After half an hour of running, we finally got around the border and started running in the East direction.
We just had to keep running until we found the lake near my aunt's place. My happiness was over the top as we ran, but it felt like something was missing and I knew what that was.
Liz ran a little longer before halting and falling to the ground. She had pushed herself to the limit.
We seriously needed a place to rest and some food. Both of which we didn't have. The food we had were some berries and that's it. We needed to hunt.
When that thought crossed my mind, Liz perked up and started sniffing around.
'Who said you would hunt?' I said and she stopped mid-sniff.
'I did,' she said before going back to whatever she was doing.
I let her do what she wanted because it was not like I could hunt. Right then, she picked up a scent of a deer and started to follow it cautiously.
After walking through some distance, she finally saw the deer casually eating grass without a care in the world.
It looked delicious and it had a decent size. Liz couldn't wait to eat it and I couldn't wait to hunt it down.
She crouched down before slowly moving towards it as quietly as possible and hiding behind a bush near the deer.
It looked up when we accidentally rustled the bush but when it couldn't spot us, as we were quiet small and the bush hid us completely, it went back to eating.
Liz crouched in a hunting stance and looked at its neck where she would sink her teeth.
With one last look, she pounced on it and bit into its shoulder. It tried to run but its knees buckled because of our weight and it fell to the grassy ground.
Liz retracted her teeth from its shoulder and sunk them into its neck. After a few attempts to free itself, it fell limp into our mouth.
Without waiting for even a moment longer, she dug into it. It was delicious, and the fact that this was our first ever prey made it even more delicious.
***
'Did you see how I pounced on it? I was so cool!' Liz said, looking all proud of her first ever hunt.
Honestly, I was proud too, but she was being too much.
We had run away once Liz ate that deer to her heart's content and had found a clearing which gave off weird vibes.
We just walked into the clearing like someone was waiting for us, calling us even and that unnerved me.
I didn't want to be here but couldn't get myself to leave. I had shifted back and was wearing my clothes now as I looked around the clearing, as if waiting for someone or something to jump out of the bushes and kill me.
Out of nowhere, a soft breeze started to blow and brought in all kinds of scents of wild animals.
It was weird how suddenly wind was blowing and it was gradually increasing, blowing my hair everywhere. Suddenly, I felt a presence nearby and that made me snap out of my trance.
I ran back to where I came from. Atleast, I thought I ran back there and when I finally stopped to catch my breathe, I could still feel the same presence lurking in the shadows.
My eyes darted everywhere, to every bush and tree but I saw no one there. I started sweating and I felt like I was stuck to the ground, not being able to move.
This was my worst nightmare ever. I didn't know how I could protect myself in such a situation.
I heard a growl out in the distance, behind the bushes in front of me and my hands started trembling again.
It wasn't a growl of an average wolf, it was of an Alpha and I was sure of it.
I stood in a defensive stance with my left foot in front of the right one and formed a fist with my hands. I felt the wolf's presence in the bush quite a few feet away from me but that didn't help with my shaking body.
All at once, the wolf jumped out of the bush and my nose filled with the scent of chocolate cake. My mouth watered as my imagination filled with me laying on a cloud and eating chocolate cake.
I unconsciously sniffed harder and closed my eyes to savour the tingling sensation passing through me.
My mind felt fuzzy as I opened my eyes but right then, the reality kicked in and my eyes got wide. What was he doing here?! And why did he have blood on his mouth?
I shifted my eyes from the blood and focused on his captivating blue eyes.
I slowly started moving backwards, keeping my eyes fixated on the large wolf standing in front of me. He tilted his head to the side cutely and gazed back at me.
Before he could figure out what I was doing, I turned around and jumped, shifting mid-air. I ran, pushing myself as hard as I could.
I was running quite fast but before I knew it, he zipped by from my right. I almost started admiring his speed but shook my head to rid of those thoughts. I was running away from him, for god's sake!
Suddenly, I hit a wall, in the middle of a forest...? I fell and looked up with hesitation. Would he hit me for running from him?
He looked at me with glowing eyes and I understood what he wanted. He wanted me to listen to him but I knew I shouldn't do that. He would easily be able to convince me.
I should run when going shifting back.
With that thought, I nodded and went behind a bush. I didn't like lying to him, or anyone, but this needed to be done.
I didn't shift back and started running in the direction from where we raced(?) here. I could hear my heart thumping louder with each passing second and adrenaline coursing through my viens felt all too familiar.
