Miracle's POV
Hardy came close and he pulled me up from the ground. It might be the adrenaline or relief of not having my ass handed to me but the heaviness on my chest lifted and I could breathe again.
"Thanks" I murmured and took his hand. "You didn't have to do that" I said "It was awfully brave of you to"
He smiled, his eyes glittering with mischief.
"Oh, yeah…that was a really courageous thing to do, wasn't it? Real heroic, am I right?" There was playfulness to his tone of voice and normally I am all for a joke but definitely not now.
I wasn't in the mood.
"What's your name? You never told me" he said and presented the plate of meat to me. "Fine, don't tell me but you need to eat. I saved these for you"
"I can't take your food from you. I will be alright" I murmured without looking at him. I wished he would go away so I could enjoy this moment of relief and tranquility that had descended me.
"I have eaten. This is for you" he placed the plate in my palm "i will leave you be. You look like you want to be left alone but word to the wise, stay away from Ramsey. He might be all bark but sometimes even those bite too"
He strode away with one hand in his pocket and the other gently placed on his bag.
"Wait!" I yelled at him and he stopped and turned around.
"My name is Miracle"
He bit down a smile.
"I knew it was something pretty. Later, Miracle"
With that he walked away.
****
Hardy's Pov
I knew I was being followed. In their defense, they did a good job of hiding their scents but hiding their heartbeat was a different ball game.
I needed to get to an isolated place to have a conversation with dumb, dumber and dumbest over there by the trees but First, I needed to put some distance between Miracle and them
Miracle.
Her name rolls off my tongue like it is something special…like she is something special.
Finding her photograph earlier and watching Steve discard it like she was nothing brought up things for me…things like the urge to string him up by the feet and punch him till he stops moving then proceed to castrate him before feeding the bastard his own balls.
It was quite the visual…one I enjoyed thinking about very much.
But why on earth, his treatment of her bothered me so much was a total mystery! It's not like I'm a saint ...I am the opposite of a saint.
I am…Bad news.
I stopped running and I waited for them to catch up.
They did.
Five wolves emerged from the shadows, deadly creatures of the forest parading around in nice two breast pockets, tailor made suits and expensive shoes, all looking at me like they wanted to take my head with them.
I raised both hands up in the air in surrender
"oops, you caught me" I said with a little bit of a smile.
I watched their posture stiffen.
Oh great, they know who I am.
"By the order of king Leopold De vil, you've been ordered to return to Oswald. Come willingly, your highness…your grandfather has ordered for your safe return to Raka" Luther, the King's Beta told me.
I placed my hands down and smiled, loudly this time around.
Leopard De vil…Apex predator, King of all that goes bump in the forest. The big bad!
I knew that an order from the Zeta Alpha, the supreme lord of all wolves in existence both past, present and future was final and disobedience would be met with extreme violence yet what can I say?
"I am going to have to decline your request…"
"It's not a request" Luther Crates said in his usual casual tone "It's an order from the demon's head. You are oath bound to follow. We all are"
Luther hardly yells yet somehow he was as terrifying as they come with a stick up his ass.
"I don't give a rat's ass about the King! Grandpapi can shove it down his wrinkled tyrant ass!"
"Take him" a younger version of Luther ordered, his son probably.
He lunged forward at me with two of his friends.
My transformation was swift.
I snarled, my fur standing on end as the three wolves closed in. Their eyes gleamed with a feral intensity, their jaws snapping with anticipation. I knew I had to end this quickly, before they overwhelmed me with sheer numbers…if Beta Luther Crates was here, it meant he came with an army.
The first wolf lunged, its teeth bared, and I met it with a vicious swipe of my claws. The sound of ripping flesh and crunching bone filled the air as I tore into his shoulder, sending him yelping to the ground.
The second wolf attacked, its jaws snapping wildly, but I was ready. I dodged his teeth and countered with a brutal bite to his neck, my venom was deadlier than silver, my teeth sinking deep into his flesh. He would have been dead before he hit the ground anyway but I shook my head, tearing out a chunk of its throat and watching him choke on his own blood.
