Uninvited

Merlin tried freeing herself from his grip but he was too strong and soon he began dragging her into the foliage beside the trail, her feet scrambling uselessly at the underbrush. She opened her mouth to scream only for a large hand to clamp it tightly shut as the panic swelled inside her, forcing tears to her eyes. Her hands were pressed tightly against his chest preventing her from using them against him. It seemed darker as the sun struggled to penetrate the tree canopy above and she couldn't tell how far into the forest he had dragged her before he threw her, unceremoniously, onto the ground.

She flinched away from him, immediately scrambling backwards before her back hit a large tree trunk and she quickly tried to stand. He walked towards her and she saw his claws extend from his fingers just before he leapt forward and pushed her to the ground, his body pinning her beneath him. She tried pushing him and kicking out at him but his strength was overpowering and she only succeeded in tiring herself out. Her body was shaking with fear and panic when she heard a tearing sound and realized that he had ripped her clothes open and was forcing her legs apart, his erection pushing against her thigh. 

"No no! Please don't do this!", she screamed against his shoulder, her hands clawing at the forest floor in search of something that she could use as a weapon. She felt a blinding pain on her jaw and immediately warm blood flooded her mouth and she gagged, almost choking herself. Her vision blurred and she shook her head, trying to focus, willing herself not to black out as she felt his swollen member pushing between her legs. A feeling of intense anguish gripped her as she sobbed hopelessly into his shoulder, her sobs muffled by the blood trickling from her mouth. 

Just as he pushed his erection against her outer folds, his body was ripped off of her and sent crashing against a nearby tree where he landed with a sickening thud on the forest floor. Merlin looked up to see Zeke standing over her, his face contorted with rage before he picked her up and carried her in his arms as he strode briskly through the forest. She wept uncontrollably, her sobs racking her body as she clung to him and pressed her face into his neck, her tears and blood leaving streaks on his neck and chest. She didn't realize he'd stopped walking until she heard him whisper against her hair, "I need to put something  on you, Merlin, I can't carry you out like this"

Only then did she remember that she was naked, her clothes ripped and lying somewhere on the forest floor, she shivered and nodded without looking at him as she belatedly tried to cover herself with her hands. Sitting down on a fallen tree and keeping her in his lap, Zeke removed his t-shirt and pulled it over her head, helping her to push her arms through the sleeves before he picked her up and continued walking back to the mansion. 

It was late afternoon when they reached the mansion and Zeke took her through the back entrance and upstairs, carefully avoiding the crowd waiting anxiously for them out the front. He didn't want anyone seeing her like this and he wasn't ready to answer any questions about what had happened to her, not until he was sure that she was okay. Entering her room, he carried her towards the bed but her hand squeezing his shoulder stopped him and she whispered against his neck, "I want to clean up first". He nodded his head in agreement and carried her inside the bathroom where he set her down on her feet and turned to leave. 

"Wait", she called out softly, "Please. Stay". He froze at the sound of her voice and replied without looking back, "I'll wait here until you're done". He could hear her wincing in pain as she removed his t-shirt and stepped inside the shower and his jaw clenched together remembering the bruises all over her body. Even though she tried to keep quiet, her stifled groans of pain could still be heard above the sound of the shower and Zeke could feel his anger coiled tight just beneath the surface. After a while, the shower stopped and he heard the glass door open as she stepped outside and dried herself before putting on a robe and padding across the tiles towards him. He started walking back into her room and she followed quietly behind him, her harsh breathing the only sound. 

He stopped at the foot of her bed as she walked past him and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up around her. He watched her for a while, waiting for her to say something but she only stared vacantly at the walls, her eyes blank and unreadable. "Did he......?", he asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. She shook her head, "You saved me just in time". She paused before continuing, "I thought you wanted to kill me but you saved me. Why?"

His eyes widened in visible shock, "I never said that I was going to kill you, Merlin. Why would you even think that?". She looked at him with tears glistening in her emerald eyes and her lips trembled as she spoke, "But I refused to help you so what use am I to you?". Zeke walked around and sat beside her on the bed, his eyes staring deep into hers, "I only planned on keeping you here to try to convince you to help me not to kill you if you didn't". She appeared to think about it before she slowly nodded her head. 

"You need to rest now, the pack doctor will be up shortly to check you and give you something for the pain. I'll leave you to get some rest", he said as he stood up to leave. She watched him walk across the room toward the door and as he reached out and grasped the door knob she spoke in a barely audible whisper, "Will you come back?". He turned back to her, an unreadable expression on his face, "Yes", and he quickly turned away and left. 

Outside in the corridor, Zeke stood just outside the door and took a deep breath to steady himself before he strode purposefully down the corridor, heading to his office downstairs. His beta, Abel, was waiting for him inside, worry creasing his handsome, boyish features. "Where is he?", Zeke questioned, moving behind his desk and sitting down. "He's dead", replied Abel, shrugging his shoulders causing Zeke to glance sharply at him. "I'm sure he was still alive when I left him", Zeke countered even as doubt clouded his eyes. "You don't know your own strength Alpha, he was dead when we found him", Abel replied as he took a sip from the glass in his hand. Zeke continued to stare at his beta, his grey eyes searching his face.

He had grown up with Abel and trusted him completely so when it was time to choose his beta, Abel had been the obvious choice and he had served him loyally for the last five years. But yet, there had been something in his eyes, something he couldn't quite place and he couldn't seem to shake the growing sense of unease that he was feeling.