Love Is Flower Like

Chapter 16

Edited 05/30/21

Meadow walked through the trees with a peaceful smile on her face. Even though the situation she had found her in was stressing her out, being able to hear the waves crashing against the sand from so far away helped her to take a deep breath and relax. Honestly, if she could she would live in the ocean. There was something about the motion and the sound of the water. She could imagine going to sleep on a boat, letting the swaying and the soft whispers lull her to sleep. And just as she'd succumb to it, the smell of sweet, burning candy would infiltrate her nose.

She scrunched up her face and opened her eyes as a burning sensation filled her nostrils. It was like she was breathing in a furnace. She came to a halt and gaped at what she saw. A woman was standing in front of her with fiery red hair and red eyes to match. She was smirking at Meadow ferally and when Meadow took a tentative step back, she moved so she was standing closer.

The new shifter's body started convulsing on its own, causing Meadow to panic. She had an inkling of what the person in front of her was. She was the overly superstitious chief's daughter. It would be disappointing if she didn't know what the woman was. The red eyes, the pale skin, and the quickness with which the lady moved were dead giveaways.

Vampire.

She was on edge and had no idea on what to do. This was too new for her. She briefly wondered if the vampire was the reason why Jake ran off earlier. However, her thoughts were interrupted when the red head grabbed her by her throat and squeezed so tight that Meadow felt like her windpipe was being crushed.

"You smell just like one of those mutts," she said and squeezed impossibly tighter. Instincts overtook Meadow and she burst from the grasp she was in. She was now a huge ball of silver and copper fur. She growled at her assailant, baring her long and sharp canines. She was now pissed that the vampire got her to do the one thing she didn't want to do.

Meadow?! Jake yelled in her head.

MeMe! Embry shouted.

Nothing but trouble, Jared grumbled.

Meadow, don't engage, Sam said.

Are you okay? Paul asked.

Meadow ignored their questioning and focused entirely on the creature before her. It was okay, though, because unbeknownst to her, the rest of the pack could see her surroundings through her thoughts and were already on their way to her. She must have been unconsciously sending them her location.

She growled in warning again when the woman took a step towards her. The woman paid no heed and lunged at her. Meadow dodged just in time, but because she wasn't used to her new form, she tripped over her paws and tumbled to the ground. She groaned, though it came out as a raspy whine. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso and whined when she felt pressure try to cave her body in. When it became almost unbearable, something big ran into her and effectively helped her escape the bony cage.

She breathed hard as she stood up on shaky legs. Her head swiveled around and caught sight of a dark-silver furred wolf wrestling with the vampire. The woman got the upper hand and pushed the wolf away before sprinting off. The wolf followed. All Meadow could do was watch it all unfold in mere seconds. Just as she lost sight of the two, three more wolves showed up. One was a russet color and when it stood beside her, it stood a handful of inches taller than her. The next one was a solid black color and stood at about the same height as the first one.

Jacob, go ahead and help Paul out, Sam ordered.

The russet one looked at Meadow and said, don't do anything stupid, before running off. The black one stayed behind, so she guessed it was Sam. He looked at her and tilted his head towards the direction of his house.