15. A Dangerous Game
There was nothing gentle about that fur. It was rough and piercing into her body like small spikes of withered grass. She tried to move but to no avail. It seemed as though her back had been broken and with the extra weight sleeping on her didn't help.
She stayed there for a while until she couldn't and started to throw herself furiously at the wolf on top of her. What was happening? She couldn't figure it out as another painful howl came her way.
Although now her wolf was on full alert. She had sensed it was her mate's howl and he was in pain, she could sense it too and the urgent need to save him sparked in her chest, leading her to escape the weight thrown on her body.
When she was able to slide stealthily away from the huge wolf she spared him no glance and scampered towards her mate's direction.
Her heart was pounding deep in her chest as she ran swiftly dodging the branches on her way. She was driven by fear but not the fear of having a complete malicious wolf following her closely behind but, it was a fear that had her running through unknown, unfamiliar routes in search of her mate, it was a fear of losing him, Michael.
But why? She hadn't been marked by him, she wasn't in love with him, so why was she running like it was her life on the verge of death. With every bare breath she took and breathed out with every passing moment, it felt as though her heart was slowing down even when it was rushing hard in her ribcage.
Why was she feeling like that? Like the life was slowly getting drained out of her? Like every hope she'd ever hold onto were fading into a thin line of nothingness. Why was she feeling herself getting drained and her body floating on the lightest cloud, on the never-ending sea to the other world? Why was she feeling like dying when her paws were as furious and swift as ever?
She had to take a deep breath as her paws came to a halt. She had been running for minutes and she needed a second, a moment.
Her eyes wandered to where the scent she'd been chasing came from and they dropped dead on the source of it. Her heart dreadfully clench at the sight in front of her eyes. To say that she was shocked was an understatement when she was stunned to an extent she couldn't move an inch. It felt as though her worst nightmare was coming to life even if it wasn't.
He was laying there seeming half-dead. There were several wounds opened on his body which covered his fur in a deep maroon red. She had seen blood before but his were so red like sun near the horizon during rise and set. It was so dark and thick, the mere look of it was giving her shudders. But the worst of it all was yet to come.
Michael was surrounded by four wolves who were encircling around his immobilized body.
She'd ever will to scamper towards him and comfort her mate but she held herself when she fell in one of their sights.
The wolves were just as huge as Michael and intimidating with alarming auras. She could tell they were princes and an alpha's sons. They all had matching teak wood eyes and brownish and golden glints for their furs. Their eyes were captivating but never in a good way, she could perceive the devilish grins in them more clearer than day.
"Seems like you've lost your way love." One of them spoke through a mind-link as maliciousness dripped from his voice. Now the two had paid heed to her as well and being in their sights gave Evelyn weird creeps she couldn't explain.
Evelyn didn't answer, she couldn't as she stared at the barely alive body of her mate. And it must've been for the goddess's blessing that Michael was swiftly alarmed by the wolf's gesture to Evelyn.
Little by little he was taking in his mate's scent which was soothing his pain down, bringing him relief. But soon after the bitter reality replaced the sweetness of his mate's scent into worry.
Evelyn saw the little motion in Michael's body as he tried to look at her. She felt so helpless and weak to not be capable of doing anything about his condition. He looked so good just a few whiles ago, what could've they done to him to make him this vulnerable?
Michael's eyes were alarmed. Evelyn knew he was feeling guilty and worried that something might happen to her but she'd seemed to lose her sanity as she started walking towards him as her steps showed no trembling in them. Her paws were dauntingly pacing towards her mate as the other wolves kept looking at her except for one who'd now seemed to take her presence in notice as her scent enveloped him closely.
He was a bit different looking than other wolves or so did Evelyn thought. His eyes were darker and he was taller and wider than Michael. He looked more daunting than the rest of them and instantly Evelyn knew he was the eldest among those princes. Hence the most powerful.
He'd been gazing down at Michael as if he was contrasting Michael to dirt. And now Evelyn hated how he looked at her and how his wolf reacted to her scent and presence. She didn't dwell on the thought and kept walking towards Michael. The wolves were a bit surprised but they didn't discourage her.
At last when she was eventually there, she was on the verge of shedding tears when she observed his pain closely.
His ribcage was surely broken along with one of his paws. There were numerous cuts from the rocks and pebbles on the ground but the deeper one was in his stomach.
He was looking at Evelyn with pleading eyes, asking her to run but she hadn't even thought of that yet. She wasn't a coward to leave her mate here alone to die. She'd protect him.
She twisted back in a spin to meet the wicked eyes of the eldest wolf. He was leaning closer to her but she didn't have time to get offended by it. It all depended on her.
"What's your name love?" His tone in her mind was overwhelming and disgusting and repulsive. She couldn't help but find his tone off-putting. He was a disgusting wolf―she concluded.
"Evelyn." She spoke for the first time, trying to conceal the hatred in her tone. There was only one way of getting out of this misery. She needed to play a game, one with several stakes. A much dangerous game.