06

Suddenly my stomach drops.

I temporarily forget all of my woes of dread as I remember what Aimee had said to me.

« Don’t go off into the woods by yourself. Stay near the pack. »

As if to go with my immense feeling of regret, my skin prickles with apprehension. Goosebumps pop up all over my arms, along with the hairs on the back of my neck rising.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit ! Aimee would kill me if she knew I didn’t listen. That is if this notorious lurking beast doesn’t do it first.

I tense up, suddenly getting the feeling that I’m being watched. Though I know it’s only a simple symptom of paranoia. Right ?

I shake my head, laughing at myself. I’m acting as ridiculous as Mya and her group of floozies.

Either way, I turn and start back down the same path I came. The snow crunches loudly under my feet, almost like static in my ears that’s loud enough to drown out everything else.

As I go back down the path, my mind goes back to reality. Dread settles in my stomach at the thought of going back to that asswipe whom his mother mistook for a person and named Nathan.

When I slip back into the vicinity of the party, I can’t help but to notice the tense atmosphere of the people and their constant whispering. Or how their eyes are wide and flickering around as they talk to one another.

« It’s true then ? They really ran him out ? » I overhear a hushed voice ask as I stop at the refreshments table.

Out of the corner of my eye, a tanned skinned girl, who I know as Trisha, bobs her head of curls with a nod. « They exiled him, » she says quickly, « I didn’t think they’d ever do it. Not after 3 years, especially. »

What the hell is it with everyone whispering about this lately ? What did Aimee say… the Exiled Alpha ?

I busy myself to look casual, pouring a drink I don’t even want.

« He’s probably already looking for another pack to take over. Oh god, Trish, what if he’s out there somewhere in the woods right now ?! What if he smells the bonfire and-« 

« Sophia, calm down, » Trisha stops the other girl’s increasingly hysterical rambling. « Just… Just don’t think about it. »

« Yeah. Yeah, you’re right, » She agrees, although her voice is quivering. « Hey. Hey, are you eavesdropping on us ?! »

I look up to find a pale redhead staring accusingly at me, assumedly Sophia. I can’t help but to notice the vibrant hot pink jacket she’s wearing, along with a matching headband.

« I know it doesn’t take that long to fill a cup, » she continues, her eyes shooting daggers at me. Trisha, on the other hand, smiles apologetically, as if this sort of thing happens often.

I glance over at her before turning back to the table and picking up my drink. « You better keep your voice down. He might hear you, » I mock as I start back towards my seat.

I have no idea who « he » is, but if it spites her, then so be it.

What happens next is nothing but a blur. While going back to my seat, I feel watched yet again. I look up to find Nathan’s wide eyes staring at me. He stands up, his mouth agape and the color drained from his face. In the same instance that he points behind me, a bloodcurdling roar shakes the ground, followed by high-pitched screams.

I whirl around, coming face to face with Sophia, her arm raised in the air with something grasped in her hand. But that isn’t what catches my attention.

Behind her, leaping out of the shadowy depths of the forest, is a monster beyond imaginable. An enormous, wolffish creature with glowing ruby red eyes. Even in midair it looks ten times the size of a normal wolf, and ten times as terrifying.

I don’t even get the chance to panic or even so much as scream. The last thing I can process is a rock solid object crashing into my temple, erupting my skull in pain. Simultaneously, my vision plunges into blackness. Like somebody turned out the lights.

The last thing I saw was that beast coming straight towards me.

My eyelids flicker open, just barely enough to recognize the blurred blues, blacks, and whites of the night forest. I immediately notice the burning, sharp pain that’s lighting my neck on fire with discomfort. Like there’s canines sinking into my flesh and winning a tug-of-war match with gravity.

I’m… being carried ? Like a fucking wolf pup ?

Cold wind blows against my face, cutting right through my clothes and causing me to shiver.

Blindly I reach my hand out, trying to feel for anything at all. Warm fur tickles my palm, sending a jolt of electricity through my chest.

I remember what I saw. A giant wolf leaping out of the woods, roaring louder than any monster ever could.

A sort of drugged, calm fear comes over me. I don’t want to face this thing, whatever the hell it is.

So I close my eyes and let the safety of the darkness seep back in.

I wake up to a pounding ache in the left side of my skull, right above my temple. My eyes open, which makes the pounding worse. Out of instinct, my hand reaches up to the source of the pain. Instead of oozing blood like I’d expected, I’m surprised to feel the soft gauze of a bandage wrapped securely around my head.

I roll my head to the side to take in my surroundings. Through the trees, in the distance, a bright orange flicker stands out against the night.

The bonfire. I can barely see it through the trees. How did I get out here so far ?

Sitting up, I close eyes close tightly as I wait for the spinning to stop and the nausea to pass. When I finally open them again, my heart stalls.

Staring straight at me is a complete stranger. Though strange is far from the word I’d use to describe him.

As soon as my eyes lock with his, all of my senses immediately pulse in unison, shaking me to my core. All my attention is on him and only him. His smell, his looks, and even the pleasant rhythm of his heart in my hyperactive hearing. Or maybe that’s just mine beating violently out of my chest.

He’s sitting cross legged on the forest floor, leaning forward as if to get a closer look at me. His eyes are a pure obsidian color, and they hold an uncanny resemblance to the glowing red ones I vaguely remember. His messy hair is a brownish copper, which matches the thin layer of clean cut stubble on his perfect jawline.

Even with the small bit of distance between us, it’s clear that his build is larger than an average person’s. Not to mention three times as muscular.

I can’t even try to think straight. He’s attractive in a way no one person should be allowed to be.

His fingers flex in and out, the tendons in his wrists popping up along with some veins in his forearms. Judging from the raw power stored in that action alone, it would be ridiculously easy for him to take a life away.