All of a sudden a shiver ran down her spine. She sensed the atmosphere in the woods had changed somehow.
She began to rush them along, making Esther panic in turn. The dusk bird-call and even the buzz of insects had stopped, and there was an almost unnatural quiet.
"Do you know which way we came?" She asked. "It's straight ahead." She pulled an arrow from her quiver and held it ready, just in case.
"Yes," panted Esther.
She heard the faint snapping of twigs and crunching of dry leaves.
"Go," she said, turning around and nocking the arrow, aiming her bow behind her. "Just run on ahead. Don't stop until you get to your house. Lock the door. I will catch up."
Esther wasted no time in obeying, fleeing with the sniffling child in her arms.
Something huge burst from the trees. Addy barely had a second to react, but it was long enough to identify the creature as a werewolf. Without hesitation, she fired.
She heard the soft thud of impact as her arrow found its target, and the beast let out a rage-filled roar. Her panic caught up with her. With a shivering breath she reached for her quiver, fingers fumbling for another shaft.
The creature had stopped in its tracks. It quickly began to recover, though it hissed in pain and batted at its wound. She could see the white fletching of the arrow sticking out of its shoulder. A wisp of steam came from the wound, the reaction of silver in its flesh. She had missed the heart. But all she needed was one more shot. One more...
As she raised her second arrow it looked at her, its yellow eyes glowing. It snarled, showing sharp white teeth. Then it crouched, bunching its strong legs, then launched itself at her.
Something burst from the bushes and leaped, crashing into the beast in mid-air, knocking it off course.
Another werewolf.
Adrianna's arrow went wide as the two creatures went down in a tangle of fur and teeth. She reached for another, cursing under her breath. Her hands were shaking.
She expected any moment both of the beasts would turn on her. But they only fought on the ground, snapping and growling, rolling around. One of them was bleeding heavily from her arrow, and the other was clearly winning the fight.
She took the opportunity to run.
Her breath tore from her throat, and her heart hammered in her chest. She fled in the direction of home, hardly daring to hope she might be able to make an escape. It was so close...
Her skirt caught on an errant branch and tugged hard, putting her off balance as it tore with a harsh ripping sound. She stumbled and, to compound her bad luck, her foot got caught on something - a tree root or a rock. She went down heavily, falling to her knees and swearing too loudly.
Then she heard it. Something running through the forest behind her.
Her bow was on the ground, out of reach. She crawled toward it, put her hand on it and snatched it up. She was struggling to her feet, panting, when she felt the presence right behind her. The wolf was gigantic and black, almost the size of a small pony. And it was shifting. Changing.
Drawing her knife from her belt with her left hand she struck out wildly, hoping to cut it, or at least club it with the bow. Anything to buy some time.
She managed to deal a long gash to the creature's shoulder as it reared up, and blood welled quickly on the hairy hide. But the creature snatched her hands out of the air and held them in its own.
Addy looked at the hands. Aside from their huge size and the long claws, they looked human. She gasped in surprise and looked up at the monster's face.
A moment ago it had been that of a beast, with dark fur and wolfish ears and a long snout. Now it was close to human. The eyes were still yellow, with predatory pupils, and the nose long and flat. Its - his - hair was long and stringy, ash-blonde. Strands of it hung down over his face. A strong face with a hard jaw and full lips. A face that was almost human – almost handsome.
He snarled, an incongruous expression on such a mild face. When he spoke, it was with dry humor. "Now, now," he said. "That's not a very nice way to thank me for saving you, is it?"
Adrianna's eyes widened in horror. The beasts could talk! She tried to wrest her hands from his grip, but he held her easily, a savage smirk on his face.
She felt light-headed. Her hands went loose, and the weapons dropped to the ground. Her knees buckled and suddenly she was too weak to do anything about it. She forgot to be afraid and was angry at herself instead. She was fainting, like some stupid little girl.
As she crumpled to the ground, the last thing she saw was the quizzical expression on the werewolf's face, as he cocked his head to the side and looked at her.
3.
She became aware of movement first, and opened her eyes with a start. She was being carried, slung over the shoulder of the man - the werewolf.
Her arms dangled helplessly as he ran through the forest. He held her as though she weighed nothing. She felt the shifting of his back and shoulders, his strong arms casually holding her legs secure. The forest floor flew past underneath them.
Panic gripped her. Her bow was gone. Her knife too, most likely. She was utterly helpless. Addy started to struggle, kicking and writhing.
Her captor noticed her protests and held her tighter. "Stop that!" He growled, slowing to a fast walk as he grappled with her.
She screamed and started flailing, hitting him wherever she could reach. His back was so unyielding, his legs so strong she was unsure if he could even feel it. But he growled again, louder.
After a moment of her screaming and kicking, he stopped and bent over, tossing her from his back. When she tried to run he grabbed her and pulled her close to him. She tried to scratch or punch, twisting in his grip, and he grabbed her arms and pinned them at her sides, patiently waiting for her to tire.
When she realized there was no way she could break out of his grasp, Addy went limp. She panted, catching her breath and reassessing the situation. She should conserve her strength, ready for a good chance to make a break for it.
