Mated To The Mafia Werewolves

Thalia wandered through the forest as she continued her search. Her clothes were torn in different spots from constantly being caught in poking branches, and her shoes were discarded, leaving her trudging around barefooted. Her hair was a mess, and patches of dirt stained her skin.

Yet, she persevered.

As she ventured deeper, her nose wrinkled as a strange stench wafted into her nostrils, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “What the hell?” She muttered.

Thalia paused and took a moment to inhale the air, trying to discern the source of the smell. It seemed familiar, yet she couldn’t quite grasp what it was exactly. Another sniff and then realisation dawned on her.

It was the smell of blood!

The strong, metallic odour of fresh blood filled the air, assaulting her nostrils. But what was it coming from? Had an animal died? No, it wasn’t an animal.

“An animal’s scent wouldn’t be as strong as this,” she mumbled.

Deep down, she knew the scent wasn’t coming from a stray deer shot to death by a hunter; after all, she was a hunter herself, though of a different kind. Even so, she could differentiate the scent of blood. This particular blood was human.

Thalia breezed through the forest, trying to locate the injured person, hoping to save them, even though it was the last thing she should be thinking of.

But she did anyway.

Eventually, she found the source of the bleeding and froze in her tracks, her heart dropping into her stomach at the sight.

“Blaze!” She yelled, immediately recognising the body, which was sprawled in an awkward position. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to where he lay.

His body was on the ground, motionless and surrounded by a pool of blood. His eyes were shut, and he wasn’t breathing.

“Fuck!” Thalia gasped, pressing a hand on his chest where the most blood came from. He had been brutally stabbed in the chest multiple times, and blood gushed out like a broken tap from all his open wounds.

“BLAZE!” she cried out even louder, causing birds perched on nearby trees to fly off at the sound of her screeching voice immediately.

Tears streamed down her eyes as she vigorously tried to shake him awake. “No, no, no, this isn’t happening!” She choked out, receiving no response.

Blaze’s body had already started to stiffen and grow cold. He must have been in the forest long before her arrival.

With her vision blurred by tears, Thalia narrowed her eyes and screeched, “I’ll kill whoever did this. Fucking show yourself!”

Suddenly, rustling in the bushes alerted Thalia, and she looked up, seeing Arabella emerge from the shadows, a wicked grin on her face. Arabella was holding a bloody dagger in her hand, and Thalia could see blood staining its blade. Her eyes widened, and she let out a gasp of horror.

Arabella sauntered towards Thalia, her psychopathic smirk widening and the knife still in her hand. Thalia felt a knot of fear tighten in her chest. She tried to back away, but it seemed her feet were rooted to the ground. She stared at Arabella’s towering figure; her knife raised high and ready to strike.

It was over.

She was going to kill her just as she killed Blaze.

Thalia closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blow. The sound of the knife slicing through the air echoed in her ears, and she flinched, waiting for the pain.

But it never came.

Thalia’s body jerked as she woke from the nightmare, breathing heavily as sweat streamed down her face.

“Oh, my gods!” She whispered, fresh tears flowing down her cheeks.

Thalia rocked her body back and forth as the tears continued to flow in a wild torrent. She hadn’t saved Blaze. If he had been in her shoes, he’d have done the opposite. Although it was a dream, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. And if she had been strong enough, none of it would have happened.

“Freaking useless.” She raised her hands to her view, staring at them it was as if she could still see the blood that stained them. The nightmare had felt so real she couldn’t just shake off the unease that had taken over her.

Thalia wondered if it was more than just a dream or a premonition of what was to come.

Should Blaze be at the point of death in real life, would she be able to save him? The question rang in her ears unanswered for long moments. And then, she heard Cass’s voice in her head.

“Thalia, don’t give up. You are not weak. It’s just a tough time that will pass,” her wolf assured her.

Thalia sighed, “But what if I can’t save Blaze? What if I’m not strong enough to protect him from what is to come? I can’t bear to see him dead, Cass; I can’t.”

“Don’t doubt yourself. You have faced many challenges before and overcome them. You will do the same this time, I’m sure of it,” Cass replied.

Thalia took a deep breath, feeling a bit of determination. “I guess you’re right, Cass.”

“That’s the spirit,” Cass’s voice echoed in her head again, and Thalia gave a small smile which faded as the sound of scurrying echoed in her ears.

Her heart skipped a beat. Her defensive instincts kicked in as she assumed it was a predator lurking in the shadows or worse still, Sandro. Fear and panic overtook her, and she let out a piercing scream that echoed through the forest.

To her surprise, her scream was answered by a voice from the darkness a quite familiar voice.

“Who’s there?”

Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she heard the voice; it sounded just like Janice.

“Hello?” came the voice again.

It was Janice. Thalia was sure of that. What was she doing in Acostan? She had fled De Luca’s Villa, and ever since then, Thalia hadn’t seen her.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“I heard a voice,” repeated the voice.

Even though she and Janice didn’t see eye to eye, she was desperate to leave the forest. And she doubted Janice wouldn’t be of help.

“Janice, I’m by the-” a hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her voice.

Thalia’s blood ran cold, and panic immediately flooded her system. The other hand then circled her torso and began dragging her backwards.

She kicked and thrashed, clawing at the hand covering her mouth to remove it, but it was all futile.

She was being dragged away towards an even darker area, where the trees were so closely-knitted together that it seemed like a canopy, blocking the moonlight from seeping through. It was pitch black. The abductor finally let go of her mouth, and she struggled to steady her breathing yet still attempted to free herself from the grasp.

“I can fight. Don’t think I am weak!” She spat out in a trembling voice, her frantic gaze darting around the dimly lit area.

“It’s me, Blaze,” the voice said, and Thalia’s eyes widened in shock. She turned to look at him for the first time, and the sight before her left her speechless. It was dark, and she couldn’t see clearly, but she could make out from the dimly lit frame that it was her brother. It was Blaze!

She just stood there, staring at him in disbelief. It took a few moments for her to regain her composure and find her voice.

“Blaze, what are you doing here?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.