I turned around to head back the way I’d come, when the unmistakable snapping of a branch sounded from nearby. Whipping back around, I scanned the meadow, and tree line around it, but saw no movement. With a shrug, I took off back down the trail.
A few short minutes later, the sun had fallen faster than I’d anticipated, and with the heavy canopy above, it had become darker than I was comfortable with. Thankfully, I could still make out the trail, and decided to pick up my pace. Soon, I was lightly jogging, narrowly avoiding tree roots, and pointy rocks that threatened to trip me.
A soft thud came from behind, and I once again spun around to scan the dark woods. Something shiny caught my attention, and I bent down to pick up the phone that must have fallen out of my pocket.
“Whew! That woulda’ been bad if I’d lost you out here.”
I dusted off the phone and stuck it in my front pocket this time so I’d be able to feel if it fell out again.
Another branch snapped behind me.
Knowing it would be useless to try to find the source of the noise with the encroaching darkness, I ignored it, and took off again toward the cabin.
I’d gone only a few feet before I heard a low rumbling growl from behind me. My feet froze in place, my heart thudding in my chest. Maybe if I stayed really still, and quiet, whatever it was would just walk away? I clenched my fists and did my best to slow my harsh breathing.
After a few moments, I could tell the sound was getting closer, and I inched my way down the trail again. Before long there was more crunching behind me, along with the heavy thump of footsteps. I spun around, but nothing was there. After a few minutes of scanning the area, and finding nothing, I gave up.
“Well, this was stupid, Elizabeth,” I chastised myself. “It’s probably a harmless deer, and I’m standing here like an idiot,” I huffed before turning toward the cabin again.
The snapping twigs seemed to follow me through the woods as I walked as quickly as I dared in the darkness. I didn’t think it was common for deer to follow humans, but I wasn’t an expert by any means. Pushing those thoughts from my head, I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
When the deep, menacing growl came again, I stopped in my tracks. Adrenaline pumped furiously through my veins, my chest rising and falling with my rapid breaths. Wracking my brain, I tried to identify what was following me. Were there mountain lions in this part of the state? Bears perhaps?
Maybe it was a human? Humans could growl too, right?
“Hello?” I called.
No answer.
Shit.
I listened closely, but heard nothing more, so I turned toward where I remembered the trail being, and took off running. Darkness completely obscured the path by now, but I was beyond caring.
Branches scraped along my exposed skin and tugged at my clothing while tree roots made the path treacherous. Finally, one of the roots caught the toe of my sneaker, and I fell forward onto the forest floor, my forehead smashing into something hard.
“Holy friggen’ ouch,” I panted as I tried to regain my bearings.
A soft tickling sensation made me swipe at something on my forehead. When I brought my hand close to my face, I could see the crimson staining my fingers.
“Okay, no big deal, Elizabeth. Nothing some bacitracin and a bandage can’t fix.”
I rolled over on the damp ground and tried to catch my breath. The wound on my head continued to bleed freely, dripping into my eyes, and running down the side of my face, blurring my vision. With a grunt, I pulled myself into a sitting position, and surveyed my surroundings.
Trees. All I could see were trees.
“This is no good,” I whispered.
Terror spiked in my veins once more when another deep growl came from close by. I scanned the darkness, but that only made things worse as every shadow became sinister.
Finally, a large, dark mass pulled away from the others, its shape solidifying. My breath caught as it stalked close enough I could make out its features.
Only, I almost wish I hadn’t.
It was a wolf.
A humongous wolf.
And there I was, bleeding, on the forest floor as a giant carnivore headed my way.
I was so screwed.
With shaky movements, I climbed to my feet. A surge of inspiration hit me, and I raised my arms high in the air, yelling as loud as I could.
“HEY! GET OUT OF HERE!” I bellowed. I’d read somewhere that if you made yourself appear bigger and meaner, that you could sometimes scare off a predator.
That tactic was not working.
The wolf made a coughing noise that almost sounded like a raspy chuckle as it continued to stalk toward me. Its creepy eyes locked onto the blood still streaking down my face. The beast licked its chops, razor sharp teeth dripping with saliva, and I swear, its eyes gleamed with hunger.
Unfortunately, I was the only thing on the menu.
I frantically scanned through all my options and found them bleak. How was I going to get myself out of this? I had no weapons, I could barely see where I was going, and I’d gotten turned around at some point. Things were not looking good for me.
The wolf stopped advancing only a few feet away, and just stood there. My chest heaved as I struggled to calm my breathing. This reminded me I still had my camera around my neck, and a plan formed in my head. Maybe not a good plan, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.
With slow movements, I grasped the device, letting my pointer finger hover over the shutter button. The wolf bared its teeth, almost as if it was grinning at me, and crouched down, preparing to launch in my direction.
I pressed the button on the camera. The click of the shutter sounded like a gunshot in the quiet woods, and the bright light of the flash momentarily lit up the night. Although the light affected me as well, it seemed to have stunned the wolf for a moment, and I took that opportunity to wheel around, and sprint away.
I ducked and weaved through the trees, hoping to at least make it harder for the wolf to catch me. Maybe it would see me as too much trouble and give up. Or maybe, I just provided it with a fun game of tag.
