Huntress or Mate?

Chapter 8 - Alone

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Arlo

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My eyes snap open and I try to sit up but I can’t. Something’s holding me back. I look down at myself and I realize that I’m still strapped to the bed and just then, everything comes crashing back. I still can’t feel my wolf, and I immediately fill with panic all over again. Just then, the doors to the room swing open and soon after, the familiar doctor appears. But his presence does nothing for me. Why can’t I feel my wolf? He starts speaking but I don’t hear him as my heart rate continues to rise, the panic turning into frustration.

I start struggling against the restraints, not paralyzed anymore. Whatever they gave me has now worn off. He tries to get me to calm down but I can’t. How can I calm down when I can’t feel my wolf? He's the only thing I have left.

“I can’t feel my wolf. I can’t feel him. Why can’t I feel him?” I cry out, struggling harder, no longer caring if he’s human or not. I have no reason to live.

“You’ve been through a lot, Arlo,” he says my name, placing his hands on my shoulders and my movements come to a halt, and I look at him. I have never seen this man before in my life. How does he know my name?

“Zane, Jackson’s son, was the one who found you. Jackson is my colleague. He’s the reason you are here and he told me what happened to you,” he adds, as though he read my mind before sitting on the chair next to the bed. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Arlo. I’m sorry about your family,” he continues, and that does it. The last piece of restraint I had, breaks, and I break down and cry. He unstraps me and helps me sit up before pulling me into an embrace.

I tighten my arms around him, letting it all out while he tells me it’s going to be okay. “I don’t want to live,” I confess into the hug as my body continues to shake with sobs. A part of me wants to blame myself. It wants me to hate myself. If I hadn’t told Harlow what I was, my family would still be alive. But how was I supposed to know? How was I supposed to know that my best friend, my soulmate would betray me like that? How was I supposed to know the girl I begged the Gods for would rip my heart out from my chest with her bare hands? How was I supposed to know she would cost me everything I ever loved? That she would be my undoing?

“I can’t even imagine what you've been through, Arlo. And I won’t even pretend to know the pain you’re feeling. But the Gods spared you for a reason. You are alive for a reason, son,” he says, pulling back and cupping my face. “You may not know what that reason is right now. Hell, you may not figure it out until years from now but there’s a reason and when you see it, you’ll understand. You’ll be glad you lived. You’ll be glad you never gave up. Who are you to give up on your life when the Gods didn't? If someone had to survive, it could have been anyone but it was you. There’s a reason why that is,” he adds, looking me in the eye, and just then, I feel it. I feel something envelop my heart and I shiver as the icy feeling spreads through my entire body. He's right, there’s a reason I’m alive, but he’s wrong about me taking years to figure it out. I’m alive so I can avenge my family. The person who took them from me will pay. She should have killed me.

“Now about your wolf. You have gone through a life-changing traumatic event, and you’re still overwhelmed with grief. He’s part of you. He’s you in every sense except that everything you feel, is multiplied by ten for him. Give yourself some time to heal and I’m sure you’ll feel him again soon. I have seen it happen many times in this line of work,” he continues, and I nod, wiping my tears. My heart is heavy but it's not aching like before anymore. It’s like the ice has numbed all the pain.

“Whe-where am I?” I ask, my voice breaking and raspy from all the crying.

“You are in Macclesfield, Otria,” he replies, shocking me.

“What?” I mutter, looking around the room, the shock now mixed with confusion. That’s the other side of the world.

“Ho-How-”

“Jackson sneaked you in on a plane that was bringing patients here before he and his family went on the run.”

“What?” I ask again, now shocked by the last part of his sentence. Beta Jackson went on the run? “What do you mean on the run? Were they discovered too?”

“They weren’t sure but they couldn’t stay there anymore. It was too risky, so they all fled and I don’t know where they went, since I didn’t hear from him again,” he says as I continue looking at him shocked. What have I done? “Harry Creel,” he says, extending his hand and I shake it.

“Arlo Dean,” I introduce myself even though it seems he already knows everything about me. Dr. Creel offers his home to me while I get on my feet since I have nowhere else to go. He tells me his shift has ended and after changing into a pair of grey joggers and a plain white t-shirt that he gave me, we exit the hospital. It’s quite a distance from the hospital to his house and I'm silent the whole ride there. He also doesn’t try to get me to talk and I appreciate it. I can’t make conversation right now.

We get to his house and it’s quite big for two people. He told me he only lives with his son. We enter and just then a guy who looks around my age descends from the staircase with a bag slung over his shoulder, dressed in gym clothes.

“Arlo, this is my son, Ross, and Ross, this is Arlo,” he introduces us and we shake each other’s hands. Ross sets down his bag and leads me up the staircase to show me the room that is going to be mine while living under their roof. He tells me he has to hit the gym and invites me, telling me he’ll show me the rest of the house when we return but I politely decline. I need a minute. He understands and leaves. I walk over to the bed and plop on it before taking my face in my hands; Harlow and the filthy f**k that is her father, flashing in front of my eyes. They will pay with their lives.

