It was already seven thirty in the evening by the time she got home from work, but she wasn't alone. Karl offered to stay with her and help her clean. Closing was always the most difficult time to work because it was when she usually went to bed, in the dirt, or should she say mud.
Althea sighed as she sat in the stall where she and Oliver had earlier talked. She's been thinking about Allan all day, not about their conversation, which was a load of nonsense but about giving her mate a chance.
Karl notices her and smiles as he sits next to her. "What's on your mind, Christina? You've been off the tip ever since I saw you having a conversation with that man. By the way, who is he? is he your mate?" he asks, amusingly holding the dustpan.
Althea shakes her head, "No, he's not my mate and It was nothing," she says, aware that she doesn't sound credible. It wasn't his business in the first place, and she couldn't tell him who she was.
Karl frowns at her, "Are you sure? because it looks like you are so stressed. If you have a problem you can tell me. I know you're not okay," he insists, looking intently at her directly, making her uncomfortable.
"I'm completely fine, Karl. Don't worry," she said, looking away from the broken tile floor. She looked up at the clock, which showed it was well past her shift time. She removes her apron and hangs it on the coat rack before standing up to leave.
"You can always talk to me, Christina," Karl says awkwardly as he pulls her back by her wrist. He quickly lets her go.
"Anyway, have a good night," he says as he stays in the booth.
She nods and walks away. He had the keys, so he could close the door instead of her.
The walk into the forest felt very different today; the air was thick, but that was possibly due to her overthinking everything. She does it more frequently than she would like. When her feet reached the forest's entrance, she transformed into a wolf. It felt good to be free every night; most people don't shift as frequently or for as long as she did.
Althea's feet landed on the ground as she ran back to her napping place. She wouldn't refer to it as home since it isn't. If Allan doesn't win her back by then, she'll get a one-bedroom apartment. All she can do is hope, but as she previously stated, if he changes, she may change her mind. Even as mates, he has a tiny piece of chance with her right now.
The moon shone above her, illuminating her path through the trees and bushes. The air felt fresh as it hit her face; mother nature's gifts to them are incredible.
She then came to a halt, starting to smell the scent of other wolves she didn't recognize.
She yelped lowly, maintaining her position and alerting them to her presence.
Nobody answered back, leading her to believe the fragrance was off, but her perception was altered when she let out an ear-piercing scream. In a panic, she gazes at her back left paw, which is entombed in a booby trap. Her inhalation quickens as she begins to panic. The trap's teeth are digging into her back foot; if it doesn't come off soon, she won't be able to use her back left paw.
She let out a howl, attempting but unsuccessfully to pull her leg free. She couldn't try to pull it open since she didn't have any hands, and she couldn't shift because she would risk further losing her foot.
Blood poured incessantly from her injured area. She backed up and tried to flee, but something else clamped around her front, right paw, another bait. She roars in agony, collapsing to the jungle floor. Her heartbeat was racing as she struggled to lie down.
She then overheard a loud noise that isn't hers and froze for a split second, breathing heavily as best she can. Aside from the pungent smell of her blood, she noticed unknown scents near the area.
When she hears footsteps, she glances up to see people she doesn't recognize. "Look what we got, boys," one of the men says. The others laugh as they follow her.
Her head is spinning as she examines the man. He is tall, with broad shoulders and black hair, and his eyes reflect light in the dark. He kneels to her, and she roars, telling him to leave her alone.
She wasn't a powerful wolf, more like an ordinary one, but she did not end without a fight.
He moves in nearer, gently stroking her fur. "She's a beautiful one, don't you think?" he asks. The remaining of them agree with a nod. She starts complaining, closing her eyes for a split second in agony. "Oops sorry," he snickers as he tugs on her fur.
"Okay, miss Althea," he gets up and turns away, with his arms crossed. Her eyes widen as she can't believe they knew her name.
"We're going to obtain some vengeance on you," the people behind him clap.
Her eyes widen; she had done absolutely nothing wrong to them, and the only reason they would regard hurting her was that she was mates with Allan, and it simply click in her head. Allan can sense her anguish, especially now that she is weak and helpless, and this is what she gets.
"All right, Karl, go for it," the man says, and someone comes through the throng of people, someone she wouldn't dare to think would do this to her, but appearances can be deceiving, and she has been fooled. Her heartbeat picks them up, and everything was just starting to pile up on her nonstop.
Karl cracks his neck and whispered, "If only your mate wasn't Allan, you wouldn't be in this situation now," before trying to kick her hard. Her body shifted backward, and she let out a small growl. He laughs and leans into punching her again and again. "Keep in mind, this is all because of your mate," he says sarcastically before shifting and scratching at her stomach. She tries to move, but her movements are hampered by the trap trying to dig into her paws.
Karl doesn't move until the fur on her stomach is completely damaged away. He walks away in his wolf form, with other people she didn't know following him. They weren't as bad as Karl, but the discomfort was mounting. It was amazing she hadn't passed out from shock by now.
The leader reappears, forcing everyone to move out of his way. He chuckles as he beats her to a pulp.
If she doesn't end up dying, she'll look horrifying after this. She sobbed as she felt another of her brines break, she couldn't take it any longer. "Oh guys, it appears that we ruined her," he says, biting his lip. "I bet I can destroy her even more," he says as he transforms into a wolf.
It didn't hit him until he was on top of her and nibbling at her neck. Althea sobbed, knowing that her wailing was futile. She couldn't be heard because no one could overhear her.
She closed her eyes, attempting but unable to block out the pain. He kept nibbling before abruptly stopping. She opens her eyes to see his wolf being pinned to the ground by Allan, a darker wolf.
Her wolf wiggles her tail slightly, not wishing to worsen her emotions, but she was feeling a little happy. She's not going to be killed, but she has something else in store for her.
Allan rips all the bodies to shreds, even spending special time with Karl and the commander. They had no option against him, but he took a hit anyway. She wasn't the only one who became weaker as time passed. As Allan dragged over to her, drool dripping heavily down his body.
He shifts back, unconcerned about being naked. She withdraws her gaze, uncomfortable. He releases the booby traps and lifts her as if she were nothing. She let out a tiny cry of pain and pressed her nose against the crook of his neck, where the mark was.
After several minutes of walking, Allan placed her down and changed his clothes; the cold air was begun to get to him and even her. He comes to realize this and wraps his hooded sweatshirt around her wolf to warm them up as she passed out from the pain.
"I do sincerely apologize, sweetie, this is all my fault," Allan mumbled as he continued to carry her to who knows where.
~
Althea opened her eyes to find Allan carrying her through the forest, which surprised and relieved her. She looked at him for a moment before her eyes became heavy again.
She couldn't keep them open any longer. She could, however, hear and feel everything around her. She was just closing her eyes.
She could even hear twigs snapping beneath his feet. The birds are chirping above them. The unusual occurrence of a small Woodland creature hopping around near a bush. When she moved a little, she groaned in pain.
"Don't move, I'm here to protect you, Althea," she says, her skull etched with those words.
"A-Allan," she groggily said.
"Shhh it's okay now, your safe with me," Allan said as he pet her.