Alyson's heart pounded a million beats per second to the sound of I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, as she flung herself up into the trees. Dylan snapped at her heels and bit into her pants leg yanking her from the tree. Alyson yelped in pain as her shoulder made contact with the ground roughly. Dylan stands above her his body blocking her escape route.
She watched him carefully reading him as he reached down to rip her throat out, then she quickly threw all her body weight and all her strength to push the wolf off her. Luckily this was Dylan and he was much smaller than the others, and not Nate or Dustin who wolves were big and heavy. Alyson used the time to recover, she wouldn't have enough time to climb a tree again, so she took off as fast as her feet would carry her. The full moon giving plenty of light for her to see what she was doing.
She lept over a root that seemed to spring out of the ground just to trip her. She saw Kai running next to her suddenly. Her stomach dropped, she thought he ran off to safety somewhere, but here he was.
"Kai go find help! Preferably Hayden if you can find him! Stay safe, I'll hold him off until you can get a hold of them, I promise!" Alyson says turning away from Kai. Kai gave a bark at her but she ignored it, he'd find a way he had to. She almost froze as she heard Kai give a howl, it was strong and loud. Her chest swelled with pride, but it didn't last long as she saw Dylan change directions towards Kai.
That was so not happening, She climbed a tree with such speed it looked like it was in fast forward. Then without thinking she jumped onto Dylan's back.
"Kai! Run! Go find Hayden! Hurry!" Alyson said though she was sure Hayden would hear the howl. She wanted Kai away and somewhere safe for now.
"Follow Dylan's trail find where he came from and eventually that will lead you to Hayden! Go! Now! Don't worry about me, bud! I'll make it just fine!" Alyson said as she fought to stay on top of the Were. He was indeed too strong for her keep holding him like this but she only needed to keep it up until Kai got away safely.
Kai finally ran off and once he was far enough gone Alyson lept off Dylan. She made a beeline for the old wolf den. She didn't have time to think if Dylan knew where she was or how to get to her all she knew was that if he found her, she was going to die.
~~~~~~~
Hayden's ear's perked at the sound of a howl.
"Kai?" Mason asked Hayden.
"It has to be, there are no other wolves in the forest," Hayden said picking up speed as they ran through the trail that Dylan's sent left behind.
"Hayden! Did you hear Kai?" Collins asks as he, Luca, and Nate joined him.
"Yes, but I'm afraid that even if we find Kai, Alyson wouldn't let Kai get hunted. I'm almost sure she split them up," Hayden said his tone turning into a commanding voice.
"She most likely sent Kai to go find us and had him follow Dylan's trail back to us," Collin confirmed.
"I hope we'll find her in time," Nate says holding a genuine concern for the blonde.
"Me too," Hayden agreed as he felt fear prickling up his back, not his own but Alyson's. He could practically feel her heartbeat. He swallowed down his fear and pushed himself to move faster.
He nearly ran over poor Kai as he ran following Dylan's scent. Kai yelped and jumped up on Hayden, excited to see him. Hayden nudged the young wolf to show affection, before barking to let him know they needed to hurry. Kai responded well and led them through to find Alyson. Soon her scent was overpowering to the point where Hayden though she had to have been bleeding.
The scenery started to become familiar, this is the wolf den.
~~~~~~~
Alyson ran into the cave and hide in what used to Zyler's den, looking around for any kind of weapon to fight against the much stronger wolf. He may be stronger but at the moment there's no human in him, but pure wolf she there had to be a way to outsmart him. She nearly cried in relief as she saw a fur pelt Zyler had used to sleep on she quickly covered herself in it to hide her scent.
Just as Dylan charged into the room, her hand landed on something strong and sturdy feeling. She pulled it closer to herself and waited for Dylan to approach her. Then she'd take him by surprise.
She heard his coming closer and sniffing loudly. As he was right outside the pelt she began to move to strike him. But a fierce growl had her frozen in place, this wasn't Dylan's growl but another Were she knew, Hayden.
