Run!
Her wolf cried out to her; even with a wounded, bloody body, she raced, but she could see no way out. With each step, her body felt heavier, and terror clouded her mind as she fled.
She looked back and saw men with guns and weapons chasing her. On the other side, a rageful-looking chief, Dexton, her father, and Kyren, whose wicked laugh echoed through the dark space.
“You will never be anything but a disgraced cursed child; you are a rejected curse that deserves to be abandoned; no one is coming for you!” Her father's voice loomed through the dark mist.
“No, no, you’re wrong,” she muttered. Only when she saw an opening and Rygan's familiar face did she let out a sigh of relief. She ran towards him. “Rygan, please help me!” She cried as she held onto his hands, but Rygan coldly deflected her touch.
“You are tainted by Kaide; I do not want you, and I never did; you will die alone, don’t you get it? That's why I never came to look for you!” His dark voice echoed wickedly. It felt like a blow to her already broken soul; she felt crushed under the pressure of his cold words, knowing that no one was on her side.
“No!” Elise screamed; her body shoots up from the bed, her heart pounding like it’s going to explode from the nightmare she just had.
She felt the walls closing in on her; her hands felt clammy and hot all over as she tried to adjust her blurry eyesight and finally took in the room she was in.
In a milky white room with chairs and a small window by the side, her instincts went into full drive. Still terrified from her nightmare, she could barely tell what was real and what was not. She quickly rose from the bed.
She looked down in horror to see a needle pricked in her hand and something flowing into it. Was it poison? She wondered. ”Where the hell is this?” She croaked from her parched throat.
Fear gripped her as she realized she had no idea where she was. She wondered if the human hunt guild caught up with her, Kyren's men, or even worse, rogues?!
She must have come into their territory; the moment the door opened, she saw a male she didn’t recognize. The young male was sent to check on her medicine and had no idea what was happening.
Elise snarled at him, clawing a hand at the tray that made everything clatter to the ground. The teenage boy shrieked out, so freaked, he ran out of the room fast, locking the room door to prevent another attack. He reported to Abby that he was almost attacked.
Hayden was resting in the tree garden of his estate; he couldn’t sleep, but when his dream was now filled with that beautiful face of the stranger woman, even as he tossed and turned to no avail, he heard an all too familiar whistle from his friend Brady. It sounded like an emergency as he pushed himself up quickly.
“What is it? I have not had a wink of sleep since last night,” he groaned to the male who walked to Hayden.
“It looks like your damsel is awake now,” Brady said, his eyes shooting open. “But she attacked one of Abby’s apprentices; she ain’t too happy about that.”
"Well, sh*t, why did you start with that?” Hayden called as he stood and quickly headed to the clinic. There was a small commotion in the hallway as Abby was seen with her pupils. They all looked scared and apprehensive about opening the door.
Bless the old woman’s heart; he felt sorry for Abby for being disturbed so early. The minute Hayden entered, a sign of relief showed on their faces.
His presence each time brought relief, even though he was the alpha chief's second son. His twin brother and the first son, Holden, never gave in to the position, as he hated being a beta since Hayden was blessed with alpha genes.
Their father had been on his sickbed for months now, and all responsibility fell to his brother Holden and him. He knew he needed to take care of his people carefully, so Holden wouldn’t get involved since his brother had a temper.
“Alpha Hayden!” Abby called in relief at his presence, “She is unstable; she is scared of being in a new place and doesn’t trust us, and I made a mistake. I tried calming her down and saying she needed rest because of the baby she lost. But I seemed to have made it worse,” she explained to him.
“Let me go talk to her; it will be okay,” he assured. He could smell the warning pheromones from the door, warning him to stay away.
He’d never felt this power so intense from a female; her scent felt sweeter and more alluring than an omega's, but her powers felt like an alpha; it’s such a strange and powerful phenomenon he'd never seen.
But Hayden proceeded further; he entered the room, and by the corner, he saw her huddled up, her body locked in a rocking ball, her long red hair covering her face like a ruby river, and only her violet eyes shined so deep that a snarl rang out in the room. A warning to Hayden, who entered.
“Let me go now!” she snarled at him. “Why are you keeping me here? And what the hell did you do to me?” She asked, and he watched and studied her every move, as it fully settled in that she had no idea that she was pregnant before.
But when Hayden tried to take a step toward her, she growled louder. He raised his hands to show her he meant no harm, taking little steps that were visible to her before he bent down to her eye level.
But then she lunged at him faster than he could move; she trapped both his arms over his head, straddling him in the process as they lay on the cool hospital floor.
“Easy Angel,” he purred, "I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Cut the bullshit and tell me who you are, or I will kill you right now.” There was no baiting undertone to it; he saw she’d do it, and he knew she must have been through a lot to not be able to trust anyone.
“We found you wounded after you escaped into our pack territory; don’t worry, we took care of those monsters that tried to kill you,” he said calmly.
He felt her hold on him lessen when she recalled her attack, but she didn't let go; instead, she studied him and asked, "And who are you?” She asked.
“Hayden Blackwood, a member and protector of this pack, we helped you because you were in danger. Tell me, Why would I go through all that trouble if we wanted to harm you?” He questioned.
He could see the mistrust swaying in them; his eyes and voice softened as he muttered, “I wouldn’t hurt you, I promise.”
“Promises are broken easier than they are made; I cannot trust that you won’t hurt me or that you’re part of the people hunting me and want my head for the bounty,” she said.
“I won’t, so let go,” he said calmly.
Elise didn’t know why her wolf seemed calm after meeting a stranger, like he was familiar to her. She let out huffs, not still trusting her wolf instincts, but she let go. Her guard was still up as she pulled away from him.
Her hands caressed her tummy, and for a short moment, he saw something so heartbreaking flash in her eyes—a look of sadness—that Hayden felt his blood boil and felt so compelled to kill for her. But he cleared his throat to push the thought away.
“Why are people looking for you?”
Her gaze turned cold, her hands ripped from her stomach, and Elise pushed all that emotion down into a sealed part of her mind. To show the stoic expression of a cold-blooded female.
Her brows raised in questioning surprise as she stood up from the bed. She then marched to go to the window. “If you’re planning to jump, I have to tell you we are three floors high,” he muttered.
But when she studied him quietly, from his amused gaze to his unguarded stance, there was no sign or knowledge of who she was. He had no idea who she was. “You have no clue?”
Hayden chuckled as he picked himself up from the floor to the opposite wall. “It might come as a surprise that my pack is not fun about news from the other packs; we prefer if things were more...discreet.” He said it with a smirk.
Any ideas about the outside world? A place filled with technology and wolves with white hair, she looked at him. Look at him this time.
Studying his features, his hair was more silver than gray, she peered at the gray hair and then to his eyelashes, which looked like icicles clashing with his emerald eyes. His features were unlike anyone she’d ever seen before and more like descriptions of what she read in books about a shadow male.
“I’d at least like to know the name of the woman I saved and why you had to go through that,” he said to Elise.
“I’m..El,” she said curtly. “Now tell me where I really am if you aren’t going to hurt me, what is this placeI?”
“Well, nice to meet you, El. This is my home, and my shadow wolves saved you.” His next words felt like the end to a puzzle that she had been searching for, as Hayden said.
“Welcome to the Calhan Pack.”