Alessia Jane
I ran as fast as I could, as far as I could, to escape from my prison wardens.
I would not be caged again.
I was a Wolf damnit and refused to be locked away every time Zephyr decided that I was no longer useful to him.
A small part of my heart panged at the thought of leaving my Uncle behind but I knew that it was for the best.
No matter how much he claimed to dislike Zephyr, I knew that it just wasn't true.
Uncle Ethan was loyal to his fault and once you were, in his eyes, part of the family, he would remain loyal to you until your dying days.
And since Zephyr was Serenity's Mate, to a certain extent, he too was seen as family.
'And family doesn't abandon each other in someone's time of need...' My snarky conscious reminded me 'Which is exactly what you're doing right now."
I ignored that pesky voice, knowing that if I gave into it, I would never get another chance like this again.
Because if I was caught again, I would be locked in a room until I was deemed useful again.
It was near my second mile when I first noticed the tall figure leaning haphazardly against a nearby tree.
I stumbled over my own paws as I came closer to the figure, recognizing those colorful hair steaks anywhere.
How did he find me?
It wasn't possible...
I made sure to cover my tracks and take alternative routes to confuse anyone who decided to come after me.
I even shifted after I was a good half a mile away from the house in the opposite direction so they could follow my misguided trap.
"Hi Lemon drop" Xenos purred at me with that husky voice of his, a lollipop hanging from the corner of his mouth as those silver eyes brightened into the color of lightening "Long time no see."
I quickly recovered from my surprised stupor and snarled at him, warning him to not interfere this time.
While I was angry that he found me so quickly, my wolf on the other hand, stayed relatively silent on the matter.
Traitor.
Instead of talking my warning seriously, Xenos just grinned at me, those dazzling eyes of his becoming even more enthralling.
"I do enjoy this game of ours so much Lemon drop" he crunched down on his candy "Zephyr on the other hand? Not so much. When I told him you escaped again, he nearly had a coronary."
I snarled again, curling my lip in disdain at his words.
I didn't care about Zephyr nor did I care about what I needed to do right now in order to save my cousin from the literal pits of hell.
Xenos ignored my second warning, instead focusing on unraveling his second Lolli in from of me.
When he took the first slow lick, and his locked eyes with mine, a smirk formed at the corner of his full lips.
A zing of heat shot through me at the unexpected move.
I, being that sane person that I was, chose to not only ignore the heat but also ignore the current feelings bubbling up inside of me at the move.
Confusion...Anger...and the most unexpected...Lust.
"You should know by now Lemon drop that there's no place you'll be able to go where I won't find you" his smirk grew "And not just because of the little mate link we currently have going on."
I shifted, knowing that in order to get the upper hand, I would have to be smarter than I was last time.
The smirk dropped from his face as his nostrils slightly flared, his eyes never leaving mine.
"You got what you wanted" I said, "The next clue. Just let me go already. I'm of no use to you anymore."
"No can do ómorfo korítsi" he smiled at me "Give yourself more credit. You're way more useful than you know."
"Xenos, let's be real" I sighed, taking cautious steps towards him "I'm more of a nuisance for you guys. I'll only be in the way. You'd have a much better chance of completing this mission without me adding on dead weight to your coattails."
"Hmm..." he licked the stupid candy again, eyeing my approaching form curiously.
His gaze never once left mine and somehow, for someone like me, that made another flash of heat travel through my body.
I couldn't help it, I let out an involuntary shiver.
Something that didn't go unnoticed by Xenos.
With a smirk still in place, he shrugged out of his denim jacket and handed it over to me as soon as I was close enough.
I just stared at it.
"I'd think it'll benefit us both if you put this on" he said, adding at the last minute "And come back with me."
"I won't be caged again" I gritted out through clenched teeth "I spent a majority of my life in one box. I refuse to spend anymore time in another"
His eyes softened fractionally "Alessia..."
"AJ" I corrected.
"What?"
"Only my family members or close friends get to call me Alessia" I looked at him "Everyone else gets to call me AJ. I prefer it that way actually."
This time, he was the one staring at me.
"We're not friends?"
I let out a snort "Definitely not."
"I'm hurt lemon drop" he pouted, rubbing a spot at his chest "I thought we became friends the day we had our little chat."
"Acquaintances at best" I covertly eyed the area past his shoulder, knowing that if I could get past him, I'd be home free "Ball and chain at worst."
Xenos cocked his head to the side, blocking the view of where I was strategically planning my next move.
"Don't do it little Lemon Drop" he warned "You won't like the consequences if you do."
"What are you going to do?" I taunted "Zap me again?"
"No" he said seriously "Your tiny little body wouldn't be able to handle another one of my lightening strikes."
I raised my chin in challenge "I handled it the first time."
"You wouldn't be able to handle it a second" his eyes darkened into molten silver "No one ever does."
I opened my mouth to counter his statement when I caught myself and shut my mouth just as quick, frowning at the sudden need to prove myself to him.
'Don't be an idiot Alessia' I scolded myself 'Focus on your escape plan. Find you family and save your cousin.'
"I've been around shifters a long time Lemon drop" he said, pulling me from my thoughts "And while I know most don't like to be caged, you take this Cleithrophobia of yours to the next level."
"Can you blame me?" I asked "One second I'm useful and the next I'm being locked away like a princess in a tower. I have someone constantly watching over me and I can't ever be left alone. Even when I use the shower. I'm like a mouse in one of those scientific studies, given free range of my cage only when it benefits the scientist."
