Fourteen

When Wren and Whisper returned to Zane's home, Whisper had deemed Wren her friend. Wren had been kind to Whisper, considerate of her feelings, and always willing to listen to her. if it weren't for the weariness she felt, Whisper would have been fine to stay with Wren all day. But they had been out for a couple of hours and it was the most Whisper had done in that amount of time, except of course being beaten.

Wren opened Zane's door and ushered Whisper inside. She was half asleep, barely able to see where she was going. She almost ran into the couch, which was fine except for the outside part of the armrest had wood which out hurt her lower abdomen. So, gently, Wren steered Whisper around to sit on the couch, then lay her down. She covered her up with a blanket and sat with her as she slept until Zane returned from wherever he was.

(DREAM)

Whisper didn't know where she was at first. She wasn't even sure if the place was real or her imagination. Around her, everywhere she looked, was liquid fire—lava. She was standing on a ledge that burned her feet through the sneakers she wore, making her shift from foot to foot. Whimpering, she looked up through the smoke, trying to find the sky, but there was nothing but a dark gray mass that threatened to choke her.

"If it isn't my old friend, Whisper!" said a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. Whisper looked about, terrified of what was happening, of what was about to happen. "Be careful, you don't want to fall in, do you?"

She whimpered, clawing at the rock behind her, her fingers bleeding. "I want to go home!" she cried.

A dark laugh penetrated the roar of the lava below. "All you had to do was ask. I can take you home. Just tell me where you are. Tell me how to get to you and I will take you home."

She shook her head, heart pounding. "I want to go home, to Zane!"

"Zane?" the voice asked with surprise. "So that's what he called about!" He laughed heartily, maniacally. "I can't believe you manipulated an Alpha to get you out of that hospital, Whisper. I can't believe you are the one he is going to mate with!"

Whisper paused at the last statement, heart now fluttering in joy. "Mate me?"

"Not now! Not after I'm through with you!" The lava started to rise, causing Whisper to scream and turn around. She clawed at the rock with her toes and fingers, desperately trying to escape. "He's going to wish he had never pulled you out of the hospital in the first place!"

With one last laugh, Whisper didn't hear him again. The lava still rose, though, and she still tried to escape. She jumped, catching her foot on a little ledge for a moment, before it slipped and she fell. Screaming, she continued to fall, her arms flailing in pinwheels beside her.

(END DREAM)

Whisper sat up with a jerk, breathing heavily, eyes searching her surroundings. She was safe, in Zane's house. She saw his bookshelf from where she was on the couch, she saw the door that led outside, and she saw the blanket that was twisted about her like a cocoon. A sound caught her ears from the doorway into another room that made her jump.

A moment later, Wren walked in with a plate full of food, humming to herself. When she saw Whisper's face, she stopped in her tracks. "Whisper, are you okay?"

Whisper's green eyes scanned over Wren's body, checking for anything that might indicate she was hallucinating this picture and it was really someone else. When she found none, she nodded to Wren's question. "I'm fine. I just forgot where I was."

Wren looked doubtful but walked over and handed Whisper the plate of spaghetti. As she watched Whisper eat, she saw her glancing around as if something was about to attack. Whisper didn't know how to relax anymore. Every time she did, something would happen to make her scared again.

Neither woman had to sit in silence for long because the door opened. When Whisper saw the bulky figure in the threshold, she screamed. She got up, throwing the half eaten plate on the ground at Wren's feet, turned and ran upstairs into the bathroom where she locked the door. She slid to the tiled ground and curled up into a tiny ball, shaking violently.

When she heard a knock, she whimpered, then ran to the tub, pulling the curtain shut and getting as small as she could with her arms about her knees. The door knob jiggled a little before she heard the lock click. She screamed again when the door opened and the curtain was pulled back. When hands grabbed at her, she fought hard, scratching and hitting the person trying to hurt her.

She lost the fight due to weariness and the uncontrollable urge to give up and let them do whatever they wished to her. So, when the hands pulled her out of the tub, she hung limply and was not able to stand up.

"Whisper, look at me." The deep voice rumbled, catching her ears. Whimpering, she obeyed. Blue eyes met hers and she whimpered again at the dream she had. "I am not going to hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She tensed at his words, not sure if they bear the truth or not. She wanted to believe him, wanted him to protect her, but something about her dream made her safety with him less believable.

"Talk to me, little wolf. What happened?"

