Chapter 6 Crossed Paths

Grace’s POV

I stopped abruptly when I reached the mouth of the cave and for the life of me, couldn’t hold back the scream of terror that bubbled up inside of me.

Blood!

Blood was everywhere. Smeared on the ground. Dripping from the walls and ceiling, along with something that looked suspiciously a lot like pieces of skin. Parts of human and wolf remains were scattered all over the cave. Bodies were ripped open and their guts were spinning onto the ground, filling the air with an awful stench, that made me retch. They hadn’t just been killed. They’d been torn apart! Ripped to pieces by---

By a savage beast!

With shaking legs and a stomach that was turning on me, I took a step back. Wanting to put some distance between me and the massacre--- but stepped right into the arms of the man who’d done this!

I screamed, jumping away and spinning to face him. That was when I finally realized that there was blood covering him from head to toe. I hadn’t even realized it in the cave, but out here in the sparse moonlight, I knew what those dark spots covering his body were.

“Y-you…,” I stuttered, my heart ready to vacate my chest. “You did this?”

It was a stupid question, but I was feeling sort of stupid right now. My mind was spinning, and I didn’t know what to make of anything. This man – this beast! – had saved me, yet not a single emotion flashed on his face as he took in the carnage around him, before his cold eye settled on me again.

He nodded.

Not proud. Not smug. Nothing to indicate that he enjoyed doing it. Just that he had. As if it was a job to be done and nothing else. The dirty work someone had to do…

“A-are y-y-you,” I panted, clutching my wannabe robe between shaking fingers. It at least brought me some comfort that I wasn’t completely naked, although I might as well have been. The man – wolf or monster or--- whatever! – was eyeing me with such a clam disinterest, it almost made me feel dirty. As if he could flip like a switch at any second and kill me if he wanted to. And for some reason that fueled the beast inside of me.

The one that wanted to live!

With one last deep breath, I straighten my back and held my head up high, meeting his gaze head-on.

“Going to kill me too?” I asked, and despite the fear and the cold, my voice came out firm and strong. Hell, I was proud of myself at that moment. I managed to sound confident despite being beside myself from fear and not break down crying and begging for my life.

The wolf tilted his head slightly as if asking if I was being serious right now. But before I could say anything he sighed – the only sign of emotions I’d seen on him – and shook his head. What was more, he gestured towards the woods, as if indicating that I should get going.

Music to my fucking ears!

I spun on my heels and faced my freedom. But the second I eyed the freakishly dense forest and the looming darkness ahead I suddenly froze in my step. The last time I ran off into the woods like a headless chicken, I ended up here.

Trapped.

Tortured.

Raped…

Normally my worst fear of being alone in the woods was being attacked by wild animals. Now I knew that there were far worse things out there than animals. That the monsters under my bed weren’t just imaginary.

They were real!

And I didn’t know the first thing about them, let alone how to protect myself from them. I wasn’t strong enough to fight them off. I couldn’t protect myself…

Carefully my mind went back to the wolf who’d saved me. He said he didn’t want to kill me. That could change at any second, I knew that. But what choice did I have?

“Will you help me?” I asked boldly, wishing my lips didn’t tremble as badly as they did. “Get home?”

He arched an eyebrow at me and crossed his huge arms over his impressive chest, almost daring me to ask again.

Well!

Dare accepted!

“Please?” I pleated again. Because let’s be honest: I had nothing to lose! He could decide to kill me or he didn’t. He could choose to leave me and I would most likely be dead anyway within a day since I didn’t know the first thing about surviving in the wild. Be it sickness, wild animals, or monsters, there was no way I’d survive…

So might as well put my money on the guy who seemed the least likely to kill me…

This time he grunted in annoyance and purposefully shook his head. Which pissed me off for some reason. Finally! After living in this hell hole for--- God only knows how long - and the first break I caught wanted to send me off into the woods alone!

I wasn’t Red-Freaking-Riding Hood!

“Oh, come on!” I snapped, as tears of frustration blurred my vision. “You can’t just save me and then send me out there to die!” I gestured in the general direction of the woods and even dared to take a step towards him. “Like you said, I’m human! I’m not exactly nature friendly!”

There was a ghost of a smile lingering at the edges of his lips this time. It didn’t look pretty, but at least it wasn’t threatening anymore and I took it as a good sign, pressing forward.

“Please? I’ll pay you! Anything!” I begged and was not the least bit ashamed of it either. “Please?”

