Chapter 9 – Grace

I jerk awake, the screams of a she-wolf piercing my dreams and forcing me awake. She is close and I can tell there is a male chasing her by the way she sobs with fear.

“Stay away from me!” She pleads, her voice pulling at my heart. But I curl into a ball and pray that my scent is hidden. I feel like a coward, not running out to help the girl, but if I do while exhausted, he will come for me instead.

“Come on baby. Don’t you want to feel my hard throbbing cock inside you?” The male taunts. I shut my eyes and wish that I did not hear that, hear a man taunting a woman like she is nothing but a brood mare.

“I said stay away from me!” She screams again, but her scream is muffled as a loud thud hitting the ground is heard. Silence follows but then the unmistakable sounds of a man grunting in satisfaction and flesh against flesh breaks it. The she-wolf had been caught and the male has claimed a mate. I do my best to block out the sounds of the girl crying as she is raped, how painful it must feel to be forced into a mate bond you do not want. But soon, when the heart comes, she will want his touch. This thought repulses me.

Time passes slowly while the sound of sex is heard loud and clear. No one comes to her aid, to focused on hiding, running away or claiming a mate. And then silence settles. It seems he is done and hopefully he does not see my treehouse. I wait, listening for any sounds before I move.

“Sorry hun, but I promise to be a good mate.” His voice echoes in the silent forest below. Footsteps along the gravel begin to fade away and I breath a sigh of relief. The man left and took his mate with him, reminding me that this tree house is not safe and I need to go now. I can’t risk being caught. With careful movements, I take the clothes out of my new found bag and dress as quietly as I can. I did not like feeling exposed naked on a mattress with only a towel wrapped around me. With a sigh, I place the towel in the bag and strap the pack to my back.

I think about the girl that was just raped, wondering if she will be okay and if she is blonde like Amelia. I hope that my best friend has found a place to hide and is making her way to the outer edges of the forest to keep away from the males who are hunting for a mate like her, an Alpha she-wolf with a pack to inherit. Maybe I should go find her, protect her. We make a great team when fighting and having someone watch your back while deep in the Moon Goddess’ Forest is a blessing I will need. With a sigh, I crawl towards the exit of the tree house, deciding that Amelia knows me best and will search for me upstream of the river. If we run into each other along the way then that will be perfect. Deciding to focus on myself for now, I stick my head out of the hole and listen intently for any sounds of movement, relived when I realize the coast is clear and I can lower the rope ladder. With a final check, I scurry down and safely onto a tree root, trying to decide which path to take. The side I am unfortunately is the opposite riverbank to where I need to be. I will have to swim across if I want to continue going towards the lodge. The only benefit of being on the wrong side of the river is the gravel lining the side, giving me an easy way to conceal my footsteps from any searching wolves. With a sigh, I carefully jump from root to root until my feet are firmly placed on the ground, careful no to slip on the gravel and make too much noise. With a deep breath, I look up at the sky to see a setting sun through the trees canopy. Many wolves will be asleep, regaining their energy spent running through last night and all day. Now is my chance to make some ground and find a new place to hide when everyone wakes. With a small smile, I start walking up stream, keeping alert for anything lurking in the ever growing darkness. There is no telling who may be out and about, searching for a mate or a meal. There are still vampire fledglings lurking about that I need to be vigilant for and I do not intend to become a quick O negative juice box to a blood sucker.