Asha

    The arrows keep coming. This time the attackers know what to do. The arrows no longer stop a few feet before us, they now whistle past, nearly grazing us a couple of times.

  "Why the hell are these people after you?!" I gasp, my throat burning from too much swallowing.

  "That's not for you to find out cupcake," he snaps, his hand still snaked around my waist firmly.

   'Those damn rogues! I'll make sure to conjure up a plan to wipe out those fuckers!'

  Rogues? Actual rogues?

  Okay before you call me stupid, I've only heard of them in stories. I've always imagined them to be a group of homeless, sickly wolves who tried to make a living outside a pack.

  I never expected them to be damn good with fucking arrows, in.. a modern era!

And why are they even after the Lycan king?

     In that instant, I see a group of  masked men clad in black clothes, coming after us, still shooting those arrows.

  "I see a group of masked men! You should run faster, they're catching up to us!" I scream.

   "Maybe if I threw you to the side, I'd run a lot faster," he hisses.

   "What? Don't throw me to the side!" I clutch harder at his collar.

   "Stop talking! You're making me lose air you..."

'Oh goodness. I think I might just let an arrow hit me instead.'

  "Be nice to me young man. I literally saved your life!" I snap back, tired of his nagging attitude, not caring he's the freaking Lycan king.

   "At least shut up?"

   I finally keep mute, while he keeps doing wonders with his legs. Somehow, he has increased his pace, I can barely see what's in front of me.

   "I think I'm going to die from all this running on your shoulder instead," I gasp. My insides are churning badly, and my head won't stop pounding.

   "Don't tempt me into throwing you somewhere," he growls, and sharply turns to the left.

      "We lost them!" I spread my arms.

  Smack!

  My right hand hits a tree branch as the Lycan man waltz by.

   "Ow!" I cry, retracting my hands back to a crouched position.

   'I can't tell if she's extremely energetic, or extremely dim. I just can't find a trace of smartness in that little head.'

   "We just turned a corner, they are still after us and they probably saw where we went."

    My jaw drops at his thoughts. Did he just call me a fool? As if he's the smartest thing crawling on the planet.

   Suddenly, he throws me to the ground, "We have given them a bit of distance. I believe you can run now."

   Still a bit sour from his degrading thoughts, I stand up, and run after him.

   "Why am I being dragged into whatever this is?" I throw him a glance.

  "Because you decided to be a good kitty, and save my life, stealing my wolf in the process, now I'm sort of powerless against those rogues."

   "I didn't even steal you wolf! It probably likes me more that's why it decided to enter my body instead."

  He tilts his head to the side, giving me a grimace, "I don't know why I'm helping you even with this sharp mouth of yours."

   I roll my eyes, "Think of something that'll get us out of their grasp."

     "I'm thinking of something, don't worry."

    An arrow waltz past my face, making me jerk, "What the hell?"

    "Listen here sharp mouth."

  "It's Asha," I hiss back at him.

  "Right, Asha. Are you familiar with this place?"

  "No," I reply already panting.

   "Oh no," he palms his head, "What are you doing here then?"

    "Why? Aren't you familiar with this area?"

   "Uh.. no."

  "Then why are you angry with me? What the fuck?" I scowl at him, dumbfounded at how horridly rude he is.

   'We're both under attack, and she knows nothing about this place. Great, what do we do now?'

      How's it my fault? I'm a fugitive!

   He grabs my hand, "You're a bit too slow for my liking," he yanks me to another sharp turn, and I almost trip over my toes.

    "Do you even know where you're going?" I ask, my throat burning with heat of a thousand flames.

    "No, and unfortunately for the both of us, my wolf is not in me, so yeah we're hopeless."

   "Why didn't you take care of your wolf? Why the fuck is he in me?" I'm frustrated at this point. At this Lycan who's supposed to be king, and more at his wolf for jumping under my skin.

    "How am I supposed to know what you did to m–"

  We come to a halt over a waterfall.

   Great, we're trapped.

  "Oh well, I wasn't expecting to die on a random night at just twenty two years old!" I raise my hands in the air, "What a lovely life I lived," I grit my teeth.

    The Lycan sighs deeply, his hands on his waist, "A dead end."

  He looks to the side where there's a stack of huge rocks. On the opposite side, there's a sort of valley.

  "Dear moon goddess, I'm too young to die," I crash to my knees, "Is this a punishment for what I did?"

   In that instant, we hear groans, and grunts from behind us.

