The Alpha and The Enforcer [TATE]

Chapter 37

Ellie's POV

I woke with the unshakable feeling that someone was watching me. Eyes, burning and unblinking, pressed into my skin like fire without heat. I expected to see the ceiling of my room, but I wasn't in bed.

I was back in the same place I had first found myself after passing out at Miranda's house.

Cold air kissed my skin. Not sharp enough to make me shiver, but present. Unwelcome.

What does this mean?

Growl.

A low, angry sound rumbled through the darkness. I jumped to my feet and dropped into a defensive stance. My eyes searched, but there was nothing to see. Just black. Even with werewolf vision, the void was absolute. Still, I could hear movement, slow and deliberate. Circling. Waiting.

Growl.

The sound came again, this time brushing the nape of my neck like a whisper. Behind me.

I turned slowly. The white wolf stood there. Red eyes. Snarling.

It stared at me like it had before, with seething rage. I didn't understand. White wolves were known to be nurturing, protective, sacred. They didn't attack unless provoked or endangered. This one wanted blood.

The contradiction unsettled me.

Growl.

It lunged, and though my instincts screamed for me to fight or flee, my body disobeyed. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. My limbs locked in place, my lungs refusing air. The closer it came, the more I saw. The gleam of fangs, the unnatural fury in its gaze.

And then—

I jolted awake, heart pounding. A cool breeze skimmed across my skin.

I was no longer in bed.

I was lying in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by tall trees. Dirt clung to my bare arms and legs. I sat up slowly, disoriented, heart still racing.

The eastern border.

Of all places.

I hadn't stepped foot near here in years. Not since I was a child. Not since I had been found, abandoned. But now I was here. Alone. Naked. Covered in dirt.

I rose to my feet, brushing debris from my legs.

"Lizzy?" My voice was hoarse as I called out to my wolf.

Silence.

Her presence was faint now. A whisper inside my chest. She hadn't spoken in weeks. Maybe longer. I could still feel her, but she was slipping.

Sleepwalking? Possibly. But naked?

Before I could dwell on it further, a voice cut through the silence.

"Ellie?"

I turned sharply to see Christian and Carl standing at the edge of the clearing. Their expressions shifted from alert to shock as they recognized me.

Christian quickly spun Carl around by the shoulders. "Don't look," he ordered.

"What the hell, dude?" Carl complained, straining to peek over his shoulder.

"Don't turn back around."

Christian peeled off his shirt and tossed it to me without looking. I caught it midair and slipped it on. It hung past my thighs, loose and smelling faintly of sweat and lavender.

Familiar.

I wasn't fazed by their reaction. It was normal for wolves to shift and end up naked. Still, Christian and Carl respectfully looked away.