Chapter 5 - When Beasts Collide

“Skye! Get inside now!” James yelled.

The wolf was nearer now, yet my feet stayed planted to the ground.

I felt a hard pull on my arm as James pulled me behind him just as the wolf collided with him, pushing him to the ground, a couple yards away from the stable entrance. It snarled and snapped viciously at him.

“James!” I shrieked.

The wolf immediately turned towards me and I instinctively took a step back but collided with the barrow of hay that stood behind me.

The wolf growled as it stepped away from James and took a step towards me. It stood slightly taller than me in it’s beastly glory. I looked into it’s eyes which seemed devoid of any gentle emotion and then I realized. It was rogue.

“Skye! Run!” James yelled.

As though coming to my senses, I took to my heels, running towards the forest. I could hear the large thuds of it’s paws on the ground as it chased after me. I made the huge mistake of turning around to see it hot on my heels. Panic shot through me and I looked ahead, running with all my strength but alas, my weak legs couldn’t outrun the large wolf’s.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me when I was sent spiralling to the ground as the wolf pounced on me. It’s claws dug into my side causing a searing pain to course through my body as my back made contact with the hard ground. Hot tears stung my eyes.

The wolf had pinned my body to the ground and I looked up into steel-grey eyes. It’s hot breath fanned my face as it snarled and growled.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the sting of it’s teeth sinking into my neck but after a few minutes passed, I felt nothing.

I looked up and realized that the wolf was no longer snarling but rather it was… staring at me. It was strange but I suddenly felt like I knew this wolf and it knew me too.

There was a blur of brown fur and a loud growl from the wolf as it was pushed off of my body by another wolf. The two wolves tumbled to the ground in a vicious fight. The wolf that had attacked was a smaller, brown one. It was James’ wolf.

The larger one quickly subdued him and was about to grab James’ neck with it’s teeth when I screamed.

“STOP!”

To my surprise, the black wolf paused and looked at me. Then suddenly, it sprinted into the woods.

James’ wolf stood on all fours, growled and chased after the wolf.

“James! Wait!”

I struggled to get up and ran into the woods, after them. Every step sent a fresh wave of pain through my body.

In a matter of seconds, I had lost sight of both wolves. My legs were exhausted from running so I slowed into a walk, releasing a ragged pant, obviously out of breath.

 Sunlight spilled onto the forest floor through cracks in the roof of leaves and branches. I turned around, in every direction, wondering where the black wolf had disappeared to, along with James.

“James!” I screamed.

There was no sound. The forest had gone silent.

I was filled with a strong sense of foreboding. Goosebumps spread along my skin.

I heard a loud, strangled growl.

“James!”

I ran as fast as I could in the direction of the growl.

I jumped over tree roots and large stones as I maneuvered the obstacle-filled path of the forest.

“Jam…!”

I slipped suddenly, rolled down a muddy slope and hit my head hard on a rock. A sharp pain exploded in my head accompanied by shrill ringing in my ears. I felt my consciousness slowly slip away as everything suddenly went black.

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A dull ache throbbed at the back of my head and when I opened my eyes, the light stung, badly. I lifted my hands to shield my eyes from the light and the action felt like I was lifting lead. I struggled to sit up and realized that I was in a forest glade. It took me a moment to remember where I was and what had brought me there. I lifted a hand to my side and realized that the pain from the side wound was gone.         It must’ve healed quickly due to the help of the herbs Nurse Matilda had given me earlier.

I scrambled to my feet but fell to the floor again, my body still feeling disoriented. I tried standing again, slower this time. I walked up the slope that I had rolled down on and found myself on my initial path.

“James!” I managed to call out.

I walked gently along the forest path, worry and confusion churning in my gut. Suddenly, I heard the sound of bones cracking. I hurried in the direction, stumbling over my still weak legs as I ran, I entered into a small clearing in the woods. Standing a few feet away from me, right in front of the lake that flowed through the clearing, was a man.

A naked man.

Droplets of water glistened on his tan skin in the sunlight. He turned to me and my eyes went wide with shock when they met his cold grey ones.

It was the mind reader!

I quickly connected the dots and my shock was quickly replaced by fury as I realized what had happened.

“It was YOU.” My voice was filled with disdain as I stomped towards him. “YOU’RE the wolf that attacked us!?”

He looked at me blankly, like he hadn’t just tried to UNALIVE ME AND MY FRIEND.

The audacity!

I lunged for him with all the strength I could muster but he just caught my hand in one swift motion.

“Argh!” I yelled as I aimed to punch him in the face with my other hand, which he quickly caught, again.

“Where’s James!?” I released through clenched teeth, glaring hard at him. The scumbag had the audacity to smirk. Had he gone mad!? “I SWEAR I’m going to kill you.”

“Shouldn’t you wait to kill me when I’m not standing naked in front of you?” He sounded amused.

I kneed him in between his legs making him howl in pain and he let go of me abruptly.

“Are you crazy!?” He yelled as he bent in pain.

I picked up a large rock and rose it in my arms, ready to throw it on his head. Before I could, I felt a blur of wind push me and my back hit the bark of a tree, the stone was gone from my hands and I was pinned against the tree by the grey-eyed stranger.

One of his arms had pinned both my arms above my head and the other held me firmly at the waist, his face hovering just inches away from mine. A very unwanted wave of heat coursed through my body.

I glared up at him, ignoring my mixed feelings of fear and something else…

All amusement was gone from his face and in it’s place was cold fury.

“It’s high time you behaved,” he growled.

My fear was quickly replaced by rage.

What did he take me for? His dog?