The Wolf Inside Me

Eight

My breath stilled. Who could this be from? I kept reading it over and over, still freaked out by the few words.

Our Alpha wants you.
Our Alpha wants you.
Our Alpha wants you.

I continued reading it, over and over. Still.

Who could this be?

I sat down on the bed, sighing slightly at the words. Who's Alpha? Then my heart dropped, going down to the deep pits of my stomach.

They knew where I was. I sat up immediately, my heart caught in my throat. I quickly threw open the door and sprinted out, heading towards the town.

It wasn't safe here, but where could I go? My heart began to beat rapidly, like a rabbit being chased by a wolf. Cold sweat began to ooze down my forehead as I looked around, people passing me by on the dark street.

A little hand tugged at my shirt. "Miss?"

I gasped, jumping back from the voice and looking down; breathing a sigh of relief. It was a little girl, around twelve years old. "Miss, are you okay?" She asked softly, her green eyes widened with worry.

"I'm fine, just tired." I muttered, looking away from the little girl.

She looked at me with pity in her eyes, "I'll be right back."

I watched her walk over to her mother, tugging on her shirt and whispering something in her ear. In return, the mother looked to me, looking me up and down. Then they walked over to me.

"Hello, miss..?" She asked, eyeing my ripped shirt.

I looked back to her and her daughter, a soft smile appearing on my face. "Hello." I murmured, taking in their appearances.

The mother looked to be middle aged, the stress of day to day life appearing on her face as wrinkles and grey hair. But the daughter, on the other hand, was full of life and seemed to not know of any stress of worries.

"You don't seem to be from around here, where are you from?" She asked, her brown eyes questioning.

"I live a little ways from here, but I have no where to go." I answered softy, truthfully.

She nodded, a look of mistrust on her face. She shrugged and turned on her heel, walking back towards the town.

The little girl ran up to me, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me down to her level. "Follow me if you need somewhere to sleep, I will help you."

"Trudy!"

"Coming mother!"

I watched the girl, Trudy, run along after her mother, seeing them exchange stern words with each other. With a shrug, I kept my distance and followed them up the hill.

The sun was already setting as we arrived at the small farmhouse. Trudy's mother bent down, pointing towards the barn for her to go finish her chores. She nodded, her blonde pigtails shaking as she looked towards my direction and jogged towards the barn.

Slowly, I followed her. Watching her mom enter the house, taking that as my que to follow Trudy into the barn.

"Trudy?" My voice called out hesitantly, an echo in the breeze. I slowly began to look around the small barn.

There were chickens on their roost, and cows laying down together. In the corner, however, there were two horses. One chewing on her hay, not even bothering to look up at me. But the other was staring at me intently, his brown eyes gazing with his pointy ears pricked forward. He let out a whinny, his hoof striking against the door of his stall.

"Well that's odd," a perky voice came from behind me, causing me to jump up into the air with a yelp. "Ryder doesn't like anybody. He nearly bites my hand off if I even glance at him." She grumbled, sending a glare towards the gelding.

Ryder snorted, pinning his ears at the little girl. "Why did you let me follow you here?" I asked, looking at Trudy with cautious eyes.

She shrugged her petite shoulders, a curious look flashing through her eyes. "I haven't the slightest clue.. You seem like a good person. I wasn't going to let you wander around, it's dangerous out there after dark."

"What if I wasn't a good person? You can't invite strangers to stay, they could hurt you." I answered her in a gentle tone, looking down to the caring little girl.

She looked up to me, "I trust everyone until they give me a reason not to." Trudy shrugged, looking over to the gelding, who was still pounding against the door. "Ryder wants you to say hello."

I looked over to the gelding, admiring his looks. He was a gorgeous specimen, being a dark bay in color. He fit in with the trees, not having a speck of white on him anywhere. "How old is he?" I asked walking over towards the equine with my hand extended.

"Ten. We bought him for a shiny penny, but he won't let any of us come near him. Mama wants us to sell him." Trudy looked to me, her eyes dulling. "The only place that will buy him from us would be a slaughter barn, because of his nasty temperament. He rears and strikes if you enter the stall, even kicks out with his back legs. He's nothing like old Mary here." She said, ruffling the grey mares forelock.

I slowly approached the gelding, my hand out for him to smell if he'd like. His ears slowly tipped forward in curiosity, snorting slightly as his nose extended out to brush against my hand.

"I guess he likes you!" Trudy giggled, then stopped, a hopeful look coming across her face. "You must ride him in the morning!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air; spooking Ryder. He snorted and fled towards the back wall, stomping the ground with a hoof. "You must leave before mama and papa discover you, and Ryder will keep you safe." She looked to me with such hopefulness that my heart dropped.

"I can barely take care of myself, I'm running from home with people after me. How can I take care of a horse?" I said softly, more to myself then her.

"If you're running away, then Ryder can get you farther. He's the fastest horse around, he'll keep you safe if he truly trust you." Trudy whispered.

I started to respond until a loud masculine voice filled the air. "Trudy, it's time for bed!"

She looked to me and ran across the barn aisle, grabbing a halter with reins attached to it. "You must take him and be gone by sunrise. Take what you need and be gone, do not let them find you." She said hurriedly, rushing towards the barn door. "Take good care of each other." Trudy whispered softly, more to herself then me. With that she disappeared into the darkness.

The brown horse looked to me, nickering softly and walking over to me. He huffed a breath, the air blowing gently across my face.

"Will you help me travel? It'll be a long, dangerous journey." I warned the horse, but again I mostly was talking to myself. The equine looked to me, his brown eyes intelligent looking towards me. I took a breath and met his state, our eyes connecting.

In that moment I knew that I had a new traveling partner.

Authors Note

How does this chapter sound to you guys? Trudy is pictured above!

What do you think of Trudy and Ryder?

See you next time!