[Marissa’s POV]"How much longer are we going to sit here?" I grumbled, shifting positions for the fourth time since arriving. "I can't feel my ass anymore."After convincing Travis to allow me to accompany him on his wendigo hunt, we wasted no time in heading out. With Thomas leading the way due to his tracker background, we made our way deep into the woods until we arrived at a spot that radiated a good amount of wendigo energy.By Thomas’ assumption, this was a spot that they frequented, and the chances of us finding one here were pretty good. We could only hope that this evening they would be out and about. Otherwise, we would have to retrace our steps again and again until we found them.Hoping for the best, we set up camp downwind on the limbs of a tree above to wait."You didn’t have to come," Travis points out, giving me a smirk. "But once we’ve done what we came here to do, I’ll massage your ass.""Who wants you to massage their ass?" I grumped, though the thought of him doin
[Travis’ POV]I watched in horror as Kim and Marissa grabbed hands and leapt forward, disappearing beyond the ledge of the cliff. What the hell did they think they were doing? Were they trying to bring about their own deaths?Cursing, I rushed forward, preparing to jump too, but stopped as Thomas’ arm wrapped around me."Let go!" I growled, unable to control my raging emotions. "I can’t just...""Use your eyes, asshole," Thomas huffed, nodding towards the abyss below. "One wrong leap and your ass is done, can’t you see it?"See it? What the fuck was he talking about?Peering down, I took in the empty space below. There was no sign of Marissa and Kim, nor were there any signs of the damned wendigos that we were hunting. Where the fuck did they all go?"Do you see any human pancakes down there?" Thomas continued, acting smug. "That means that there is something that we are missing, but Marissa and Kim managed to find."Trying to calm my emotions, I began to search the area, trying to fi
[Marissa’s POV]I did my best to stay ahead of Travis so that he wouldn’t see the look of worry that I was sure was showing on my face. Though I had promised not to get myself killed, I didn’t quite know what would happen during this upcoming battle, and I was making a promise I had no control over."Hey!"Gasping, I found myself being tugged backwards as Travis’ arm wrapped around my waist, sending tingles of delight through me."What’s up with the avoidance?""Nothing," I responded, keeping my gaze fixed on those ahead of me. "I’m doing no such thing.""Try that on someone who doesn’t know better."Huffing, I looked at our group, which was clearly oblivious to mine and Travis’ back and forth, before wriggling around to meet Travis’ worried gaze. Immediately, I felt my heart clench and regretted my actions, but I was trying to be realistic."Tomorrow isn’t promised."It was the easiest way to describe exactly what I was feeling. No matter how hard we fought, we couldn’t change what w
[Marissa’s POV]We continued to run until I could just make out the portal that would take us back to our world. Just as Thomas had intended, we managed to escape, but was it really something to be relieved about?"That…" Ace huffed as we stopped at our exit. "How could someone...""Ace," Travis warned, stopping him before he could say anything more. "Not the time."As he scolded his delta, I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck. Since stopping, I couldn’t focus on anything except for Thomas’ figure slamming into a fully ablaze wendigo.How could he do something so reckless? We could have figured out a way to escape without that!"Hey."Tensing, I slowly turned my attention to Kim, who was standing beside me with an unreadable look on her heart-shaped face."Hm?""We aren’t just going to leave him, right?"Not leave him… No, I didn’t like the sound of that. We all came here together to try to eliminate a threat, and we should all be going home together. But as of now, we don’t k
[Travis’ POV] "Marissa," the name danced on my tongue as I continued to stand in place feeling my heart shatter into a million pieces. "Why?" I stared out the window into the night, trying to make sense of what was going on. Marissa was gone. She was gone, not only physically but mentally too. How had one of the happiest moments of my life turned into something so fucking painful I was having trouble breathing? After all the time I spent trying to find her and then to get her to open up to me, how could this have happened? Turning, I took in the shocked faces of our ceremony until my eyes came to rest on my beta, Chris. His face was impassive, but there was a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he hugged Trinity close to his side. Despite her attempt at looking shocked, I didn't miss the proud look that colored her features. "You," I growled, feeling a surge of rage. "YOU DID THIS!" Unable to control my emotions, I surged forward. I didn’t give a damn if she was a woman; it was her fau
[Travis’ POV]By the time the sun rose, the packhouse was nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubble and lost souls. Around me, those who survived mourned their lost loved ones and shot accusations towards me, insisting that everything was planned by Marissa."Alpha," Ace murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder. "All that has been lost has been accounted for. A total of fifty were lost and another twenty are still missing. ""Right," I sighed, running a hand across my face. The night had been long and emotional for all. I was utterly exhausted, but there was still so much that needed to be done.Turning, I took in the accusatory glares of those who had survived. Up til now, I hadn’t addressed the attack, but I guess now was as good of a time as any."I know what you all think, but I know that Marissa had no hand in this." I began, projecting my voice enough for everyone to hear. "And to prove her innocence, I will do everything in my power to find those responsible." Though I knew
Two Month’s Later[Marissa’s POV]The world blurred around me as I ran as quickly as I possibly could. Strange creatures were chasing me, wanting to use me as their next meal. Despite knowing that I could probably take them on, I found myself unwilling to risk the child within me. I needed to protect it with everything I had. I couldn’t let it be killed. It was the only thing helping me remain sane.Since waking up in a clearing with absolutely no memories of anything before that moment, I had struggled with remaining in control. Some days were harder than others, but up to this point I managed to keep the dark from taking me completely.However, now I found myself the prey of strange beasts with skeletal heads and decayed bodies. I didn’t know how they managed to find me or what they wanted, but no matter how quickly I ran, they kept up their chase.Panting, I chanced a glimpse to find the creatures becoming dangerously close. I needed to hurry, but I was afraid that shifting now wou
Two Years Later[Travis’s POV]I walked slowly up the path that led to the large, metal prison that had become home. Stopping, I stared up at its cold exterior and found that it matched my interior perfectly.Two years had passed since that night, the night that changed my life forever. Since then, despite searching high and low, travelling across the world more than once, and even seeking the help of the most expert of hunters, there was no sign of her. It was almost like she had fucking never existed to begin with. Hell, if her parents didn’t visit regularly to ask about my findings in regards to her, I truly would have thought that I imagined her this whole time."Snap out of it." I huffed, shaking my head and beginning to move once more. "Standing here thinking about her isn’t going to make her appear."Trying to ignore the pain that was beginning to radiate through me, I leaned down and put my eye to the advanced system lock that only allowed those it recognized in. Once the robo