She can't be Tamed

Chapter 7: Maybe there is...

This was bad. This was really bad.

Cassandra cursed when she felt the sharp pain in her foot increase with each step she took. She'd hit a sharp stone when she started her desperate run, when she'd decided she was far enough away from the camp to avoid immediate detection, and now dirt was getting into the wound.

She was moving slowly now and leaving a perfectly clear trail for the dogs behind her. It wouldn't be long before the pain in her foot would force her to stop. She had to keep running while it was still light, if it took her too long it would be dark and the dogs would get to her in minutes.

She knew he was sending dogs after her, because just minutes afer she'd finally managed to slide out of his possesive hold and reached the treeline she heard his angry thunderlike voice.

"Run all you want sweetheart. Be careful, be fast. But before sundown you'll be back in my arms, begging for mercy. This useless hunt will be over at dawn, darling."
And directly afterwards she heard him shout to someone. "Get the puppy's!"

So now she was fleeing for her life. What would he do when he catched her again? He wouldn't go so easy on her as last time. He'd been pretty nice to her, she guessed. He could have done a lot worse. But even if he'd been... kind, that would be over now.

During the night she'd tried multiple times to slip out of his grasp, but his arms kept her trapped, and every time she moved she felt him stir. The chain between her wrists wasn't really helpful either. Luckily he didn't hold it but every time the shackles made a sound her heart stopped, afraid that it might wake him or his men up.

After a long night without sleep she got another chance at sunrise. She felt him stir, close to waking up. Quickly closing her eyes she laid as passive as possible, faking sleep. A few more minutes and the arm around her waist disappeared slowly. She felt him study her face a minute and then he stood up, walking away. He disappeared into the forest on the left side of the clearing where they camped.

That was when she saw her opportunity. Two of the men were guarding the camp, on opposite sides of the clearing, both with their backs towards her. She guessed they were alert for something or someone invading the camp, not for someone to sneak out.

Too bad for them. She had to take the chanche. She choose a spot somewhere in between the two guards, on the opposite side where she'd seen her captor leave, to disappear into the forest. She'd moved slowly, keeping the chain in her hands, careful not to make a sound with it. Just a few minutes later, when she thought she was far enough away to start running without immediate detection, she'd heard him shout.

And now she was here, half limping through the forest. It wouldn't be long before they would find her if she didn't think of something soon.

Turning her head to see of she already saw a sign of the hunters behind her she placed her wounded foot on a sharp branch. Pain shot through her leg and she stumbled, landing on her hands and knees. Why did she always have to be clumsy at the wrong time? Not that any time would be the right time to be clumsy, but still...

Just when she taught that this day couldn't get worse she heard a loud growl on her left side. Damn! Wolves too? Or where the dogs already getting so close? Adrenaline shot through her and she jumped up, ignoring the increasing pain in her foot and changing her running direction slightly to the right. She had to get to the river so she could lose those dogs.

She was limping by the time she could hear the water. Only a bit further, across a little open space and a thin tree line and she could escape. The dogs wouldn't try to swim after her and follow her trail on the opposite side of the river.

With shaking legs she stumbled across the open space and into the small stroke of trees. She almost thought she'd made it, when the same loud growl she'd heard before made her stop dead in her tracks. It came from the right now, and it was way too close!

She quickly turned and scanned the trees. In the fading light she couldn't see a thing, but she could just feel something was right in front of her.

Slowly two growling dark shadows with gleaming eyes started to appear out of the dark. Overtook by fear Cassandra stumbled backwards, trying to turn and run, but being clumsy again. She landed on her bum, crawling back to the open space in panic.
Great, more bruises. She slapped herself mentally. What a great thing to think of in a time like this.

The angry snapping of teeth just inches away from her face forced her attention back to more important things than bruises. It made her cower away in fear. This is the end, she was sure of it. Closing her eyes she expected to be just slaughtered by the two wolves.

But to her great surprise the pain she'd expected never came. Instead she felt a wet tongue lapping at her wounded foot. In shock she pulled her leg away and opened her eyes, only to see the two wolves laying at her feet, watching her carefully.

Ears alertly pointed, eyes never leaving their prey, the two wolves stayed at her feet. Cassandra was frozen in her spot, not daring to move an inch. Every time she moved it resulted in a dangerous low growling and bearing teeth from the wolves.

The wolves. One was white with a grey glow and the other one was pitch black with some white spots around it's belly. One of them was still laying close, watching her intently with his ears pointed. The other one was kind of doing rounds around the open place she was trapped in. Once in a while he let out a short howl.

No escape, it seemed to mock at her. But no escape from what? Is was not natural for wolves to not immediately devour there prey. What where they weating for, there so-called alpha? Defeated she layed her arms around her knees and made herself as small as possible.

....

She didn't know how long she sat there, but her wounded foot became more painful every second, it was getting darker, she was ice cold, and she was hungy. Very hungry. It made the pain even worse. Her stomach choose that moment to growl almost as loud as the wolves.

The wolf closest to her, the white greyish one, tilted his head, watching her curiously, looking like an adorable fluffy puppy. But she knew what a killers wolves where. She mentally tsskt herself. Must be the hunger.

Suddenly the far-away wolve started to howl, while the close one turned his head and looked around. Then they both jumped up and dissapeared.

Slowly she rose to her feet, using the tree close behind her to pull herself up. Why did they leave? What was coming?

Then she heard it too. The cracking of twigs and dry leaves, not just from one spot but from all around, and it seemed to be closing in on her.

Was there whole pack coming or something?

A swoosh of white at the rim of the woods catched her attention. The white wolf was back, and it brought something, or rather someone, with it. The hunter.

She'd been wrong all along. The wolves weren't waiting for their alpha or their pack...

They where waiting for their human alpha.

He slowly emerged from the forest, eyes never leaving hers. She noted his men, the pack that she'd expected, stepping out of the forest around them, but she couldn't look away from his stare.

He stopped moving a few meters in front of her, and the black wolf appeared on his other side, growling softly. It fuelled her fear again and broke the spell he seemed to have on her.

She looked frantically for a way to escape, but she was surrounded with men, and the two killers with bared teeth at his feet didn't look too promising.

Her pleading eyes met his, but he just smirked.