She reached for the lock on the window and flipped it up. She held her breath as she slowly pushed the window open. It slid up without a sound. She released her breath as she straddled the window sill and looked down to the ground below. There was a bush directly below her window. She prayed she could push off far enough from the window sill, to avoid landing on the bush. Taking another breath, she swung her other leg over the sill, until her legs were dangling. She gave a mighty push using all the strength in her arms; and hoped like hell no one heard her land on the ground.
Meg tried to land on the balls of her feet, to limit the amount of sound she made on impact. She held still, not moving or breathing as she listened to her surroundings. The knee of her right leg was throbbing, since she had twisted slightly on her landing. There was nothing she could do about it now.
She had to get out of here and fast.
She scanned around one last time, then took off running. She aimed for the trees she could see about twenty feet in front of her. She prayed with every step she took. Please, please, please, help me get out of here. She chanted in her mind. By the time Meg made it amongst the trees, her knee was throbbing painfully, and felt as if it was twice it's normal size.
She didn't stop, she couldn't afford to. There was no way of knowing what that sicko would do to her, if he caught her again. No, she wouldn't give up until she was safe. Hopefully she would find the road and be able to flag down a driver. She could get a lift back to town and report Nik as well as Travis. They would both end up locked up in a mental institution or jail.
Megan felt a pain pierce her chest at the thought of Nik, locked away. He wasn't crazy. He had proven he was a werewolf. She knew it would be the end of his existence if he was incarcerated. She couldn't do that to him or Stefan. She realized then that she was in love with Nik.
“Oh God, please help me. What have you done to me? How could you have made me the mate of a werewolf? I didn't even know they existed, until recently,” Meg sobbed.
Meg became aware of a light glowing through the trees. She ducked behind a very large tree trunk as adrenaline kicked in. She was ready for a 'flight of fight' situation. She knew damn well she wouldn't be any hindrance to a werewolf. Looks like she was going to have to flee. Meg listened intently as the glowing light come closer and closer. She couldn't hear any footsteps.
“I am here to help you. Come out, come out, wherever you are. Megan, I will not hurt you. I can show you a way to freedom.”
Megan closed her eyes in distress. Whoever the female with the singsong voice was, she knew who Megan was.
“Open your eyes Megan. Come I will show you the way.”
Megan opened her eyes to see an ethereal, glowing figure of a female in front of her. She blinked, then blinked again.
“I promise you, I am real. Please, come. We must hurry, they have discovered your escape.”
“Who, what are you?” Meg asked her voice trembling.
“I am what you think. I will not hurt you. Come, now.”
Meg took a deep breath and followed the floating, spectral female. She jogged slowly ignoring the pain in her knee. They traveled for what seemed like miles, until the pain in her knee and the pounding in her head, was so incessant, Megan knew she could go no further. She slumped to the ground and panted for breath, holding her throbbing knee.
The female ghost turned towards Megan and knelt at her side, “Close your eyes, Megan.” Megan complied to the request. She felt a warm tingling in the vicinity of her knee. The throbbing in her knee stopped and she felt the swelling reduce.
“Come, you must hurry. They are gaining on us,” stated the female spirit.
Megan got to her feet and followed her guide at a run. She ran and ran, until she felt she was running on pure adrenaline. She was totally exhausted, but knew she could not stop. The spirit slowed down and pointed to the river visible in a gap amongst the trees.
“You must swim across. When you are on the other side you will be safe. Go, Blessed Be Megan,” stated her spirit guide, then she faded away.
Megan ran to the river and dove into the ice cold water. She felt the water dragging her down, her shoes and clothes became heavy with water. She stopped, treading water, using the toes of her feet, she nudged her shoes and socks off. She took off the sweater and let it go, then struggled to discard her wet clinging denim jeans, but finally managed to remove them. She was left wearing a bra, T-shirt and panties, but she felt much lighter, and struck out for the other side of the river bank.
