We kept on walking in silence, the sun rose up illuminating the mountains that loomed in the distance. The sky revealing a tapestry of earth tones of red and orange. It was breathtaking to say the least, but I couldn't fully enjoy it.
This morning, I found myself struggling with fatigue even more. I was unwilling to move and then again what's the point. What the wolf said last night was right, I know nothing of what's out there. I was never good enough for anyone why would that change now.
The Wolf, still in his fur, didn't appreciate my reluctance to set off, he nudged me hard but I just turned away, burying my head under my arms.
Thinking he left, I sensed a dominant figure overshadowing me. I peeked to the side, much to my surprise, I saw Jonah in all his naked glory, staring daggers at me. He lunges at me and I quickly roll away, a laugh escapes me as he fumbles forward and smacks his face in the tree. Not even given a moment to recover, a large hand grabs my arm and pulls me back.
"Back off Wolf" I say pulling my arm from his grasp. His eyes widen and quickly steps away.
I don't know what got into me, I knew very well their aggression levels were a lot higher than humans. They often wrestle with their animal instincts so close to the surface. But that didn't stop me from picking up a random branch and start whipping it around.
Yeah! Good idea Ella poke the werewolf.
He cocks an eyebrow at me like I've gone mental. Right after, there's a rumble from his chest where he turns and starts walking away.
"I'm done with this. I'm leaving with or without you." He tells me quite irritated.
I released a heavy sigh. As a slave, trust was very foreign, it was replaced with survival. It cost too much to let your walls down.
Anyway, thanks to the adrenaline rush, I ended up haphazardly, trekking behind him in his wolf form. I was too stubborn to give up. I had no choice, either lay down waiting for death or follow the Wolf blindly to wherever.
Most of the morning was spent trudging wearily through the forest, without stopping or eating. Stupid Wolf was definitely punishing me for wasting his time early this morning.
Trying to distract myself from the tiredness and aches, I started counting the trees. Though, unknowingly my mind began to wander back and forth to memories of arriving at the Raven pack.
The room they took us to was dingy and it smelled of mold. There were makeshift beds all over the floor, some with raggedy blankets and other stuff. They were all women, some young and some older, maybe in their thirties. Walking into the room, no one bothered lifting their eyes to look up. I could feel the despair in the air, and it weighed heavily on me. The hopelessness was etched into their posture.
What is this place?
Attempting to make sense of all this, a woman's voice from behind us, commands us to find a spot and settle in. Before I had moved, I whipped around to catch sight of a very tall women in her twenties with sharp hazel eyes.
As we were taken away in the van, some of the girls were dropped off elsewhere. Whereas the two boys, Dean and Ethan, Tessa, and myself arrived here. Tessa was a lot older than us, she usually was one of the older teens, who was responsible for babysitting us younger children.
So it was natural that we were looking to her for support but we soon realized she was as scared and lost as we were.
Tessa hurriedly found a spot and placed her head down avoiding eye contact with anyone. As for me, I was frozen to where I stood. I didn't want this, my body was refusing to accept this fate. Suddenly, I was pushed forcefully from behind and landed on my hands and knees, instantly looking up I saw the tall women snarl at me, visible were her lengthening canines.
Shit! She's one of them.
"You will obey and do as you are told. Now move human!"
That was the first time I heard someone referring to me as human.
In a failed attempt to back away, I stumbled on some of the girls lying on the floor. I was shoved away until I landed in the back against a wall. Tears welled up in my eyes as I searched for Tessa or anyone for that matter, to offer some sort of consolation. But they made it clear I was on my own. Disheartened of what has befallen me, I placed my knees up, hugging them to my chest.
" No one here will coddle you, start taking care of yourself if you want to survive," said a lowly voice from my right. " Keep in mind, to them you're a replaceable thing, just a slave." A girl laying away from me continued.
Since that day, these words have been etched in my memory and the cause of my persistent attempts at freedom.
Freedom heh !
A joke really.
It's something that rested in my stupidity in daring to think I had value. It had motivated me to desire a better life for myself and to find a way out.
Unfortunately, it took me too long. It broke me, they broke me.
Yet, this overgrown dog has gone out of his way to lead me to it.
Why?
Looking at the Wolf a good distance in front of me, he played it off as though uncaring in his posture but clearly, I was aware he was making sure I wasn't far behind. Surely, another of his kind would have run off or killed me by now.
An array of doubts were materializing in my mind. What if he's leading me astray, only to sell me to other wolves. Was I going to let this happen again?
I'm not that helpless child they tried to condition.
A chill runs through me. My heart pounded, my head spun and my ears filled with the cries of soundless screams.
All of my anxieties came tumbling back.
"I need to run, I'm not going back to those freaks."
......
Woah! She's freaking out!
Can't blame her though.
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