Inescapable Love

Chapter Four: Escape

CHRIS POV

As the day came to a close, Miranda slowly walked down the stairs with her damp hair in a ponytail and dressed in my boxers and t-shirt. I really needed to get her some decent clothing, no matter how much I liked seeing her wear my clothes.

She sat on the couch and I wrapped my arm around her. She yawned and looked up at me.

"Tired?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Yeah." She responded with a shrug.

"Then let's go to bed." I said, picking her up bridal-style and carrying her up the stairs. I placed her on the bed and climbed in beside her, but she seemed hesitant to let me wrap my arms around her.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she shrugged out of my embrace.

"Nothing." She said nonchalantly.

"Then let me hold you." I suggested.

"No." She responded, scooting to the far edge of the bed with her back to me. I sighed in defeat and laid there, my hands tingling as I imagined holding her to my chest. My wolf wanted her in our arms, but apparently that wasn't going to happen. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, wishing she was in my arms.

MIRANDA POV

As soon as Chris was asleep, I waited a few minutes before slipping out of bed and walking over to the doorway. I walked out of his room and entered the guest room, seeing my shoes in the corner. I slipped them on and then walked over to the window in the corner of the room. I unlocked it and held my breath as I slowly slid it open. I breathed a sigh of relief when it opened silently, and I stuck my head through to look at the ground. I was on the second floor, but it didn't look like that much of a drop. I took a deep breath and perched myself on the windowsill, closing my eyes as I slowly tilted forward and let myself fall. It didn't matter that I loved being around Chris. I wanted to get home and explain to my mom that I was going somewhere for a while. I didn't want her to be worried.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, my ankle rolled and I hissed as a sharp pain shot through it. Tears filled my eyes but I ignored them as I grit my teeth and slowly stood up, my right leg wobbling. It was obvious that my ankle was sprained, but I was determined to get to my house. I limped into the woods and found a worn-down trail not too far past the first line of trees. I began to follow it in the direction of my house, gasping every time I landed on my ankle by accident. It was throbbing, but I wasn't just going to give up and turn around to face Chris's wrath.

I was getting close to my house, I could sense it, but my ankle was beginning to give up. I finally stumbled over a rock and fell to the ground, letting the tears spill over. I wasn't able to pull myself to my feet again, so I just scooted over to a tree and sat against it's trunk, waiting for someone to find me. I wondered if they ever would. I sat there for a few minutes before I heard a rustling in the trees just across from where I was sitting. I pulled my knees to my chest and sat very still as I studied the darkness, trying to see what was making the noise. My heart pounded as I saw a dark gray wolf slip out into the open. Well, that's it for me. I was gonna die. The wolf's ears perked up when he saw me and his eyes widened. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for him to kill me. I heard growling, but it wasn't coming from the direction I expected. What was going on?

CHRIS POV

I woke up feeling like something wasn't right. I rubbed my eyes and looked around, quickly jumping up when I realized Miranda wasn't in bed. I slipped on my shoes and a pair of basketball shorts as I went to go check the guest room. My heart dropped when I saw that the window was open. Shit.

I ran downstairs and darted out the door, following her scent to the edge of the woods. I shifted into my wolf form and looked up at the sky. I threw my head back and howled as loud as I could, signaling for my pack members to come join me. Then I proceeded to follow her scent deeper into the forest. After a few minutes, her scent got stronger and I leapt out of the trees to see something I wish I hadn't seen. She was cowering against a tree trunk as Adam stood across from her in wolf form. I saw that he was realizing she wasn't bitten. Now he wanted her again. I stepped in front of her and growled as loud as I could. He lifted his muzzle, showing his teeth, and I snarled. He growled back at me and I looked back at Miranda. Her eyes were wide as she watched both of us. Why didn't she run? I looked down and saw her holding her ankle in her hand. She had hurt herself. Just great.

MIRANDA POV

I opened my eyes to see where the growling was coming from, and I saw that a giant black wolf was sliding out of the trees to come stand in front of me. He snarled at the gray wolf and the gray wolf returned the snarl. The black wolf looked back at me, his eyes seeming concerned... He shook his head and refocused on the gray wolf. They took a step towards each other and right before the gray wolf leapt, a chorus of howls came from behind me. I whipped my head around to see nine other black wolves slip out of the trees, coming to stand behind their leader. Their leader was the largest, and he looked the strongest. I wanted to run, but I couldn't even move from the stiffness in my ankle.

The gray wolf noticed that he was outnumbered and he slowly retreated, his tail dropping as he whined. He spun around and darted back into the trees, and then the leader of the black wolves walked towards me slowly. He didn't seem intimidating, but my heart still pounded in fear. He must have noticed, because he looked back at his fellow wolves and gave a short bark. They retreated into the shadows and he looked back at me. He gave another short bark before he disappeared into the shadows as well. I began to grow nervous, but before I could get too worried another figure stepped out of the trees.

