As she raised her second arrow it looked at her, its yellow eyes glowing. It snarled, showing sharp white teeth. Then it crouched, bunching its strong legs, then launched itself at her.
Something burst from the bushes and leaped, crashing into the beast in mid-air, knocking it off course.
Another werewolf.
Adrianna's arrow went wide as the two creatures went down in a tangle of fur and teeth. She reached for another, cursing under her breath. Her hands were shaking.
She expected any moment both of the beasts would turn on her. But they only fought on the ground, snapping and growling, rolling around. One of them was bleeding heavily from her arrow, and the other was clearly winning the fight.
She took the opportunity to run.
Her breath tore from her throat, and her heart hammered in her chest. She fled in the direction of home, hardly daring to hope she might be able to make an escape. It was so close...
Her skirt caught on an errant branch and tugged hard, putting her off balance as it tore with a harsh ripping sound. She stumbled and, to compound her bad luck, her foot got caught on something - a tree root or a rock. She went down heavily, falling to her knees and swearing too loudly.
Then she heard it. Something running through the forest behind her.
Her bow was on the ground, out of reach. She crawled toward it, put her hand on it and snatched it up. She was struggling to her feet, panting, when she felt the presence right behind her. The wolf was gigantic and black, almost the size of a small pony. And it was shifting. Changing.
Drawing her knife from her belt with her left hand she struck out wildly, hoping to cut it, or at least club it with the bow. Anything to buy some time.
She managed to deal a long gash to the creature's shoulder as it reared up, and blood welled quickly on the hairy hide. But the creature snatched her hands out of the air and held them in its own.
Addy looked at the hands. Aside from their huge size and the long claws, they looked human. She gasped in surprise and looked up at the monster's face.
A moment ago it had been that of a beast, with dark fur and wolfish ears and a long snout. Now it was close to human. The eyes were still yellow, with predatory pupils, and the nose long and flat. Its - his - hair was long and stringy, ash-blonde. Strands of it hung down over his face. A strong face with a hard jaw and full lips. A face that was almost human – almost handsome.
He snarled, an incongruous expression on such a mild face. When he spoke, it was with dry humor. "Now, now," he said. "That's not a very nice way to thank me for saving you, is it?"
Adrianna's eyes widened in horror. The beasts could talk! She tried to wrest her hands from his grip, but he held her easily, a savage smirk on his face.
She felt light-headed. Her hands went loose, and the weapons dropped to the ground. Her knees buckled and suddenly she was too weak to do anything about it. She forgot to be afraid and was angry at herself instead. She was fainting, like some stupid little girl.
As she crumpled to the ground, the last thing she saw was the quizzical expression on the werewolf's face, as he cocked his head to the side and looked at her.
3.
She became aware of movement first, and opened her eyes with a start. She was being carried, slung over the shoulder of the man - the werewolf.
Her arms dangled helplessly as he ran through the forest. He held her as though she weighed nothing. She felt the shifting of his back and shoulders, his strong arms casually holding her legs secure. The forest floor flew past underneath them.
Panic gripped her. Her bow was gone. Her knife too, most likely. She was utterly helpless. Addy started to struggle, kicking and writhing.
Her captor noticed her protests and held her tighter. "Stop that!" He growled, slowing to a fast walk as he grappled with her.
She screamed and started flailing, hitting him wherever she could reach. His back was so unyielding, his legs so strong she was unsure if he could even feel it. But he growled again, louder.
After a moment of her screaming and kicking, he stopped and bent over, tossing her from his back. When she tried to run he grabbed her and pulled her close to him. She tried to scratch or punch, twisting in his grip, and he grabbed her arms and pinned them at her sides, patiently waiting for her to tire.
When she realized there was no way she could break out of his grasp, Addy went limp. She panted, catching her breath and reassessing the situation. She should conserve her strength, ready for a good chance to make a break for it.
"That's better," said the werewolf, speaking disconcertingly close to her ear. "Now, no more screaming, unless you want to attract the attention of every other bad thing in the forest."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Adrianna spat. She wasn't used to the idea of the beasts speaking. No one had ever told her that. They were supposed to be little more than animals. Mimics who could take the shape of men, but were not men. Not even close. The idea that they were intelligent - well, it made them even more terrifying.
"We are in the territory of an enemy pack." Said the wolf, calmly. "You met one of them before. Now, you may not like me very much, but believe me when I say you are better off with me than with them."
Her mind whirling, she didn't answer. Her chest heaved under his heavy, restricting arms. He smelled like earth and wood smoke. His warm breath tickled her ear.
"I can't breathe," she said finally.
He relaxed his hold slightly, and she inhaled deeply. Let it out in one long sigh.
"You are far from home." He said in that rough, but calm voice. "You have no chance if you run. I am much, much faster than you." He left the rest unspoken: even if she got away from him, some other monster would get her.
At this moment, she just wanted to get out of the tight circle of his arms. "Fine." She said. "I won't run. Let go of me."
He did, stepping back away from her. She whirled around, keeping her eye on him as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was getting cold. The moon was higher, lighting the forest, and it was eerily silent.
She looked at the wolf. He stood casually, weight on one leg, and stared back at her. He was wearing nothing but a crude hide covering, little more than a loincloth. His chest was pale in the moonlight, broad and muscled. He looked like any other man - a rather well-built one, at that.
Adrianna frowned, sullen, and dragged her eyes away from him. "What do you want with me?"
"We'll get to that later." He said. "It's not safe here. We need to keep running."
She snorted a sarcastic laugh. "Safe!" But she stopped short when he took a step toward her.
"Very well," he said, the trace of a warning in his voice. "I'll tell you. I've been watching you."
Her lips parted in astonishment. "What?"
He gave a short laugh. "Do you think a human can enter this forest without us knowing about it? I've been here for a while. You come almost every day. Yesterday you took two rabbits. Three days ago you shot a fox. Eight days ago, you bled -"
"How dare you!" She cut him off, her face reddening. Then she paused. "Why were you watching me?"
"I was seeking a mate." He said simply.
Addy stared at him. For a moment she didn't understand. Or perhaps she didn't want to.
"I shouldn't have waited for so long," he said, "but I was intrigued by watching you. You act unlike any of the other females of your pack. I would have let you go again today. Let you get the other female and her pup to safety. But, well..." he shrugged. "The other wolf showed up, and I couldn't let him claim you."
Her eyes had widened and her mouth dropped more and more open as he spoke. "Was... was that other wolf going to... to eat me, or..."
He shrugged. "I don't know. Wasn't about to find out. You are mine."
A shiver ran through her and she hugged herself, trying to rub warmth into her upper arms. His? He thought she was his? She didn't want to think about what that meant. A hundred questions fought for space in her mind. She didn't even know where to start.
The creature looked up at the sky. "We need to move."
She wanted to protest, to curse him, to say she wouldn't go anywhere with him. But what choice did she have? She didn't even know where she was. Still, when he started toward her, she stepped backwards.
"Come," he said, holding out a hand. It looked almost as though he was inviting her for a dance. Except for the claws. "I will carry you." He said, when she didn't move.
"I'll walk."
He shook his head, long hair swaying. "No. We need to run. You're fast, for a human -" the corner of his mouth tilted up as though this was amusing - "but not fast enough."
Still she refused to take his hand. So after a moment he stepped forward to grab her.
Addy gasped as he swept her up, lifting her in his arms. He held her easily, cradled against his chest. She didn't know what was worse - the indignity of hanging over his shoulders, or being held in this strangely intimate position.