Running From A Wolf

Chapter 2

The wolf hauled me to the horse stables behind the villa. I found it ironic that a bunch of wolf shifters would own actual high breed horses when they were larger and swifter than the latter themselves, but Kristine's parents were equestrians. It had begun as a hobby when they were in school - that was how they had met, apparently. A little further from the neat, majestic stables, was a cottage mainly filled with dressing rooms. There were cubicles with a couch and table, as well as a full length mirror.

Before I could register the shock of how large the doors actually were, he entered one of the rooms, shut the door behind him, then dumped me in one corner of the room. I sprang to my paws and hissed in a futile attempt to give a braver outlook. With the undertone of mockery in his eyes, it clearly made me look like an i***t instead.

"Any last words?" Aaron's voice had been cold and powerful when he was a human. But in his beast form, the growl was deep and sent trembles right through the heavy wooden floor. My fur bristled and warmth travelled through my muscles, despite the fear that kept me frozen.

I filtered through all my escape schemes, but none of them would work in the situation I was stuck in. Neither was I faster than him, nor was I large enough to fight him. I definitely wouldn't get past the smart eyes of the damn wolf. In short, I was screwed.

With no way to escape, it was time for plan B. Lying usually works when you're a weak girl. And he was a shifter too; it wasn't legal to kill a fellow shifter regardless of the species. Any untoward action, including trespassing, would be dealt by the shifters authorities. Although that would be a horrible fate too.

"It was an accident," I muttered, trembling. "I was hungry!"

You haven't lived your life unless you've seen a cynical expression on a wolf. He looked at me like he was genuinely contemplating my state of mind.

"An accident?" His cold expression didn't change.

"Yeah!" I bobbed my head frantically.

"In the middle of a private estate?"

"I got lost. I was trying to enter the woods to ... practice hunting. I didn't realise that I had entered private property."

"There are secured walls with guards."

"I said it was an accident!" I snapped. "How was I supposed to know -"

"You entered an estate filled to the brim with wolf shifters, and you didn't catch the scent of them?"

"I caught a severe cold in the morning. My nose is clogged," I whispered. I sniffed, and my nostril did clog convincingly. I had spent the better part of my evening shivering in the tree. But of course it wouldn't work on him.

His sharp teeth glinted. "Find a better excuse."

"I don't -"

"Who let you in? Think again before you convince me that a creature smaller than newborn pups was making its way into the forest to hunt, especially in the dark."

"I'm not smaller than a pup. Although i am still a kitten, I am-"

"A kitten? Why do you look like a racoon?"

I hissed, "Camouflage 101, you damn psycho! I had to hide my white fur so I don't get caught-"

"So a purposeful intruder. Barely took a minute to get that out of you," he gave me a wolfish grin.

I tried not to let that observation sting me. "Alright, fine. My friend was there!" I snorted. "I came to keep her company. So, I don't owe you an explanation."

"Is that so?" His deep voice became way colder. The last syllable was said so slowly, I shuddered. I wanted to respond, to relent a little, but fear had me frozen to the corner, my head bowed. He was a predator, and so was I. But in my immature form, until I became an adult, I was a weak and useless small cat. It didn't matter what type of feline I would transition into when I hit adulthood; but right now, the wolf before me preceded me on the pyramid.

I trembled, anxious, as the cold from the marble floor seeped into my skin. A minute of silence ensued. With each passing second, my anxiety increased. The atmosphere was tense to the point of making me collapse. Finally, his claws twitched and I almost heaved a sigh of relief, until I noticed his canines bared to attack. My veins were almost completely iced.

"You have one last chance. Choose wisely."

His large paws were nearing my tiny ones. He prowled slowly, assured that I couldn't escape. His one paw was as big as my whole body. I shuddered, panicking. Killing me was as easy as swiping a claw; no one would realise I was dead. Except for Kristine, none even kept up with my existence.

"I was just looking..." I whimpered and backed further into the corner, trying to merge with walls and escape the inevitable.

Aaron moved closer until he was right in front of me, our paws barely touching. He was too huge. His shadow towered over me. He lowered himself until his wolfish head was a few inches above ground and his snout was level with my whiskers.

"Little kitten," he growled. "Ever heard of the big, bad wolf?"

I gulped. My whiskers quivered. "Can we negotiate?"

He laughed, his sharp gaze focused on me. "Why would I do that? We are natural enemies."

He was right. Dogs hate cats. Wolves hate felines even more. It was a law set down by nature, with eons of enmity burning deep within our blood. I was just a fluffy ball of cat fur in front of a wolf as big as a horse.

"Because we live in a civilized society," I tried to convince myself just as much as him.

"Ah," he grinned triumphantly. "But I am an Alpha. I have the right to kill or capture anyone who threatens the safety and sanctity of me or my people. Since you refuse to be honest, I can make my assumptions."

My jaw slacked. I tried to speak, to refute, but I was speechless. Plan B failed. I was hiding my fear behind a calm facade, when his teeth snapped at me.

