The Wolf That Saved Me

Chapter 1: Our Encounter

NATALIE KANE

I ran as fast as my feet could carry me. My whole body ached and I felt heavy. My breathing was erratic and tears were streaming down my face. All I knew was that I had to keep running. All the lights were off in all of the houses. The neighborhood was silent except for the sound of my shoes slamming against the pavement. I had to run into town; that was my best option.

After running for twenty minutes or so, I saw light coming from a local diner up ahead. As I reached the parking lot, my legs could no longer hold me up and I collapsed to the ground. I cried out in pain as I laid helplessly, clutching my chest, trying to catch my breath. I needed to get up; I needed to get inside, but my legs felt like they weighed five hundred pounds each.

"Help me!" I shouted desperately, my voice cracking from my uncontrollable sobs. "Please."

My vision was blurry from the tears in my eyes, but I could faintly make out the silhouette of a person in the distance jogging towards me. A slight panic started to set in as I realized that I had no idea who this person was and if they were going to help me or hurt me. Before I knew what was happening, my body began to shut down, my eyelids became heavy and everything went black.

CODY HARVILLE

Rushing over to the woman laying on the ground, I quickly sat down beside her and carefully scooped her up into my arms. I hadn't the faintest clue who she was, but I instantly felt drawn to her. My chest tightened as my eyes scanned her small, frail body, wincing at every cut, scar and bruise. She had a visible black eye, it looked to be pretty fresh, there was dried blood under her nose, and her bottom lip was split and swollen. My heart ached at the thought of her being in pain. I tucked her brown hair behind her ear and lightly stroked my fingers across her cheek. I felt slight tingles in my fingertips. She looked so fragile, broken, and I had a strong need to protect her and keep her safe. She was beautiful, completely breathtaking.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open and she was staring at me in shock, but then her face quickly relaxed. Her eyes were a gorgeous hazel, green on the outside, a sunburst of brown in the middle. They were utterly captivating.

She continued to stare, studying my face, scrutiny in her eyes. She slowly reached up and gently cupped my cheek. My eyes closed as my face instantly warmed to her touch. She gasped and quickly snatched her hand away, my eyes snapping open and staring into hers. She shifted uncomfortably in my lap.

NATALIE KANE

This man was beautiful. He had dirty blonde hair, about shoulder length, pulled back into a low, loose ponytail. There were some stray hairs in the front that fell over his face. He had a chiseled jaw with visible stubble and soft looking lips. His eyes, oh my goodness, his eyes. They were a striking icy blue, you could get lost in them for days. I had never seen eyes so blue.

I put my hand on his cheek, I don't know why, I just really felt the urge to touch him. I felt a strange tingle in my hand as he closed his eyes. Panicking, I instantly retracted my hand, letting out a small gasp. I didn't like that feeling. I didn't like it because it felt good. His eyes bored into mine, and it made me slightly uneasy.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, breaking the ice.

His face softened at my words. "Are you okay?" He lightly brushed his thumb over the cut on my lip.