Page 12 of Alpha's Bullied Mate
But I had no time to stumble or think about how empty my stomach was, or my bruises and aches or foggy head. The woods rose up in the distance beyond a lake behind me. I just had to make it over there. My head ached and my vision blurred as I began to sprint across the field.
As soon as I made it, almost vomiting from the physical exertion and lack of sustenance, I flew through the tree line. Itried to shift but my human body remained stubbornly present. I didn’t have enough in my body to fuel a shift. Sometimes shifters could shift regardless but with no energy stored, I had nothing to accommodate the bigger body.
With my human senses, I had no hope of tracking my way back to Fenrys’s pack. Despite doing perimeter searches, I only went to the edge of Fenrys’s territory and, away from the hotel from the Games last year, I was disorientated, unable to map my way around. Everything looked the same.
It was either get lost in the woods or go back to the pack’s house and face potential punishment for escaping. At the very least I could find water and food. Berries, nuts, maybe. Just something.
Ignoring my protesting body, I set off running, only knowing that I couldn’t go back to that house and risk Aidan’s wrath when he found out.
Chapter 7 - Aidan
When I got back to the house from work, exhausted and grimy from the day, I knew something was wrong. Shouting filtered through the open windows as I walked up to the house. I cast my eyes over the house, noticing the open bathroom window downstairs.
And then stopped short.
I ran into the house, coming face to face with several of my pack arguing, all turned on Ryan, who looked panicked in the center.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Back off him. Spread out.”
They startled at my voice, but as the group loosened, I noticed what they were concealing, whether intentional or not. Lengths of rope on the floor in front of a very empty, Dakota-less chair.
My gaze snapped to Declan. “Where thefuckis she?”
Declan stepped forward while another one of the boys grabbed Ryan’s collar and shoved him forward. “Ask him.”
“I’m asking you, Dec.”
Declan’s eyes cut to Ryan, a glare burning hot in them. “Jase is already out looking for her. She escaped through the bathroom window while Asshat here left her unsupervised.”
“What was I supposed to do?” Ryan cried. “Nobody was feeding her or giving her water. It was the least I could do, and I couldn’twatchher piss, could I?”
“Jesus,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. “When did she go?”
“About two hours ago,” Declan answered. “She’s likely gotten lost on her way back. We’ll find her. We have Jase and two others looking for her.”
“We can’tlet her get back,” I roared. “Imbeciles. Fucking hell.”
“Aidan, I’m so sorr—” Ryan began, but I held up a hand to him, silencing him at once. It was all his fault. My pack clearly didn’t know that when we had a captive then all available eyes had to be there to supervise.
“I’ll find her,” I growled before sprinting out of the house, launching myself into a shift as I ran around the massive lake at the back of the house that led into the woods. I snarled and sniffed the air as my paws pounded the field, crossing to the trees faster than I could run in human form. I already knew Jason’s scent, and the other wolf he’d taken, both of them heading left and right. For good measure I went down the center. I’d have to be careful. We were still in Fenrys’s woods.
I wasn’t as vulnerable as I would have been in my human form but I still didn’t want to be caught unawares by his pack. I was an alpha, stronger than the rest of my pack, but I was still one wolf alone.
I cut through the trees, a silent hunter, huffing through my muzzle to scent the air. There was a third scent drifting an invisible path, a scent I had despised for years but had followed me into dreams most recently. A scent belonging to Dakota, the girl that was fast becoming a pain in the ass to know again.
The Silverlake Valley woods weren’t the same as the ones in Oak Hill. They were denser, thicker, and I hated feeling lost in them. Four shifters lost in an enemy’s pack wasn’t smart, and I felt like I could rip off the heads of my pack for letting her escape. Dakota was a sweet-talking girl; she’d know how to gether way. No wonder Ryan would fall for the sugary sweetness. I was smart enough not to.
Dakota wouldn’t fool me with words, not her escape.
She wouldn’t get away with this.
I pounded down the path her scent took me on, letting my own fury drive me onwards. With each step, it grew, until I saw red, and all I knew was rage. Rage that she’d tricked one of my pack members, rage that she’d waited until the second I was gone, rage that she had bested my own damn pack. Surging over rivers and going uphill, then following a route downstream, where Dakota’s scent got lost for a minute before I could pick it back up, as if she’d slid and fallen. I noticed smudged footprints, signs of her slipping in the thick mud.
Her scent got stronger when I reached possibly the thickest parts of the woods. I wasn’t close enough to Fenrys’s territory yet; I couldn’t smell any of those wolves. Only the distant, far-off ones of my own pack. I just hoped they were wise enough to stay out of trouble. I trusted Jason. At least, I told myself I did. I didn’t ever really trust many people.
Eventually, I found Dakota, and was surprised to see her in her human form. Why wouldn’t she have shifted? I hid in the underbrush, crouching low, so she didn’t see me at first. She was huddled up against a thick oak tree, shivering, covering her body with her arms. Her face pale, her eyes half closed, with her head tipped back against the trunk. She was too weak to shift, I realized. Weak, lost, and impossibly stupid.
I let a low growl rumble from my throat as I slowly stepped out of the underbrush, my muzzle pulling back to expose my canines. Dakota’s eyes flew open. She immediately got to her feet despite her weakened body, cowering against the tree. But I leaped for her faster, knocking her to the ground.
