The Injured Werewolf

A long time of running later, Ellie felt herself get tired and, upon seeing no one coming after her, stopped right by a large, thick tree.

“Looks like I lost them,” she muttered. “But… now what do I do…?”

Ellie knew it was only a matter of time until Maddie and her family gather up some werewolves to search for her, force her back home and complete the rite. Should that happen, her escape would be for nothing. She could try to fight back, but with how weakened she got because of the Wolf Swap Rite, if what Maddie said was true, there was no way she could hold them off like she used to.

“Why is this happening…?” she wondered aloud. “What did I ever do to deserve this? Mom… Dad… Why did you abandon me in the woods if this was going to happen…?”

Overwhelmed by the events leading to her situation, Ellie could only silently cry.

Minutes into her crying, Ellie heard something from deeper into the forest, catching her attention, and ceasing her tears. “Hello? Is someone there?” she called.

No response was given, but she did manage to sniff out something she did not notice before.

‘Is that… blood?!’ Worried overtook her, and she hastily made her way to the source.

******

It did not take long for her to find the source, to find an injured male werewolf deep in the woods. Ellie looked around, wondering if anyone else was nearby, only to see no one else in the area. She walked closer to the werewolf and knelt down.

“Hey! Hey, are you okay?! Hey!” she called. Just as she was about to shake his shoulder, his eyes shot open, and he swung an arm out at her. Ellie managed to react fast and leaned back, avoid the strike, though fell to the ground.

“You’re not taking me without a fight!” he shouted.

Ellie became extremely confused by his claim and said, “‘Take you’? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me… You’re another one of their members… Sent to die trying to kill me!”

She grew even more baffled by such accusations, especially as the guy lunged at her once more. Ellie managed to avoid another strike, and exclaimed, “What?! No, I’m not! I don’t even know who you are; I just found you lying here!”

The male werewolf did not believe a word that came out of her mouth at all, as he proceeded to lunge at Ellie. Though she was still weakened by the Wolf Swap Rite, thankfully, Ellie was still quick enough to avoid losing a limb.

Upon passing by her that time, though, the guy was suddenly acting odd, as he skidded to a stop and looked at Ellie with wide eyes. He sniffed the air and cautiously moved towards her, slowly freaking her out.

“W-… What?” she asked.

His eyes turned yellow with slit pupils, causing the girl to tense up even more at the sight. “Mate?!”

Ellie was shocked speechless by what the injured werewolf just claimed. Mate? Her? With him? Was he being delusional?

As a werewolf, one has a mate they are destined to be with. That mate could be found anywhere in the world, be it in the same pack as the werewolf or in another pack entirely. Living in the same woods as the werewolf, in a neighboring forest, or somewhere on the other side of the world. That being said, it is nothing short of a miracle for a werewolf to find their destined mate. The only way werewolves would know who their destined mate was was via a bond they were born with. Ellie did not know about this injured werewolf before her, but she felt the bond once before with… With Steve…

“I believe you’re mistaken. I’m not your mate; I don’t feel anything towards you,” Ellie told him.

The injured werewolf shook his head, raising a hand up to his head, as if easing a headache that was starting to form. Worry overtook the female werewolf again, especially when she saw the guy staggering. He tumbled over, and she managed to catch him before he could hit the ground.

“Whoa! Careful there,” she said. “Look, I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re hurt. Luckily, there are some herbs nearby I can use to patch you up. Just… lie down, and be still.”

Without another word, Ellie got up and collected some herbs in the area to use for the injured werewolf.

******

William stared at Ellie as she searched around for the herbs, holding back all urge to take her.

‘What the hell are you doing?! She’s right there, our mate!’ William’s wolf, Liam, exclaimed in his head.

‘I don’t care if she is… That is not reason enough to just go attack her!’ he mentally argued.

‘We won’t be attacking her. It is only an instinct for us male werewolves to want to be with our destined one. To have our other half. Or what? Do not tell me your own false bond with Jen has blinded you of who you truly should be with.’

William growled at Liam’s accusation. ’This has nothing to do with Jen! This is about etiquette! Besides, something is off about her scent.’

“Hey. Are you feeling okay?” came Ellie’s voice. 

William looked up and saw the female werewolf looking down at him, with some plants in hand.

“Those injuries must be worse than I thought. Hold still; I’ll help you out.” Without another word, she got to work on tending his wounds.

It was silent as she treated him. William could feel his wolf wanting to take control and have his way with this ‘stranger’ before him, but he refused to yield… to force himself on someone. To betray Jen.

‘Why are you still hesitating…? This werewolf is our mate!’ Liam demanded.

‘I already told you why! Say what you want, I will not yield!’ William argued.

