Episode 4

Nadia

My consciousness floated somewhere between pain and awareness. 

“Thelma, what the fuck have you done?!” Greg’s voice, filtered in.

I wanted to open my eyes, to see, but my body felt disconnected from me. My head throbbed with a dull pain swelling behind my skull.

“She…she just stood up too fast!” Thelma’s voice sounded like she was panicking. “I didn’t mean to push her that hard…she was in my face!”

Her voice lowered. Muffled. I couldn’t make out the words. All I could make out was the bitter taste of blood in my mouth and the dull, distant sensation of the cold ground.

Then I felt someone touching me. A pair of strong arms slid under me, lifting me up.

My body landed on a hard uneven surface, and then a door was shut, above me. I wanted to scream and rage, but all I could do was lie there, crumpled like a broken doll. The smell of motor oil and leather filled my nostrils. And then I realized, I didn’t know where he was taking me.

The car rumbled with movement for what felt like forever. Then, finally, it stopped.

I heard the crunch of gravel under boots. 

And then the trunk popped open.

Greg's shadow loomed over me and when his face appeared above mine, there was no remorse or fear. Just… indifference.

He bent down, grabbed me by the arms, and dragged me out like luggage. The gravel and sticks bit into my back as I was pulled deeper into the woods.

Then, he dropped me. I landed in damp soil. It smelled like decay.

Greg stood over me for a moment. I saw the faint outline of his face in the moonlight.

“At least nobody will look for you and even if they do? We never met,” With that, he turned and walked away without hesitation, leaving me there to die.

I stared up at the sky, the edges of my vision blurring. Everything was fading to black.

I had no self-healing ability or an inner wolf to save me. Nature would take what Greg left behind.

Tears dropped from my eyes, and my lips trembled with one last whisoered desire.

“I don’t want to die…”

Just then, I heard footsteps.They were getting closer and I could feel the vibrations in the ground.

“Help…” I croaked out with effort. It came out broken. I tried again. “Please…”

There were more footsteps and then a sudden quiet. Had I been abandoned? Did they not hear me?

Just when I was already losing hope, strong arms scooped me up in a princess carry. I was pressed against a broad, warm chest, the scent of pine, smoke, and something wild and electric wrapped around me.

My vision allowed me one last look at the world but I was too weak to scream for help.

I would know those red eyes anywhere, that allure for danger. That bloodthirst.

But my vision was dimming finally giving in to the exhaustion. 

“Mate.” That was the last word I heard, then darkness.