It was nearing night and they figured the
operation would have a better chance of working in the dark, so
they sat back to wait. Garrett was pacing back and forth trying to
keep his wolf calm. He was so close to getting her back and he
couldn't do anything. He mentally willed her to wake up for him,
hoping their connection would break through. He had enough time to
dream about what their life could be like together. He knew it
would be an incredibly short life for him since she was human, but
as long as they were together for the next fifty to seventy years,
he'd be happy with that. He knew they'd be on the run from here on
out and he'd not have a pack anymore. There was no way the elders
would ever let either of them live after this. As they waited, it
started to snow. The air sounded muffled with the white blanket
over the forest.
"Hey Jason, can you let Jessica know I love
her? I won't be seeing her again and I want her to know it wasn't
my intention to desert her."
"You can tell her yourself. What has you
talking like that?"
"Even if I make it out of this alive, I'll
never be able to be part of the pack. We'll have to go rogue so the
elders won't find us," he grimaced. He knew how hard it was to
survive without pack, but they didn't have an option. He wondered
if their kids would be shifters, and how they'd survive without a
pack.
Jason scented his sadness and wanted to say
something to make it better, but couldn't think of anything
helpful. "If it comes to it, I'll tell her for you."
Breck walked over and put his hand on his
shoulder, "Son, don't start counting chickens before they hatch. We
don't know how this night will play out. Don't give up hope
yet."
Garrett nodded at him, but his eyes showed
his true thoughts; he didn't believe there was any hope to have. He
started to feel a thread of emotion from Riley; she was waking up.
He immediately sent her soothing feelings, hoping to ease her mind.
"She's awake. Let's do this as planned. I'm serious - if you guys
are in danger of being caught, get the hell out of there. Don't
sacrifice yourself for us," he hesitated, "and thanks, I'll never
be able to repay you for everything you've done for me in the last
24 hours."
They all nodded and clapped him on the back,
and he watched them melt into the woods to their assigned areas. As
he waited for the signal, he said a silent prayer that he'd get
Riley out without harm. He had been sending Riley soothing
emotions, but hers were all over the place and he was nearly at his
last ounce of control. He received a text stating they were all in
place and ready. He moved out, intent on getting her back.
y woke in
utter darkness. She noticed the hood was over her head again. It
felt like her whole body was hurting. As she tried to assess the
damage, she felt Garrett on the other end of the connection,
sending her comfort. She worked to reassure him by sending it back,
but was having a hard time concentrating with the barrage of pain
she felt. Garth must have hit her a few times after she passed out.
Her ribs were sore and her right index finger was most likely
broken. She knew her face was swollen; with one of her eyes sealed
shut. She could taste dried blood on her lips and smell urine. She
was horrified that she wet herself, but what did they expect
without a bathroom break all day. They had completely degraded her
to the point of an abused animal. She suddenly felt more empathy
for the shelter animals she helped. She knew some of them had much
worse conditions and lived in them for months or years at a time.
She reminded herself, if those helpless animals could survive and
come out of it, then so could she. She would not give up hope, not
when Garrett was out there looking for her. She was not going to
let them break her spirit.
She didn't hear Garth in the cabin, but she
wasn't going to make a noise this time. She didn't want another
visit; she wasn't sure she could handle a beating right now. She
tried to get as comfortable as possible with her arms and legs
bound behind her, but the stabbing pain in her shoulders, ribs, and
hips was hard to ignore. She listened intently to her surroundings
while taking shallow breaths, trying to figure out if someone was
outside the door. Was he in the room toying with her? It seemed
like something he would do. When would the blue-eyed man come back?
What did Garth call him, Jeremiah? Yah, Jeremiah was much better
than Garth. Maybe he'd take Garth off guard duty after he saw what
happened to her, if she's still alive when he returns, she thought
with a grimace. She was freezing cold and shivering. She could tell
it was below freezing outside and hoped she wouldn't die of
exposure before Garrett could find her.