She quickly threw the pelt off and smacked Dylan over the head with what she now knew was quite the heavy sturdy rock. Dylan swayed before falling and passing out.
Alyson let out a whoop of victory as adrenaline pulses through her.
"Did you see that? Who can't take of their self?" Alyson said pointing to the out cold Dylan who was slowly starting to shift back. Her eyes meet Hayden's who seem to fill with amusement, behind him the rest of the pack watches her with wide eyes.
The next second Mason let's out a barking laugh and soon everyone else joins in. Alyson felt powerful and like she could take on the world. She fell on her butt with relief.
"So...what the Fuck just happened?" Alyson asked. The guys all looked at each other as if trying to decide who was going to tell her.
After what felt like a lifetime Hayden released a sigh and stepped forward.
"Well, first things first that wasn't Dylan," Hayden said.
"No, duh?" Alyson said her fuse getting short as she watched Nate drag his brother to the main entrance of the cave.
"It was the Fever, it's something young Weres experience on the full moon and when they're on their own it becomes uncontrollable. Dylan went hunting, and no one else noticed it was a full moon. It normally wouldn't have mattered since he wouldn't have mattered because in the pack young weres can keep it together, but he was alone so he went crazy. He just so happened to find you," Hayden says.
"And you all just let him go off on his own on a full moon?" Alyson asked her tone annoyed her thrill of victory worn off replaced by anger.
"I didn't know he was out on his own until it was too late, and these idiots didn't even notice it was a full moon!" Hayden barked out making Alyson tense.
Her head felt heavy and her body shaken and all of her adrenaline gone only to be replaced with bone-deep tiredness.
"We'll continue this talk after you get some rest," Hayden said walking away.
"Hey! We aren't done here!" She growled anger making her blood boil inside her veins almost sparking. Hayden didn't even turn around as he left the room. She thought about ignoring his command and following him out and yelling at him more, but her body was much too heavy to even move. Soon she passed out on the pelt.
~~~~~~
Alyson wakes up to a sharp pain in her back. Panic starts to course through her. The panic only increases when she opens her eyes and the only thing she can see is darkness.
Footsteps make her heart feel like it's gonna explode from her chest, the feeling of dread from almost getting killed is still pumping through her veins. The footsteps come closer and closer until they're just a few steps away from her.
"Alyson?" the voice fills her with relief.
"Hayden?" Alyson asks her voice shaking.
"Yeah, it's me. Calm down, you're safe now, no one's gonna hurt you," Hayden says sitting next to her and pulling her close.
"What happened?" Alyson's voice sounds scratchy and stiff.
"Dylan caught the fever and attacked you. We're in the wolf den, right now. Dylan's turned back into a human and is fine.Which is surprising since you hit him so hard with that rock. However, I can't say the same about you though. Your shoulder was dislocated, and you're back is all kinds of torn up." Images flash threw Alyson's mind.
She'd been driving home from work and almost hit a wolf. Once she went to try and figure out why he was in the middle of the road she was attacked. She got backed up into a pointy tree and tricked the wolf. She tried to get up in the trees but the non-Dylan wolf grabbed her before she could and she fell hard on the ground face first.
"Where's Kai?"
"With Mason and the others." Relief filled Alyson.
"When are we gonna leave? I've got work tomorrow," Alyson says.
"You're not going to work Alyson," Hayden says his tone final.
"Why not? It's the only place I belong right now! I can't stand just back peddling through my life anymore!" Alyson explodes.
"Alyson, you're hurt, there's no way I or any of the other guys are going to let you walk, let alone work an almost 12-hour shift," his voice was soft yet it held so much power she didn't bother to deny it.
"Wait how do you know I work such shifts?" Alyson asks confused, and she could swear she saw a hint of a blush rise on his cheeks but it was too dark to be sure.
"We heard about it through the grapevine," Hayden says not meeting her eyes. She knew he was lying but let it slip for now.