At first, he kept glaring at me as if nothing I said moved him in the slightest. But when my voice broke and my last “please” left my lips, something softened in his eyes. It wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but I could feel it in the tension around us. He sighed and dropped his arms from their position. And for a split second, I felt hope once again bloom in my chest---

“I can’t,” he said like he was pressing the words between clenched teeth, as he ran a dirty hand through his white hair. The hope died, but unfortunately for him, I wasn’t out of anger or frustration yet…

“Why not?” I snapped and angrily wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I won’t survive out there! You can’t just save me and---"

“I’m like them,” he cut me off, still not separating his teeth which made him hard to understand. But I kept quiet, as he gestured to the dead wolves cluttering the forest floor. “If you’re with me, any pack wolf we come across will kill us without hesitation.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but quite frankly, I didn’t care!

“And being alone out here has so far been such a walk in the park for me,” I snarled, hating how hysterical I sounded. Hating how weak and pathetic I sounded. But what the hell else was I supposed to do? I needed to survive and hell, begging had been far from the worst thing I’d done to stay alive these past couple of weeks…

“I’d rather take my chances with you!”

He grunted in annoyance and a soft growl vibrated in his chest, making me jump backward.

“I didn’t save you,” he growled, his eyes suddenly glowing golden. “We just crossed paths by coincidence.”

Those words felt like a slap to the face. A punch to the gut. He hadn’t saved me. I’d just been there when he was killing those other wolves. I wasn’t his problem. He never intended to find me. He hadn’t been here to save me. Hell, he hadn’t even been looking for me.

We just crossed paths by coincidence…

Frustrated, mad, and feeling utterly and completely helpless I let out a cry of anger and defeat. And in that same spirit, I kicked a rock and---

And remembered that I was shoeless!

“FUCKING---!” I screamed, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood. I jumped back, intending to grab my throbbing foot, sure that I’d broken it. But unfortunately jumping around on rocks covered in blood, gore, and other vile things I didn’t care to mention, didn’t make for a funny scene. I slipped and the last thing I saw was the ground rushing toward me.

Well, just fucking great!

I tensed, bracing for impact while cursing myself, the freak of a monster, and everyone in between for ending up in this situation. And on the top of the list, was Cole. He was the one who’d dragged me into this. He’d been the one sweeping me off my feet, making me fall in love with him, and then tossing me aside.

Tossing me to the wolves!

The ache in my heart every time I thought of him still felt like a gaping wound, but considering the hell I’d been through these last couple of weeks, I’d gotten used to it. I didn’t feel like crying anymore when I thought of him. I just felt---

Betrayed.

Rejected!

Discarded…

I closed my eyes and once again my body prepared for pain.

But to my surprise, it didn’t come. Incredibly strong arms wrapped around me, catching my fall. I gasped, as I turned to look at the man. His expression didn’t show anything, but his eyes looked worried. Sad almost. And that’s when I realized, that---

I just thought of him as a man…

Once again, I didn’t understand what was happening. But whatever had been keeping me whole and alive for such a long time, broke.

It just--- broke!

I couldn’t keep everything in anymore. I was scared, alone, abandoned, and angry. I’d been fighting for such a long time, and I wasn’t even halfway done. But I was so tired. I just wanted to be somewhere safe now. I just wanted to break and put myself back together.

I couldn’t keep this up anymore…

I couldn’t stop the tears. I hid my face in his chest and cried. The sobs racked my body, making us both shudder from it. I expected him to push away from me. To growl like the other wolves had and tell me to shut up. But I was quickly learning that nothing about this man was as I expected it to be.

To my surprise, he wrapped his arms tither around me, and albeit awkwardly, he gently patted my head. His chest vibrated with a soothing purr, making him sound more like a car than a wolf. Well, perhaps he was a cat.

A werecat!

Was that even a thing?

A burst of laughter suddenly bubbled from my lips, making me sound every bit as hysterical as I felt. The image of this huge beast of a male transforming into a “Puss in Boots” wannabe, was just too funny – even in this situation.

Carefully the man pulled away from me, looking at me with concern in his eyes. As if I was made of glass and I’d break at any second. But I quickly shook my head, trying to get a grip on myself.

“You sound like a cat,” I sniffled, cried, and laughed at the same time. He actually frowned at that, and for a split second, I wondered if I’d insulted him. But his looks quickly softened, and his lips twitched into his version of a grin. He shook his head and to my surprise, his grip on me tightened, pulling me even closer. His other hand went under my legs and just like that, he got to his feet and walked away.

I gasped, quickly locking my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life.