She heard someone yell from outside the
cabin. It sounded like Garth, but she wasn't sure. He was barking
orders to some others about checking out the noise. She cowered,
fearing he'd make his way inside the cabin to check on her. Two
minutes later she heard the door scrape open. She involuntarily
shuddered, which gave her wakefulness away to him. She was so
terrified she couldn't think straight, but then she felt anger from
Garrett. Wait, something was different about the air around her,
she swore she could feel an electrical current running over her
skin and it was soothing. He found her; it had to be him.
"Garrett?" she asked tentatively. She heard a strange scraping
noise and then a gasp.
"Riley, what did they do to you? I'm here
sweetheart; I'll get you out of here safely. I promise, but you
need to know, you may see things you don't understand. Do you trust
me completely?"
"Yes, I trust you. Please, just get me out of
here." Her voice broke as she started to cry.
"Oh sweetheart, my poor Kismet. Let me help
you up."
She gasped as he raised her into a sitting
position, pain lancing through her body.
"I'm so sorry sweetheart. I didn't realize
that would hurt you.
"It's OK, just untie me and get us out of
here."
"I will, but you need to close your eyes. I'm
going to remove your hood."
She could hear his voice breaking from
emotion, "Alright, they're closed." She felt him start to lift the
hood and then he froze with it half way up her face. The hood was
stuck to dried blood around her eye. She felt the rage she had felt
last night sweep over her and she knew he was on the verge of
losing it. "It's fine, it's not that bad. I'll heal. It's OK," she
cried as tears ran down her face. She heard a guttural growl, and
she swore it came from him.
"Who did this to you?" Garrett felt tears on
his face, as he wept for the damage done to his Kismet. He couldn't
believe someone was cruel enough to beat her. He failed again by
not being here to protect her. He had so much pain and rage
battling around in him he didn't know what to do. Hug her, run with
her, or hunt down and kill whoever did this? He was leaning towards
the latter.
She shivered when he asked because his voice
sounded completely different, animalistic. His anger and guilt
bombarded her senses. "It doesn't matter. Let's just leave.
Please."
"No, who did this to you?" he growled again.
Garrett was losing control and was seeing red. He knew his wolf was
going to break free and hunt down the man who damaged her. He could
smell her blood on the air and her face was a complete mess. He had
no idea how bad the rest of her was. Then the door banged open and
he smelled Garth. He covered her eyes back up with the hood.
"Forgive me, my Kismet. But you can't see this."
"I did it and I'll do it again. But this time
I'll make you watch," Garth snarled.
Riley cried in fear and tried to scrabble
away from his voice. Then she felt the overwhelming blood curdling
rage from Garrett.
"Oh Shit!" yelled Garth.
She heard the most horrific growl, followed
by teeth snapping. She knew the sound of a dogfight. Why was there
a dogfight? She was so confused. What was going on? The amount of
rage coming from Garrett was swallowing her and she felt the need
to hurt someone, anyone. She heard toenails scrabbling on the wood
floor and a high-pitched keening. The noise stopped abruptly, with
only the sound of a dog panting. The fight only lasted minutes, but
seemed like hours. She knew Garrett was there because she could
feel his anger, self-loathing, and pain. She wanted to go to him,
but she was still tied and hooded. "Garrett, please untie me."
There was a scuffling sound and she heard him walk towards her.
"Sweetheart, I'm so, so sorry. Give me two
seconds to clean this up."
"No, untie me now," she demanded.
He didn't know what to do. He didn't want her
to see this mess, or him covered in blood. He couldn't believe he
took down an elder single handedly, but Garth's head, separated
from his body, was proof. He had gone feral and killed him. He
barely remembered it happening. "Alright, but please don't look
around. You don't need to see this. Please don't remove your hood
until I ask you to, OK?"
"Untie me Garrett. It hurts and I can't stand
being tied for another second."