Due to the anguish he had on his face, Ellie thought he was feeling the sting of the herbs making contact with his wounds. “Sorry about the stings. Guess you’re not used to it,” she apologized.

“Something along those lines…” William lied, not wanting to tell her that he was having an argument with his wolf about taking her as his official mate. Especially when she does not seem to believe that the pair truly were mates. 

But… Was that possible? He knew Liam was telling the truth about this werewolf being his mate, yet she does not feel the same way? Was his wolf really being delusional? No… No, that couldn’t be it. Not when he could smell the scent on her. Was she the one being delusional?

‘Whichever the case, there is also her scent… Something is off about it…’ he noticed, as he then silently looked around the area. ‘For her to be out here alone, either she got separated from her pack, or she was driven out of it for some reason. In the case of the latter, regardless of the reason, I definitely can’t let her go after this. Thankfully, I fought off the werewolves who were after me earlier, so at least I don’t have to worry about getting attacked later. Once my injuries are patched up, I can take her back to my pack.’ 

Minutes later, Ellie was done tending to his wounds. “There. That should do the trick,” she said. “Can you stand?”

“I’ll be just fine,” William assured, getting back up on his feet. “Thanks, I suppose.”

“It was nothing. Honest,” Ellie answered as she stood back up. “Well, if you’re fine now, I’ll just be on my way.”

Just as she turned to leave, though, William grabbed her arm. “You’re not leaving.”

Ellie turned to him, baffled by his claim. “And why can’t I?”

“I said it before. You’re my mate. And for you to be out here alone, something must have happened to your pack. I’m bringing you back to mine.”

She couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth. That was the reason why he’s stopping her? He was going to trust his delusions?

“You say we’re mates, but I don’t feel anything towards you, really,” she tried to reason. “You just got hit a little too hard in the head, I’m sure.”

As she attempted to get the man to release his grip on his arm, it only made him tighten his hold on her. “I don’t know why you’re not feeling the bond, but I know what I’m sensing. What I’m smelling off of you.”

“Except it’s only a mistake! Besides, I…” Ellie briefly stopped when she thought of the words that will come out of her lips, recalling the incident just earlier. “… I already have a boyfriend and…“

“And you think that’s reason enough to stop the bond we have? You’re a werewolf; you should know better. Besides, assuming if you’re telling the truth, it doesn’t sound like you two are together.”

And that she does. Even though a werewolf is able to be in a relationship with someone they do not have a bond with, that did not mean they could ignore the bond they truly have with their fated other, much less avoid it. Except for one thing… Her mate was Steve. And this injured werewolf? He seemed convinced that they were true mates. 

“Even so, I’m telling you, you’re mistaken if you think I’m your mate. I really don’t feel anything for you,” Ellie tried to tell him.

“Something happened in your pack, didn’t it? For you to say that,” William assumed.

Ellie flinched at how accurate his guess was. Now that she thought about it, with how faint her wolf was in her, it could be possible that maybe there was a bond between them, but because of the Wolf Swap Rite…

There was no way she could possibly tell him that. Who knows what he would think if she told him about that? 

“Nothing is going on in my pack. Just… Please, just drop this,” Ellie said, trying to get William to release his grip on her still.

“I don’t think so… You’re coming with me to my pack. We’re mates, anyway. You’re better off staying with me,” William denied, not loosening his hold one bit.

Ellie grimaced at his words. It was not that she was troubled by how much he believes them to be fated lovers, but more because of what he said. She should stay with him… simply because they were mates? She was not some naïve werewolf desperate for love! With everything that happened to her, she did not want to be treated as anything less. And as much as she did not want to resort to drastic measures, at this point, William left her with no choice.

She raised her free arm, claws growing out from her nails, and brought it down. Her claws impaled into his wrist, forcing him to finally let go. As soon as he released his grip on her, Ellie fled from the scene. She could hear the injured werewolf calling out to her, but she ignored his call, wanting nothing more than to just escape.

‘I have to hide somewhere… Somewhere he can’t find me, and have time to recover from his delusions.’

Just as she thought that, something grabbed her by the legs and pulled her into the shrubs, much to her surprise. Just as she disappeared in there, William came by. He looked around, searching for Ellie, only to find no sign of her, and take off in one direction.

With Ellie, however…

“You didn’t think you could hide for that long, did you,” Steve stated to her in a whisper, covering Ellie’s mouth shut to prevent getting the attention of the werewolf who ran by just now. “I don’t know who that guy is, but I’ll be damn if I let you call for help. It’s time for you to come home, mutt.”

Ellie tried so hard to break free from his hold, only to sadly waste more of her energy instead, unable to even make him loosen his grip, or even cry for help, as she got taken away.