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Enya

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I open my eyes, turning to my side but they widen, looking into a guy’s face; my nose almost touching his chin. I sit upright, pulling the hoody down even though there’s space between us. It's strange though, cause even as I pull it down, I’m not as wary or scared as I should be finding a strange guy next to me on the bed. He doesn’t have a blanket on him and is still fully dressed. His head is tilted backward in an uncomfortable-looking position, causing me to feel guilty, realizing I was sleeping on both pillows. The poor guy probably strained his neck.

I get off the bed and head to the door, I assume to be the one for the bathroom and it is. I relieve myself and stand in front of the mirror, looking at the collar on my neck and my red eyes. Just then, all the previous events start playing in my head and tears pool in my eyes but I hold them back. I open the water again and wash my face before walking out of the bathroom. My body is sore all over from lying still for such a long time and I wish I could take a hot shower, but I can’t just use the shower here without asking. I also wish I had panties and maybe pants to wear.

I contemplate climbing back onto the bed since I don't know where else to go but it’s too awkward with him here, so I sit on the ottoman next to it. I watch him as he sleeps, the longer side of his side part haircut has lazily fallen over his face. My head is a mess right now and my heart won't stop bleeding but still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think he was the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen. He looks to be around six feet four with copper-bronze hair and amber eyes, and it seems he is just as beautiful on the inside too. I fell asleep in his arms last night.

When he told me how far I was, I was reminded of how I no longer had a home. The distance doesn't matter anymore cause I'm not far from anything. I have no home to measure it against. I fell apart at the thought, the pain of knowing I was alone, too much to bear and he held me and comforted me the whole time.

There’s something about him too, something about his aura that’s... familiar. It’s calming and warm, and when he held me, I felt… safe, as though I know him. I wonder if he’s a wolf.

I touch the collar at the thought, reminded it's the reason I can't tell whether he's one or not. I miss my wolf. My heart sinks lower as the feeling intensifies and my family's faces flash in front of my eyes, reminding me that I have lost everything. I have no family. My wolf is the only thing I have left and this stupid thing on my neck is keeping us apart. I wrap my arms around myself, the thoughts making me feel cold, and just then I hear a voice speak on my left.

“Good morning,” he says with a raspy voice, causing me to look up at him and I feel a strange warmth spreading across my chest when our eyes lock together. Who is this guy?

“How are you feeling?” he adds, with a warm smile, sitting upright while nonchalantly sweeping his hair back, and I notice a tattoo on his neck that I didn't notice before.

“Who are you?” I ask, disregarding his question. He gets down from the bed and sits in front of me, causing us to be close to each other since the ottoman is right next to the bed.

“Kolten Evans,” he says, extending his hand and after a moment of staring at it, I take it.

“Enya Dean,” I introduce myself back, shaking his hand. He asks me how I’m feeling again and I tell him the truth, that I’m in agony, and he opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off, asking him where he found me. He tells me and I thank him for helping me but he tells me there’s no need. There’s silence for a moment before I hear him speak again, just as I'm about to ask him if he can’t help me take off the collar on my neck.

“What happened to you, Enya? Why were you in that water?” he asks with a concerned frown on his face, my name rolling off his tongue, like he’s been calling it forever. But I can't answer his question. I can’t re-live what happened and I don’t know him. My body is screaming at me to trust him, but I’m emotionally a mess right now. How do I know what it is that I really feel?

I must have unconsciously started trembling, cause next I feel his warm hands on mine, causing me to look up at him again. “It’s okay if you’re not ready to talk about it yet. You can tell me when you're ready. But just know that from now on, no one will ever hurt you again. I’m going to keep you safe. I promise,” he says, tears gleaming in his eyes and I believe him, causing me to ask him why. He doesn’t know me and yet he’s promising to keep me safe forever. Why? He opens his mouth to speak but closes it again before letting go of my hands and getting up.

“I’ll be back,” he says, and I watch him as he walks to the bathroom. He doesn’t close the door behind him and doesn’t stay long as though he went to get something. He walks back to me with something in his hand before kneeling in front of me. “May I?” he softly asks, looking at me... affectionately? As he gestures towards my neck.

“Yes,” I let out a breathy reply, being so close to him, making me feel weird things. He reaches for it and I realize he’s about to unlock the collar, causing me to hold my hair up for him. He unlocks it and I find myself letting out a sigh of relief, feeling my wolf stir as he gently removes it.

“Thank you-” I whisper, but the words die in my throat as our eyes meet. Everything stands still as my wolf whispers the last word I expected to hear right now.

‘mate’

“You-” my voice is just above a whisper as my heart starts hammering in my chest. Everything fades to the background and I shiver, gasping out a breath, feeling an electric current spreading through my entire body when he cups my right cheek. “Kolten-” I whisper his name with a quavering voice, overwhelmed with emotion as my entire body comes alive, as though I have just taken my first breath. All the pain, all the sadness is gone for a moment as his amber eyes peer into my soul, setting it on fire.

