Human Breed Mate (Complete)

Chapter 4 - California

Ashley Lane POV

"Okay boys, I want you to try this new route for tomorrow. Pay attention to your fartlek, your pace, and your surroundings. It's important to know your terrain before racing." Mr. Morrison said once we had a chance to try the running tracks in California.

We arrived in California a few hours ago. And Mr. Morrison scheduled us to try the track before the race tomorrow.

There were fourteen of us. Seven boys and seven girls were members of the team. The girls' team included me, Janice, Laura, Megan, Alex, Lena, and Mel.

The tracks we would be dealing with were downhill, grass, dirt, wood chip trails, and anything else other than flat surfaces.

We were all ready at our start line for practise, and when Mister Morrison blew the whistle, we started to run.

We ran along the track, following the flag-coloured direction. Red for turning left, yellow for turning right, and blue for straight.

We were running at our own pace. In the beginning, I was in the middle, while Megan was in first place.

I started to pass my team one after another. The straight track was the most common place for passing other runners. Until finally, I caught Megan. I kept running, aiming for the finish line, making the distances further away from others.

It was only one mile away from the finish line when suddenly I heard Twinny growl. It wasn't any growl. I felt she was trying to alert me to something.

As the wind blew hard, I could sense a strong ginger scent, but I wasn't sure from which direction.

The scent was different from any other people I knew around me. It has slightly the same scent as the one I found in my uncle John and also in Jena, the herb woman.

Even though each of them has a different scent. But they had the same base scent, and I could not figure out what it was.

"You need to slow down and blend with each other," Twinny said.

I could feel she was being cautious of something, and my intuition said it had something to do with the ginger scent I smelled.

"What? Something wrong?"

Twinny usually had a good instinct, especially when it came to danger.

"It will be fine as long as you blend in with others," she said, like she used to advise me whenever I felt anxious.

I did what she told me. I slowed my pace, and ran with the rest of the team to the finish line.

"What happened, Ashley? Why did your time decrease?" My coach asked me.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Morrison, it's a new track, and I need to get used to it." I gave an excuse.

He inhaled deeply, not sure if he believed it or not.

"I hope you already get used to it tomorrow; just keep it up, Ash!" He finally said.

"Ash, you don't need to wait for us; just go on." Megan told me once Mister Morrison was not within our distance.

"It's fine Meg, I just feel a bit scared; I should be fine tomorrow." I said to her:

"What are you scared of?" she asked me curiously.

"Come on, Ashley, you can tell us what's wrong; maybe we can help. I saw your expressions when you slowed down your pace. Something bothering you?" Megan asked me.

I was shocked and didn't realise that Megan had caught my expression. Was I frightened?

"It's nothing. I guess because it's a new place and it was quiet. It creeps me out a little." I tried not to make them worry.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine tomorrow." I added as I smiled.

"But thank you for your concern, guys." I was really touched by their attention to me. It's really nice of them.

"It's fine; we are together in this," Laura chimed in.

"Look carefully at a man with a black hat at eleven o'clock," Twinny said suddenly. She spoke almost like a whisper in my ears.

I shifted my gaze to the left and noticed a man in a round black hat strolling about in between other runners around ten to fifteen metres distant from us.

I watched him and found him to be suspicious. He was walking around, sniffing and looking around everywhere. He seemed to be looking for something.

"What about him?" I asked Twinny as I observed the man from the corner of my eye. I sniffed and sensed the same ginger scent I had before at the track. It was him. It was his scent. I was sure of it.

"Try to avoid him; it's better if we get back to the hotel now, Ash." Twinny advised.

Somehow, I felt uneasy and worried. I wasn't sure why, but both Twinny and I agreed to it. We sensed danger if we kept staying there.

"Guys, I think I want to go back to the hotel; I haven't unpacked my stuff." I said before going back to the hotel.

"Do you need company?" Laura asked, offering herself.

"Its fine. I'll be okay," I replied, not wanting to bother anyone else. I know they still want to stay outside to observe the track and meet other participants.

So I left and went back to the hotel alone.

"Who is he?" I asked Twinny, still curious about the man.

"I don't know. But I know he had bad intentions when he sensed our scent," Twinny said.

I agree with her. I saw him sniffing around. I thought the man was just like me; he could smell something just like me. And he found something. It could be ours.

Also, Twinny's instinct is usually right. She kept me out of trouble with her instincts a couple of times.

"You think he found us?" I asked with a bit of worry.

"I don't think so. Keep blending in and always wear the pendant," she replied.

I stayed in the hotel room all night and spent Facetime with Debbie, Mum, and, of course, Brian. I only went out for dinner with the girls.

****

The next day, we woke up early to have breakfast and then get ready for our race.

At race time, all of us were already standing by on the track.

I looked around and saw him—the man from yesterday. He sat in the middle of the audience and paid attention to all the participants. He was still looking for something or someone.

If our suspicions were right, then we should be aware of him. I wasn't sure if he was looking for us, but since both Twinny and I felt the same way, staying alert was better.

I held the pendant tightly, kept acting normal, and convinced myself that everything would be alright.

"Okay girls, do your best, focus, and pay attention to the track. Good luck!" Mister Morrison said, when it was time for us to stand behind the start line.

