Filed To Story: Fated is Overrated Novel Free by Brenda Minnaard
After walking for a few more hours with some drinking stops in between, the forest starts to open up more and the terrain becomes more rocky. Up ahead, I see a stream of water which I then decide will be perfect to replenish my water bottles. Running over to the water I can very faintly smell a wolf’s presence, a rogue to be exact. Rogues usually have a very distinct smell and the more feral they become, the worse their smell becomes. This wolf does not smell too feral yet and judging by how faint the smell is, it must have been hours since the wolf was even here. Although still a good reminder that I need to be careful of my surroundings, I relax a little knowing the rogue is long gone. I fill up my water bottles quickly to proceed to the rocky terrain. At first, the rocks are not too steep and it is easy to plow through. But the further I get, the more I notice the terrain becoming steeper and steeper. Lucky for me, I am pretty trained and athletic, because I am pretty positive most she wolves from my old pack would not be able to push through here. In fact, I think even some males would struggle. The boulders become bigger and bigger as to where I actually have to jump to be able to grab the next boulder.
After quite the workout, I finally reach a small sort of plateau for me to catch my breath without balancing myself in the air. It also seems that I have almost reached the top luckily, as I have to admit this drained my energy a lot. I plop down on the ground from exhaustion, not being as attentive to my surroundings as I normally am and should be. After a few minutes of catching my breath, I notice I am actually sitting right next to a cave-like entrance. Right before the entrance I can see the remnants of a fire and a variety of animal bones scattered across the ground. I can feel Liberty stirring up in my mind at the sight and with that I am up to my feet and on full alert. I look around searching for any clues if this is a human’s doing or a wolf’s, when my eyes land on the cave entry. I can hear muffled sounds coming from the cave, but it is too dark for me to see from here. Creeping closer and closer, I am finally able to look into the cave and spot a mixed brown and black wolf sleeping. This is definitely the rogue I smelled earlier over by the water. Having no interest in waiting for the wolf to wake up, I silently walk back from the cave and start making my way back to the top again. All the while being extremely careful to not make a noise so as to not wake up the wolf.
Just when I am halfway through being as careful as can be, I step onto an unstable rock and feel my foot slipping out from under me. Clinging to dear life with both hands on the next boulder I had just set my hands upon, I just manage to pull myself up right before the rock I was standing on tumbles down. Yikes, that was a close call…. Having dodged falling to my death, I breathe out a sigh of relief. The relief is short lived however, when I hear a growl erupting from the cave and see the brown and black wolf storming out. F*ck. As there is no place to hide, all I can do is stare at the wolf to see his next move. As he spots me, another growl erupts from his chest. He is very visibly looking around to find the fastest way to get to me. Lucky for me, a wolf can’t rock climb and even if he could shift to his human form, I doubt he would be faster than me. The wolf dives back into the cave, as I decide I need to get myself out of here as quick as possible. Using the adrenaline rush from my first rogue encounter I push myself up faster than ever, it almost seems like parkour, jumping from boulder to boulder.
Upon reaching the top, I breathe a sigh of relief to find the path now flat. Rocky, but flat. About a mile ahead I can see a dense forest again and that is even more of a relief, as these rocky paths are quite out in the open. Being quite in a hurry to reach the safe shelter of the forest I dash towards the forest line, again it resembles parkour, jumping across the big boulders and smaller rocks. About a few hundred yards, my foot slips and comes to a screeching halt when it slips down between two big boulders, making me cry out in pain at the sudden impact and what seemed to be the sound of bones snapping. F*ck f*ck f******ck! Removing my foot gently from between the boulders, I try not to cry out from the pain as I am out in the open, vulnerable to attack right now. Wincing and shutting my eyes from the pain, I pull the last part out and can immediately see why this is causing me this excruciating pain. One of the bones in my bottom leg has completely snapped and is actually sticking out of my flesh. Moon goddess have mercy on me please, as I can already feel myself getting lightheaded from the sight and I need to focus hard right now if I want to make it out of here alive.
Lola POV
Especially with that rogue out here looking for me, I can’t waste any time. Taking in a few deep breaths with my eyes closed, steadying myself, I open my eyes again to assess the wound. ‘Lola, you have to push the bone back in its place, it’s the only way. Once you are finished, I will heal it back as fast as I can. You should be able to gently stand on it again after 30 minutes’ ’30 minutes?! There is a rogue on the hunt for me and I am completely exposed here…’ ‘I am sorry, but there is no other way. Even with accelerated healing this will take time considering the excessive damage. You didn’t just break the bone a bit, it was completely cut off by the force of your body pushing forward whilst your leg was stuck in its place. With the speed you were carrying, I am actually surprised you aren’t wounded more badly even’ more badly… this is the worst wound I have ever seen on myself (yes I know I am a wimp when it comes to my own wounds). Yugh.
I decide to put one of my shirts in my mouth to bite down on, in order to muffle any sounds I will definitely make at re-arranging my own bone back into place. On the count of three, I relay to myself in my mind. 1… 2…. 3! “aaaaaarghhhhhhmpffffff. F*CK!”. I can’t help but yell out at the pain. ‘Ok Liberty, it should be set, please heal as fast as you can OK?’ ‘I am on it. Try to crouch down so we are less visible. Seek some shelter between the boulders’ and I do as she advises of course. The first thing you always learn as a werewolf is to always be on good terms with your wolf once they have emerged, and to always take their guidance seriously. The moon goddess gave them to us for a specific reason, and it is up to us to honor and respect our wolves. Of course there are the exceptions of ruined or even evil wolves, but generally wolves are meant to be one’s guiding compass. And I can say Liberty definitely lives up to the expectation so far. I am really fond of her.
As I am lying here waiting for my leg to heal, I hear what seems like soft steps on the boulders coming from my backside. Unable to move my leg still, all I can do is turn my head slightly in that direction. I lay completely frozen and focused on if I can hear or smell anything. ‘I have been retracting our scent, so no wolf should be able to smell us. But something feels off, be as prepared as you can be and if you feel we are in a losing battle, hand control over to me. Try to prevent us from having to shift however, I do not want anyone -and rogues specifically- to see me’. As I hear the footsteps approaching, there is no time to dwell on why Liberty is adamant on not being seen. The footsteps come closer and closer, until I hear a man speak up “what are you doing here?”.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.