I saw him running to my left, but further into the trees with his eyes on me, as if challenging me. He was in his human form which was quite impressive.
'He thinks I ain't faster than him? Well, we'll see,' I thought as I pushed harder, willing my legs to go faster than I was used to.
'Don't be stupid, Iz, and just stop. He won't hurt us. He just wants to talk. Besides, this might be the closure we would need in the future,' Liz said and she was right but I didn't want to get rejected.
I heard that it hurts and I knew it would hurt.
I slowed down before stopping and heaving a heavy sigh which originated from deep within me.
He came to a stop right in front of me, again and we locked eyes. He was in his human form and was fully dressed as he looked down.
Now that he was right in front of me, he was even more intimidating. His hair glowed in the moonlight and I heard him clear his throat.
I quickly averted my eyes and fixed them onto the ground which was illuminated by the moon.
"Go shift," he said with his deep and husky voice while pointing to a bush to my right.
I gulped before going behind the bush and shifting back. The sound of cracking bones filIed the deafening silence. I took my clothes out and put them on quickly.
I did everything as fast as I could and walked back, as to not look stupid.
He looked at me and I saw a faint spark in his eyes which was gone as soon as he laid his eyes upon me.
I didn't look him in the eyes for long and focused on the ground after a brief second.
A few seconds passed in silence and I didn't dare utter a single word first. I felt sparks on my chin as he made me look up.
I tried to avoid his eyes and wringed my trembling hands together. The few hours of freedom which I had were amazing but nothing lasts forever.
"Why are you running from me, mate?" he said and I swallowed the lump in my throat, sealing my lips tightly together.
"And my eyes are here," he added and when I looked at his beautiful face, I saw that he had an eyebrow raised.
"I-I'm s-sorry," I stuttered out before wincing at the sound of my weak voice. I sounded pathetic, always apologizing to everyone who refused to forgive me.
His eyes shown with an expression I had never seen before he quickly covered it up and sighed. I had disappointed him the moment I uttered a word.
He let my chin go and I instantly missed his touch, for which I scolded myself.
He looked away, sighed, and looked back at me. I hurriedly averted my gaze and focused on my trembling hands.
"Why did you run from me, mate, answer me," he said which made me glance at him and I started sweating.
What did he want to hear? Should I just tell him the truth? Won't that make him even more mad? Should I just lie?
"I can see the wheels turn in your cute little head, mate. Stop thinking so much and just answer truthfully," he said and chuckled which made my eyes snap to him.
That was a sound I had never heard from anyone who was talking to me.
'He called us 'cute'! Eee!' Liz squealed but I ignored her and focused on my mate.
"I-I, umm, k-kinda..." I said and started playing with my fingers. I felt so awkward and my own voice felt foreign to me.
"Yes?" he urged and I quickly gathered my thoughts before starting over.
"I-I a-actually...d-don't wa-want t-to...b-be w-with y-you?" I said before my eyes widened as hurt passed through his eyes before getting covered up and I started flailing my hands everywhere like a madwoman.
He raised his hand and I flinched, closing my eyes. After a moment, I felt his fingers caress my cheek, leaving a path of fire.
"I-I don't understand. Why don't you wanna be with me?" he said, his voice breaking which made me want to cry and he looked up at me.
"I know I don't deserve you, but I just want you to give me a chance. I promise you that I will be better," he was begging me like we had been together for years and now, hearing him, it really felt like it.
"I-It's n-not th-that y-you d-don't d-deserve me. I-It's m-more l-like th-that I-I d-don't d-deserve you. And..." I explained quickly and looked away from him, blushing.
"And?" he asked, listening carefully and not getting upset or angry.
'Should I just tell him?' I consulted Liz.
'Yeah, you should!' she replied, making me roll my eyes.
"I-I j-just want t-to g-get t-to m-my a-aunt n-now th-that I-I'm f-finally f-free," I said, looking anywhere but him.
"What do you mean 'finally free'?!" he roared and I flinched and backed away. Knowing full well what came next.
He looked guilty as he rubbed his arm and smiled a little.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, mate," he said as he reached for me while I stood there with my mouth ajar.
Did I hear him correctly? Did he really just apologize to me?! I think I'm dreaming. Yeah, I am definitely dreaming.
'No, you're not,' Liz said out of nowhere. Totally killing the vibe.
"D-Did y-you just a-apologize to...m-me?" I said, my lips apart as I just stared at him. The hoot of the owl could be heard as we just stared at each other.
"Um, can I not apologize to my mate?" he said with his face tilted to the side and his eyebrows creased together.