Part 1.
1506 Words
"Run, Leah, Run!" She whimpered as the loud voice rang in her ears, her feet aching from the miles she already covered. It felt like her knees were about to give away.
As the sound of footsteps got louder behind her, she clenched her eyes shut, trying to rush against the wind. She knew that turning over her shoulder would cost her getting caught by them.
"Leah! Leah!" A sharp cry made her throat tighten. That familiar voice tearing through the wind caused her heart to shreds in pieces. Her feet refused to move away from that cry, and she halted, not even caring that they may get her. Taking a deep breath, she ducked down and before they could take hold of her arm sneaked in the other direction.
She recalled the exact words of her father. If she wanted to escape running in a cross pattern would help. As she took another turn, the howls of those beasts got louder. They were closer than she thought.
Leah staggered back as her eyes fell on sight before her. A loud cry tore from her throat, looking at her mother laying on the ground with blood gushing out of her neck. Her mother was no more. She fell on her knees, unable to breathe.
Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she stared at the lifeless body without blinking. The deep gash on her mother's neck was from a werewolf. Just as she crawled forward to touch her mother, a loud growl made her flinch. Raising her head, she saw the sinister black wolf standing over the rocks nearby. An Alpha. He was smirking at her with the darkest gleam she had ever seen in his anyone's eyes.
Red hot fury filled in her stomach. How dare he smirk after killing her mother?
Leah stood up, angrily wiping at her tears. She was going to kill the Alpha. Her skin felt hot as she cracked her knuckles and threw her head back. Sharp canines dug in her teeth, and the colour of her eyes changed as she glared at the Alpha.
"No" Someone pulled her back before she could race towards that black wolf.
"Go save your life!"
Leah shook her head, "I have to kill him!"
"You're injured. If you try to fight him, you will die. Just go!" Her friend pushed at her arm.
The omega was adamant not to leave but before she could deny her friend leapt at the black wolf. The Alpha met Leah's eyes as he barely moved back at the impact. With his eyes set on her, he tore the limb off her friend.
"Run..." Her friend pleaded, trying to fight the black wolf.
The noise faded as she turned her head around and ran. She ran till her feet gave her up, landing in a ditch nearby.
"No! Please! No!" Leah screamed, raising herself on the bed with a jolt. Blood rushed to her ears, breathing erratic as her eyes scanned the room. Her forehead was wet, a few strands of hair clinging. It felt like she was back in that place again. When will these nightmares end? She thought, tugging at her loose hair.
A few seconds later, she heard the footsteps echoing towards her room. Leah tilted her head towards the door, her eyes narrowed. Who was it? She thought while chewing on her lips. Looking around, she realised that she was sitting on her bed, defenceless. What if it's a burglar?
Panic settled in her chest as she searched for something, anything that would help her.
"Leah?" A voice called out before someone stepped inside the room.
She let out a breath she was holding, realising that it was her friend.
"Are you fine?" Kat's voice broke the silence of the room.
As it was dark, her friend moved towards the switch and turned on the bedside lamp. Leah squinted her eyes at the sudden brightness in her room. Her bed dipped as Kat sat in front of her. The light was bright enough to illuminate the features of her friend.
She rubbed her eyes, feeling incredibly stupid for getting scared and alerted at smallest of things. No matter how hard she tried, it always felt like her chest was massive with anxiety.
When Leah tilted her head to look at her friend, she noticed worry marring her features. It was all because of her.
"Leah?" Kat whispered softly, inching her hand forward to rest on her knee. Leah felt crying at the tone. She didn't want sympathy. As if she didn't get that already from the pack members. It was tiresome.
Okay fine her family was killed in front of her eyes and those killer wolves wanted to kill her as well, but somehow she managed to escape. Why can't they let it go? She was safe now. New York is a vast city; they won't be able to find her.
Leah has no idea why they were after her anyway. As far as she knew her pack didn't have any kind of rivalry with anyone. They believed in 'live and let live'. Her father was the most prominent advocate on kindness and one of the peaceful Alpha that pack had ever had. Why would anyone kill him?
After that incident, Leah managed to skip the town and came to New York because she knew Kat would help her.
Kat and Leah have been friends since they were in high school. After graduation, Kat left their town, but she was still a pack member. The reason she left the city was to explore the city and make something of herself. Leah thought it must also be because Kat did not like the pack rituals.
As soon as Kat heard the news about Leah's family, she immediately took her in. No questions asked. And for that Lead will always be grateful. Even though Leah offered to pay from the fund, her father left her; Kat denied it maybe because Leah's father was the one who helped Kat with her university expenses and rent.
"Hey" At her touch, Leah jerked.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah...yeah, it's just a nightmare, Kat." She answered, trying to smile.
Leah was not in the mood to talk to her about the nightmare. It was difficult to recall that again. Besides, it's not like Kat didn't know about her recurring nightmares. Ever since Leah moved in, which was like four weeks ago, she has been dreaming the same thing. It was surprising that Kat heard her because she's usually sound asleep.
"It's not nothing Leah. You need to talk to somebody about this. This is not healthy. You cannot hide in here forever." Kat said, narrowing her eyebrows.
Leah was not hiding per se. She was mourning the loss of her family. After seeing her parents slashed in front of her own eyes, it was natural to suffer for a while. As if that wasn't enough already she was denounced from the pack. Technically she was a rogue with no one to look after her.
After the pack members buried her family, they confronted her. The funeral took place outside the packhouse, so she had to be careful. It was already an emotionally draining day for her, but the pack members were ruthless in making their point. They did not care about anything but their safety. She couldn't be part of their pack as they felt her entire family died because of her.
Having no choice, she packed the remaining stuff from her room and went back with Kat. It still made shivers run down her spine at the way the entire pack turned their backs on her.
"I don't need anybody, Kat. I will be fine. I just need to do something to keep myself occupied. That's it." Leah stubbornly announced.
She heard her friend mumble something under her breath before she turned towards Leah, her lips twitched, "Okay if that's what you think. You should check out the newspaper for job listings. I have a few old ones you can take a look at them too. How does that sound?"
She stared at her friend intently before bobbing her head. Even though she didn't want to accept any more help, it seemed impossible. Kat was already doing too much for her. But getting a job sounded like a good idea. In that way, she can pay her friend back without feeling guilty about using her father's fund.
"Sounds good. Thank you. I'll do." Leah nodded her head.
"Now sleep well. Goodnight." Kat mumbled, spreading the duvet neatly, evenly on all the sides and handed it back to Leah. Even though it was going to be challenging to fall back to sleep, she nodded her head.
"I will try. Goodnight" Leah whispered, laying back in her bed. Kat stood up with a sigh and walked towards the lamp. Turning it off, her feet padded out of the room.
As soon as she closed her eyes, a soft sigh left her lips. She smushed her face against the pillow and dreamed about two identical wolves running around.
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- Writer
