Hunger Awaits
Chapter 6

Ryker's POV

Damn that son of a bitch! I almost had her again. She was broken, and it would have been easy to take her somewhere and disappear. I don't know who this other wolf is, but he is already pissing me off. I could have taken him easily, but I didn't want to draw more attention to myself. I watched him from a distance, as he approached Kendra and looked down at her. Then he quickly shifted and I was a little surprised to see he was a native. There weren't many in this area, so it was just surprising. He picked her up and started to run with her close to him. I followed close behind until he came to a small cabin and ran inside. I sat and listened to all the commotion trying to pick out the right voices to listen to. I finally picked out a woman's voice and concentrated on her, as she seemed to take charge and kicked everyone out of the room.

I could hear her talking softly to someone but there was no response. I assumed she was talking to Kendra as she worked on her injuries. I heard the snap of a bone and the woman seemed confused at first. "Are you one of us? You must be because it's the only way to explain why you are already healing. That must be why Matto is drawn to you." I heard her say. My ears perked as she said this as the whole reason I had gone after Kendra in the first place was confirmed. She definitely was the one my father had sent me for. After what seemed like an hour or more the woman was done and walked back to the others in the cabin. I listened a little while longer until I heard her voice. She was only awake briefly, but when I heard the way she spoke to the other man it made the fur stand up on my back. I heard them say that they would take her back to the resort in the morning when the storm cleared. I decided that I would wait till everyone was asleep and my men and I would make our move. She was going home with me tonight, hurt or not.

Kendra's POV

When I awoke a few hours later Matto was still by my side asleep in the chair. I laid there and watched him sleep and smiled. His long hair flowed down his rock hard chest and for some reason he had an amazing grin across his face. I didn't want to wake him up, but I really need to use the restroom and I was hungry as well. "Matto," I said softly as I reached for his hand. My hand crests his and he immediately opened his eyes. His eyes were soft, as he looked at me and his grin grew wider.

“Hello, beautiful. What's wrong?" I gave him a shy smile because now I was a little embarrassed by the fact that I had to have help to get up.

“Ummm, I need to use the restroom." He stood up and came to my side. He carefully pulled the blanket off of me and I felt more embarrassed when I realized I was only wearing a t-shirt and my underwear. My leg was in a homemade splint, but I didn't feel any pain anymore. Matto carefully picked me up with ease and took me into the bathroom. He placed me down and steadied me so I could pull my underwear down.

I stood there for a minute because I was suddenly becoming self-conscious of my bruised body. Matto looked at me in the mirror, as he stood behind me holding me up. "Can you handle it from here?" He asked me with concern in his eyes. I nodded at him and grabbed hold of the counter in front of me. "Ok. I will be just outside the door when you are done." He let me go and closed the door behind him. I managed to pull my underwear down and flipped around to sit down on the toilet. The coldness of the seat made me yelp a little and I could hear Matto at the door. "Are you ok?" I laughed a little.

“Yes, the seat was just a little cold." Once I was done I carefully pulled myself up and fixed myself then hollered for Matto. He opened the door and picked me back up and carried me back to bed. Once I was settled in bed I looked up and asked Matto for some food.

He left the room to get some food for me and I couldn't help but think about the dream I had. It was a dream, but it felt so real to me. The only thing was that I couldn't figure out the whole wolf thing. Why was Matto a wolf in my dream and why did I change into one? I pondered on this for a moment when Matto came back in the room. I decided that it was just a dream and that the whole wolf thing was because of me seeing the black wolf when I crashed. I smiled up at Matto as he handed me a big bowl of beef stew and a glass of milk. "Thank you, Matto. Can I ask you about you and your family?" He looked at me with curiosity in his eyes and then he locked onto my eyes and it was as if he was staring into my soul.

“I will tell you anything you want to know, but only if you eat." I nodded and took a bite of the stew as Matto started his story.

"Well, we all grew up in a small tribe in West Virginia. My parents lived next door to Koda and his family so we instantly became best friends. Soon after we started the eighth grade we met Jace and Tenaya. Koda and Tenaya almost immediately became a couple. It was as if they were made for each other." He paused for a minute and looked up at the door.

“What's wrong?" I asked him.

“Nothing I just thought I heard something. Anyway, Koda and Tenaya married after we graduated high school and had a place of their own in the community. About a year ago the tribe, unfortunately, started to have problems with some of the locals in the area. One night a mob of sorts came into the community and burnt it to the ground." I saw some tears in his eyes and I felt so sorry for him. I took his hand and he brushed the tears from his eyes.

