The alpha tilted his head, and again he wore a super confused look. “You’re speaking Japanese,” he said, in what sounded like perfect English.
Switching gears, I faced Jaxson, whom, despite everything, I still tolerated better than Torin. “Did I speak Japanese?”
Jaxson nodded. “Yeah, sounded like it to me.”
“See,” I said, turning back, only to shake my head and side-eye my oldest friend. “Sorry, what? I spoke Japanese?”
I knew Japanese? Had I actually learned it during my two months of memory loss? As I pressed into that thought, the familiar sharp pain in my head jabbed harder than usual. “How is that possible?” I mumbled through the pain. “I did one semester in school! The extent of my Japanese isKonnichiwaandOhayou gozaimasu!”
Alpha Dai blinked. “When you said that, you sounded like an American trying to butcher my language, but before, you spoke to me in perfect Japanese. Like it’s your natural language.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Nope. I cannot handle this, I’m sorry.”
Before anyone could say another word, I spun on the spot and took off into the trees, desperately craving an escape.
“Mera!” Torin bellowed after me, but I didn’t turn back.
The one advantage to tonight’s event was that Torin was required to be present and converse with all the alphas. Especially since he was so new to this role; it was more important than ever to establish us back in the pack hierarchies and foster new friendships.
Duty first. Which gave me exactly what I needed: time to escape.
Only someone did come after me, the crashing of bushes and trees loud behind me, as I tore through the forest.
I didn’t turn back, though.
If they wanted me, they would have to catch me.
4
After a few minutes of free running as fast as I could, with no thought to direction or destination, my wolf finally rose up to lend me some of her speed and strength. My heels disappeared soon after, and I took a second to lean down and tear the train off my dress.
From there, I was sprinting with the wind at my back and the moon shining light on me from above. A howl rocketed up through my chest to escape my lips as I tilted my head back.
There were days I would never exchange this gift of having a wolf soul and supernatural abilities for anything.
“Mera!”
Why the hell was Jaxson always shouting my fucking name? And always with a command in his tone. Unfortunately for his arrogant ass, I was done taking orders from anyone. Even orders silently given in a single word.
I ran faster. And faster.
The trees whipped by as I released the anxiety and stress that had been eating at me for days.
It had just been too damn long living like this, broken, wallowing through the darkness in my head. I needed to rise above it. I needed to be… more?
Words started to form in my mind, familiar words, and as they unfurled, I saw them as if they were literally being written in front of me.
From the darkness, the phoen—
The pain hit me harder than ever, and I hadn’t been ready for it this time, my feet tripping over nothing as my brain spasmed violently. Slamming into a tree at that speed sent me flying into the air before I tumbled down a small embankment.
By the time I came to a stop, I was bloody and beaten, the dress nothing more than tatters.
“Mera, shit, are you okay?” Jaxson asked, his voice coming from above me.
I couldn’t see him, of course, since I was too busy trying to lift myself up off the tree branch impaled through my right shoulder.
“Stay right there,” he said. “I’ll be down to help in about fifteen seconds.”
