Runa's eyes flew open quickly as she realized she was not in her bed. Bathed in darkness, her eyes barely able to see the chains that restrained her. Puzzled for the lack of sight, having been able to see through the night better than anyone she knew. She found her hands were shackled, outstretched strenuously to either side of her body. The chains embedded into stone. Her legs she discovered in the same condition. Spread eagle. She pulled with all her strength, rattling the manacles. With all her efforts, she was unsuccessful. Lungs burning with the stale death filled air she was heavily breathing, she hung her head letting her hair cascade down from its half fallen style in front of her to hide her face as tears threatened to spill over the lids of her eyes. So this is how it ends. She thought to herself. Just when she was getting comfortable enough around Ciaran to loosen the reins on her guard, wanting to believe what he claimed was true. Wanting to b
A growl emulated from her chest, as she heard more voices traveling down the tunnels. She backed herself into the darkness and waited for the faces that went with the voices. Orange and yellow flames illuminated the stone walls as the two males entered the chamber. Satisfaction filled her with the shocked gasps and frantic expressions at her empty shackles. They slowly backed away towards the tunnel entry-way, their eyes searching wildly for her. As they turned in her direction, the flames glinted across her golden red eyes. The male passed her over, oblivious. As he quickly took a double take, she lunged for his throat before he had time to react. Teeth severed flesh and crunched bone as his head popped off his shoulders. The torch fell to the ground and rolled away. Thadeus, the second to enter, had started to run when she caught him by the leg. She shoved her forepaw into his chest, gnashing her pearly whites inches away from his face. "Now Runa, dear daughter, let's b
As her shadow mimicked her long quick strides, Runa looked towards the rising sun, awash with relief and triumph while she continued on her quest to find high ground. She had to return to Ciaran, had to warn him and everyone of the imminent danger on her heels. Only one problem stood in front of her, she had no clue as to where she was and she was not sure if she could mind link him from a long distance. The slush of half melted snow was indication enough that she was not too far south, though far enough away from the foot of snow that blanketed Ciaran's territory, she felt uncomfortable. Her nose picked up the scent of humans about ten miles east of her, she quickly changed her course with the hopes that someone could tell her where she was. As she found the small town, she kept to the shadows as she crept around back alley ways in search of something to cover her body with when she shifted back. She was in luck. She spotted a dirty blanket with moth holes in it hanging
A single tear rolled down her cheek. Would he be safe? Would this female that was so kind to her be in danger of the Queen's wrath? How would they get back home safely? With each passing thought a new question developed, rolling through her mind. Runa composed herself quickly before bringing the borrowed phone back into the dining area. "Thank you for letting me use your phone. I think I'm going to go lay down. Suddenly I'm feeling exhausted to the point of passing out." She tried for a smile, not sure if it was very convincing though when Stephanie smiled up at her she was relieved. "Ok dear. You've had a rough time your adrenaline is wearing off. Go get you some rest, Hun." She said as she took her phone from Runa's hand and made a shooing motion at her to go lay down. Back in the pale yellow room, she flopped on the bed. Rolling over to stare at the popcorn ceiling with the fan placed in the center, it's leaf blades spinning and wobbling slightly. A deep audib
"We're being followed." Jake's voice broke the silence in the car after an hour on the road. Runa stiffened in her seat, her heart beginning to race, threatening to leap out of her chest. "I know."Ciaran replied before shifting gears and straining the engine to fly faster down the blacktop. "Can you tell who it is?" Runa questioned with the overwhelming urge to look behind her, only she was frozen in fear. "Not sure. Could be the local pack making sure we don't cause any trouble. The scent of another alpha in your territory isn't always welcome." Ciaran's words did little to reassure her, though she did shift her eyes between each window, straining her vision for any sign of someone just beyond the shadows of the highway. The hair on the back of Runa's neck and arms stood up as a cool draft blew through the back seat. Reflexively, she rubbed her arms as she wrapped them around her. Fear gripped her as she saw a flash
Ciaran's eyes were locked onto Runa's face as she began to stir. She rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up, his hand on her shoulder held her in place and sent another jolt of fear rushing through her making her heart race. "Shhh. You're alright but it would not be wise to sit up, sweetling. You shredded your cloths." He whispered to her and felt the tension release her muscles as she resettled herself in his lap. "Where are we?" She asked groggily. "Another hour away." Jake answered from behind the steering wheel. "How long was I out?" She turned her eyes upward to find Ciaran's dark orbs. "Roughly five hours." He replied, still stroking her hair resting against his leg. She tried to stretch in the small space of the back seat, folding her arms under her head as she arched her back listening to a few of her vertebrae pop. Her legs were starting to cramp curled under her. "Close your eyes.
The pack house was rather large, though with so many huge male bodies standing around there was very little room to move, not that Runa wanted to be anywhere else other than by Ciaran's side. His pack had more people in it than the usual hundred or so. There were more than a thousand bodies that filled the large lobby and over flowing out onto the patio. They all turned their attention towards their Alpha. Ciaran stood tall, confident with an aura of authority surrounding him as he prepared himself for what was to come, his speech and his confession to his pack with the hopes of their understanding. He took a deep, steady breath and let it out on a sigh as he cleared his throat, giving Runa's hand a slight squeeze and stepped forward to face his pack. "I'm sure all of you are wondering why I called for an emergency meeting in the middle of the night. There has been new developments over the past few days and as everyone knows, I have been out of the territory in search of
Ciaran stepped out of the shower, steam filled the room. He tried to rub the left over tension knotting the muscles at the back of his neck that the shower had no affect on. He had a bad feeling twisting his gut after that phone call with Alpha Mike. It would seem there are more packs against them than willing to help. He grabbed a dry hand towel and wiped off a small area of his mirror to get rid of his five o'clock shadow. A soft knock interrupted him half way through causing him to cut his cheek when he jumped. "Shit." He cursed quietly. "Who is it?" He yelled towards the door. "Runa. Are you busy?" Her voice was muffled through the door, though the soft sweetness in her tone had a lasting effect on him. He opened the door to get a blast of air filled with her scent. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the aroma. His eyes shot open when she cleared her throat. She was shielding her eyes from him, when he looked down he knew why and a grin sprea