"Will he be okay?" Natalia asked, concern heavily rooted in her voice. She was kneeling close to the lying man, her hand feeling his forehead.
"Get away from him, Natalia."
"Why? He is injured."
They were back in the house, Natalia's father standing above her. Earlier, he had no choice but to take him to the house with them, fearing that Natalia would be in danger if she stayed back. One thing he knew about her was that she was one stubborn girl who wanted to get what she wanted.
He watched her, then the man before he walked out of the room, straight to his sanctuary.
He wasn't sure how weak the alpha was now, but he couldn’t let his guard down. The alpha didn't know or realize the doctrine of pity, and he wasn't about to let his daughter fall a victim of this man or become the one to be with him.
He went back out after a while, and opened up the cloak he was wearing. Natalia had slept beside him and he made sure not to wake her up.
"A curse," He muttered to himself. He withdrew his hand, until the alpha suddenly caught it and pulled him, till his face was just inches away from the alpha's and then their eyes were meeting.
"How do you know it is a curse? You look very familiar."
"That's because you have the tendency to annoy the sorcerers." He answered, struggling to free his hand from the alpha's grip. It didn't budge.
"Sorcerers? Lofty name for low budget witches. Where is the heartbeat?"
"There is no heartbeat except mine in this house. You may as well leave."
"The heartbeat that came to me. You will bring the heart out and submit it."
"Never." He answered, pulling his hand away from the alpha's grip finally and he reached for the knife.
"Father! What are you doing? Why are you getting a knife?"
He stopped the knife mid air and swallowed.
"He is dangerous, Natalia."
"No. He is unconscious. Can you not see?"
He turned to the alpha again, and to his surprise, his eyes were closed now.
"Wake up. I said, wake up."
"Father, just stop. What is the problem with you? Please leave. Okay? Let him rest."
He watched her, his face solemn, before walking out on both of them and locking himself behind his sanctuary.
Natalia came back to arrange the cloak on him and watch his face for a little more time. She found him astonishingly, breathtakingly handsome. She has never seen anything quite like him, and it made her want to stay close to him and watch him recover.
Suddenly his eyelashes fluttered and she moved a little, checking if he was conscious. She decided not to call her father, just in case he lost his senses again and assumed he was dangerous.
He slowly opened his eyes and turned to Natalia. He hasn't been unconscious, he just realized he couldn't get much over here with brute force. As it is, he was already weak and had low chances of survival if he did something to agitate the lowly wizard and find himself abandoned in the woods again. Or worse, for the wizard to try something again. Besides, he could hear the heartbeat close to him, and when he turned to Natalia and caught her deep blue eyes, he knew he had found it. The heartbeat he had left his safety to look for.
"I found you." He said, his voice low. If he needed to be cunning to get this heart, he would do it. It didn't matter.
"You are awake. How do you feel?"
He smiled. He had forgotten the last time he smiled and his face felt like a stiff drawing, but he managed to show her a kind expression.
"Thank you for saving me," He said. Words he never had to say before, he was saying them just to get the heart.
"It is nothing. I have...well, I have never seen anyone quite like you. Even though, I have not seen a lot, it...you are very different. And so, so beautiful."
He watched her. She was naive. No one has ever complimented on his face. When they saw him, all they saw was death and blood. Ugly craving for lives. That's all they saw.
The dark red eyes, the straight German nose, even straighter and sharper jawline. He looked perfect when he looked into the mirror, but was just hideous when he moved away from it.
"Really? You think so?"
She nodded and drew closer to him, leaning on the bed, her hands crossed on it, very close to him.
"Are you not scared of me?" It was tempting to ask, because in the end, this night while she slept, he would rip her heart off and heal himself. It didn't matter to him what she thought of his face.
"Should I be? I don't think I should be scared of you. You are human like me. My father talks of beasts and dangerous things lurking outside our home...but I think you are different. You are human like me."
He nodded, then turned to the other side. He was that beast. But she didn't know that right now, and she didn't need to. By the time she did, it would be too late.
"What do you want to eat?" She asked, moving away. He suddenly held her hand.
"You do not have to give me anything to eat," his dark eyes even darker. The contact made him feel stronger on his weak part, and he knew he was indeed lucky. He had been wise enough to keep his tracks even while on the run, and while he saw this naive country girl as an easy feat, she was his goldmine. One that would end ten years of misery.
"Do not touch her!" An angry person screamed, and before Alpha Axton could move, or Natalia break out of her star truck reverie, he had drawn out his pocket knife and aimed for their joined hands.
The Alpha left it just in time with Natalia moving in to stop the blade. It pierced her skin, blood spurting out everywhere.
Nicholas was not half as gutted with his daughter's blood as he was with the shrill yelp she let out, but what was more surprising was how the alpha's hand started to gush out blood too.