“Mine,” he says, tears escaping his own eyes and a loud sob escapes me as I jump into his arms, both of us crying. I'm not alone.

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Harlow

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“Mm!” I moan in pain, slowly opening my eyes before abruptly sitting up, recalling the events that led to my passing out. I’m in a dark place and it’s crammed full. I groan, my hand immediately flying to my abdomen, the chains restraining my wrists making noise as I do. Sitting upright hurts too much, so I try to lie back, but it’s difficult. There’s no space. After a moment, the person next to me tries to shift a bit and I lie on my side, using my elbow to support me.

I realize whatever I’m inside of is moving and on a bumpy road. There’s sniffing, whimpers, and rattling of chains all around me, and when my eyes finally adjust, I’m confronted with a terrifying sight. There are women and men of all ages, all bruised and tied with chains, and it looks like we are in a truck.

“Whe-where are we?” I ask the people next to me, scared they could be taking us to a place where they are going to do with us as they please as that man did with me back there but no one answers. They are all just hugging themselves and crying. After a few minutes, the truck comes to a stop, causing my heart rate to accelerate even more. The place is noisy, the same kind of noise I heard in the last place I was in.

The tarpaulin that was covering us is ripped off and we cover our eyes for a moment, the light too bright for our eyes. We must have been in the dark for too long. I look down at myself to see that I’m wearing nothing but a big t-shirt. Men who look like soldiers in black appear in our view. They are holding guns and they order us to get out. But no one moves forward.

We all start crying and huddling with each other but soon regret it as the men climb on board. They rip us out of each other’s arms and start kicking and pushing us off the truck. If you take too long to get down, they kick or throw you out, sending you crashing to the ground. There are others on the ground, putting us in a straight line. I don’t get pushed but I fall on my own the moment I jump down. My legs are weak and trembling too badly from the pain and trauma of what that man did to me.

“Get the f**k up!” one screams and I cry out when he pulls me up by my hair before shoving me towards the line.

I try to stand but feel my knees giving in and I hit the ground. “The f**k!” I hear a voice say as I cry on the ground, helpless and it’s not long before I feel a boot on my rib cage.

“Ahh!” I let out a weak scream falling on my side and the man screams at me, ordering me up. Just then, I feel cold chains on my back and someone helps me up. I look up to find a girl my age and she helps support me, causing the man to walk away from us. We hear him hitting other people, and we flinch with each strike. Tears are running freely on my face, the pain, and the fear making my battered body tremble non-stop. The girl supporting me is also doing the same and we take each other’s hands.

After everyone is standing in line, we are ordered to move. We enter what looks to be a tunnel and we walk for a while before we see some light again. When we do, it looks as if we have entered some ancient underground city. The girl and I are dragged separate ways and we look back at each other before we go out of each other's view.

We are led through a passage and after a moment’s walk, I gag as an unbearable stench hits my nose, and it’s not long before what looks to be cells come into our view. They are packed full of lifeless-looking people. They look like skeletons, dressed in torn rags, and are lying against the walls. The bars are opened and we are shoved inside. I gasp, falling and hitting the hard surface with my knees. The t-shirt rides up my side, exposing my bruised thighs and I pull it down, desperately trying to cover myself as I scoot up against the wall, continuing to cry.

I feel cold, frail hands help me and I look up to find an old woman. “It’s alright,” she softly says, covering me with a rag and I break down and cry, curling myself next to her on the cold floor. After I don’t know how long, I hear the cell doors being ripped open but I don’t even look. I hear something being poured on the ground and the woman shakes me, calling me. I raise my head to find people eating something that looks like grits off the floor, but I put my head down again, having no will.

I don’t know when the last time I had something to eat was, but I’m too weak and the pain, emotionally and physically, is starting to numb me.

When that man was brutalizing me while lying there helpless, for the second time since I did what I did to him, Arlo’s face flashed in front of my eyes. In the silo, after the collar was taken off, I saw him. I saw his face and I felt this overwhelming sense of guilt and regret but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I didn’t want to acknowledge how my heart ached for what I did to him. He loved me. He was the only one who ever truly loved me. He was the only one I really had. But I turned on him. I betrayed him in the worst way because I was filled with hate. Hate that was based on lies and now I’m paying for it.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts by a voice and I open my eyes to find the woman holding up her hands, offering me the grits, but I just turn away, wanting to be left alone to drown in my sorrows, wishing they would just drown my soul and snuff out my light. I don’t know for how long I lie there, but when I open my eyes again, we are being ordered up and out of the cells.

We are led through a series of tunnels and we enter what looks to be a mineshaft. But I gasp when something explodes, sending people flying on their backs before they get up and start digging where the explosion occurred.

“What are you waiting for? Dig!” someone bellows, hitting me on the back of my head while shoving a bucket against my chest, and I take it and get on my knees on the muddy surface before watching what the others are doing and doing it too. I don't know what I'm looking for but I find out soon as the man shouts it out to us, ordering the ones who know to show us.