"It's not like that Alessia" he promised me "Not with me."
I snorted.
"It's true" he took a step toward me "And while Zephyr's way of handling things may be total shit right now, not even he can't deny how helpful you've been with us."
"I'm not going back Xenos" I whispered as he took another step closer to me "I can't go back."
"Would you really leave your Uncle behind?" he murmured "Would you give up this once in a lifetime chance of getting to know him? Of spending the time with the man both your mother and Uncle adore?"
"Yes" I shut my eyes tightly, clenching my fists "And I know he would understand."
He was close enough to me now that I could smell the flavor of the candy he was eating.
Cherry, with soft notes of blue raspberry from what I assumed was the flavor of the lollipop he had before.
A single finger slid from the corner of my eye down towards my lips, a calloused thumb gently tracing my bottom lip.
"Come back with me ómorfo korítsi" he purred, his voice deepening ever so slightly "I promise to make it worth your while."
I tilted my head up and opened, quickly noticing just how close our faces were from each other. We were a hairbreadths away and if he angled his head downward just a tad, our lips would brush ever so slightly.
"No," I breathed out, my words stronger than I felt at the moment "I would rather die."
With those final words, I shifted.
With a curse, he was forced to either move out of my way or be injured by my elongated claws.
I ran faster than I've ever ran before, making sure I was far out of his reach.
"I WILL FIND YOU ALESSIA!" He hollered after me, an amused undertone in his voice "AND WHEN I DO, I'M CHAINING THAT FINE ASS OF YOURS TO MINE!"
~~~~~~~~~
It was a good two hours later, when I was sure that no one followed me, did I decide to shift back into my Human form and take a break from the long journey.
I was worried a bit when I saw that I passed a tree that looked familiar three times but then dismissed the worry when I stumbled upon this hidden waterfall.
I sighed in relaxation as I waddled into the small waterfall pool, making sure to soak my aching hands and feet in its cooling waters.
I managed to cover a lot of ground in the last couple of hours since I've escaped and while I haven't managed to find my way home yet, my stupid sense of direction a bit off since being captured, I did know deep in my heart that I was close.
Home is closer than I think it is and while I'm excited to get back to my beloved family members, I am also a little hesitant and worried to share with them the news that Serenity might be alive.
Zephyrs words of "False hope" echoing in my mind as I played around with the idea of telling my family.
While I was upset at him for not telling me right away that my cousin was alive, I begrudgingly couldn't argue with his reasoning behind not wanting us to have false hope or expect something that could end up in disappointment.
While one part of me knew that it was the right thing to tell my family about Serenity, so that we could gather our resources and band together to rescue her, another more hesitant part of me was starting to think that maybe I didn't fully understand the extent I was getting myself into when thinking about rescuing Serenity.
The pros and cons of each decision were too equivalent to make such a rash decision at this point.
A twig snapping drew me out of my thoughts and was the only indication that I was no longer alone.
I quickly jumped out of the pool and shifted, knowing that whatever it was that was out there would not be a friend.
The hairs standing on the back of my neck proved that.
Before I could so much as blink, a red, orange, and golden blur rammed into my side, knocking me over and locking onto my front shoulder.
My wolf and I snarled at this creature, realizing too late that it was another wolf.
But not just any wolf.
A shifter.
The stranger bit down on my shoulder enough that it didn't incapacitate me but did sting like a bitch.
I snarled in outrage and tried to shake them off, to no avail.
This wolf, whoever they were, was strong.
Much stronger than I was and considering their size, I was ninety percent sure that they were male.
That being said, while I didn't have the strength to overpower him, I did have the size and speed.
I quickly shifted back into my human form, essentially loosening my arm and shoulder from his grasp, and twirled away from him.
With zero hesitation, I jumped on the lowest branch of a tree before pulling myself up gymnast style to the next branch.
The Wolf tried to jump and nip at my ankles but ultimately couldn't reach me with how far I'd climb.
He paced at the base of the tree, occasionally growling at me in frustration, and watching my every move.
I would have jumped to the next tree if I could but unfortunately for me, this was the last tree at the edge of the forest.
So.freaking.close.
I was so freaking close to escaping these never ending woods.
I couldn't turn back or jump on the other trees behind me because that would put me one step closer to Xenos.
And no matter how fast and smart I was, I could jump from a hundred foot drop and not break something or outrun this strange wolf.
A wolf, the closer that I look at him, was in the same color range as my own.
Another red wolf.
A color so rare that it was said, back in the days of our ancestors, that they brought luck and prosperity to our Pack.
Suddenly, without any warning, the Wolf rammed the tree I was currently standing in.
I was so caught off guard by the strength of the move that I ended up slipping down the tree branches.
When I reached out to catch myself and get ahold of a branch, the wolf rammed the tree and the force, in turn with my weight, made the branch I was precariously balancing on, break from the tree.
The moment my body hit the floor, and the breath left my body, I knew that I was done for.
The wolf pounced on me in a second, pining my hands down with his front paws and caging me into the ground.
~~~~~~
Poor Alessia Jane just can't catch a break wolfies! 🥺
Let me know what you think!
Next Update: December 25th, 2022!
🐺🐺HAPPY HOLIDAYS WOLFIES! FROM MY PACK TO YOURS! 🐺🐺
A/N: Cleithrophobia: the fear of being trapped.