Chapter 7 : Home Sweet Home

Ferrah

I ran as fast as I could. My muscles were sore from the hours I spent tied in an awkward position and my legs were numb, but I pushed on anyway. I was clumsy, but I managed to stay upright and keep moving. I had a short head start, but that wouldn’t get me far against a shifter.

If only I had the strength to master portal spells, but that magic was still beyond my skill level.

I could hear the Alpha King following me through the thick underbrush and the sound fills my mind with terror.

This was a nightmare.

I was at a serious disadvantage. I couldn’t see well in the dark, I didn’t know this area, and I was panicked.

I was sure that if I stopped, I'd be killed. All of the fear that had filled my nightmares for the past years felt like it was bubbling to the surface. I had to keep my emotions in check or I was going to make a mistake.

I could tell by the sound of his footsteps that he was getting closer, but I didn't dare try to look. My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest.

I caught my foot on something and flew forward, sprawling on the ground and scraping my hands. I cursed as I hurried to my feet and kept moving. He’d be able to track the scent of my blood now, there was no way I could hide it.

Tears stung my eyes and I let them fall. I couldn’t see where I was going anyway.

He was right behind me, I could feel it.

That damned pulling sensation in my chest confirmed it. A treacherous part of me was savoring his proximity. It made me nauseous.

I felt his fingers skim my back as he attempted to grab me. I cried out in surprise, then lifted my hands above my head as I ran and quickly recited a flare spell. I closed my eyes tightly and continued to run blind as a bright white light flashed from my hands.

I heard him curse and stumble as the light temporarily blinded him. It wasn’t much, but it allowed me to get a few steps further ahead of him.

I used the time the flash spell bought me to put up a magical shield around myself. If he tried to grab me again, he would be repelled. Painfully.

I felt like I was just delaying the inevitable, but I wouldn’t surrender to him. I couldn’t. I had to get out of here. There had to be a way to escape him. I kept telling myself that over and over as I ran. His footsteps were getting closer again. How had he recovered so quickly?

He reached for me again, and there was an electric shock to my back that threw me forward and sent me crashing to the ground.

I was stunned and my ears were ringing as I lay disoriented on the forest floor. I must have messed up the spell in my panic, so when he touched me it caused the magical energy to discharge and strike both of us.

I groaned as I struggled to my feet. I had to keep moving, there was no time to think about the pain I was in.

Before I could get my bearings and run, his hand closed on mine. I lashed out blindly and my open palm connected with his face, sending a loud smack echoing in the dark.

Satisfaction and fear warred for dominance within me as I realized that I had just smacked the Alpha King across the face.

I turned to run, but he grabbed both of my wrists and pulled me to him until my back collided with him. I started to quickly recite a spell. He tried to put his hand over my mouth, but when he did, he released my wrist and I was able to slam my elbow into his chest with all of my strength.

He exhaled sharpley and released my other hand.

I turned to face him, but I could hardly see.

I took several steps backwards and held my hands out in front of me.

“Light my way,” I said.

At my words, several orbs of light materialized in the air above me. They weren’t blinding, but glowed brightly enough that I could actually see what was going on.

He was just a few feet away from me and was coming toward me again. I held my hand out and sent a blast of magical energy towards him, forcing him to dodge and putting more distance between us.

He was too close for me to just run, he would catch up to me in a second. I had to find some way to slow him down or there was no way I was getting away. I already knew that I couldn’t beat him in battle. What could I do?

“This is pointless,” he said in irritation. “You know that you can’t get away from me.”

I glared at him. The fact that he was mocking me made my blood boil. I wanted to prove him wrong, but I wasn’t confident that I could.

He walked toward me with confident, steady steps.

I resisted the urge to back away from him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. I kept my arms down at my sides and waited as he approached. When he was a few feet from me, I turned my palms to face him. I kept my arms down so that I wouldn’t draw his attention to the movement.

When he was right in front of me, I sent a bolt of energy toward him. He was too close to dodge and the attack hit him in the chest and sent him flying backwards. The moment the attack connected, I turned and ran as fast as I could.

The light spell I had cast vanished as I ran, leaving me once again running blind through the forest.

I hadn’t charged the attack much, so I knew that he would recover quickly. I had to get as far from him as I could. I didn’t have any idea where I was going, but that didn’t matter at the moment. I just had to put as much distance between myself and that bastard as possible.

I ran until my legs were burning from the effort. I couldn’t hear him behind me anymore, but I didn’t slow down. I wasn’t sure that he wasn’t somehow hiding his presence.

I didn’t trust myself right now. I was compromised by this cursed pull that was drawing us together. I had no way of knowing how strong this feeling was or what it might be capable of.

From somewhere behind me, I heard a howl. It sent a shiver through me. I should have known. He had transformed into his wolf form in order to track me more easily and catch up to me. I was running out of options. I needed a place to hide. If I could hunker down somewhere and cast a glamor, I might be able to hide.

My eyes were straining in the darkness, but I thought that I could see a glimmer of something up ahead. It could be a body of water reflecting the stars. That would be a good way to mask my scent and throw him off of my trail.

I pushed myself to run faster, despite the way my legs ached.

As I got closer, I realized that it wasn’t water. What I was seeing were lights. I was approaching a clearing of some kind, and the warm yellowish glow I was seeing was coming from lights. I wanted to sob in relief. There was someone up ahead, there had to be. I just had to keep moving, no matter how impossible it felt.

My lungs ached from how heavily I was breathing, but I fixed my eyes on that light and kept moving. I could make it, I knew that I could.

After a few minutes, I broke through the treeline and sobbed in relief. I was right, it was a village.

The moment I stopped running, my legs threatened to give out. Adrenaline and fear were the only things that kept me upright. He was still following me, I had to hurry. I needed to find a place to hide.

I stopped and whipped my head around, looking for any signs of light or life. There had to be someone here that could help me. I wasn’t aware of any nearby coven settlements, but I was so disoriented I honestly had no idea where I was. I hurried toward the nearest house with a light on, praying that there would be a witch who could help me. If I could just mask my presence until morning, then I could get to safety.

The light that I had seen was several yards ahead. It was coming from the front window of a small, modest house. I moved towards it.

I stopped a few yards from the house as I realized that I couldn’t feel any magical presence nearby. If there was another magic user in the village, I would be able to feel the low thrum of magic in the air. There was nothing.

My blood went cold as I realized what that meant. This was a shifter village. My breath stuck in my throat and my legs felt paralyzed. I had no idea where to go or what to do. It was so late, and I was so tired. I didn’t have the energy to run or to fight and I had just stumbled into enemy territory.

I was going to die.

My legs shook and my chest heaved as tears spilled down my cheeks.

I could hear someone approaching me. I didn’t turn to look. It didn’t matter anymore, there was nothing I could do. I had lost.

“Thank you,” the Alpha King said. His voice sounded much closer than I expected. “You’ve saved me a lot of trouble by coming to the pack village on your own.”

It was his village. The bastard had chased me this way intentionally. He had herded me like a little lamb right into his den. I had made it so easy for him, too. I was so scared that I hadn’t even thought to be suspicious of the light in the distance. I was too desperate to question it, and because of that, I was at his mercy once again.

There was a soft sound very close to me.

I didn’t have to turn around, I knew that he was right behind me. I could feel his warm presence and the feeling in my chest tingled pleasantly.

“I’d advise you not to use any magic,” he said. “You’ll be killed by anyone that sees you. And neither of us wants that, right?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a shaky breath.

How was I going to get out of this?