AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He walked calmly, his grip firm, despite my pleas to release me. I twisted around, jerking and flinging my arms out, smacking my fists against his firm, muscular back.
“Let me go!" I screamed, finally slipping from his grasp. I kicked my legs out, scrambling to put as much distance between us as I could. Wrapping my arms tightly around a tree, I glared up at him. If he was determined to take me, there really wasn't anything I could do to stop him, but I could at least try.
He pursed his lips together, his jaw jutting out a bit. His profile was sharp, and his eyes narrowed as he looked me over. "I'm just trying to help," he said, his voice annoyed and loud.
"I don't need your help," I snapped, locking my hands together around the tree’s trunk, careful not to take my eyes off of him.
"Clearly," he smirked. "Be careful out there. There are all kinds of vicious creatures that could easily make a snack out of you."
He slipped off his pants, and I tensed. My hackles raised, and I growled high in my throat.
"Calm the fuck down," he said lazily. "I'm getting ready to shift. I wouldn't dare to touch you again. Not after that...warning," he laughed, moving his dark eyes over my face and settling on my battered feet. His cocky grin softened. "Are you sure you're okay? You really should consider going back to your village. This is no place for someone like you."
"I'm fine!” I wished he'd just leave already.
He hesitated for a moment before giving me a quick nod and stuffing his clothes into a satchel secured over his shoulder. Then he shifted quickly. His beast-like form was tall and looming with shaggy, dark hair just like his human. His wolf gave me one more glance then disappeared into the wilderness. I waited until I could no longer hear the heavy thump of his paws before I allowed myself to relax.
I jogged along, anxious to get as far away from the rotting corpse and nosey Alpha as I possibly could. The thick stench of death was still stuck in my nose, dulling my senses, and I couldn't pick up anything else in the air. It had me on edge.
I rounded a thicket of trees and jogged toward a river in the distance. The water called to me, my throat longing to slake my thirst. I cupped a hand and dipped it into the cool water. A low growl vibrated through the air, and I froze.
Out of the corner of my eye, an enormous bear jerked its head up. It sniffed the air, baring its teeth, and stalked toward me. I begged my body to move, racking my brain, trying to remember what to do when faced with a bear. The creature tensed and stood up on its hind legs, casting its massive shadow over me. My whole body trembled, and I tried lowering myself to the ground.
I needed to play dead, but my wolf was freaking out. My mind and body were at war with each other, causing my bones to shake and my muscles to tense. No matter how hard I tried to force myself onto my stomach, I struggled to meet the dirt. My wolf was too desperate to run and hide.
The bear let out an ear-piercing roar that vibrated across the ground and into the soles of my feet.My wolf won me over, and I ran.
Sprinting back in the direction I had just come, I could hear the beast's heavy paws as it chased me through the forest. I pumped my arms and legs, weaving through the narrow trees, but the sound of snapped branches and barreling grunts told me he was nowhere near slowing down.
I stopped abruptly right in front of the dead body, whipping my head around to see the bear throwing its weight into a small cluster of trees. In a panic, I jerked hard on the handle of the sword and shoved myself into the spider-infested tree. Squeezing my eyes shut, I swallowed a whine as bugs rushed over my skin and in my hair. Unable to hold myself together, I cried, forcing myself to stay within the safety of the webbed nest.
The bear slammed its body into the cracked spruce, roaring at me in a blaring rage. The tree around me groaned and creaked, causing the spiders to flood out of the wood.
I swallowed back my tears, and squeezed the sword's handle, suddenly feeling its weight. It pulled at my hands, the tip settling into the ground. I tried lifting it back up, but I didn't have the strength to hold it properly and its sharp end sank even more into the earth.
The bear swiped at me with its long claws, the sharp points inches from my face. Its bulky arms were too big to reach me, and I pressed my back more firmly against the rotting wood.
The horrific beast roared again, spit flying into my face.
"GO AWAY!" I screamed as my whole body convulsed uncontrollably. Spiders crawled over and into my clothes, tickling the inside of my ears and the corners of my mouth.
The bear reared back then jerked forward, swiping and catching my arm. Blood swelled and seeped out of two deep gashes just above my wrist. My eyes widened in shock at the pain that radiated up my neck and flashed down my back.
I eyed the bear in a boiling rage, baring my teeth. I heaved hard on the sword once more, pulling the tip off the ground, then I wedged it forward. I grunted from the weight, then snarled as loudly as I could, and lunged.
I pierced the bear in the center of his gut, just beneath its ribs. The shiny blade stuck firm as thick, red streams gushed around it. I thought briefly about reaching for it, but the beast stumbled forward, and I screamed, racing back into the safety of the heinous spider tree.
The bear jerked its body to stand up on its hind legs, but it faltered and fell forward, impaling itself further onto the blade. It grunted and kicked out its hind legs, scratching at the dirt. A pained snort, then a high-pitched whine left its lips as it twitched.
I waited, arms wrapped tightly around myself as spiders danced all over my skin and hair.
"Please be dead, please be dead, please be dead," I chanted quietly, tears rolling down my face.
The bear let out one last huffed groan then stilled completely.
I bolted from the tree and raced as fast as I could toward the river, not stopping until I hit the water. I flung myself into the rushing stream, smacking at spiders and ripping at my clothes and hair. I sucked in as much air as I could between forced sobs, my body trembling uncontrollably.
Once I could no longer feel the creepy tickle on my skin, I pulled myself to the shore and laid down at the base of a tree, curling myself into its massive roots. I breathed heavily, trying to listen for any sound within the forest around me. Trees swayed, and a few twigs softly snapped in the distance, causing me to jerk and whip around wildly, looking for the source of the noise.
