elbow back with as much force as I could muster. There was no way I was going down without a fight, and this guy knew nothing about me. My elbow made contact with his ribs and he let out a grunt as I felt the bones break. He released my hair from his grip and fell to his knees, grasping at his side. 

I sprinted for the back door, pulling it open as quickly as I could and running for the tree line. Hopefully there were guards on patrol at the border, and they would know where Alex was. I barely made it half way across the yard when someone tackled me from behind. The pain caused Harlow to take over, and I was shoved into the back of my mind once again. She had already shifted into her wolf form and was snapping her teeth towards the man; he had shifted into his wolf as well. In the light of the half-moon I could see his matted grey fur and dirt brown eyes. He looked like a rogue, but he smelt like an Alpha, had the presence of an Alpha. 

He looked smug- even in his wolf form- as he took a few measured steps forward. Harlow let out a snarl and lowered into a crouch, ready to attack. This guy wasn’t getting the point, I wasn’t going to let him win. 

In a split second he was charging towards us, his brown stained canines bared. Harlow tried to side step him, but he caught us with his front paw. Harlow yelped as his claw ripped a chunk of flesh from our side. She stumbled a few steps and then steadied herself as he came at us again. This time she wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way and she caught the full force of his attack. His teeth barely missed our jugular and ripped another piece of flesh from our shoulder. 

The air rushed out of our lungs as we hit the ground, the man landing on top of us. I felt Harlow retreat into my head as my body unwillingly shifted back to its human form. The pain was worse than any other I had ever experienced. My side was burning like someone had shoved a red-hot poker into my skin, and my shoulder was oozing blood. “Alex!”, I screamed again, praying to the goddess that he was with the guards and would hear me this time. 

The man shifted back to his human form, his naked body pressing against mine. I put my hands against his shoulders and tried to shove him away from me, “Get off!”, I wailed, tears beginning to run from my eyes. I was scared, absolutely terrified. He laughed, his disgusting appendage jiggling against me as he did. 

He smiled like he knew I was doomed. He leant down and whispered in my ear, “Goodbye, beautiful, I’ll see you very soon.” He lifted his body and looked into my eyes, still grinning. He grabbed me by my throat, then lifted his fist and punched me in the face. 

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When I came to, I was still laying on the ground, naked. Where the hell was Alexander? The blood was still flowing from my wounds, but slower now. I knew Harlow would be working overtime to heal me. I slowly crawled towards the house, hoping that the man was gone and I’d be able to get to my room. 

It took a while, but I managed to drag myself up the stairs and into our room. I reached up and locked the door before pulling myself across the room and into the bathroom. I couldn’t believe that I’d had enough strength to get myself up here but I breathed a sigh of relief that I was somewhat safe. 

I turned the shower on and propped myself up against the wall, letting the water run over me. I cried out in pain as the water hit my wounds and made them sting even more. “Alex”, I thought, trying to mind-link with him. I felt his presence in my mind this time, “I’m on my way back, sorry, the border patrols found a scent at the north edge of our land and they needed me to help them search for the person.”

“Just come back”, I replied, struggling to keep my eyes open. 

The water started to go cold, the bottom of the shower was stained red with my blood. How was I still not healed? “I’m trying, Freya”, Harlow said. She sounded exhausted herself, too. 

I pulled myself out of the shower, intending to unlock the door. My energy was fading rapidly, and the room began to spin. “Alex”, I thought again, this time I barely felt his connection. 

Maybe this was it. Maybe I was going to die too.