Carter's Choice

Chapter 10- He Was So Proud Of You

Emmett and I started to jog through the trees, very lightly. He held the silver box in his hand wrapped up in his shirt. The sky started to turn a bright orange, making the sunlight turn into a creamy color as it cascaded from the trees. The snowy, slushy mud like earth beneath our feet didn't agree with us as we tried to move through it. There had been more than one occasion when I had slipped and fell on my face. Emmett would always stop and help me up though, asking me a billion questions at once like 'are you alright?' and 'did you hit your head?' We slowed down and stopped at an old mossy log. I could hear a flock of geese moving over our heads. I looked up and saw that the sun was setting and the sky was beginning to become dark. Emmett started to climb an old oak tree with the box in one hand. I took a seat on the old log and played with my black hair. "So, what's in this box anyway?" Emmett asked from above me. I looked up to see that he was only a few branches up. He was smiling down at me, flashing his white toothy smile. "I don't know..." I paused. "My mother never told me..." I said, folding my hands in my lap. "I'm sorry I didn't know..." Emmett said as he tried to climb a branch higher. I nodded and watched as he grabbed an old branch. The twig snapped and Emmett fell back down to ground level. I let out a small laugh and looked away from the boy, guilty for laughing at his pain. He got up and brushed the dirt off of his chest and pants. He walked over to me and held my chin with one hand. My breath instantly caught in my throat as I stood up to meet his height. The voice was back, begging me to reach up and tangle my fingers into his dark brown hair. His green eyes looked down into my brown ones and I could feel my heartbeat quicken within my chest. His eyes floated down to my lips and I swallowed hard. I wanted to kiss him, but more importantly, I wanted him to kiss me. The voice in my head was begging me to close the gap between us. He moved his head closer to mine, his lips just above mine. I could feel his warm breath fanning my face. "Carter," He breathed out, his deep voice flowing over me. I bit my lip and looked at the ground. He lifted my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. He lowered his head to mine. A voice rang out before Emmett's lips touched mine. "Oh look, two love-mutts," I heard a female voice cackle. Emmett growled low as we turned to look at the woman who had just insulted us. It was at that moment that I noticed that the sun was nowhere in sight and the moon was shining brightly overhead. The blonde woman stood in front of us wearing a dark red dress shirt and short, tight black skirt that came to her upper thigh. Her shirt was too small and barley covered her chest. It was a miracle that the buttons even held the fabric together. Three people stepped out from behind her, two men and a woman. The men were dressed in all black, except for their white hair. The second woman was dressed similarly to the first but her shirt actually fit her and she stood behind them all, more shyly. Her brown bob fell into her eyes and unlike the rest of them who bared their fangs; she stood in the back and kept watch of the woods. "Get out of here bloodsuckers, this is our land!" Emmett shouted. I moved into his shoulder and he put his arm around me protectively. "Is the wolfy afraid? Is the little alpha afraid?" One of the men asked, laughing with his fangs out, looking more like a snake than a man. "I'm not afraid to take you on. Remember, you're on my turf. One word and you guys will be torn to bits." Emmett said. I whispered into his ear that we should leave. He nodded and started to turn. I felt a hand on my shoulder rip me onto the ground. I look up to see the blonde with her fangs extended in my face. "Oh my, you're the one Axel wants.... If we brought you back, he'd treat us like royalty!" She turns and says to her group. I take this opportunity to grab a handful of dirt and as she turns back around, slam it into her face and eyes. Emmett grabs my arm and pulls me onto his back like a piggy back ride. He held the box in his hand and ran quickly through the trees. I felt useless as the vampires began running around us. I heard howls and shouts as we got closer to the village. "Come on wolfy, we just want to play," I heard one of them hiss. "Let us take her home, she only a walking blood bag... You have no use for her." I heard another call. I felt tears sting my eyes at their taunting remarks but I refused to let them get to me. I saw the blonde woman run closer to Emmett, tripping him. We hit the ground harder than I had been expecting. I felt one of the men grab my arm. I screamed and thrashed around but it was no use. Yet again I couldn't beat them. "Emmett!" I screamed as the blonde woman stood over him with her fangs bared. Suddenly, three large wolves burst into the clearing and I didn't want to stick around to see what was going to happen next. I grabbed Emmett and helped him up. He grabbed the silver box and I climbed back onto his back. Emmett ran faster and faster until the vampires were completely in the dust. He ran all the way to the pack house, stopping only to let me off of his back in the doorway. "Come one, let's get inside," he said with a slight chuckle. I could feel the rain beginning to drip down on us. He handed me the box that was wrapped up in his shirt and gave me a smile. "Thank you... for everything..." I said, looking down at my shoes as he opened the door. We walked in the door together, walking straight upstairs and into the room I woke up in. The sheets were redone and the carpet was washed. It was like I had never touched this place this morning. "I'm right down the hall if you need me, okay?" Emmett said, leaving me in the room alone. I set the box down on the dresser and took the key out of my boot, sliding it into the lock. "Are you a vamp-sucker?" I heard a small voice say behind me. I looked behind me to see a small girl with bright blue eyes and hair as dark as night. She clutched a bear to her chest and looked up at me from the doorway. I knew what her question meant, was I a vampire. "No sweetie, I'm not a vampire..." I said, remembering the fanged beings. I shuddered and looked down at the floor at my dirty socks."What are you?" she asked, sniffing the air. She little nose wrinkled up and she frowned. "You smell like a vamp-sucker..." She whispered. "I... I ... I don't really know what I am..." I said, looking away from the little girl. I heard her small footsteps come closer to me. She stood right in front of me and looked