Burnt Out

~Devonte~

I’m sure we were released so we could talk. I guess I must have been more obvious than I wanted to be. I was trying to keep my disgust to myself with the plan to lay into my brother privately.

I hurry downstairs and make a beeline for the front door. As I walk through, I see she-wolves looking at me. Some whisper to their friends, and others look at me seductively. I have no time for any of them.

The closer I get to the door, the more angry I feel. I yank the door open, hearing it crash against the wall. I walk outside and step down the porch steps. I start to pace back and forth on the grass. I can feel my brother getting closer to me. He was walking behind me, and I wasn’t sure he would follow me.

The minute I feel his presence behind me, I turn and slam my fist into his face. Vonte stumbles back and holds the palace where my fist made contact. Vonte drops his hand and growls toward me. I get in a fighting stance, silently begging him to come for me. “What the fuck, ‘Te?!

“What were you thinking?! How could you mark her without talking to me?!” Vonte throws his head back and laughs.

“We did talk, you idiot. You told me you wouldn’t claim her, but I could do as I please. That’s exactly what I did. I claimed my fated mate, so what exactly is your fucking problem?!”

“I didn’t mean it, and you know that!” Vonte looks at me with confusion all over his face. “We always knew we’d share a mate. I’m the oldest, and I have the final say. I told you she wasn’t good enough, but you went ah-” Vonte’s hand is crushing my windpipe. I’m clawing at him to get him to let go. I can’t breathe in any air. I can feel the blood in my face, making it hurt along with my head. I’m quickly dropped to the ground. I take huge gulps and start coughing.

“Don’t you EVER talk about her like that. I marked her because she’s MINE! If you want to be dumb enough to let her go, that’s your problem. Hurry up and reject her so I can have her all to myself. You have always been so fucking full of yourself, and it will finally end you.” Vonte turns and walks off.

My anger is at volatile levels, and if I don’t release it soon, I will end up causing some damage. I walk off the side of the packhouse and into the forest. I strip down and place my clothes over a fallen log. I stretch my body and clear my mind for my shift. The seconds tick down, but nothing happens. I stretch my body again and close my eyes to concentrate. I imagine my wolf taking over, but again, nothing happens. I open my eyes and look down at my body. I envision fur all over and my claws coming out. Nothing. ABE?! Where are you?!

FUCK YOU! You are a selfish bastard, and you can go to hell. I want my mate, and if I can’t have her, I have no reason to stick around. The block Abe put up was so powerful that my head hurt. I hit the ground and land on one knee. I drop my head in my hands and cry out from the pain. I weakly lift my head, and my vision blurs. I try to open the link to Vonte to get him to help me, but the darkness hit me first.

~Aida~

I’m so hungry and tired. I don’t know how long I’ve been on the move, but I’m over it. I just want to curl up somewhere and get some rest. My life wasn’t the greatest, but at least I had food in my stomach and a pillow under my head.

I peer from behind a thick tree trunk. There’s nothing between me and the cave entrance. I can make it there quickly to be sure I’m not seen. There are wolves not too far from here. They’ve been sniffing around for a while now. I had to roll in the mud to dampen my scent.

I close my eyes so I can concentrate on the sounds around me. Wherever the wolves are, they aren’t too close to me anymore. I take a deep breath and launch myself forward. I run to the cave opening as quickly as I can. I can only hope there’s nothing unsavory in that cave.

I make it to the mouth and step into the darkness. I take a moment to listen to what might await me. I can hear the gurgle of water, and my curiosity takes over. I walk further into the cave, keeping a hand on the tunnel wall to guide me. The deeper I go, the darker it gets. I stop occasionally just to check my surroundings. I’ve heard no evidence of animals in the cave, so I continue.

The darkness fades slightly, and I can see a small puddle of water. As I get closer, I see that it isn’t a puddle; there’s a depth to it. I glance around, but there’s nothing to see. I jump, head first, into the water, reveling in the cool feeling around me. The water is deep enough, but not too bad. My feet hit the bottom, so there’s no real chance of drowning. There’s a small elevated level of rocks that has water dropping into the pond I’m currently in. I walk over and drink the dripping water. My lips hurt initially, being so dry.

With the mud almost gone, I can check my body. I have some cuts and bruises from running through the woods. I ditched my clothes a long time ago. It made it easier to mask my scent from those looking for me. I climb out of the pond and find a corner that’s far away from the tunnel opening. I curl up in the corner and let my fatigue take over.