Almost Reached By Death
His scent wafted around me. It was torture not to close my eyes and fill my lungs and my mind with that sultry scent of lilac and sea breeze on him.
“See you again, Alice.” A corner of his plump, pinkish lips pulled into a playful grin and my face heated. I watched him walk out of the bar with his friends—or pack, rather.
I wanted to stop him. My inner wolf and my heart begged me to tell him to stay. To run after him and tell him something I couldn’t explain. A feeling that was so confusing it made me look stupid.
But, of course, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. There was no way I would make myself look desperate for the company of a stranger.
A strikingly handsome stranger.
This was the part of my job I hated most.
With all my strength, I hurled the two huge bags of trash into the trash bin with gritting teeth. Unlike werepeople or shifters, my Lycan genes were never dominant in my useless, fragile body, which was why I was kicked from my pack. I hated myself for it.
A useless, wolfless, stupid girl who had to work night and day to survive. I was tired of this life. I was tired of everything and everyone who thought I was less of a weregirl they thought I was. And I hated my father for it. I hated that he couldn’t do anything to make it easier for me.
“Hey, hybrid! We need you to serve us drinks! Now!”
My thoughts were interrupted when I glanced at my back and my frown deepened. Goddess! Those pricks came back! But Maverick wasn’t with them.
“Bar is already closed. You should go downtown and find open ones.” I uttered it flatly with my eyes stoically looking at their stupid faces and then I moved to leave. I mumbled, “*sshole.”
One of them grabbed me by the arm and hissed, his eyes wide with anger, insulted by the sharpness of my tongue. “Don’t give me that nasty attitude, wimp! I have enough of you acting around like you are above us shifters!” His disgusting eyes leered from my face down to my body. “Forget about Maverick. You can just work for me. I can pay you double, Alice!”
The other two stepped forward with a disgusting grin on their faces.
That’s it! I had enough.
I wasn’t as physically strong as the shifters but I was the daughter of a once-powerful warlock and with that power, it was enough to drive the scumbags away from me. The power sung in my veins, throbbing as if wanting to be released into the world and I did. A sphere of blazing red light appeared in both of my hands.
My eyes were sharp and deadly as I hissed at them between my teeth. “Make a single step towards me and I will burn your nasty faces!”
To my horror, the three of them shifted into their wolves and started attacking me one by one, lunging themselves towards me with their razor-sharp claws. I created a shield around me but it wasn’t enough. There were three of them. In front of me were full-grown rogues, and I wouldn’t have a chance to survive if I didn’t fight with everything I had.
I summoned fire and threw the spheres at each of them. It was hopeless for they moved like shadows, incredibly fast for my eyes to follow. To my advantage, my ability to sense presence was powerful enough that I managed to hit two of them.
They flew backwards and rolled themselves on the dirt to get rid of the fire, both shrieking in pain as they ran away. My power wasn’t that strong, so I had to be smart about how to use it without draining my mana quickly.
But the one who managed to evade my spell lunged himself on top of me and slammed me, pinning me to the ground. His claws pierced and dug through the hollows of my shoulders and I screamed in agony until I saw blotches of black in front of my eyes.
I struggled to free myself from his deadly grip but he was strong. Too strong for my small, fragile body. I writhed against the hard concrete until it was hard for me to breathe. The beast refused to let go of my shoulders, ready to rip it from me.
I watched in horror as his huge mouth opened, revealing his long, sharp fangs and teeth, ready to tear my throat open. Panic flooded my head and my body went still, waiting for the pain to come. Welcoming death to finally end the miserable life I had.
Before I could utter a silent prayer, a force so strong that I felt a wind whip on my face sent the rogue flying to the other side of the alley. There was a loud, sickening sound of multiple cracking bones that echoed through the dark alley. Cries and whimpers followed. Two powerful, muscular arms lifted me as I moaned in pain and panted. I still couldn’t process what happened.
It was the adrenaline that made everything swirl inside my head. Gentle, calloused hands cupped my face and I steadied, my eyes focused on the person who saved me from the men who just wanted me dead. I was dazed by the suddenness of the situation; I couldn’t believe I was alive! I was still alive!
“Alice!”
That set of sultry amber eyes brought me back to my senses.
“Alice!” the handsome guy called my name in panic, his eyes wide open with fear.
Still feeling sick in the stomach, I forced myself to sit. I caressed my throat gently with my shivering hands.
A deep, rough voice made me realize the person that was gently shaking me and I gasped, pushing a little away from him, still weak and writhing in pain, “Bellamy.” I breathed. That’s when I noticed that warm feeling gushing from the holes in my shoulders that was too slow to heal. It must have been because of the shock that I didn’t feel them right away.
"F*ck, you are bleeding!” He rasped, anger rumbling in his chest and before darkness consumed my consciousness, he had already carried me in his arms.