into my eyes. "Do you want to hurt us?" She asked in a dead serious tone. I shook my head and looked away from her. I heard larger footsteps and looked back up to see Emmett shooing the little girl away. "Kylie, leave her alone, she needs her rest." Emmett said, carrying in a tray full of food. He came into the room and set the tray down on top of the box."She doesn't really know a lot of outsiders." He pushed me over onto the bed and tucked me into it. I settled in and got comfortable while he grabbed a bowl of soup. He pushed the warm liquid into my mouth, which spread throughout my body."Why did you call me an outsider?" I asked curiously."Because a wolf, which you now are, that is seeking refuge in a pack that is neither a rogue nor part of the pack, is called an outsider." He said, rushing his sentence along at the end. I laughed at his nervous actions. His hands seemed to shake a little before they touched mine; his breath seemed to catch just like mine whenever we touched. It reminded me that he was just a man, somewhat man, and he had feelings too. I wonder what his feelings were about me. "So," I said as I took another sip. "You said you had some explaining to do.... Now explain." He scratched his head and shoved another spoon full of soup into my mouth. "Well," He paused and took a deep breath. "You're a miracle. You shouldn't have lived and you did... There was a prophecy that a human would inherit the throne of our pack and we would bring our species together forever... You are that human Carter... But the people would never just accept you walking in and taking the throne, they would be outraged.... You're my mate, my soulmate, the one I was made for... I am the son of the alpha, the next in line... By finding you and with you by my side I will become the next alpha." He paused for me to take it all in. I was going to run a pack. I was a human. I was becoming a werewolf. I was going to run this pack. I took a deep breath and motioned for him to keep going. "Axel only wanted you because he believes that if he turned you and disrupted the prophecy, then he would rule the world and every creature on it... He stole you before we could meet correctly... I had been talking to your father about the meeting and he agreed that it would be best to wait until you were eighteen... He knew that you were going to save the world one day... He was so proud of you..." He said, reaching over to take my hand. I let him take it and felt the ice cold leak up my arm. "So that's why you didn't kill me," I whispered as I put the pieces together in my head. He gave my hand a squeeze and left the room. I started dozing off slightly, feeling the exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks. I suddenly fell asleep, falling into a dream. I was sitting in a dark room, under a lamp. The chair I was sitting in was cold and I rubbed my arms to try and warm them up but nothing was working. I could see my white wisps of air come from my mouth, making me shiver. "You're such a disappointment." I heard my mother say from the darkness. The voice was loud and booming. I covered my ears and scrunched up in the chair, trying to block them out. "Worthless, worthless." I heard her say, the distain evident in her voice. I felt a slap across my cheek, drawing blood from a gash."Get up, you worthless dog!" I heard her yell. I looked up and saw no one standing there. "You can't even protect yourself! You have to have a filthy Mutt do it for you... oh that's right, you are one!" She screamed at me, a warm wind blowing on my face. It was the first warm thing I felt. I started to feel my skin ripping apart like a doll tearing at the seams. I screamed in agony and listened to my mother laugh at me. "You are a sorry excuse for a daughter... I never even wanted you born." She said and I felt another slap, drawing more blood this time. I screamed again and started peeling the skin away from the flesh, anything to make the pain go away. I felt stinging come up my back, like scratches. I could hear my mother's laughter all round me, choking my airways like I was breathing in smoke. The room started getting hotter, like I was baking in an oven. I felt another slap hit me out of my chair an onto the cement floor. I curled into a ball and moved away from the chair. "It's not real, mom is dead. It's not real, they're all dead." I said to myself morbidly. I could feel the blood oozing out of me slowly. It was like I could touch death but it was just out of reach. "You should've died, not me! Not my family!" She screamed, slapping me again and again until I was coughing up my own blood. I felt a cold metal object being shoved against my temple. This time I saw my mother in front of me. Her blue dress was torn and splattered with my blood. Her face was stained with tears but her eyes were completely red. Her hands were covered in my blood, along with the pistol she held in one hand. "You are nothing!" She screamed in my face, putting the pistol in my mouth. I could taste the metal and powder. Tears stung in my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Then my mother pulled the gun out and shot herself in the temple. I closed my eyes tightly and screamed. "MOM!" I woke up screaming. Tears were running down my face and I hugged my knees to my chest. A crash of thunder and lightning came, slamming the window shudders open. I heard footsteps from down the hall running to my room. Emmett came barging in and mumbled an apology to ask if I was alright. "I'm fine," I said, pulling the white blankets up to my chin. Emmett mumbled an apology and went to leave, leaving the door open. "Emmett, wait!" I whisper screamed, hoping that he could hear me. "Yes?" He said, coming back into the room. I motioned from him to come closer to me and he did. I noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, only shorts and that there were black markings on his back that I hadn't seen before. I saw a tribal tattoo that started at his lower back and intertwined itself until it reached the top of his neck, spreading across his shoulders like crow's wings. He sat on my bed and I pulled him closer, laying him down next to me. He stiffened up at first but then realized what I wanted. "Will you... Um... Could you... um..." I couldn't find the right words. He chuckled and climbed in under the blankets next to me. He cuddled up next to me and I felt the coldness of his skin on mine. I ran my fingers along the tattoos, feeling my pulse race faster and faster. How had I not noticed these before? "I would love to darling," he said with a kiss to my forehead and for the first time in a while, I actually felt safe.