Taming the Beast
Chapter 45 (Caroline)

It was the weekend after our Thanksgiving break. Keegan had yet to tell me about the process of turning me into a wolf. I think he wanted to prolong it, but sooner or later, he would have to tell me. School kind of got put on the backburner, and by this point, I was just going through the motions. I started spending a lot more time at Keegan's house. I was trying to learn their way of life. So far, all I got was that they eat a lot, they have super hearing, they're faster, stronger, and they turn into wolves. The guys were all playing videogames in the living room. I'd opted out this time. I was relaxing on the couch with Keegan's arm around my shoulder but I was feeling restless. I stood and stretched as Keegan looked to me expectantly.

"I'm going to go for a walk," I muttered, heading for the kitchen.

"Be sure to stay inside the property line. I'm going to talk to my dad about... everything," Keegan called after me. I nodded before I went out through the back door. I passed the rows of bustling houses and entered into the woods. The normally dark green leaves were red, yellow and orange, showing signs of fall. It was past Thanksgiving after all; almost winter. The trees were practically bare, leaving a maze of branches to look through towards the sky. The brown and red leaves crunched under my feet as I walked further and further into the woods. I pulled the cardigan around me and folded my arms over my chest, letting my hair cover my ears as it hung to my butt. I decided to straighten it today so it was silky smooth and longer than normal. It was a little chilly outside, leaving a light flush on my cheeks, but other than that, it was a nice day. I froze when I heard the sound of another pair of feet crunching against the forest floor. I turned, hoping it was Keegan.

No such luck.

A tall man, about 6'5" was stalking towards me in nothing but a pair of dirty khaki shorts. My heart sped up as the man smirked at me. His dirty blonde hair was tussled and he had muddy brown eyes. His figure was lean and looked a little malnourished. A wind blew at my back, making my hair go wild on the sides of my face. I quickly contained it and snapped my eyes to the man. He sniffed the air and sighed contently. He was starting to freak me out. I stayed frozen in place as he stalked towards me. My heart fell like it was about to pound out of my chest but I tried to keep calm. He chuckled and sniffed the air again.

"Interesting," he said, circled me, making me feel like prey. "You're marked... no, mated, but you're a human?! So I guess the rumors are true," he screeched, stopping his circle. "You must be the Alpha's bitch I've been looking for," he said, grinning evilly. Now my head was spinning. My heart was beating so fast that I was sure he could hear it. I found myself backing up slowly. The only reason I knew that was because my back was pressed up against a tree now. My breathing became sporadic as my eyes took in his every move.

"What do you want with me?" I managed to squeak out. He smirked deviously at me.

"I was giving instructions to kill you. With you out of the way, things can go back to... the way everything was planned. You're pretty little face will be no more," he explained easily as he walked closer. There was no where I could run; he'd catch me anyway. He yanked my arms towards him harshly and I let out a yelp. Catching both of my hands in one of his, his dirty fingers pulled my chin harshly up so my teary eyes were looking at him.

"Why?" I croaked out. His lips turned up in a devilish grin again.

"Because, my dear, someone's paying me to do it and I think it'll be fun. But who says we can't have a little fun first," he said. I was pushed on to my back suddenly. I gasped and let out a small whimper as he straddled my lap. I struggled against him but it was no use. I let out the loudest scream I could when I felt his lips on my neck. It was slobbery and made me feel dirty. Just as soon as I started screaming, his hand covered my mouth. I sobbed as my eyes closed.

