|Little Red|
How cursed can one person be? That was the question that flew through my mind as this wolf man carried me through the forest. The basket was long forgotten, and I swear he was sniffing me. Great, just great, from one freak to another. At least he hasn't prepositioned me to help him fight an army, so I guess he's better than the warden. I need to find that old woman. If I can't see this beast, he'll have no use for me and the warden won't need be either. I could be free.
But, shit, the cold air smacked my open wound and I whimpered.
"Breathe lightly, mate. I'll have you treated once we get to my home."
Let me guess, his home is in the middle of a cave with furs from humans and animals alike. Why am I so unlucky?
"Please let me go. I'm not your mate."
"Yes you are. You smell divine."
"So does roses but you don't call those your mate." My stomach fluttered as I felt his laughter vibrate over my skin.
"You don't understand the wolf culture. But that's fine. You'll have all the time in the world to learn, as my wife. My mate."
As his what? And his what? HIS WIFE???
"NO." I thrashed around his shoulder, only end up kicking his chest with my injured limb. Fuck.
"You're not very bright are you? I said stop moving. You're making your injury worse."
"You're trying to force me to be your bloody wife! I don't want to marry anyone. I don't want to marry a wolf! I just want to meet this old lady, and remove my curse."
He tensed. "What curse?"
What's the point of keeping this a secret? Perhaps I can appeal to his small humanity. "The curse that allows me to see your kind. And hurt them."
"Ah, you're one of those people. Well it's all good, if the curse is how you can see me then I can't have you removing it. Besides, the old woman isn't really a fan of …. Your people."
He's lying. He's trying to deter me from my goal. God, these assholes are all the same. I'll just play along. That's what I did with he warden, it'll work with this Psycho too. I can buy a few days, maybe a week until my ankle heals. I'll pretend to be nice. Pretend to like being around him, then when he let's his guard down, bam I'll run.
"But where does she live?"
"Her house moves, you need to follow the sparrow to find her."
The sparrow! That bird! It helped me so much. Of course, it's connected to that old woman. If her pet was so nice then I can only imagine how she'll be. I need keep an eye out for it.
"So, as your mate er- wife? What will this mean for me?"
"It means you have my protection. My whole attention. You'll have to integrate into my pack. The women are in charge of cooking, and farming, so you'll have to help them out with that."
That doesn't sound too bad. "What do the men do?"
"Sorry, I said women. The omegas are in charge of cooking. The betas farm. The deltas are responsible for construction, and keeping the animals safe and away from our crops. The alphas are the warriors. The zetas are all children so they don't do much."
I have no clue what any of those terms mean. "All kids are zetas?"
"Yes. When they turn eighteen their scent changes and it's revealed by a tribal mark what their rank is. An alpha or an omega. But until that age, they're unknown. So we call them zetas."
I hate to admit, that sounds…. Nice. It's like he's formed a whole colony in this forest. Impressive considering how my people have helped in killing some of his. That brought a sour feeling to my chest, we might have killed alot of innocent people. That's not right.
It wasn't our fault either. "We're here."
The thick growl sent more chills up my spine, I tried to look at his cave but when I heard the click of a lock my mind went numb. He has a door? Caves don't have doors?
But from the shape I can see that it is definitely a cave, or a circular house.
"This is my den, your new home. You'll be living with me forever."
No, I will not. "Nice, um my feet feels horrible."
"I know." He rolled me off his shoulder, and placed me down on a patch of fur. It's some kind of couch. And it's comfortable. "Sit, I'll go get something to treat the wound." He turned his back, and I waited for him to leave but he didn't move. "You must know, mate, if you try to escape. I will drag you back here. You're not getting away from me. I've waited too long to find you."
I felt my heart drop. He sounded serious, and slightly annoyed. Did he know what I was planning?
To keep myself on his good side, I smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. Can't exactly run like this." And you're big wolf, I definitely can't outrun you. I could barely outrun two guards.
