Chapter 158: I Found Her

"Theo." Her voice was a mix of fear and relief.

However, his growls didn’t stop; instead, his face moved closer. She grimaced and pressed her head to the uneven ground. She could smell the earth and nearby plants, but the smell of blood on his breath was more overwhelming.

His breath was hot against her face. A glob of saliva landed on her cheek as he stood over her. She was sure this was Theo, but he wasn’t acting like he recognized her.

The wolves that had come with him rushed past her on the ground and after her father’s men. He didn’t join the chase; he just hovered with a dark look in his eyes that slowly turned sinister.

She shut her eyes. She could no longer hear the sounds of the wolves chasing her, and she wondered if Keenan’s men had caught them or if they had fled.

She was still wondering about them when a scream ripped out of her. Her eyes flew open, and Theo’s fangs were in her arm. He pulled her across the ground, scratching her back against the rocks sticking out of the ground.

"It hurts, Theo. I am sorry. I don’t know. Oh, it HURTS!"

The pain made her vision white, and for a moment, she was certain she had lost consciousness as her body bounced on the ground.

Suddenly, he let go of her arm, but the pain didn’t stop. She could feel blood pouring out of her hand, soaking the floor under her.

She lay stiffly, looking past the trees at the sky riddled with stars, but a fog-like substance lightly covered them. Clouds. It was going to rain at some point tonight.

He pulled her arm with his teeth, and she screamed, but her voice was hoarse, and it didn’t sound as loud as she wanted. She looked at him, and he was growling at her as he dropped down.

She understood the gesture—he wanted her to get on. She rolled, the pain in her shoulder making her dizzy. She would have sworn he ripped it off her shoulder, but it was still attached.

Using her good hand, she pushed herself off the ground. Her feet burned from all the sticks and stones she had stepped on. A few cut her feet, they were bleeding like her arm but her soles were sore.

She crawled, leaving a trail of blood on the ground. She bit into her lower lip as she fought through the pain. She didn’t want him to bite her again.

It was hard using only one good hand to climb on, but she managed. She gripped him with her thighs while her good hand grabbed his fur. Her left hand dangled over his side; it hurt too much to even lift it.

He stood up and ran through the trees as she held on for dear life. More than a few times, her vision blurred, and she could feel herself losing consciousness, but she bit down on her lip to keep awake.

If she fainted, she would fall off, and she had a feeling Theo would not hesitate to drag her the rest of the way.

She couldn’t comprehend why he had attacked her. At first, she had thought he didn’t know it was her, but the fact that he was giving her a ride now meant he knew.

Did he think I tried to run away?

She was running away from her assailant when he found her. Did he not see that? Or did it not matter? Did the fact that it was her father’s men mean she must be part of them?

"I didn’t run away," she mumbled into his fur. She doubted he could hear her with the wind in his ears.

They were in the town now. She could make out the shapes of houses in the dark. Not far off was the main house. It wasn’t completely dark like the rest of the other houses. A lone window flickered with candlelight.

Suddenly, Theo let out a loud howl to alert the house that he had arrived. He jumped over the stairs, taking them at least four at a time. He stopped at the entrance and pushed the doors open with his head.

Maya couldn’t feel her fingers that tightly grabbed his fur. They were numb from how tightly she was holding on. Her hand dangling by his side felt even more bruised from bouncing around throughout the ride.

As soon as he walked through the door, he shook her off his back, and she fell with a loud thud, hitting her already bruised back. She could only whimper; her throat was too sore to let out another scream.

She rolled on her side to take the pressure off her back. Her left hand was still bleeding, but it wasn’t as bad as before. More like she hoped it wasn’t. It was hard to make out anything in the dark.

Theo shifted next to her. Even though he was now in his human form, he was still growling. "I found her, Alpha Keenan," he panted. "She was running away with her father’s men."

Maya felt her soul eject from her body. Running away? She wasn’t running away. Why would she do that when they had already made this much progress?

"Running away?" His voice echoed in the space.

Keenan!

From the sound of his voice, he was by the staircase, maybe on it. She couldn’t see him with the way she was lying down, but it hurt too much to move. She couldn’t lie on her back, and her other hand hurt too much to put any weight on it.

"Keenan," she cried, but she doubted her voice reached him.

"Yes, Alpha," Theo said and walked forward. "I easily caught up with them and found her. The rest of the men are chasing after them as we speak."

"How many?" His voice was colder, colder than the floor she lay on.

"I don’t know, but they didn’t attack—they fled. I’m guessing she couldn’t run because she lacks a wolf."

Maya tried to push herself up from the floor but her right hand was still numb from holding on so tightly during the ride.

But she couldn’t lie here and do nothing. She had to say something, but he wasn’t even coming closer. She could feel his gaze on her back, but he didn’t even speak to her. He must know she was conscious.

"Keenan," she tried again, pushing herself off the floor. Maybe if she sat upright, she would be able to turn to him. "I didn’t run—"

"Alpha!" Alaina’s voice echoed from the first floor. "Look what I found."