It's Thursday today, and I gave up being normal two weeks ago. I would say it wasn't working, but the truth is, lately, I can not seem to muster the strength to do anything. It's like I am seeing the world through fogged glasses. I feel disconnected from everything and everyone. I just want to go home and lay down.
I'm walking home from class totally oblivious to everything and everyone but the path to my house, when all of a sudden someone comes from behind me, grabs my hands, shoves it at an extremely awkward angle behind my back and fasten them together with what I can guess are probably zip ties and before I can even scream, another person comes into my line of vision and shoves a musty smelling cloth into my mouth and then to make it worse, a mask is thrown over my head blocking out my eyesight and before I can even begin to fully process what is going on I'm hauled over someone's shoulder. I know screaming is futile, so I start struggling wildly. I kick out with my unbound legs, hoping to do some damage, but as I'm kicking, I realise my kicks have no power in them. My kidnappers must have realised it to because they chuckle, and one slaps my behind, and in that moment, something happened to me. I realised that if they were successful in taking me, after whatever disgusting thing they'd planned to do to me I would probably not survive it and with that knowledge came rage at the unfairness of my life until now so I kick my attacker, hopefully in his groin with all the strength I can muster and he gives a kind of choked scream and drops to the ground the floor taking me with him."Fucking bitch" I hear the other one say before pain explodes in the back of my head and I faint. I woke up the first time and felt my legs, they were still tied and they must have put me down because I'm lying on what feels unmistakably like gravel, one side of my face feels uncomfortably hot and i can hear cars in the distance."She's coming awake," one said as I moved my legs. The god-awful mask is still over my head, making it very difficult to breathe. I feel a pinching sensation in my arms, and my last coherent thought is that I should have lain still."He said we weren't to harm her" is what I hear one of my kidnappers say when I open my eyes again. I'm sitting upright, this time, I don't move or give any indication that I'm awake, the air feels damp and smells smells like dirty socks, the cloth in my mouth feels even more disgusting, I want to gag but I manage to keep it down."We can't just keep her here though, she's eventually going to need to do shit, like eat, an...and later, she's going to want to take a piss""Yeah well it ain't our job to keep her fed or take her to piss, the guy said we are to hold her, and this isn't a hotel Joe we ain't her keepers so you've gotta quit talking like she's some kind of damsel in distress.""That's not.." the one who I presume is Joe starts to say but the other nameless one interjects " Whatever dude, two hours have passed, we've got to dose her again" he says, the sound of a chair being scraped back is the only sign I'm given before he grabs my hand and there's that pinching sensation again and once again I become unconscious. When I open my eyes again, something is different, my face is no longer covered, I feel disoriented, and to my surprise, there is a face in front of my face, it's a bit weird that that is the one thing that i choose to focus on right now, but despite my disorientation, I have the urge to punch him."You're a pretty one, ain't ya," he says spittle flying everywhere. "You just need to add some meat on your bones," he says, his hand reaching up to touch my face. My face must have reflected my disgust because suddenly his face contorts, and he grabs a fistful of my hair and pushes my face close to his"You're so full of it aren't you, girls like you, always thinking you're above everybody" he says licking his lips "He said we are not to harm you but who cares, we can always make up a story stupid girls like you always un cooperative and besides i don't suppose you'll go about telling him that i had a little fun with you now. Will you?" He reaches out, grabs my legs and pulls me down, i try to scream, but it's muffled by the stupid gag in my mouth. I start thrashing, but he only laughs harder. He pops open the button of my jeans and at this point I start crying, he pulls it down, I continue thrashing and then somehow I hit my head on the floor hard enough to make me dizzy. As I'm trying to clear my head, I notice that my kidnapper is no longer grappling with me. My jeans are around my ankles, but I don't want to focus on that. I hear snarling, and I try to look up, but my vision swims.I turn on my side and see a black wolf, or what I assume is a wolf, standing at the entrance of where i am being held. It looks like a wolf, but the size is all wrong. Wolves are not supposed to be that big. I shake my head to clear my eyes, but that makes my dizziness even worse. I open my eyes again, and there is a naked guy standing where a wolf was, and he's strangling my attacker. I try to focus on the bizarre situation unfolding before me, but my vision blurs, and I pass out.Calista’s Pov. I look on in amazed wonder. Not quite sure of what is going on but still basking in it all the same. The voices of hundreds of wolves including Tarla washes through me. I never thought that I would consider the sound of howls as beautiful but this, this is something that I cannot properly put into words. It is wonderful. The howls go on for minutes and a little sigh goes through the crowd as the howls come to an end with floating notes. The little wolves trot up to the podium, and I watch as Max leans down and pats them on their little furry heads. The little ones shift and someone presents them with clothes which they promptly change into. After wearing their clothes, Max calls them each by their names and presents them to the pack. Something in my heart melts as I see the open trust on the children's faces as they look from Max to the pack. “He does this every year?” I ask without taking my eyes off the scene in front of me. “Yes, it's usually just two or thre
