Running From A Wolf

Chapter 3

Even as I raced further, my ears listened for any sounds of chase. He wouldn't let me off that easily, would he? And they, Kristine's parents, would surely hunt for the intruder who dared to trespass on their estate?

My feet scampered between the tall grass. Panic pounded in my chest as I constantly spied on my tail shadows. I was small and the shadows seemed to be larger than usual. The fear was making me paranoid, but I took quick breaths to calm myself.

My ears continued to twitch for the next few minutes, trying to detect sounds of pursuit. But since all I heard was silence, it was obvious that the wolf let me escape.

Fuck me. I needed to find Kristine.

It took me almost half an hour to make it to the house from the stables. It was hard enough for me to escape as a half foot tall kitten, but I had to hide constantly, well aware that I was the most easy to capture prey.

A while later, her villa loomed up in my view. The modern styled building was brightly lit. Soothing music surrounded the lawn and the sounds of heavy laughter floated through the large glass panes.

Most of the guests were still lounging, enjoying the evening. Alpha Seamus and Luna Grace must have grabbed just the guards to help them find Alpha Aaron. That was to my advantage, as it probably meant that they wouldn't want anyone to discover any flaws in the evening.

I scurried to a familiar tree behind a high window, glancing up at the open panes. The lights were turned on, so Kristine had to be in there. I flexed my sharp claws and climbed the bark. With a sense of well-repeated practice, I jumped into her room.

"Kelsie!" A voice squealed. "Where have you been?"

"My apologies," I huffed, my heart still beating furiously. "I almost got eaten by a wolf."

"What?" Kristine rushed over and covered me with tissues. "Why are you so dirty?"

"To mask my white fur, of course." I tried to keep my mewl steady but I was shaky. I let her carry me to the bathroom. She held me in her arms, turning on the taps to the bathtub and searching for a spare towel.

Kristine was dressed in peach designer casuals, already out of her evening gown. She was relaxed, at least until she saw me, and there had been opened bottles of cream at her bedstand. Light traces of makeup still remained, but for the most part, she was back to normal with her hair twisted into a bun.

She was probably heading to an early sleep. And then I had to scamper in, spoiling her calm evening with my misery.

"What happened?" Her eyes were bewildered, and I knew why. My eyes were misty with a layer of scared tears. In her firm arms, my armour was breaking, and I struggled to breathe.

As soon as she put me on the floor, I shape shifted yet again. Back in human form, I immediately burst into tears.

"Kel! What happened?!" Kristine knelt beside me.

"Boo hoo!" I wailed, cross legged on the floor. "Your guest is so rude!"

Fear, adrenaline, and relief spread through my flesh. I had been so terrified that the damn Alpha would kill me tonight. If not him, then her parents would have. I had seen the natural enmity and distaste they held towards me everytime I visited Kristine, which wasn't very often. But I knew behind the heavily saccharine words and bright smiles that faded when she was gone, they did not want their daughter speaking to a feline like me, and definitely not someone as weak as me.

This wasn't a peachy world, where shifters coexisted in harmony. Or at least, it wasn't so behind the polite societal norms, where everyone pretended to be kind and evolved enough to ignore their basic predator instincts. We all smiled and conversed politely on the surface, but the hierarchy of the shifter world was as harsh as the rules of the jungle, and most wouldn't bat an eye at the violence that occurred between two natural rivals of the forest. Not until it caused war. And even then, the weaker species would be forced to take the blame and submit.

Kristine's jaw dropped. "What? What guest?"

"That damn Alpha of yours!"

"Daddy?"

"Kristine, you're 18," I sobbed, "stop calling him 'daddy'."

"So it was Daddy?"

"No! It wasn't your dad!"

"Then... Aaron!" Kristine gaped.

"Who else could it be? If it was your dad, you would have never seen me again!"

"Wait, what did Aaron do?"

"He caught me for trespassing."

Kristine's lips twitched. "To be fair, you were trespassing-"

"Not the point!" I yelled, blotching my face with napkins.

"But Kel, you're fine now-"

"Didn't you hear me? He almost snapped my neck in two!"

"Alright, calm down," Kristine sighed. She patted my back and stood up. "Your bath is ready."

"Sure," I grumbled. "You brought me here using barbeque as a bait, and all I have been offered is a bath. And yes, let us not forget the near-death experience."

"My poor baby," she sympathized, not bothering to hide her amusement.

"Ugh, I don't know if I'm terrified,or furious. If only I wasn't such a small shifter."

"I didn't expect you to get into trouble tonight, either. I'm sorry, I should've known. Your scent is unique and the party was filled with the best of wolf shifters."

"Let's just go home," I said, drowning in a pool of self pity. "We'll eat after we get there. I can't relax here. I'll clean up."

"Let me inform my parents, then." Kristine handed me a long robe. "I was bored anyway, so I'll tell them I have to work on an assignment."

"Yeah, go ahead," I muttered, exhausted. With a wry smile, she walked out, leaving behind a set of clothes for me to change into. Grateful, I forced myself to move.

The cabinets beside the mirror were scarcely filled. Most of the lotions and moisturizers were from a handbag on the bed. I eyes the various options, settling on the ones I preferred before taking them to the washroom, then returning them to the abg once I was done. Kristine rarely came home unless it was absolutely necessary, preferring the sanctity of her apartment instead. It was closer to school, and also to our soon-to-be university, and she preferred the freedom of living alone as opposed to being the princess of a powerful wolf shifters pack.

I washed myself at the basin while Kristine said her goodbyes. I got rid of the dirt on my face, took a quick shower to cleanse my muddy body, covered myself in the black robe, then urged myself to wear the neated pressed clothes she had laid out for me.

The dirt on my body wasn't completely washed away, but I held back my complaints. I could take a proper bath after we reached home; the faster we got away, the safer I'd be.

I couldn't shake away the discomfort in my chest that the longer I remained within the estate, the higher were my chances of getting caught. It didn't take a genius to gather that only someone with value within the pack could get away with smuggling an outsider into the premises. And all the Alpha had to do was telling Alpha Seamus that he saw a kitten. Then Kristine would be caught, and I'd just be another piece of meat rotating on the barbecue pit.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Kristine to return. Soon, Kristine sneaked me through the back door and shoved me into her Bugati. A pale omega servant behind her held two large bags in addition to the small ones we carried.

"No!" I resisted, pointing at my dirty shoes. Kristine glanced impatiently at them, then rolled her eyes. With a rough shove, she pushed me into the passenger seat.

The backseat was piled with boxes of takeaway meat, the delicious aroma activating my drool glands. I reached out to take one and Kristine slapped my hand with a chastising glare. She directed the omega to arrange the bags firmly. Once that was handled, she sent her off with a stern warning to maintain secrecy.

Then, we locked the doors, buckled our seatbelts, cranked up the radio, and we were off.