Chapter 10: Unexpected Encounter

SELENE POV

"Alpha! We've got company!" Cassius bellowed.

Our lips were only moments from touching when Tor cursed. Before he pulled away he cupped my chin with his hand.

"To be continued," he said in a gruff voice. I didn't have the chance to respond before he stood and jogged over to where Cassius was. I took a moment to compose myself before following Tor to the group.

The shifters were on high alert as they scanned the trees.

"There's a large group coming in from the West," Cassius said to Tor, pointing in that direction. "From the same area we found the burners in."

Tor watched the distant treeline. It was amazing how they could switch from laughing and joking with one another to deadly-focused warriors. Tor turned to me.

"Selene, go hide in the cave," he commanded gruffly.

I was about to do just that when I heard the undeniable whistle of an arrow as it zoomed through the air. All I could do was draw in a breath when I realized that the arrow was coming right at me. Tor grabbed me in an instant and shielded me from the direct path of the arrow.

The arrow impaled his shoulder and he grunted.

"Tor!" I gasped as I watched blood start to trickle from the wound. Tor gripped the arrow and ripped it out of his muscle in one swift movement. The team of shifters made a circle around Tor and me, protecting their alpha with strategized precision. Tor kept me held tightly to his body, shielding me from any other potential attacks.

"Well, well, look what we stumbled upon in the woods," a cheerful but low sardonic voice said.

I peered over Tor's shoulder to see a large group of heavily armed men closing in all around us. The men all had arrows and swords trained on our group.

"You wouldn't happen to be the b*stards that leveled my men down the way, now would you?" someone I couldn't see asked with feigned curiosity.

A large man sauntered to the front of the line. He had a hand on the hilt of his sword and a smirk on his chiseled face. Some could call him handsome, but when I looked into the depths of his amber eyes, all I saw was a monster.

"You wouldn't happen to be Damion, the son of a b*tch who has been leaving burned villages in his wake?" Tor retorted shortly.

A smile broke across the man's face.

"I had no idea that my reputation proceeded me. What a glorious day!" Damion lifted his arms up as if embracing the air around him. He let out a chuckle that I could only describe as evil.

"Did you mutts come looking just for me?" he asked with his eyes raised in mock surprise. Arlo let out a growl at Damion's words.

"Well, you found me," Damion's tone turned dark. "However, I am not feeling the hospitality after finding one of my unit's blood soaking into the dirt."

Tor tucked my body behind him so that he could face Damion fully.

"Yeah, we've been looking for you and I'd like to thank you personally for saving us the trouble of having to hunt you down like the rat that you are," Tor said, his voice full of venom. Damion's smile dropped from his face at the insult.

"And do you think that a pack of flea-ridden dogs have the power to take me down?" Damion said before letting out a raucous laugh. At that moment, Damion's eyes met mine and I couldn't help but press more tightly against Tor's side.

"Hold on," Damion said as he narrowed his eyes at me, and as if some sort of realization hit him, his face split once again into a wicked grin. "Although running into you lot has given me great joy, the gift you have provided is really without compare."

Damion then turned to acknowledge his team of hunters.

"Boys!" the leader's eyes landed on mine when he said, "I think we found who we are looking for."

My stomach dropped at his words as my nightmares came to life right before my eyes. Tor let out a dangerous snarl.

"Keep your f*cking eyes off of her," he said. Damion put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Now hold on, it seems to me that we got off on the wrong foot. Do you have any idea who you are holding right now?" Damion started to walk back and forth in front of us. "I gotta say, I am surprised you would be protecting a creature that is so dangerous to your kind." He spoke the last word like it was something bitter in his mouth.

"What do you mean?" I found my voice to ask. Damion stopped his pacing and looked at me with raised brows.

"Come on, witch, don't act like you have no idea what I am talking about." The hunter put his hands on his hips. "You're a danger to anyone you come across. You are the key that I have been looking for all this time."

"A key to what?" I yelled. "What the hell are you talking about!"

The smirk on Damion's face turned dangerous. "The key to destroying all of your kind," he said, gesturing to the pack.

He then turned his attention to Tor.

"Now, be a good doggy and hand the witch over," he said with a mocking grin. I could feel a rumbling building in Tor's body as he snarled in Damion's direction.

"I'll f*cking kill you first," Tor growled. Then in an instant, the entire pack simultaneously broke from their positions and attacked the hunters. Everything happened so fast that it was hard for me to keep up. One moment I am standing next to Tor and the next I was being pulled away from him.

Before I had a chance to panic I caught a glimpse of Cassius' face as he grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the battle. I turned over my shoulder to see Tor engaging with Damion who had his sword drawn.