   "They have caught up to us," he groans, his eyes darting between the waterfall, and the valley.

   "What do we do?" I grab his leg, "We can't die! I can't die!"

   He hisses, grabs my arm, and forces me to my feet, "Stay calm, and let me think!"

    "Think about what? The way you want your funeral to go?"

   He gives me a side eye, and palms his face, "If you say one more word, I'll bash my head against those rocks, and leave you to your fate."

     What a horrible man!

   The masked men jump out of nowhere, running towards us.

  "We got them cornered! Take the man, and leave the girl alone!" One of them yells.

   "Oh no, not today," he yanks me forward, "I hope you can swim?"

   Swim? What no I–"

   He pushes me down the cliff into the  scary waterfall.

   "Aghhh! I can't breathe!" I scream, wabbling my hands around.

  "Oh my goodness, I'm going to die!" I yell, letting the flowing water into my mouth in torrents.

  The pressure of the water on my head, makes my stomach churn badly. The rate at which I'm falling isn't even helping matters.

    A strong arm wraps itself around my shoulders, gripping me tight.

  "What if I bash my head on rocks? Oh dear moon goddess, when I die please give me a good resting spot, I've been nothing but a mistreated girl from the beginning," I clasp my hands, squeezing my eyes shut.

  "I've not even had my first kiss. I don't have a mate, I haven't gotten to live my life to the fullest! Is this how my life ends?" I begin to sob.

  Splash!

  We plunge into the river below.

Asha

  We break through the surface, gasping for air. Before I can react or say anything else, the Lycan grips my arm and pulls me toward the  shore.

  "You're worse than I thought," he shakes water off his hair. Then glancing over his shoulder, he adds, "haven't had your first kiss huh? How Intriguing."

   My cheeks warm up, and I look away, my teeth clattering from the cold that has been rooted in my bones.

  "I thought I'd die! People tend to say the weirdest things when they think they're dying."

  "I believe that applies to you only," he snorts, raking his wet hair.

   "So what do we do next? Where are we?" I ask, my eyes darting.

    "In my territory," he replies, walking ahead of me.

   I pause, letting his words sink, "What?"

   Just then, two men jump out of the bushes, and grab both my arms.

  The panic I felt less than a minute ago, surges back, pumping harder in my veins.

  "Wh- who are you? What do you want from me?" I gasp breathlessly as I struggle to free myself from the grip of the men who are clutching my arms.

   "I don't think an introduction should be done by a lone river," he chuckles, shoving his hands into his pockets.

   "Are you kidnapping me?"

  "Think of it more as.. uh.. some kind of detention. Someone who was able to take my wolf away has to be looked into."

  He turns on his heels, "Bring her back to the base."

  With that, he disappears into the woods.

   My heart sinks to my stomach. I literally save his life, and together we escape a group of mad men, almost dying in the process, now he's kidnapping me?

   The men drag me along with them.

   "Never seen her around here before," one of them grunts.

  "Probably from another pack."

  "Let me go you bastards!"

    They just sigh as if they are bored, and continue dragging me along with them to who knows where?

   "Stop! Let me go!" I try to break free again, but their grip is just too strong.

   "Ugh, blindfold her."

   "What? No!"

  A blindfold slip over my eyes, stealing away the light.

"Hey! Stop! Let me–" Before I can protest, they gag me too.

   What the–

  'I wonder what boss wants with her?  Does he plan on sleeping with a girl he hardly knows?'

   My ears stand erect, and I whip my head to the side,wondering where the voice is coming from?

    I can read other people's minds too?!

   'What a lovely chick! Boss sure has nice eyes!'

   If not for my gag, I'm sure my jaws would have dropped to the floor.

    Still not giving up, I attempt to break free.

  "Oh not this again," the more nonchalant one sighs, I can tell from the sound of his voice. He stops, lets go of my arm.

   'An injection would shut her up.'

  I violently shake my head, making some incoherent noises. I stamp on the other goon's foot, but he just smacks my hand, and forces me to the ground.

   "Acting like a heroine won't get you anywhere kitty," he snarls at me.

   My body is completely drenched in sweat at this point. My chest feels imprisoned by icicles, and my breathing has become more unstable.

   So maybe this is how I leave this miserable planet.

  A sharp sting hits me the next second, freezing my thoughts midstream.

   My body freezes. A strange mix of heat and cold rushes down my spine, leaving me paralyzed.

  In a daze, I drop to the ground face flat.

