𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓

Through the mass of pine trees, the setting sun bled through the sky in shades of pink and orange.

The cool breeze twisted itself through the trees, caressing my arms as it made it's way past.

I closed my eyes, savoring the serene moment, as it was one of the few times that I felt at peace.

That was until my tranquility was interrupted by the sounds of the five drunken, idiotic teenagers stumbling around our makeshift campsite.

I snapped my eyes open, glancing over to where the group was loudly singing along to a random song, dancing carelessly along to their terrible rhythm.

I prayed for their sake that they didn't remember any of this in the morning.

Deciding that i couldn't stand their obnoxious partying any longer, I stand up from my position on the blanket by the fire, making my way over to Tasha, who seemed to be the most sober of the bunch.

Tapping her on the shoulder, I muttered, "I'm gonna go on a walk."

I turned to walk away as Tasha yelled over enthusiastically, "Ok, have fun babe!" and continued on with her uncoordinated dance moves, positioned much to close to Max for my comfort.

I wrinkled my nose at the sight, and turned around to make my way along the faint trail that led into the woods.

I kept walking, focusing on keeping my footing as I wandered through the debris on the forest floor in the dim light of the melting sun.

Too lost in my thoughts, I had just began to notice the ungracefully sound of stumbling steps coming from behind me.

Curious, yet slightly spooked by the strange noise, I hid behind a massive pine tree, ignoring the discomfort of the sap as it stuck to my hands as I pressed directly against it in an effort to conceal myself.

Waiting awhile longer, a tall figure emerged from the trees, heading down the same pathway that I had been following.

The figure stopped, spinning around as if it lost its way.

"Damn," it muttered to itself, "Where'd she go?"

I recognized the voice immediately, and rolled my eyes as I stepped out from my hiding place.

"Garrett," I spoke icily, stepping out in front of his drunken gaze, "Why are you following me?"

The idiotic boy simply grinned, his fawn hair falling slightly in front of his hazy brown gaze.

"Well, I figured you might need some company," he announced, as if he had come up with the most brilliant plan of finding a way into my pants. It seemed to be a lifelong goal of his to try and seduce me, and to his annoyance, he has yet to succeed.

I rolled my eyes once again at his drunken behavior, taking note of the beer in his hand that had likely been the most recent of many.

"Let's get you back to the campsite," I sighed, upset that my peace had yet again been disturbed.

"No," he groaned, drawing out his words, "Why don't we just hang out here for a little bit?"

I raised an eyebrow as I stared at his attempt at a seductive smirk, which may have been more effective if he wasn't so drunk that he could barely focus his eyes.

"No, Garrett," I growled, tired of his never ending flirting that did nothing but make me hate him more.

"Come on," he nearly begged, walking towards me.

I backed up slowly, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible.

"Just one kiss," he murmured, grabbing onto my arms.

I squirmed underneath his rough hold, terrified of how strong he was even in his drunken state.

"Please let go of me," I whispered, unable to remove myself from his iron grasp no matter how much I tried. He was just too strong.

He shoved me haphazardly towards a tree, slamming my body against it, sandwiching me between him and the rough bark that scraped at me through my shirt.

There was no escape.

But in his uncoordinated fashion, Garrett had managed to stumble over a rock protruding from the ground as he moved closer to me.

His hands that had been holding me still flailed in his attempt to stop himself from falling, effectively shoved me, pushing me roughly to the ground.

A sharp scream escaped my lips as I fell, my arms unable to reach out and catch myself.

My head hit the ground with a sickening thud, landing directly on the rock that had originally tripped Garrett.

The pain blurred my vision, and all I wanted to do was cry, but my body wouldn't follow any of my commands.

I focused on keeping my eyes open, failing as the pain reverberated through my skull, jarring my senses.

"Oh, shit!" I heard Garrett exclaim, but I couldn't pinpoint where he was in my incapacitated state.

"I need to go get help!" he nearly screamed, leaving me laying helpless on the dirty forest floor, "don't worry, I'll be right back."

And then his stumbling footsteps retreated, and the pounding in my head become stronger, black spots crowding my vision.

I blinked, telling myself that I needed to stay awake.

But my coherent thoughts were beginning to slip away, and complete darkness soon overtook me.

And I couldn't feel anything.

✧ ✧ ✧

𝖆𝖚𝖌𝖚𝖘𝖙

A sharp knock came from the oak door, echoing loudly throughout my office.

Without a glance from the mound of papers on my desk, I yelled for whoever it is to enter.

The door creaked open, and a figure slipped boldly through the gap, and placed himself in my line of sight.

"Antonio," I nodded my head towards the man towering over me as I sat behind the desk.

His posture suggested that he was at ease in my presence, and it was obvious that he was putting in quite a lot of effort to make his facial expression seem like he was nonchalant, but I could see through his act.

He was nervous.

Why, I wasn't sure. Even after years of holding the position as my beta and most trusted advisor, Antonio still sometimes appeared uncomfortable as he spoke to me.

Silence overtook the room for a moment, and I looked up to glance at his face, taking in the features of his nearly-black eyes, and the natural olive tone of his skin.

When he still hadn't spoke, I began to impatiently tap my fingers.

"Was there a particular reason that you had disturbed me? Or were you simply bored?" I rhetorically questioned.

My passive-aggressive remark effectively pulled Antonio from his silence, prompting him into speaking.

"Oh, yes!" he announced, looking as if he had remembered his original purpose of coming to speak to me, "The border patrol had reported seeing a group of humans dangerously close to our borders."

I rolled my eyes at his words, mildly annoyed that he had interrupted me for something so unworthy of my time.

"You know that the young humans come to that clearing near our border all of the time," I sighed exasperatedly, "And there's nothing that we can do about it as long as they haven't actually entered our territory."

"That's the thing," countered Antonio, "It seems that two of the humans had wandered through our borders. Patrol had noticed their scent, and wanted to know what you had liked them to do about it."

Tiredly, I rubbed my hand over my face as I thought over the situation.

"Go meet the patrol group out at the border. I want you to lead them in driving the humans back to their side of the border," I concluded, "Go out there as your wolves, and only scare them enough to make sure they don't come wandering back. And make sure that they don't see you shifting."

Antonio nodded once, his serious coal eyes filled with purpose as he his orders, and he turned and left the room.

After his sudden departure, I turned my attention back to the mound of paperwork littering my desk.

But I couldn't focus. I had noticed that I began to feel off, my limbs restless, and my heart beating relentlessly in my chest, pounding harshly from behind my rib cage.

I felt nearly sick, and I rubbed my chest roughly, determined to get rid of the strange feeling.

The feeling in my chest intensified, and I couldn't help the overwhelming sense that something big was about to happen.

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