Run.

The anger in the voice made Seth jump in surprise. If anything, never did she imagine or suspect him following her. She turned around to come face to face with no one but outraged Dominic.

“Dominic? What are you doing here?” Seth furrowed her brows, eyeing him in suspicion.

Of course, it was unexpected to see him near her anytime soon, but the look on his face was a new level of psychotic. The Alpha looked as if he was ready to kill.

“And what do you think? I was out, looking for you because I couldn't get a hold of you since the day you left. You're moving on pretty quickly, I see,” Dominic snarled, throwing death stares at Ryder.

The whole situation made Seth uncomfortable - she met an amazing man who gained the courage to ask her out only to be disturbed by another control freak. She kept glancing between both men, wondering what would be the best thing to do.

Many different things went through her mind, but one thought stuck hard enough for Seth to act. Slowly, she took a step back, trying to avoid gaining attention towards herself. Dominic and Ryder were too busy glaring and snarling at each other to notice any movement next to them.

That is when Seth took her chance, it was now or never - she quickly turned around and stormed away from them. For the first couple of minutes, she ran as if her life depended on her speed, but after noticing that men didn't follow her - she finally slowed down.

Seth wandered around the unfamiliar streets, wondering if she could find her way home without any help. Approaching anyone might be too risky; for some reason, any other man she ran into took a weird, obsessive type of interest in her.

It was clear as a day that such a dominant man as Luciano would stop at nothing until he had gotten what he wanted, but the others? The others seemed to rather choose a fight than ask if Seth even wanted something to happen between them.

She sat on a bench near the street and sighed, looking down at her hands. Many strangers stopped by, asking if she was alright and if she needed help. Of course, she politely explained that she had a long day and needed a minute to rest before heading home.

The streets grew darker; within a few hours, the only light source might be street lanterns. Seth took a glance at her phone and stood up, eyeing the signs around her.

A wide smile spread on her lips when she noticed a sign pointing towards the Council territory. The good news was that she could walk and get there within an hour; however, the bad news was that she had to take a shortcut through the forests.

Only Gods know who wandered around that area and if any of the creatures would be dangerous.

Sighing, she turned towards the forest area and left the town. The nice weather outside tempted her to enjoy her time, especially since she finally found peace and quiet.

However, her gut feeling kept screaming to her to hurry - something might happen, and there was no one to ask help from. At moments as such, Seth thought of finding an actual partner, a man who might stand by her side whenever she needed it.

Her senses heightened once again, making her heart beat against the ribcage, filling Seth’s ears with the violent sound of thumping. A twig snapped about fifty feet away from where Seth stood.

She turned around in a panic, trying to notice anything out of place, but it was impossible by now. “Think, Seth, what could you do to avoid running into someone, or even worse - something dangerous?” She mentally questioned herself, crying out for the inner cat to give her a piece of advice.

Of course, the lazy ass was asleep, ignoring any pleas Seth sent her way. Looking around, she couldn't notice anywhere to run, surrounded by trees and darkness.

Finally, a brilliant idea popped into her mind - Seth looked up and instantly jumped onto a tree, climbing as high as she could. “Thanks for the cat reflexes, mom, coming in handy right now.”

A deep, terrifying voice startled Seth. Whoever was there, it stood right under the tree she tried to hide on. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty. I know you are there, come down, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you; we just want to play,” it said, the threatening undertone laced in his words made cold shivers run down her spine.

At one moment, the creature laughed, his laughter laced into what seemed like hundreds of others. Seth felt sick to her stomach - she might vomit if the strangers wouldn't leave her alone.

She soon understood that whoever stood there, waiting for her to get down, wasn't a friendly commoner. It wasn't a man that might try to use her for his sexual pleasure either. It was far worse - a thing that could kill her, skin her alive, or do much worse things that seemed to reach over limits of imagination.

“Won't you come down to play? We have some mice, and if it's not enough, we will help to catch more. Don't be afraid, we are friends, not enemies,” and again, the words froze her on the spot.

Seth knew that getting down from the tree would be the worst thing to do, but then again, she wasn't sure if waiting for the next day would be the best choice either. For all she knew, the creatures were there, and they might be there in daylight.

“I'm so screwed,” she whispered under her breath, attempting to notice anything beneath her. Besides the whispers, occasional laughs, and the terrifying voice, there was nothing - not a pair of eyes or any movements.

“Shh, don't be upset, kitty; we can hear you up there. Come on, drop the shyness; we know you're not one to shy away from others. It's your choice; after all, you can get down on your own, or we can get up and bring you down. Which one seems like the best option?” The creature kept nagging her, taking the time to terrify her and make fun of her.

Seth knew that one way or another, her life might be over if she didn't do something quick. The wind up the tree was strong enough to throw her off, not to mention her freezing within a few minutes that she spent sitting there.

Seth cleared her throat, deciding to win some time before she figured what to do: “Who are you, and what do you want from me?” She yelled out, still trying to notice even a slight thing beneath her.

“Don't try to waste our time; you have the answers to those questions. We are friends, and we want to play. None of us will ever hurt you; we are not to be feared,” as the creature spoke, Seth could hear the word 'danger' running through her mind over and over again.

Even if it tried to appear comforting - it failed miserably. The words scared her even more, sending her into a state of panic. Seth eyed the trees next to the one she chose as a shelter, wondering if she could have enough time to jump from tree to tree and escape.

She was about to answer when the phone in her purse started ringing. Seth nearly fell off the branch she sat on, startled by the sudden sound.

“You better answer while you can,” the creature laughed, unaware of who might be the caller. It was one out of two - the call might end in a complete disaster, or someone might come to save her.

