Hello, wonderful people! Just a BIG thank you to those who voted on and read the chapters leading up to this! You just freaking rock, and that is all.
Also, the chapter picture is Samantha. Samuel will be coming next chapter :)
A little warning - there is explicit language in this chapter. It's not much, but it's there.
Ok, I hope you enjoy!!
***
Despite my constant slur of protests and curse words, Samuel continued walking through the forest, away from my house. I was still slung over his shoulder, and my fists were getting sore from constantly clubbing his back. However, he acted as if I was more of a small puppy than a full-sized human being. He had no problem carrying my flailing body over tree stumps, leaves, and ditches.
With each step he took, I grew more desperate. I didn't know if I would see my home again. I didn't know if I would see my mother or brother again. And most importantly, I didn't know what James would do to them when he realized I was gone.
I could tell Samuel was becoming more and more frustrated. His grip was unbearably tight, and his shoulders were tense. His breathing was heavy, but I guessed it wasn't from the exertion of carrying me.
After a particularly hard blow to his neck, he suddenly released his hold on me. I fell from atop his shoulder, twisting in the air. My hands reached out to ease the fall, but they did no good. A sickening crack sounded as I made an impact with the dirt. I cried out in pain, my body collapsing on top of my wrist.
"Are you alright?" Samuel asked me awkwardly. He was still standing where he'd dropped me.
I glared at him while standing up. "No. I'm not."
"Look, I'm sorry." He started. I wasn't surprised to hear him practically growling at me. "I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving you there. I don't want you to get hurt. If you weren't being so difficult I wouldn't have dropped you."
Vicious retorts sounded through my mind, but I held them back. I couldn't exactly tell a werewolf they were a dense, careless, sadistic, controlling, moron.
"I don't want to fight with you, but I can't take you home if you're acting like a child."
My ears perked up, ignoring his insult. "Home?"
"My home." I froze. The fire inside my bones suddenly turned to fear. He noticed my new expression, but it only enraged him more.
"Why the hell are you so terrified of coming with me?" He roared, his voice sending sleeping birds flying through the trees.
"Are you serious?" I started, my voice rising to match his. "You just practically kidnapped me and you're wondering why I don't want to go home with you? You're incredible!" I threw my hands in the air, wincing slightly when the movement hit my wrist.
"I'm just trying to protect you!"
"Thanks, but I've managed just fine on my own."
"Obviously you haven't. It doesn't seem like your life is exactly a paradise."
"No, it's not," I paused, my anger finally getting the better of me. "But, at least at my house, I don't have to deal with a dense, careless, sadistic, controlling, pack of moronic werewolves!"
So much for not voicing that thought.
Samuel was suddenly silent. Not only was he silent, but he was still. If he wasn't standing and breathing erratically, I would have thought him dead. His head lowered, but from my height, I was still able to see his expression. His eyes were no longer dark. Now, they resembled a ruby. Bright, red, and dangerous. I lowered my gaze slightly, though still fuming. I had enough common sense to know not to mess with a werewolf when their eyes changed. James' eyes had done that on one occasion, and it was a disaster. However, his yellow slits were put to shame by Samuel's burning orbs.
He suddenly broke the silence, and when he did, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I will not have you speak about my pack like that. You may be my mate, and I may be patient with you insulting me, but you will respect them."
"I'm not your mate."
His hands clenched, making and releasing a fist multiple times. I knew I was pushing him.
"Just because you're a human now, doesn't mean will be one forever. You are my mate."
I didn't respond. I was done speaking. And I definitely wasn't going to acknowledge what he just insinuated. Instead, I huffed and let my legs give out, my body falling to the ground in a heap. My wrist was cradled against my chest, and I stared straight at the ground. I couldn't see much in the dark, but I tried to focus on anything but Samuel. Tears started to suddenly sting my eyes, but I blinked furiously to hold them at bay. In the end, they still fell.
"Why are you crying." His voice was a demand, not a question.
I rolled my eyes. "Because, I can't stand you," I spat.
