Chased by a wolf

12. Hit me, honey

When Evelyn woke up, everything was changed. She felt light as a feather. She felt stronger. And for the first time in years, she wasn't afraid of the unknown. When she stepped out of her tent, her mind was filled with a need to run. Not away from something, but to run just for the joy of it. So she started to run deeper into the forest. She was barefoot, but she didn't care. Evelyn ran and ran, not caring where she was running. But then something strange happened. She heard a voice.

"Evelyn?"

The voice surprised her and she nearly fell down. Quickly she looked around, but there was no one. She must have imagined the voice. She started to run again.

"Evelyn, stop!"

"What the f-" Evelyn cried out. She still couldn't see anyone. But she could've sworn that voice was real. She hadn't imagined it. It was as real as her heavy breaths, the wind moving the leaves and the birds singing. After several minutes she heard steps. Something inside her knew they did not belong to a human being. But suddenly they changed, and a man stepped out behind the trees. The man from the diner. Evelyn had always seen him as a gorgeous man, but now he wasn't just the most handsome man she had ever seen. There was something else. The closer the man walked to her, the more her body reacted to him, like they were the opposite poles of magnets. It was hard, almost impossible not to go to him. She had to tell herself to stay still.

"You shouldn't have run away. Don't do that again," he said. That broke the weird spell that made Evelyn's body do weird things.

"What the hell are you talking about," she said and took a step back. His intense stare started to get her angry. She had no idea what he was talking about. And why he was acting like he knew her. And why was he ordering her!?

As Evelyn took steps back, the man took steps toward her. That made her heart race really fast. The weird thing is, though she was getting mad at him, all she wanted to do was run to his arms and know what it would feel like to be close to him, to touch his skin.

"Don't walk away from me."

"D-Don't tell me what to do." Evelyn felt her back hit a tree. Now there was nowhere to go and that irritating man was still getting closer. And now there was a stupid smirk on his face.

"Or what?" he chuckled.

"Or what what?" Shit! He's too close, she thought as he was just couple steps away.

"What will you do if I won't stop?"

"I... I'll hit you," she whispered. Evelyn cursed in her mind, because she sounded so weak.

The man bursted into laughter. Then he closed the distance between them so Evelyn could feel his warmth. And then his breath on her cheek.

"Hit me then," he said quietly into Evelyn's ear making her shiver. The man gently lifted her head up by the chin. That made Evelyn shiver even more. His touch made her skin tingle. He stared into her eyes, playfully challenging her. But Evelyn couldn't even move. She was completely under his spell.

"C'mon. Hit me," he teased. The man even pointed the side of his face for Evelyn to hit. Evelyn started to lift her hand and opened her hand to slap him, but his stern voice stopped her.

"Don't slap. Hit."

Evelyn didn't want to do it. It felt insane to hit him. But his eyes demanded her. With a deep sigh she lifted her hand again. As she started to punch him, all she could see was his arrogant smirk. Before she could hit his cheek, Evelyn felt how the man grabbed her fist with his other hand. Then with his free hand he turned her around so Evelyn's back was against him. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. For Evelyn, it felt surreal. Her first thought was, that his strength and speed were animalistic. Not normal.

She tried to wriggle free from his hold, but his hands tightened and he pulled her even closer to him. She started to panic. What was he going to do to her? Rape her? Kill her?

"What do you want?" she asked. She didn't want to cry, but she could almost feel the tears.

"Shhh. Relax, honey. I'm not going to hurt you." This time his voice was gentle and for her own surprise, Evelyn felt her body relax against him. Her heart wasn't raising and her breathing was getting back to normal.

"What is happening?" she thought without noticing she was talking out loud.

"Your body already knows me."

"Huh?"

"Your body knows you're safe with your mate. So, it relaxes."

"I don't understand a word you're saying."

He chuckled. Then he gently kissed her neck. There was a certain spot on her skin, that when his lips touched it, she felt her whole body loose control. Luckily he was still holding her, otherwise she would've fallen down. That was strange, she thought. He chuckled again and kept his lips on her skin.

"That's my mark," she heard his voice. It was quite strange, because his lips never left her skin, but she could hear his voice.

"Did you say something?" she asked.

"Not aloud. Just into your mind."

This was getting so weird. Maybe she was just imagining all this. Maybe she was going insane. But then his lips touched that small spot on her neck and she could hear herself moan. When he stopped, she nearly cried out in disappointment. The man turned her around and now they were once again face to face.

"Who are you? What is your name?"

"Shawn."

"Shawn," she repeated.

"Yeah."

"Can you tell me, what is this...?" she asked motioning her hand between them.

"Evelyn, you're-"

"You know my name," she whispered. She wasn't sure should she be scared.

"Yes, I know your name. I've been searching for you a while."

"Why?"

Now Evelyn knew she should be alarmed, but she could feel her body still relaxing.

"Because, it was my job. I'm a tracker. I find... people who are lost. Or running"

"I was lost?"

"And running."

"Alright... What does that mean?"

Shawn took Evelyn's hand and pulled her to a rock nearby. He sat on it and pulled her next to him. He still hold her hand and started to draw circles on her palm. Once again his touch caused her skin to tingle. For a long moment he remained silent, as if he was thinking what to say.

"Your grandfather hired me to find you," he began softly.

"You know my family!?" she nearly jumped.

"Yes. Your grandfather's been trying to find you since your mother ran away with you. You were just a baby when this happened. She died and your family wasn't able to find you, though they tried. So, your grandfather hired me. And I found you."

Evelyn felt numb. She had never heard anything about her real family. There were no records, no names, nothing. Now this strange man was telling her he had been hired by them to find her. They had always been looking for her.

"But there's more. I didn't only find Evelyn Magdalena." He stopped talking and looked deep into Evelyn's eyes.

"I found my mate. And that changes everything."

Evelyn nearly fell from the rock. It happened again! Now she was sure. She heard his voice again, and this time she was sure his lips hadn't moved. His mouth had remained completely shut. She stared at him trying to figure out what was going on. There was no way she had imagined it.

"Did... you... just..." she couldn't find the words, but she didn't have to, because Shawn answered with a nod.

"What the fuck! Evelyn exclaimed and jumped off the rock. Shawn watched her as she started to pace around nervously.

"What are you?" she finally asked.

"A werewolf."