What a strange feeling, like no other felt before. Her flesh burns and vibrates, trying to reproduce the same sensation as when Pierce penetrated it. It feels unsatisfied, hungry, longing for more of him. She would have loved to freeze that moment forever, with him so close lying on her, in her, feeling his heart beat against her back, his sweaty skin almost merging with hers in that quiet embrace.
But that was without counting with his messed up mind, his torn feelings toward what she is. That would have been perfect without the bitter taste in her mouth and the sudden void in her chest as Pierce pulls out of her and ruins it all, not having a second thought before opening his mouth. Couldn't he just imagine one second that her body had never desired anyone before him? Even she didn't know, even less hoped, that it could happen to her.
She thought she could bear again his apparent insensitiveness and keep on trying to open his eyes, in that weird and violent way that seemed to suit them from the beginning. But her heart had been hurt more than she expected and the words "he will never accept you" wouldn't stop harassing her brains, making her vulnerable and weak not knowing how to handle all that mess in her head, making her angry.
"Fucking asshole!" she spits, enraged, pushing him back with a furious kick on his chest. Pierce falls down, his chest painful from the still fresh wounds her claws had caused, that her hit makes bleed again.
She gets on her feet and flees outside, not letting him a chance to figure out a trick to retain her again.
Speechless and kind of dizzy, Pierce ignores the pain while trying to understand what had just happened. He messed up, that's his obvious conclusion, but he's not sure when. In any case he cannot let her escape; too many things are at stake and not only from a professional point of view. But that's a reflection he quickly chases from his thoughts as he dresses in a hurry and grabs his flashlight from the ground to go after her.
The light provided by the torch inside the den was already not that much, but outside it is almost useless compared to the deep darkness of the forest around him. Too late to think it through, with her speed she could be out of reach by that time and only an intuition puts him on her path, as some owls seem to be disturbed by something a few meters away on his left.
His eyes progressively get used to the darkness even though they can't see in the dim light as much as hers. The moon still provides enough clarity for him to avoid obstacles while running toward the hoots.
Running fast between the trees, trying to not stumble on every root he crosses, the owls seem to never be closer, like he's running without going forward, until he sees something move ahead of him, a furtive clear silhouette. He thinks it's her in that once white medical blouse, he yells "WAIT!" but it won't stop, disappearing again in the shadows.
If he was like her, he would have felt all the eyes of the forest on him, scrutinizing him as his breath gets panting and hoarse and his lungs start to burn. He slows down; the silhouette is nowhere to be seen. If he was like her he would have known he should not stop there, he would have felt his hairs stand on his skin at the danger approaching, at the glowing eyes already surrounding him. But all he hears is his heart pounding strongly inside his ears and his noisy breaths that he tries to calm down.
As he bends, with his hands on his knees, his head down, cursing himself and cursing her, a slight growl catches his attention. He raises his head, searching for the source of the sound in the dark all around him. She growls too, he recalls how she did when they met. But she has only two eyes and what he sees are many more, all around him. The growl approaches, soon multiplying, until he finally distinguishes the animals producing it.
Far from the appealing silhouette his beast has, they are as tense and as intimidating as she can be; the wolves. A whole pack, at least eight of them, grey and black, slowly getting closer, their head low and their sharp fangs in their jaws clenched in a ferocious grimace.
"No need to panic", Pierce thinks, until he searches on his belt for his gun which isn't there, forgotten in the den. "Fuck" he swears, and cautiously starts to back off with his hands raised in front of him and a cold shiver in the back of his head.
The predators step closer again, their growls louder, he hears them also behind him and searches desperately for a way out in the dark spaces of the vegetation when a rustling behind him attracts the attention of the wolves, interrupting their aggressive vocals.
"Run", Pierce recognizes the voice of the beast and turns around to see her emerge from the shadows. He sighs in relief louder than he intended to.
"Baby, I..."
