Chapter 26
I dusted myself off and took my time standing up, I groaned. My face hurts from that fall.
Without a second thought, I ran, the ribbons leading me to the finish line, my only goal. I was beginning to feel pain from my legs but decided to ignore it and continued on running.
Twenty minutes into the game, I came to a halt. Noticing two colored ribbons on trees.
Yellow and Red. Oh no, which one do I follow? I contemplated and was deep in my thoughts that I forgot I was being chased.
I shook my head and answered, "Red is a no go." I hate the color red for no reason at all.
But then I froze, recognizing the presence behind me. And without hesitation, I ducked. An arm was an inch away from above me.
He tried to capture me again but I ran, following the red. Ignoring my hatred towards it. If I remember correctly, yellow is the color of the ropes in the starting line.
Red means finish.
I kept running, him closely behind me. Any more longer of this and I'd slow down, my feet is killing me, I can feel throbbing from my legs.
I have run more times than this so why am I suddenly so tired? I didn't dare look back and kept going, still feeling his presence behind me.
He chuckled and suddenly, I heard a whoosh of air and the presence that I felt has vanished.
I didn't stop, I couldn't, not now. I'm in the middle of the goddamn forest being hunted and giving up is not in my vocabulary.
I was panting, not knowing how many minutes it has been since I've been chased. He was gone but something wasn't right, I could feel it.
I kept running, not stopping to rest for even a bit. Seeing a lake up ahead, I ran faster.
Just a sip.
I halted and hurriedly crouched down to take a sip. Before I could stand, I felt two long arms surround me.
Ah, shit.
Muscular scent started to surround me, making me forget a bit of what was happening. He carried me by my waist but I fought back, butterflies fluttering inside me.
I used my left foot to stomp on him, and when he groaned and bended, I took that opportunity to elbow him in the face.
When I was freed, I took a stance turning towards him, werewolf or not I could at least stun him.
He held his face but there was a smile playing on his lips. Those kissa-
Ok, stop.
I obviously feel attracted to this man yet here I am, thinking of ways to get him out of my way. Well, it's for my own good anyway.
He let out a deep chuckle, amused by my statement, his beautiful teeth fully showing. Why is this man so damn hot?
I rolled my eyes, the sassiness in me coming out. "Well if you want it, better catch me first then." Picking up a rock from my foot, I threw it at him.
It hit his face and his head fell back. Laughing, I ran and never looked back.
I was tackled to the ground by an arm holding me, supporting my head and preventing it from hitting the ground.
I groaned, my eyes closed. I sighed loudly taking the arm off of me. It refused to so I pinched it.
I scowled, my face was in deep confusion wondering what and where that sound is. I'm not prepared to encounter predators at the moment with this man chasing me.
And a werewolf at that.
My ears were focused solely where the noise was, if that were to come between us, it'll be a big problem. I'll be dealing with two animals then.
The roar echoed through the forest again. My instinct told me to go to it.
I weighed my options, run to it so I could lose this tail behind me, or continue my conversation with him.
I chose the former. What? I like danger.
I put my left foot first, putting power to it and running to the direction of the roar.
I can feel him follow closely behind me. I put more effort on running and my head was in the game. I checked my watch to see that I'm forty minutes into the game.
This dude is really keen on chasing me, I'm running out of energy yet he looks fresh, nothing out of the ordinary. I swear he was flawlessly made that even actors cannot be compared to him.
Twenty minutes left till the end of the run, I need to cross the finish line.
Ooh, soft.
I oofed and looked at front, a bear twice the size of me roared in front of my face and swang its arms towards me.
Not wasting a second, I dodged it and moved behind it. I took off running from behind the bear and didn't think twice where to go.
I followed the red ribbons, checking my watch. I have 5 minutes left before the clock ends. I need to get out of here.
I ran through the forest, ignoring the throbbing pain from my bottom and kept running.
Sweat formed in every part of my body, I was panting hard. My mouth is shut, and instead took a lot of air through my nose.
For what seems like forever, I saw the finish line. The red rope being held by two people from both ends, just like the yellow one.
This is it, this is my victory. I ran faster, not wasting any second in the forest. I was close, very close when I was tackled to the ground.
We rolled over, strong arms protecting me from the hit. We rolled until we hit a tree trunk, a grunt and groan coming from the both of us.
His long lashes flutter every time he blinks. His gray eyes were deep, I can see myself in them. My eyes roamed from his eyes, jaw, nose and to his lips. His lips are red and it looks so soft I want to-
Yeah not gonna happen.
He stared back, doing the same thing I was doing. We studied each other, forgetting the world around us. His face was inches from mine, we were both panting.
A bang was heard through the sky, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Frowning, I pushed his face off and his body followed. I stood up and fixed myself, damn. I groaned and hissed, kicking the air, showing my irritation.
