Female Novel
Chapter 44
Thalia’s frantic voice spurred something within me, and I took off in a desperate sprint. My feet slappedagainst the sidewalk, the sound bouncing off buildings and echoing down the barren street. ‘They’re werewolves.’ Thalia hissed, ‘You need to run faster.’ I veered across the street and down the sidewalk, my breaths emerging in short pants. My legs werealready beginning to b**n, and I thanked the heaven’s I removed the boot from my foot days ago. Myfoot had been completely healed, a perk of being half-werewolf, I suppose. My lungs screamed in mychest, making me want to scream. While my speed and strength were heightened, my werewolf sidedid not affect my horrible stamina.
‘Don’t look behind you.’ Thalia hissed as I started to turn my head. A ragged scream tore through my throat as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. A hand clampedover my mouth, muffling the scream before it had the chance to ricochet off the buildings. The shopslining the street were absent of light, the signs on the doors flipped to ‘closed’.
There was no one out here to help me. ‘Come on, Aurora! Fight back!’ Thalia hissed, ‘Kick them, bite them! Do something!’ I used all of the energy I had to thrash my legs, as Thalia goaded me on. A sick sense of satisfactionran through me as my leg connected with something hard, following the grunt of a male. One of themen stood in front of me, and I could make out some of the features on his face. A wide mouth withchipped teeth, shaggy hair that grazed his eyebrows, and a look of blazing anger in his eyes. The man holding me tightened his grip, his hand slipping as I continued trying to squirm from his grasp.I clamped my teeth down on the meaty part of his hand, biting down until the disgusting taste of bloodfilled my mouth. A breathless groan left my lips as the man holding me finally let go. My head hit the concrete with asickening crack, and stars danced in my eyes. With fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins, Iscrambled into a sitting position. “I don’t have money, but you can take my wallet.” I stammered, the words spewing from my mouth likenovelbin
vomit. “We don’t want your money, darling.” The man with the wide mouth and shaggy hair cooed, as though Iwere a startled cat. “Our boss sent us to find you.” ‘Alec and Kade wouldn’t send someone to get us.’ Thalia murmured, ‘They’d come and get usthemselves. Someone else sent these men.’ ‘Garrett?’ I asked, my eyes flitting between the three looming figures. ‘I don’t think so.’ Thalia paused, ‘These wolves, they smell–wrong.’ I scrambled backwards as one of the men reached for me, grimacing as small rocks and shards ofglass dug into my skin. ‘Do you feel that?’ Thalia hissed. ‘I’m not feeling anything other than terror right now.’ I snapped, thrashing as one of the men lifted me tomy feet. “Are you going to behave?” One of the men asked, his voice was soft considering the situation we werein. “We don’t want to hurt you, but we will if you force our hand.”
‘Alec and Kade, their close.’ Thalia whispered. I ignored the sudden rush of excitement that coursed through me, blaming it on Thalia when I knew shewasn’t the source. Every hair on my body seemed to stand as I heard their name echo in my mind. Thebliss I felt was short-lived, followed by the most horrendous pain. ‘We need to shift, Aurora.’ Thalia whispered; sympathy laced in her harsh tone. ‘This is going to hurt,but you’ll survive.’ ‘I thought we needed Alec and Kade to shift?’ I stammered. ‘Their close enough for you not to d*e during the process.’ Thalia responded, ‘Brace yourself.’ I hadn’t a clue what she meant, or how to brace myself for what was coming. Nearly a second later, asearing pain shot up my spine. Liquid fire coursed through my veins, seeping into my muscles andbones. A sickening crack echoed throughout the street, followed by a wail of pure agony. Everythingseemed to detach as my body was consumed in flames. I no longer knew where we were, or what we
were doing here in the first place. The three men faded from mind, their voices a slurred jumble in myears. ‘S**t, s**t!’ ‘He said she couldn’t shift yet.’ ‘Not without the two Alphas.’ ‘S**t, they have to be close by. Her wolf wouldn’t let her shift without them.’ “Inject her with the wolfsbane.’ ‘It won’t work–not when she’s just shifted.’ ‘It’ll work in a couple hours. Just do it!’ My lungs were numb, expelling oxygen as though it were poison. Crack after sickening crack sounded,followed by something soft brushing against my skin. I felt my legs give out from under me, vaguelyhearing Thalia’s soft voice filling my head. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ She hissed gently, ‘It’s almost done. Stay conscious, Aurora. You need to stayawake.’ I could feel myself sliding into the dark, hands grasping for something–anything, to keep me fromfalling. My hands grasped something firm as the image of Alec and Kade came to mind. The pain in mybones dulled, and when I opened my eyes, everything had changed. I was on the ground, staring up into the faces of my captors. It seems little time had passed, as theywere approaching me slowly, cautiously. Their hands were raised, their eyes bulging from their headsas they looked at me. A snarl rang out in the night, and I whimpered as I realized the sound had come from me. I ran mytongue over my teeth, noting how strange everything felt. My mouth felt wider–longer, my teeth sharpand jagged. I stood from the ground, nearly toppling over as I caught a glimpse of fur. ‘You did it.’ Thalia breathed, beaming with pride. ‘We shifted Aurora. Look at us.’ Thalia was right, we had shifted. Fur the color of pure snow coated my body, reflecting the moonlightbeautifully. I gazed down at my paws, noting how large they looked. I wished I had hands, to run my
fingers through the soft fur on my body. “She’s–she’s white.” One of the men scoffed, glancing at the other with an incredulous expression. ‘Why’d he say it like that?’ I grimaced, ‘Is something wrong with me?’ ‘I’ll explain later.’ Thalia responded, ‘For now, we need to get the h**l out of here.’ ‘What about Alec and Kade?’ I found myself asking, wincing at the intensity of the pull I felt towardsthem. ‘Now that we’ve shifted–they’ll find us.’ Thalia reassured me. ‘Now, let me take the reins. I’ll get usaway from these idiots.’ ‘Are you sure?’ ‘Trust me, Aurora.’ Thalia replied, her tone soft. ‘I’ve known you your entire life. You can trust me aboveanyone else. Well, beside Alec and Kade.’ Letting Thalia take control was easier than I expected. It felt like pulling a car over and stepping into thepassenger seat. I watched through Thalia’s eyes as she barreled through the three men, snapping attheir limbs as she plowed through the narrow space between buildings. We leaped over a chain-link fence, barreling through bushes and shrubs as Thalia led us into thewoods. My eyes were wide as I looked at our surroundings. We maneuvered past trees and over rocks,kicking up dirt behind us. ‘Will they follow us?’ I asked, marveling at the strength of my new legs. ‘They’ll try.’ Thalia nodded, ‘They won’t get far. We’re fast.’ ‘We are?’ I asked, as I hadn’t seen the speed a normal wolf runs at. ‘We are.’ Thalia replied, chuckling at the awe in my voice. Everything felt different out here, alone with Thalia in the forest. I could feel her instincts merge into myown, as we finally worked as one. Her speed became my own, and soon I was aiding her, laughing breathlessly as the wind brushedthrough our fur. The feeling was completely liberating, and soon I had forgotten why we were running inthe first place. We barreled through a small stream, and I couldn’t hold back my joyous laugh as water sprayed all
around us. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this open and free, relishing in the little things I oftenoverlooked. ‘That’ll help disperse our scent.’ Thalia nodded, ‘Sooner or later, they’ll pick up on it again.’ Minutes faded into hours, and exhaustion began setting in our bones. I could tell Thalia was tiring, aswe began slowing down. Trees no longer whizzed by in blurs of color and smell. I now had time toappreciate each tree, the pattern of its leaves and the rich bark that protected it. Far ahead smoke scattered into the sky, dispersing through the air and mixing with the clouds. A dullache began to set in our bones, and I winced as the feeling became stronger. ‘Oh, h**l.’ Thalia groaned, picking up her pace. ‘What?’ I asked, my voice cracking as the pain began to grow. ‘What’s happening?’ ‘They injected us with wolfsbane.’ Thalia hissed, a groan of pain coming from our lips. ‘This was yourfirst shift, so it takes longer to kick in. I won’t last much longer like this–neither will you.’ ‘Get to the smoke.’ I hissed, biting back the scream that pushed itself towards my lips. ‘There could bea house.’ I gave Thalia all of the strength I had left, propelling us forward with a garbled scream. Brancheswhipped across our fur, mud splattering in every direction as we stumbled forward. A cry of pure relief left my lips as we emerged from the forest line at the top of a steep hill. At thebottom of the hill sat a farmhouse, the windows lit and the chimney spewing heavy smoke. Black spots danced across my vision as our limbs felt like lead. The ground tilted and rolled, our eyesshutting as pain encompassed our body. I forced my eyes open, groaning at how heavy they felt. The green of the earth bled into the blackspotsin my vision, but through the haze I could make out something. My fingers ached as they twitched, andI noticed the fur had left my body. A warm breeze caressed my b**e skin, but I hadn’t the strength tocare. Thalia and I had made it to the bottom of the hill, tumbling down as we faded in and out ofconsciousness. Mud coated my b**e skin, drying in itchy patches. Hovering an inch away from my eyes, was the face of an old woman. The sight jolted me, and I
struggled to move away from her. Before I slipped into the darkness, I noticed the gentle smile on hersoft face.