Running in Fear: Escaped

Dane Glassgo stood in all his glory, scanning the surrounding area for any threat to his mate. His thick black fur blew in the cold wind. The Alpha in him never let his gaze travel far from the small cabin in the valley. All of his thoughts lingered on the woman within. Tonight, he would claim her. Impatience had marked each day of the past eight weeks, but finally the time had come. She was now in his domain, and he wouldn’t let her leave.
Funny, to think a chance visit to his little sister, Shelly, had yielded this all-consuming obsession. From the first moment her scent of roses and cream had wafted toward him, the wolf inside him had clawed to escape. It was more than just her natural perfume that excited him. Her pheromones drove him to the brink of madness. And yet he hadn’t even seen her face to face. The mere vestiges of her scent were enough for him to know this was the woman who would be his mate.
He'd tried to forget about it and take other females afterwards, but that hadn’t worked. Every time an opportunity to couple with another female presented itself, his stomach flipped in rebellion. Even Blair, his live-in play toy of the past several years, had lost her appeal. Dane finally understood that this female was his and only his.
He still couldn’t believe she was finally here, alive and well.
“This damned well better be an emergency or I swear I will tear this person apart!” Dane growled as he rolled over and answered the phone. “What?”
“Dane.” his little sister Shelly whispered into the phone.
Suddenly wide awake, Dane threw his feet over the bed, and his hand gripped the phone tightly. “What’s happened, Shelly? Is Jaycee okay?” The sound of a doctor’s page in the background could be heard. “SHELLY, WHO IS IN THE HOSPITAL?” Dane growled. His hand began to cover itself in black fur, and his face started to transform.
“Jaycee. He beat her up, Dane. Oh my God, you should see her! I can’t even recognize her face! They don’t know if she’ll make it, Dane. There are machines everywhere, and they’re taking her down for surgery now.” Shelly sobbed into the phone.
“I’ll be there in one hour!” He dropped the receiver, grabbed his clothes, and dashed for the bedroom door. Dane tried to push the beast back, but it threatened to take hold of him any moment.
An hour later, the door whooshed opened as Dane entered into the hospital, his family right behind him. Both his parents and his brother had insisted they drive him, knowing he would destroy his own car trying to get here. Dane scanned the hallway, and people skirted away from him as he made his way to the elevator.
“Dane you need to stop. You’re scaring everyone in this place.” His mother tried to grab onto his hand, but he wouldn’t have it. He pushed the elevator button and looked down at her. “I’m going to kill him, mother. If that piece of shit ever gets out of jail, he will be dinner.” His teeth started to change, but he pushed his beast back again as the elevator door opened and people walked around him to get out of his way.
“Dane, calm down. Your eyes are red,” his father ordered as he stepped into the elevator next to Mark, his younger brother.
Dane closed his eyes, pulling the beast back. He finally opened them when the elevator hit the fifth floor: Intensive Care. The door slowly opened, and, waiting near the nurse’s desk, he saw his sister, her face swollen from crying. She ran into his arms.
“She just came out of surgery. They had to put two pins in each of her legs, her jaw is wired shut and you can’t see her eyes. He broke each eye socket. The doctor’s said it’s a waiting game now. If she lasts the night and doesn’t contract pneumonia, she’ll survive.”
Machines beeped as he stepped into Jaycee’s room. Her scent mingled with the stench of alcohol and blood. As he approached the bed, Dane reeled. Her face was covered in bandages, and her legs were strapped into temporary casts. A police officer who’d been sitting in her room glanced up at him.
Shelly nodded to him. “Officer Charles, this is my brother, Dane. He’s the one I told you about.”
Dane recognized the officer as he, one of his own. The man stood and sniffed the air, then lowered his head in respect. “I’ll leave you, but if you need anything, Alpha, please don’t hesitate to ask. I should tell you the bastard that did this is now sitting in jail, but we have no idea where his goons are. She’ll have twenty-four hour protection until she is released.”
Dane studied the man, then nodded, “Thank you. I’ll stay here until she awakens. I’ll also have others from my team watching her. I’d appreciate any updates afterwards. I don’t want her to know I was here.” As he moved further into the room, claws sprouted out of his hands, fur broke through his skin and his muzzle started to grow. “I have to leave for a moment. Stay with her!” he ordered and dashed out of the room, heading straight for the stairs as his beast roared to escape.
The exit sign was only a few feet away. The park… he had to get to the park. Glancing around outside, he could see the entrance to the park. His feet ripped out of his tennis shoes, and his jeans tore at the seams as he entered the dark park. Dane stopped and tore off the rest of his clothes. The beast broke free, and the howl that had been bursting to come out finally rent through the night air, stilling every animal around. Tears fell, soaking his fur.
Suddenly he felt his mother’s gentle hands stroking him. “I don’t know why humans do this to each other, Dane. We will all have to be strong for her and stand beside her now. Just know that Shelly, your father and I will be with her non-stop until she is released and comes to the cabins. Now come, be with her while you can.” His mom rose and held out new clothes and shoes for him. The beast retreated, but kept a silent vow of death.
Dane’s heart surged with a sense of protectiveness as the memory faded. He shook his head and glanced down at the cabin once more. He couldn’t believe the anger that had triggered such an uncontrollable period in his life. He’d never had he been able to completely control his beast, but on that day in the hospital, nothing could stop him changing. The strength it took for him to control himself and wait for the right time to avenge his mate’s pain and suffering had amazed even his parents.
Standing behind the scenes, he had made sure she wanted for nothing while she recuperated at the family’s cabin. He’d protected her from her so-called husband and made sure he didn’t get out of jail, until now.
Heavy flakes of snow blew across his field of vision. He shook his head and waited for his sister’s appearance in the window. That would be the signal that she’d told Jaycee about their family. He would take care of everything from there. The time was close; his shaft grew hard, waiting for its new home in her wet folds. His sensitive ears picked up the conversation that had suddenly turned to yelling. He whipped his head around again to the cabin and saw his sister in the window.
Dane’s howl carried to the lodge by the winds; as he made his way down to the cabin, the wolf in him stalked its mate.