"So, I assume you already called my boss?" Alyson says.
"Mason did. He told her you fell down some stairs," he explains.
"Well, great! Time for me to go home so I can rest. I guess I'll see you guys around," Alyson says pushing herself up and ignoring the protest of her body. Hayden quickly grabs her and helps her stand up. She tries to shake him off, but he won't let go. Alyson lets out an annoyed huff and walks away. She's a little unsteady at first but manages to gain balance, however, Hayden never lets go of her.
"Let go!" She says.
"No! You shouldn't even be walking right now! So be grateful I'm letting you walk!" he barks. This makes Alyson's blood run cold.
"Grateful, huh? I'll think about that next time you abandon me," Alyson says with a sharp tongue, hurt flashes through Hayden's eyes.
"You know what fine, walk on your own!" Hayden says suddenly letting her go. She wobbles and tries not to show the pain coursing through her veins. She manages though as she pushes the tarp out of her way and into the main area of the cave. Conversation stops as she walks in.
Collin imminently comes over to help her walk but she shakes her head no at him and saunters over to the group. She sits down much more gracefully then she thought she would.
She looked at their faces. They all looked the same but it felt different than before. The air felt tight and hard to breathe. They all looked at her like she was glass, when before they looked at her like she was made of steel.
She lets out a small sigh and pulls her knees closer. It hurt to sit like that but it made her feel better. She hated the way they seemed to isolate her. Dylan refused to meet her eye and it made her heart sink, in fact, none of them would look her in the eyes. Hayden sat down across from her, his face still set in anger.
Alyson looked outside and saw daylight, it was maybe two, three in the afternoon. Alyson waited for the conversation to pick up again but it never did. She felt it then, she really was an outsider. She didn't belong with them and they didn't want her around anymore. They'd gotten what they needed out of her and now they didn't want her around.
She felt used. She was just another stepping stone for them.
"I guess now that I'm awake we can leave now," Alyson suggests. In a snap, everyone shot up and started gathering things. She held her head low and didn't make eye contact with any of them. She knew they would hate her, everyone does at some point.
Alyson stands up once everyone finishes packing up, she follows the group out. Her pace is slow but steady. Every inch of her upper body screams at her to stop moving but she ignores their desperate cries.
The trip back to the clearing where she met them was silent, only broken when Alyson gave a wheezing cough.
"I guess this is where we split, thanks for saving me. I'm sure it was more hassle then I'm worth. But nonetheless thanks anyway," Alyson says turning her attention to Dylan, "I don't blame you for anything Dylan, please don't beat yourself up about it. I know you would never actually hurt me." She turns away from the group.
No one made a move to stop her as she hobbled off. Kai looked between Alyson and the group of boys. Alyson smiled sadly, she knew what he wanted. He wanted to stay with them, but Alyson wasn't welcome there.
She knelt down and Kai walked up to her. His eyes made her sad, she knew how much he wanted to be with them. She looked up at the guys and spoke," take good care of him. I can't teach him what he needs anymore. You guys are the only wolves left in the woods and I'm only human. There's only so much I can do for him, he belongs with people who know how to be a wolf. So, this is goodbye Kai," Alyson says ruffling his fur his eyes looked sad, but she could feel his want to be in a pack. She knew she needed him but he needed a pack more.
She gave the guys one last look before she turned around and left.
She wobbled all the way home and looked up at the balcony. There was no way she'd make it up there. So instead she walked through her house, no one even looked up as she hobbled through the house. She unlocked her room and wobbled heavily up the stairs.
She tripped on the last one and fell but made no move to get up. She instead curled herself into a tight ball and just lay there, she felt numb. She knew they didn't want her. Yet, a little piece of her used to tell her that wasn't true. That piece of her was gone now.
They just let her walk away and didn't even try to stop her when she left. That's what hurt the most. They saved her, but only because it was their fault.
Alyson lay there until her body gave up to the darkness.