Chapter 1: Running Between Life and Death

Elena

I could hear the sounds of the twigs snapping grow louder, they were getting closer. Even in my wolf form, my strength was fading. I am a lone wolf.

If I had learned anything in the past ten years of running is that a lone wolf is a dead wolf.

I pushed my legs faster but my mind was becoming clouded as I could hear the snapping getting closer. If they found me, I wouldn't stand a chance against them.

I repeated the chant in my head like I always did. 'Run Elena, run and never look back.' I had been so careful as I found a place to lay low for a while and rest.

Over the years, I was good at finding shelter. With the torrential rains that we experienced sometimes in this area, shelter was a necessity for me.

I had always been so careful and I made sure I was out of sight. My scent was well concealed under the strong pungent smell of damp forest ground but still, somehow, they found me.

I was never at ease because, for me, danger never slept. I had done everything right but still, I failed.

I smelled their scent when they were still quite far away but I could tell that there was more than one.

The sound of paws beating the ground just seemed to grow closer and closer.

It didn't make any sense as to why they were chasing me because I made sure I stayed clear of any Pack border.

Most other wolves never took notice of lone wolves especially if they were minding their own business but it was as if these wolves were actually coming after me and I realized that they were really tracking me.

The dread spread through my veins like wildlife and settled in my chest. Was it him? Had he sent them to come and find me? How could I let this happen? I had always been careful enough to wobble along the borderline to stay clear of danger. My fatigue had made me careless and here I am.

I wove through the grove of closely growing trees. My wolf was small but she was agile, he moved through the undergrowth with ease but suddenly, the winds changed direction and my nose was hit with an entirely scent.

There were more of them and their scents didn't match the ones that were chasing me first but to me, they were all the same.

The scent was from ahead and I think they were trying to block me. I didn't know if they were working together but I didn't have time to care, all I needed to do was to think of a plan and I needed to do it fast. I changed direction and started heading to the west. I pushed my legs and my paws kicking up the soil as I maneuvered around the trees.

But as I cleared through a line of trees, I was hit by the scent of more wolves in front of me.

This time, not only could I smell them but I saw them as well. Goodness, I took a wrong turn. I dug my paws into the soil and circled back where I came from.

Their scent was surrounding me and if I couldn't avoid them, at least I had to try and weave through them because that was my only hope.

I took a sharp left turn and came face to face with the wolves who I had been previously trying to avoid. There were ten of them and they all seemed to be male. They were coming in my direction at full speed. They were narrowed as they locked in on their target which was me.

Now I am surrounded and trapped and I don't have any other options left.

'Run Elena." I murmured to myself digging my paws into the soil. If I was going to die then I would die being brave.

As the leader of the wolves came close to me, I turned and dodged his attack swiftly. I pushed my legs and darted through the forest even though I knew there were wounds on my heels. Just when I thought I made it, a flash of white appeared before me.

The moonlight bounced off the fangs of my attacker as they tried to clamp down on my fur. I dodged their moves successfully but the fear in me had me feeling paralyzed. I backed away from my attackers but only to hit a wall of muscle and fur.

The lead wolf is baring his teeth at me. He growled at me, causing me to cower away from him. I think he wanted to know why I was on his land. I didn't need to share a mind link with him to be able to know what he was trying to say. His growls became more forceful as he demanded answers to his question. I could feel another wave of exhaustion hit me and my adrenaline was wearing off.

My wolf was growing weaker and weaker by the second. The world around me was beginning to fade away slowly. The wolves in front of me became fuzzier, the bodies blurring. I felt my body go limp and before I could stop it, I was tumbling to the ground in a big fury heap.

Everything became hazy after that and I felt hands come around my wolf form and I was lifted into the air. I fought against my eyelids, trying to see what was happening around and I saw the blurred silhouettes of humans and heard muffled voices. I fought to keep my eyes open but eventually, the fatigue won and I finally fell asleep.

I finally regained my Consciousness.

My nose was hit by the scent of the hospital environment. There were scents I remembered from my childhood but they were not the scent I was used to. I noticed I was still in my wolf form as I felt a stinging sensation in my front paw.

Something was wrong, the panic surged through my body and I tried to push against the weight of my eyes but I was too weak. Turning into a human would make things easier for me as it would make communication easier but I couldn't do that.

The room I was in was quiet for a moment and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle beeping in the background and then I heard a voice.

"Where did you find her?" The voice hit my ears and I was immediately attuned to it. The man's words demanded respect and attention. Although I didn't recognize his voice from his tone, I knew he was someone important.

"On the northwest border of our territory." I heard another voice reply and his voice was not as authoritative as the first one.

"She had just crossed over into our land." The voice replied again.

"What was she doing?" The authoritative voice asked.

"Running, we think she was being followed." The voice replied.

I fought against my eyelids, desperately trying to get them open and I was able to crack them open halfway. I saw that the wolf that was speaking was tall, and muscular with brown hair.

"By who?" He asked.

I tried to turn my head but that required energy that I didn't have. I needed to get a better look at this but my body was not responding. It was an urge I couldn't describe.

"We don't know and whoever it was backed off when they smelled us." The same voice replied.

"She looks rather sickly and I don't think she is much of a threat to any of us but still she needs to be watched at all times. Let me know when she wakes up, I want to speak with her." The authoritative voice said.

I knew I was a little thin for a wolf but I never thought I was sickly looking but I guess so as I barely ate and I spent all my time running.

"Yes, Alpha." The voice replied.

It now made sense that the authoritative voice was the Alpha but why would an Alpha come to see me? That's strange because Alphas never bothered with issues like this unless I was a threat to them. I guess I did something that warranted his presence, that's great. I had not only triggered their border patrol but I was on their Alpha's radar now.

I heard the footsteps of the other speaker growing faint as they walked away from where I was and the Alpha followed as well. A sense of longing filled my chest and it confused me. I should have been glad that the man who could have potentially sentenced me to death was leaving but I found myself wanting to hear him speak again.

I found myself longing for his voice for some reason. I didn't understand it and I had not even seen this man's face yet I was swooning over him like a little teenage girl.

My eyelids finally won their ongoing battle and before I knew it, I was plummeting back to sleep. Then the most irresistible scent I ever smelled in my entire life hit me. My eyes opened slightly as my nose searched for the source of the scent.

My vision cleared and I came face to face with the most handsome man I have ever set my eyes on. His bright green eyes reminded me of the whispering pine trees in the forest and his caramel-blonde hair was cut short, adding to the beauty of his sculpted face. How was he so cute?

His scent was all around me and his face was only a few inches from my own.