They Call Him Alpha [NEW VERSION]

⊵ Encounter

"If she is who I think she is..." her grip loosened, "if we left her here alone, the alert would be the least of our worries. Otherwise, I would've left this hairless twig behind."

I didn't even have time to be offended. In one quick motion, with her free hand, she slid my bag off my shoulders before slinging it over her own back before I could protest. Was I really getting robbed in the woods? She then suddenly let go of my shirt and I stumbled trying to regain my balance. I was surprised to see her bend down to hook her arm behind my knee and sweep my feet from the ground.

"What the-" I blurted out while bracing myself for a brutal fall to the floor, but she quickly lifted me up and balanced me with an arm against my back. She was carrying me, like a prince to his bride, but this was no fairy tale.

"Let me go!" I struggled and fidgeted, but I could not break out of her hold; her strength was far greater than mine. Her grip was like an iron prison, caging me against me.

"Since you didn't, I chose for you. Try not to fidget while I save your life," she barked at me, a scowl darkening her expression. She turned to her right and started towards the trees. Not even looking back to the two figures behind her as she carried me away, she commanded, "Nothing's changed. Take the rest of the flank to secure the perimeter. I'll take care of her." I heard no response, only the rustle of leaves and the crunching of sticks and undergrowth. Now, we were alone.

"Wh-ho," I couldn't even recognize my own voice, the fear so evident in it, "who even are you?" My heart was beating a tattoo against my chest as she walked further into the trees, the darkness thickening. My only relief was that we seemed to be walking in a direction away from the all the noise.

"Right now, I'm the person saving your ass. That's all you need to know," she retorted.

I frowned, having enough of this woman's sass. I summoned enough courage to dish it back at her. "Just what the hell are you even saving me from?"

"Can't even hear danger when you're right in the thick of it," she muttered, and I swore if it wasn't so dark I would've been able to see her eyes roll. "I don't know how you ended up here, but you got here at the wrong time. It's not safe, we're-"

Abruptly, her walking halted. Her head tilted up, her chin sticking out. It looked like she was scanning our surroundings. I tried to do the same, but the sun had left us, and I couldn't make anything out.

"You're gonna want to hold on tight," was all she said before everything became a blur. She had started running, but at a speed so incredibly fast that the forest began to blur around me. Dodging branches and tree trunks, she darted between the trees so swiftly. Could she even see anything? Did she even know where we were going? Since we hadn't face planted into a tree, I'm guessing she somehow knew.

Just as suddenly as she had started running, she stopped. I hadn't realized I'd been screaming until her hand came over my mouth to muzzle me. Her eyes were scanning again, sweeping around us. Suddenly, she threw me to the ground, and I landed roughly, rolling a little away. I looked for Ashe, ready to raise hell, only to see a large shadow erupt from the trees and leap for her. She expertly dodged it, and it quickly turned around to face her.

Except this was no shadow, it had four legs, dark thick fur, and all the telltale markings of a wolf, but its size-it was almost as tall as Ashe. It was angry, snarling at Ashe and baring its wicked teeth. Had we accidentally disturbed it? I saw Ashe change her stance...like she was going to take this beast on. Her head snapped to her left, just as another oversized wolf barged in, its mouth wide. Promptly, Ashe swiveled on her heel and stepped forward. The wolf managed to snag its teeth on my bag that Ashe still carried. It ripped the bag off her back and the bag tore open, some of my clothes fell to the floor. The wolf landed behind her and it was just as large and menacing as the other. It threw my bag from its mouth, looking for something better to sink its teeth into. My bag sailed through the air, landing somewhere behind me.

Now, Ashe was surrounded, two wolves circling her, their awful teeth bared. She called back to me, "Run!" Just as one of them leapt at her again, this time aiming for her neck. Ashe managed to dodge by quickly ducking down and spinning herself around to face them again.

"Run now!"

Though it should've been obvious, I didn't know what to do. Once again, I found myself on the ground, fear immobilizing me. One wolf barreled towards Ashe's front to pounce on her again, just as the other crouched low to the ground and circled around to her back and swiped at her legs. Its claws cut vicious lines cross her skin.

I saw the wolf lick its now bloodied claws. That was all I needed to see. I sprang up, the adrenaline kicking in and surging through my body. I didn't feel anything except the need to escape. Turning on my heel, I made a break for it, scooping my bag into my arms as I ran past. I felt like a coward for leaving Ashe behind to deal with them both by herself. But I would've been no help to her anyway, those wolves would've swallowed me whole.

I stumbled through the trees, completely clueless as to where I was even going and barely managing to not trip over the uneven ground. To my horror, I heard snarling behind me and the pounding of paws chasing me. One of the wolves had followed after me. I was running as fast as I could, the muscles in my leg screaming from overexertion. But the wolf was faster, it pounced on me, knocking me to the ground. I rolled over, gasping to regain the breath it had knocked out of me. Now that I was on the ground, it seemed even bigger than before. Gathering all the strength I had left, I flipped onto my stomach and tried to crawl away.

"Help!" I desperately cried out, "Someone, please help!" All I heard was movement behind me before my back was ripped open. I screamed bloody murder; its claws had ripped through my shirt and sliced the skin of my lower back. My back was raw and burning with such intense pain. I could feel my blood flow out, warm against my skin.

I collapsed to the ground, unable to continue attempting my pathetic getaway. The wolf was on top of me now, I could hear its nasty growls and snarls above me. But there was nothing I could do; I was simply a prey laying helplessly before its hungry predator. The pain from my back was overwhelming, tears streamed down my cheeks.

I was going to die-for real this time. I would never see Clay again. I could never explain to him why I left. I would never see Jana again; I was just as much as a daughter to her as she was a mother to me. She would be devastated. I would never finally see Blake again, my whole reason for venturing out into this nightmare forest. Nobody would find my body after this wolf shredded me into pieces and ate me, piece by piece.

It thrust a paw on my shoulder, holding me down. I felt its tongue lick the blood oozing from my back. If I had the energy to, I would've barfed at the feel of its slimy tongue across my back. There was no escape this time.

For my last moments, I thought of something happy. I thought of one summer when Blake and I had taken Clay to the pool. I thought of the sun kissing my skin, the smell of chlorine flooding my nose, the wild splashes from Blake drenching my hair, the laughter of Clay filling my ears. I no longer felt anything-I didn't feel the weight of the wolf, feel the pain in my back, smell the wolf's horrid stench or hear its awful sounds. My mind was no longer present here, instead it was back at the pool.

But I was suddenly brought back to reality when the same ferocious howl from earlier cut through forest. It was near, loud and roaring. The wolf stilled itself completely. And suddenly something burst out from the trees behind me and I no longer felt the weight of the wolf above me.

But it was too late for me. The pain, the blood-it was too much. I felt weak, my strength leaving me completely. It was like my body was shutting down. My vision was fading in and out. The sounds around me seemed to distance themselves from me, sounding like faraway echoes. The images that played in front of my eyes didn't seem real; it felt like I was looking through a thick, distorted slab of glass. Finally, closing my eyes, I slightly parted my lips to get a last few wisps of air in.

Then the world became silent, and everything went blank.

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(A/N): Chapter is a few days late cause I had trouble deciding where to properly end it. Decided to save some stuff for next chapter ~