"Relax, my dear. This will be over before you know it, and then you'll be dead," he chuckled into my neck. I struggled against him, which he didn't like. He sat up and my head snapped to the side as I gasped from the immense pain spreading across my cheek. "Stop it!" he yelled angrily. His hand reached for my pants as I sobbed. This couldn't be happening; not now... not to me. I heard a loud growl before the man was ripped off of me. I was too shocked about what was about to happen to look up at the commotion. I heard snarling and the sound of skin ripping, but I was too afraid to look. I just laid there and tried to quiet my sobs. I heard a strangled howl that was cut short before everything went silent. The only noise was my sobbing and a wolf's panting. After a moment, there was the sound of bones snapping. I felt a hand touch me gently. My eyes widened in fear as I looked at the strange boy. I screamed and took a step away from him. During my step, I tripped over my own feet and went tumbling. The strange boy caught me before I could fall and set me back on my feet.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, backing up with his hands raised in surrender. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. I nodded slowly. I looked him over. He didn't look any older than me. He had a strong jaw line and masculine features, but not in the hulk way. He was kind of tall. He had chocolate brown hair and his eyes were a color I'd never seen before. They were a lilac color. His muscular bare chest was covered in a layer of dirt and he had on a pair of ratty basketball shorts.

"Who are you?" I whispered. I heard a loud growl before a large black wolf pounced on the mystery boy.

Keegan.

I rushed forward so that I was in front of them. Keegan lunged for the boy's neck. The boy rolled from under him and shrugged his shorts off before there was a chocolate brown wolf standing before me as well Keegan lunged for him, but the boy maneuvered out of the way and managed to get a chunk of Keegan's tail between his teeth. Keegan turned and snapped his jaw over the boy's hip. My eyes widened. "Keegan stop!" I screeched. Both of them froze where they were and looked at me. I don't know why, but I suddenly got mad. My fists balled at my side. "Now both of you, let go and change back now so I can talk to you," I said. They hesitated and looked at me before I heard cracking. I looked down and waiting until I heard Keegan growling again. I rushed forward and put my hands against his chest.

"Stay away from my mate, rogue!!" Keegan snarled at the boy.

"Stop it, Keegan! He wasn't hurting me!" I yelled at him frantically. "Bullshit!" Keegan yelled, looking at the boy.

"No, seriously, he was saving me! Do you see the mangled, dismembered body over there? Because I did, and it almost made me throw up," I yelled at him. Keegan looked over to the body then back to the boy before his anger faded.

"I'm sorry. That guy over there was on top of her and I just... I don't know what came over me, but I felt like I had to protect her. I'm just passing through," the boy explained in a rush. Shivers ran through my body at the mention of the dead guy who was about to rape and kill me. Keegan put an arm around my waist without even really thinking about it. I gladly leaned into his side, grateful for his comforting touch. "You're eyes are purple," Keegan practically whispered. I turned to look at the boy who was looking at us in a mixture of shock and confusion.

"My eyes are blue," the boy corrected him slowly. I shook my head.

"They were purple a second ago. Now they're blue," I said. A look of realization passed on Keegan's face.

"You're a Luna protector," Keegan said softly. It was my turn to look at him confused. "What's your name?" Keegan asked him. He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Aiden Matthews. Look, I know this is your land and your pack and I'm sorry. I was just trying to get through. You know how rogues have to keep moving and all. After all, you're an Alpha. I don't know what your policy on rogues is but please don't kill-"

"Join my pack," Keegan said, cutting him off. We both looked at him shocked.

"What?" he blurted. Keegan sighed and looked at me before he looked back to Aiden.

"I'm giving you an invitation to join my pack," Keegan said again but this time it was more reluctant. Aiden looked away as he tried to process this. Keegan told me that rogues were stray werewolves who were either exiled from or left their pack. Although, some were born into it. According to Keegan, they were normally killed on sight or taking into custody. Keegan didn't like rogues. He said they were sneaky and untrustworthy. Why was he letting this rogue join his pack?

"Why?" Aiden asked, speaking my thoughts.

"You're a Luna protector. Honestly, I thought they were just a myth, but when a pure hearted Luna is too... delicate for her world, a Luna protector is given to her. Sometimes two, if the case is severe enough. The characteristic that lets you know who they are is their eye color. They normally have light purple eyes when they sense their Luna in danger. Luna protectors don't have a mate because they're main objective is protecting their given Luna. Based off of what happened here, I'd say that Caroline is the Luna that you're supposed to protect," Keegan explained patiently.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