Chapter 48

I

t was Gerald, his eyes cold and calculating as he stepped into the room. My heart skipped a beat at his unwanted presence and I rose up from the bed, sitting up straight.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, shrinking back against the pillow, my body trembling with fear. It wasn't just my imagination this time. He was here and I was here—alone.

The door behind him slammed shut. "Hello, little sister. I heard you've been busy," He sneered, his voice dripping with threats. "Took a long time to find you. For a moment, I thought you were dead."

"What do you want?" I pulled my knees to myself while looking around, praying silently that someone would come inside the room.

How did he even get in? How did he even know where I was, or if I was taken to a hospital? As those questions rang in my mind, I kept my eyes on him while my hand slipped underneath the sheet and reached the other one. I slowly pulled out the IV, knowing I had to run in matter of a few minutes.

"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to see how my dear little sister was doing," He paced around the room, looking at the things that were on the table and the monitor above the room. As he neared, I felt my chest tighten with panic and fear. "You know, I became informed a lot of things, like what you've been doing all these weeks here after you ran away from the pack house."

"I had to run." I drew the sheets away from me and lifted myself off the bed once I had taken the IV off.

My bare feet met the cold ground and I took a few steps backward toward the window inside the room. Nicholas should be here by now, it had been a while—unless he was distracted by something.

"Do you know our dear father died that night?" He picked up a flower vase from the table and examined it, twirling it around in his hand. It was a small one, filled with flowers Nicholas had gotten for me. "And do you know who killed him?"

I shook my head, my eyes flickering over to the door, hoping anyone would come any moment now.

"It was someone from this pack, from this pack you have found refuge in," He said with a smirk before tossing the vase onto the ground where it shattered into pieces. "At first it was a bit surprising to learn that you have found refuge here, among the same wolves that had attacked our pack. But then, a little birdie told me something that made me understand what you were doing here, and why you're still alive, because I truly believed you had died that night."

He turned to face me, his eyes dark and threatening. He wanted to kill me and it wasn't my time to die.

He stepped closer, his menacing presence suffocating me. The air filled with tension and each breath I took became heavy in my chest. My eyes darted across the room, searching for something to defend myself with, but I was too weak and injured to put up a fight—especially with him.

He was stronger than me, in every way.

My gaze landed on the IV pole standing beside my bed. Stepping near it, I slowly reached for the pole, my heart pounding in my chest as I hoped he wouldn't notice it.

His gaze flickered to my movement, and I froze in terror. A smirk twisted over his face and he chuckled. "What are you planning to do with that, Runt? No matter how far you run from me, I'm going to get to you. As much as I wanted to kill you, I no longer have to as I've found another purpose for you life, but you'll just have to come with me."

My fingers tightened around the metal pole, and I knew that I had to act quick. With all the strength I could muster, I swung the pole at him, hitting him square in the face. He stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding nose as I took my chance to grab the needle from the IV.

In one swift motion, I plunged the needle into his neck, and dragged it down while knowing none of this was going to last long. He was going to heal in minutes and then proceed with whatever he wanted to do with me.

I pulled the needle out of him and just at the same time, he grabbed my wrist while a growl escaped his chest.

"Fucking bitch."

He tightened his grip on my wrist, his claws digging into my skin, drawing blood. Pain shot through my body, but I refused to give up. Using all my strength, I pulled away and ran toward the window as he covered the main door, forbidding me to leave.

Cold air gushed into the room as I opened the window. I didn't care about the height, I just knew I had to get away from him. I could not fall into his hands again. I could not let him put me through torture over and over again, without anyone coming for my rescue this time.

My mother was gone, and now my father too, nothing was going to stop him.

I leapt out of the window, feeling the wind rushing past me as I fell towards the ground. The impact was hard, knocking the air out of my lungs and causing my body to ache all over.

My teeth pressed tight and a small scream escaped my mouth as my hands reached for my knees that scraped over the rough pavement. Taking in a deep breath, I rose up from the ground and looked around for anyone.

It was getting dark, and there wasn't anyone around.

Glancing over my shoulders, I saw Gerald standing near the window, his nostrils flared and blood covering part of his face where I had struck him. He turned around and rushed back into the room, leaving it and taking the stairs to come down.

My heart drummed, I quickly began running away bare feet. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I had to keep moving. I ran as fast as I could through the deserted grounds of the hospital, screaming for help, but as I was in the parking lot, there was no one there.

I stumbled my way towards the edge of the woods, my feet bruised and battered from the hard concrete. The trees hovered above me, tall and dark, wavering against the strong winds. Without any hesitation, I went deeper into the woods and the street lights faded along with Gerald.

He couldn't find me in the dark, and he surely couldn't smell me.

The woods were eerily quiet, save for the rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl. I ran for a few good minutes before slowing my pace and looking for any signs of life. My breaths came in short gasps.

I had been here before, at the hunt, when running away from Nicholas. Some of the paths were familiar, but the others weren't, but I knew I could find my way out of here and near to the house.

It shouldn't be too far.

As I continued to walk, the darkness of the woods became more apparent. The branches of the trees swayed in the wind, making strange sounds that echoed through the silent forest. The hair over my body rose with the cold and I wrapped my arms around my self.

Suddenly, a twig snapped under my foot, causing me to jump in fright. I froze in place, listening for any sounds, but there was nothing.

Taking a deep breath, I picked a branch from the ground and wrapped my hand around it tight, incase if I needed it.

I had changed my clothes after taking a shower. I was no longer wearing the hospital robe, but rather the clothes Nicholas had bought for me before I was meant to leave. They were somewhat keeping me warm throughout the night. But it wasn't enough.

My teeth were chattering, I needed some heat.

After some more time of walking alone, I realized that I had been lost. The moon was now at the highest point in the sky, and its pale glow illuminated the forest floor, signaling the start of a new day.

I continued on, my feet feeling heavy and my body growing tired. The woods seemed to stretch on forever, with no end in sight.

Dread crossed over me and I stopped to catch my breath. Crouching against the tree, I placed my hands over my face and let out an exhausted breath.

What was happening? How could Gerald know where I was? It felt like I had done this before, I had been here before, like I had been repeating the past.

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