Shattered

C H A P T E R - S I X

For the next few days, I made myself a burrow and wept. I knew I should have run further away from the man I had murdered, but my body only made it a few miles west before shutting down. The adrenaline wore off from my flight or fight instinct and I crashed roughly onto the ground. My wolf was kind enough to use the last of her strength to create a little den in the forest floor to shield my body from the weather and whatever foes may appear. However, it didn't take me long to realize I was now the monster in the forest that others should be afraid of.

When I shifted back to human form, my limbs felt heavy and my head throbbed. I didn't know what caused me more pain, the tense muscles finally able to relax themselves or the ever-present ache in my chest. I had murdered a man and while it may be justified, because I'm sure he would have done horrible things to that little girl before killing her, he was still dead. I killed him and I couldn't stomach the pain.

I threw up a few times and found no motivation to leave the den for food or water. I'm sure I was slowly dying, but the emotional pain of everything I had been through left me a hollow shell. Even if I did what was right, the guilt ate away at my soul. I was the executioner and I swiftly realized there was no justice.

That was how two wolves found me on the fourth day. My body was weak. I'd barely had more than a few sips of water that dripped from the rain, but I accepted my fate. I would die by the hands of these two wolves or I'd die of starvation very soon. I wanted to be the girl who could get up, brush off all the bad things, and push on through. However, I was the girl who felt her emotions deeply and intensely. The depression easily took over. Erasing whatever love – or remaining hope for love – I may have had. My world felt empty. I felt like a doll – lifeless.

I hadn't heard the two wolves approach me as I often found myself caged in my thoughts. I couldn't tell where reality began anymore. I was slowly losing touch with everything around me. My wolf felt like she was fading away as well. I wondered if other rogues felt the same or if I was the exception. There was nothing left to anchor me to reality, so I felt it withering away between my fingertips.

I became aware of their presence when one nudged my leg in the den. I was still in human form, but was curled in a ball using my dress as a blanket. I was startled by the sudden caress to my leg and curled further into myself. I lifted my head an inch, so I could peak over the arms that I was currently resting my head in. There stood a beautiful black wolf with striking blue eyes. He was huge. He towered over my den and made me feel even smaller. However, I couldn't feel fear. I couldn't feel much of anything other than despair at this point.

The wolf gestured his head behind him as if to say "follow me," before scurrying away. I slowly lifted my body out of the den and slipped the dress over my head. The dress was no longer a soft white. It was streaked with green and brown stains. I vaguely noticed a little blood on the sleeve and wondered if it had been mine or came from the man I murdered. I shook my head and slowly picked a few leaves and sticks out of my tangled hair. I'm sure I looked deranged at this point.

My eyes snapped over to the a few trees left of me where I saw two men in loose shorts reveal their selves. They both were really toned, tan, and almost carbon copies of each other. One was a little shorted, by maybe an inch or two, but other than that their grey-blue eyes and black hair matched perfectly. I could easily tell they were bothers and the crow's feet around the eyes of one and not the other gave me the idea that they were close in age, but not twins.

"Who are you?" The older one growled, only for the younger one to elbow his side. I saw the young one mumble something to his brother and if I had been taking in the proper nutrients these past few days, I'm sure I would have been able to hear it. However, all my senses were dulled and I found it hard to stop from panting out of exertion just from standing up.

"Amelia." My voice was weak and sounded like gravel. My throat burned from voicing words for the first time in what seemed like years. I knew it hadn't been that long since I left the pack, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

"What business do you have being so close to our territory, rogue." I knew the older man had heard my soft whisper, but he chose to ignore my given name. I furrowed my brows. I had been here for days and the pack just now decides to investigate the rogue sleeping just a few miles from their borders?

"None." I didn't know what to tell the two men. I could easily guess that they were pack warriors likely sent to interrogate and scare off, maybe even kill, the lone wolf that wouldn't go away. Maybe they knew I was a small girl and felt no threat from my presence and now they were just getting rid of an annoying pest. The older one obviously didn't like my answer as he let out a soft growl. I saw the younger one's eyes soften a fraction when I flinched away from them.

"Where are you from?" The younger one finally spoke. His voice was calm, soothing. It almost lulled my weak body to sleep. My eyes began to droop. My knees began to shake.

"Tsuki, sir." My voice felt weaker than it did when we began speaking. I was slowly losing my grip on this world. They both furrowed their eyes at this.

"Why are you a rogue? That is a respectable pack. Your mate wouldn't want you wandering out here in the forests alone." The older man shook his head disapprovingly almost like my father would have before he died.

"My mate..." I trailed off. I wondered if they'd assume my mate was dead. However, I knew the truth. My mate never existed to begin with. I was destined to be a lone wolf until the sorrow took over and I lost myself. I wanted to say more, to elaborate and defend myself. However, when I went to open my mouth, my legs gave out.

My body was weak and could no longer support my weight. I hadn't eaten in so long that even the simplest tasks were too much for my body. I could feel death slowly caressing my cheek. It was whispering sweet nothings in my ear enticing me to close my eyes and follow the soothing voice. My eye eyelashes were almost touching my cheeks with how close my eyes were to closing. The ground felt comforting and cool against my skin. I gripped dirt in my hands slowly trying to dig myself deeper into the forest floor. I wanted to bury myself. I didn't want my dead body to be a meal for the birds flying overhead.

I was abruptly pulled from going under when the younger wolf scooped me up into his arms. I whimpered wanting to be back in death's embrace where I found comfort. The way the young man was holding me reminded me of a mate I'd never have. His hold on me tightened when I tried to squirm out. I could feel the man start to walk and felt my heart rate increase. I was so close to being unconscious, but I knew wherever we were going was not going to end well for me. They should have left me to die a peaceful death rather than take me to a pack where I'd likely be subjected to torture. Rogues were taboo and people never knew how to treat them. I faintly heard the two men talking as we continued in a direction, I assumed would be the pack lands.

"Where..." I trailed off. I wanted to say 'where are you taking me,' but my body was so weak that the words dropped off. However, the man holding me was kind and smart. He knew where I was headed with my question. He leaned down and whispered softly against the skin of my ear.

"Gyakusatsu."

And with that, I blacked out.