Chapter 5 Five
Warm sunlight played on Danica's skin as the wind blew her wild curls around her face.
Having ultimately decided it was best to not overwhelm her with too much information in one day, Mason insisted they focus solely on her first change for the time being before heading back towards town.
Even if Danica had been disappointed in a way, she was also thankful. Her mind was still on overload from processing everything, and she wasn't sure if she had room left to deal with much more.
"Are you comfortable?" Mason asked from beside her. He had been silent since they left the wildflower field, allowing Danica to be alone in her head. "I can put the windows up and turn on the air if it's too hot."
"Mmmmmm," Danica murmured in the way of response. "This weather is perfect; leave the windows down."
Smiling she closed her eyes and further relaxed into her seat.
She could feel herself starting to drift as they continued on. The quiet in the car and the whoosh of the wind were a perfect lullaby for her anxious heart, lulling her into a peaceful place.
Thump!
The sound of something hitting the side of the car and the jerk that followed caused Danica's eyes to fly open, putting her on immediate alert.
Looking over, she found Mason's eyes darkening as he slammed on gas, causing them to propel forward.
"What's going on?" she demanded, craning her neck to look outside at the world around them. "What the hell was that?"
"Rogue." Mason's voice dripped with fury as a low rumble began to grow in his chest.
Danica could feel her heart stop at the one word that came out of Mason's mouth.
A rogue? Mason had vaguely explained to her what rogues were earlier that day, but to suddenly run into one after just talking about them was extremely unnerving.
Rogues were wolves that decided to go against morals. Instead, they chose to go around killing for pleasure; they craved the kill. Most in the end wound up insane and became nothing more than vicious wild creatures.
Heart pounding, she tried to find the rogue who was roaming around outside of the car.
"Where is it?" Danica asked when she couldn't locate the large, red-eyed wolf that she was expecting to be in plain sight. "Did it run away?"
Beside her, Mason's knuckles had begun to turn white from how hard he was clutching the steering wheel, while claws began to expand from his fingertips where his nails should have been.
"Um...." Danica began slowly reaching out a hand to touch Mason. "I think you should calm down a bit. If you change right now, we will most likely die in a wreck."
Another rumble sounded from him as he yanked the steering wheel to the right, pulling off the highway entirely, and slammed on the brakes.
Letting out a furious growl, Mason ripped off his seat belt and bounded out of the car, leaving Danica alone.
With huge eyes, Danica watched as Mason began to shift from human to wolf before disappearing into the forest just to the right of them.
Feeling like a sitting target, Danica frantically began to look around for something to use as a weapon, only to be stopped by a light tapping on her window.
Slowly turning her head, she found herself staring into glowing red eyes. Again, she felt that all-too-familiar pull toward them as they mesmerized her.
Around the eyes, a handsome face smiled.
In her mind, Danica had pictured rogues as disgusting wolves that lived on the land and barely had time to bathe, but this man standing before her was gorgeous.
"Why are you alone, little girl?" He cooed, captivating her further with his soothing voice. "Doesn't your boyfriend know it isn't safe to leave a woman alone on the side of the road?"
Danica was unable to find her voice as the rogue tapped on the window once more with a long claw that had extended from his finger. His smile broadened as he took in the look on Danica's face.
"You're not scared of me, little girl?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "If not, why not unlock this door? We can get to know each other better."
Despite a small voice in her mind screaming at her not to do it, Danica found her hand reaching for the lock on her door. As the voice yelled further, she was unlocking it.
Beaming, the rogue ripped her door open.
In a flash, he was grabbing her by the arm and yanking her out of the safety of the car.
"Such an obedient little thing," he cackled.
"You talk a lot," Danica's voice announced strongly.
"What did you just say?" he growled, all pretense of charm gone.
"I said you talk too much."
Anger flaring, the rogue removed his hold on Danica's arm before he wrapped his hand around her throat, allowing her to feel his claws digging into her flesh.
"Are you trying to quicken your death?" the rogue asked, leaning in so his nose was almost touching Danica's.
Was she? She herself wasn't too sure about what exactly was going on. She just knew that all of this was completely out of her control. After her captivation with the rogue, she had somehow gone on autopilot. Now some unknown force was driving her words and actions as she remained frozen in some void, having to watch the whole ordeal.
Beaming Danica lifted a hand and placed it on the rogue's wrist. Applying pressure, she could feel the bones underneath her hand begin to crunch.
The rogue's eyes widened as pain flashed across his face.
"What the hell?" he hissed, his voice filled with pain.
"Remove your hand." Danica growled, beginning to twist his wrist as he continued to clutch her throat.
Astonished, the rogue let go and took a few steps backward. Clutching his wrist, he fixed his glare on her.
"What the fuck are you?" he asked as he examined her once more. "What pup has that much strength?"
Confusion raced through Danica as she began to come to once more. Whatever had been driving her only moments ago disappeared completely.
Shaking her head, she stumbled slightly. Righting herself, she assessed the situation before her. The rogue still remained in front of her, the look of rage on his face evident.
Sniffing, he let out a howl of frustration before turning and running.
Not quite sure what had just happened. Danica looked around. She wanted to find the source of the rogues anger and retreat.
She stopped her search as an all-too-familiar golden wolf appeared from the woods. Fixing his green gaze on Danica, she rushed forward.
Flooded with relief, Danica's knees gave out. As she slammed onto the ground, her entire body shook as the golden wolf arrived at her side. It let out an odd sound, like it was trying to speak, as it ran its nose over Danica's body, searching for any signs of injury.
A low growl erupted from its muzzle as it spotted what Danica assumed were claw marks on the back of her neck.
With forest green eyes full of rage, the wolf looked to Danica as if waiting for an explanation.
"Nothing to be worried over," Danica assured, placing a hand on the wolf's back. "He didn't do anything to me, I promise."
She felt the wolf's body tense and then relax under her touch.
Interest began to run through her as she realized that while Mason was in his wolf form, the sensations she felt when they touched didn't present themselves. She quickly took a mental note to ask him about it later.
A howl escaped the wolf's lips as it backed away from Danica and made its way to the back of the now-parked Jeep.
Mentally preparing, she waited for human Mason to reappear where the wolf Mason had disappeared.
"Now," flinching Danica could sense the anger in Mason's voice as he finally emerged from behind the jeep and made his way towards her. "What happened?"
"It was no big deal," Danica repeated again. "A rogue made an appearance and attempted to choke me.
Mason's still forest-green eyes locked in on Danica's golden ones.
"Why did you get out of the car?" he asked, trying to contain his boiling emotions.
"Because I was possessed."