Chapter 4
1367 Words
Consciousness came back slowly. Pain wrapped around her ribs and skull like a vice. A weak sound slipped from her throat, when she pried her eyes open.
The surface she lay on was soft. She wasn't on the forest floor anymore.
Her lashes fluttered, vision blurring before sharpening onto unfamiliar surroundings.
Wooden ceiling. A dimly lit room she didn't recognize.
Then, everything came crashing back.
The woods.
Fleece.
Kayla.
The wolves.
She shot upright. Pain exploded through her side at the sudden movement, tearing a sharp gasp from her lips.
"Don't."
The voice was low and firm. She froze.
Her head turned slowly. He stood beside the bed. His skin was warm-toned, his hair a soft brown that caught the dim light. His expression wasn't cold, but it wasn't gentle either. She recognized him right away.
Zach.
She didn't understand what she was doing in the same room with him.
Her gaze flicked to his face.
Amber eyes.
The brown wolf.
Her pulse spiked.
"You need to lie back," he said, already reaching for her.
She flinched hard, shrinking away.
"Don't touch me!"
Something flickered across his face, annoyance? Hurt? She couldn't tell. But he stepped back.
"Fine," he said shortly. "Then don't move and tear something worse."
Her breathing was uneven now, as she panted like a chased hare.
Her eyes darted wildly. She hadn't noticed she wasn't alone with him.
The others, they were here. The room suddenly felt crowded.
To her left, leaning lazily against the wall, was the other boy. Leo, dark hair the colour of coal.
Ice blue eyes.
It clicked just like the first.
The black wolf.
He hadn't said a word yet. He just watched her intently. June got uneasy and uncomfortable with the way it looked like he was studying something only he could see. Like a hunter observing prey.
There was a movement near the door. Her eye flew there. It was the third.
The one with pale blond hair, it looked platinum in the dim light. His expression was the calmest of the three, but there was something unsettling in it.
Dustin.
The cream wolf.
He watched her with observant green eyes, she hadn't spotted the colour earlier, they glistened with interest.
Her throat constricted as the realization dawned on her.
"This isn't real," June whispered, shutting her eyes and opening them again.
"Unfortunately for you," Leo, the dark-haired one finally spoke, voice smooth and low, "it is."
Her eyes snapped to him.
"You..." her throat felt dry. "You were the one–"
"Who stopped you from bleeding out in the dirt?" he cut in. "Yeah."
There was no softness in his tone, but he didn't sound cruel either.
She shook her head weakly.
"No... no, you were wolves. I saw–"
"We are," Dustin, the blond one said calmly, stepping closer into the light.
Her body tensed immediately.
"Don't," she warned, her voice trembling.
He stopped four feet away, assessing June.
"Your fear is understandable," he said. "But unnecessary."
"Unnecessary?" She let out a shaky laugh. "I was almost–" her voice broke. She couldn't finish it.
The air in the room grew heavy. Zach's jaw tightened. Leo's gaze darkened.
Something dangerous and angry flickered between them. She got the feeling of being in the midst of predators.
"He won't touch you again." Leo said quietly.
The certainty in his voice made her stomach twist.
"You don't know that!" She snapped, sitting up straighter, even though it hurt.
"We do." Dustin replied.
Something about the way he said it made her skin prickle.
The infamous trio were–no, are werewolves?
Who else Knew?
Was that why barely anyone crossed them?
She was in a room, alone with these unnatural men. She swallowed, her gaze dropping to her hands.
It was bandaged and clean. Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
"You...helped me?" She asked, her voice softer now.
Zach exhaled through his nose.
"You were bleeding," he said simply. "We fixed it."
"We?" She echoed.
"Try to keep up," Leo muttered.
Shs gave him a stink eye she couldn't stop on time, he lifted a dark brow.
"Leonard," Dustin warned lightly.
She looked between them. Three strangers, three wolves, three guys who had seen her at her most vulnerable. Her stomach twisted.
"How is all of this even possible? This town...do other people know of your existence? Are you the only ones? How does this all even work?"
The words tumbled out her mouth in a rush of panic. She stopped when she exhausted her breath.
She wasn't thinking clearly anymore when she got up and made her way to the door.
The three boys watched her, as confused by her action as she was. They didn't move when she stumbled her way to the door.
June pushed the door open and stumbled out into the night, barefooted and directionless.
She pushed one foot in front of the other as her toe dug into the wet earth. She grabbed on to a tree in front of her when it felt like she was going to fall.
She drew in a sharp breath and began to move again.
In one sudden second she felt herself being scooped off the floor.
Her eyes widened when she realized it was Zach who had lifted her in his arms like she weighed nothing.
She could do nothing but freeze.
"What do you think you're doing?"
He looked down at her. She noticed his eyes glowed supernaturally in the dark and she whimpered.
"You're injured and barely able to stand on your own." Zach added when he realized she wouldn't respond.
June lay limp and helpless in his hands and he walked back towards what she was only now noticing was a cabin. Situated in some part of the woods she didn't know.
Leo was still leaned on the wall as she had left him and Dustin stood in the centre of the room, arms crossed as they watched Zach lay her gently on the bed, and stepped back to join them.
She swallowed before looking at their faces. They both wore an amused look. She was fidgety, feeling the need to offer up an explanation for her sorry attempt at an escape.
"You could kill me." She shot.
Leo snickered at that. Her panicked eyes flew between them. No one said a word.
"Am I...supposed to just trust and believe you?" She asked.
"No." Leo said immediately.
"Yes." Zach said at the same time.
They both paused and shot each other a look. Tension sparked, this wasn't new between them, June observed.
Dustin sighed softly.
"This is not the time," he murmured.
She blinked.
"You're arguing?" She asked, incredulous. "Right now?"
"That depends," Leo said, pushing off the wall slowly. "Are you planning to run again?"
Her body stilled.
"I–"
"You won't get far," he added calmly. "Not like this."
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
"I don't even know where I am!"
"Safe." Zach repeated.
"That word is losing meaning." She shot back.
For a moment, silence settled over the room. Then Dustin spoke
"You're under our protection now."
His voice was calm and soothing, yet his words sounded final.
June stared at him, obviously dumbfounded and confused.
"Why?" She demanded.
Another glance passed between the three boys. It seemed as if they shared a thought.
Finally, Leo's gaze slid back to hers. An unreadable expression danced in those ice blue eyes.
"Because," he said slowly, "whether you like it or not..."
There was a foreboding pause, then he continued.
"...you're under our protection now."
The words slammed hard into her, the air in her lungs disappearing.
She didn't know how to react to or take what she had just heard, it sounded confusing and wrong.
"Why?" She asked, barely above a whisper.
No one answered or offered up an explanation. It left her terrified, more than anything else that night.
It was also then she recognized the unsettling feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach that Sunday after she had seen them at Lukeman's.
It was the strange feeling of ancient familiarity. That was how best she could explain it.
She swallowed.
- Writer
