Chapter 4 Hunted and Hunted

What was I doing? How did I get here? I still couldn't bring myself to answer my questions. I'd been walking aimlessly in my nightgown in a foggy forest for what felt like ages. My feet were sore, growing numb to the feeling of the prickling grass and moist mud. Surrounded by nothing but trees and fog, I'd found myself walking straight up a path to Goddess knew what. All I remembered was my mom sending me off to bed after we'd argued about my recent bruises. Everything else that led up to me laying down in a cold damp forest turned up blank in my head.

Was I being pranked again? I wouldn't put it past Higan to kidnap me from my room just to leave me in a dirty forest. He'd probably grown bored and thought to torment me into forgetting that horrible kiss he initiated. Suddenly the woods stirred ahead with loud thuds, the sound sending waves of fear down my spine. Oh Goddess, was I being hunted? Did Higan decide it was best to kill me instead? Without thinking much about it, I turned on my feet to run down the path where I walked early on, my fears prompting my speed. I really did not want to find out what was chasing me. I simply wanted to get as far away from it as possible. If it was in any way friendly, it wouldn't be charging through the woods. There was also the chance of me being placed in another pack territory by Higan. A guard wolf has the authority to kill me for trespassing. Only rogues trespassed and they're too dangerous to reason with. Roaring thuds followed behind me like a large animal charging through the forest floors angrily. Just my luck, it sounded like the size of an alpha. I was definitely being hunted! My heartbeat continued to hike up, my chest grew hot with panic as I ran. I don't want to die! I don't want to leave this world without anything to leave behind as mine! I never even got the chance to make anything of myself. The sharp snap of a tree falling struck my curiosity and I turned my neck to see what it was. I caught a glimpse of a white wolf behind me, tearing the trees in its path as it headed right for me. Its size was alarming, and its bloodshot eyes focused on me sending another wave of terror through me. Startled, I tripped and to my misfortune, tumbled down the rough path hitting every rock and protruding piece of wood in the way. Pain shot through my entire body as I felt my bones shift out of place. A scream tore out of my lungs. Oh Goddess, I was truly about to die. "Please," I stammered, feeling the animal approach. Scurrying backward, I tried to move my twisted limbs. It was excruciating. My palms hurt as their open wounds met the mud. Not like this, I don't want to die like this. With a loud stump, the wolf landed right in front of me. I flinched, closing my eyes waiting for it to strike me. "Wake up!" The wolf growled instead. Its voice rang loudly in my head, cutting through the haze of my pain and my thoughts. I opened my eyes just in time to catch her raising its paw. And then, she struck me. Suddenly I sat up on my bed, my heart drumming violently against my ribcages as my ears rang. I ached for air desperately, clenching my chest as a scream continued to tear itself out of my lungs. "Harlyn!" My mother's frightened voice reached me and I leaped out of bed to run into her arms. "It was just a dream, breathe sweetie." It felt too real to count as a dream. Tears streamed down my face, my body ached and I could still feel the stinging sensation of dying under the paws of the white wolf. "I don't want to die," the words left my mouth in shaking whispers. "You're very much alive Harlyn, just breathe," my mother coed gently, her warm hand holding me close to her chest. The hours passed by as she held me still before I finally calmed down. I couldn't bring myself to sleep again so I began my daily chores in our home before prepping for school. Perhaps because of the fight we had before my nightmare, I couldn't face my mother to say much. I was sure she would try to link the nightmares to my bruises from school and try to do something about it. I didn't want her to. She was barely doing well in the pack after her daughter was publicly rejected by her mate. I didn't want her heading out to confront the alpha in an attempt to stand up for me. Higan would use the opportunity to torment me more whilst pretending to help and she would be ridiculed. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if she was hurt, especially with my dad out of town on some mission. Stepping out the door, I let out a shaky sigh. Another day in school, another day confronting my cold reality. "Maybe I should transfer to the public school," I muttered to myself contemplating yet another way to avoid Higan. Suddenly a loud oomph resonated through the morning air pulling my attention to the side of my house. Frowning, I approached the source of the house. To my surprise, I caught a sandy blonde boy lying flat on the floor. "Are you alright?" I asked, staring at his pitiful demeanor. I stepped closer to approach him but a shoe dropped on his face. His face contorted into a bemused expression and I'm tempted to laugh. But a question crossed my mind. Where did he fall