...

   My eyes flicker open. A blinding light hits my face, forcing me to shut my eyes tight. After some seconds, I open them again, trying to adjust it to the light around.

   "Seems cupcake is awake now."

   A familiar silky voice wraps itself around my ears.

  That voice belongs to...

  I snap my eyes open,  setting them on the man before me.

    For a few minutes, I take in his features finally. I wasn't able to notice his features, since it was all dark.

      He has a golden olive skin which is.. just beautiful. Thick brows that arch perfectly over his eyes, one of them slightly scarred. His eyes are the kindest green eyes I have ever set my gaze upon, if not the kindest pair of eyes I've ever seen.

   His nose is straight, and strong, with freckles over them. I've never seen a guy with freckles before, but this man.. his freckles sit nicely on him. A square, sculpted jaw frames his face, leading down to a subtle cleft in his chin, the faint shadow of stubble giving him a rugged, sexy even, untouchable vibe.

  His cheekbones are high, not to mention his glorious golden brown hair that falls to his shoulder.

   Ugh! I want to take his clothes off him! He is divine!

   "Are you satisfied?" His voice brings me back to the present.

   "Huh?"

  A small smirk plays on his lips, and he comes closer to where I'm being tied up, squatting in front of me.

   "First of all, thank you."

  "Took you long enough!" I suck my teeth, "You're welcome."

    "Second of all, what really are you? Looking at you, you shouldn't be more than an omega. How come you have such power to rip a Lycan off his wolf?"

   I blink, still confused.

  "I honestly.. don't know. I don't know what happened."

  'I still can't tell if she's lying or not. What else should I do to get the truth out of her?'

  "I'm saying the truth. I'm not lying!" I protest.

He studies my face for a moment then pulls away, "Where are you from?"

   I hesitate, my heart flipping hard.

  "Uh.. silver.. silver.."

"Speak," he says calmly, but his eyes carry a kind of fire I don't think I'm ready for.

   "Silver Crest pack."

  He holds his chin, "Hmm? What brought you out of there?"

  "I was running away. I sort of.. killed the Beta who happened to be my stepfather, and I tried to run away, but tripped and fell unconscious. Then found myself in the middle of the mating grounds. I tried running for my life, but I ran into my step father's.. well dead step father's best friend who I told my story, and he asked me to run away, but the Alpha's son heard everything and he ran off to tell the Alpha so I'm pretty sure they'd be looking for me to kill me too."

 I ramble off the words out in one breath, gasping like I just ran a marathon.

   Lycan king looks back at me, his right eye twitching.

  "You're such a basket mouth. Gosh. Why did you kill your step father by the way?"

  "He tried raping me, and I had to defend myself."

  He narrows his eyes, "Hmm. And you're on the run, correct?"

  That's literally what I told him, but..

  "Yes, correct," I grit my teeth.

   "Hmm, I'm taking you back there," he turns on his heels. 

  "What? Please don't! I can't go back there!" I raise my voice, panic striken.

"Ah you'll be fine. I can't have you wandering around. Those rogues would defile you too bad."

  "I'd rather have that, than go back to that place!" I yell before I stop myself.

  He looks over his shoulder, giving him an expressionless look.

   "You're scary for twenty two," he turns around to face me again.

   He snaps his fingers, and someone comes running in.

"Bring the seer over. I want to know who exactly she is. I feel she's lying to me."

  The man bows, "Yes boss."

   I look back at him horrified, "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

   "An omega who can heal injuries, and also rip off wolves? You're not ordinary at all."

Auren

    "Boss, the seer is already here," one of my goons, Raze inform me.

  "Bring him in," I rub my forehead, my head pounding with frustration.

    He nods, and walks back to the door, then leads in an old man who barely past his half millennial cycle.

   He comes in clutching his walking stick, walking steadily towards me.

   "I'm glad you came," I reach him before he comes closer, takes his hand, and kisses it.

    He just nods, and signals for a place to sit.

  "Being him a chair, quick!"

   Raze whips out a chair, and brings it towards the seer, placing it behind him.

   The seer takes his time in sitting down, before slowly exhaling.

    "I won't waste your time. I will go straight to the point," I walk towards the creepy omega.

   "She's taken my wolf away from me. I still don't know how she did it."

     The seer looks in her direction, "Where did you find her?"

    "Technically, she was the one who found me. She actually saved my life," I scratch the back of my neck, feeling embarrassed that I have to admit that.

