Golden

Chapter Three

I was trapped, inside and out. Two men, one of which I trusted with every ounce of love I had, had me in their clutches, no way to escape. Inside, I was frozen, a statue made of cold iced marble. I felt hallow, numb. Shock ran through my veins rather than blood.

Run... The word echoed in my head, elaborating and blooming. My limbs ached with the desire. But with every second that passed, the hunger grew in the men's eyes. I had no chance.

Run... Run. Now, unless you want to die. The voice in my head was beginning to sound agitated, and not my own for the first time. Just as I began mapping a plan out in my head, the leaves in the tree to the left of my brother rustled, dancing in the wind. I didn't even have a chance to register what happened next until it was over.

The Wolf jump out of the tree, onto my brother. I took off to the right, sprinting with every muscle in my body. I flexed my muscles out as far as possible until I could go no father, waited until my lungs were one breath short of exploding. I hid behind a large green bush and listened for anyone that might come. It was close for the Changing Hour to end, not even a minute left.

"Kitten! Psst!" Alice wove her way around the trees and tall grass. "Kitten..." she murmured a string of words after, too low for me to hear.

Alice. You're okay.

"Hardly." She was close now, and I could see the outline of her figure shake slightly. Alice had her arms crossed over her chest, her chestnut hair a knotted jungle. She glanced down at her wrist-watch. "You have a minute left, Kitten. You sure it's safe here?" Alice glanced around nervously, flicking her eyes to our surroundings. She was one surprise short of going crazy, and seeing me practically have a seizure won't exactly help her.

You head up before me. I'll catch up with you.

"But-" Alice tried to argue, but I interrupted her.

Everything's fine, Al. Now go. I paced a few short steps towards her, and nuzzled my nose at the base of her neck in an act of reassurance. She gave me a weary smile, pressed her hand under my jaw, and turned to leave. Before she was even ten feet away, Alice turned around. She cupped her hands around her mouth, and in a stage-whisper said, "Thirty seconds left, love. Twenty-nine... Twenty-eight..."

I get it Al. She finally turned around and jogged away. A cold tremor ran down my spine, spiking pain in all directions. I took in a deep breath, failing to bring any air to my lungs. My breaths grew hollow, and my head throbbed. My body temperature rose as I became lightheaded. I fell to the ground, one side of my face pressed against the cool earth. A sudden pain blossomed in my chest, hammering against my insides mercilessly. I attempted a scream, but nothing came out. The sound only echoed in my head as y mouth hung open like a fish out of water. Clouds formed where the heat of my breath mingled with the frosty air. Another pain lurched against my back, stopping me mid-breath. I could feel the tawny hair covering my body smooth down, prickling into my pores and disappearing from sight.

It was all over before I could even manage a full thought. Five minutes after the Change ended, I was still on the ground, sweat dripping into my eyes and my nails raking the grass in a slow, pained tempo. With very gust of wind, my body shook uncontrollably. It was one of those things you never got used to, like that weird feeling at the pit of your stomach when riding a roller-coaster. Only less appealing.

I put on my clothing, mentally slapping myself for being stupid enough to bring shorts and a tank. My brain pounded mercilessly against my head, trying to beat its way out of the pain and misery. I let my body collapse back to the earth and squeezed my eyes shut, praying to the Man Upstairs to have some mercy on my battered soul. I had my hands clasped around my hammering temples hoping for anything to make the pain go away.

"First time, Kitty?" A man's mocking growl echoed around the trees, bouncing inside my skull.

"N-no," I rasped. My breaths were shaky and my throat dry. I could see no higher than the man's shins. He was wearing long jeans, slightly tight to show off his toned calves. His white Nike's were free of grime, so white that they seemed aglow.

I heard the man sigh through the noise of my chattering teeth. He began to unzip what sounded like a backpack. The fluttering sound of a blanket being unfolded was the most soothing noise I've heard all night. He wrapped me in the blanket, acting as though I was the most fragile and precious item he has ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon. "So what's your name, Kitty?"

"It's, uh, it's Kody." In the slight warmth of the blanket my shaking stopped, but the affects of running at full speed in a limited area began to work its black magic, swallowing me in ever growing pain.

"Kody the Kitty. I like it." The man settled next to me, and brought his knees up to his chin. I sat up to join him.

"What's your name?" I felt embarrassed about asking (I never really was the Hello-Nice-To-Meet-You person), so I added some theatrics. "Thou must know the name of thy saviour."

This earned me an honest chuckle that vibrated into the end of the blanket he had his palm into. I couldn't see very well, but the crystalline blue of his eyes one could notice from afar, no doubt about it. "Why thy fair lady, I mustn't plague such bilewit beauty with nary information."

I burst out laughing, ignoring the exploding pain my head. "Was the word information even invented by then?"

"By when?"

"I dunno. Shakespeare?" I let my body fall back to the ground and stared at the tree tops mingling with the sky and stars. "But seriously. What's your name?"

"Kiethe."

"Well Kiethe," I tried his name out, rolling it around on my tongue, tasting it, devouring it like my favorite piece of candy. "Thank you very much for your hospitality. And the blanket."

"It is a nice blanket isn't it."

I giggled involuntarily before agreeing with him. "It really is." A calm silence enveloped us as my mind wandered into early in the night and my conversation with the Wolf.

The Wolf...

It all clicked into place at once, and different emotions took turns stabbing my heart. Realization, confusion, hurt, betrayal, everything ending with anger. No matter which way I tried looking at it, anger always came as the last and strongest emotion. It was like Wrestle Mania in my head, only more painful. And real. Arduously real.

I jumped up from my relaxed laying position to a poise ready to fight, breathing ragged. My head pain had ceased into a ghost of a mild headache, but hammered back to life as my anger washed over me in big, massive waves of hate and twisted embarrassment.

He had a gorgeous face, vivid blue eyes that sparked no matter what, and a stubble that added to his already sharp features. Too bad the flawless face doesn't make up for the flaws in his personalty. "You bloody asshole." It's like my hands had a mind of their own, clenching and opening all alone while my brain focused on that pretty face that I would enjoy sinking my nails into.

Huh, I guess they don't.

Confusion crossed his eyes for a mere second before replaced by understanding then amusement. "Well, that took you a while. I thought you were faster than that, Kitty. I guess you can't expect much from a blond." After taking his holy time inspecting his nails, Kiethe stood and looked down on me shaking his head at what he thought to be a great dissapointment.

"I'm not even blond," I leveled my , masking my anger and hurt and the feeling of just utter stupidity by insignifigance. Stupid Wolf. I can't believe I let him play me like that, too grateful for the company and warmth he somehow provided without physical touch.

I reached up and slapped him, letting the raw anger burn like a torch, searing his skin where my palm connected with his cheek. It was loud, like a thunderclap. His face didn't betray one single emotion, keeping everything perfectly concealed.

Before letting his face cause more pain that would eventually boil over, I grabbed my things and walked away. Anything more or anything less could show desperation, or even dejection. I want him to see nothing more than a blank face.