My breaths were wheezing out of me by now, and my muscles were burning. If I got out of this alive, I promised myself I’d get back into the gym.
With no sounds of pursuit, I figured the wolf had given up, and my only obstacle now would be finding my way back to the cabin in these unfamiliar woods. I slowed my pace to get a look at my surroundings, but couldn’t see much as blood was still dripping into my eyes, making them sting, and blinding me.
The woods were silent except for the pounding of my frantic heart. I did my best to put one foot in front of the other. My eyes on the ground, watching for anything that might slow me down.
No sound preceded the attack.
Blazing hot pain engulfed my calf, wrenching a scream from deep in my chest. I fell once again to the ground with the wolf’s teeth clamped around my leg.
It snarled as it shook its head violently from side to side. Unbelievably, the pain doubled, radiating up my leg, and causing me to cry out again.
“Stop! Stop! Get off me!”
A mixture of tears and blood burned my eyes, and I squeezed them tightly shut. Using what little strength I had left, I tried to jerk my leg out of the beast’s impossibly strong jaw, but made no progress. When that didn’t work, I resorted to beating at the creature’s head with my fists, and scratching at its eyes with my short nails.
The wolf didn’t like that and chomped down harder. I knew it had to be close to the bone at this point. Could it bite my leg off? I wouldn’t put it past the giant beast.
Suddenly, the wolf released my leg, and trotted away, its shape melting into the shadows. I didn’t wait to find out where it had gone, or if it was gone for good. With a whimper, I rolled onto my stomach, and dragged myself forward, my sorry, mangled leg following limply behind me. The pain seemed to get more severe as time went on. It wouldn’t be long befo
re it crippled me completely.
Without warning, two large, strong hands gripped my hips from behind, and dragged me backward. I screamed and flailed against them, but it made no difference.
“There’s no use fighting, princess,” a deep man’s voice whispered from behind me, echoing my fears.
Where the hell had this guy come from? Was the wolf his pet or something? They’d pulled the old “bait and switch” on me, and my head was spinning.
I kicked and thrashed, twisting and turning as I struggled to get away. What did he want with me? Why was he in the middle of the woods at night? How had he found me out here?
“Let me go!” I grunted, my energy waning as the adrenaline petered out of my system.
His hands left my hips, and one of his thick, muscled arms wrapped around my neck. He flexed, and I made an involuntary choking sound. A satisfied chuckle danced across the back of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. This man was evil. I could feel it. Practically taste it in the surrounding air.
It was painfully obvious I wouldn’t make it out of these woods alive. The best I could hope for was a quick death. Would anyone ever find my body? Would anyone figure out what happened? Or would my murder remain a mystery?
And who would lead the search? My loving parents? That was a joke. That would mean my father would have to pry himself from the golf course, and my mother would have to curb her gallon-a-day wine habit.
My body was running dangerously low on oxygen, and black spots, even darker than the night dotted the edges of my vision. My head felt lighter, and my ears rang with a steady white noise. I would lose consciousness soon and knew I wouldn’t ever regain it.
A final tear leaked from my eye as a large emptiness settled in my chest. The fear and desolation I felt when I thought about dying out here was like a physical weight pressing on my lungs. Or maybe that was the poor organ screaming for the oxygen it'd been denied for too long now.
The last thought I had before the blackness claimed me, was I was leaving this world the same way I’d spent the past decade of my life–alone.
Chapter 3
A dull pain in my ribs broke through the blackness I’d succumbed to. Whatever was nudging my side was becoming more insistent. With a groan, I tried to bat it away with my hand, but when I felt the coarse fur and wet nose, the events of the night came rushing back.
With a gasp, I jerked back, and tried to wriggle away from the beast that had attacked me. The movement sent fiery agony shooting through my leg, but I refrained from crying out. I realized the pain in my side was the wolf’s nose when it nudged me again, harder this time. The shove rolled me onto my back, and I got a look at my attacker.
Through the blood still streaming from my head and into my eyes, I saw the wolf had brilliant blue eyes instead of black.
Was this the same wolf?
It couldn’t be. How could he have changed his eye color?
Maybe there was a whole pack of them.
The thought of trying to fight off a whole swarm of murderous wolves knotted my stomach and sent my heart racing.
I couldn’t do this anymore.
I had no more fight left in me.
My body went limp on the damp forest floor.
“I give up,” I told the wolf. My throat ached, and my voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m so tired and cold. I just want this to be over.”
Silently, I said goodbye to all the dreams and goals I’d had. I said goodbye to Charlie–hopefully he’d get adopted by a good family. Angry tears gathered in my eyes as I thought about all the things I’d miss out on. Things I’d always told myself I’d have time for.
This wasn’t fair!
The anger built like a pressure cooker until it boiled over. I glared at the gray wolf again, and found him sitting there, watching me with his head cocked to the side.
“What are you waiting for?! If you’re going to eat me, just get it over with!” I rasped. My throat felt like I’d swallowed a box of razor blades, and I’d had enough.
The blue-eyed wolf continued to stare for another few moments, before he stood, and trotted off into the darkness.