“I'm sorry Matto. You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to." He shook his head.

“No, I'm ok it is just that I haven't talked about this since we left." He took a deep breath and then continued with his story.

“We all lost everything and I lost my father in the fires. He had been trapped in his room and no one could get to him. After that, the four of us moved here and found this cabin. It is away from everyone and close enough to the resort that us boys can work."

I felt so sorry for all of them and also angry that someone had done such a horrible thing to them all. I didn't have any words to say to him so I just held his hand. He seemed so comfortable sitting with me. He looked up at me and flashed me a smile. "Ok, my turn. Where are you from? What is your story?" I laughed at him.

“Ok Mr. curious. Well, I grew up in Bellingham with my mother and sister. I was your typical girl growing up, into cheerleading and dance. I was popular in school, but never the type that would bully anyone. In fact, my best friend, Audrey, was the complete opposite of me in school. Now she is more like me, but that's probably because I brought her out of her shell." Matto laughed when I said that last part. His laugh was amazing and I had this feeling like we had known each other forever. Our eyes locked again, but this time I had the urge to kiss him. I leaned forward and placed my lips on his. At first, he didn't kiss me back, but then he let himself go and his kiss was full of passion and lust. His hands went to my hair and he pulled me closer to him. My mind was going a million miles a minute and so was my heart. I knew that we barely knew each other, but somehow this felt right and wrong all at the same time.

There was a knock at the door and Matt pulled away from me. My lips were swollen from our kiss and my cheeks were red. "Come in," Matto yelled out. A young man around the same height as Matto, with brown eyes and the same long black hair, walked in.

“Matto, we have a problem out here. Can you come here for a minute?" The young man said. Matto nodded then looked back at me.

“Hold that thought. I will be back in a minute." I smiled at him and he got up and followed the young man out. I sat in bed and finished my food and milk. I placed the bowl on the nightstand next to me then listened for Matto. Several minutes went by and he still hadn't come back. That's when I heard something hit the bedroom window. I looked towards it and saw the same yellow eyes I had seen in the woods earlier.

“Matto!" I yelled out. The eyes disappeared when Matto came barging back in the room.

“What is it?" He asked in a panic.

“There was something in the bedroom window. Yellow eyes, like an animal or something. I think it is the wolf that made me crash."

Matto went to the window and looked out, but saw nothing. "There is nothing there now. Maybe..." he was interrupted by a loud crash in the living room. "Stay here. I am sending Tenaya in with you." I looked at him and wanted to laugh because I wasn't going anywhere, but the look in his eyes told me not to so I just nodded. He left the room and a few seconds later Tenaya walked back in and closed and locked the door. I heard another loud crash and what sounded like a fight going on in the living room. I was scared.

“What is going on up there?" Tenaya came next to me and looked me dead in the eyes.

“Listen to me, Kendra. There is something you don't know about us yet, but I want you to know that none of us will ever hurt you. I might have to do something and I don't want you to be afraid." I was so confused, but she made me feel safe and I believed every word she said to me. I nodded at her and watched as she crouched in front of me on the floor and watched the door. That's when I heard a howl come from just outside the door and the color drained from my face. What the hell was going on?

The door handle shook and Tenaya stayed put staring at the door. "Kendra remember what I said." She said to me again never taking her eyes off the door. Soon there was pounding on the door like someone was trying to break the door down. I felt helpless because I couldn't even get out of bed on my own. Suddenly there is one last bang against the door and it burst open. Everything happened so fast I didn't even believe what I saw at first. When the door burst open I watched as Tenaya sprung up, but she wasn't human anymore. She leaped towards the door as a beautiful light grey and brown wolf attacking whatever was at the door. I sat there helpless and frightened, but not of what I had just seen. I was more afraid of what would happen if Tenaya lost. She was an amazing fighter and had already pushed, what I finally figured out was another wolf, out the door.

I waited and listened as the house fell deathly quiet. I stared at the bedroom door waiting for Tenaya or Matto to come back in the room. I heard someone or something coming down the hall so I looked around for something to use as a weapon. There was a baseball bat sitting between the bed and the nightstand so I grabbed it. I watched with the bat held tightly in my hand, as my heart raced and the steps got closer. I raised the bat when the steps stopped by the door. Then Matto walked in the door and I dropped the bat to my side. He came to my side and let his hands feel all over me checking to make sure I was ok. "I'm fine Matto. What the hell did I just see? Are you all wolves like Tenaya?"