Chapter 4

**Amelia**


I scream at the sound of the man’s screams and I drop back down to the floor. My hands are over my ears again and I hum to myself to try and stop the horrible sounds from reaching me.

“Mitena? It’s safe now.” Some says grabbing my shoulders making me scream.

I kick and punch whatever is trying to take me, but they’re a lot stronger than me.

“It’s okay Mitena, I am not here to hurt you.” The man says and his gentle voice has me stop trying to beat him up…for now.

I open my eyes and realize I’m face to face with a man I haven’t seen before.

“That’s it Mitena, you’re safe.”

Why does he keep calling me that?

“You are safe. Be calm.” He reaches out and brushes my cheek.

The touch makes me shiver, but I don’t move. He’s looking at me in a way that says he knows me, but how? Natalia said she didn’t know me, and this man looks as if he could be Alo’s brother. So, there is no way he knows me.

“We must leave. I will take you somewhere safe.” He says before gently pulling me to my feet.

I still haven’t looked away from him. Maybe I’m in a state of shock or something, but I can’t take my eyes off him.

“There is a lot of glass, so I will have to carry you.” He gives me a look to ask if I understand to which all I can do is nod.
He reaches down and slips a hand around my thighs and then around my waist. Then he picks me up as if I weighed as much as a feather. I still can’t seem to get any words out. I don’t even have the thought to wrap my arms around his neck to stabilize myself, but my eyes still stay fixed on his face. Is that creepy? Yeah, probably. Maybe I should look somewhere else.

I decide to look at our surroundings. Big mistake. There is a mess of vehicles and…bodies.

“Oh my god.” My stomach rolls at the sight of one mauled person after another.

“We must move quickly.” This man carrying me says.

“Why? Who are you? Where did you come from? What happened?” I fire off questions with out taking a breath.

“Everything will be explained soon Mitena.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

He looks down at me and smiles. “Because you are a very special person, and Natalia says you have no name.”

Natalia. Why is she going around telling strange men that I don’t have a name? Now he’s calling me some random name that I don’t even know if I like. What a day.

“Anoki!” Someone calls a very familiar someone.

I turn my head in the direction of the voice and see Alo running toward us.

“Brother. Thank goodness.” Alo sounds relieved until he sees me in his brother’s arms.

He looks between us, and his eyes widen. The man holding me, Anoki nods to him making Alo look at me like he’s never seen me before. Okay, what’s happening?

“I’m happy to see you’re safe.” He says to me.

“Is Natalia okay? She ran out but never came back.” I ask him.

“She had a few scratches, but she will be fine. She’s home resting with our little one.” Alo says sounding relieved.

I’m relieved too. “She protected me. Tell her thank you for me.”

“I will. Now you must rest as well. Anoki will take you to some place safe for the night. Be well both of you.” He says with a wave and walks back the way he came.

I watch him go and want to call him back to protest being taken away by this strange man. Brothers or not, I don’t know this guy. What was all the knowing looks about? Also why does this guy look a bit paler than his brother? Maybe he doesn’t get out in the sun much.

Why is that the question I’m asking?

“My home is not far from here.” He says as he starts walking again.

Oh, hell no!

“I am not going to your house! I don’t know you! You could be kidnapping me right now or planning to murder me! Put me down!” I wiggle around to force him to put me down, but he only holds on tighter.

“Your feet and legs are cut. It may be too painful for you to try and run away. I can take care of you and once you are strong enough you can leave. No one is holding you prisoner here.” He sounds hurt by the idea.

Now I feel bad.

“Sorry. I’m just confused and freaking out. You might not be able to see it with my cool exterior but I’m definitely freaking out.” I say trying to lighten the mood.

He smiles. “Of course. The screaming and punching me earlier was very cool.”

I bite back a smile, but he chuckles like he can see through me.

“Shut up.” I grumble making him laugh more. “So can you tell me what happened?”

His smile falls instantly. “Men from the neighboring city think we are holding people from their town’s hostage because of our disputes. They want to believe we are holding these people as leverage, but they’re wrong. There is no one here that doesn’t want to be, or who have no clue who they are.” He gives me a knowing look and I nod.

“How did all those people die? And what about the wolf in my room?”

He sighs. “These lands are unofficially protected by a pack of wolves. They don’t take kindly to people coming onto their lands.”

Protective wolves? The way he explains it makes them sound smart enough not to eat the people they supposedly protect. Odd.

“Well, that wolf I saw looked too big to be normal.”

He hums. “Some wolves grow a lot bigger in different places where their homes are protected. On these reservations we live at one with the animals and there is equal respect going both ways.”

He makes it sound so beautiful.

“What does the name you gave me mean? I don’t think I’ve heard it before.” I ask finally wrapping my arms around his neck.

He looks at me and it’s that same deep intense look from when we first saw each other.

“It means coming wolf.” That’s the last thing he says.

I’m running through the reason why he would pick that name when we arrive at a small house. It looks like it’s been through a few storms, but someone takes good care of it.

“This was my grandfather’s house. He built it for my grandmother as a wedding gift.” He says as he climbs the stairs.

I sort of love it. “It’s so cool.”

When he opens the door, I realize it isn’t locked at all. They must trust their neighbors a lot. The inside of the house looks far more modern than the outside. It looks like a warm cabin though, and I’m impressed by how much work he must have put into renovating it. He takes me over to a couch that looks to be made from wood and is covered with rough sewn cushions and a colorful blanket.

“Sit here and I will get my first aid kit.” He gently sets me down and slowly moves back until I’m free from his arms.

Once he’s happy with how I’m sitting he turns and walks down the small hallway at the back of the house. Next to it are a set of stairs that lead up to what looks like a loft space. There is no sign of a bed where I am so that must be his room. The living space is very open and there is a large fireplace sitting right across from me. There is no TV that I can see which makes me wonder what he does with his time. I push away any ideas of that when he appears in front of me again. He sits on the table in front of me that also looks handmade, and lifts one of my legs. I watch him set it on his lap and examine it carefully. He opens the small box sitting next to him and pulls out a few things.

“Are you a doctor too?” I ask him.

He smiles and glances up at me. “No. I make furniture. My brother was the only one who ventured down the academic road.”

As he works, I notice a picture on the mantal of the fireplace. I can see one of the young boys is him and the other Alo, but Anoki is lighter skinned than the rest of the family.

“Is that your family?” I ask just to be sure.

He turns to the picture and smiles. “Yes.”

He gently set my leg down and brings the frame over to me. I see two young boys with two boys but when I look closer, I see a pack of wolves behind them.

Holy smokes! That’s a lot of wolves! How did they get them to stay still for a photo?