Mateless and Luna Bound (Self Published)

Chapter 20: The Forest's Dark Secrets

Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope you're liking where the story's going so far. This part is one of my favorites. Thanks for all the votes and comments! If you see any grammar mistakes please leave me a comment and I'll fix it as soon as possible. Now let's see how Charlie does against some wolves...

-Saturn

The more you move, the easier it is for animals to pick up your scent. Fear is also something that heightens your scent. But fear was the only thing giving Charlie the boost he needed to keep away from them. He surprised himself that he could remember so much right at that very moment. His brain always did work well under pressure, but he never tested it on something that threatened his life.

It certainly didn't work with Evon.

The fact that Max had turned into a wolf still burned into his head. He couldn't see much of him due to the thrashing of the wolf fight. All he could see was the red fur that looked rather familiar. When he changed it was all within a second. It happened so fast he was surprised that he could see it all. Even looking right at him, there was so much movement going on that Charlie could have missed it all if he blinked. It horrified him even more when he realized that those popping and cracking noises were most likely his bones breaking and growing.

He thought he had been free of the wolves when he was thinking about all of this. But then he heard more paws hitting the ground and he was running yet again. His lungs burned as the cold air rushed in and out of them. He was glad that his bruises had healed for the most part. But they loved poking their little heads up right then just to remind him that they still hurt.

He hadn't known just how many wolves had snuck up on them. There were two that were attacking Max when he left, and, from what he could tell, there were two that were tracking him down at the moment. But it seemed like there was even more than that in these woods alone.

And here he was thinking that all the wolves in this forest were friendly. He got lucky the last time.

Charlie knew that he couldn't outrun a wolf. He couldn't climb trees well enough in his condition either. So, instead, he had been going to every tree and touching it. Hopefully his scent being everywhere would throw them off long enough for him to get some distance between them. He had also been using the trees to dodge the wolves' attacks. If he weaved in and out of those thick trunks, it would take longer for them to maneuver through them because they were bigger than him.

It was either brilliant, or idiotic. Either way, it was the only thing that he could think of. And, at the moment, he didn't really have much to lose. He had to try something.

At first, he thought of running back to the mansion. But then he thought of all the people that he had met there. They couldn't defend themselves against wolves. And what would happen to the ones that were outside at the time? What if word didn't get out to them in time to come inside? No. He'd rather try and lose them through the woods and then find the mansion later than to cause so much havoc. So, he ran deeper into the woods. He didn't know that much about the forest when it came to this part. But he was sure he could navigate through them when he needed to find his way back. He had gotten lost in the woods before.

A howl snapped Charlie back to reality. He had been running this entire time, but the wolves were still close behind him. His body was in survival mode now. Adrenaline was pumping through his legs to make them move faster than they ever did before.

Looks like the scent thing didn't work out too well. He heard the heavy paws of the two wolves like an elephant stampede. His heart quickened as they seemed to get closer and closer. It wouldn't be too long before one of them pounced on him.