Max's Pov "Callie, it's time, we need to go, it's dark out already” Tarla says as she storms into the room, breaking the silence. The moment is broken, and Calista tears her gaze from mine. Tarla looks at us in frozen shock. Understanding slowly dawns on her “I'm so sorry for interrupting.” She says contrite. At Tarla's words, Calista practically leaps away from me. Colour blooms high on her cheeks, giving her the appearance of a deer caught in headlights. “Um,” Calista runs her hands over her dress once, twice, unsure of what to say. I let out a small laugh. “You weren't….” She trails off again, clearing her throat once and her eyes dart to mine for a fleeting second. “I have to go now” Gratitude shines in Calista’s eyes. “Yes he does,” Calista adds. I arch a brow at her but she is staring at Tarla guilt written all over her face. I sidle up to her and lean down close to her ear. “Save me a dance” I whisper to her, before walking out of the room. ★☆☆★★☆☆★★
MAX'S POVI walk silently through the corridors of the mansion, my footfalls echoing throughout the entire space. I was supposed to go straight to the bonfire event, but a tug in my chest directed me to Calista instead. Lately, after her Wolf surfaced, I've been getting new feelings, in addition to mine. Sometimes, they come in echoes, and sometimes, the emotions proclaim themselves loudly. Every emotion that she felt, I felt too. The stronger the emotion was, the louder the imprint. I have scoured for days on end, trying to understand this situation, but the knowledge is proving evasive and quite frankly difficult to attain. I let out a rueful chuckle. Like her, everything else in my life related to her is unique and very intriguing.Something changed though, after she vomited earlier. There was a loud silence that filled the space where Calista’s emotions usually were. It was like she shut me off, and for the life of me, I have been trying to figure out if she did it on purpose o
“We are here” Tarla announces. We walk out of the forest into the same clearing I encountered Max earlier. Only, now, in front of the wolf statue, there is a huge arrangement of wood. I stare up at it wondering what it's going to be used for. With my luck, it's probably a Salem-style witch execution. Only, this time, I'm probably going to be the one that ends up getting sacrificed. “A classic burning at the stake” I mumble under my breath. From the amused look Tarla shoots at me, she heard me quite fine. “Where is here exactly?” I ask aloud “Here, is the pack centre” Tarla answers. “Great” I retort, looking around. There are a lot of people milling about, and I notice that there are children among them. The crescent shape of the buildings I realise serves as some sort of guide or reference. The middle of the crescent, where the statue of the wolf is, is tiled with red bricks. There is a distinct line of demarcation between where the red stops, and where the normal brown ground
A knock sounds on my door, waking me up from my sleep. I look around the room, disoriented but awake. Max is nowhere to be seen and I am on his bed.“He put me on the bed” I mumble quietly. A small smile graces my lips at his thoughtfulness. From the light reflecting into the room from the window, I realise it's still light out. “Ugh, this day is long enough” The knock sounds again, more insistent this time.“I'll be right there!” I call out, a little of the irritation I feel colors my voice. I get up and run my hand through my hair in hopes of reducing the awful bed she'd I no doubt have, but I wince upon getting my fingers caught in a tangle. Days of not running a comb through my hair have finally caught up with me, and I'm only grateful that when I first arrived someone put out clothes for me, but no one has had the initiative to repeat the action since then, and I was too preoccupied with my failed escape plan to demand more. I make a mental note to ask for more later.I yank th
From the corner of my eye, I watch Max approach me before he squats in front of me. He hands me a phone that I collect silently. The action brings our skin in contact with each other, and a zip runs through me. From the slight tensing in Max's body, I know he must have felt it too. I snatch the phone from his hands and clear my throat a little too loudly but Max only arches a perfect brow at me. “What?” I ask haughtily but he responds with a small laugh.“Nothing” He retorts, before going back to his position on the bed. “I expected a new phone you know?”“I already sent someone out to get you a new one” “What happened to my old one? were you able to recover it” “No, it was one of the things we went back to check for after we brought you back to the house, but it wasn't there” His words pique my curiosity “We or You?” I inquire carefully, his expression shifts to one of amusement “Me” “Huh” “What is it Calista,” he asks exasperatedly “Nothing at all” For some reason, I am s