Caleb’s P.O.V
I arrived at the street with the old rundown houses and moss covered fences in less than twenty minutes, but as soon as I entered the neighbourhood…something seemed off.
I parked in front of the two storied house at the end of the street, which I knew was hers and got off the car. But then I paused mid-step. What was I going to tell Aurora when I saw her? What could I possibly say to ease her hurt? To make her humiliation go away?
I’m sorry? That would never be enough in a million years…not after everything she had been through.
Fuck! I really screwed up!
I walked up to the front porch hesitantly, unsure of what I was going to say, but the need to check on her and see if she was alright was driving me wild. The entire place held the stench of rust and decay and I looked around wearily. The house was in poor condition, and even worse was the stench of alcohol that seemed to permeate from the very walls of this disaster.
I knocked once since the door bell wasn’t working and waited.
When no one answered after a whole of five minutes, I knocked once more, this time louder. When there was still no answer, I used my hearing to listen inside the house.
Everything seemed eerily quiet.
Frowning, I rotated the knob…and surprisingly, the door opened on its own, telling me that it hadn’t been locked in the first place.
Startled, I looked around inside the house, the only light in the entrance providing a dull glow to show a horrifying picture right in front of my eyes. Upturned furniture, scattered belongings and worse of all, broken alcohol bottles lined the whole room, making it seem as if it had been abandoned for ages.
The stench of alcohol was prominent, but underneath it all, another scent hit my nose which made my gut turn into knots.
Blood!
Aurora’s blood!
This wasn’t what I had expected!
Fuck! I had thought that if I was fast enough…I could help her…I could save her…but this wasn’t what I had expected to find when I reached her house…
“Please…” I begged the Moon Goddess, my voice a desperate plea as I fell to the floor on my knees. “Please let her be alive…”
I would do anything to make it up to her, no matter how difficult or dangerous…but all I needed was for Aurora to be alive.
As if the Moon Goddess had heard my prayer, a piercing scream broke through the silence, and my head snapped in the direction of the woods on the other side of the road, where the scream seemed to have originated from.
With a burst of adrenaline running through my veins, I got off my knees and ran towards the woods, my feet lightning fast as my claws extended, ready to defend Aurora from whatever was happening.
I zoomed past the trees, jumped over the fallen logs, the dried up leaves crunching under my feet, but when I finally came to the source of the sound, I felt my blood freeze in my veins at the sight in front of me.
Aurora was on the ground, blood running down her face and her eyes wide in horror…and Mr. Hemming was straddling her on the ground, his hands wrapped around her throat as two other men stood on either side and watched the scene unfold.
“Aurora!” My voice came out a low, menacing growl, and it startled Mr. Hemming enough that he jumped off of her, turning in circles until his eyes landed on me.
Rushing forward, I stood in front of Aurora, blocking her from the other men, who stumbled back as soon as they saw me. The other two who I didn’t know backed away further, as if sensing the danger in front of them, but Mr. Hemming seemed to be too drunk and stupid to realize that he was in the presence of a predator.
“You!” His voice was raspy and slurred, and I could see blood running down the side of his face as well. “I won’t let you stop me this time, brat! This isn’t school! You hold no power over me anymore!”
Mr. Hemming’s nonsensical murmurs did nothing to dissipate my anger. However, it made me regret my decision of not going back that day and finishing him off while I still had the chance. Because if he had been dead, then Aurora wouldn’t have been like this today.
She could hardly sit up straight and from the way she staggered as she managed to get back on her feet, told me that she must have lost a lot of blood. I quickly took off my jacket and wrapped it around her trembling form, reassuring her that I was going to help her. I pressed my handkerchief against the wound on her forehead, that seemed to be bleeding the most, but that wasn't the only wound I found on her.
Her whole body was covered in cuts and little scars. Her clothes had dark patches of blood all over her body, and…oh god! Were those glass shards sticking out of her arm? They were a sickening dark red in colour with blood oozing out from some of them. Aurora's face was twisted in pain as she breathed deeply. Time was running out with every passing second.
"Damnit!" I cursed as I decided on how to get her to the hospital faster. My car would take over twenty minutes but...if I changed…
Could I risk revealing my identity this soon? I can't let her suffer tho-
"L-l-leav-ee…" came a breathless, raspy voice.
"What?" I looked at Aurora in horror. Was she out of her mind?
"L-le-ave b-before h-he h-h-urts y-you...leave p-p-please..." she pleaded while looking at me as fresh tears flooded from her eyes. She had hardly any energy left and here she was, trying to protect ‘me’ from those degenerate men who thought to overpower and take advantage of a teen girl?
"Never!"I spoke with such intensity that Aurora flinched in my arms.
“You should listen to her, kid,” one of the other men managed to say, but the fear was evident in his voice. “We don’t want to get you involved. As for her…her own father sold her off to us to repay his debt. She is ours now.”
My head snapped towards the man in question, and I let my wolf come to the forefront of my mind, my eyes glowing in the darkness as I let out a growl of a sound.
The men flinched back, their fear evident. But I wasn’t done yet.
I turned to Aurora then, making sure she was steady as I cupped her cheek and forced her to meet my eyes. I knew what I was about to do was strictly against our rules, but there was no other choice. Because I wasn’t allowed to take a human life.
"Listen Aurora, what you'll see now…will freak you out, but I need you to be calm. And I need you to know that no matter what happens I'll never hurt you!" I spoke with the same intensity as before, the alpha's power in my voice and watched as she nodded weakly. “Please, remember that I can never hurt you.”
I stepped back and began stripping away my cloths. I watched her eyes widen from the corner of my eyes and she moved her head sideways, closing her eyes shut. She was probably thinking the worst, but I was sure she had no clue as to what was really about to happen. Taking the opportunity, I stripped naked and quickly began to phase.
The familiar pain of the shift filled my body. The pain of the muscles stretching; bones shifting, becoming larger and changing positions. Long black fur covered my body now and my face transformed into that of a wolf as my canines grew larger. The change was over in a matter of a few seconds and the pleasure of setting the inner animal free rushed through me at once. But my wolf wasn’t happy today; it was angry and in pain.
“What- the…hell…” I heard Mr. Hemming’s voice from behind me, and I turned around in an instant, using my sharp jaws to snap at him.
And right then, he turned and fled, the other two men having already run away as soon as they saw me shift. I wanted to go after them, to make sure that they never walked the streets again. But my revenge on those filthy bastards would have to wait, because my priority was something else.
I turned towards Aurora to see her staring wide eyed at me and shaking with fear. I gathered all my cloths and placed them on her lap and then pushed at her arm with my snout.
She whimpered in fear, not being able to move. I sighed and spoke to her mentally, knowing that it would shock her further. ‘Please trust me Aurora, let me help you. I will never hurt you, I promise!’ I begged. ‘I need to help you before you lose any more blood!’
If possible, her eyes widened even further as she stared at me in horror. But finally… she nodded her consent, her lips trembling in fear.
‘Come on!’I urged her. ‘Climb on my back.’
She looked at me with distrustful eyes. I knew she probably believed she was hallucinating. However, all I could do was urge her further by nudging her with my snout.
She finally came towards me, whimpering in pain and still shaking like a leaf. I pulled her onto my back with some difficulty. But once she was safely settled in, I told her to wrap her arms around my neck and hold tight.
And then I ran, past the forest and through the deserted roads.
Aurora needed medical attention and she needed it fast. There was no way in the world that I was letting anything happen to her ever again.