Chapter 4
As I lead my mate further into the forest by his chains, the screams of the other human boys faded in the air.
Since we couldn't risk them seeing us, we had a special liquid that we used to knock them out and make them forget everything from the past twenty-four hours.
Quite useful for this situation.
My mate's pace easily moved along quickly behind me and I tried my best not to yank too hard on the chains to hurt him.
He was fragile after all. That and I felt crazily super protective of him.
I haven't even spoken to him yet and I'm already invested in his safety.
We had successfully made it a few miles away when the rest of the wolves met up to where we've reached and I saw the human visibly tense up.
'He's scared guys, back up.' I mind linked to them with a growl.
'We need to leave Everette and if he's on foot, it's going to take way too long to return.' Charlotte responded.
'I know but I need you guys to give us some space so that he doesn't freak out.' I said as I looked at them all and they took a few steps back and behind the surrounding trees.
The dude still hadn't looked up at me and I wondered if he was fighting our mate bond or just so scared that he couldn't look at us... look at me.
I lowered my head and dropped his chain in the ground. I stood still as his hands stretched a bit and his gaze barely lifted to look at the chains at my feet.
When he didn't move or react any further, I slowly approached him, one paw at a time.
As I got closer, I noticed that his fists were clenched. His heartbeat picked up its pace but his body was still tense.
I raised my paw to his hands and surprisingly, he stretched out his wrists to me to which I bent my head and broke the steel with my teeth.
His wrists were red and a bit bruised from the shackles and I couldn't help the whisper of a whimper that escaped my lips.
'Do we knock him out?' Came Charlotte's voice in my head.
'No!' I answered quickly. 'Maybe he'll get on-'
But before I could even finish my sentence my mate's body hit the ground at my paws.
Samuel stood in his human form where the boy was just standing.
'What the fuck Sam! That's your Luna.' I growled at him as an undeniable rage took over my body to teach my pack member to never again harm my mate.
"Listen." He placed his finger over his lips.
And I heard it.
The faint sound of heartbeats coming our way at a fast pace. And quite a few of them.
Humans.
Shit.
'We need to go. Now!' He yelled through the mind link as he grabbed my mate's unconscious body before placing him on my back.
'Get out of here Everette.' My father's voice broke through my mind.
'But-'
'Get your mate out of here. We're right behind you.' Came his reply as Samuel shifted back to his wolf and nudged my body forward.
My protectiveness towards the boy came in strong waves as I leaped forward and zoomed through the trees with everyone running beside me.
We could easily outrun the humans, but we had to be careful of not leaving a trail behind. That, and we had to be quiet enough not to alert them of how far we were or worse yet, attract the attention of any lingering rogues.
But the biggest concern I had was to not drop my mate's unconscious body.
That would be bad, for both of us.
I sped around trees and carefully leaped over branches. Quickly enough, the humans were no longer in our hearing range and we were clear of them for now, but we had to continue ahead until we could stop for a break.
Since it's been over twelve hours of running, I knew the pack needs food as it's our main energy source for the amount of running we did today.
Not to mention the fact that we had around eleven hours of running before we made it back to the pack.
This was the most dangerous trek. Me, my mate and a hungry pack in the woods filled with hunting humans and rogue werewolves.
A recipe for disaster.
'There should be a stream about a couple of hours ahead. We'll stop then unless anyone wants to stop now.' I mind linked them.
'We're good.' Charlotte replied on behalf of everyone so we continued our journey.
The blood moon had since disappeared as the earth's shadow began to reveal the silver moon again.
The ritual was over.
But now I had a mate to take care of.
The only thing that seemed to be consuming my mind besides his woodsy scent was the need to protect him.
Our male luna.
Well, whatever the male equivalent of a luna was.
Maybe Máni, the personified version of the moon in Norse mythology.
Yeah, he's our Máni. I declare that was officially his name... well in my head for the meantime.
I smiled at the thought of getting to know him and hopefully gaining his trust.
The next few hours were spent in complete silence until we came across two rogues. But luckily my dad, Charlotte, and two other wolves took them down easily and without much noise to disturb the sleeping forest.
After that, there wasn't any disturbance as the pack quietly hunted small creatures that came in our way to refuel their energy.
I only grabbed a small bunny since I preferred a cooked steak back home than raw meat. Plus, it was a bit hard to hunt and eat while there was a human man on my back.
Around six in the morning, when the sky filled with blue, yellow and pink hues, we finally arrived at a small stream of water where we decided to take a break.
