Anastay tapped her foot nervously against the mat in Alex’s old, rusty pinto. ‘He’s supposed to be the most important man in town, and he drives a crappy Pinto, how quaint,’ she thought with a grimace of pain. She still couldn’t believe after everything she had said, she actually still went on a date with him. He was nothing but a vermin to her.
Even the wolf had gotten upset when she told him. She was offended for the first moment, because he had left her to deal with the annoyance alone. She didn’t have any other option when Alex had pressured her. If she hadn’t allowed the date to proceed, she might have gotten charged for the breaking and entering she had committed. He might have even taken the journal away.
“So, how do you like Canine’s Rose so far?” Alex asked as he stepped out of his Pinto. He opened Anastay’s door and forced her out. She noted that they were along the edge of the woods. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle with awareness as the amulet grew hot again.
“Its fine,” she answered as he snaked his hand against her hip and pulled her close. She felt like hitting him sharply across the face, but hesitated. She knew she was balancing on a thin rope now, probably one that was starting to fray as each moment passed. She would not press her luck.
“Elania finds you enchanting,” Alex murmured for a moment.
“She’s a hard worker.”
“Many years ago she wasn’t.”
“Many years?” Anastay repeated.
“What?” Alex asked. He narrowed his dark eyes at Anastay. She noticed the flicker of a black flame as dark coals heated in his irises. She fell silent immediately, breaking their concentrated stare at one another. “Did you enjoy dinner?”
“The dingy diner was perfect,” she quipped sarcastically.
“You have quite a mouth,” Alex snapped suddenly.
“I’m sorry. That was quite rude of me,” Anastay replied, acting sorrowful. She had to bite down her words. She remembered her father’s many teachings of being polite. She knew that her charms would have to work until she returned to the safety of her home. “How did you enjoy dinner?” she asked, swallowing her pride.
“It was great, because I had a beautiful mate.”
‘Not quite a mate, moron – I’m not a dog,’ Anastay thought as she glanced up at him. She gave a blushing smile. “Thank you. It was very kind of you to let me pay for dinner.”
Alex noticed the sharpness in her voice. He stopped her for a moment. He knew that she was doing this for pity, but he would make her change. He could allow her the greatest powers of the world, if only she would submit to him. He glanced at her with a wry smile. “You’re quite beautiful even when you use that foul mouth.”
Anastay didn’t reply to his crude seductiveness. She assumed he would leave it at that and she would carry herself to other topics. She wouldn’t play his stupid games. She wasn’t concerned about finding love. She would rather work more closely on establishing her medical career before letting silly ideas infatuate her every move. She felt herself falling into her own dreams.
“You are very beautiful,” Alex rasped in her ear, startling her. She jumped as she felt his hand reach up and grasp her shoulders. She prepared to grab his hands, but he was too quick. He pinned her up against a large rock and she realized he had taken her deep into the thick woods, where no one would travel in such darkness.
“What are you doing?” Anastay snarled.
“You’re so precious,” Alex murmured, a misty look overcoming his eyes. Anastay wanted to push him away, but there was a powerful force within him. She couldn’t lift her shoulders from against the rock. She panicked as his eyes grew haunted. A fog resting within the blackness made her soul nervous.
“This is assault,” she said quickly.
“You love me.”
“I love no one.”
“You are mine.”
“Like Hell I am!”
“Nonsense,” Alex said, grabbing her roughly by her flaxen locks. She felt some follicles rip from her scalp as he threw her to the damp ground. Her back slammed down against the coldness and a sharp pain flew through her spinal cord – coming as a shock to her system. Sharp rocks dug into the tender flesh of her back, pulses of pain urging her to move away from the dangerous rouse. Grunting, she tried to get away from the ground, pushing herself up.
Until Alex caught her by the legs faster than she had imagined. He pulled her back under him. She yelped at the surprising brute force he was using. He was so small stature – lithe, lean, and almost graceful. Yet he was brutally dominating, slamming her backward, and refusing to let her leave. She clawed at the ground, but found herself under his control nonetheless. “I wanted you from the first time I saw you!”
