Bound Trilogy: Bound: A Supernatural Story (WLW)

Chapter Twelve

Bastet ran through a crowded street of onlookers ignoring her mind telling her to turn around and go back. Go back to what exactly? To a pack that wasn't her own? She'd never once belonged to a pack so why would she want to change that now? Life was...fine. She was alright being alone. It made sense. Always.

In what world would she ever go back to whatever the Vixen had in store for her? She knew what people were all too capable of doing. How could she return to a woman who somehow knew her name before she'd ever divulged it? To a woman whose name she somehow knew? How the hell did she know her name and what was that song that came to her mind when she looked at her? Penelope, Penelope, Penelope... She was beautiful.

Those ringlet curls that framed her face. The way they contrasted with her fair skin. How her skin naturally glistened in the light. She was stunning.

Who are you Penelope Argyris...?

Up ahead, Bastet found the woods. That's where she needed to be. The only environment she could truly call home. The woods never lied. They told her everything about herself and what moved the world around her. Bastet ducked inside as she heard someone calling out to her. She turned around and peeked through the trees to see a man, definitely the human from the roof, running toward her with the twins from before.

Scenting the air about them, the air they swept toward her with every step, she found... Is that concern? Were they worried about her or about what she may do on their precious land? Most likely the latter.

Bastet didn't have time to wait for the right answer. With one last look at them, she hoisted herself up a tree and continued along the branches, letting them carry her further and further away from that pack. From Kuba. And from...her.

* * *

Pen and Xenia ran up behind the twins and Glenn as they arrived at the edge of the forest. "Damn, she's fast. How is she so fast?" She gasped out between breaths.

Xenia took her canteen from her hip and thrust it at her. "Hybrids hold all the power of their species within their human forms. She's probably tapped into all of that, even her fox, and doesn't realize it." Pen greedily grabbed it and poured it over her head, bringing her dehydrated skin back to life, as Xenia walked up to the twins.

"What happened?" Sera asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"She freaked out. I don't think she knows anything about what she is. And I don't just mean the hybrid business. I think she has no idea of what her fox is truly calling out to her, nor does she even completely get...er, understand that she has fox in her as well. A fox that also wants to be heard. She's--"

"Afraid." Pen finished for Xenia. Xenia gave her a nod as the water soaked into Pen's hair and scales and Sera began again.

"Look, when we got here, she saw us. But she didn't stop." He gestured to the woods behind himself. "She just took off to the trees. I've never seen anything like it. The way she climbed... It was amazing!"

"We can save that for a later discussion. For now, we need to find a way to..." Xenia trailed off.

Pen was vaguely aware they were all staring at her, but couldn't stop what she was doing. Bastet's lingering scent in the air was so absorbing. Just as her skin took in the water that danced along its surface, her nostrils flared and she became absorbed, consumed by the gentle and harmonious scent. It was lovely, Bastet's base scent, but Pen felt completely paralyzed and utterly destroyed at the same time by what else she found. Fear, loneliness...betrayal. Pen was filled with a harsh sense of dread and her stomach began to churn.

"We need to find her. Now." Pen surprised herself with the desperation in her own voice, but didn't back down in her determination. She couldn't.

"I know, but we also need to try to cut her off. Stop her in her tracks. Where do you think she's headed, Pen?" Xenia asked, only sparking uncertainty within Pen.