"Run!" she interrupts him with a harder voice.
Pierce freezes in disbelief, not understanding the tension he perceives in the beast attitude, is it fear he sees in her eyes? The wolf he saw first coming at him suddenly passes him by like he wasn't there and ferociously growls while jumping at her. She dodges it from a series of trills on the side.
"Run" she whispers in a breath, her eyes glowing like the wolves' but they are not threatening, they are imploring Pierce before she starts to run away. The whole pack moves as one and follows her, barking from rage and excitement, leaving Pierce astonished where he stands.
A few seconds was all he needed to regain his spirits, deciding what to do and find his way back to the den. He never thought it was possible but he did run faster than before, hoping he would find her again and not too late. He couldn't stop thinking about her, how she had caught the wolves' attention so easily and wondering why. And the way she had looked at him, her precise moves weren't made out of fear, not for herself at least.
By the time Pierce finds her, dawn is rising and bringing the fog with it, resting on the green carpet of the woods before the sun gets to dry it. The beast is among it, her body lying on the side as if asleep, her short black hair denoting in the soft colors of the landscape.
He hesitates for a second, holding his breath, he knows he would care if she's dead and that's not of his liking. On another hand she has proven to be full of surprises so he finally approaches, watching her back for any breathing movement, intensively listening for any moan of pain.
He's upon her when he finally sees her back rise slightly, he then allows himself to breathe too. Crouching next to her, Pierce reaches for her back but stops short when she jerks. Taking back his hand, he decides to break the silence instead.
"What was that? I thought you were one of them" he chuckles slightly.
After seconds that seemed to stretch indefinitely, he hears her mumble with a blank voice :
"I'm not like them, I'm not like you...
I'm alone"
Pierce feels relief at hearing her speak but she hadn't still moved, he starts wondering if she's seriously wounded but the only noticeable thing is the reddish growing stain on the side of her already dirty blouse.
"You're bleeding..." He tries to touch her but she harshly shouts, shaking her back "don't touch me! "
"Easy, baby!" he says, raising his hands. But she does not react any further, staying still on the ground, looking weak somehow, a surprisingly unpleasant sight for him, he doesn't really know how to undo that feeling in a way he wouldn't feel awkward about.
"Yeah, well... Time is up baby, Rice should be coming with my guys in a few hours so you might wanna get a little clean..." he launches, trying to sound provocative.
"I don't care" she interrupts him in the same low and monochord voice.
That's not what he expected. He knows she has a temper and enough tenacity in her to not give up so easily. Somehow he hopes so, that's what he wants from her or she may never survive the tests at Transingen. But that's as far as he pushes his thoughts, refusing to further acknowledge their strange bond, denying the true reasons he's not just roughly tying her up and taking her to Rice. She's just a mutant after all.
"Are you gonna cry for a few wounds, mutie? " he starts to shout.
Still no reaction. He's getting confused now, crouched next to her back, an ounce of guilt tickling the back of his mind.
"Fuck," he heavily sighs, "I didn't know you were..., I... Didn't mean to hurt you..."
"You think I'm hurt?" she cuts with a hint of nervousness in the voice.
She finally raises her head, straightening her bust, resting on her hands and turning to him. She has bruises on her face; her hair is a mess with dried blood and dirt in it, she has nasty bites on her arms and a considerable laceration on her stomach bleeding through her torn blouse.
She addresses him with a furious gaze: "You think I give a shit you made me bleed?" she says, aggressively raising her voice. "You think you hurt me when you laid your hands on me? Hell, I craved for it! You could even kill me with your own hands I would fucking love it the same, that's how fucked up you got me!"
"You shut up woman!" Pierce suddenly yells with an annoyed look, making her silent and astonished; had he just called her woman? He nods his head and heavily sighs, trying hard to push away the pressing need to hug her.
"Damn you..." he blows, just before grabbing the back of her neck and pressing his lips on hers in an avid kiss.
