The Alpha and the Gift

Chapter 8: Fyn's Run

Fyn raced through the woods, trying to keep his mind on his mission. But every time his attention seemed to waver, his feet started heading back towards Rowan's house. He had tried to ignore Rowan since he had seen her in the restaurant. But it felt like the harder he tried, the more she invaded his mind until she was literally all he could think about. He had even tried to make a deal with himself. He would check the edges of his boundaries, then run by Rowan's house on his way back.

He wouldn't stay, but he would check on her, he swore to himself. That promise had seemed like a great idea at the time. But now Fyn could barely wait to get back, and focusing on the task at hand was nearly impossible.

It reminded him of how he had felt at the restaurant earlier. It had been vitally important for him to go back to work. But it had been excruciatingly hard to walk away from Rowan.

Fyn had managed to, though. He had turned his back on Rowan and walked out, calling his desires ridiculous. But ever since then, he had been counting down the hours until he was off work. At first, he had thought it was so he could go running and work on his mission. But now that he was out here, he couldn't deny the truth.

He just wanted to see Rowan again.

Unable to stay away from her any longer, Fyn spun around and raced back towards Rowan's house. Maybe if he saw her and got that over with, he could finally concentrate on his work. Fyn stood behind the tree line and watched her house for a bit. There was not a single light on in the house, even though it was still relatively early in the evening. Occasionally, he saw a light flicker through the house as if someone was using a flashlight to search for something.

The whole scene was so eerie that it sent a wave of doom through him. Something was wrong. Fyn raced back to the spot he had used to store his clothing earlier when he had shifted. He was in such a hurry that he barely waited until he found the clearing before reaching for his human form. Growing up as a shifter, it had taken many years of shifting back and forth before the transition was easy. He was used to the feeling of his body moving between one form and another, but he still recalled the way it had felt when he had first begun shifting. Uncomfortable, fascinating, sometimes painful, but he had always been grateful to have a wolf side.

He jerked his clothing on then hurried back towards her house using the forest as a shortcut.

Rowan had been in the middle of trying to give him a bath when the power had gone out. She had pulled him out of the tub and dried him off as best she could, then wrapped his leg once again. Together they went downstairs and tried to discover the source. But if Rowan had known very little about electricity, Burger the dog had known even less. Rowan gave up trying to figure out why her electricity was off again and headed out to the porch with Burger. Despite her warnings not to use his leg, he was extremely reluctant to let her out of his sight. Not that she blamed him after all that he had been through.

She sat on the top step, and Burger had laid down right next to her. Neither of them spoke as they watched the slight breeze rush through the grass in front of them. Rowan was listening to the mice chatter when all of a sudden, everything went dead quiet. Burger's ears perked up as if the silence had let him hear something beyond the field. He turned his head towards the forest line, and his body was tense. His entire being was focused on the area he was watching and seemed to be waiting for something to come out.

Rowan turned to watch the area as well, hoping that maybe her mysterious wolf had decided to make an appearance.

-Person is coming.- Burger stated his tone and words sounded almost ominous.

A shiver went up Rowan's spine, and she put her hand on the Burger's back to keep him with her just in case they needed to get away. Her first thought was that Charles and his goons had found her. That they knew what she had brought with her to this place. Rowan just couldn't understand how they had found her so quickly. She was ready to bolt if the person resembled Charles or any of the men that worked for him. Rowan had always wondered why he had so many bodyguards. Now she understood that they were all in on it.

-Do you have any idea who it is?- Rowan asked him.

Instead of answering her, a low, deep growl rumbled up from his chest. Rowan's heart began to pound harder and faster as a dark shadow materialized out of the woods. She was frozen to the top stair, unable to decide what she needed to do. Burger felt her distress and crouched in defense of her.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's me. It's Fyn," the figure told them quietly.

Fyn stepped into the light, and his bright green eyes were wide with shock but also twinkling with amusement. He held his hands out to show he was harmless and jerked his chin to the dog. “People usually wait until about a month into living in the area to get a guard dog."

Rowan took a deep breath and tried to shake out the anxiety and fear still threatening to hold her hostage.

“Burger found me, to be honest," Rowan told him as she rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling the chill in the air.

Fyn chuckled. “Burger?"

Rowan shrugged her shoulders. “He likes it."

“I'll bet," Fyn replied with a smile still on his face.

“Did you need something?" Rowan asked suddenly.

Burger was still growling at Fyn, and Rowan began petting him soothingly to try to calm him down.

-It's okay, Burger. He's a friend-

-The Fyn man smells weird.- Burger told her.

Rowan c****d her head curiously as she tried to figure out what would make Fyn smell weird. To her, Fyn smelled absolutely delicious. She loved the way that he smelled. But something about it was setting Burger on edge.

-Burger doesn't know. Fyn man smells different from people. Like Rowan but more… predator.- Burger explained.

Rowan wasn't sure how she felt about Burger's description of Fyn. To animals, the meaning of predator was different for each individual creature. Rowan just wasn't sure what exactly that word meant to Burger. But she couldn't ignore the sense of anxiety that rushed up her spine when Burger called Fyn predator.