My smile turned genuine when I thought of the warden's angry face. He'll notice if I don't return. Oh he definitely won't like that. But if he's as terrified as the guards said last night, then that means he'll assume I was killed by this beast.
"That's good." I whispered. That gives me a break from having the blood sucked out of me. The wolf had walked off down a hall. His cave was laminated by a string of lights. Everything about his home was unique.
The decor was barbaric, and something you'd expect from someone that kills as easily as he does. There are animal heads hooked to the side of the wall. No television which means he either hasn't heard of technology or he doesn't care for it. There two couches and a small chair made of wood. It looks hand made.
Why does my chest feel like my heart is turning into liquid? What's so enchanting about a beastly man hand making everything in his home?
I really hope I don't turn into an idiot and fall for my second captor. That's not right. But I need to gain his trust. I just need my ankle to heal, I need to find that sparrow then one night I'll sneak off.
That plan has more loopholes in it than the one I made before.
He returned with a small bowl, some leaves, and a washcloth. "What are you planning to do?"
"We use native treatments here." Then his eyes fastened to my face. "There's something wrong with you."
Ouch.
His neck tilts. "Are you well?" He raises two fingers and I flinched, I was expecting a hit but they paused at my neck. "Don't be afraid of me, my mate. I promise you, I'm not going to hurt you. I have no reason to lie." The sincerity in his eyes frightened me the most. Because a piece of me believed that he was telling the truth. I don't want to be his wife, I repeat to myself.
I just want to be free.
I leaned into his touch, seeing the smile that blossomed across his gorgeous face. He's good looking. I have to admit. And now he has on shorts. Also made of a fabric I've never seen. Why is that what makes me jolt with something I don't want to put a name too?
The fact that he seems hardworking?
"Are you an alpha?" I asked as he lifted my leg, and placed it in the bowl. The water was warm, and I watched it bubble. He dumped the leaves into hit. Slowly caressing my calf.
"Kind of. I'm a king. A god. Have you never heard of me?" His lifts one of his eyebrows and my cheeks burn. The cocky smirk doubles his looks. I shook my head. Both saying no and trying to clear my mind.
"A god?"
"You've never heard of the big bad wolf. That's what you humans call me. The wolf who owns the forest. The god of werewolves. The monster who kills without a second thought. Blah blah blah."
I looked at him, and remembered his howl. How he dived first for the running guard. He had his jaws apart, his teeth ready to crush. And crush he did.
"Never heard of that, but I can see it. So you're a god?"
"Mhmm. I was brought to help the people who worship me."
"That's an un-monster like thing to do."
He smiles, then he laughs. Bringing the rag to my foot. The first dad hurt, and I bit my bottom lip.
"Don't do that. Don't hurt yourself. It'll be fine." He says, watching me with a hardened stare until I released my lower lip. Then he looked relieved. Okay, I'm officially weirded out.
I cleared my throat and tried to think of something interesting to talk about. The silence isn't good for me.
"What's your name?"
"Derek. Yours?"
"Adele Johansson."
"Such a lovely name." He lifted my feet out of the water for a second just to drop a kiss to it. I shoved my gaze somewhere else, my heart was loud in ears.
"Yeah, well your name is nice too."
"You can call me wolf if you like? Some prefer that."
Hmm, wolf? Sounds like a nickname. Nicknames are intimate. No. "No thank you. If I called you that, you'd have to call me a nickname too."
I can feel the heat of his stare, I wouldn't dare to look at him right now. Those red eyes possess too much power. He did say he was a god.
Gods play with human life. Another reason not to get comfortable around him.
"Then so be it. You call me your wolf, and you can be my little red."
Huh? His little red ….. "Because of the coat?" I asked, hoping to hell that the nervous crack in my voice was all in my head.
"Not really. The coat does help, but when I look at you, and when I think about the jewels I have for you, the nickname seems fitting."
Little red?
I hope he's prepared to write that on my grave once I'm gone.