Mishaps and Wolves (OLD VERSION)

Chapter 38 - When Life Catches Up

Chapter 38 - When Life Catches Up

Marissa was ecstatic. In her hands, the Dragon Orb was a golden swirling ball that was warm to the touch and showed her the success of her outlandish plan and an entire day and a half of planning and preparation. Cinna stepped on the gas, managing to get them out of there as fast as she could to the forest where they would then run back to the rest of the pack safely. For now, they just needed to get out of Regan's town as fast as they could before they began the trek back. Her mate sat beside her in the front seat and gave her directions as she raced out of the town faster then any human could ever do safely.

Marissa placed a hand to her head and swiped off the red haired wig, freeing her own hair as she sighed and sat back in her seat. She felt slightly dizzy, her mind having been so full of adrenaline during the entire illusion. If she lived to be a hundred, she'd never pull off anything like that ever again. Her entire body was sweating so she pulled of the tattoo sleeves on her arms.

She'd been inspired by the scene in the tapestry that told of the shifter's origins. The purple smoke and the fire that blazed everywhere was what had surrounded the Ghuarían as she stood in the centre of the tapestry. But it had been the wolf in the tapestry was the key that had really cemented the plan within her mind. It was the identical wolf that the marble fountain had been modelled after, right down to the pose, except for the raised paw bit. She'd known that she recognized an aspect of it but she hadn't picked up on it till she'd gotten a closer and slightly less awe-gazing view of it.

She shook her head to get rid of the dizziness as the car finally stopped on the side of the road by the forest. She got out of the back seat, keeping a tight grip on the orb and followed after Cinna and her mate as she led them through the forest. They'd probably only been walking for a few minutes when someone grabbed her from behind. She didn't squeal or lash out because she'd come to recognize that scent that filled her head as those arms wrapped around her.

The moment her feet were put on the ground again, she spun around to face Roman. A happy and relieved grin lit up his face as he reached forward and placed a hand on her cheek. She felt his warmth seep into her and as his thumb stroked along her cheek bone. She looked into his eyes, "Hey."

"Hey. Did everything go according to your plan?" He asked her, not really looking away from her face.

She blushed slightly but managed to hold up the Dragon Orb for him to see. It glowed and swirled in her hands, a soft light for them to see by in the forest that was growing darker as night wen on. He looked back to her, "Good. Now I am never letting you back into the town again. You can fight all you want but after this stunt, they'll be gunning for all of us, you especially. I am tying you to my side if I have to."

Marissa laughed softly, "I guess, but I think I need to go through to head back to my house."

Roman's stroking of her cheek stopped and he sort of froze at her statement. Everything was silent until he whispered, "Why don't you just stay?"

Now it was Marissa's turn to freeze. "Stay?" she asked.

"Yeah, stay. I probably wouldn't let you leave anyway," he said, watching his fingers as they trailed across her cheek and down her neck.

The shivers that erupted across her body made her feel warm and her brain a little fuzzier, but his words kept banging around her head, "Is this because I know about you? About shifters? Are you just asking me to stay so that I don't tell anyone, because I will not tell-"

He cut off her words by leaning forward and kissing her on the lips. Her words were swallowed back as she let herself enjoy that one kiss for a few moments before he pulled back. Against her lips he whispered, "I don't want you to go, that's why."

She shook her head, not looking up to meet his eyes because she knew that once she did she might see a truth that she didn't think she could accept. "Roman, I can't stay."

He moved back a little, "Why not Marissa? What is so urgent that you need to go back and leave here?"

Marissa honestly asked herself and she found an answer that she didn't really like. Back in the city, all she had were physical possessions and a house that she'd only moved into a year or so ago. All she had were physical possessions. Her father was travelling the world in his old age with a friend and he'd never really liked living in the city, so she didn't need to remain there; and her job wasn't exactly the biggest paying job or the most difficult to find. There wasn't anything of any real significance to return to, but she still wanted to go back.

Roman probably saw the pain on her face at this realization and cupped her face, trying to get her to meet his gaze, "Marissa, what's the harm in staying. Even if it's for a little while at first. Here you'd have a huge family; you'd be one of us, even if you don't want to change and become one of us." His voice was soft as he pleaded with her, "Marissa, will you stay?"

"Why should I? Just because you want me to?" she asked back.

Roman was silent before he answered, "Not just because I want you to stay. Because I care for you. I know it sounds crazy, and we've barely known each other for four days now, but I want the opportunity to get to know you better and for you to get to know me."

"Why?" she repeated, almost on the verge of tears as she waited for him to say something, but she didn't know what.

Something snapped and his head came up at an instant. He froze, listening for a few moments as the sound of breaking leaves began to get more frequent and closer to them.

He looked back to her, "Come on, someone's chasing after us." He grabbed her hand and began running, guiding her through the forest. He looked to Cinna and her mate who had been standing on watch whilst he spoke to her. "Run back to the pack and get Nicholas and everyone else. Tell them we have a tail."

Cinna nodded before running off with her mate following after her. Meanwhile, Roman kept running with Marissa. She was getting tired but she refused to slow him down. She wasn't going to endanger him just because she was a bit tired. She just kept her breaths even, held onto his hand and followed in his footsteps.

Eventually through the forest she began to heard the sound of rushing water. They broke through the tree line and came to the opposite side of the clearing and the river. Roman began trudging through the water. The current was strong and pulling at her but she kept pushing herself, knowing she had to make to make sure that Roman stayed safe and that she could find out why Roman truly wanted her to stay.

Then a shot went off from behind them.