"Cassius! We can't just leave Tor!" I cried, but Cassius did not respond. Instead, he lifted me into his arms and carried me away at speeds I never knew were possible.

No matter what I said or did as I struggled in Cassius' arms, he did not look back as he kept running to keep distance between us and the battle. Finally, after a good ten minutes of running Cassius slowed to a stop and set me on the ground.

Fear gripped me as I looked at Cassius' golden eyes.

"Cassius…" my voice trembled. Cassius spared me a comforting look.

"Stay hidden. We will be back for you," he said. With that, he was running back in the direction we had come and shifted into a wolf right as he fell out of view. I stared at the spot where he disappeared for minutes afterward.

Finally, I let out a sigh and looked around. Cassius had left me in a hollow of flowers and tall grassy vegetation. Obeying Cassius' last request, I found an area where I could tuck myself within the plants to hide from view at all sides.

That is where I stayed with my knees tucked against my chest, ready to place my shrouding charm around me if I heard any sounds. Minutes trickled by like hours as I waited for the group to return. The longer that I waited, the more my worry grew.

During this time, I couldn't help but replay Damion's words in my mind over and over again.

Why did he say that? That I was a danger to anyone I came across? Why did he act as if he knew me?

The questions burned through me as I sat there in my shelter praying that the pack would return safely.

After what seemed like forever, I heard a rustling in the trees not far from me. I went still, not sure if it was Tor and his group or the hunters. I raised the shrouding spell around myself and waited.

The rustling got louder and I could tell that they were right on the other side of the wall of vegetation. I stood slowly just in case I needed to run.

When I saw Tor's face as he moved the tall grass aside I nearly dropped back down with relief. I let the shroud fall away and stepped toward him.

"Tor," I said softly.

The relief was palpable as I looked at him, but in that same instant, I saw the dark look on his face.

"Are you ok?" I asked with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"Let's go," he said, ignoring my questions. He then turned around and stalked away without another word. I stepped out of the grass and looked around expecting to see the other shifters. But Tor was alone. My stomach flipped.

"Where are the others? Are they alright?" I asked, fear seeping into my voice. Tor just kept walking, not acknowledging me in the slightest. I stood there watching him walk away, confusion muddling my thoughts. When he noticed that I wasn't following he turned around and glared at me.

"I said let's go," he growled. I could now see the anger in his eyes and the tense set of his shoulders. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Not until you tell me what the h*ll is going on," I said. Tor seemed to be battling an inner demon as his jaw worked.

"Listen, little witch, you are pushing me beyond my limits right now," he said as he stalked back toward me. His anger shocked me and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was that I had done to anger him so much.

"Why?" I asked, "What the h*ll did I do?"

Tor was standing in front of me now, staring down at me with cold eyes. He scrubbed his hand down his face.

"How does that man know who you are?" Tor asked in a low voice. "How did he know you were a witch? What haven't you been telling me, Selene?" I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out.

"Why is it that you insisted on coming with us?" Tor finished. Little did Tor know these were all questions that I was asking myself over and over again as I sat hiding in the hollow.

"I don't know, Tor," I said calmly. "I've been trying to figure that out myself." I looked earnestly into his eyes but his anger was still there.

"It seems pretty coincidental that they happen to be looking for the same witch that I happen to be traveling with," he said coldly.

At this point, my anger got the best of me.

"Don't you think I already know that?" I snapped. "How do you think I feel that this monster seems to know things about me that I don't know myself? I don't know who the h*ll he is! I came with you to get answers," I said my voice breaking.

Tears started to pool in my eyes at this point. One because of the desperate need for Tor to believe me and the second because of the cold gaze in his eyes. It sent ice through the pit of my stomach and I could not handle it. I turned away, not able to bare it any longer.

Only days ago, when I first met Tor, I was sure that the right choice for me was to escape the region and find the River of Three Sisters. But now, now I couldn't imagine leaving him. The pit in my stomach grew at the image of his cold eyes. I lifted my chin in determination.

I had been alone before, and I could do it again. I went to walk away from the wolf shifter without turning back when his soft hand landed on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. "I believe you."

I froze in place, not daring to turn around. Although the stubborn side of me wanted to shake off his grasp, something else within me screamed for me to embrace him.

The something else won over.

Turning slowly, I looked into his eyes.

The cold glare from before was gone and replaced with the soft affection that I had grown so fond of. How was it that I managed to fall for this man so fast? Tor pulled me flush against his body. He looked down at me with hungry eyes.

"You have completely enchanted me, little witch," he said quietly.

His admission made me catch my breath and I bit my lip at the warmth that grew within me. A wicked gleam flashed in his eyes in response as he bent down and brought his lips to mine.