The Mermaids' Mate

Chapter 39

~NEXY POV~

I don't know how long I was running, but I couldn't stop. Even if my legs were tired and I was out of breath, I knew I'd be dead if I stopped for just a second.

I held on to my arm, trying to stop it from bleeding, but I couldn't. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I panicked, pushing my way through the forest. The rustling behind me was enough of a motivator to keep running.

I heard more rustling behind me and knew the third and fourth wolves were probably hot on my trail. I shook the image of Bryan dead in its jaws and kept running until I tripped on something and ended up rolling down a steep hill. My body and clothes were covered in mud and leaves, but I had no time to clean myself up. I quickly pushed myself off the ground and took off running once more.

I should've run into some wolves by now. After all, I was in pack territory. Where the fuck was everyone?!

Other way.

A voice said in my head. I didn't recognize it, but something told me to follow it. I changed my course and ran in the direction the voice told me to follow.

It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. I kept stumbling as my legs became more and more tired. I could no longer hear rustling behind me, but I wasn't about to stop and check. I used the trees to hold on so my legs couldn't give in as I ran towards a strange presence.

I don't know what made me go to it, but I had to. Something told me I had to. Something was guiding to toward it. And as I pushed through a thick layer of sharp bushes, I slammed into something hard.

"Oof!" I yelped as I fell hard on my ass. I looked up, expecting to see Tasha's wolf staring down at me, but I was met with some amber-gold eyes I distinctly recognized. A large black wolf stood before me, staring at me. He was way bigger than the rogues. Two other large wolves peeked out from behind the trees. But my eyes stayed glued to the one in front of me. A small smile curled on my lips as I raised my hand to touch it.

"Dante..." I whispered. The wolf tilted its head, a little surprised that I knew its name, and then licked my face with its rough tongue to tell me I was safe. "No, Dante! Gross!" I groaned, moving my face away, but he whimpered and lowered his head, resting it on my thighs.

The other two wolves kept watch behind him. I didn't have to be a genius to know it was probably Luca and Mike. I heard rustling, and I quickly looked behind me. Dante's head shot up as well, his teeth on full display. Three wolves stopped a few feet away, growling and snarling at us. One had Bryan's blood still dripping from its mouth. I turned my attention to Dante and threw my around him, wanting to get the image of Bryan's dead body out of my head.

I held tightly to his fur, not wanting him to leave me alone again, and I think he understood when he rested his head on my shoulder. Mike's and Luca's wolves walked out from behind Dante towards Tasha and the other rogues.

I didn't want to look. I shut my eyes and buried my face in his neck as I heard the sounds of Luca and Mike chasing after them. I stayed like this for a few minutes. I didn't want to let go of him. Or maybe it was because I was tired, and my legs were hurting. I moved away from him and saw the blood on his fur dripping on the ground.

"I-I got blood on your fur," I mumbled. I was so tied I couldn't even speak. He looked at me and saw the large wound on my arm. "I'm. Uh- always getting you dirty." I tried to stand, but I stumbled down. My eyes felt heavy, and everything around me was spinning. I laid down and watched the trees above me spinning. I felt his snout hitting me, but I pushed him away. "No, Dante.. tell Amelia to find Eudora," I mumble. My eyes were becoming heavy and harder to stay open. So I shut them, letting sleep take over me.

"Nexy, wake up! Don't go to sleep." I slowly opened my eyes, and Damien was looking down at me. I didn't even realize he had shifted back.

"I-I'm tired, D-Damien," I stumbled on my words.

"You're okay. I'm here. I got you. It's okay." He kept repeating, but his voice only sounded muffled to me. I flashed him a smile and closed my eyes again, letting sleep take over me once more.

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Short for obvious reasons lol