Chapter 16
Eclipse
[Get her.] He snarled.
It took a second to register that he commanded such a thing… At first I stood there blankly before my legs finally reacted.
I bolted the opposite direction as the training grounds, running as fast as my paws would go, and he was almost directly behind me. I ran through the trees, passing the cedar and thick pines behind me. There were no trails or anything! I couldn’t recognize anything this far out, and I was running on pure adrenaline.
Why did he do this?! What happened to me ‘being the best thing that ever happened to him?’ Where was all the ‘babygirl’ pet names and gentle shows of affection? Surely he was just teasing me, he said he would never hurt me, I thought to myself, calming down. No one hurts their true mate I thought to myself. I slowed my pace, getting tired. He snapped his massive jaws at my heals, barely missing me. He was twice my size, but I was more agile. I saw a particularly large oak tree and it became my goal. He was huge so there was no chance that he could climb with me.
I panted heavily, hearing more steps behind me. There had to be at least 6 more wolves hot on my trail, and they were gaining on me. I gathered up as much speed as I could muster, and I tried weaving through trees I knew the impossibly enormous Warriors couldn’t fit through, however they were trained. The only thing I did was make myself more tired.
Was he hunting me?!
There was a howl from Alpha that filled me with a dread I could not shake.
I was being hunted!
I saw another large grey wolf running alongside me. He was trying to close me in, steering me away from the tree. I turned around, feeling the dirt under my feet pull up the grass from my u-turn, barely missing the snapping jaws of Alpha. His tail waved in the air like a black flag of confidence, his eyes were completely red now. What had I done to warrant this? This was not training; he was going to eat me!
I was absolutely terrified, but I did not come this far in life just to die. I heard the snarl of another wolf; this one was brown and red. He let out a deep howl, followed by the rest. I climbed the tree, thinking that they couldn’t follow, but before I could relax, the red wolf was climbing behind me. I jumped down, running a random direction, I heard more howls, and I was soon completely surrounded.
[Run Little Mate.] In wolfspeach, Alpha growled a deafening boom that I felt in my chest.
I Screamed, knowing that if I were in my human form I would be crying. My heart raced with the thought of what he would do if he caught me. I didn’t know what I did for him to treat me like this, especially since the only thing I’d done was visit my parents, but that couldn’t have had anything to do with this. I put my tail down in a submissive pose for him to see… He ran this pack long before I was born. No Warrior would stop on my command.
/I don’t understand!/ I linked, only to hear him chuckle in my mind.
/What I do is for your own good./ He linked back ominously….
Alpha was right behind me, and if I slowed down by even a few feet I was toast, but how was I going to get past a wall of wolves, hearing them evaporate out the shadows? My legs burned, and I had to let Shimmer completely take over, giving me a second wind. I didn’t know where I was going, but anywhere worked as long as I could escape.
I turned again, a large warrior wolf was barreling directly for me, and I ran, only to be directly confronted by Alpha and the 3 wolves that chased me. I was surrounded by 6 wolves, then nearly 20, unable to run anymore. I was completely crouched down, tail between my legs in panic, what were they going to do to me?
Alpha Kaiden changed into his human form and did a long sarcastic slow clap. “How long was that Marcy?” He said confidently, looking over to the red and brown wolf.
She changed into her at least 6’5 human form along with the others, having a large pendant around her neck. She looked down at it. She was so large I thought she was a male…. “Change time, 8 minutes, 15 seconds, run time before capture, 10 minutes, 45 seconds, total time: 19 minutes” She said bluntly.
“You’d be dead babygirl, I can run this in 4.” He said seriously, yet obviously amused that he had me in complete terror. “If something ever happens, remember this feeling. You’re too small to fight, but you have good instincts, and since you’re so green, I had no choice but to draw this out early.” He paused. He walked up to my wolf and petted me gently on the head between my ears.
His touch made me feel better, but I was honestly mad, wanting a better explanation. He took a deep breath and looked up at the moon. “The fight I won with the Rogue was dangerous. An Alpha male tried to claim what was mine,” he paused again, choosing his words. “If he would’ve won, you would have either been banished, killed, or forced to be his Luna.” He said the last part with a snarl. “So, remember those instincts, and they will guide you.”
I understood, but he could’ve just told me, I thought to myself.[ But then, how would you have the fear to remember?] Said Shimmer, butting into my personal monologue, I rolled my eyes at her, I swear that man can do no wrong with her.
“Your wolf’s right.” He chimed in. “I had to get you to the point where you’d give your wolf all the control organically. Without that initial fear you were slower when you doubted me… another male wouldn’t hesitate even if you are a she wolf, especially the Luna of his enemy… You’re my strength as much as my weakness.” He warned.
I looked at the ground, unable to word how I felt. It was a complex emotion to say the least. I really did think he was going to kill me, and I felt he could have told me. His growls were more than enough motivation….
I felt a heaviness on my back, I immediately tried to shake it off, but it gripped my fur. “Woo, ride ‘um cowboy!” Alpha laughed.
/You dirty bastard, get off me RIGHT now! I’m still mad at you!/ I mind linked him.
He only laughed harder. “Awe,” he pretended my words hurt him, “But babygirl, this is like in the Midnight books you read! ‘And she rode him in the moonlight, her breath taken away that a man could be a wolf’.” He quoted, making me blush, cringe, and scream!
[I am not a horse!!!!] I snarled at him, my only defense, and he got off with a defeated sigh.
“Fine, fine, let’s go home.” He said and changed into his wolf nearly instantly. He had so much control, but I guess you should if you had over 200 years to perfect it. I was still so embarrassed, and the rest of the walk was silent.
But something was suddenly on my mind. I only told him I READ the Midnight saga…... how did he know how to quote it? His eyes grew wide, realizing his mistake.
Teasing and laughter ensued. I think it was the second time I’ve ever seen this beast of a man embarrassed as a pup.
----Kaiden----
The songbirds sang in the early dawn having risen, but my mate had not, still likely feeling the effects of running like she did. I kissed her on the forehead, still wet from my shower. Despite how mad I’d made her, she chose to sleep in my room with me like a pillow, not bothering to get up even though I smelled so strongly of murderous intent because of my wolf. He was mad at me too, but more so because I scared our mate. Eclipse didn’t deserve that, that part we both agreed on, but she needed some kind of evasive training.
She was much too slow, and her running form was terrible, but it would have to do for now until she learned more. I tried teaching her as lessons in life were taught to me: Very Bluntly. In the real world, no one would play nice… in the real world, what I’d taught her so far would likely be her only real option.
I wanted her instincts to awaken because until a few days ago, I’d never felt so vulnerable. I’d never fallen for anyone before… and being tricked made me realize how fragile the balance of my power was. If he’d have been a little stronger, and I had underestimated him a little bit more, he would be in this seat. Perhaps my brother would have bested him, but even still…. What would happen to a Luna so miniature? One without pups, one who was young, timid, and sweet…
One who would have been realistically rejected…. because of her weakness, attitude, and stature.
But no matter how small, no wolf would hesitate to kill the Luna of their enemy… I wanted her to remember that feeling.
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