Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Branches scrape my cheeks as I run through the forest. My face is so numb, and my adrenaline is pumping so hard that I don’t even feel it, but I know it’s happening.
Growling wolves chase after me, and my legs pump harder.
I can only hike my legs so far when the snow becomes deeper in less tree-dense areas.
My heart is pounding in my chest, and it’s so loud in my ears that I can hardly hear the wolves howling behind me, signaling to others that food will be ready soon.
I’m aware that I have the axe with me, but four against one with only an axe doesn’t look favorable.
“Somebody help me, please!” I scream, hoping there’s someone in a nearby cabin, but I know it’s just wishful thinking. There’s no one out here for miles.
Just when I feel my muscles beginning to burn and my energy waning, I take one last look behind me to gauge how far they are, and before I can look forward again, I run smack into something hard, knocking me to the ground.
“Fuck!” I grunt, my body aching, trying to get back up quickly, but I’m grabbed by my coat and lifted to my feet, and shoved behind something, no, someone.
“Stay behind me,” the stranger demands, and he pulls a shotgun from around his back and aims it in the direction of the wolves.
Just as they draw near, he aims the shotgun up toward the sky and pulls the trigger.
The wolves cower, stopping in their tracks.
He pulls the trigger once more, sending the wolves scurrying away.
I try to control my breath, taking in deep inhales and letting them out slowly. I feel like I could pass out at any moment from the fear that this could’ve been my last night on earth. I fall to the ground, my legs suddenly feeling like jello. The mystery man turns, taking me in.
“Are you okay?” he asks in concern. “I heard you screaming and followed the sound.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for saving me. I… I could have died just now.”
He kneels down, and I’m able to take him in. He’s muscular, about 6 feet by my guess, a stark contrast to my 5 foot 2. He has brown eyes and dark brown hair that’s cut short and faded with a neatly trimmed beard. He’s hot, if I’m being honest. Shit, no, Ella. Men are shit, remember?
“Do you live around here?” he asks, checking over the wounds on my face.
“Yeah. I’m staying at the Jacobs’ cabin for the week.”
“Alright. Let’s get you up and home. I reckon you must be freezing.”
“And you aren’t?” I ask curiously, just now noticing that the man standing before me is wearing jeans and a white tee.
“No, I haven’t felt the cold in years. You get used to it being out here for as long as I have.”
He helps me to my feet, but just as I start to move, my ankle gives out. I wince, hissing in pain.
“I must’ve hurt it during my run, and the adrenaline covered up the pain,” I say, feeling embarrassed about needing a man’s help in general.
“Here, let me,” he states before I’m lifted in the air and carried bridal style through the woods. “So…” he adds, and I pick up on the cue.
“Ella,” I whisper, my body shaking from the bone-chilling cold that I’m feeling extra hard now that the adrenaline is wearing off.
“Ella,” he states. “So, Ella, what are you doing out here all by yourself anyway?”
“I w-w-wanted t-to g-g-get a t-t-tree,” I shake out, my teeth chattering too much.
“Shh. It’s okay. We’re almost there. Just close your eyes, and I’ll make sure you get home safely.
That’s what I do. My eyes drift closed as I nestle into his neck, and for a second, I feel safe. But the last thought that drifts through my mind before sleep calls me is how he knows what direction my cabin is in.