The race officials began the counts, and after firing the pistol, we all started to run.

My team and I started almost at the same distance, but we separated as the distance got further. I took the lead in the team and kept on running, passing other runners from other schools.

I ran fast, feeling very light, with one goal in mind: to hit the finish line as fast as possible! The faster you get to the finish line, the better you can give better points to your team.

Half a kilometre before the finish line, I was in second place. I sped up my pace, and in a few seconds I passed the first runner and kept running through the grass and the funnel.

The flags were ruffled by the wind, and I heard the crowd cheer. I was close to the finish line, and I was alone on the track, leaving other runners behind.

The wind started to blow hard, but I kept running, aiming for the finish line! I added my paces until I finally reached the finish line, and I did it!

I finally made it— got first in line for the finish line!

Mister Morrison and the boys cheered on me and gave me a high five. I was so excited that I took first place, broke my own time record, and finished in 13:24!

The other runners followed, passing the finish line as my other team finally made their way.

We were still waiting for the officials to count our points. The points were taken from the first five runners on our team who made their way to the finish line. The lowest score wins.

Finally, the scorekeeper announced the winner, and our school got the first winner! Yeay!

"Wooo! We won!" we all exclaimed almost in unison. All our team members were hugging each other and jumping around. We were so happy, and Mister Morisson was proud of us all!

The ceremony started as they gave us the trophy, medal, and certificates for our team. We were very proud of it.

"Good job, girls! I'm so proud of you! We're all proud of you!" My coach, Mister Morrison, said to us as he gave us a handshake and gave us a satisfying pat on the shoulder.

Soon, the next race started. It was the boys' team that raced.

I sat on the side bench of the track with Megan, waiting for the boys to get to the finish line.

We were chatting and still felt very happy with our achievement when suddenly a man pounced at me and pushed me down to the ground.

I was shocked; I hadn't expected it. But soon my realisation came, and I recognised him. That was the man I saw yesterday. The man with the ginger scent

I screamed and hit him with my hands, but he was fast, as he grabbed my hand, stopping me from hitting him.

His face was so close, and I could see his red eyes and his long canine trying to bite me.

Holy s**t, he has canines! I was so shocked!

I tried to kick him and pushed his collar bone away, trying to escape from his attack.

Twinny growled so hard. She was angry. It felt like she wanted to take control of me, fighting the man to protect me. But she can't. She could only growl louder and louder, desperately.

I struggled to break free, trying my best to fight the man. So I pushed him!

I pushed him with all that I had, and suddenly he was thrown away.

I kicked him, and he was thrown so far that I was watching it in shock.

Did I do that? I had no idea where I had the power to do so.

Soon, people came to help, and I lost my gaze on him. When I looked again, he was gone. He wasn't there anymore. Where is he?

"Are you okay?" people asked me while I was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Yes, I'm fine." I answered as my eyes wondered around to find him.

Where is he? Why did he attack me? And his canines? How did he have a canine in his teeth? What is he? Is he even human?

"Ash, are you okay?" Megan asked me while holding my arm and walking with me.

My friends and Mister Morrison also came, and they were trying to comfort me. They helped me sit back on the bench and checked on me to see if I got hurt or had an injury.

"How did you do that?" Mel asked me out suddenly.

"D.. do w.. what?" I asked her back. I was still in shock, so I wasn't taking her question well.

"You kicked him and threw him far away like that?" She explained that she could not hide her curiosity and astonishment.

"I don't know... I was scared, and I just kicked him." I answered just like that. I didn't know the answer either.

But I was glad that I did that. It had saved me; otherwise, he must have bit me. And if that happened, I don't know what would happen to me.

"Too many people, and we lost our guard," Twinny, who'd been silent, suddenly said.

Why did he attack me? What does he want? Oh God, did you see his canines?" I asked her shockingly.

I want to know her opinion about the man. I knew she saw it too. It was insane!

But Twinny didn't answer me. She became silent again.

"Twinny, are you there?" I called her. I wanted to make sure she was okay.

I knew I was the one who got pounced by the man, but I was sure Twinny was feeling the same shock as I was.

But I heard nothing from her. No answer, no nothing. As if she withdrew herself.

She was there in my head, but I could feel she had put a distance from me. What's happened to her? I was worried.

The security had came and asked me some questions about what happened, and they told me that they couldn't find the man. He had escaped.

My friends kept accompanying me all the way through the race, afraid that it would happen again.

I went back to the hotel after we had the boys' team results.

In the hotel room, I sat silently on my bed. I was still afraid of what had happened, and I couldn't find Twinny. I felt alone and scared.

"Ashley, I'm sorry I can't protect you. I'm still too weak." Twinny finally said something.

I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but I was glad she finally said something.

Besides, like she said before, both of us lost our guard, and it wasn't her fault. I didn't sense him either. And there was no way she could protect me physically. She was in my head!

"It's okay; it's not your fault. I don't blame you." I said it from the bottom of my heart.

"Where have you been anyway?" I asked her out of curiosity. I felt lost without her.

"I'm here, Ash. Let's get some rest," she answered.

I didn't ask again. I laid my back on the bed and closed my eyes. I was tired and really needed some rest.