CAPTAIN CAT TO THE RESCUE

I put on a light blue knitted cardigen, it was my favourite one since highschool because it was the exact shade of my eyes. I know it was summer but my head was starting to feel slightly achey and I always felt a little chilled during my time of the month.

Then I put on a pair of running shoes and crept downstairs. We used to do this a lot in highschool, to watch a late night movie, or go for a party, or a concert, or whatever.

Tonight we walked a few blocks, then cut through the woods towards the local park. There was a playground here with swings. Shilem and I used to come to these swings a lot.

I loved these swings. I would sit on them and when I swung high enough, it would be like I was flying.

I saw Shilem's lone figure pacing the open area in front of the swings. He still looked the same as before but different, he still walked the same, but his hair was shorter, and I think his silhouette looked different from his high school footballing days.

"Okay, Serene. Go and see what he wants. We'll hide here in the bushes so don't go too far that we can't hear you." Marco said.

"I'll be recording it." Mona informed me.

"Why are we even doing this?" I asked.

"Just go." Mona pushed me forward.

I stumbled out. Shilem startled and then crossed the swings to come over to me.

"Serene!" He raised his arms to embrace, but I stepped back, out of his reach.

"Hi Shilem, what did you want to see me about?"

In the light of the moon, I could see his smile, "I was just too happy when I heard you were back. I wanted to see you... Serene, I've missed you."

"What's the use of saying this now? You're getting married tomorrow." I told him.

Shilem shrugged, "It's just a financial arrangement between our families. And you never gave me a chance to explain, but Shelly was just a bit of fun. You had always been the one I love."

I shook my head and stepped away, my heart beating quickly, but it wasn't out of love or excitement, but alarm. Nothing good was about to happen from this conversation.

"Serene, we can run away. Just the two of us. I heard you have your own apartment in Gate City. We can go there. We will be safe there." Shilem grabbed my arm.

Suddenly the sound of howling like a siren. Oh man... This was bad. This was the sound of wolves hunting. I've heard it faintly from Gate City now and then, but never here, or so nearby.

Marco and Fred must have recognized it too. They sprung up from their hiding place. Clara pulled Mona out with her too.

"I can smell rogues." Clara sounded like she was trying to stay calm, "We need to get out of their route, now!"

Fred had come forward to push Shilem away. And then it was too late.

Two men stumbled out into the clearing towards us. One of them was missing an arm. It was bleeding profusely. I was scared. Really scared. I scary-movie screamed.

"It's Shilem." One of them said.

And then more wolves, we could hear them howling. By now Clara was clearly panicked.

"Just run already!" Fred shouted. He grabbed my hand and ran.

Clara grabbed Marco with her one hand while never letting Mona go with the other. She started running too. She was fast, but not fast enough. We were cut off in the woods before we could hit the road.

Clara put herself between the wolves and us. Shilem and the rogues were no where to be seen. I guess they ran the other way.

There was silence, and then Clara said, "It's okay. They're Moon Bell warriors. But we have to go with them."

"What? Where?" Marco asked.

"Shhh..." Clara calmed her mate, "If we submit, they will take us back to their base. I told them we had been swept up in this hunt by accident. Once everything checks out, they will release us."

Okay... But I felt kind of relieved that it was Moon Bell warriors and not rogues that got us too. I pulled my hand out of Fred's death grip.

We followed the wolves quite a long way on foot. "Please slow down, sir." Clara said, "The humans can't catch up."

The wolves paused as if considering, and then continued without slowing.

"He says we are near." Clara told us, "There is nothing to fear. His officer will like to speak with us. If we do not resist, they will not bind or cage us."

Okay. It's going to be okay. It's dark, my feet hurt, my legs ached, and my stomach cramps hurt.

"Are you alright, Serene?" Clara asked softly. Did she smell the blood?

I nodded, "I'm fine."