"Wait-"

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

He jumped back in surprise as I collapsed on the floor, mortified. The sound of my ravenous stomach was a little bit too loud in the cubicle. Suddenly , I wished that he had killed me and gotten it over with, rather than have me face through this ordeal.

"Gosh, so embarrassing," I moaned, slamming my paws over my eyes. Of all the times, why now?

The wolf blinked. His large golden brown eyes were right in front of me. His soft snout sniffed at my fur.

I peeked warily at him and I was immediately lost within the golden flakes swirling in his brown eyes. The mesmerizing patterns held me with the powers befitting of an Alpha. Without any further thoughts, my paws gently touched him.

Wow. Such a soft nose. My fear forgotten, I rubbed his muzzle, reveling in the feel of a wolf's soft whiskers. I moved nearer and nuzzled his cheeks.

". . ."

His eyes locked on mine. I froze and withdrew immediately, my tiny form shaking again. This was the first time I got to touch a male wolf, and it had to be this terrifying Alpha.

Why was he even staring at me? His ferocious countenance reminded me of a picture from my biology textbook. A diagram of a wolf carrying a dead rabbit.

My pearly whiskers quivered.

"Alpha Aaron!"

"Where did he go?"

"Alpha!"

A few voices drifted to us from outside the stables and my heart sank.

I crouched low. If the situation wasn't this dire, I would not have resorted to kneeling, but I couldn't choose a better option.

"Wolf, please!" I begged. "My friend is one of you, but her parents hate me. If you hand me over, they'll kill me!"

"Not my problem," he replied, stepping forward and lifting me up with his teeth again.

"No!" I struggled. But it was futile. No matter how I twisted or turned, I couldn't touch him.

He dragged me out to the dark fields. A few people were walking towards us from the distance.

"Wolf, I'll owe you a debt!"

"I don't need it."

"I'll give you a full body massage! I'm very well trained and you won't feel a single muscular pain throughout your life!"

"No."

"I'll cook delicious food for you! For a whole year!"

"Quiet."

"A decade, then!"

". . ."

He held me by the skin of my neck, making me feel like Simba from The Lion King. It wasn't that bad, and I might have genuinely enjoyed it if Kristine's parents weren't about to catch me red handed.

"Wolf, I'm scared!" I whimpered pitifully. "Please. I don't want to get caught."

"Too late, kitten."

I meowed miserably. I shouldn't have been so stupid. What if they really killed me? I wasn't eighteen; I hadn't earned my nine lives yet!

"Tell me her name." His voice was low.

"What?"

"Your friend. She brought an outsider. We can let you leave, but someone has to take the blame."

Oh s**t.

"W-what if it's a guy?"

"You already mentioned that it's a she. Now, give me her name."

"No!" I snapped fiercely. "My lips are sealed."

"Then you will die." The cold sentence was said with apathy.

Double crap.

I racked my brain again, looking for any useful scrap of information. Something, anything that could get me out of this predicament.

Oh wait. There is one way. But...

I glanced at the large wolf above me. If it didn't work, I'd be better off dead.

Then I looked at Kristine's parents. They couldn't see us yet, but the speed of their steps increased. It wouldn't take them long to find us.

Mother, forgive my actions for I have sinned beyond redemption by the rules of social etiquette. I took a deep breath. Bracing myself, I let the invisible control I had on my kitten form break apart.

Suddenly, a boiling pain enveloped my skin. My bones snapped and elongated, forming human limbs. Fire burnt through my veins as the fur on my fair skin were shed. I could hear the pops and cracks of my skeletal structure, as my feline skeleton rearranged itself to make me human again.

I whimpered, clenching my fists against the moist grass. My eyes teared but I held back the pain.

A minute passed slowly. Each second was more excruciating than the last.

I fell onto the green grass, my naked body covered with sweat. The pain was gone, but the momentary trauma lingered. I curled into a fetal position and hugged my legs while breathing heavily.

The cold breeze made me shiver. The bare grass under my body didn't help either. My brunette hair fell over my chest, the rest of me was covered with mud as camouflage. I would have begged for a blanket if I could.

A shadow covered me. I looked up to see the huge wolf gazing at me, a fiery blaze sparkling in his eyes. He moved closer until his snout sniffed at my hair.

Tingles shot from each nerve beneath my skin. His thick fur emitted a comfortable warmth. He stood above me, his majestic wolf form hiding me from sight as he obstructed the chilly night wind and enshrouded me with heat.

Our eyes held each other. Nothing else mattered except for those warm golden brown eyes. For a frozen moment, I drowned in those pools of swirling gold.

"Who are you?" His voice rumbled through my skin, so powerful that my bones vibrated even in my human form.

"I..." My words caught in my throat.

"Your name," he growled. "Tell me your name."

"Alpha! Who is that?" I heard Grace, Kristine's mom, shout. I startled, glancing to the side. The crowd had seen us.

Crap. I had almost forgotten them.

With a last guilty glance at the stunned wolf, I shifted yet again to form a cat once more. The process took place in a second since my structure hadn't settled in human form yet. Then, ignoring everything around me, I jumped into the flower bed and darted away.