He smirked, dusting himself off. He looked at me and spoke.
The sound from him sounded heavenly, the deep laugh coming out of his mouth is just out of this world.
Watch it, Katie. You just practically called the man an asshole in your head.
Rolling my eyes, I started to walk towards the direction of the end line.
I was speechless. I've never met someone so beautiful yet such an asshole.
This indicates that I was chased down by It and captured. I was out the moment he tackled me.
I lost a game.
I mean, why the fuck did I lose just now? Because of that oaf? That big, strong, handsome-
Snap out of it Katelyn.
I groaned inwardly, still irritated by the fact that I lost.
Did they not watch the game?
My face contorted, showing my irritation. Easily? I've been running for almost an hour with a werewolf on my tail. I encountered a bear, barely missing its arm swinging at me, and got tackled thrice, not once.
Out of all the girls, he picked me. And here I thought I was laying low.
But my eyes were focused on someone, glaring daggers at him, imagining stabbing him with my hidden knife.
He was standing proudly with crossed arms, he was looking around, observing everyone. It was like he was overseeing the whole damn thing.
He must have sensed me, turning around and found my eyes. He smiled sweetly and waved.
How sarcastic.
I smiled bitterly, turning my face to Van who was walking alongside Sen who held a confused face.
I wanted to cry.
When we came back, there was no food yet. I was on the couch, my face against the pillow, my hands above me.
Turns out I had encountered the orange ribbon. It was located close to that huge bear, technically Van thought I'd see it but I was too focused on running away, not paying attention for any other colored ribbons.
I asked why there was a bear in the middle of the game, Van answered that they're werewolves, taking down bears is like crushing a bug so they didn't have to usher the animals out of the area.
Van pulled me up. I groaned and obliged. Any longer and I'd suffocate, totally much better than facing embarrassment.
I was the only one who got freaking captured, I was even laying low and stayed quiet throughout the whole thing.
I thought I was gonna win, but I was too focused on the finish line to notice him advancing on me, forgetting that I was being chased.
I climbed up with no energy left and fell on my bed, hugging the extra pillow beside me, snuggling my face to it.
Soft, hm.
Reminds me, what happened to that bear and him? How did he escape? Did he kill it or outrun it?
Blah, I don't care. That man just ruined my win.
I closed my eyes and calmed myself, emptying the contents of my mind.
Not a moment, sleep embraced me.
He was too proud and smug, too confident but she failed to win at the end. She was tackled to the ground a few distance away from the finish line.
They saw how she was tackled to the ground close to the lake, this made both people disappointed, losing was not part of the plan but the Alpha seems to target her and only her.
They were also curious as to why he keeps tackling the girl when he already knows she's out.
She held an irritated face when Sen and Van came to her, expressing her frustration. She didn't say anything to both of them and directed herself towards the car, ready to go home.
A while ago she targeted going for the food, however, with the lost of the game, she seemed to forget it and lost interest.
She walked out with her coat, leaving him alone in the living room. She was serious, that's for sure. Van has to quit playing around and needs to get serious.
They have a plan for Katie, she needs to win the games for it to work, otherwise if she loses, it will be a loss for them and Katie.
Van sighed and followed Sen, wanting to apologize for being an ignorant fool.
At the pack house, the Alpha put his coat in the vacant chair. He sat down on the couch and leaned back, fully resting all of his muscles and arms.
The muscles and arms who touched something so delicate, something so soft yet firm, something so mysterious.
The Alpha didn't know what to do, the conversation between them has him crave more. He remembered how close his face was to her when she got tackled.
Her honey scent surrounded him, overwhelming his senses. Her eyes were bright, full of determination, her nose was wide, sucking in air as much as she can because she was panting.
Her red and shiny lips were open, her breath fanning his eyes, leaving his lashes to flutter every so lightly.
He wanted to close the distance between them and feel nothing but desire.
He wanted to see what she was capable of, and she did not disappoint. The reason why he kept chasing her is to test her, see her strength against him.
As the person who's looking for his mate through games, he is expected to do stuff like that to every participant, Katie was first.
He has given up on finding his true mate, 16 years ago.
However he could not get over the fact how fitting she was inside her arms.
She was so delicate, he wanted to touch her face, hold her longer and-
However his thoughts were cut off when someone barged in his room. He looked over and saw Derek with a scowl on his face.
He didn't expect to find her here, in the very own pack he leads. He felt frustrated, he grabbed his hair and tugged at it.
The Alpha waited patiently for Derek's decision. He was fighting with himself, to tell or not to tell.
But not a while longer, Derek sighed and looked at him. He leaned back and crossed his arms, his muscles flexing.
Derek shook his head and leaned back again.
Derek smiled, forgetting the fact that he's a Beta and could do anything to get information with just his title.
Guess that's what staying in the human world as military personnel can do to you.