Rylan ran as fast as he could through the forest. His feet hurt from all the running but he didn't stop.
Behind him, he could hear his chasers' steps getting closer. This made him increase his pace. He tried to change into his wolf form but for some reason he couldn't.
He could only run.
He made the mistake of turning his head to look at his chasers. His foot got caught by a root and he fell face flat on the ground, rolling down several times before stopping.
He tried to stand up fast and run but his chasers had already caught up and they surrounded him.
He looked at the big wolves who bared their teeth at him, drool at the corner of their mouths. It horrified him, made him feel powerless.
"No, please, don't hurt me," he begged.
"Lynx!"
"Kill him!"
"He's dangerous! He must die!"
The voices clouded his mind and he fell onto his knees. He only wanted to get away from them.
"Please, I'm not dangerous, I won't hurt anyone. I promise. Please let me go," he cried, tears falling from his eyes.
His whole body shivered and his heart trembled, feeling a weakness he wasn't supposed to feel.
He couldn't connect to his wolf, which made him feel even more powerless. His wolf was his source of power, the reason he was strong and the reason he could be safe. Without his wolf, he was...nothing.
"Kill!" He heard the shout as all the wolves jumped at him.
"Nooo!" He screamed at the top lungs and sat up on the bed.
"Rylan? What's wrong?" His aunt quickly opened the door and switched the lights on.
He was seated on the bed, his chest heaving up and down and a thick layer of sweat on his face. His eyes were wide, filled with fear. His hands tightly clutched his bedsheets but the most shocking thing was the presence of tears on his face!
Jasmine paused, not sure of what to do for a moment. She never thought a day would come when she would see her nephew genuinely a mess.
It was not pretense nor was it forced. It was real.
He turned his head and his gaze fell on her, snapping her back to her senses. "Rylan," she whispered the only word that she could.
"Aunt," his voice came out as a small cry. Hearing this, she quickly ran to him and hugged him.
Normally, he hated hugs, actually, he hated getting into contact with anyone but at that moment he felt he needed it.
"Oh my dear boy," she rubbed his back in a comforting manner. Shockingly, he hugged her back.
"Aunt, they caught me. They wanted to kill me," his voice shook.
"Calm down, it was just a dream."
"I've never dreamt like that," he shut his eyes tightly and forced back the tears that were about to fall.
"Don't worry, it will never happen. I won't let it happen, okay?"
He didn't answer, instead, he enjoyed the hug for a bit longer before he slowly pulled back, wiping his already dried tears in the process.
She sighed when she saw he was back to normal. Rylan was the strongest person she had ever known, what kind of dream could scare him so much?
"Thank you, aunt. You should go back to sleep now, I'm fine," he forced a smile.
"What do you mean I should go? I will stay with you."
"Aunt, I'm not a kid. Don't worry yourself okay? Just go to sleep."
"Are you sure?"
"Very."
"Okay then," she stood straight and turned to leave. Before she got out she paused, "Rylan?" He looked at her and hummed, "I'm serious, I'll never let them do anything to you."
"I know aunt," he smiled. She smiled back and finally left. Once he was sure she was gone, he stood and went to his balcony. The cold air mercilessly hit his face but he didn't mind, he actually liked it.
[Arius?] He called his wolf in his mind.
[What?]
When he heard the familiar arrogant voice in his head, relief washed over him. He knew it was a dream but it still scared him.
[I thought I lost you]
[The dream?]
[Yeah]
[Don't tell me losing me made you cry]
[Well...]
[Wow, you actually care about me] Arius laughed.
[Actually, it's because without you I'm powerless, not because I care] he rolled his eyes.
[Sure, I'll take your word] Arius spoke sarcastically.
He rolled his eyes again and watched the stars.
He knew it, he knew how much he was wanted. No matter how harmless he was, they still wanted to kill him. Just because he was a lynx.
Long ago, there were a lot of lynxes. They were ruthless beasts who killed however they wanted whenever they wanted. Moreover, lynxes were more powerful than alphas and could evade the alpha command.
His father was one of the few lynxes that existed. He managed to lie low in his pack and soon met his mother, an alpha. They got him and when they realized he was a lynx, they panicked and escaped to the human world.
That was where he was raised before they died and he came back to his mother's pack, to his aunt.
Rylan closed his eyes when he saw a shooting star and quickly made a wish. He had been raised with humans and he was told to make a wish once he saw a shooting star.
'I wish I never lose my wolf,' he wished. All this was happening because he made the mistake of exposing himself in his wolf form. That was when others realised he was not a normal wolf.
He turned and decided to go back to bed. He couldn't let his head get carried away by a dream. Bedsides, he needed energy since he wanted to go somewhere in the morning.
[Rylan] Arius called before he slept, [With or without me, you're powerful]
Rylan stared at nowhere in particular for a second then shrugged. [Either way, I'm not losing you] and he closed his eyes, letting sleep take over.