Chapter 316
Chapter 0316
hate this feeling of helplessness. Worse, I hate the fear that comes when Eli isn’t around. I’d rather stay
with him and risk getting caught together than being left alone. It was different when I was in the town
where mom and I lived. At least there I had a home, a job and Benny. Here, without Eli, I have nothing.
Nothing is familiar, the sights and sounds are all new and every sound makes me jump.
I tuck myself into the small cave that Eli found for me. I’m continually amazed by his ability to find
places for us to hide while keeping us safe. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, he’s been doing this most
of his life.
‘He is a good mate. He is taking care for us.” Maia says.
I could tell she has not only fallen hard for Louis, but after last night and the amazing rub down Eli gave
her, she’s a soppy mess for him now too.
‘He didn’t have to do that. Not every mate would have realized how sore we were or taken the time to
massage our muscles before going out and catching food for us. He’s thoughtful, considerate and a
good provider.‘
I have to admit, my wolf has a point. Eli hasn’t tried to push the mate bond on me at all. He’s been very
considerate in our sleeping arrangements which have been less than ideal basically since we’ve met.
And I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t affected by the mate bond. Having Eli close to me has been
comforting, but it’s also making it harder to be away from him.
“You should let him mark us.‘ Maia tells me.
I’d been contemplating letting him mark me. He’s not a bad man. He’s proven that he’s willing to do
whatever it takes to keep Maia and I safe. I just haven’t made the decision to trust him with the rest of
my life. Once you’re marked, it can’t be undone except by the death of one of the parties.
I had seen a sign as we were running. We’re in the Red River area. It’s beautiful here, but I can’t enjoy
it. Every minute that Eli’s gone makes me more anxious. I should try to relax and take a nap, letting my
muscles rest but I’m nervous, on edge.
I’m looking out over the land, watching the clouds go by when Maia’s head pops
1. up.
‘What is it, Maia?
Through her eyes and in her mind, I can feel her narrowing her focus on the ground below us, in the
direction we came from. She pricks up her ears, listeningnovelbin
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intently, and that’s when I hear it. I can’t see anything from here, but I hear the sounds of bodies
moving through the forest floor below us.
‘Check the other directions, Maia. Are we surrounded?‘ I ask her, my fear spiking.
‘Don’t panic, Grace. I’m strong, I can get us out of this if needed, but if you panic, they’ll be able to hear
our heart beating faster. Relax and let me take the lead.‘
I don’t want to be forced into a mate bond. I don’t want to end up with someone who sent their pack to
hunt me down and drag me back to them. Someone that wants me because I strengthen their pack by
forcing their canines into my neck.
“There.‘ Maia says and through her eyes, I can see what looks like 10 wolves, slinking through the
forest floor. As we watch, the leader lifts his head and sniffs the air, then begins sniffing the ground
again.
‘A tracker.‘ Maia says to me. ‘We need to move. He will find us.”
She slinks out of our cave and begins to move quietly over the landscape,
jumping across small gaps in the rocks, moving around trees and bushes to try to keep us hidden from
view as much as possible.
‘Where are we going Maia?‘ I ask, not having any idea what direction we’re moving in.
‘Eli told us to head east. But first, we’re going south where I can smell water and we’re going to run
through the water and try to lose them.‘
As we’re coming off the hill where we were staying, Maia begins running. She’s fast and the trees and
bushes in the area give us a lot of coverage. We haven’t gone far, when I hear the howl go up. They
found our cave and are alerting those nearby that they are on the hunt.
What makes my blood run cold is the answering howls that seem to come up all around us.
‘Change of plans.‘ Maia says. ‘We’re heading east and I hope we can find some water to cross. I don’t
know if we can outrun all of them.‘
She takes off like a shot. Even though we’ve been running for days, Maia has no intention of getting
caught, so she pushes through the pain. Unfortunately, the hunt will only incite the wolves and make
them more determined to catch us. Without Eli, my only hope is that the Alpha doesn’t catch us, giving
Eli time to find us.
As we’re running, another howl goes up, this one is much closer than the last. Maia is pushing as hard
as she can. When we find a small creek, we don’t even have time to run part way in it, we crash
through and continue on the other side.
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As we rush out of the creek, I can hear the sound of panting and large paws pounding into the ground
on our left.
‘Maia!‘
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We’ve been running full out for nearly an hour and I know Maia is running on adrenaline only now. Eli
will have realized that we’ve left and should be on our trail. At least I hope he is, I hope they didn’t
leave other wolves behind to keep him from getting to us.
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