Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 13

Willow

I sat shivering within the tiny confines of the cave that I was lucky to find on such short notice.

I wished I could build a fire to dry my clothes, but it would be too obvious. I had been gone a few hours, but I had traveled little distance in that time.

In fact, I was still huddled in the small crevice I had found a few miles down the river.

I hoped that even if Zeke did follow my scent trail to the river, he would be smart enough to know that I had used it to hide my travels.

Then, fingers crossed, he would think I was long gone already. I knew he was not too bright, and I had walked in the river, despite the tiring current, to my present location. I knew there was no way he could follow his nose to me at least.

Nonetheless, I remained vigilant to my surroundings, jumping at every sound that penetrated the lull of the gentle waves of the river rushing close by.

I had finished my pilfered food a while ago unfortunately. I tried to hold out, but I was just too hungry.

Now that my belly was relatively full for the first time in ages, I found myself gradually slipping off into a fitful slumber, despite my best efforts; the exhaustion finally settling in.

The sound of the river racing by provided a soothing setting conducive to a peaceful rest; however, my near constant trembling and cramped conditions combated with the melodious tune, leaving me less than rested when I finally awoke.

I was startled awake sometime later by something, although I was not sure what. I froze in place, barely daring to breathe while my eyes instantly darted around the small space, ensuring I was still alone.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust in the darkening area, even with my wolf’s superior eyesight, but I was able to ascertain that no one had broken through my rough barrier, barring the outside world from my temporary reprieve.

It seemed I was safe for the moment, but something had awoken me, so I knew better than to let my guard down.

I knew I would have to leave soon. The sinking sun signaled the best time to cross the boundary, as the warriors would be switching out for the night.

They would be much too busy talking shit to pay any attention to little old me, and I had heard more than a few admit to skipping out early on their duties before their replacements arrived numerous times in the past.

Though my clothes were only damp now, I definitely could not stay here another day, much less all night.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a loud splashing sound. The sound cut off, but then, it was followed up swiftly by more splashes and the undeniable sound of something large sloshing through the water. Shit! No way was that an animal.

I hastily ran through my options while my pulse pounded away in my ears. There was no guarantee he knew exactly where I was concealed, because who was I kidding, the only person that could be was Zeke, but if I chose to remain hidden and he found me, I would be a sitting duck.

No, I would be worse than a sitting duck, I would be a dead wolf because there was no way in hell I was ever going back with him. F**k that.

He was already almost on top of me if he was crossing the river. I had no time left for decisions.

I shoved hard at the rocks securing the entrance, setting off the booby trap I had hastily constructed beforehand, in case a situation just like this one arose, and hoped I got lucky and crushed his stupid a*s in the process of my escape. Thanks, Dad for teaching me that one!

I heard a loud grunt, but I did not spare the time to look behind me to see if the trap had worked. I just kept going. However, the angry voice that trailed just beyond me quickly confirmed all of my fears.

“You stupid bitch! Just wait until I catch you!” Zeke thundered out, his voice sounding pained.

Yes! At least I got him. I did not know how much it would slow him down, but still, take that a*****e!

Unfortunately, my celebrations were quickly put on hold when the sound of sloshing water rapidly picked up again.

I finished swiftly climbing down the gradual ascent in the rocks that had sheltered me for the better part of the day, using the last boulder as a jumping point to gain more momentum for my desperate run through the forest.

I was thankful for the extra food and rest I had gotten over the past twenty-four hours.

I could already feel that some of my injuries had partially healed, and I felt more energized than I had in a long time, though I still felt every ache and pain in my body from my cramped conditions and numerous wounds, as I sprinted flat out to get away from him.

I shouted obscenities at his dumbass at the top of my lungs while I ran, “Stay the hell away from me you sick f**k!” I screeched, darting almost blindly through the forest.

I knew my only hope at this point would be to attract the attention of one of the visiting alphas, as much as I hated to admit it, and I really liked insulting Zeke to his face for once.

I continued speeding through the forest, but I could hear him gaining ground.

Apparently, he was not delayed too much by my hastily made deterrent that I had constructed by the river.

I felt the beginning edge of panic creeping up on me, while a sense of Deja vu pervaded, competing with my rising alarm. I should have stayed hidden where I was, I realized.

There was no way he could have found me, but I freaked, and now, I was going to have to pay the price.

“Why don’t you go f**k yourself, a*****e!” I yelled behind me.

He roared his anger, but it was abruptly cut off, a loud crash reverberating through the air.

I snickered, it sounded like someone needed to pay attention to where he was going.

Snap!

Ouch, damn it. I needed to pay attention to where I was going.

With moments left until he caught up to me, I made a split-second decision to use my fortunate head start to shift into my wolf.

I was probably going to be captured anyway, despite my best efforts, and at least my wolf had sharp claws and teeth to defend herself. Like I said, I was going out fighting. Further, if the racket we were making did not draw others to our location, I did not know what else would.

I began the painful transformation mid-stride, though the adrenaline seemed to ease some of the pain, but I was forced to fall to all fours quickly due to the increasingly painful spasms running throughout my body. I

t had always been painful to shift, but this was something else entirely, even with the adrenaline dulling my senses. I had known it was not healthy to go so long without shifting, but what choice did I have?

I should have been fully shifted and on the run again by now, but, unfortunately, my shift was much slower than it had been, and my time had run out.

I heard Zeke crashing through the forest just to the right of me. He was quickly upon me, grabbing me roughly by the arms and hauling me up.

He held me tightly against his body, despite the tremors running down my spine.

“Stop! No shifting.” Zeke growled.

His loud voice rang out in the small clearing we had happened upon, laced with the unmistakable alpha command.

I had no choice but to cease my shift and revert completely back into my human form.

I had found that I could sometimes ignore an alpha command from Zeke in the past; however, I was so weak from my mad dash through the forest and my painful almost transformation, that I had no energy left to resist this time.

Nevertheless, I thrashed wildly about, at least as wildly as I could manage, but I quickly froze in place when a loud growl rang out through the night.

I vaguely realized that I even felt Zeke momentarily freeze behind me at the terrifying sound.

I took that moment to allow my eyes to drift around the small break in the trees, looking for a route to escape, and I quickly twisted out of Zeke’s arms while he was distracted by the stranger.

However, before I could make my grand escape, my eyes met the most gorgeous hazel eyes I had ever seen, causing me to stumble and fall to the forest floor once more in my distraction.

While my ears picked up on what the stranger had spoken, my eyes remained glued to the tiny detail of his mesmerizing orbs, zoning everything else out in that moment, his impossibly deep growled claim rang in the sudden silence, “Mine.”