Samuel shifted and took the human off my back before gently laying him on the forest floor.
I took a quick drink from the clear water running through the stream before walking over to lay next to where the brown-haired boy laid.
I didn't want to shift in case we had another surprise attack.
Sam just had to go and knock him out. The only thing that seemed to be keeping me calm was the boy's scent and heartbeat.
Well, he was a man, not a boy. Maybe 20 years from the looks of it.
My wolf itched to hear his voice and know his name but I knew I needed patience before that happened.
I laid on my tummy a few inches away from him as I placed my head on my outstretched front legs and guarded him.
Everyone was off getting more food or taking a stretch break.
I saw Charlotte approaching us in human form from the other side of my mate's body and the closer she got, I released a warning growl.
"Relax Fido, I'm just bringing you some bunnies." She giggled before tossing the dead creatures my way. "By the way Ev, you may want to shift into your human form before he wakes up."
'Thank you Char.' I said to her before she walked off with a smile.
Why did I even get angry at her? She has a mate and she was my Gamma.
Damn this mate bond.
I quickly chewed on the dead bunnies before heading back to the stream and rinsing away any raw meat out of my canines before shifting and removing my bulletproof vest and pulling on some clothing.
As I brushed some dirt out of my hair, I sensed a change in my mate.
He was waking up.
Frick frack! What was I supposed to do?
Smile and tell him I was his worst nightmare or knock him out again and prolonge the inevitable?
Where was the Moon Goddess when you needed her?
I watched anxiously as his body stirred and his breathing became more pronounced.
And as if the world began to move in slow motion, his green eyes finally opened before he sat up.
His eyes didn't see me as yet as he looked to his left and behind him into the forest before he slowly turned and looked at me.
His expression conveyed so many emotions that I couldn't keep up.
First, it was confusion, then clarity and the last was anger. It was as if a fire had consumed him, his green eyes darkened.
But there was also coldness. His entire frame looked drawn back and tucked away.
That set me into a defensive stance.
I cleared my throat to speak up, "Hey, I know you must be confused but-"
"Where am I?" He asked confused, "Where'd the beast go?"
My heart tumped withe nervousness so I slowly approached him, " It's okay. I'll explain everything to you. I promise."
His eyes held disbelief as he scrambled to his feet, "This doesn't make any sense. It was an animal. A dog." He emphasized as he stared at me.
"It was but you're okay now." I stepped before him and put my hand out for him to take. "Let me explain but you need to calm down first."
"And you?" He asked with knitted eyebrows, "Who are you and what the hell do you know about the beast?"
I closed the space between us as he hadn't taken my hand yet, "I'm-"
But before I could answer him, his hand flashed from behind his back and he pressed something cool to my forehead.
A fucking gun.
I froze in place at the contact.
"You're her." He cut me off with an almost disgusted tone and a knowing look.
My mind made a complete one-eighty.
"Wow there buddy! I don't know who 'her' is but I'm certainly not it. So about putting that thing away." I laughed nervously.
Who the hell was 'her'?
The man's jaw clenched and from our close proximity, I could sense his anger.
"I know exactly who you are, princess." He said with calm fury. Like a volcano brewing its molten lava below and waiting to explode.
I gave him a smirk despite my predicament, "We've never met before though."
His eyes shot daggers at me and I had to admit, it hurt a bit.
"And I'm no princess, so how about putting that gun down huh?" I faked a smile.
His eyes gleamed with mirth, "You're right... maybe something more animalistic?"
I blanched as the smirk was wiped off my face.
"What?" I muttered in shock.
"Don't pretend like you didn't hear me now." He tsked.
"Listen here buddy, you don't know one thing about me or who I am." I seethed.
"I don't need to know who you are." He shrugged, "More like what you are."
I felt my stomach drop.
He couldn't have known.
It wasn't possible.
Was it?
"You think you're smart right? Choosing me as if you haven't had enough. Well, guess what princess, you picked the wrong human."
I was about to move but he applied more pressure on my head with the gun, "Now, now princess, I would advise you to not move an inch before I blow your head off."
This dude was insane.
What the fuck Moon Goddess?
I remained absolutely still as I looked my mate in the eye.
What was he doing?
"How about you put that down. You might hurt yourself." I mocked with nervous laughter and the corner of his mouth twitched up in a blink before his face held his coldness.
"How about you tell me why you chose me?" He countered.
I sighed, "Because..."
How the hell was I supposed to explain to him that I kidnapped him because I'm a werewolf and he's my mate?
