CHAPTER 3: The Encounter

AARON

Thudthudthud….

My heart pounded against my chest as I ran through the woods. The demon finished Ryker off, but surprisingly, it didn't attack me. It gave me one last look before disappearing into thin air.

I had succeeded in stopping the blood gushing out of my chest and shoulder, but I needed help, and fast. I could only survive with an open wound for so long.

Damn this place was large. I couldn't make out any of the paths leading back home. Unless, I was lost. But I couldn't find my way back to Lunaville, and I knew I was in the human world, so I needed to find a….human.

Not my best idea, but it was all I could at this point. I was getting slower, the aldrenaline from before was waring off. I spotted a flash of black in my peripheral. Another demon? My gut twisted with fear. My heart pounded even faster. What would happen to me now? I hadn't even become pack leader yet and here I am, fighting for two chances at survival. I was always so ambitious, to a fault. I'd overcome many challenges, but those were mostly from werewolves. Heck I hadn't even found a mate. I had no family, my parents and sisters died when I was just a cub. Maybe it was what fueled my desire for power, to get rid of the corrupt system. It was hard, but not impossible. Look where that got me. I decided to focus on what was in front of me.

I decided to take a look. It wasn't a demon, but….a human. A very beautiful female. Here goes nothing.

I ran past her, trying to get her attention. Once. This was probably a bad idea.

Twice.

She stopped.

Yes! I took a closer look at her. Damn. She was beyond pretty. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Her face looked flushed, adding to her charm. Her dress clung to her body, accentuating places I never knew existed in humans. Don't judge, we don't like to get up close. I got so transfixed on her that I didn't know when I had started to move closer to her. To get a better look. That's what I told myself at least. She looked….scared? So humans could get afraid. Interesting.

I made a show of lunging at her and she let out a scream. She immediately fell to the floor, trying to scramble for safety. I could see fear, confusion and most randomly, pain in her eyes.

Something about her intrigued me, and I wanted to know more. My shoulder scratched against a branch and I winced. Right.

I transformed back to my human self, which was proving incredibly difficult considering my gashes. The female's eyes widened in horror. She let out a small cry and got to her feet, getting ready to run again when I said, softly but sharply, "No, please, wait. I promise I won't hurt you. I…I need help as you can see." I gestured towards my shoulder and my upper chest.

She stared at me, in more shock. I sat on the ground, being way too tired to keep standing. "Please…..please…" I repeated as I stared at the cluster of leaves and fallen branches that decorated the forest floor.

"You need to get to a hospital." She said, finally.

"What?! No! I can't go to a hospital, please you have to help me. Anything but a hospital." I rushed out the words in fear. If the doctors or nurses found out what I was, which they most definitely would, I'd probably be sent to some government secret hideout where I'd be subjected to excruciating experiments. Or I'd be accused of having witchcraft powers and burnt at the stake. I shuddered.

"Why not?" She asked, peering closer to me.

"You've seen what I am. Do you think I'd be let off that easily?" I tried to raise my head up, but I was already so weak. "Please.. anything you can do to help me…" my voice trailed off and darkness came close. I got tired of fighting and finally gave in to it's comforting embrace.

HELENA.

I have made some pretty rash decisions in the course of my life, but this….this was off the charts. I wonder what Veronica would make of this. I dragged Aaron's body across my shoulder, through the woods. He passed out in the middle of trying to explain why I shouldn't take him to the hospital, and I wasn't just going to leave him there. He was right to be afraid though, people in power were crazy as hell. I looked at the sky, the sun piercing through my retina. I quickly looked away, wincing. Now should probably be around 3pm, and the construction workers would be done by now.

I needed to work out more. I had only walked 5 meters and I was already panting. Of course that's harder when you're carrying a 200 pound half man half wolf on your back. He was heavy, but I should be more fit.

I finally got home and I as I predicted, the construction team were done and out of my house.

I basically dropped Aaron's body in the sitting room. There was no carrying him up the stairs. He was still alive, I could hear the faint thud of his in his badly wounded chest.

How does someone get so injured?

I drank a full bottle of water, trying to catch my breath. I ran upstairs and took my first aid box. It had been a while since I used this, I can only hope I remembered how.

Arghhhhh….

It'd been two hours and I had only succeeded in closing and dressing the wounds on his shoulder. The chest gashed seemed….more resistant. Patience was not one of my virtues, but I needed to have it if I wanted to help this guy.

He stirred in his unconscious state. I could hear faint mumblings. They didn't sound like any human language I knew, and it was weird. I ignored them and continued trying to close up the stitches. It reminded me of the time I volunteered in the emergency ward of one of the biggest hospitals in Harvey, my previous town. There were some crazy cases in there, and I had always watched the doctors stitch patients up, so it was practically etched into my brain.

After another long hour, I was finally done with Aaron. I placed him on the sofa, facing upwards, and covered him with a blanket. He would wake up in an hour or two, depending on how werewolves heal.

"Mmph…mm" Huh?

Aaron stirred again. "Pretty human, are you there?" An unknown smile crept unto my face, but I flattened it as soon as it came.

"How do you feel?" I responded, when he tried reaching into the air. I crouched down beside him, and examined his features. His eyes fluttered open and shut, and they had exquisitely long lashes, illegal for a male to have. They were bright green, almost gold when in the sunlight. He had taut muscles that spread from his shoulders down to his abdomen, which was oddly tempting. His arms were slightly veined, and he had slender fingers. He was…perfect.

Get it together Helena.

"I…. I feel a lot better." He ran his hands through the dressings on the wounds. His eyes became sharp, alert. He stared at me for a moment, and sat up on the sofa.

"Well, that's good to hear. I spent quite an amount of time on those. I can't imagine…"

"Why did you bring me here?" He cut me off as I spoke.

"What?" I responded, confused.

"You didn't want to help me before, why did you bring me here?"

Was this guy for real?

"This is my house, um..wolfman.."

"Aaron."

"Aaron…nice name. Anyways this is my house, and you're safe here. Would you have had me treat you in the woods? There were no supplies. I had to bring you back here." He looked me, almost with apprehension. "I would appreciate it if you could…"

"Thank you." He said, softly.

Warmth crept into my stomach. He said it like it was a delicate phrase, only to be uttered to the most deserving of people. I felt good.

"You're welcome." I sat beside him on the sofa. I was still wary of him, so I kept a good 3 feet away. You're on the same sofa Helena. Shut up, inner voice.

"Now tell me, how did all of this happen?" I gestured at his wounds.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He replied curtly, turning away.

"Well considering I just saved you and you'd be staying at my house until you're healed I have to know." He looked a little…..scared? Was he scared of me?

Just then, a cup in the kitchen fell on the floor, making a loud shattering sound.

I jolted. I ran towards it and saw my coffee mug, not my favorite one at least, in pieces on the floor. Strange.

I shuffled over, picking up the huge pieces when I felt a presence behind me. I turned sharply.

"Don't do that!" I shriekd when I saw Aaron standing at the doorway. I clutched my chest, where my heart had been sent into overdrive. He was dangerously close….too close. My poor heart, it'd probably be cursing me as it pumped blood through me right now. I had really put it under a lot of stress.

"Sorry ma'am. But you might not wanna pick those up with your bare hands." He said, arms folded across his chest. He leaned towards the side of the doorframe, and I could admire how tall he was. "Here, let me help you with that." With one swift movement, he grabbed the shards in my hand, swept the ones on the floor and disposed the mug outside. In record time, 5 seconds. Of course.

Maybe having a werewolf friend wasn't so bad.