Bora's Diary - The beauty and the beast

LORYS

I was almost going crazy. The longer I had Leonardo next to me, the worse it got.

Linda was starting to get on my nerves and I just wanted to get this announcement across the stage and then Leonardo would tell me what was going on.

So I went on stage and whistled loudly once so that all eyes were on me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this year's companion search season is open, I ask all women to make their way out before the "game" begins."

Applause and cheers could be heard, especially from the men. I was already on my way downstairs when the women disappeared. Many men put their clothes aside and changed.

I went to find Leonardo and looked around as he came running towards me.

"The woman I saved... that was the one I danced with," he gasped, apparently struggling violently with his wolf.

My mouth was hanging open and I had no idea what to say.

I had been right all along and was led around by the nose when I looked around for her but couldn't see her anywhere in the room.

"Where did she go?"

"Where do you think she is? It's like a haystack. I have to find my Little Red Riding Hood!" growled Leonardo and transformed. His clothes fell to the ground in tatters and he rushed out of the door as it opened. Apparently his wolf couldn't hold back any longer.

I transformed too and sniffed the air again.

The scent of peaches, musk and jasmine now took my breath away completely and I felt as if I had been overwhelmed by all my senses. Why hadn't I changed earlier?

I too rushed out and followed this indescribable scent as if my life depended on it. It was as if a compass had been implanted in my brain.

My wolf had already become alert on the first day, but it was as if someone had played a trick on us and now it was my job to track them down by any means necessary.

I let out a loud growl, hoping she would hear me and take notice, but nothing came.

BORA

When the announcement was over, I ran to Marga and we rushed outside together.

"Come on, we have to get out of here as quickly as possible," I said breathlessly and she nodded at me. We ran towards the forest, sure there would be wolves patrolling, but nothing was impossible tonight.

We ran into the deep forest as Marga and I finally transformed and ran into the forest.

My she-wolf was golden and shone like a lion's fur, while Marga's wolf was as red as her hair.

We were trying to make our way through the forest when I heard the howl of a wolf and my she-wolf indirectly paused.

No, that couldn't be. I had to get on, away from here, away from all this.

"What are you doing? Go on!" Marga spoke into my thoughts.

I snorted angrily and ran off. I tried to ignore my she-wolf, but she ignored me just as much. She had heard something and was curious, but that wasn't the goal of tonight. I tried to convince her that she should be looking for us and not us for her.

I kept walking when Marga was suddenly run over by a wolf that growled menacingly and buried her underneath it.

She froze on the ground and looked up at him. Damn it, she gasped!

"Bora, you have to go on without me... I think I found him," she said quietly in my head. The wolf didn't even look at me as another howl sounded, stopping me abruptly.

Marga had decided that one day I would come to her, I had to disappear.

Marga was completely inferior to the full moon and the companion bond and nothing would make her leave here with me.

I suddenly kept running and tried not to look back. Everything felt like déjà vu, and I felt panic seize me inside.

I was running for my life, my feet could barely keep me on my feet as I tripped over a root and fell to the ground. The heavy rain didn't make things any better, as I fell into the mud when I tried to get up and heard a dangerous rumble behind me.

Gabriel.

As I tried to get up, he attacked me with his claws and threw me to the ground.

He growled dangerously and stood over me with his head held high.

He turned back and grabbed my neck with his hands.

"No one resists me," he growled, squeezing the air out of me until I almost turned blue.

I tried to fight back, but to no avail. He pushed me with all his might against the nearest belly, causing me to hit the back of my head hard against it.

The pain immediately shot up inside me and I tried to get up, but it was as if I was drunk and dazed from the alcohol. I felt dizzy and fell into the mud.

"I have to hand it to you, Bora, you tried and managed to get away from me a bit.... Are you tired of living, Bora?" he asked me, grabbing my hairline and pulling my head up so that I had to look him in the eye.

Go to hell," I hissed, before he smashed my head against the tree trunk again and I fell to the ground.