Nik and his Beta's were about to leave the house for an all-out attack on the Malibu Pack, until he heard Harry call his name.
“I've just had a phone call from Helen, the house keeper of the Malibu Pack. It seems your mate has escaped. The last she heard, Malibu Pack members were chasing her towards the river,” Harry stated.
“Thanks Harry. Change of plans Beta's, we head to the river at the far end of the property, to the south,” Nik stated and took off running, with his Beta's following.
Nik, Stefan, Seamus and Logan changed in mid stride to their
were
forms. They would reach the river much faster, as they had more speed, agility and great night vision in their wolf forms.
They reached the river just in time to see Malibu Pack members dive into the water from the far side.
Nik spotted Megan about twenty feet in front of him.
She was struggling with fatigue, trying to reach their side of the river. He didn't stop to think, just dove straight in and headed towards her.
Megan heard the splash close to her and gave a sob as she struggled to keep her head above the water.
She was just about done in, when she felt a wet tongue lick her face. She opened her eyes and knew she was looking at Nik. She put a hand up behind his neck and clung to the scruff of his neck. She was so cold and tired, and her head was killing her, all she wanted to do was sleep. She felt hands pull her from the icy river, but couldn't seem to open her eyes to see who was helping her. She felt a spray of icy water fly over her, as Nik shook himself dry. Then she was being lifted into strong muscular arms. Her head slumped down in the curve of Nik's neck and shoulder, as she drifted into sleep.
“Stefan, Malcolm, Seamus, I want you to stay here and make sure the members from the Malibu Pack don't come onto our land.” Nik stated, as he watched the wolves in the river turn back to the other side.
Nik ran back to the house with Megan in her arms.
He could see her lips beginning to turn blue with cold and she was shivering violently in his arms.
“Logan, I want you to change to your wolf, run back to the house and call the doctor. I need to have my mate checked over, to make sure she isn't suffering from hypothermia,” Nik instructed.
Logan changed forms mid stride and took off at a sprint. As soon as he was back in the house he changed back to his human form and called the doctor.
It took Nik a lot longer to get back to the house in his human form, he would have like to change, but he had no way to carry Megan safely. He ran as fast as he could, making sure not to jolt his mate too much.
Her shivering was escalating and he was worried for her health. He gave a sigh of relief as the lights from the house came into view, but knew it would be a while before his mate was out of danger. He sprinted up the stairs and took Megan to his bedroom. He lay her down on his bed and began removing her cold, wet clothes. He wrapped her in a thick blanket and placed her under the covers of his bed. He was just about to strip out of his own damp clothes, since his body was still wet when he had changed back to his human form, when he heard and smelled the doctor approaching.
“Hi Nik, is this your mate?” asked Jackie.
“Yes, she swam across the river after she escaped from the Malibu Pack. She has a blue tinge to her lips and won't stop shivering. I don't know if she has any other injuries,” Nik advised his friend, and the Trinity Pack Doctor, Jackie Worth.
Jackie took her stethoscope from her bag as well as a blood pressure cuff. She gave Megan a thorough examination whilst Nik moved to the adjoining bathroom to dry off and dress in dry clothes. He heard, Stefan, Seamus and Malcolm return to the house, and knew the threat was circumvented for the moment. Jackie had Megan covered decently as Nik re-entered the room.
“So, how is she?”
“She is suffering from a slight case of hypothermia and she has a slight concussion. It looks like she took a hit to the back of her head,” Jackie stated. “The best way to get her warm is body heat. I want you and someone else you trust, to climb into bed with your mate, to help warm her body. What you have done so far is good, but we need to warm her up quickly. Her blood pressure is too low.”
“Okay, thanks for your help, Jackie. I appreciate you rushing over here at a moments notice,” Nik opined.
“No problem, Alpha. It's my job. I need to get going, I have a baby to birth. I'll see you later,” Jackie stated as she turned and left the room.