He didn't respond, but I heard him move his feet away from me. By the time I looked up, he was out of my sight. I still heard twigs breaking and bushes being torn aside, but the sounds were getting farther and farther away. I hesitated, not knowing what to do.
Looking around, I realized I had absolutely no idea where I was. I never walked through the woods, for obvious reasons. But, now I was beginning to regret my cowardice, because I was sitting alone, in the dirt, in the middle of the night, with a deranged wolfman on the loose.
I peered to where Samuel had disappeared, half expecting him to come back and kill me. After all, I had insulted and rejected him and his precious pack. Still, I wasn't going to sit and wait around for something bad to happen. I lifted myself carefully off the ground, not moving my wrist from its position on my chest. I was still crying, but the tears were falling slowly. Almost mockingly.
I turned around and began to walk in the direction opposite that Samuel had gone. I lifted my legs up higher than normal, in order to avoid any uprooted trees I couldn't see. I knew I was making a lot of noise, but I didn't care. Samuel would have been able to sniff me out anyway.
Our conversation reverberated through my ears, and I thought of all the things I could have said to him. I was muttering to myself, curses flying word after word. The night was cold, however, and my mumbling soon died down. I focused instead on wrapping my nightshirt closer to my body and trying to find a clearing of trees.
I knew summer was ending by the way the nights had started to get colder. Normally this didn't bother me because at night I was usually laying in bed, tucked underneath a thick duvet. If I ever made it home, I didn't think I'd wear shorts to bed again.
I wasn't necessarily shivering as I walked, but goosebumps were starting to rise. I hadn't noticed the cold earlier because of my adrenaline taking over, but it was starting to subside. With it, so did my courage. It was slowly dawning on me how much trouble I was in. Not only the trouble of the moment but in the days to come. If I did make it home, I was sure that James would have found me missing by now. That meant he would have thought I sneaked out. I flinched as I realized what a gruesome punishment that would be.
On the other hand, if Samuel really did take me to his home, I was done for. No more family, no more freedom. Depending on his pack, maybe even no more humanity.
I stopped walking as that thought passed my mind. A werewolf wasn't supposed to have a human as a mate. Still, it happened. When it did happen, many packs preferred the human be turned. When they weren't, they were practically exiled. My mother and James were the perfect examples. James had met my mother, wooed her with his fake charm, then attempted to turn her. When he found out she had kids though, he didn't turn her. He realized, only after he claimed her, that us kids would have to be turned as well. This meant he would have sole responsibility for us, which he had no intention of taking on. So, he chose the exile choice and we were stuck with him. Alone.
My mother was never able to leave James, but not because she loved him back. She may have been his mate, but he wasn't hers. Humans don't mate like the wolves do. The only reason she'd stayed with him was that he constantly threatened to kill her. She'd always told me to do better than her, and I'd always promised her I would. It seemed that promise was going to be in vain.
I stared around at my surroundings once again. Not much time had passed, and I guessed I hadn't gotten very far. Plus, my wrist was aching more than ever. I cursed Samuel for bringing me into this situation. But, I was beginning to realize he may be my only way out. This forest was large. Large enough that I could walk for a few days and still be lost - it had happened to too many hiking tourists. I knew that the trees wrapped around the cliffs next to the beach, but other than that I didn't know much about the area I was in. I mused over my options. I could wait here until morning and then resume my journey, or I could ask Samuel for help. I knew he was still lurking somewhere beyond the trees. Wolves never let their prey wander far.
As if in answer to my thought, I heard something crack behind me. I whirled around, realizing that asking Samuel for anything was not an option. I was about to tell him off when my eyes rested on the source of the noise. I stopped dead in my tracks. Stopped breathing, thinking, moving, blinking.
I was staring into the red eyes of a wolf. I couldn't tell what color it's fur was in the darkness, but that didn't matter. The wolf was growling lightly, though no teeth were bared. I watched in horror as it approached me, my feet suddenly glued to the ground. The wolf's movements were slow and calculated, and he was staring straight back into my eyes. His body was equal to my height.
The wolf continued walking until he was about a foot ahead of me. I braced myself, knowing what was about to come.