Whisper whimpered and shook her head, delaying the inevitable.

"I can't help if you don't tell me. Please, Whisper. I need you to tell me." Again, whisper shook her head, putting her hands on his shoulders and pulling away. He held on tight. "Will you tell Wren?"

Pausing, Whisper saw the woman behind him and felt somewhat better. No one threatened their relationship, just Zane. She nodded. Zane let her go and she ran to Wren, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"You can go upstairs." Wren nodded, then walked up the stairs with Whisper as Zane sat in the bathroom for a while, eyes closed and his head bowed.

Once they were in the bedroom and the door was securely closed behind them, Wren sat Whisper on the bed and made her look up. "What's going on?"

In a shaky voice, Whisper said, "I had a dream."

"Can you tell me about it?" Whisper nodded and told her what happened, glancing at the door every few seconds to make sure neither Zane or the body of the voice entered to take her away. When she was finished, Wren pulled her into her arms and held her tight. "Zane won't let you go, sweetie. He's not going to get tired of you or put you back in that place again. He isn't that cruel."

"But, the voice said he'll make Zane wish he hadn't pulled me out in the first place. He's going to hurt Zane!" Whisper cried.

A thought came to Wren and she pulled back to look into Whisper's eyes. "You better not run away, Whisper. If you do, you'll get hurt. Zane will be pissed and super worried about you!"

"But if I don't—"

"No, you will not run away!" Wren ordered, knowing it would break Zane's heart if she did because of some asshole that was getting to her head. "Do you hear me? If you need someone to run to, come to me. Do not leave and get yourself hurt. We don't need to go looking for you."

Depressed, Whisper nodded and leaned back against Wren again, wrapping her arms around her and listening to the steady heartbeat.

After a few minutes, they heard someone knock. Wren let them in and the ladies saw Zane and Nico. Zane's eyes found a somewhat calmer Whisper, eyes red and puffy and nose running. He looked back to Wren who nodded at him that she'd explain later. Nico said, "Who wants to go for a run?"

Worries forgotten for now, Whisper became alert with excitement. "A run?"

Both men nodded, Zane smiling. "We'll shift into our wolves and have some fun."

Wren laughed when Whisper ran out of the room, saying she would be back. She headed into the bathroom again, this time getting undressed and shifting. Her wolf was jittery and ready for another race with Zane or whoever challenged them. She scratched at the door, barking once for someone to let her out.

Nico opened it and she nudged him in thanks before running down to where the other two waited. Zane smiled at her when she went over and pressed her muzzle into his stomach, earning a scratch behind the ear from him. Her tail wagged and she backed up enough to jump onto her back legs so her front ones were on his chest.

"Hello, little wolf," he said softly so only she could hear.

She whined, licking his face and memorizing his scent.

"Let me go shift, then we will leave." She barked in approval and let him pas her while she sat and waited. Wren and Nico were already waiting. Wren was a beautiful gray wolf and Nico was a red one. Both were tall, but not as tall as Whisper and Zane, who towered above them by two feet.

When Zane appeared, Wren pushed open the front door and barked at Whisper, who glanced at her and stood. Behind her, Zane nudged her forward. Not needing anymore encouragement, she leaped out of the shelter and ran straight for the forest.

The three followed suit, and when she glanced back, she saw Zane in the middle, determination in his eyes. She gave him a wolfish grin before racing off. Her wolf urged her on, paws pounding the ground and wind rushing through her fur. Behind her, she heard a soft growl and more paws. Whisper yipped, dodging the trees and roots, doing her best to lose him.

But she only made it a few miles before she was tackled to the ground. Unlike before, she wasn't scared of who it was, and growled playfully, nipping and biting at the large black wolf. When they came to a stop, Zane was on top, daring her to continue fighting him with amber eyes that glinted in the fading sunlight.

Knowing he was stronger than her, Whisper lifted her head and licked his nose in apology and truce. Zane took that and carefully lifted off her and moved away so she could stand. Whisper shook herself out and saw Wren sprinting towards them. Before she could run towards her friend though, Zane nudged her to follow him.

Whisper was annoyed with him for not letting her play with Wren and snapped her teeth at his tail, almost taking off the tip. Shocked, he turned around to see if she was serious. When he saw her glaring at him, not willing to follow him, he huffed and sat down, letting her go. She perked up right away and ran away, yipping and playing around with Wren.