The Alpha And His Mate (Silver Hills #1)

Chapter 3

My heels dug into the dirt as I sprinted towards the house as fast as I could.

A million thoughts raced through my head. Wolves in the house. Wolves ripping apart Angel. I felt a pant of guilt, as if I had somehow summoned the wolves.

It was a ridiculous idea. I had nothing to do with wolves. I didn't even like them.

Whether or not they liked me was about to be seen.
For a moment I thought everything was fine. I tried to calm my racing heart. Surely if somebody was being hurt there would be screams of horror.
That's when the screaming began.

I tore of my heels and pounded towards the house, swinging into the room through the open doors.
The party had descended into madness.

Food and drink spilled on the floor, making the ground sticky and difficult to traverse.

I peeled my eyes up from the ground and forced myself to look at the scene in front of me.

A large wolf, grey not black, was prowling the room. It's eyes were like moons too, but I noticed they were duller. Party guests were strewn about the room, some sobbing hysterically, others clutching at each other desperately.

The one person who didn't look panicked, I noticed, was Genevieve, who stood in a corner with Richard. Both looked concerned but not scared.

"Richard," I said calmly, trying not to alarm the wolf. "What have you done."

He held his hands up in defence. "Why are you blaming me?" He looked slightly annoyed.

Genevieve hissed sourly. "I knew this would happen." She dug her nails into his arm and tugged him back towards her so she could whisper something in her ear. They then commenced a whispered argument.

Of course they would decide to have trouble in paradise whilst there was a potentially rabid wolf in the house.

The wolf had circled the room a few times but hadn't attacked anyone yet. My mind ran over information I knew about wolves, which was very little. I knew that the wolves living in Silver Hill were infamously dangerous. I also knew that they hadn't been seen in years.

"Persephone," Richard said suddenly. The wolf snapped his head around to stare at me, his eyes wider. I silently cursed him for making me a target, even after warning me about bewaring the wolves.

"What." I spoke through gritted teeth, my body entirely still.

"Lead the wolf away," he told me. I instantly opened my mouth to protest. "It won't hurt you."

"What!" I cried. That was a complete contradiction to our earlier conversation. How had he gone from 'beware the wolves' to 'lure a giant wolf away'.

"Just because I told you to beware them doesn't mean they'll hurt you," he said. "It's either that or watch the people you grew up with get torn to pieces."

I took a deep breath and realised I only had one option. Slowly I began to back out the door. As I walked the wolf followed. I felt my breathing get heavier with every step.

What was I doing! I must be insane.

"Persephone."

Okay that voice definitely didn't help. My heart was nearly leaping out of my chest. I shut my eyes and prayed the sickness wouldn't return. Please please please please.

Every step I took felt like I was further impaling a dagger into my heart. I had to remind myself to keep on breathing. My one motivator was the sound of relief emanating from the house.

I dared to peek behind me. The wolf was staring at me like a dog would look at it's master. From inside the Mason mansion I could see Angel looking at me desperately. And behind her Genevieve was intently glaring me down, her right fist clenched tightly as if she were in pain.

The wolf also turned around. I felt a bubble of panic. What if I had messed it up and cursed my peers?

The grey wolf let out a harsh growl. I saw Genevieve flinch and her fist unclench.

A crippling pain struck me head.

"Persephone." The masculine voice growled in my head. "Trust the wolf. Follow him."

And then, as quickly as it came, the pain went. And with it the voice.

By the time I had gathered my wits the grey wolf had plodded ahead of me, his head turned back and urging me to follow.

I wasn't sure it was a brilliant idea to follow a feral wolf into the woods. Especially when a voice in your head had instructed you too. And then there was the warning I had received just moments before.

But my options were still limited. I could stay and subject my old classmates to a wild wolf, or I could take a risk and be a saviour.

The wolf hadn't mauled me yet. I had reason to believe he wouldn't raise a paw to strike me.

I thought of my mothers warning yet again. What would she say if I rang her up and said I was following a strange wolf into the woods, exactly what she'd had me promise not to do.

From the woods I heard a choir of wolves howling. A string felt like it was pulling me towards that dark shadow.

It was my feet and not my head that tugged me forwards.

The woods was a city of darkness fragmented by shafts of moonlight peeking through gaps in the leaves.

I couldn't help but to be in awe of the wild beauty. These woods bordered Silver Hills but we had always been warned not to get too close. Now I wished I had taken more risks; I imagined me and Angel hanging out in these woods together as children, away from the cares of the world. It was an idyllic thought, but one couldn't change the past. Perhaps I could take her here after all of this was over.

I had noticed that a slight pain was returning in my head, although not as a bad as it was before. It seemed that the further away I got from the house and the closer to whatever the source of the tugging was the more my head hurt. It felt like it was building up to a crescendo but something was blocking it.

A noise like static began to buzz in my ears. I tried to focus on the crunch of the undergrowth and snap of twigs but the combination of the pain and static overwhelmed my senses.

I stumbled to a halt, the pain too much to handle at this point. Clutching at the rough bark of a tree, I gasped for breath. I felt trapped in my own little word of hell, but then I felt something nudge my elbow. A sliver of fear ran down me when I realised it was the wolf trying to urge me to go.

"No," I gasped out. "I can't go any further. I can't." I let out a sob as a cacophony of noise exploded in my head. The howl of wolves mixed with what sounded like a conversation. I felt sweat trickle down my back as a sledgehammer pounded continuously at my head.

When I managed to look up, the wolf was gone. I collapsed to the ground in relief. My only worry now was getting home without passing out.

A shot of pain flashed in my head. Bright white light filled my vision. If I passed out in the woods what manner of creatures would come to feast on me? I should've listened to my mom. The woods may be beautiful but they were dangerous.

Through the noise, I heard rustling coming from the thicket of trees. A figure emerged from the darkness. I couldn't make out much of his face but his eyes... his eyes were like twin moons.

I felt the darkness encroaching on me. I leaned my head back against the tree and prepared for nothingness.

"Hang on!"

A panicked voice. Low, guttural and masculine. It sounded familiar. As cold as it was, it embraced me like a warm blanket. I let it surround me. I let it be my only focus, like a buoy amongst a raging sea.

"I've got you," the voice said. "Persephone."

The sea of darkness overwhelmed me. The last thing I knew was the rocking motion of being carried away.