25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ASTRID’S POV
As I run swiftly through the woods, my wolf, Tiva doesn’t fail to give me more strength.
I disobeyed Alpha Asher and so he was going to punish me and that punishment was to send me back to the Black Wood Pack.
That is something I will only allow to happen over my dead body. You all know what I’ve been through in that pack.
Yes, it’s my father’s pack, but right now, conditions are not at all favorable for me over there and I’m not going to force it, that’s why I’m not going to let anyone take me back there.
Luckily for me this time around, I don’t have on a big skirt that’s retarding my movements. I have on a pair of sweatpants and it enables me to run freely and the cruel grasses don’t get the chance this time around to whip my legs.
I took off the oversized flip-flops a long time ago and right now I’m bare footed. The dry sticks and sharp grasses keep piercing my feet from beneath as I run, but that is no reason to stop. I don’t know where I’m heading to, all I know is that I have to far away from anyone who wants to take me back to that pack.
The cold wind shows no mercy as it whips my face. The t-shirt I have on is not enough to keep me warm either.
However, all of that doesn’t matter because my main focus, is to run far away.
“Stop running!” Tiva instructs with am alarming tone and I immediately come to a halt. My feet sweep over the dust and screech and I come to. halt.
I can bet on my life that I have ugly bruises on the sole of my feet, but I don’t have time to fret over that right now.
” What’s wrong Tiva?” I ask in a whisper, frightened.
“Some bad guys are approaching us, hide!” She cautions and without hesitation, I step behind a big tree and hide my petite frame behind it’s big trunk.
The moment I hear footsteps approaching, my breathe hitches as I curl my knees up to my chest and rest my head on them.
I don’t know what else do.
I can’t leave this spot. If I do, they will see me. The last thing I can do is fight. Even in wolf form, I can’t.
I have never learned. Alpha Adolph never let me. I’m sure he was scared that if I trained, I was going to get powerful and have the guts to want to take back my father’s throne.
Well, by letting me not train, he won, because right now, I’m a weakling and the last thing I can do is defend myself from anyone.
The footsteps keep getting closer and my heart keeps throbbing in my chest. I clasps my palms over my mouth to prevent my harsh breaths and tiny sobs drawing attention to me.
I can smell the people from here and I very well know they are members of the Black Wood Pack. This must be the search party that’s out to capture and take me back to that tyr….
“Look who we have here!” A voice suddenly announces right before me. I lift my head up to look, but they are greeted by violent rays of light that cause my pupils to shrink and my eyes close instantly.
“Guys, I found her” He shouts out to the others and takes the torch away from my face.
“Please don’t take me back there” I plead in tears as I shiver in fear.
“You little pest. Do you have any idea what we have been through just searching for you? You little brat!” The man scolds and his friends join him.
“The famous Astrid Tiva! It was about time you met your end” One if the men who just joined says in a dead tone.
It’s completely dark out here so I can’t see their faces, but from the way their figures are hovering above my petite frame, I can tell they are quite huge and look ugly as well
“What do you mean by met your end?” One of them asks and from his tone, I can tell that he’s slightly angered. “Remember Alpha Adolph asked us to bring her alive!” He cautions.
“You are such a dumbass Paul, I didn’t literally mean her death, that was just a figure of speech! You should go back to school!”
“Yeah, whatever” I can swear he rolled his eyes while saying that.
“Now! What are going to do with this…” He grabs my hand and forcefully lifts me up. I wince in pain as he holds the arm which happens to be one of the slightly burned spots on my body
You see, the hot water I showered with earlier gave me few minor burns and the manner in which the maid scrubbed my body only made matters worst. My entire body hurts and the fact that he’s holding my hand with such force right now makes me want to die.
“Please, let go, you at hurting me” I cry in agony as I try to wiggle my arm from his hand but I realize that only worsens the pain so I decide to stay still.
“We have been looking for you for days now, did you think you were going to hide from us forever? Huh?” The man whose face I still haven’t been able to see in the darkness asks and I turn my head to the side to escape his stinking breathe. He must have been drinking all day and I highly doubt if he has brushed his mouth for the past five weeks.
Such a disgusting man.
“Let’s take her to Alpha Adolph this minute, remember we are not in our territory. If members of this pack finds us here, we will be in great danger” One of the guards caution and I start sobbing violently.
I’m doomed.
“Not without having some fun first”
“What kind of fun?”
“Come on, don’t be so naïve. I know it’s dark out here, but we all know Astrid. She’s gorgeous, innocent and so soft. Don’t you think we should have some fun first before taking her to the Alpha?”
“As in, sleep with her?” The other man asks and the former laughs.
“You are smarter than I gave you credit for. Imagine this epitome of beauty beneath you, moaning your name in pleasure as you thrust deep into her. Don’t you feel aroused already?”