"That's better," said the werewolf, speaking disconcertingly close to her ear. "Now, no more screaming, unless you want to attract the attention of every other bad thing in the forest."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Adrianna spat. She wasn't used to the idea of the beasts speaking. No one had ever told her that. They were supposed to be little more than animals. Mimics who could take the shape of men, but were not men. Not even close. The idea that they were intelligent - well, it made them even more terrifying.
"We are in the territory of an enemy pack." Said the wolf, calmly. "You met one of them before. Now, you may not like me very much, but believe me when I say you are better off with me than with them."
Her mind whirling, she didn't answer. Her chest heaved under his heavy, restricting arms. He smelled like earth and wood smoke. His warm breath tickled her ear.
"I can't breathe," she said finally.
He relaxed his hold slightly, and she inhaled deeply. Let it out in one long sigh.
"You are far from home." He said in that rough, but calm voice. "You have no chance if you run. I am much, much faster than you." He left the rest unspoken: even if she got away from him, some other monster would get her.
At this moment, she just wanted to get out of the tight circle of his arms. "Fine." She said. "I won't run. Let go of me."
He did, stepping back away from her. She whirled around, keeping her eye on him as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was getting cold. The moon was higher, lighting the forest, and it was eerily silent.
She looked at the wolf. He stood casually, weight on one leg, and stared back at her. He was wearing nothing but a crude hide covering, little more than a loincloth. His chest was pale in the moonlight, broad and muscled. He looked like any other man - a rather well-built one, at that.
Adrianna frowned, sullen, and dragged her eyes away from him. "What do you want with me?"
"We'll get to that later." He said. "It's not safe here. We need to keep runn
ing."
She snorted a sarcastic laugh. "Safe!" But she stopped short when he took a step toward her.
"Very well," he said, the trace of a warning in his voice. "I'll tell you. I've been watching you."
Her lips parted in astonishment. "What?"
He gave a short laugh. "Do you think a human can enter this forest without us knowing about it? I’ve been here for a while. You come almost every day. Yesterday you took two rabbits. Three days ago you shot a fox. Eight days ago, you bled -"
"How dare you!" She cut him off, her face reddening. Then she paused. "Why were you watching me?"
"I was seeking a mate." He said simply.
Addy stared at him. For a moment she didn't understand. Or perhaps she didn't want to.
"I shouldn't have waited for so long," he said, "but I was intrigued by watching you. You act unlike any of the other females of your pack. I would have let you go again today. Let you get the other female and her pup to safety. But, well..." he shrugged. "The other wolf showed up, and I couldn't let him claim you."
Her eyes had widened and her mouth dropped more and more open as he spoke. "Was... was that other wolf going to... to eat me, or..."
He shrugged. "I don't know. Wasn't about to find out. You are mine."
A shiver ran through her and she hugged herself, trying to rub warmth into her upper arms. His? He thought she was his? She didn't want to think about what that meant. A hundred questions fought for space in her mind. She didn't even know where to start.
The creature looked up at the sky. "We need to move."
She wanted to protest, to curse him, to say she wouldn't go anywhere with him. But what choice did she have? She didn't even know where she was. Still, when he started toward her, she stepped backwards.
"Come," he said, holding out a hand. It looked almost as though he was inviting her for a dance. Except for the claws. "I will carry you." He said, when she didn't move.
"I'll walk."
He shook his head, long hair swaying. "No. We need to run. You're fast, for a human -" the corner of his mouth tilted up as though this was amusing - "but not fast enough."
Still she refused to take his hand. So after a moment he stepped forward to grab her.
Addy gasped as he swept her up, lifting her in his arms. He held her easily, cradled against his chest. She didn't know what was worse - the indignity of hanging over his shoulders, or being held in this strangely intimate position.
Still, it was warm, and as he took off running she found the rhythm strangely soothing.
On occasion a branch or leaves whipped at her feet, but her captor was careful to shield her from the worst of the passing foliage. He jumped over obstacles and bent under branches, heading unerringly toward whatever destination he had in mind.
Adrianna reluctantly put her arms around his neck, unable to keep her eyes open. How strange, that she could even think of sleeping in this situation. But the adrenaline that had fueled her was gone, leaving her exhausted.
She felt the warmth of his skin under her cheek, heard the rush of his blood and the beating of his heart. She slept.
.
It seemed like only an instant later she awoke. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, vision blurry in the moonlight. She had been set down on the ground, her cloak wrapped around her.
As her sight cleared she saw him. The werewolf was crouched a few feet away, watching her.
Adrianna sat up, pulling the cloak more tightly around her. She felt her face grow hot. Something about the way he stared at her made her feel somehow... naked.
“Where are we?” She asked.
“We are safe.” He answered. His golden eyes gleamed in the dark. “We have crossed into my pack’s territory.”
“What a relief.” She said sarcastically. She drew her legs up under the cloak for warmth. When he said nothing, she blinked at him. “Well... what now? Are you taking me to your pack?”
“Soon.” He said. “Not yet.”
Despite herself, Addy was genuinely curious. She knew wolves – the natural kind – ran in packs. But she hadn’t realized werewolves had any kind of similar society. Maybe the hunters didn’t even know.