My mate who had to take up the position of the Máni. The father figure of the pack and my equal. Not to mention father our freaking kids! Definitely not first date material. And definitely not something to tell a lunatic who held a gun to your head. Unless he was into those sorts of things... Hey, I don't judge.
"Come on princess, don't make me ask again." He smirked. Well, looks like he can have an expression other than cold anger.
"I can't explain it." I seethed through clenched teeth.
"And I can't kill you without having your dogs tear me to shreds but here we are."
I scoffed, "I could easily kill you if I wanted to human. I don't need my pack for that."
He lifted one of his eyebrow in question, "I think if that was true, I would've already been dead. And you seem to forget whose head is on the line."
I rolled my eyes at him, "Put down your gun and let's talk."
"Hmm, I could. But I rather like this dynamic. Plus who's going to stop me? You're out in the woods and your dogs aren't around." He pointed out. "Gun to your head and unable to squirm."
I sized him up and decided to play along to his game instead of mind linking someone for help.
I could handle my own mate right?
The same mate that wants me dead.
The mate who most likely held a gun filled with silver bullets.
"Fine." I conceited. "Let's play your childish game."
The idea for now: distract him with small talk before knocking him out. I was faster than a bullet, right? But this close to my head? Now that was the issue.
"Now that's like a good pup." His smirk widened, "Why'd you pick me?"
"Thought you weren't going to ask again," I smirked.
"Fine, don't tell me. Not like it would matter anyway." He said without a shrug.
But it would matter. So damn much. And he had to know at some point.
But was it a really a good idea to tell him that we're soulmates while he's plotting my murder?
"Next question, how far away from here is your territory?"
My eyes narrowed at him, "Why would you want to know that? Already planning your death?"
"Do you ever answer questions?" He groaned.
"Should I even answer that?" I gave him a pointed look with a smile.
"Oh, sweet Jesus what hell have I landed in..." He sighed and I feel the gun ease from the side of my head but it still remained in place.
My eyes focused on his movements.
The way he held the gun wasn't right.
Not that I knew the art of shooting but his posture seemed as if he was just holding the gun up to have the upper hand.
Not to actual shoot me.
But I could be wrong.
And his eyes kept shifting and looking away from me... Almost as if, he didn't quite want to?
Or maybe he couldn't handle my good looks and charms so up close and personal... Yeah okay, when I'm nervous and about to do stupid things, I say stupid things to complete my dumb moment.
"Let me ask you a question," I said bravely and gingerly lifted my chin in a defiant posture.
He chuckled, "And why in the world would I answer you?"
"Because I have the answers you want." I seemed to have caught his attention as his green eyes twinkled, "Do what I ask of you and I'll make sure you get your answers and return to your family."
"My family huh? And what makes you think that I have a family waiting for me?"
"There were humans chasing after us. Considering the strict rules Fairbairn has, your family must really love you to chase after the beast." I noted.
"They're the only thing I have left so you better leave me out of this." He said as his anger blazed through his eyes and golden fleck lit up. Hmm, interesting...
"I will... if you answer my question." I saw his jaw clenched until he relented.
"Fine, what do you want princess?" He asked in frustration.
I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Shoot me."
A flare of something burned behind his eyes as his knuckles gripped the gun tighter and his jaw was clenched so tight, I thought he would break some teeth.
"Why would you ask for that?" He seemed genuinely curious.
I gestured at the gun on my head, "You clearly want to end my life. So do it."
"What's the catch?" He growled.
"You're starting to sound like you don't want to shoot me human," I smirked.
"Fine, you want to die now. Then, by all means, I'll cross this one off my bucket list." He shrugged as he pressed the gun into my skull gain.
Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
I watched as he cleared his throat.
Then he shifted his eyes from my eyes to the gun and then back again.
He flexed his fingers.
His heart race picked up.
His breathing came in short breaths.
Then he placed his finger on the trigger.
I kept my eyes wide open and stared at him.
Our hearts raced together in the same beat and our breaths mingled.
Then he shot his gun.
A/N
Chapter Update: Tomorrow!
Holy Moon Goddess!?!? Did our Máni just shot our Alpha!? What the flipping hell!?
Seems like Finn is just looking better in everyone eyes now huh?
Also Máni is the official term so take notes as to why I chose it :) Hope it fits and that it makes sense.
Song: Novo Amor - Cold
Instagram: @1fandombookgirl
I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!
If you did then please consider:
Voting + Commenting
Read on wolfies, ðº
-Shania. ð¾