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III

III

HER HEART THUMPED uneasily in her chest.  Her her body tingled with nerves. Her head was pounding and as she lifted a hand to rub her forehead, something dripped onto her cheek.

Elysie had trouble prying her eyes open and when she did her vision was foggy and dark, odd for so early in the morning when it was lighter than it would be all day.

"Oh, my God," she muttered in disbelief as her eyes finally adjusted minimally to her surroundings. She was still laying on the ground in the same spot she fell, her pencil and journal a few feet away from her, covered in dirt and leaves, but that wasn't why she was so horrified. The bone in her left wrist was sticking out at an unnatural angle and blood was gushing out of her open wound.

Elysie frantically searched the woods for any sign of help or the wolf from before, but her vision was limited to five feet away in the direction of the sunlight. She was naïve to think that there would be another person in the woods this early or in the woods at all, she knew better.

She attempted to stand, but couldn't pull herself up. Elysie tried to move her legs, but when neither moved an inch, she started to grow worried. With horror, she realized she couldn't even feel them.

A moan escaped Elysie's lips and an anguished cry ripped through her throat. She bit the inside of her cheek in vain as she struggled to shift one of her legs an inch.

A distorted curse reverberated through the woods, echoing from the dark haired girl confined to the ground. She knew it would be useless to try and drag her body behind her through the forest, especially with her vision nearly absent and her consciousness diminishing.  She knew her injuries were bad since she could hardly feel any pain, a numbness traveling through her limbs rapidly.

Elysie's head turned quickly as she heard something thunder through the woods. With a shudder, the pale girl watched as two large wolves bounded toward her. She recognized the red one as the wolf whom she ran from and it looked more feral than it did before.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled loudly, ignoring the slight tremor in her voice and trying to put on a brave expression.

The second wolf, with a dark brown coat, walked forward timidly, its head bowed down in submission. Elysie gasped loudly as the wolf's bones started cracking with sickening snaps and reforming underneath its skin as the chocolate fur slowly retracted. A man was standing in the wolf's place. At first she thought her eyes were deceiving her, a repercussion of her injury, but then the man stepped forward into her line of sight.

"What are you?" she whispered, knowing she wouldn't be able to attempt escape in her condition.

"I am Killian," the man told her, holding out a hand in a civilized manner. "You need medical assistance immediately so we will be taking you back to our home to aid you."

"No, you won't. Your friend was the one who did this to me!" Elysie would have thrown her hands up in exasperation, but her right wrist was the only thing holding her upper body up and her left arm was slowly growing numb.

"And he will receive a punishment for his actions." The man's eyebrows were creased in confusion as he attempted to take another step toward the girl, but couldn't seem to advance. "You will die without our help." The man decided not to mention that her execution was a date already planned.

She hesitated in accepting his offer, so Killian crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. "If you do not accept, we will be forced to take you against your will."

Elysie knew he wouldn't be able to. She had seen the small steps he had taken and she knew that he couldn't get any closer to her, she just didn't know why. Some part of her hoped she was just hallucinating due to her fall but for some reason, Elysie couldn't help but feel drawn to the mysterious man and his wolf companion.

She had always been curious, which is why, with a grimace, Elysie beckoned the man forward. "Someone will have to tell my mother that I have gone." A grin lit up Killian's face and he took a confident step toward Elysie.

"Very well. Syd will take care to tell your mother you will not return home." He shot a pointed look at the red wolf and with an exited snort, the wolf was off, bounding through the woods with ease.

Something about Killian's predatory smile erupted an uneasy feeling in Elysie and she bit her lip to keep from voicing her thoughts. The man stepped forward again, only a foot or so away from Elysie, and bent down quickly, scooping her into his arms with ease.

"I apologize for causing you any pain or discomfort," he told her with an indifferent expression. The girl nodded in response, tense from being in the man's large arms.

"Our King is looking forward to meeting you."

"Why would he look forward to meeting me?"

"You are different. No Shifter has been able to go near you without your consent, and you stopped Syd from attacking you. It's quite difficult to contain a newly born wolf."

"'Newly born wolf?'" Elysie questioned, deciding to get answers from the man while he was open to speaking to her.

"Yes. He was a mundane human until his wolf broke out a few days ago. Now, he is a Shifter, a part of our race," Killian explained with ease.

"He was always a part of your race, then," Elysie pointed out.

"Not in the eyes of our King, girl." His tone had a certain finality that made Elysie grow silent. She resorted to closing her eyes and feebley hoping by the time she awoke, she would be healed.