With her hands shaking, Seth searched her bag for the phone. The screen didn't show the name or number; all it said was one word - unknown. For a second there, she thought if following the creature's advice was a good idea, it might be a trick.

“Hello?” Seth whispered as soon as the phone was placed next to her ear.

“Kitten, where the fuck are you? Holy hell, you have no idea how deep in shit you're going to be as soon as you get back home. You know what, fuck this! Tell me where the fuck are you, and I will come to pick you up. I swear to the Moon Goddess herself if there is any man near you - this night will become a damn slaughter,” Luciano growled. He sounded genuinely worried, but the soft voice faded in anger.

“I'm on the top of the tree, in the middle of a forest. I decided to take a shortcut when quite a few men surrounded me, so I'm casually freezing my ass off - no biggie.” Seth quickly turned the call volume as low as she could, hiding the phone back in her purse.

She didn't end the call intentionally, hoping to win enough time for Luciano to find more men to follow him and get her the hell out of there.

“Eh, kitty, kitty, that's it? Where is the anger and tears of despair? It's not fun to play with someone who doesn't follow the rules, and those are quite easy for the game we are playing. You run, we hunt.”

Seth bit onto her lower lip, wondering how much more time she had until some of them might attempt climbing the tree. And even if someone would - if it would be only one creature, multiple, or all of them at the same time?

Would they give her a chance to run for her life even after they got her off the tree? If the creatures would offer Seth a head start or just kill her on the spot? There were too many questions to answer them all, but she already knew the answer for some reason.

They wouldn't be so dumb to climb one by one - she might deal with one creature and possibly kill him. However, if a few of them attacked at the same time - her chances were flat. She let out a deep breath and glanced down again, this time noticing a set of blood-red eyes.

“You're going to kill me,” Seth stated.

“I never said anything about killing you. I mentioned a little hunt, but nothing about murdering someone. I can't promise anything; we do become a little wild whenever we get carried away,” Seth could hear the wide smile tugging on his lips.

It sickened her to imagine someone who would be as happy to kill as this unknown creature was. Probably the whole bunch of his followers were more than happy to fantasize about killing as well.

She opened her mouth to argue, but her words were cut by a deep, terrifying howl from the other side of the forest. A slight smirk appeared on her lips, mentally thanking the Alpha for getting there so fast.

The chatter surrounding her brought Seth back to reality. She could hear the creatures repeating the word ‘werewolf’ over and over again, arguing with each other. Many of them decided to retreat while it wasn’t too late, but the more extreme personalities chose to stick around.

Despite the mutters and some screams, Seth managed to notice how someone did climb the tree, nearing her a lot faster than she would ever like to.

Instead of panicking or trying to escape, Seth did the one thing she thought she'd never do - she placed her life and safety in the hands of a man. Without hesitation, she took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her lungs: “Luciano!”

Her sudden scream startled the creature, it stopped mid-way, but this time Seth could see more of whoever was trying to hunt her down. The nasty creature was about to keep on climbing when a threatening growl shook the land right next to the tree.

Whatever was left of the creatures tried to escape, but the enormous, half-naked man grabbed one by its neck and smashed the body against the nearest tree, killing it on the spot.

Luciano watched how the creatures fled, soon staring up the tree. “You're coming down yourself, or I have to get up there fucker?” He spat through gritted teeth.

Seth thought that Luciano might try to address her, but the rage in his voice couldn't ever be turned to her.

“Get lost, wolf, this one is ours to play with - we found her first,” the red-eyed creature snarled. To everyone else, it might seem fearless, but Seth instantly noticed how worried the creature grew. It kept looking around, searching for anywhere to run to if the wolf decided to kill it.

“Didn't your mother teach you to avoid touching what is not yours? Perhaps you came across her first tonight, but that woman is mine. She's carrying my claim, don't play with the last bit of patience left in me. Don’t fuck up, you’re getting close to the only reason I have to wake up. Think fucking wisely.”

The creature glanced at Seth, mouthed something that was supposed to be a mix of promise and threat, and faded away. Suddenly, it felt as if there wasn't even a single soul around here earlier.

“Get down from that tree, kitten; I need to check if you're safe. Don't rush, though; it's not safe.” Luciano sighed.

He didn't seem revealed or angry. He was clearly frustrated, and even if Seth didn't understand why - she wouldn't let him leave before she thanked him for saving her life.

Seth didn't argue; she slowly climbed down the tree and let Luciano help her as she neared the forest soil. His eyes bore into hers, his hands checking for any injuries around her body.

“Thank you for saving me,” Seth whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist and tightening the hold around him. The hug was quick, ending sooner than he would like, but it was all worth it.

When Seth was about to turn around and leave, Luciano grabbed her wrist, pulling her in. “Where do you think you are going?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Home.”

“Not before we get to play a game of our own,” Luciano winked, holding onto her wrist and leading Seth towards the Council territory.

“What game? I didn't agree to play yet. And I want to know about the prizes - there has to be a prize for the winner. I want something out of this when I win.” As expected, Seth quickly grew curious about what Luciano wanted to do. They didn't spend as much time together, but the Alpha noticed quite a few details about her.

“A game of chase, a quick one, don't worry. If you win, I will bring you breakfast in bed for a week. If I win, you'll stay over the weekend, acting like an obedient little kitten that you are. No matter who wins, next week, you can have a chance to repeat and come up with some better prizes.”

Seth knew that Luciano might have a few tricks up his sleeve, yet she was sure that cats were way faster than dogs. All she had to do was to run, and Alpha Vincent himself would serve her breakfast in bed for a week. That seemed like a life she could easily get used to.

Before Seth could answer and tell him that she wanted to play - Luciano stopped. He turned around and leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear. “Run.”