“Fuck! What are we waiting for?”
“I’ll go first, pin her to the grown!” The man orders and the other man gets a hold of me and pin me to the ground. All my trashing and screaming go in vain as the three men are way stronger than I am. Two of them pin my arms and legs to the ground while covering my mouth to prevent me from screaming. I can hear trouser belts unbuckling and soon enough, I feel very big rough hands grab my mid thigh and squeez hard. I cry in agony his big fingers trail over my honey spot and my entire body shivers in fear.
I try, I swear I try to trash around, to bite, to free myself to no avail. They are just too strong for me.
This is how I loose my innocence.
I swear if these men succeed in raping me, I will kill myself the moment I step into that pack, because I will never be able to live with that shame for the rest of my life.
The man forcefully takes off the sweat pants I have on and right now, I’m left with just my pants and t-shirt. As my bare buttocks touches the sharp sticks and grasses beneath, they mercilessly pierce me but the men could care less.
I can’t believe this is happening to me. I try to scream but they come out as nothing but pathetic muffled screams because one of the men have their big hands clasped tightly against my mouth.
I try to trash around but they manage to hold me still.
Right now I can feel Tiva trying to take over me. My eyes change from blue to yellow and I can feel all the hair on my body stand erect. The bones of my phalanges start crackling to shapeshift into paws.
I don’t know what she plans to do, but I’m going to let her take control.
“Arghhhh!” I hear a loud scream from the man who was hovering over me a while ago. Right now he’s no longer hovering over me and I can hear his bones crackling. Everywhere is completely dark but because my eyes are now yellow, I can see what’s going before me. There’s a big grey wolf shredding the man into pieces.
The two men who were pinning me to the ground instantly let go of me to go over and help their friend, but immediately they step forward, one of them screams in agony and all I can hear is his body fall thud on the ground and swept away by the grey wolf that’s growling.
It seems to be very angry!
The third man runs for his dear life, leaving his friends behind whom by now would be dead or have very seriously broken arms and legs.
I crawl backwards on my butt and lean against the tree trunk still half naked. I want to stand up and run, but the pair of blood red eyes staring at makes my legs grow weak.
Am I the next to the be killed?
“Please don’t kill me. I didn’t do anything wrong” I cry within sobs and the wolf let’s out a gentle purr. I watch in fascination as his blood red eyes turn brown.
Those brown eyes.
I can swear that I’ve seen them somewhere.
My eyes open wide when I realize who that could be.
“Alpha Asher?” I whisper in fear. The big Alpha wolf takes a few steps closer to me and I whimper in fear. I curl up my body in a ball and close my eyes as I wait for my unfortunate fate to befall me.
The wolf whimpers in disappointed as it turns around and walks away.
Now that’s my cue to escape.
I quickly rise on my feet pick up my pace.
I don’t exactly know who that wolf is that’s why I have to run away.
“Oh my God!” I exclaim in horror as I come to an abrupt halt. There’s a man standing before me, blocking the way but he is facing the other side of the road.
“And where do you think you are going to?” The man asks as he turns around. My breath hitches my heart misses a beat when I recognize him to be Alpha Asher.
I swallow dryly as I take a step backward, trying to think of my next move.
No matter how fast I run, he will catch up with me.
Even if I beg him not to take me back to the Black Wood Pack, he won’t listen to my plea because his mind is already made up.
Fighting him will be the dumbest thing to do. He will snap my neck before I throw my first punch.
I just stand there, clueless on what to do, totally helpless and internally cursing my entire existence. It’s always from one hardship to the next.
“That is not a nice way to say thank you to a man just saved you from getting raped” He says and I can feel the pride in his words.
Show off!
“I… I…” I stutter nervously.
“I don’t want to hear it. Come with me, we are heading back to the pack”
“No!” I deny boldly and he looks at me surprised. ” I don’t want to go back there with you”
“And why? If I may ask?”
“Because you are going to take me back there, you are going to the me back to Alpha Adolph”
“No I won’t!”
“You are lying. You said that yourself earlier today!” I insist and he looks at me and chuckles as he shakes his head.
“Who would have known you could be this headstrong? I only said that earlier because I was mad at you. I’m not taking you back to the Black Wood Pack”
“And how can I trust you?”
“Astrid, I just saved you from getting raped by three men, the same men who were instructed to find you and bring you back to that pack. Do you honestly think I would have gotten myself involved if I wanted to send you back there? I would’ve let them have their fun!” He explains and I pout my lips in guilt.
I really I’m headstrong.
“I don’t know where your pants are, but please find them and put them on before I lose my damn mind!”
I swear that’s when I realize I’m still standing half naked before him.
My entire faces flushes red!
Talk of embarrassment!