Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was sunrise before we finally slowed down enough for me to comprehend where we were. The clearing was unfamiliar, and I could smell the scent of the wet blades of grass that were sticking to our paws. Being in Wolf form had its perks. I could smell much more than in Human form. I could even smell some sort of breakfast food wafting through the air. My stomach grumbled at the scent, I hadn’t realized I was starving until that very moment. 

The forest was behind us and there was a clearing to the side of us. I still had no idea exactly where we were, but the sun was just rising up over the horizon, casting a beautiful orange glow. Living here, in Maine, my entire life, I could tell you that it never lacked a beautiful landscape no matter which way I turned.

Looking down into the city below us, the cityscape was immaculate. Skyscrapers reached through the air, and you could clearly see the outline of the entire city, block by block from up here. Even as early as it was there were plenty of vehicles on the roads. 

That must be a Human town, as we rarely used vehicles in the pack, but only because we never left the pack… it wasn’t allowed. If this was a Human town then we must have ventured much further than I anticipated. 

There was only 1 Human town that bordered our pack, and it was directly across the river. We had come much further than that though. I looked down at the grass under my paws from the hilltop we were on, noting how green and lush it seemed to be. It was almost springy underneath my weight. I could feel the dewdrops that clung to the blades of grass surrounding us as they soaked into the fur around the pads of my paws. 

I was distracting myself with the small details. I knew damn well we weren't supposed to be here, or anywhere for that matter. The rules are simple. You don't leave the pack's territory without the Alpha’s permission… But no one ever got permission from Alpha Drake. I doubt many dared to even ask him for it. He was intimidating, to say the least. That’s even an understatement… A big understatement. 

He was six-foot tall, dark complexion, and had large muscles that cascaded throughout his entire form. The man never left the gym, I swear. He had black hair that was always kept short and a little messy, with dark blue eyes like the depths of the ocean. His facial hair was always kept neat and tidy, as if one hair out of place would ruin him. And maybe it would…  

He had a long scar that ran down the right side of his face down onto his neck, and many similar scars on both of his arms and back. He never spoke of how he got them. A smile never fell on this man's lips. He had a husky voice that demanded respect and attention. 

And he got it, good God did he get it. Even just the venom in his voice alone was enough to make a grown man shudder. No one ever disobeyed Alpha Drake, or lived to tell about it…

“Rayne, we need to go back… We are so far outside of pack lands. Alpha Drake is going to kill us.” Wynter whined. “It doesn;t even matter now, we already disobeyed, we are already dead. Why even go back?” I snipped. It wasn’t her fault, sure, she was in control in this form, but we were both hurting over Eric’s betrayal. 

I get why she wanted to get back. It was for good reason, really. But I honestly could care less if we ever returned… Alpha Drake looming or not. I will admit that while Wynter has been in control, I have had a chance to process what happened with Eric, but it was going to take time to get over. I needed to compartmentalize it all, and work through it… And I couldn’t do that under Alpha Drake’s tight rule. If we survived this he would have us doing extra rounds for weeks… Unacceptable, because I needed to grieve.   

I tried not to focus on it, which was harder than it seemed. The only other thing on my mind was the next 2 years and what my life would be like until then. Or even after. Hell, I was only 19, if my Demon was willing to literally kill my boyfriend for touching me, what else was he capable of? Let’s ignore the fact that Eric was literally forcing himself on me… I still didn’t think he deserved to die.

The thought made me shudder. Not that I hadn't thought my Demon would do something like this… but he had never actually hurt anyone before… Sure, he had scared other romantic interests of mine away, but never to the extent of hurting someone, let alone killing them. I guess it didn’t help that Eric was Human… Not a reason to kill him though. In all my time being haunted by my Demon, I never thought he would become so crazed.

This whole situation was completely different, and I was struggling to understand the reasons behind his insane behavior. ‘No one may take your innocence but me.’ His words floated through my mind, settling right behind my eyes. He had marked me as his property, probably from the first day he had met me, and that was years ago. 

For him to be holding on this strongly after all this time, there had to be more to it. My thoughts began to run a bit wild. What would he do to my other friends? What if I ran away? I was already this far, why go back now? Why not just continue running? What if I never looked back? Maybe he wouldn't find me. I could start over, somewhere new and far, far, the fuck away from here… and him. 

Wynter let out a growl at my intrusive thoughts because she was infatuated with the man. I never understood just why she was so infatuated. He may be gorgeous and god-like, but the man was terrifying. I ignored her, I had to. Plus, I was too lost in my own mind to care. I kept replaying the scene over and over until it drove me mad.

My Demon, ripping Eric's throat out with his Vampire fangs… The blood was dripping off his fangs as he closed in on me… I wasn’t sure if I was next. Me attempting to cover myself with the sheet, with anything. Attempting to hold back the tears, the pain, the guilt. 

Reavers were terrifying because of all the powers they possessed by nature. I had only ever heard stories, but I had seen some in all of my years dealing with my Demon. I knew he had fangs, and I knew he drank blood. I knew he could materialize and appear anywhere. I knew he could also conjure things up by a simple snap. I also knew he could hear things from further away than others and I was sure he could heal. I knew he was immortal, but not all of them were and I didn;t understand that aspect… 

Honestly, I felt there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. And it all made sense why every other Supernatural creature was afraid of Reavers… Yet I was supposed to, what? Just forget that I was claimed by one of the most ruthless creatures in the world? Or worse, accept it? I don’t think so... 

I was snapped from my internal panic when I heard Alpha Drake's powerful voice snaking through my mind link. "Rayne, get your ass back to the pack lands, immediately." He spewed. Venom snaked its way through his words. I could feel it seeping into my very bones. Then he ended the mind link. “Son of a bitch.” I growled. 

Wynter whimpered like a hurt pup in my mind. “He’s going to fucking kill us, Rayne. Straight up kill us. We will be just as fucking dead as Eric when we return.” Wynter scolded. “Jesus, Wynter! Too soon. Too fucking soon!” I growled. She didn’t apologize, she just went silent. I mean, she was right. What did we expect? A homecoming? Balloons A party? Ha… I knew this was coming, I just expected it a bit sooner… and also sort of hoped that he wouldn’t even notice. But I couldn't be so lucky. 

With everything else going on though, I wasn’t anywhere near ready to face Alpha Drake, and I knew this… but it didn't matter. What he says, goes. And that includes everything that I’ve done in the past  however many hours. 

I exhaled an annoyed breath before Wynter turned back and headed towards home. We started running but it was like every single step was agony, and brought us that much closer to what was sure to be our imminent doom…

What the fuck did we just get ourselves into?