from? Where did the shoe fall from? My sense of alarm began to settle. "Were you on my roof?" The question flew out of my mouth in shock. He shifted to look at me, seemingly caught off guard by my presence. It was obvious he wasn't paying enough attention to hear my coming. Was he human? I doubted it. No human would be that calm after falling from a roof. "Creep!" I shouted but before I could get the word out completely, he ran at me with alarming speed and slapped a hand over my mouth. "Please don't, I was just -" he paused as if gathering his thoughts. "Parkour!" He explained. "I was practicing my parkour skills and It didn't end well." His eyes were so vividly blue, that I'd almost believe he stole a piece of a clear morning sky to wear them as eyes. His smooth skin had a rich tan and his sandy blonde hair sat in waves atop his head. He was obnoxiously beautiful. However, I caught on to his accent immediately. It was quite the same as Ethan's and that vague girl, Abigail. Where are these people sprouting from? I bit his hand and attempted to push him off me. But to my dismay, he rarely budged. I blinked in surprise at his core strength. Was he a bodybuilder of some sort? "Please don't struggle, or bite, I'll remove my hand if you do promise not to yell," he pleaded, his eyes wearing his sincerity. Somehow this was scarier than the wolf. I didn't want to trust him but if he wanted to hurt me, I believed he would have snapped my neck to effectively shut me up. I nodded and his eyes gleamed at my apparent compliance. He stepped back, moving his hand away from my mouth. "I'm Khalid," he reached out his other hand for a handshake. "Khalid Lockwood." Not entirely sure what was happening I shook his hand anyway. It had been a while since anyone reached out to shake mine. "Harlyn Sage." "On your way to school? Shall we walk together?" He chirped excitedly. What a strange boy. I doubted he knew who he was about to walk with. "I don't think that's such a great idea," I turned on my feet to walk away. However, he stepped right by my side to walk with me. "Why not?" He asked with a curious tone. He's new after all, he wouldn't know the train wreck and social weapon that I was. I side glanced at him. He looked quite nice. I didn't want him to find out why. "You'll find out eventually," I simply muttered, picking up my pace. He followed suit." Well until then, I would very much like a walk. I haven't made many friends here." "The social type, I see," I scoffed lightly. "Not really but it wouldn't hurt to get familiar with people in an unfamiliar place," he retorted with a small grin. "True," I shrugged. "How many have you gotten familiar with so far?" I couldn't resist asking. If he'd established any form of friendship with Higan, I would like to know so I can steer clear of him. "Zero," his shoulders slumped. For a brief second, he reminded me of a puppy denied its treats. I resist laughing at his demeanor. "It's hard to make friends when you have a grey cloud as large as Ethan around," he ranted with animated gestures. "Abigail doesn't help either with her condescension, the rest of the guys act like bloody robots and frankly I'm just waiting for the pitchforks and tomatoes to kick us out with the way they seem to scare everyone everywhere they go." I paused my walking to laugh. He looked and sounded genuinely frustrated with his group's anti-social antiques. I don't really know what's so funny about it but to think these are the kind of things other people have to worry about. My life was so pathetic. "I'm so sorry," I apologize in between my laugh. Khalid simply stared at me as I continued. I suddenly felt self-conscious. "Why are you staring?" I frowned. "You're laughing but there's something so sad about it," He said calmly. His demeanor had changed. It was suddenly colder, and in a way, angrier. I was scared my laughing had upset him. I stepped back, expecting a jab to the gut for some reason. "I'm sorry for laughing," I looked down and waited for him to say something. "Harlyn, who's been hitting you?" The question hit my gut like a bag of ice. I swallowed down, unable to look him in the eye. Twenty minutes, that was how long it took for him to realize I was a loser. It didn't matter though. He would have found out at some point that I was the punch line of the pack and seemingly the punching bag too. "Tess!" Someone shrieked, pulling my attention to the crossing ahead. My heart almost leaped out of my chest as I caught the angry face of Tessandra Harris storming toward me. Her ginger hair bounced as she approached, her lovely face contorted with rage I stepped back slowly dreading the trouble I was about to face. I could stand my ground against any other person that bullied me. Adolf and any other of Higan's minions. But just as I'm powerless in the hands of Higan, so am I in the hands of Tessandra Harris, his girlfriend. She was the twisted daughter of the former Alpha's beta. Everyone knew she'd been in love with Higan all this time and she'd hated me the most since the ritual. I can only guess one reason as to why she's suddenly confrontational today in place of sending her lackeys. She found out about the kiss.