The Grim Lost

Not Home

(Kristiana's P.O.V.)

He lead me to a woman's tent. I waited back behind him, hiding from whomever was the occupant of said tent. They lived differently here. Off the earth instead of technology. He called the Pack House a Main Hall. Raiden snapped his fingers in my face, causing me to blink at him. My wolf snarled at him. He flinched and held his hands up in surrender. I was unamused. He saw me smile. Big mistake. If they see the truth behind what I am, they'll just hurt me more. 

Then why don't we leave? He's just going to take us back there. My wolf reasoned. I was internally shaking my head. He'd just find us. He said we... we're his mate. How is that even possible? I accepted him to show his alpha I'm harmless but now... Trapped. I pushed her down. No. Not trapped. Slightly inconvenienced. A girl's squealing cut through my thought process. I winced, covering my ears. Instinct told me to hide behind my... behind Raiden. Denying it, I crossed my arms over my chest as the girl barreled out of the tent and tackled me. I should've listened. I whined as her arms wrapped around me. No, no, no. Please let go. My eyes scrunched closed.

"Isabelle, control yourself!" Raiden snapped. The pressure of her weight left me. When I opened my eyes, I saw a girl with similar looks to him. He had a sister? Huh. The girl, Isabelle, was smiling at me like a lunatic. I tried not to shrink into myself but failed epically. I shifted.

"Let go of me, Raiden. She's filthy. Let me take care of her," she said before biting down on the arm that was across her chest. I chuffed. Okay, that was a little funny. She wasn't wrong though. My usually silver coat had turned into an ugly, muddy sort of brown color. I bowed my head low in acknowledgement to the truth. He let her go. As she made her way toward me, I tried to not visibly shake. She pat my head then knelt in front of me. I didn't like that they had to come down to talk to me but I couldn't do anything about it.

Shift, little one. I heard his wolf say gently. Looking up, I shifted. How did he do that? Why did I listen when he called me that? I kept my eyes downcast as Isabelle lead me to a stream, prattling on about one thing or another, I wasn't sure.

"Alright," she stopped in front of me. "Strip."

I was frozen in place. Isabelle sighed and yanked my dress harshly, ripping what remained of the frayed seams. Quickly covering myself, I glared at her. My glare was one she returned before pulling me into the water with her. It was ice cold. I yelped and scrambled for shore but her grip was like iron. She dunked me and went to work on my hair.

"Woah, you're really blonde..." Isabelle murmured. I nodded, waiting for my wolf's turn to get cleaned. My human form's appearance didn't matter to me as much as my wolf's did. When she told me to shift, it was a relief. I splashed her playfully. Her eyes widened as she reached to shore for some sort of shampooing product to clean my fur. Yay. I was gonna be all sparkly clean. Around her I felt a bit lighter. Is this what friends were like?

"Are you two done over there yet?!" Raiden yelled from behind a boulder. I knew he was trying not to look. Our wolves were not exactly quiet.

No peeking! mine said defensively.

Why should I not gaze upon what is mine? his growled back. Luckily my fur hid the blush. Something splashed over Isabelle's shoulder. I submerged myself and opened my eyes under the water. A small turtle swam past us. I watched it with fascination. I'd never seen one up close. A hand on the scruff of my neck yanked me upward. Curling my paws inward against my abdomen, I looked Raiden in the eye. His face was one of panic and worry. I knew my eyes were glowing.

"Shift back, NOW!" he commanded. Whimpering, I did as I was told. Raiden hugged me to his chest, "You were under for nearly ten minutes, Kris! What the Hell?!"

I looked over his shoulder at Isabella who was looking at me with a bewildered expression. What did I do? They were both drenched. I hadn't moved... I just went under to watch the turtle... Raiden's warmth against my body made me realize that I was stark naked. My cheeks heated up. I slowly reached up to cover his eyes. Instead, my fingers found their way into his hair. He kissed a sensitive part of my neck just at that moment, causing my fingers to grip tightly. His moan sounded so perfect in my ear. Then I remembered the circumstances. He's still a stranger. I shoved him back, scooping up my dress and slipping it back on before he opened his eyes. An obvious adjustment was needed for his shorts.

Way to go, Casanova, my wolf scolded, forcing a sense of panic into my veins. Did he see me? I hope not. Isabelle, sensing my anxiety, ushered me back into her tent where I proceeded to curl in on myself. It was a miracle I didn't shift.

Get back here... his wolf commanded. I shook with the effort it took to resist. I almost gave in when Isabelle dropped a pile of clothes on me. Most of them were either white or a light pink. Too girly. When I spotted a pair of dark jeans, I leapt for them. Maybe a sweatshirt was in here somewhere... Digging around, I found one. Only issue; it was white. I sighed but slipped it on. There. I was comfortable.

"Well, I can see you're not one for formalities... but whatever suits you. I was going to throw those anyway. They're too small for me," Isabelle said, looking at my choice of outfit. I looked down at my feet as Raiden entered.

"Beautiful," he whispered. My body heated up, my usually pale cheeks turning a dark red. Chuckling, he picked me up, "Don't do that. We've got to go back to your old pack soon. You'll get to show me all your favorite spots."

I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop a scream. I didn't want to go back there. They'd kill me. Meeting Raiden's gaze, my eyes plead with him for us to stay here. His thumb lightly traced my jawline but stopped. Alpha Brent was right outside, waiting. Raiden set me down and took my hand. We left Isabelle's tent and sat in the back of the van. I pushed him away from me. If they thought I liked him, they'd torture and kill him right in front of me.

"Kristiana, why are you denying your 'mate' simple contact? Could it be you're thinking of your betrothed?" Alpha Brent asked me. I felt sick to my stomach and leaned away from both of them, fixating on something outside the window. That place was not my home. I didn't have one. Raiden grit his teeth audibly. Oh.

"Sir, respectfully, shut it." He snapped. I winced but kept my gaze anywhere but on them. Raiden pulled me into his lap.

Stay. Please. Pleaded his wolf when I began to fight. I blew out a puff of air, reluctantly relaxing in his hold. They were going to be so pissed I left without permission. I was so dead. Soon I was shaking. Please just make it so they leave him alone...