2. Mate?
1201 Words
I ran through the thick woods, my feet getting stuck in the snow from time to time as a twig of branches grazes through my bare legs and shoulders. I had no idea that I had thrown the shawl and cloak away, only the cold wisp of air beating my body made me realized that.
The tears rushing down my cheeks were thick, and blinding. I had no idea what I was truly feeling then, it felt as though my whole world had crumbled.
Growing up, I had no parents, it had always been Mother Tanny with me, tending to my problems and all. Right now, however, I do not wish to impose on her the pain of my heartbreak.
I kept running, not caring about the little cuts at most of my body. The upper side of the wood was getting thicker with long dark trees. If I was in my right mind, I would never have treaded into this dangerous territory alone. This road leads directly to the packhouse of the Silver Moon pack, and I had been told to avoid them by Mother Tanny.
But right now, my senses weren't in their right place, so, I kept running, getting deeper into the now dark forest.
The tall trees were imposing enough to block the little light from the moon, but that wasn't a problem, my sharp gaze came in handy. I stopped before a large oak tree with lots of wide branches and dead leaves. I slumped down, leaning my back to the tree while drawing up my legs and burying my face in them.
My body shook from the impact of my cries. And the first memory of how I had met him came crashing back. Have I been so naive not to have noticed he never really like me? People around do say I'm naive and stupid sometimes, but I always attribute that to my simple personality of trying to help everyone and yet, being alone most of the time.
I do not even have a friend to call mine.
The sudden snap of a twig made me lookup. Somehow, the woods seemed to have gotten a lot darker than before. However, I couldn't see anyone or anything. So, I simply put my head back and continued playing all the scenes between me and Marv.
How he had always asked for few coins from time to time, claiming he had not eaten that day because he had no firewood to chop. How I always cook and take the food to his house. Stayed by his side when he was sick and even used the little money Mother Tanny had saved from selling the cheesecakes to take care of him.
I met him when I was seventeen, and on the first day we met at the market, he had told me I am the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
I believed him. Even go to extra miles of wearing short dresses that mostly stops at my knees just to please him.
I heard another twig, and this time around, when I looked up, my eyes caught up with a pair of sharp brown orbs.
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes looked over and found a brown wolf standing before me, with its tongue outside as though salivating.
"My...my," a voice said behind the wolf before making its appearance. "Look what we found, Austin."
I looked around, thinking there was another person, but there wasn't. It then dawned on m that he was referring to the big brown wolf.
"What is a pretty girl like you doing in the woods at this time of the night?" The man asked, his eyes pinning my bare knees with a look that didn't sit well with me.
"I got lost," I replied softly, tucking my legs even more. "I was just about to leave."
"Not so soon," the man inched closer, and I heard a crack as though a bone had been broken and another crack, and a small cry. Moments later, another man emerged and I realized it was the wolf.
However, he wore nothing and stood bare before me with his hands on his waist.
"I suppose you like what you see, beautiful," he walked up to where I sat, tucked some hair behind my ears, and smiled. "It seems you're cold, do not worry. We can make you feel better as well as warm your cold skin. You like the idea, don't you?"
My heart thundered against my ribcage, as I understood what he meant. However, I wasn't about to sit back and watch them do shits with me against my will.
"No, actually, I'm fine," I willed for my voice to sound hard and convincing. But it didn't, instead, it came out weak and broken. "I do not need you to w..."
"You shouldn't have come this far into the woods then. It seemed as though you wanted to find us, hence, the reason you treaded this far."
"I was merely running and found myself here without kn..."
"Hush!" He caught my jaw and squeezed it tightly, while the other man pulled my tucked legs down. "You're going to be a good girl and give us what we want. We won't hurt you..."
"No," I tried to scream, but it came out as muffled cries as one of them placed his hand on my mouth.
I bite him. And that earned me a loud smack on the face, cutting my lips in the process.
I couldn't even cry, let alone cry. It was as though I've been ripped off every sense of surviving.
I had just witnessed my boyfriend cheating on me, and now, I'm about to get raped. Why moon-goddess, why?
"Let her go," a deep, grave voice spoke from behind us. I was lying in the dirt, my face turned away with a resigned defeat that my end has come.
The man who had been trying to spread my legs stood up, a scowl on his face leaving me being held by the other man, who was called Austin.
"You should get out of here before it's too late. You have no business with us whatsoever."
"Rogues aren't welcomed in this part of the woods. You know better than to cross us," the voice said again.
"You can try to stop us if y..." His words were left unfinished, as in a blink of an eye, I saw him lying in a pool of blood, blood oozing from his neck.
The man holding me simply dropped me and took off on his heels.
I sat up, my vision blurry while my head thundered in pain.
"Are you okay?" He leaned before me, and a wafting scent of wood and sweat filled my breath.
I looked up, and my eyes caught up with his golden orbs that seemed to be staring right into my soul. A tingling feeling settled at the pit of my stomach, and I watched as his eyes widened a bit, his lips parted and his lungs moved non-stop.
And then, for the first time since I had shifted into my wolf form, she growled in me.
"Mate."
- Writer
