Middle of nowhere
She hated to deny the sweet fragrance of the perfume oil cans packed next to her in the trunk. The typical trunk was the mildly toxic engine smells, intolerable edges, and sides of spare parts sticking out with the roughages. Xander was the goal-driven alpha with the men shed no tears attitude but he had his soft spots which made him quite the clean freak and uptight gentleman.
She was free to shift and turn her body with ease in the confined little trunk space, except by stretching her limbs. He didn’t bring himself to tie her up or gag her with a cloth when he dropped her in. It was a smooth drive for what was an hour-long drive for Catherine.
“Mary would be awake and less whelmed about now,” Catherine thought. She all crawled up to a side thinking of a logical reason why Mary would break into her apartment. Their lasting meeting didn’t go so well, guess that explains a motive.
She was now less worried about Mary’s well-being despite the weird occurrence earlier. She kicked the end of the backseat facing the trunk. A fuss like this to get Xander to pull over is futile. As stubborn as he is, he couldn’t care less for her nagging. Her safety was his priority.
Surprisingly he pulled over. Catherine was puzzled for a brief moment. She heard the car door open and steps followed down to the trunk.
He opened the trunk.
“Screaming won’t do you any-”
She screamed at the top of her voice. He just stared at her like she was making a fool of herself. She lowered her voice when she realized the sounds surrounding them were the echoes of her high-pitched screams.
“Good,” he gave a hand to help her out.
She was reluctant and he was in no mood to persuade with the faintest smile.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
“Unless you want me to carry you again,” he warned.
She wanted to come out on her own terms. They both stared at each other for a little while, he kept his hand back in his side pocket and made a step back for her to come forward.
“You have a thing for putting people in danger,” she said and came out cautiously. “Me, putting me in danger.”
He sighed and shut the trunk when she was out completely. She expected a word out of him. He walked up front to lock the door of the car.
“We are in the middle of nowhere,” she looked at the absence of buildings or structures that depicted civilization. It was all white oak trees and v-shaped valleys.
He just ignored her frowning and began walking up to a valley. In the back of his mind, he knew she had no choice but to follow him.
“Listen up to you, I’m not doing this again,” she pushed his back. It barely altered his trajectory.
She was annoyed and ran and stopped in front to block his way.
“I am not messing around Xander,” she said with a grim face. She picked up a stone and was ready to smash it at his face.
He folded his arms and looked over her shoulder, nodding his head forward for her to look behind her. The safe haven from before she left the first time. Where they lay siege from the hands of Faye and potential foes.
The garden outlets were still blooming in essence. It was just as she had left it. All the exotic of the green. The green on the roof, porch, and walls lined with long veiny plants.
“Here on out, this is all we have got,” he gently spoke to the side of her left ear. She turned away from him and proceeded inside.
***
Situations had reversed. She had barely conversed with Xander and he wanted answers to his questions. The loud thunder made a rift with the start of every talk.
“I thought I taught you better,” he sneered. “You let a bloodsucking vermin into your life, merely costing you your actual life.”
Catherine sat on a couch next to a small spaced furnace. Her eyes were dim by his words. She laid back and closed her eyes. She drew a blanket over her face.
“This is literally life and death,” he pulled over the blanket.
Her eyes were shut. She was caught in a quick slumber. Xander was pissed but he was not about to wake her up all of a sudden. If he hadn’t shown up at her place as he intended, it would have been a murder case to people of her world.
A bloody scene.
He carried her in his arms and walked up the wooden floorboard steps. The bed was furnished with mahogany stands and fluffy sheets of soft wool.
***A Week Ago***
The vicinity of the campus was as silent as a graveyard. She had just left her part-time class that only a few attend on Sundays. The grey sky was upon her walking towards her car in the parking lot next to other empty spaces for other cars.
She dropped her keys and got down to pick them up. Footsteps were heard from a distance close to her left towards the lawn.
“Who is there?” she said under her breath rising from the ground, her keys in her hand. A fast breeze blew behind her. She turned to her glass window. In the reflection was her face alone.
“What the hell?” she gasped and quickly got into her car to drive. She reversed into the free space and made her way forward leftwards the lawn. A few meters and she would reach the gates to make her exit.
She could see a blurry figure speeding fast in her side mirror. It was hard to define what person or worse, creature it was. She got her eyes back on the road.
“Wait wait,” he cautioned, waving his hands in the air.
She almost hit a slender young man in glasses. She stepped on the breaks and made less of an impact to endanger the man’s life. He tumbled on the ground and rolled to the curb.
She got out of the car. She looked around if there was someone else, someone dangerous, someone not human perhaps. She guessed her instincts were wrong and rushed to help the young man from the ground.
He had no scratches, bruises, or blisters on the skin. He was up on his feet before she reached him.
“I’m sorry I… I thought you were hurt,” she said stunned by his sudden recovery.
She looked down and his feet were his glasses were left with broken lenses. He it from the ground and wore it on his face like nothing happened, dusting the dirt off his shirt.
She glanced up at him. He smiled with a quirky face. She had seen him in the classes earlier but he left earlier than anyone. It was a surprise to come across his path.
“Oh my god I’m really sorry-”
“Don’t bother I’m perfectly fine.”
He proceeded for a handshake and smiled, revealing the whitened sparkle of his beautiful set of teeth. He had an almost admirable build of Xander and the curly summer hair of her Jack.
“I’m Finley,” he said eloquently with a voice soothing to the ears.
“Catherine,” she said. It appears she had found her distraction from all her problems in a person.
***PRESENT***
She rolled around in the sheets. The room was filled with colorful delights just as she remembered. The flowers stuck on the ceiling forming a central pattern. The only dull color that dimmed the room was Xander.
He sat in a corner, his legs crossed and patiently waiting for her to utter her first words.
“Don’t be a creep,” she threw a pillow at him.
“Now that you are awake. I need my rest,” he picked up the pillow in front of his feet and laid on the cushioned stretcher next to the window, where the sun came in.
“Don’t you have a pack to watch over?”
“My alpha pack or not, I choose when I act. And right now I don’t want to act.”