Chapter 20 Ch 20

The two-legged wolfman managed to swipe my head hard enough to throw me to the ground. My brain was still spinning from the blow when I heard the crunch of leaves under the beast's feet. Whining, I forced myself to stand. My legs trembled weakly below me, my paws shaking. I was able to see him again now that my head cleared, so I leaped to the side before he could strike me again.

Adrenaline was racing through my blood, and I could hear my own ragged pants and wild heartbeat. This monster must have been able to hear them too. If I couldn't run away and I sure as hell couldn't fight it, what was I going to do? I glanced between the gnarled grimace on his face and the expanse of forest that would lead me back to my apartment. Not that I would probably ever make it that far.

Tilting my head back, I belted out a loud howl. My only true hope was that Tandan might come to my aid. He was undoubtedly stronger and faster than me. Maybe not more than this monster, but my chances would at least be higher together.

The wolfman roared angrily and charged at me again. Damn, he was fast. I darted to the side again, but he managed to grab my tail. Just as he started to lift me off the ground by my tail, his grip slipped on my soft fur and dropped me to the ground. I landed with a cry and quickly jumped to my feet. Pissed now, he threw a meaty, clawed fist towards my side. I scrambled into motion and started towards the trees. Screw this, I was going to run.

The fist struck my hind legs and sent me rolling across the ground until a tree slammed into my spine. I gasped desperately for air. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. A realization suddenly happened upon me: I was going to die.

I wasn't ready to die.

Air poured into my lungs, and I tried to force the negative thoughts away. They would only hinder my chances of staying alive. Not that I probably would anyway. The beast was already burying his claws into my sides and dragging me towards him. I howled out in agony. All I could feel and see was white pain slicing up my body from the new lacerations on my torso.

A ferocious snarl ripped through the horror of my cries and the beast's bellows. I couldn't see, but I felt the claws in my flesh suddenly release. It was too late for me to run. I couldn't move at all. Everything hurt, and I was weak. So damn weak.

The cacophony of roars and growls faded into background noise as I slowly slipped away.

—(—)—

Cold. The only way I knew I was still alive was the chill on my mortal body. Unless Hell was a whole lot colder than people assumed. My other senses slowly came to me as well. I felt the steady rise and fall of my chest. Then I could hear a strong heartbeat. It took me a moment to realize it wasn't clear enough to be my own.

I sucked down a deep breath and willed my eyelids to peel open. This bedroom was unfamiliar to me, but I could tell it was a man's. The walls were white and blank, except for the huge flat screen stand directly across from the bed. It was currently turned off, but I could picture the many football games and wrestling fights it had probably featured in its time. Turning my head to the side, I noticed the source of the heartbeat.

Tandan sat on a charcoal-black plush chair, head knocked back with a snore. His dark hair was disheveled and matted to his head with what smelled to be sweat. Then I noticed his clothes were ripped and baggy as if he'd taken them straight off a giant who'd just fought a horde of cats. What the hell had he been through?

I grunted from pain while sitting upright in the bed. The ache drew my attention down to my abdomen, which was currently covered by a white t-shirt. It fit me like a dress, and I quickly realized I wasn't wearing anything underneath it. After processing the shock of not wearing undies, I saw the large bandage wrapped around my stomach. Oh, God. What the hell had I been through?

"You were attacked," spoke the deep baritone of my mate.

My head snapped up in surprise. He was studying me with an almost stern expression. There certainly was no place for affection or concern on him.

"Do you remember?" he asked.

I shook my head, slowly. Now that I knew it was an attack, though, my memory was returning. The pain in my sides helped me remember. Claws—daggers of claws. And luminescent blue eyes. The image of a towering creature of hair and muscle with knives for teeth and trunks for legs fell across my mind. My stomach dropped. I started hyperventilating.

In the blink of an eye, Tandan was standing beside me with a hand on my shoulder. His voice was in my ear, speaking tenderly. "It's okay, Lee. You're safe. You're alright. I've got you." His fingers massaged circles into my shoulder as he continued, "Breathe, Lee. Just breathe. In, out. In and out."

My lungs responded to his gentle coaching until I was breathing normally again. I finally looked up into Tandan's face and saw him and not the monster. Tears dripped down my cheeks. His dark eyes softened as he leaned now to kiss my forehead.

"You have been unconscious for two days," he told me. "Your body has been healing. Be thankful you're a werewolf, or you'd be dead."

I sobered at his words. "I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. That thing fully intended to shred my body into little bacon strips."

"Lee, I don't know if that was really the case."

"What do you mean?" I asked, partly confused and partly mad. I lifted my shirt to show him the bandage. "Have you not seen what it did to me?"

"I saw it all, dammit," he muttered. "I watched Angelica sew your broken body back together. I know what it did to you, I just don't think its intentions are so clear."

"And what makes you think that?"

Pursing his lips, he sighed. "Check your phone."

"What?"

"The phone," he repeated while pointing at the phone on the bedside table. "Check it."

I picked it up and opened the screen. There were five missed calls, one voicemail, and nine texts from Matt. My brows furrowed as I glanced back up at Tandan. He nodded for me to continue. What significance did he think Matt had? Breathing deeply, I looked at the texts.

Matt: Lee answer ur phone

Matt: We need to talk

Matt: I need help

Matt: Pls help

Matt: Answer ur phone

Matt: LEE

Matt: Idk what happened

Matt: If ur mad at me from the bar i'm sorry

Matt: Smthng happened last night

Aside from the fact that they were alarming, his texts ranged from yesterday morning to afternoon. He would have sent them hours after I had been attacked. I looked at Tandan again. A bad feeling took root in my gut. He better not have been suggesting what I thought he was suggesting.

"You think he had something to do with this?" I demanded.

"Lee, I have been trying to tell you that something is off about him." Tandan's gaze fixated me with its intensity. "He never smelled right to me. Not human, not wolf. Something is wrong and this could explain—"

"This explains absolutely nothing!" I yelled, then winced as it caused my sides to hurt. "This means nothing. I left him at that bar because of you. He could have been talking about sleeping with someone from the bar. I don't think he's the type who normally just has sex with random people, so he has probably just regretful."

I stopped rambling when Tandan's face turned flat. He clearly didn't agree with me.

"Listen to the voicemail," he said.

"It wasn't him," I insisted. "These texts aren't evidence for anything. Especially not that he's a wolfman beast!"

"Just listen to the damn voicemail."

After growling at him, I pulled up the voicemail on my phone and played it on speaker.

"Lee, it's me. Matt. Shit, I wish I was drunk for this." He sighed grievously. "You know how sometimes you wake up in places after you get wasted, and you don't remember how you got there? Yeah, that's me. I woke up in a fucking forest. I'm naked and I'm sore as hell, but there's no girl and no semen so I don't think I got laid. I don't know what I did. I can't remember shit. Anyway, call me. I'm back at my fucking house now. Okay. Bye."

Well. Fuck.