We left Amaya in the paws of a very large wolf as the night gets cold.
This is taking too long. The longer we're out here the slower she moves. I've got to get her out of the cold. If I could carry her this would be so much easier on her.
Seth sniffed the air. They were getting close. Could he risk leaving her to shift back?
Anne stumbled and couldn't quite catch herself. Seth whined and nosed her face, looking for a response.
"I'm alive. I just can't feel my limbs. Maybe you should give up before we get attached to each other."
Seth licked her hand and took off.
x
Smart animal.
It was too far and too cold. Hell, he'd probably been leading her to a den full of starving pups anyway.
Amaya curled in on herself; she started shivering and trying not to fall asleep. Not really sure why she was bothering. What did she have to live for? She supposed Charlie might have trouble with her disappearance. He would have to form a search party because her car was still parked at the rental house. He might be the one to find her. She was meant to start work on Monday.
Dying here meant HE wouldn't get the satisfaction of killing her himself.
Cold. Even the pain faded in the cold.
x
Seth ran back to his mom's house at his top speed. He pawed at the back door, barking to let Sue know he was there.
Sue appeared at the back door with a pair of sweats and a jacket. Seth grabbed them in his teeth and took off again. He could move faster as a wolf so he ran until he was only a few yards from where he'd left her. He shifted forms and pulled on the clothes his mother gave him. Barefoot, he ran to her.
She was curled up right where he'd left her. Eyes closed, she'd stopped shivering.
"Anne? Anne, wake up." Seth shook her shoulder, trying to get a response. He shook her harder, "Come on Anne, please."
"Stop shaking me. Where's Bear?" "Bear?" her words were slurred and it sounded like she was hallucinating. Seth took a deep breath through his nose to make sure, but even bears knew to stay away from the scent of a werewolf.
He sat her up and wrapped her in the coat his mother had given him before hoisting her into his arms. She lay limp in the cradle of his protective embrace. He started loping back towards the house. The motion jostled her awake.
"Stop." He kept going. "I said STOP. Put me down this instant." Still walking he replied, "How do you expect to get home on a sprained ankle without help? Do you even know where home is?" he couldn't control his fear or his relief and it burst out of him as a reprimand, "What were you thinking? Traipsing through the woods like you even have a clue where you're at?" "I had to keep running. I can never stop running."
That made Seth stop. He just froze.
"What are you running from?" She shivered in his arms and he took off again, cradling her to his chest. "Let me go." "We're almost to the house. I'll take you to the hospital." "No, don't."
She went from limp and shivering to fighting in a fraction of a second. She kicked her legs and pushed against his chest.
"Calm down. You're going to hurt yourself. Just let me take care of you." "I can't go to a hospital. Seth, please."
It was the first time she had ever said his name. Couple that with the desperate, pleading look in her eyes and Seth was completely disarmed. He could no more deny her than he could stop breathing. When he broke out of the woods he made his way to her own house instead of the car. The door was still unlocked from his search for her.
He managed to keep a hold on her with one arm as he reached for the doorknob. Anne had basically collapsed when she couldn't break free of him. Her head lolled in the crook of his neck, eyes closed.
x
He smelled like wild honeysuckle, pine and man. Just a hint of wet dog. Or maybe that was her after Bear...
There was a pause as the man opened her front door. No sign of keys jingling in the lock.
"Check the house." "What?" "For intruders, make sure no one else is in the house." "Don't worry, I unlocked the door before I went looking for you." "Check. Please, Seth."
x
There it was again, his name on her lips. It was tainted by a note of anxiety and fear.
Seth lay her down on the couch and flipped on lights. He checked every room thoroughly with his wolf senses as well as human. It was as empty as he'd suspected but it made her feel better.
He grabbed a blanket out of the closet and turned up the heat as he hurried back to her. "Can you sit up? We need to get you warmed up." "Me? You're the one not wearing clothes. Wait, why aren't you wearing clothes?"
Anne was backing away from him, the couch limiting her escape. "Calm down, you're wearing my jacket." "You were wearing jeans earlier." "I got cold." She was way too observant. "Look, we need to get you warm. Scoot over, we'll share body heat." "Don't come near me! I'm fine."
Some guy had really done a number on her. God help him if Seth ever found him.