"OK." He let his wolf's claws extend and cut
through the bonds holding her wrists and ankles. He held onto her
hands, rubbing them to help with circulation. He noticed the bloody
cuts around her wrists and a finger that looked broken. His heart
was shattered and he was fighting his tears, but he needed to keep
it together long enough to get her to safety. "Sweetheart, you're
going to have to trust me. There is a backpack here. You'll find
clothes inside and I want you to change into them. Remove
absolutely everything else, and I mean everything. Then drink the
vial of liquid you'll find in there. You may see some things you
don't understand tonight. Please know I will protect you with my
life and nothing will touch you again while I'm alive. OK?"
She knew Garth had died, she could smell the
copper tang of blood on the air. She also knew, deep in her soul,
he'd make sure she was safe. "OK, I'll do whatever you want if you
get me out of here," she cried.
"Thank you. When you remove the hood, you'll
see a very large wolf here. Don't worry - he's a friend. After you
change, I want you to climb onto his back and hold on with
everything you have. He's going to get you out of this place. Will
you be able to hold on?" This was going to be the tough part. He
wasn't sure if she was physically able to hold on with her injuries
even if she trusted riding a wolf.
A what? A wolf? Was he joking? "I can't ride
a wolf!"
"Yes you can, he's larger than normal and
extremely strong. Just do it for me baby, please?"
"Where will you be? Where are you going?
Don't leave me!" she cried. She felt tears streaming down her face
and panic setting in.
"I won't leave you, I promise. This is the
safest way to get you out of here. You need to trust me." He was
scared to death. He'd never shown his shift to a human before and
he was afraid she'd run the other way.
She was starting to feel like a blubbering
idiot. She could barely breathe through her swollen nose; tears and
snot were mingling down her face. With him holding her hands, she
wasn't able to wipe it away. Finally, she nodded. "OK, I'll do it.
Just get me out of here."
"I will sweetheart. Now, wait ten seconds
after I let go of your hands to remove the hood, OK?"
"OK."
He released her arms and shifted as fast as
possible. He then lay down on the ground to watch her. He was
nervous and his heart was pounding. What would she see? Would she
see him for who and what he was? In a small way, he hoped she would
recognize him; it'd be an easier way to tell her about what he was
if she figured it out on her own. He wasn't sure how to tell
someone he was a human one minute and an animal the next.
He watched her swollen and bloody hands
gingerly lift the hood off her face, breaking open the wounds near
her eye as the scabs ripped free. Her eye was swollen shut and face
bruised beyond belief. She had tears and snot running down her face
and his heart was broken to see her this way. He had already
scented the urine in the room and his heart broke that she had been
so degraded. She lifted her head and looked at the room, her face
in a grimace as she saw Garth's headless body. Then her eyes locked
on his and all of his senses flared red-hot.
She didn't know what she was going to see
when she lifted the hood. Her shoulder screamed at her as she
raised her arms to pull it off her head. When she looked up, she
saw blood everywhere, along with a very dead Garth. She gulped,
trying to erase the image out of her mind but knowing it would
haunt her forever. As she scanned the room, she saw an unnaturally
huge chocolate brown wolf laying on the floor staring at her. She
looked into his glowing, golden eyes and knew her life was
irrevocably changed.
She saw and felt something she couldn't
explain. The comforting current was in the room and the connection
she felt with Garrett was in the wolf. The wolf was Garrett. She
would have laughed herself silly if she had heard herself think
that a few hours ago, but the connection she had with him was all
encompassing. It was his soul, the other half of hers, looking at
her through a wolf's eyes. She quickly used the hood to wipe the
snot, tears, and blood off her face, absurdly embarrassed about him
seeing her this way. H
e's a wolf! And you're worried about what
you look like? You are clearly losing your mind!
She suddenly
wondered if he could understand her. She didn't know how to begin;
did she let him smell her? Did she pet him? Did she talk to
him?
"I've clearly lost my mind, because I'm going
to talk to you as if you're Garrett." She corrected herself, "I
know you're Garrett." She rolled her one good eye and mumbled
through her cracked lips, "What am I talking about?"