     "What is your name child? Where are you from?" He asks.

    "I'm Asha sir, I'm from the Silver Crest pack."

   "Hmm, untie her. You mustn't treat women as garbage," he orders.

    I open my mouth to counter that, but he raises his hands, "No countering. Just do it."

      Asha gives me a look of triumph as I reluctantly untie her.

   The day hasn't properly begun, and it's already so bad for me.

    She wriggles free, and lets out a sigh of relief, "Thank you sir," she bows, "You truly are a saviour."

    "Now tell me the whole story. How did she strip you of your wolf?"

   "I don't know," I grind my teeth until they creak.

  "I saved him from meeting the moon goddess at such a young age, and somehow his wolf preferred my body, so I don't know, or why it decided to enter my body instead."

    The seer goes mute, his eyes darting between me, and her.

   "That's odd. I have never heard of this before, that an omega.."

  "I'm actually the daughter of a Beta.. who's dead so," she cuts in, grinning.

    The seer continues, "I've never heard an omega could strip a Lycan of his wolf. That's impossible, what powers do you possess young lady?"

   "I don't possess any," she crosses her arms over her chest.

  "I'm convinced she's a witch Adolf, I'm very sure she's one. How else would my wolf leave my body only because she healed my wounds?" I place my hands on my hips, tapping my foot on the floor.

   "Come here child," he beckons on Asha to come closer.

  She does so, and kneels before him. He places his hands on her ears, his eyes fluttering shut.

    I watch them, my face growing redder by the second. All I just want is my wolf back, nothing else.

     Some moments later, he snaps his eyes open.

  "Stand up."

    "Auren, it seems there was some kind of power shift the night she touched you. She is a special breed of omega, the one who comes from the family of healers. She has a hidden power as well, one I can't decipher."

    My jaw drops as I look back at Asha, who looks equally looks shocked.

   "I have hidden powers? What are they?" She asks.

   He shakes his head, "That I can't say, but what I can say is this. Auren, you're physically tied to her, you can't be away from her, I mean this in the literal sense."

   "What the fuck? Does that mean she has to be with me wherever I go?"

   He gently nods, "If you choose to go anywhere with her, it shouldn't be more than three hours. As I said earlier, you're physically tied to her."

    Asha and I exchange horrified looks.

  "Isn't there something we can do? I can't be tied to this grumpy old man," she whines.

    Did she call me old?

   "Please, you have to find a solution," I walk closer to him, "There must be something we can do. A ritual, anything at all."

    The seer just sighs deeply, his eyes sinking more into their sockets, "I can't help you Auren. I'm surprised something like this happened, it has never been heard of."

    "Fuck!" I clench my fists so hard, my nails digging into my palm.

   "I can't be tied to her. I'm a Lycan Lord. I'm a member of the underworld, I can't involve her in them!" I hiss, holding my head in my palms.

   "Oh, so you're not a Lycan king? Aha, no wonder I'm not in a palace, what a shocking discovery," she chuckles.

   I snap my head up, my face burning with heat. I give her a glare, and she goes quiet.

   'This is bad. Once rival gangs get a hold of her, she could be their pawn.'

     "Raze, take the seer back to his place, and make sure you accompany him with gifts," I wave at Raze who has been standing in a corner of the room, watching our little drama unfold.

   He nods, "Yes boss."

   Once we are alone, I give Asha a weary look. The frustration in my chest has built up to the point I'm literally choking.

    'Maybe she should have let me die. That would have been better.'

   She audibly gasps, placing a hand over her mouth.

  "What is it?" I snap, getting irked by her rather odd behaviour.

   "You can do things your way," she laughs nervously, placing her hands behind her, "Just make sure to come back before the time runs out."

   "You don't know how frustrating that is," I hold my face as if I can physically push the frustration out of it.

   "It's not my fault."

  "It's clearly your fault," I roll my eyes, "Why do you have hidden powers you don't even know of?"

   She stamps her right foot, "How am I supposed to know that? Did I wire them into my body at birth?'

   "Oh please just shut up," I drop my head, thinking of what else to do.

   "You leave me no choice," I sigh deeply, "You're following me back home. I've got some shady businesses to take of."

   "Wh- I can't indulge myself in those!" She squeals.

  "It's not as if I want you to be involved either. We just don't have a choice. Besides, if my wolf is close, maybe he can speak to me through you."

    She stands there looking puzzled.

   "Welcome to the underworld, cupcake."