Haven't Seen The Light In A While

Chapter Sixteen

"Don't say anything. I want to get you out of here without anyone noticing." My body relaxes at the sound of Vince's voice. He cuts the restraints on my arms and legs. He loosens the ball gag and throws it to the side. I removed the blindfold from my head and fell into Vince's arms. He briefly holds me but then pushes me off, placing his hands on my shoulders to get a good look at the damage. His face shows no emotion; it is stone cold. "He did this to you in just a couple of hours?" he whispered angrily. I nodded slowly.

"Is it that bad?" I whispered. Vince didn't say anything. Instead, he took my hand, and we started walking out of the room. We quietly ascend the stairs and find ourselves in the main entryway of my former pack house. There on the wall hangs a mirror; reflecting at me is a person I don't even recognize. My face is black and blue; my left eye is beginning to swell shut. I look down at my wrists; they are red and bruised. Then I notice my sweatpants. I had forgotten that Aremus had cut them open, exposing my bare legs. My legs have rope burns and bruises. I feel the heat flowing through my veins, and I shake. Vince grips my arm, pulling at me, but I don't budge. "Vince, get away from me. Something is happening," I said as my bones elongated and my skin stretched. Vince disregards my command and forcibly leads me out of the door and into the forest. "Vince, I said, 'Get away from me!'"

I pull away from him and collapse to the ground, trembling as my bones shift out of my human form. I release a low, guttural growl as the ripping pain shoots up my spine. I glance at my hands, shaking as I witness white fur bursting all over, my nails transforming into black claws. I looked up at Vince just as my vision changed to my wolf eyes; seeing through them initially made me dizzy. I stood on all fours as I completed my transformation. I stumbled as I took my first step. Then, one step after the other, I felt my tail wag in delight. A distant howl caught Vince's attention, causing him to snap his head in the direction it came from.

"This is not the time for this, but I know you can't control your shifts yet, so fuck it, let's just go with it," Vince said before shifting to his wolf form. His wolf had a mixture of grey and black fur and was much larger than mine. He nodded to the right, indicating that we were going that way, or at least that's what I thought it meant. I followed him, getting used to my wolf body and having paws, which felt completely different from walking barefoot. My vision, hearing, and sense of smell are enhanced, which is overwhelming. Vince starts to walk faster, and I follow suit. I trot alongside him for a bit and then end up passing him. My wolf takes the lead. I start running through the trees, allowing my nose to guide me back home to our pack. I can finally feel the creek water on my paws, something I had wished to experience the first time I took this path with

Sam and our pack. I could smell the fresh scent of linen and the delicious scents of my mates becoming stronger, which I hoped meant we were getting closer to home. I look back at Vince's wolf; he seems to smile, but it's hard to tell in wolf form.

We hit the small clearing just before our pack lands, and I halt. Vince notices this and stops to watch me. I sit in the tall grass and lean back, letting out my first howl. Vince joins my happy howling, and his head snuggles into me when we finish. He licks my face and nods to the left as if to tell me, "Let's go." We reach the tree line where our pack lands begin. I accelerate at an incredible speed when I spot Sam leaving the main pack house. He doesn't have time to react as I jump on him and start licking his face.

"Who the hell—" Sam cuts himself off mid-sentence, sniffing me. "Mel?" he gently pushes me off of him. I run in a small circle with my tail wagging, showing him how excited I am to be home, just like a dog would. My wolf is panting, his tongue hanging out, clearly tired from our first-ever excursion as a wolf. "How did you get out?! I was about to storm Aremus's pack with our military to get you and the other Omega!" Vince finally transformed into his human form, revealing his highly fit body.

"I got our mate to ensure Aremus wouldn't play any tricks during the attack. We know how he is." Vince turns his head, gives me a small smile, and then excuses himself to put on some clothes. My wolf turns to the side, waiting for Sam to say something, but he doesn't. Just then, Rory comes bursting out of the front door.

"I just bumped into Vince and was unprepared to see him naked!" Rory exclaimed to Sam, not even noticing my presence yet. I whine at the lack of attention I was receiving. Rory jumped and snapped his head towards me. His eyes widened in realization. "Mel!" He comes running at me with his arms open. He latches around my wolf's neck, burying his face into my white fur. While Rory hugs me, I feel the same pain as when I first shifted washing over me. I can feel my claws retracting and my fur leaving my body. My vision blurs, and my ears are ringing; I hear myself screaming, and then it's over. Rory is now holding my naked body right on the ground in front of the pack house. I smile at Rory, so happy to be in one of my mates' embraces. I quickly realize I'm butt-ass naked, and my eyes widen. I jerked out of Rory's arms and covered myself. Both Sam and Rory wore angry expressions, but I wasn't sure why. I glance at my exposed body and see the lingering rope marks and bruises. Just above a whisper, I utter,

"Can we go inside, please?"