Chapter 4 The Awakening
Chapter 4
Alyssa's POV
My legs were aching like they were going to fall off anytime soon, but I couldn't stop walking…at least, not until I was certain how far I had travelled. Behind me, the trees whispered like they carried footsteps I couldn’t hear. I glanced back more times than I cared to count, expecting to see warriors bursting through the shadows. Nothing. Only the forest. Only the pounding of my own heart.
When I could no longer take it, I fell to my knees and tears I didn't realise I was holding came pouring down.
I was so close to giving up and letting myself get caught if not for the fact that Jace literally put his life on the line to save me from whatever Ryder had in mind.
“Alpha is so fking lucky.” I heard a voice say and at first, I thought it was my imagination until he spoke again. “He gets to pick any girl he wants…” he paused and I held my breath. I couldn't get caught, not by people who had the same mindset as my previous Pack.
“What is it?” A new voice asked.
“I think I heard something.”
As softly as my body would let me, I hid properly behind the tree closest to me. Everything went silent except for sounds from the insects in the forest. I pressed a hand over my mouth forcing myself to stay quiet, knowing that one sound and it was all over.
“You’re imagining things,” the second voice muttered after a moment. “Probably just an animal.”
My body trembled, relief rushing through me until the first voice spoke again, closer this time.
“I don't think so.” He said, “it came from this side.”
The two of them argued for a few minutes until a new voice spoke up…one that had more authority. “Then go check it out, you idiots.” He commanded and it didn't take long before they were towering over me.
“Today's our lucky day…and she's pretty.” One of them said, pointing the torch light on my face and the other man nodded his head in agreement.
“Take her back to the Pack, the alpha is…shit!” He cursed, his eyes darting into the trees and without another word, he dashed in the other direction with a sense of urgency and was followed by one of the two men, leaving me in the hands of the one who was holding me.
He dropped to his knees, meeting my eyes and a creepy smile appeared on his face. “I guess it's just the two of us now.” He said. “We can as well make the most of it.” He finished, throwing the torchlight on the ground and tearing his shirt before crawling towards me.
And the closer he came, I felt something stirred inside of me. Anger. Rage. And a heat I couldn't explain. Suddenly, a low, rumbling growl echoed through my mind. I froze, my heart racing.
At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but then the growl grew louder, more insistent. It was a voice, a presence I'd never felt before.
My wolf.
But that wasn't possible, I didn't have one. It was the reason I was in my present situation.
“Kill him!” The voice snarled, “Let's teach him a lesson.” She said again, making it obvious that it wasn't my imagination.
And as he reached to touch me, a new found strength I didn't know where it came from, rushed through my veins and I pushed him away which only excited him.
“Feisty,” he laughed loudly. “I like it.”
He lunged at me again.
But this time, something else took control. My body moved before I could think, before I could stop it. The last thing I remembered were screams ripping through the night, screams that didn’t belong to me.
I woke up to hush voices, one of which sounded vaguely familiar. My head was aching like it was going to fall off if care wasn't taken.The event of what happened the previous day came rushing back, jolting me wide awake. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to see, but it definitely wasn't a room that looked more than five times what I called my room back home and a smell that smelled heavenly.
“Took you long enough, human.” the voice in my head purred. My wolf. It still felt surreal that I had one.
“What happened?” I asked her instead, pushing myself upward, panic rising in my throat.
There was a small pause, “we might have k–” she started but was interrupted by the men standing barely two feet away from the huge bed I was on.
“Luna!” They chorused, moving closer to me. There was a small smile on their faces which only made me frown.
I resisted the urge to groan at that cursed title, “Did they take me back to Ryder's Pack?” I thought, even though it was highly unlikely seeing how I actually recognised the voice from last night.
“I'm not…” I started, but the words died in my throat. “Where am I?” I asked instead, causing them to look at each other and then back at me.
“Uhmm…”
The door burst open, interrupting him and a man that looked like an angel…more like sin carefully sculpted into a human body, walked in and I think I forgot how to breathe for a moment.
He was tall, with broad shoulders that made the doorway look too narrow. His hair was so dark that it almost seemed to drink in the light, and his eyes glittered with something sharp, as they swept over me. My eyes were glued to him with each step he took, closing the distance between us.
Each step he took seemed to shift the air, an authority that made the warriors straighten up instantly.
My chest tightened, I was still trying not to drool over him…and I was failing miserably at it, when the same intoxicating smell that clung to the sheets, only stronger now, hit my nostrils again, and a word I was certain was a mistake echoed loudly in my head.
Mate!
The moon goddess definitely has a twisted sense of humour.