“Alex! Stop!” Anastay screamed as loudly as she could. She glanced at her surroundings, finding it useless to scream. He had taken her deeper into the woods than she had realized. She heard the unbuckling of his belt and found herself thrown into disarray. She struggled, but he grabbed her wrists and slammed them into the muddy ground above her head, causing her own body to sink into the cold floor.
“It won’t take long,” he promised, letting his lips hungrily suck at the salty flavor of her cool, sweaty skin. She pushed against his chest as he hands snaked down to the hem of her shirt, but he never moved. He continued to paw at her flesh as she screamed louder.
Anastay felt helpless against him. She let her struggling die as his thighs pressed tightly against her to pin her down. She found it hard to breathe. Hoping it would make things less worse, she tried to think of other things. She gazed up to notice only bits of light filtering down among the thick tress. Tears blurred her vision as she felt his hands roam her body.
“GET OFF!” she yelled again.
“Grace,” Alex murmured softly against her clammy skin. She yelped in surprise. He had just stated her Great-Great-Grandmother’s name. She pushed against his chest, but he held firm. She found his eyes burning with a fire. His eyes were stormy black, but hued with a soft red. She gasped for a breath.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” she screamed, although her voice clogged her throat to prevent the scream. She reached around for something to throw at him or stick into him. Her fingers dug into the soft dirt as she heard a crack of a stick. It sounded like a gunshot in her and Alex’s ears.
Anastay turned her head in time to see a brilliant silvery object soar from the dark bushes. Alex roared out as he brought a sharp hand against her cheek, slicing her flesh like thin paper. She yelped loudly as the silvery object leapt onto Alex’s back, grabbing for the back of the throat. Alex stood up, hastily trying to throw the beast.
Anastay then took her chance. She scrambled up from the muddy ground. She backed away as quickly as she could, hitting her back against the rock. The sharpness of the rock brought a startling revelation. The silvery object was fighting Alex for her to get away. She was being saved. Anastay turned around from the hideous sight of the beast tearing at Alex’s flesh, and ran.
Anastay sobbed as she huddled in the corner of her large house, shivering violently from the brutal attack. She had turned off every light that even hinted at the thought of her being home, just wanting to disappear within the depths of the cool shadows. She held the tattered parts of her clothing together to conceal her young body as she cowered in the corner of the living room. Sobs choked her throat as she rocked back at forth, trying to soothe herself.
The mere idea of almost being raped scared her terribly. She thought she had been immune to Alex’s sly ways, like the other men that had traveled on the roads intertwining through her life. Yet he had gotten her alone, just like at the mansion. She wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t talked her way out of the creepy mansion. She thought she could fight anything off, but Alex was strong. Too strong.
‘Anastay’ a voice bubbled into her head.
“L-Leave,” Anastay whispered after she sniffled to hide the tears of anguish. She was more embarrassed at the fact that she was almost attacked. She had always been levelheaded. What made her think of actually going out alone with him?
‘I won’t leave you alone.’
“Howard, please!”
‘The stone is glowing,’ Howard voiced again. Anastay glanced up to see the silver wolf standing in front of her. His dark eyes reflected the brilliant emerald glow of her amulet. She glanced down, her tears falling onto the crystal. ‘I knew you were in danger, because of that stone.’
Anastay’s mind suddenly whirled with pieces of the night. She saw the image of the silver object running from beneath the brush. Her eyes grew bright as she stared into Howard’s wolf-eyes. “Y-You saved me!”
‘My family swore an oath to protect your family, and your family to mine,’ Howard’s voice said with a soft tone in her head. She glanced up as the tears continued to brim her eyes. She felt powered by his statement.
Howard could see the four deep scratches marring her tanned flesh – a reminder as to what she had endured for the sake of history. He whimpered as she brought her arms around his neck for protection. His beastly body was pulled close to Anastay’s trembling figure as she pressed her face to the softness of his silky coat. He felt her tears start to wet his fur. He leaned in to lick the side of her neck. She buried her face deeper into his coat. Howard nuzzled her neck.
‘I will always protect you, Anastay. My family’s honor will give you that much.’
