Charlie P.O.V

I continue to drift in and out of consciousness. When I manage to remain conscious for more than a few minutes, I take the time to wrap my wounds. I managed to rip my flannel shirt into strips for a temporary fix.

Luckily, the wolf has disappeared. I don't know where it went, but I know that it will come back eventually. I don't want to be around when it does come back.

Slowly, I try to stand. My leg burns with intense pain and my knee buckles. I lose my balance and crash down to the dirt floor. A soft groan leaves my lips as I slowly sit up.

I take a few deep breaths in an attempt to ease the wave of nausea that has hit me. After a few minutes, I'm ready to try again. I lean my weight on my good leg and manage to stand while using the wall for support.

"Start small," I whisper to myself, "walk five feet."

I take the first step with my good leg. It seems easy until I try to move my injured leg. My hand instinctively covers my mouth to stifle my cries of pain. I don't want to make a lot of noise in case the wolf is nearby.

Slowly but surely, I limp the five feet. My leg burns with numbing pain, but it slowly becomes bearable.

"Get to the door," I demand myself.

I lean against the wall for support. The wood scratches against my skin as I walk, but it's nothing compared to what I've been through today.

After what feels like an eternity, I make it to just a few feet from the door. I grab the door and pull, only to lose my grip and fall back. The door flies open and a man around my age smirks. His mouth is smeared with dry blood.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asks.

The man grabs the back of what's left of my shirt and drags me back to the wall. Just like that, all the progress I made in my escape is gone.

"You weren't trying to escape, were you?" he asks again.

"N-No," I lie softly.

The man takes a pocket knife out of the pocket in his sweatpants. He opens it up and gives me a side glance.

"Michael really should have listened when he was told to stay away from you. If he had, you wouldn't be here right now," the man mumbles.

"You don't have to do this," I beg softly. "I won't tell anyone."

He shares a cynical laugh. "Of course you will. Even if no one believes you, you'll still tell your little story."

He slices my cheek quickly with the knife. I hiss softly in pain and close my eyes. I can feel the blood trickle down my cheek.

"You know too much about us. You can thank Michael for all of this."

The man leaves and comes back several times throughout the day. Each time he returns he hurts me and takes some of the blood. I don't know what he does with it, but I know that I'm losing a lot of blood.

My body is exhausted and weak. Once again, I begin drifting in and out of consciousness. I can't even try to escape anymore.

The barn door opens once again. I try to prepare myself for the pain that is sure to come. Slowly, I open my eyes and see a wolf standing before me. The wolf has one blue eye and one brown eye.

"Michael?" I ask softly.

The wolf nuzzles my hand with his snout. I scratch behind his ears and smile.

"You found me," my voice trembles.

The wolf sudden transforms into Michael. I would be surprised if I hadn't seen him become the wolf in the first place.

"Jesus, Charlie, what the hell did James do to you?" he asks, avoiding touching any of my wounds.

"Who's James?"

"My brother," Michael mumbles under his breath.

"I didn't know you had a brother," I reply softly.

"That's not important right now," he says.

"He might come back," I warn him. "He leaves and comes back and when he does he cuts me with a pocket knife."

"I don't think he's coming back right now. We need to get you to the hospital." 

Michael carefully picks me up off the ground. I wrap my arms around his neck and try my best to hide my pain.

"Does this hurt too much?" he asks with a worried tone.

"It doesn't feel great," I answer honestly.

"Would you rather ride on my back?"

I stay quiet for a few moments before nodding. Michael sets me down against the wall and transforms into a wolf. He's bigger than a normal wolf and hopefully, he can support my weight.

I hobble a bit closer before lifting my good leg over him. Thankfully I didn't have to use my bad leg as much. I hold onto his sides and tell him to go.

Michael walks with a quick pace through the forest. I run my fingers through his soft fur and sigh softly. He takes a quick glance back at me, probably to see if I'm okay.

"It's okay," I tell him quietly.

He gives a small nod and returns his attention to the forest. I lay my head against his back and let out a long exhale. I listen to Michael's heartbeat as a way to relax. His heart beats fast as he runs through the trees.

The rhythm of Michael's jogging keeps me from falling asleep. With the amount of blood I've lost and the severity of my injuries, that's most likely a good thing. I can rest my eyes from the harsh sun, but I'm unable to fall asleep, although my brain is somewhere between awake and unconscious.

My limbs feel heavy, but I manage to stay on Michael's back. The last thing I need to do is fall off of him while he's running.

"I love you, Michael," I mumble softly.