Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 73

Nine years before Claudia and Evan reunited on Dark Moon territory, they met once before in a dark forest not too far away. Freezing rain pelted the trees, and winds battered the branches so hard that with each gust, needles and twigs and stray leaves ripped off to fly about. In the dark of that winter night, a young boy staggered through the heart of the forest, bleeding and bruised everywhere from head to toe. Something was strange about this forest. Evan had never seen such thick fog before, especially when this was no ordinary rainfall. Was it even possible for a mist this thick to roll in with freezing rain?

He groped forward blindly, unable to see anything past the thick curtain. Even if the way forward was concealed from his sight, he had to keep moving. He had run far and fast to get away from the older and stronger werewolves pursuing him, and although this mist made it impossible to know where he was going, it helped him avoid capture at the same time. Those werewolves would have just as hard a time trying to find him, after all.

If only Evan had enough room in his tormented, torn soul for relief. But after everything he had seen, after everything those monsters had made him watch as one sat on his back, forcing him to the ground, he didn't know if he could feel anything ever again. Numb horror, yes, for the rest of his life, dark fury that sat impotent in his chest - but nothing else.

His father, tortured and killed as they laughed over his dying body, taunting him about how they would r**e his mate to death and tear his son to pieces. His mother, sobbing and screaming in agony as the filthy men ravaged her bleeding body, using it for all their depraved urges while she tried to fight back. And Evan, forced into the mud as someone squatted on his back and pulled his forehead up, forcing him to watch and sob, helpless against it all.

Was this anger? Was this rage? He clutched his chest as he stumbled onward, fist balled in his torn shirt. He was empty and full at the same time, like a worn sack stuffed full of sharp edges, knives, rusted metal. If only he were strong enough, he could kill without a thought. It was so dark in his head where his senses should be lit up, so heavy in his chest, so ugly everywhere he looked.

Cold. It must be the freeze setting into his bones. If he could shift into his wolf, he would survive longer, but he was too weak to do even that. He had no choice but to drag himself forward on two legs, searching fruitlessly for refuge.

His father would want him to survive. His mother would want him to fight on and live. He had to make it...

He tripped over a large, gnarled root sticking out of the ground. Only when he collapsed did he realize he had fallen at the base of a towering tree, somehow perfectly cradled between its curved roots. It wasn't even cold anymore. Warm... Comfortable. The freezing touch of the rain sapping his body heat no longer bothered him. And he was so sleepy - he should sleep right here since he wasn't going to find shelter anyway.

"Hey! Wake up."

A gentle nudging of fingertips on his cheek woke Evan. Sleep coiled around his head, persuading him with a fuzzy voice to let go and ignore the voice, but it was impossible. The last of the feathered fatigue evaporated like a foot stomping into a puddle when the fingertips brushed his cheek again. His eyes flew open as if someone had struck him over the head with a mallet. That touch! Moon Goddess, what was that?

Above him, a young girl kneeled over his swollen face. She had lovely brown hair with little waves in it, and her eyes were an enchanting hazel - no, was that a little green in there? He couldn't tell. Everything about her was so bright, so pretty, so soft and comforting. It was a different kind of comfort than the false one he had slipped into moments ago, not the hypothermia dragging him into eternal sleep. This was... real warmth.

He grabbed at her hand, and when she stumbled back in surprise, he refused to let go.

"Hey! You're hurting me." She tugged at his wrist. "Ouch."

Although she was trying to pry his fingers loose, there was no fear in her voice, only a little impatience. She wasn't trying to get away. She was just trying to get him to calm down. She even crept a little closer before kneeling next to him on the verdant grass, not minding the wetness soaking through her dress. Then again, she was soaked anyway, just like him.

Cautiously, Evan loosened his fingers, one by one. If she looked like she was going to run away, he would grab her again. He couldn't let her go. He didn't know what it was, but something told him he couldn't lose her, no matter what. She had to stay by his side. He had to keep her in his sight.

A curious scent wafted toward him, so faint he almost missed it at first. Soft and tranquil, sweet yet firm, it fluttered on the tip of his tongue and danced like sugar. He almost closed his eyes again. How could anything smell so good?

"Hey! You have to stay awake. Come on, we'll stay together. If we sit close, we can share our body heat, okay? We'll be fine until the rain stops."

Too late, Evan realized he really had closed his eyes, but it wasn't because he was about to fall asleep like the girl thought. It was simply because her scent was so captivating, he couldn't believe it was real - couldn't believe he was awake and not dreaming. As if he could sleep, now that he knew she existed in the real world and not as a figment of his imagination! He slid to the side to give the girl room to sit, stunned speechless but too eager to have her stay.

"Okay. Now we stay like this. Oh, no! You're hurt!"

Hadn't she seen his injuries already? Well, the mist was thick, so maybe she had missed them the first time. But the coppery scent of his blood caking his skin and clothes should have tipped her off. How could she have missed it until now?

Though criticizing her was the last thing on his mind. If anything, her obliviousness only made him grow warmer inside, and he took a steadying breath to catch himself before he threw his arms around her. He wanted her to stay close. He wanted her to stay right next to him - not just now, but forever. What was this feeling? So confusing, so intense, so-

"Don't sleep, but you should rest. Come closer, okay?"

It was a dream come true. The girl nestled into his side and embraced him like it was nothing, snuggling in tight and dropping her cheek onto his shoulder. She was so small, but there was a maturity in her voice that didn't suit her tiny frame. She must be his age or close to it. What pack was she from? Why was she out in the woods in this dangerous weather? Didn't she know there were dangerous men about?

He should warn her, he thought dimly as her scent enveloped him, ever so soft and bewitching. It wasn't safe here. He needed to protect her... He needed to make sure no one could hurt her the way they had hurt his father, his mother, and him. He would protect her to the end of his days...

What's your name, he wanted to ask. My name's Evan. I think we were meant to find each other. Don't ever leave me. I'll stay with you, always.

He didn't realize he'd only thought the words instead of saying them. At the end of his strength, it was the most he could do to try to mind-link with her, despite them being stranger children from different packs. But she never answered. It was as if she couldn't hear him.

Instead, her soothing touch brushed over his wounds as she hummed a gentle song. He didn't recognize it, but it was so beautiful, just like her. Little girlish fingers danced over his bruises, his gashes, all of the wounds he had earned in his desperate escape from his parents' murderers, and one by one... they faded.

If she stayed, would the wounds inside him fade, too?

It was magic. Had to be. Everywhere she touched hurt so much less.

Stay with me forever, he wanted to beg, but it wasn't to be. His eyes closed, and he drifted off into a healing slumber beneath the tree, still listening to the girl's gentle song.