The Alpha and Me

Chapter 19. Into The Wild

Nandini's POV

I instantly cursed myself as we got down the car into a field full of dangerous creatures. The surrounding gave me a feeling of being on a Safari. There were tigers, wild Zebras and antelopes visible from where I stood.

"Don't worry, those are shifters. This place is like a garden. Various shape-shifters come here for running in the wild." Doctor Raghav said.

That didn't reduce my trepidation any bit lesser regardless. An animal is an animal. No matter they are shape-shifters like these wolves in their human forms currently, they freak me out.

"Yes, Nandini," I looked over my shoulder at one of the three assistants, Chris.

His history is similar to mine. Just the difference is that if I am rescued from a grooming factory, Chris was rescued from rogues who were trying to traffic him to some crazy scientists for huge sum of money. But Alpha Manav took him under his protection before he was taken beyond the boundaries of the pack.

He told me that it's been four years to that incident. Since then, Chris is staying in the mansion as one of the Medics. He is a nice guy who is yet to find his mate.

"In fact, many couples come here to hang out together in their animal forms. This place allows us to move around without being noticed by the humans." He said.

I brought my gaze to the front to look at a pair of tigers nuzzling each other. They must be a couple. There were antelopes around but they didn't care. Ah, now I feel slightly light.

Chris is right. These animals here are harmless. I need not worry.

I was suddenly pumped up and excited. We walked some miles into the forest where huge trees surrounded us.

"Look at the snake there. That's so big. And its color... Wow!" I was fascinated for it was really big in size and shape.

It was sitting on a tree. Resting. Its body coiled around the huge trunk of tree like vines. I was so much in awe that I stopped in my tracks to admire it. It must be a shape-shifter too.

"That's a basilisk, Nandini. You must have heard about it in Harry Potter." Vinay, the other assistant said.

He is from India. He was very young when the villagers he lived with noticed his strange skills. He could talk to birds and heal injured animals using his eyes. He was born a hybrid with knowledge of plants and herbs.

"He's been here before the pack was build and the wolves migrated in this part of New York. This place is his home. Alpha Manav has appointed him as the protector of these woods and in return we provide for him." He said.

The villagers found his behaviour spooky and left him as an offering to some kind of God in a deathly place. Vinay was only fifteen years old. However, luckily he came across Alpha Manav who was on hunt in the dark forests of India and brought him to his pack. Vinay is the only hybrid. A vampire and a wolf hybrid.

I gave him a wide-eyed look of recognition, "Oh yeah! No wonder why it seems familiar."

"We look into his eyes though." I was amazed. "He is seven hundred plus years old and over the time his powers have completely dried up. He is just a big beast now. No powers. So it is purely harmless."

"Ohh!" The Basilisk lifted his face to stare at us and I flinched back in horror. He was actually staring at me I realized.

It hissed aggressively while the others stayed rooted to their spots. Scared, I hit behind Vinay. My heart skipped beating when the basilisk uncoiled its body from the tree rapidly.

"Ssssaytha-Seethaaa-Ssss Aayaa-Ssssatha Seyythaa-Ayaeeh Hassay-Ayaeeh-Ayaeeh-Ssaah" Vinay shouted and threw his hands wide to create a barrier for me.

Doctor Raghav and others also surrounded me from all four side as I heard Vinay continue talking.

My skin froze as I heard the snake speak too. It responded to Vinay. Since I was too frightened, I hid my face in his back and prayed it got away soon. The conversation continued for a while and then I sensed a hand coming on my shoulder.

"It's gone," It was Jenna, the third assistant to Doctor Raghav.

She's the daughter of the gardener. She was born and grew up in the mansion.

"W-what was that?" My hands flew around her waist and I hugged her.

She doesn't talk much but she's always there to provide me comfort.

"The basilisk thought you were an offering to him. His meal for today."  Vinay scratched his head.

Stunned, I stared at him in disbelief. This was not a joke, was it?

But then, Vinay said something further, which didn't surprise me at all, "Ermm, Alpha Manik came here yesterday. He met the snake and promised him a nice meal for protecting the woods for the Alphas for years. The basilisk said that the alpha assured him of tasty meat." He sounded sorry.

But I was not even tad bit scared or shocked. The way the alpha behaved in the morning, his smirks and all, somewhere I suspected something was fishy.

"But don't worry, I have cleared the misunderstandings. He won't come for you again." I don't believe it.

I shook my head in a no, "What if he's lying? What if he attacks me when we turn our backs on him? Who knows if the alpha ordered him to eat me alive?" I was sweating badly.

With their dumbstruck faces they blinked their lashes. I was starting to believe that they comprehended what I was trying to imply when they cracked up. They clutched their stomachs, covered their mouths and gazed at me from time to time before starting laughing again.

"Oh Nandini, you are so funny." Doctor Raghav said.

His hand wrapped around my shoulder and very politely he uttered, "Your imagination is wild. You can be a good writer, trust me."

No one stretched the topic further. For them their alpha was the sweetest. He would do anything but have a powerless mortal like me executed in a place like this. And by a basilisk! Well, I don't want to talk about how embarrassed I felt as I heard their laughters.

Even I didn't care to make them perceive my words and resumed behaving professionally with them.

We collected some rare medicinal plants growing here. Some roots of dangerous plants. We cut down leaves of a special kind of cactus with poisonous skin.

During our exploration Raghav gladly shared the knowledge he beheld and we were enjoying just fine until— they fell silent in a flash.

"What's wrong?" Unable to understand anything I whispered only to be shushed down by Raghav.

Then an uproar of noise broke out around us. The bushes began to tremble and the wolves around me once again created a wall of protection from all the four sides as they took defensive positions. They were back to protecting me.

"We smell rogues, Nandini." Chris' heavy voice nearly grumbled.

"You do remember what I've taught you, don't you?" Vinay spoke. I saw him turning into a werewolf while others followed his lead.

"Yes," I nodded and pulled out the dagger from under my left leg, the same dagger I had put into the Alpha's flesh.

Tbc...

That phase is not far away when we'll see him caring for her... And the steamy content— just some more chapters and you'll be on the edge to read the entire story😁

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