The third wolf, the largest of the three, charged at me with a deafening roar. I met it head-on, our bodies colliding in a flurry of claws and teeth. We rolled across the ground, our growls and snarls echoing through the forest. I pin it down, my claws dug deep into his chest, and with a swift jerk of my head, I ripped out its heart.
The fight was over in mere moments. The two wolves lying motionless at my paws and the other one groaning in pain at the sudden loss of an arm. I stood panting, my chest heaving with exertion, my fur matted with blood and dirt. I knew I'd sent a clear message: no one takes me back home without going through me first and I am a very bad thing to go through.
I changed back immediately and spat out the leftover blood in my mouth.
Luther watched with the casual curiosity of a bored investigative journalist, his hands firmly on the rod of Raka.
"That's my son" he said.
"I know" I stated as a matter of fact "It's why he is the only one still alive…missing a hand but he is still breathing, isn't he?"
I asked him.
It happened fast. He pulled the gun out of nowhere and I heard a sound and junior Luther stopped moving.
"Death by your own father, that got to suck" I commented.
"First rule of the wild…never go against a royal without God by your side. Junior here should have paid attention" he placed the gun back. "Prince Abaddon…"
"It's Hardy" I insisted.
"Of course" he lowered his head slightly in submission "Hardy, is there anything I can say to convince you to come home?"
"You are a Roanoke Beta, aren't you going to try and murder me? You are certainly capable" I reminded him.
"I am" he admitted "But the King's order is absolute. He wants you safely returned but that's not going to happen, is it?"
"No"
"Hardy, your grandfather cares about you"
I chuckled.
"No, he doesn't"
I started walking away. I needed to find a river, wash up and change my shirt and get back to the bus.
"He knows, your highness" Luther said.
I stopped walking and looked at him.
"When?" I asked him.
"Before you arrived in Oswald…before he picked you as heir over Jackson's boy, Steve. Not that the ass fucking coward was King material to begin with. He thinks with his penis"
I blinked. All my senses were heightened instantly.
I looked at Beta Luther Crates.
"Leopold knows I killed a royale, my blood and yet he offered me the throne?" I asked in a sombre voice.
"He offered you the throne because of it. You remind the old man of himself, Hardy"
"Yay, me" I said sarcastically and walked away.
When I got back to the cafeteria after washing up and changing clothes, I found out that we had been ordered by our superiors to shelter in place and wait out the storm that was coming.
Everyone sought shelter in the cafeteria.
When I walked into the cafeteria, I could smell her even before our eyes locked on each other.
Miracle was curled up in a corner with the plate I handed over to her, chewing what was left of her dinner.
I couldn't help but notice the way she moves, the way her hair falls, the way her frown creases the corners of her eyes or the cut above her forehead. It feels like my brain is becoming hardwired to pay attention to her, even when I'm trying to focus on something else. And it's infuriating.
I don't want to be drawn to her. I don't want to think about her at all, I have troubles of my own. But my body seems to have a mind of its own, responding to her presence with a rush of adrenaline and a racing heart.
I try to tell myself it's just physical attraction, that it's just my hormones playing tricks on me. But deep down, I know it's more than that. I'm drawn to her eyes, her bravery and her being.
And that's what scares me the most.
The fact that even though my humanity is off, this black hair girl was capable of making me feel things.
I found a corner and sat down, drawing in my notepads till the wee hours of the night, trying to ignore the need to move closer to her.
Then I heard her voice.
I dropped the notepad and listened. It felt like she was having some sort of nightmare…the terrifying kind.
I try to ignore her but I can't.
I stood up, went over to the corner she was and pulled her into my arms, pushing hair away from her face, I began to soothe her.
"It's alright…. Everything is alright, darlin"
She stirred and burrowed deeper into me and for the rest of the night, she slept like a baby.