2 Beating the Odds

Warm, sticky, and something somewhat scratchy was licking Anna's cheek and nose. She opened her eyes in fright thinking it was one of the beasts. Her sudden movements caused the young raccoon that was beside her to waddle quickly behind a bush near the river bank. The adrenaline spike in her blood stream simmered down as she realized the raccoon was not an immediate threat. Temporarily moving her focus away from the raccoon that was scampering away from her into the tree line, she glanced around at her immediate surroundings. The forest that currently surrounded her seemed a little bit different from the forest she was trapped in last night. There seemed to be less trees and more open grassy meadows. Glancing at the pebbled shoreline she began to wonder how long and how far she floated down the river and away from the chaos that awaited her upstream.

Excitement began swelling within her as she realized she was free! She had survived the claiming hunt! A grin spread across Anna's face as she realized that she had a chance to be free, to claim her own life! For once in her life Anna had a true shot at avoiding the brutality of the male wolves. The realization of her new future showed in her body posture as she stood up on the sandy bank, dusting away the sand crusting her backside and legs. The trials of the evening before weighed heavily on her body as she stumbled forward as her stiff muscles greeted her nerves.

Working through the stiff muscle pain, Anna continued her trail towards a meadow that offered the shelter of a large Oak tree. Once she neared the Oak tree Anna gently placed one hand on the rough bark of the tree and contemplated laying against the Oak tree in order to rest her body. Slowly she turned her back to the Oak tree's trunk as slid down to nestle herself in the crook of two large roots. Hearing only the noise of the nearby birds and the whistling of the wind through the trees and meadows, Anna closed her eyes for second time in the past day to rest her body. Little did she know, the fates did not plan to be so kind to her the next day.

-Many miles upstream near the original hunt location-

After a successful night of the hunt the participants and their newly found mates gathered in a circle around the lone alpha wolf that joined the hunt this year. Murmurs flew throughout the crowd as both the male and female wolves questioned why there was not a she-wolf standing next to the alpha. Had she been killed? Hurt? Unworthy? Lost? There was also a realization that maybe, just maybe the female managed to escape the hunt. If so, how? The feat has never happened since the beginning of the claiming hunt.

Seeing the unease in the crowd, the alpha began to assert his dominance in order to calm the pack of wolves surrounding him. Hiding his own stunned thoughts that a she-wolf was able to avoid him until sunrise, he instead covered them up with his determination to find this she-wolf that had the survival skills to avoid him during the hunt. Having this determination in his voice he spoke out to the crowd around him,

"Do not worry my fellow wolves, the day is still young and we have a worthy She-wolf hiding in these woods. For the first time since the beginning of the hunt a female has finally made it past dawn without being claimed! Yes, we definitely have a worthy and clever she-wolf to be our Luna. Take your mates back to the pack grounds while I continue the hunt! Before sundown you will have a new Luna standing before you!"

As Luke finished his speech, the male wolves surrounding him began to cheer and grin up at their alpha. Not long after each male wolf moved to escort their new mates to their new homes on pack lands.

Clothes torn from trees and claws were partially saturated with the blood of the she-wolves' innocence and their claim marks. Blood still slightly oozed from the claim marks that littered various parts of their body, mostly near the neck area. Broken expressions littered a majority of the she-wolves' faces. Their future fates had been sealed the moment they were caught and claimed during the mating hunt. Some of the she-wolves said a silent wish that the remaining she-wolf could evade the dark and dangerous looking alpha that had now become their alpha.

As the sun began to wane in the sky the alpha began his trail back into the woods where he had lost the clever she-wolf at the bank of the river. The scent was faint, but still there. Assuming the she-wolf use the river as a way to conceal her scent he began to trail each side of the riverbank for a trace of her intoxicating scent.

This she-wolf would be his, no matter how long or how far he had to go to trap her between his claws.