I wanted to cry. I never believed in bad days, a day was whatever you made of it, but today was a really bad day.

We were led to a stone entrance. I stumbled at the entrance and a warrior by the door caught me by my arm. He let go the moment I regained my footing.

Clara put her arms protectively around me and brought me inside, "Can she sit down? She is weak."

That was what I hated to hear. Suddenly I realised what I was afraid of, why I smiled and laughed no matter how much it hurt, I was afraid to be pitied.

The warrior there nodded to the benches on the side. I'm sure he could smell the blood too. We all go there and sit.

Then the officer came in and questioned us. He was a good looking young man, but he smirked a lot. It was very irritating. He didn't even speak aloud. I think he only mindlinked with Clara.

Finally Clara said, "Serene, can you show this warrior your phone texts? He wants proof that we were just there to see Shilem."

I unlocked my phone and opened up my messaging app and handed it to the warrior.

He flipped through it, smirked and tossed the phone back at me. I managed to catch it. So rude.

But the smirky officer also said, "You may leave now."

We all stood up, but by now, I was feeling in a bad way. My legs were shaking and my stomach cramps hurt like hell after over exerting getting here. I didn't think I was going to be able to walk another step, much less hike home through the woods. I was this close to tears.

And then I realised my cat was at the door.

And then Clara smirked at the officer, "I would like to wait for my brother to come send us home, please."

To us she explained, "I mindlinked my brother earlier, just in case."

"Attention!" The warrior swung open the door and shouted. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

My cat entered with three other werewolves.

"Captain." The officer bowed smartly and reported, "The rogues have been recaptured. We have also detained one of the human traitors, and saved these humans who were caught up in the hunt."

Save? WTF. I'm bleeding to death here! Well, no, not really. I won't die, but I seriously felt close to it.

If the officer expected their captain to praise them, he was sorely mistaken. I mean, take it from me, my cat did not do praise. But even I was shocked by the anger radiating out from him.

"Hoi! Isn't this your sister, Captain?" The red haired wolf next to my cat asked. He might be the only one who hadn't seemed to notice my cat's fury.

My cat growled. It was seriously pissed off about something. And then he spoke, his usual deadly quiet growl, "You kidnapped my mate and dragged her in her weakened state through the woods bleeding to this f***ing dungeon...grrr...."

His wolf was so mad he could hardly form the words.

"He also involved innocent human civilians, and brought them to a classified location." Another Lycan intoned in a deadpan.

I looked at him and then at my cat. This one might be as emotionally constipated as my cat on any regular day.

Except my cat was expressing pure outrage at this point of time. His usual steel grey eyes had blackened to a frightening degree and I was so sure he was about to shift.

The poor officer turned white as sheet.

"And let's not forget your sister too! Is this her mate? Captain, your sister's mate is a human?" The red haired guy sniffed around Marco.

"That's enough, EJ." The third man said.

And then without another word, my cat picked me up and carried me out. There was a large pick up truck outside.

My cat opened the passenger side of the cab and put me in, then he slammed it shut. I watched him give orders all around. Clara and the others got on in the back of the pick up. The three men who had followed him into the dungeon were now standing outside, the red haired one with hands on his hip. He looked inconvenienced at whatever my cat was clearly ordering him to do, but he gave a quick bow to acknowledge it when my cat was through. The other two stood stiffly side by side. And then they bowed too.

Then my cat extended his hand, the other stony face man passed him the truck key, and my cat got into the truck with me.

"Buckle up." He ordered. His face had since returned to its expressionless granite hardness.

I did as I was told. And he drove off. I watched his side profile, it was like staring at a statue. Whatever anger he had expressed was now back on check. I could tell he was still pissed though. It didn't show on his face, but his knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and he was growling very lowly. I had mistaken it for the car engine at first, but after a while, I was quite sure it was him.

But he was here, and he smelled like a new box of fancy chocolates, and before I could string another coherent thought, I fell asleep.