Anti-Hero || Leah Clearwater

6 - Prey

"I've been the archer
I've been the prey
Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling?
But who could stay?"

The Archer - Taylor Swift

Since she had become a shape-shifter, the only thing she had truly appreciated was speed. During high school, she had participated several times in running team races. Physical exercise had never particularly captivated her, but running did. It had been natural for her to continue taking advantage of her speed even in wolf form, considering she was the fastest among the members of both packs.

Running was something that allowed her to relax or, at least, to find the mental energy to focus and organize her thoughts. Fortunately, the days before, she had beaten a fairly isolated trail, not very long but enough to keep her occupied for at least half an hour.

She wanted to escape. She wanted to leave Felix behind. But how could she when she had no idea where she was?

She certainly couldn't show up in any random city, completely naked, without knowing a word of Italian. Felix would find her immediately.

The thought of leaving him tore her apart, but she couldn't continue swallowing his words of disdain or his disgusted attitudes.

"Leah, fuck, stop it."

She was not a damn child.

He couldn't treat her as if she was a burden he didn't know how to get rid of.

He had asked - ordered - her to come to Italy. Leah would have preferred to pretend nothing had happened. After all, what was it going to happen at the end of this whole story?

If Felix had found a way to end the imprinting, which Leah knew was impossible, she would still have to go home sooner or later. And at that point, in wolf form, everyone would discover the reason why she had run away. She was not ready to face anyone.

When he finally realized that it was impossible to break an imprinting, would Felix kill her? That was the only conclusion that came to her mind. She doubted he would let her go home.

"Leah, fuck, stop it."

At least, he knew her name. She had been convinced, until that moment, that he had no idea what her name was. She wondered how he had found out.

A noise behind her interrupted her thoughts. Leah turned slightly, continuing to run, and caught a glimpse of Felix's profile. Damn it, he really had no intention of letting her go.

Leah accelerated slightly. Felix might be stronger than her - and most of the vampires she knew - but he wasn't fast enough.

Leah sharply turned, trying to confuse him, leaving the trail she had beaten in the previous days. She could try to shake him off by recovering the path later and retracing her steps, pushing him to continue running following her old scent, until the trail ended at the edge of the forest.

What she hadn't anticipated, though, was that the woods in that part of Tuscany were not like those in Forks. They didn't stretch for miles and miles. In fact, a few minutes later, Leah caught the scent of a human settlement. The smell of gasoline, the scent of asphalt and the noise of some voices.

She stopped at the edge of the forest, in front of her, she saw a small three-story building with a garden where a couple of people were fixing a bicycle.