How many years had they been fighting this enemy, and how much did they really know about them? Even when a werewolf is a man, it is not a man. They are beasts that sometimes wear the appearance of a human. Feral, uncontrollable and incapable of reason. It was one of the first lessons taught to children.
Do not show mercy or even attempt to communicate, for the wolf in man’s clothing is only an animal to be put down before it devours you.
“Why not?” She asked.
“We must be properly bonded first.”
The words sent a shiver of fear through her. Did he really intend to take her as his mate? What did that mean, to a werewolf?
She looked away from him as she asked her next question. “Do - do your... people... usually take human mates?”
“It is not unheard of.” She heard a quiet snapping of twigs, and scuffling around as he answered. “We must travel to other pack territories to select our mates, to keep our blood diverse. We must stalk and snatch a female, as the other pack will fight us off if they can. It is our way.”
“And sometimes you take human women instead.” Addy surmised.
He didn’t say anything, and she looked back at him in time to see him nod. He was laying twigs down, setting a fire. As she watched, he produced a flint and steel and quickly made a flame.
What good was a human woman to a werewolf? Surely the two couldn’t breed? Her stomach gave a strange flutter at the thought and she shivered again. She didn’t ask the question. Didn’t want to know.
She watched him as he worked on the fire. He had a straight back, broad shoulders and strong arms knotted with muscle. He looked almost like one of the loggers’ boys – the ones the village girls sometimes gathered to watch. They would swing their axes and easily heft huge piles of wood, shirtless and sweating in the sun, while the girls leaned on fences and giggled amongst themselves. There was no denying he was handsome. Or would be if he was human, she corrected herself.
Her mind ran away with her. She imagined those arms wrapped around her, his hands stroking her naked flesh. Touching her in places no one else had ever touched – places she had saved for the husband her family would chose for her. What would it be like, to be caressed like that?
He looked up at her and for a moment she wondered absurdly if he’d read her mind. She felt herself blush again and was glad he probably couldn’t see.
“What is your name?” He asked.
She was grateful for the diversion from her thoughts. “Adrianna.”
“I am Lucas.”
Adrianna snorted. She put a hand over her mouth to stifle the absurd laughter that came up from nowhere. She looked at him, saw his head cocked to the side, and laughed again. “That... that’s such a normal name.” She said, wiping a tear from her eye.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just so...“ She paused to catch her breath. “Well – so human.” She explained. She knew she was being unreasonable, perhaps on the edge of hysteria. She wasn’t even sure it was all that funny. But all the same she couldn’t stop giggling.
He shrugged, and poked at the fire, and Adrianna felt her laughter die away. She wondered if she had offended him. Then she frowned, furrowing her brow. Why should she care?
When the fire was going they sat for a while in silence. She was tense, every part of her wanting to run. But he didn’t try to get close or touch her.
Twice she heard the howling of far off wolves, and Lucas would sit up, angling his head toward the sound, nostrils flaring. She wondered if they were his wolves. His pack.
She kept trying to formulate escape plans. But she had no idea how far from home they had gotten while she’d slept. Still, she was half tempted to take her chances with the forest. Lucas had to rest sometime. Maybe she should try to sneak away then.
The w
erewolf had obviously never been told staring was impolite. He watched Adrianna, crouched over there on the other side of the small fire. He looked at her as though he were starving, and she was a nice juicy rabbit.
“I’m thirsty.” She said. Anything to break the silence, and stop him from staring at her like that.
He sat up, and looked away. His flat nose twitched. “There is a stream,” he said. “Close.”
“You can... smell water?” Adrianna asked, sceptical.
“You can’t?” He answered, looking just as surprised.
4.
They left the little fire and he led her to the stream. As they made their way, she lagged behind. She had lost one shoe during their run, and wearing a lone slipper felt useless so she kicked it off too, cursing her captor for the loss of it.
The water was cool and clear. Addy cupped her hands and drank. Lucas dunked his whole face under and came up with his hair wet and dripping. He ran his hands through it and shook droplets everywhere.
She watched him carefully for any chance of escape, but of course there was none. He was watchful, his head tilting toward every sound and body poised for action at any moment.
Having drank her fill and now that she was walking, Addy started to feel the pressure on her bladder and slowed even more. Lucas stopped and took her arm, herding her along protectively – or possessively. She shook him off irritably.
“I need to relieve myself,” she said sourly. “Are you going to watch me?”
“Would you prefer I didn’t?”
She scowled at him. “We humans consider it a private activity.”
He shrugged, and she thought his eyes gleamed with amusement. “Very well, I will not watch.”
Addy pulled her arm free and broke away from him, pushing her way through the brush in an effort to get out of his line of sight. Looking back over her shoulder she saw him disappear from view.
She kept moving, her heart starting to pound in her chest. A little further, and she squatted down and lifted her skirts.
She took her time, and when she was done she stood and carefully kept walking, parting leaves and thin branches with her hands and trying to tread quietly.
Hunter, Hunted: Claimed by the Enemy (Werewolf Erotic Romance) Page 2
