Chapter 12 Flight in the dark
Tasha POV:
“Neel… you need to come inside. Now.” My voice was soft, almost coaxing, but there was an edge, a tremor beneath it I could not hide. His injured chest heaved as he followed, still clutching it with one hand, the other brushing against the fresh blood and burn marks from the earlier chaos.
He glanced at me, concerned. “Tasha… are you sure? You shouldn’t—”
“Please,” I interrupted, stepping closer. My black eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light outside the clinic. “I need you inside. Sit. Let me….help.”
He hesitated, suspicion flickering across his face. “Help?”
I nodded, hiding the truth behind a thin veil of concern. My wolf hissed softly in my mind, her voice low and sultry, “Claim him. Make him yours. Keep him. Now.”
But beneath that, another whisper twisted with anger: “No… leave. He is a tether. Destroy the connection before it binds you.”
I shook my head, pushing the conflicting urges down, showing him only what I wanted him to see. “It’s just… you’re hurt. I can patch you up inside.”
Reluctantly, he followed me into the clinic. The door closed behind us, muffling the faint wind outside. He eased onto a stool near the examination table, still holding his chest. I could see the tension in his muscles, the sharp edge of worry in his eyes. He trusted me. And I… I couldn’t allow it to happen. Not with me like this. Not with what I had become.
Inside, I moved with deceptive calm, feigning focus on the instruments on the counter. “Let me get some bandages,” I said softly. My hands glowed faintly, remnants of the chaotic magic from before. Sparks hovered briefly along my skin before fading.
He looked up at me, eyebrows furrowed. “You… you’re still trembling. You need to rest too.”
I laughed softly, a hollow sound. “Rest? Me? No… I need to make sure you’re safe first. I can’t… I can’t risk you being out there while I…” My voice faltered. The truth hung in the air: I was dangerous. I couldn’t predict myself.
My wolf whimpered inside, uneasy, yet excited. “Claim. Protect. Destroy. You are hers now.”
“No!” I countered mentally. “Leave him! I cannot risk it. I cannot let anyone…especially him, get hurt.”
I moved closer to him under the pretense of helping with his chest. My fingers brushed his skin, careful, but I let the touch linger, subtle, a distraction. “Lean back,” I murmured. “You need to let me do this.”
He complied, wincing slightly. His trust, his vulnerability….it was suffocating, a chain I could not bear. I couldn’t stay here. Not now. Not with the power thrumming violently beneath my skin. Not after tearing that spy apart, not after realizing how uncontrollable I could be.
As Neel adjusted himself, dressing to cover the wound, I slid silently to the side, hiding in the shadow near the door. My heart raced. “Now,” whispered my wolf. “Go. Run. Survive.”
I took a careful breath. Every nerve screamed at me, every spark of magic tingling, whispering danger and power. If I stayed, I might not stop myself from hurting him. From hurting anyone. I stepped toward the door and slipped into the night.
The cold air hit me, sharp and biting, grounding me for a moment. My black eyes scanned the forest and the dimly lit road beyond. I could hear the distant hum of traffic, the occasional bark of a stray animal, but nothing human. Perfect. I could disappear into the darkness.
I moved quickly, every muscle coiled, every step silent but urgent. I had no destination, only the instinct to escape. To be alone. To survive.
Hours passed as I roamed aimlessly, weaving through empty streets, away from the clinic, away from Neel, away from the tethers of trust I feared would bind me. My hands covering my upper body tightly, my wolf pacing restlessly beneath my skin. “No chains. No attachments. Only power. Only survival.”
But even as I walked through the roads, panic gnawed at me. The thought of Neel….the one human who had trusted me, the one who had seen my chaos and stayed, made my chest ache. My wolf growled softly, torn between possessiveness and destruction. I didn’t know whether I wanted him near or far.
And then, headlights cut through the night, bright and sudden, forcing me to inhale sharply. My heart raced. I looked up, squinting through the bright car lights. The car slowed and pulled alongside the road, blocking my way. My pulse jumped.
“Stop,” a calm, familiar voice called out through the window.
My body froze. It was him. Dr. Neel. His expression was a mixture of worry, relief, and frustration. “Tasha… get in the car. Please. You can’t be out here alone.”
I shook my head, securing my arms around myself securely.“I… I can’t stay near you. I’m… dangerous. You don’t understand—”
“I understand more than you think,” he interrupted, voice softening. “I’ve seen what you’re capable of, Tasha. And I know how hard it is. But walking around like this… you’re exposing yourself to so much danger. You can’t survive alone. You shouldn’t have left the clinic like that. You got me worried sick.”
I swallowed hard, wanting to argue, wanting to deny, wanting to escape again, but his presence had a gravity that tugged at something inside me…a tether I hated to acknowledge.
“Why are you so willing to help me? When I myself don’t want help?"
He heaved a breath, his eyes softened. “I’m a doctor Tasha. I have seen wolves broken like you…..yes you are a rare case but your confusion, this guilt…nothing is new to me. I have devoted my life to save and help wolves like you because I have….I have seen my mom once like this. I-I can’t let anyone go through the misery of rejection. Please, just get inside." He pleaded like his life depended on it. I shook my head,now hesitant.
“You… you don’t understand,” I whispered, voice breaking. “If I stay… if I get attached… if I hurt you… I can’t control it. I… I don’t want to—”
He stepped out of the car now, staying closer to the window, his gaze unwavering. “Then let me help you. Just for once. Come with me. You don’t have to think about the packs, or the blood, or anything else. Just… be safe. With me…until we figure this out.”
My black eyes flickered, the dark magic within me pulsing in response to the fear and longing tangled together. My wolf hissed: “Trust. Claim. Stay. Protect.”
“No,” I countered in my mind. “You cannot understand. You cannot know.”
But my hands shook, my chest ached, and the night around me felt impossibly heavy. I swallowed, voice trembling. “…Okay.”
Neel’s eyes softened, relief flickering across his face. “That’s all I’m asking. Just… Come with me. We’ll figure everything else out later.”
I nodded once, slowly, exhaling as the tension inside me eased just a fraction. The wolf inside whined softly, unsettled but patient. We had survived the night, for now.
But I knew, deep down, the darkness within me was far from tamed…and for Neel, it wasn’t going to be an easy deal. I just wish my wolf won’t get triggered for now.