“What? Are you going to retrieve your big human friend again?! Can’t finish me off yourself?”
I wasn’t sure why I was taunting the murderous carnivore, but I was beyond caring. If I was going to die, I’d do it kicking and screaming. With a cautious look at my mangled leg, I amended that to just screaming.
A loud crack sounded from where the wolf had disappeared to. Next there were a short series of softer snaps before the woods were quiet again. Strangely quiet.
Moments later, a large, naked man emerged from between the trees, his face shrouded in darkness. He walked slowly, and purposefully toward me. With a squeak, I struggled to crawl away from him, my brutalized leg screaming in agony. I don’t know why he hadn’t killed me the first time, but I wasn’t sticking around to give him a second chance.
Like you have a choice, Elizabeth. You can’t even stand.
Helplessness threatened to overtake me once again, but I fought it.
“What do you want?!” I screamed at the man, injuring my throat worse.
He was closer now, and I struggled to keep my eyes above his waist. I would not check out my attacker’s junk. Not that there wasn’t a ton to look at from there up because there was. Even in the dark, I could see his tanned, chiseled chest, and thick arms.
Was this Stockholm Syndrome? This wasn’t the time or place to be fantasizing about my attacker.
When his deep voice broke the silence, I forced my eyes from his physique to his face.
“I won't hurt you,” he said softly.
As he came closer, I could make out his facial features. He had a strong, clean shaven jaw, and thick, dark eyebrows above what looked like light colored eyes.
Damn, my murderer is beautiful.
“You already did,” I reminded him.
His head shook slowly. “I didn’t, I promise. I just want to help.”
The adrenaline was rapidly leaving my system. My throat felt raw, I had a pounding headache, and my leg was on fire. And I was wet? Had it rained? I smelled horrible.
The man was closer now, and I watched as he cautiously knelt next to me. With my last reserve of energy, I shuffled and squirmed as far away as I could. The movement sent sharp shooting pains up my leg, and I gasped in surprise. How was the pain still getting worse?!
“Shh shh shh,” he soothed. “Take it easy, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“I didn’t hurt myself, you did,” I hissed, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I promise, I won't hurt you.”
His words sounded good, but how could I trust him? A naked man shows up in the middle of the woods right after I'd been attacked, and I was just supposed to take his word for it?
Not likely.
But what choice did I have?
"Where are your clothes?" I whispered harshly.
He smiled, but declined to answer.
Weirdo.
"May I pick you up?"
The decision was coming dangerously close to not being mine to make anymore as my vision narrowed. The man leaned over me, a lock of his dark hair falling onto his forehead. Now that he was closer, I could clearly see the brilliant color of his eyes. His denim blue gaze met mine, and I felt their pull instantly. I watched as his expression changed from concern to surprise. He reached out a hand and gently swept some sticky hair off my face.
His eyes were tender when he asked, “What’s your name?”
I searched his face frantically for the assurance I was looking for. Soon I’d be unconscious again, and at the mercy of this stranger. Could I trust him not to harm me? I didn’t have much of a choice right now. Besides, there was a kindness in his eyes I couldn’t ignore. After working as a criminal lawyer for so many years, I was adept at knowing the good ones from the bad ones.
“Elizabeth,” I croaked. “Please, help me.”
Wit
h that, I closed my eyes, and let my body go limp. It was too much work to stay awake when all I wanted to do was sleep. For a decade.
Gentle hands slid underneath my battered body and cradled me against his warm chest.
“I’ve got you, Elizabeth. I won’t let anything hurt you ever again,” he promised.
How he could make such a promise, I didn't know. But at that point, nothing mattered but the cool darkness of oblivion that beckoned.
Wakefulness returned slowly. I stretched my arms above my head with a groan. It felt like I’d slept for years.
I cracked one eye open and looked around the unfamiliar room. This was not my little two-bedroom back in Raleigh. In fact, my whole apartment could fit in this room. The walls were a deep green, and the furniture dark mahogany.
Memories of recent events swam to the front of my brain. I remembered winning my case and leaving work early. I’d driven out to the mountains for the weekend. But this wasn’t the cabin I’d rented. That whole cabin could have probably fit in this room too.
So where the hell am I?
I tried to swallow, but my parched throat ached. With another groan I pulled my sore body into a sitting position. My head spun, and throbbed, and I squeezed my eyes shut until the feeling lessened.
When I opened them again, I saw I was in a large canopy bed that had what looked like thick tree trunks as posts that branched outward to connect with each other. My eyes roved over the strange room until they caught sight of another person.
Familiar blue eyes met mine and widened in surprise. The woman they belonged to looked to be about my age, with elfin features, and lightly tanned skin. She sat up straight and held up one hand in a friendly wave.
“Hello,” she said with a big smile.
Why did she look so familiar? I'm sure I’ve never met her before.
“Hello?” I said, but it came out more like a question.
“How you feelin’?” she asked, true concern lacing her soft voice.
“Um…” I responded unintelligently. My eyes continued to scan the room I was in, frantically searching for answers.
Shift (Southern Werewolves Book 1) Page 2
