Alex stumbled over to a tree, hands scraping on the bark as she panted. She doubled over while searching for the vampires David talked about, lungs almost bursting from the exertion.
She proceeded slower. However friendly David considered them, vampires willing to waltz into the council's lair couldn't be normal.
She tried to calm her frantic heart, but it was of no use. Her brain knew all too well the imminent danger her position put her in. It screamed for her to turn around and head back to safety, turned her legs to pudding and forced her shoulder-first onto another tree.
The forest was eerily silent, the darkness a comfortable blanket for the predators that lurked within.
She didn't mind — she actually preferred the darkness. Because she didn't need to pretend, there was no mask to be kept up. She was a coward through and through, a wretched being whose face she could barely bare to look in the mirror. But no one could tell.
It covered up the slight mishaps in her expressions, the tremors that she'd occasionally blame on a cold she couldn't feel. But it was okay, because they were all so used to interactions in the darkness that no one ever looked close enough.
Alex squinted for any sign of movement and tugged at the material of her shirt, pulling at the fabric listlessly whilst trying to breathe properly.
Leaves crunched under weight somewhere in the distance but she couldn't pinpoint from where. The bark bit at her bare arm, jolting her body and somewhat helping her gather herself once more.
With one hand on the wood for support, she fought to temper her breathing. It took a moment more for her legs to function properly; for her ears to finally pick up the motion to her back and for her to twist and jump away.
"Woah there," a man held up his hands. "David called us, we were expecting you."
Alex looked from him to the man and woman at his back. Her gaze flickered to the second man. Her nose was nowhere near the caliber of a wolf, but he didn't smell like a vampire. His scent was oddly similar to that of Daphnes'.
"I'm Michael," he offered in a slight accent. "These here are..."
Alex wasn't listening. Her ears rung, chest constricting with a stress she couldn't quite discern.
No, she wanted to gasp. Goddess, not here, not right now.
"Hey, are you ok—"
"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hand away.
She was going to throw up, she realized in horror. Right in front of them.
The woman at Michael's back snickered, thumps tugging at her waistband. "They want us to go in there with a kid?"
"I don't see any other pureblood between you three now, do I?" she countered, resisting the urge to gag. Alex clenched her jaw and bit down on her hand — hard. Her vision came at crystal focus, the ringing in her ears centering to their uneasy footing.
"At least we don't look like we'll keel over and die at any moment." Alex was loathed to have nothing to retort that.
"I'm sorry," she said instead. Because these people were here to help, and so far she had done nothing but panic. She cursed herself for her incessant cowardice. And she cursed her brain for the way it worked.
Coward.
Pathetic coward.
Michael offered a small bag of blood and she drank it greedily while he explained the plan. She took a minute to appreciate the clarity the blood gave her before following them through the undergrowth and to a cave entrance well hidden from prying eyes.
YOU ARE READING
The Lost Wolf
Werewolf***UPDATES ON FRIDAYS*** Val is a headstrong, rebellious girl with a nasty temper and a sense of loyalty that borders on ridiculous. More importantly, she's seventeen, and doesn't much appreciate it when they move to a new place again. Her previousl...