"Chris!" I shouted, relief flooding through me.

"Miranda, what are you doing here?" He asked sternly.

"I-I wanted to go home. I just wanted to make sure my mom wasn't worried and I was gonna get some clothes." I admitted.

"I told you not to leave." He scolded.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. He sighed and walked over to me, lifting my ankle in his hands.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I think I sprained it from jumping out of the window." I said in an ashamed tone.

"Oh, Miranda. What am I going to do with you?" He asked, shaking his head. I just blushed and hid my face in his chest as he picked me up. I hoped he wasn't mad at me.

CHRIS POV

After my pack scared Adam off, I walked up to Miranda, seeing the fear in her eyes. I barked at my pack, signaling for them to leave, and then I darted into the shadows. I phased back to human form and then walked back to where Miranda was sitting. I feigned shock, quickly walking over to her and examining her ankle. I couldn't believe she had done this. Now Adam knew she wasn't one of us.

***

As I carried her back home, she looked up at me.

"Chris, there were wolves." She said softly.

"Hm?" I asked, pretending I didn't hear her.

"Wolves. Before you got there. One of them was growling and then another one just stepped out of the trees and growled back. Then a bunch of other wolves came and scared the first wolf off. Like they were protecting me." She whispered.

She had no idea.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" I joked, wanting to tell her the truth but knowing I couldn't.

"No, I know what I saw." She said firmly. I let the subject drop as I walked into the house, and then I carried her upstairs.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked in a small voice.

"I'm disappointed that you didn't listen to me." I said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again." She whispered.

"I know you won't." I replied, climbing back into bed after kicking off my shorts and shoes. She curled into a ball and winced from the pain in her ankle.

Crap, I forgot about that. I got out of bed and ran downstairs, getting an ice pack from the freezer and taking the steps two at a time until I got back upstairs. I went to the bathroom and grabbed some bandages from the medicine cabinet. Then I walked back into my room to see her watching me curiously.

"What are you doing?" She asked as I peeled the sheets off her.

"Trying to prevent your ankle from swelling too much." I said absentmindedly as I took her foot in my hand. I gently placed the ice pack on it and then wrapped the bandage around her foot, making sure it was tight. When everything was secured, I pulled the covers back over her and then laid down beside her. I didn't attempt to take her in my arms since she had rejected me earlier, but she surprised me by curling into my chest.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"It's nothing." I replied as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I'm sorry." She said. I felt her lips on my chest and my heart sped up.

"It's okay." I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. She kissed up my chest until she got to my lips. I kissed her back and she tightened her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her closer, and when she pulled away she rested her head against my chest.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight." I choked out, struggling to keep my wolf back. He wanted her so badly right now, and so did I. I felt her drift off to sleep against my chest, and once I calmed down I fell asleep shortly after.

MIRANDA POV

When I woke up, I saw the door open and I rubbed my eyes to see clearly. I gasped when a dripping wet Chris walked into the room, only covered by a towel around his waist. I quickly shut my mouth as soon as I realized it was hanging open, and he chuckled.

"Like what you see?" He asked, walking to his dresser and getting out a t-shirt, some shorts, and a pair of boxers. I blushed and hid my face under the blankets as I heard him slip his towel off. I heard him pulling on his clothes, and then I peeked over the covers to see that he was fully dressed.

"My foot feels numb." I said tiredly.

"That's from the ice." Chris said as he threw the towel into the laundry basket. I peeled back the sheets and looked down at my tightly wrapped ankle.

"The ice stayed cold all night?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I replaced your ice pack when I woke up." He said absentmindedly. It warmed my heart to know that he cared about me so much.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"Like I said before, it's nothing." He said, walking over to me and taking my hand as he helped me stand. Once I was standing, I started to limp towards the door, but he stopped me by scooping me into his arms.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he pushed open the door with his foot.

"If you put pressure on your ankle it's gonna get swollen." He said obviously as he took me downstairs and sat me on the couch.

"Hey Chris I got some news." A voice said from the kitchen. My head whipped around and I saw James walking towards us.

"What?" Chris asked as he made sure I was comfortable.

"Last night Adam-"

"James!" Chris yelled, cutting him off. James quickly glanced at me and then he bit his lip to hold back his next words.

"Sorry." He apologized quickly.

"Adam Jones?" I asked curiously.

"No. Another Adam." Chris answered quickly. A little too quickly.

"Tell me later." Chris growled as he sat me in his lap.

"Fine." James said, walking back out the door. I looked back up at Chris and he smiled at me.

"I miss home." I said quietly. His face fell.

"I know. I'm sorry." He said. It seemed like he was apologizing a lot lately. I wanted to see my mom. I missed my family and friends.