I ran. I ran for my life like there was no tomorrow, through the deep forest, and I didn't even know where I was running to.

Suddenly I was bumped into and fell to the ground. I was too nervous and too scared to pick myself up and keep running straight away.

The only thing I could see was a wolf with dark, silvery fur, who was also back on his feet and following me.

I kept running when I suddenly came to a cliff and couldn't go any further. I panicked again and it felt like I was going into cardiac arrest. My chest became tight and I stopped.

The wolf stood in front of me and growled softly at me to surrender.

I didn't dare jump, but I stood still instead of surrendering.

The wolf turned back into a human and I saw Alpha Lorys.

He approached me cautiously and held out his hand to me, "Bora... I mean you no harm... please turn," he said in a calm tone as I growled at him threateningly again.

"We are mates Bora... I would never want to hurt you," he said, leaving me frozen.

Mates... The familiar scent of leather, musk and vanilla suddenly became stronger and my she-wolf sniffed involuntarily, but still unsettled.

"Bora... please," he said desperately and looked at me askance.

He grabbed my snout and I winced. This guy really knew nothing. I felt sparks at his touch, like I was being lit on fire and exploding like a firework.

My she-wolf practically forced me to surrender and turn back. I fell to my knees trembling, held my hands in front of my breasts and looked fearfully at the floor.

He took my chin in his hand and gently lifted my face. I was forced to look into his dark brown eyes.

"Finally...", he whispered and wanted to pull me closer to him when I pressed my hand against his chest to maintain the small distance that remained between us.

"Please don't," I said quietly and looked at him uncertainly.

"I can't do this... I don't want any of this," I said insecurely, getting louder and louder. I swallowed hard while Lorys looked at me and did nothing.

Finally, he shook his head and looked me in the eye: "What Gabriel did was cruel.... but he's dead and I'm your mate, I would never do something like that to you," he insisted, biting his lower lip.

One look at his body and I was spellbound. I felt the bond of mate break within me and thought of Linda's words, "The full moon will do the rest," I was unsure, scared and taken with him at the same time.

He held out his hand to me, which I grabbed in a daze as he gently pulled me into his strong arms and held me close.

I let myself in for his embrace and felt a warmth, a fulfillment that I had never experienced before.

"I thought I was hallucinating about peaches," he said softly and looked at me. He frowned and now looked at me askance "Where were you going, Bora?" he asked, probably having realized that I was on the run and not on the hunt for mates.

"Away from everything," I whispered quietly and wrapped my arms tighter around myself.

"Do you know how dangerous it is out here? Rogues get caught and killed, I don't think it's in your best interest to want to die, I suppose," he said, lifting me into his arms like a bride.

"No! Let me go!" I screamed, pounding my fist against his chest.

"Let go of you? I've gone crazy trying to find you and now you think I'm just going to let you go?" he said, looking me in the eye.

It was different. Gabriel was holding me, on principle, because he wanted to hold me, but with Lorys, I felt like he was holding me because he longed for me.

"I want to go back to my pack," I whispered softly, biting my bottom lip when he suddenly nodded.

"You can go back to your pack, but not like this... I really don't want anything to happen to you," he said and I had the feeling of being overwhelmed by butterflies in my stomach.

What was wrong with me? Suddenly I had the feeling inside that I didn't want to go anywhere, but wanted to stay with him.

Apart from that, we were completely naked, which didn't make walking through the whole pack any better.

Suddenly he shook his head laughing and looked at me: "I can't believe it... you were practically in front of me and let us all run into nothing and Little Red Riding Hood.... Oh, Little Red Riding Hood is going to be in trouble," he growled quietly to himself, to which I widened my eyes.

"Please don't... She did it because I told her to," I insisted and was immediately unsettled again.

He looked at me in amazement and smiled at me, "Don't worry about her, her boyfriend will take care of her...". But you were damn naughty, there will be repercussions," he whispered in my ear and his deep voice made me melt like butter.

Surely I should be scared and want to run away? Why wasn't my body moving? My she-wolf also seemed to melt away.