Chapter 3: The cat and mouse game

Kimberly's POV: 

"Do you think it's safe to take her? I mean what are we going to tell him? He isn't going to like this?" One of them says. I pretend to be asleep as I close my eyes and hear everything they are telling me right now. 

"Who said we will tell him? We won't tell him anything. Listen guys, whatever may happen, make sure you don't open your mouths in front of him. Make a promise right now." This one is of another voice. 

Through their voice and their statements, I don't think they are harmful to me in any way. In addition to that one of them has covered me with a warm jacket and it feels way too warmer than before. Honestly, it feels heaven and I don't know whose chest is this but it feels amazingly warm in here. For someone who is carrying me, I don't think he is going to harm me in any way.

"Yes, Beta Simon. But she is injured. She needs treatment immediately. Observing her wounds and bruises, she seems like she has been hurt badly. What must have happened to her?" he asks. 

Beta? Did he just say Beta right now? So, a pack has found me. Should I be happy? Or should I be sad? 

In my dream, I suppose that was a dream, Moon Goddess had told me to be careful of the male werewolves and wisely choose my company. Do they know that I have a stone within me? Do they? 

Maybe they don't. Yeah, they don't. If they had known about it, they would be after the stone instead of trying to save me. They would have pierced me and taken it out already. 

"Let's take her to our secret annex. Gamma Archie, Treat her with your skills and knowledge, ok." The one carrying me speaks and I guess this is Beta Simon. 

"Me? But… For that, she needs medicines and herbs. I cannot just sneak into the medicine pharma and get the medicines. You know Alpha doesn't allow us to buy and sell medicines without any prescriptions. You know what happened last month right? He will kill me if I withdraw such expensive medicines without his knowledge," he says. 

"I know. But this girl has to be saved." It's Simon's voice one more time. 

I don't understand why is he insisting on saving me while taking so much of risks. I am getting doubtful now. Does Beta Simon know about my stone? Is he trying to be the same as the witch in the story of Hansel and Gretal? Lure me with his kindness and save my life and after I am fine, attack me for the stone? 

Is that it? 

Why do I get the vibe that it is just like that and want to get down from the arms of this Beta Simon right now? I sense danger from him and nothing else. Should I open my eyes and run away from them? But though my mind is fully conscious, my legs are still injured and they are useless right now. He is right. I need treatment immediately. 

"But why so much danger for her? I mean, we don't even know her. We don't even know if she is human or one of us. And, we know she doesn't belong to the Blue Moon pack?" It's Archie's voice. He is against taking me and saving me. I suppose he doesn't have any bad intentions towards my stone and me but I am sure he is such a bad person. Unkind and rude by nature. 

"Yeah, she isn't from our pack but she is a werewolf. She is hurt and as a fellow werewolf, we must save her. She can return if she gets back to being fine. From my perspective, she hasn't even shifted. So, getting healed might take time for her. We will hide her till she becomes well and free her after that." It's Beta Simon. 

I think I am wrong about him. Beta Simon doesn't seem to be a bad person at all. I am already having a soft corner for him without getting a look at him. 

"We're here," the third voice speaks. 

"Let's get her inside and Archie, you understand what I told you right?" Beta Simon speaks. 

"Yes, but you have to take the responsibility if something happens," he says.

"I willingly will do that. You don't have to worry about that," he says. 

After a few minutes, everything turns into silent. Am I already inside? Should I open my eyes now? But what if they are still here and just checking me out? 

I don't know what should I do. I should do the thing that would save me in all the possible ways. I have already been saved from the fierce coldness of that dense lonely forest. That means I have been already given a chance to save myself and I have to keep doing it. My life is precious and so is the stone inside me. So, I shouldn't take a risk with my life, So, close my eyes for the time being. 

"You can open your eyes now," I hear a voice. It's of Beta Simon. He knows. I have always been good at pretensions. I have fooled my Mom, Luna a lot of times. Till this time, I thought that I was good at pretending. How could he catch me when even my mother couldn't catch me at all? 

I open my eyes slowly scared to decipher what might be in front of me. Is it dangerous for me? Or is it safe? 

Whatever may happen, I should open my eyes anyhow. So why not now? 

When my eyes were fully opened, I could see the back of him, of the man who carried me in his arms and whose chest was the warmest when I felt the coldest. 

"How did you know I was pretending?" My voice comes out like a squeak in there. I doubt if he even listened to it. 

"Isn't it obvious?" He turns his body towards me. I squint my eyes feebly. The whole place is dark and I can only see the dark silhouette of him walking towards me. The window is behind me with the access of light. The more he approaches me, the more his face gets the access of light. 

The more he walks to me, the more I see him. And he finally stands in front of me with his full body exposed to the dim light. 

And when I see him completely, I am awed by his beauty. Is he a guy? Regular guy or some God? My eyes enlarge with a little bit of energy I have. He has such an amazing proportions. He has a great face proportions, with perfect dark black orbs. His skin isn't light. It's tanned. Maybe because he is associated with fights.

 But the tanned skin suits him perfectly with his black thick brows and pointed nose. His lips just as the shape of the heart and his face, chiseled shape. And his height is making me envious. I might be just half of his height. 

"Obvious?" I squeak like a mouse one more time. 

"You kept on sniffing like a puppy against my chest and your eyelids kept on shaking at times," he says. 

I made it obvious. Does that mean I was obvious in front of my mom too? 

My mom is the wisest woman of the whole pack and a mere seventeen year old daughter of her won't be able to fool the wisest lady of the pack, right? 

So, does that mean? D-Does that mean she was pretending all along with me? 

I get emotional. I wish, I could see my mom right now. She never let me hurt myself all her life. Even when I had few scratches, she would rush to me to cure and stay by my side until I would heal. She was indeed the best of the best fighter in the pack but to me she never showed that rough side of hers. She never made me feel her absence, not even the single time. 

The tears roll down the corner of my eyes silently. I don't want to show the tears in my eyes in front of the stranger even though he has saved me few hours ago. Mom said never to cry in front of people, never to show weakness in front of them. 

"What happened to you?" he asks. 

I want to wipe away my tears but I don't have much enerygy to do that. I see him take away his gloves and put it aside and sit by my side. 

It scares me when he does that. Why is he sitting right next to me? Just why? 

"W-What do you want?" my whispery voice comes out when he suddenly places his hands over my cheek and I feel warmth on my cheek. 

He gently wipes away the tears from my cheek, like he has known me from years. I keep on gazing on his face like a hurt puppy. He suddenly moves his eyes to mine and they get caught in each other's glances for few seconds and he finally looks away. 

"What's your age?" he asks. 

"Seventeen," I answer. 

"Not shifted yet?" he asks again. 

I nod my head. He then stands up. 

"Don't get nervous. You're safe here. Gamma Archie will be here with the treatment in few minutes. You will be saved. As you haven't shifted yet, your body might take a time. But I have to warn you before you make any mistakes over here. You will leave this place after you receive your treatment and until then, you cannot wander around and show yourself to other werewolves here. This pack hates the strangers. They aren't open to any. Make sure you don't show up in front of them, specially our Alpha," he warns. His warning sounds like of my Maths teacher who voice is absolutely rude but all he want was doing best for ourselves. 

"Okay," I nod. 

I don't want to stay here too. After I get a treatment, I want to go away from here, to the place mom has instructed me to. I have to go and find Nathaniel and discuss about the stone as soon as possible. 

For now, he is the only one who is going to help me with all this stone thing. 

But right at that moment, I hear a footsteps of someone rushing over here and the door suddenly opens.

"Beta Simon,.... Alpha... Alpha's here." That's Archie's voice.