“Stefan I need you in my room now. We have to
help get Megan's body temperature up,”
Nik commanded, using his mental link. Then stripped down to his underpants and T-shirt, then slid into bed and cocooned his mates body.
Stefan entered his brother's room, stripped down the same as Nik had, and climbed into bed. Nik took the opportunity to question his brother about the Malibu Pack.
“Did Travis try to come onto our land?”
Nik asked using his mental link to his brother.
“No. His second in command was waiting for him
and the other Malibu Pack members when they swam
back to their side of the river. He challenged his
Alpha for leadership and won. It was a terrible fight,
over with quickly, but his second in charge ripped his
Alpha's head from his shoulder's. We will have no
more trouble from the Malibu's. I've heard his second
in charge has been waiting for the opportunity and
reason to challenge his Alpha; and that he is the right
person for the job,”
Stefan informed his brother.
“Thank God,”
Nik stated with a sigh. Now he only had to worry about Nadia.
Between the two of them it took less than half an hour before Megan was warm once more. Stefan climbed out of the bed, got dressed and left the room.
Nik was too afraid to leave Meg alone, so he stayed where he was. Determined to protect his mate as she slept and healed, he dozed lightly through the night.
When the first rays of the sun began to lighten the sky, Nik got out of bed, dressed and left the room. His mate was sleeping peacefully under the covers in his bed. She was warm and safe.
Nik entered the kitchen to see his Beta's already seated at the informal table. He poured himself a coffee and took a seat. “Has Nadia shown up yet?”
“No Alpha. We were unable to locate her last night and it is the same this morning. How is my Queen?” Seamus asked.
“She is well. She was sleeping deeply and peacefully when I left her. I think she will sleep for a while yet. She was totally exhausted last night, also she's suffering a slight concussion. Now, back to the problem at hand. I want Nadia found and brought to me immediately. If any of you see her or Nathan, I want to be informed straight away. I have a few things which need to be attended. Logan, I want you to guard my mate until she awakens. Do not leave my bedroom door until she comes out.”
“Yes Alpha,” Logan stated, as he rushed towards the stairs. It was an honor to be asked to protect his Queen. He would give his life for her.
Logan stood guard for another three hours. He came alert when he heard movement in the room beyond. He hadn't heard his Queen getting out of bed.
He quietly opened the door to his Alpha's bedroom to a small gap. He was just in time to see a large male standing over his Queen. He plunged through the door and was just in time to save his Queen from being stabbed. He grabbed the assailants wrist and squeezed hard, using all his
were
strength. The assailant screamed in pain, as Logan broke the bones in his wrist. He turned the male towards him and realized he had broken Nathan's wrist. Logan shoved him to the floor, twisted Nathan's arms behind his back while sitting on him.
“Alpha I've just stopped Nathan from killing your
mate and have him restrained. Please, come to your
room. Your mate is awake and seems to be
frightened.”
Logan advised, using his mental link.
“What the hell are you doing, Logan?” Meg asked.
“I just stopped this male from killing you, my Queen.”
Meg didn't get to reply as Nik burst through the bedroom door, with Stefan and Seamus on his heels.
Nik went to Meg and pulled her onto his lap. He took the bed coverings with her so she was still covered from the neck down.
“Are you alright, Meg?”
“I'm fine. Please put me down. What the hell is going on around here? First I'm prevented from leaving here, then I'm kidnapped by a loony and now someone is trying to stab me. I have had enough. You need to let me leave. I have been in danger from the moment I set foot in this house. You have to let me go,” Meg sobbed out.
“Ah, Meg. I'm sorry for the danger you have been placed in, but if I let you go now you would be killed. They will find you no matter where you go.
Can't you understand, I'm trying to keep protect you by keeping you here? And even if it was safe for you to leave, I couldn't do it. You are my wife. I love you, Megan. It would tear my heart out if you left me,” Nik stated, as he watched his Beta's remove Nathan from the room.