Captured - Cara Wylde Page 0,51

me anytime soon. I could slow down a bit and take my time. I didn’t really want to do it, but it was so dark that I could barely see a few feet in front of me. I tripped several times, and it was a minor miracle that I didn’t break my neck while making my way through the undergrowth. I stopped and leaned against a tree trunk, catching my breath.

It hurt to think that I was so unimportant to them. But it was better this way. I didn’t belong here. The lake. I just had to get to the lake. Still shaking, I began to walk again. It was so quiet. I tried to not let the darkness get to me, but the more time passed, the more aware I became of how dangerous this was. Had my family mentioned there were bears in the area? I couldn’t remember. God, if I’d escaped a pack of werewolves and ended up eaten by a bear, it would be beyond ridiculous.

“The lake, Isabel. Focus on the lake. Just a little further.” Surely, I was getting closer.

I tried to think about my mental map of the area, but I was so tired and confused. When I glanced around, every tree seemed to look the same. I couldn’t even remember what direction I’d come from. Oh no… I was lost. Utterly and completely lost. As I tried to figure out where I was supposed to go now, the worst possible thing happened. A tree branch cracked somewhere to my right. I froze, my heart racing a million miles an hour. I wanted to believe I was imagining things, that I was jumping at shadows, but somehow I doubted it. A small growl sounded nearby, and that was it. I started to run. I didn’t have much of a chance if there was an actual bear after me, but I wasn’t going to stand there and wait to be eaten.

Whatever was in those bushes wouldn’t leave me alive and wouldn’t want to turn me into a sex slave like the Woodwards. I didn’t get very far. A mere minute later – if that – two wolves jumped in my path, appearing out of nowhere. I stumbled back and fell on my ass, instinctively shielding my head with my hands. And after that, I couldn’t do anything at all. The terror and fatigue just paralyzed me. For a few priceless moments, I could do nothing but wait to be devoured. The seconds ticked past, though, and I was still fine, unharmed. I dared to look up, at the animals. When I met the gaze of the first wolf, it tilted its head at me curiously. Its eyes were glowing in the darkness, just like the eyes of the Woodwards.

Another werewolf pack? What were the odds?

The creatures were a little smaller than the Woodward brothers, and their fur was a reddish brown instead of jet black. But that savage intelligence was the same, as was the predatory intensity. And yet, the creature had made no attempt to attack me. It just stared. Its friend was sniffing the air, analyzing me, but displaying no hostility. With the corner of my eye, I caught sight of three other wolves coming up from behind me. So, I had been right and something had been chasing me. I tried to steal a look at them, but they stopped and didn’t enter my personal space. They were all just studying me. Their surprising reaction gave me the courage to speak.

“Err… Hello?”

It wasn’t a very impressive greeting, but it did the trick. The wolf in front of me finally shifted into a tall, red-haired man.

“You’re human, but you reek of shifter,” he said. “How did you come to be here, girl?”

“Uh…” What was I supposed to say to that? I didn’t want to tell them what Mama Rose had said. “I met a werewolf pack. We…” Unbidden, the image of Jax with the female werewolf popped in my head. I clenched my jaw, doing my best to not cry again. “We didn’t get along,” I finished lamely.

The strange werewolf must have seen right through my pathetic explanation because he grimaced. “Ah. I see.”

A strange shadow crossed his face and he let out a deep sigh. As if on cue, the other wolves shifted into human form. The one next to him was an older woman, a redhead, just like him.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Let me guess. The Woodwards?”

I