The Willow and the Wolf

Chapter Fifteen: Diving In

Cage and Kai both decidedly wanted to travel south from the mountains near Glen Meadow. It was the original plan, but after all that had happened, they had to re think their strategy.... In which they came to the same decision they had prior. How pathetic was that?Cage thought.

Of course, up until now, the group barely had any type of strategy. Perhaps they all had a death wish, not just Callum and Angelica.

It had been two days. Two days of walking without much rest, or food, or warmth. The small talks and touches Cage and Clara shared were few and far between... Orion saw to that. His vampiric ways seemed less and less noticeable as time went on. His late night trips into the forest to hunt animals always left him feeling full and satisfied. He enjoyed the blood, but he realized it wasn't enough to completely quench his thirst. He craved something more. Something human.

Cage yearned to be closer to his mate, mind, body and soul. The small talks they had about life and the supernatural weren't enough for him. He felt as if there was an invisible wall up, between the shy girl he called Dani and himself. The bricks in the wall were tough and hard, not budging a single centimeter. Cage couldn't knock the wall down no matter how hard he tried. No matter how forceful his punches were. There was a disconnect, and for once in Cage's life- he felt completely, utterly helpless.

Angelica no longer spoke ill of Clara out loud, and Cage was grateful for that. He couldn't stand to hear the jealousy in her voice, or see the gleam of hatred in her eyes. Cage did not understand Angelica's reasoning behind her occasional, outrageous jealousy outbursts. He felt that it was petty and ignorant to turn against Clara... The only two woman amongst the group, and one couldn't stand to look at the other. They needed to stick together, not slowly turn into enemies. Angelica was most definitely turning them into enemies.

"Do y'all smell that? It's water! There must be a river or stream up ahead!" Angelica's sensitive nose alerted her. She raced up ahead of the group, excited to find a river of clear water as she pushed through the eye level tree branches.

The water held droplets of green and gold, and it rippled in the brisk wind. There was a certain peace that could be felt by just laying eyes on the large body of water. After many days without bathing, everyone in the group including Cage wanted to jump in.

Dropping his pack on the stoney ground leading to the river, Kai tied up his black hair and said, "looks clean enough. who's in first?"

"I suppose you are up first." Cage laughed and set his bag down on the ground as well.

Clara took a seat on an old fallen tree log, glancing away from the water. She did not want to invade anyone's privacy.

Kai and Angelica stripped and jumped in, both not having a single ounce of shame or self conscious thought about their bodies.

Clara sat backwards on the log, glancing away from the two in the water. She noted that Cage had sat beside her, their knees now gently touching.

"You can jump in after them if you'd like. I can have everyone wait further away-" Cage offered kindly.

"Why don't you come in with me?" Clara cut him off abruptly.

It was reckless and stupid. Definitely not like Clara to offer to be that level of intimate with a person. In fact, she had never been intimate like that with a man. Ever. Talk about being sheltered and cut off from the world.

It was a game. Angelica was playing a game, and Clara knew it. The smug smile on her face as she jumped into the water, and the small glance in Clara's direction proved it. Angelica was testing to see if Clara would be carefree enough to just jump in without being self conscious.

Cage's eyes sparkled darkly. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes. But no touching." She whispered and moved her knee away from Cage's. He glanced at her knowingly.

"I like what you are doing... Making her jealous. I'd lie and say I don't like the excuse to be close to you, but I'm a terrible liar." Cage admitted.

~~~

Kai and Angelica finished bathing in the lake after a few minutes. They walked out of the water and quickly wrapped up in old sheets. Angelica squeezed the water from her luscious hair, the rays of light shining on the blonde strands rather beautifully.

Clara glanced to Orion, pleading to waste some time. "You want to go?" She asked him.

Orion shook his head. "I've found that vampires don't need to bathe that often. We aren't alive, so we don't exactly sweat." He chuckled, his expression ridden with a silent apology.

"Okay then." Clara waved him off, a small smile forming on her lips.

Cage had already unbuttoned his white undershirt, revealing his tanned torso. It didn't take long for him to completely undress and dive into the water.

Clara was last to jump in. She stripped down to just her undergarments and walked into the water. The water soaked into the clothes she still had on, causing them to stick her her curvy frame, leaving some to the imagination.

She could feel eyes staring into the back of her head, but she couldn't tell if it was her imagination or if everyone was actually staring at her. Clara refused to be ashamed for wanting to be modest. There was nothing wrong with not wanting to show too much skin. Just like there was nothing wrong with wanting to not wear anything in the water.

The river wasn't deep, it was shallow enough to stand, which Clara was thankful for. Ducking her head into the water, she closed her eyes and soaked up the the feeling of freshness against her skin.

Cage watched as Clara's fingers lingered on her neck as she pushed her hair back, the sensual action made him have to control the need in himself to do something he might later regret. What he would do for some privacy in this moment.

A few minutes passed, and Clara took a deep breath. She felt something wrap around her left ankle, a feeling she simply brushed off.

A sudden pull and twist of Clara's body sent a shock to her mind to wriggle and call for help. Something had gripped her by the legs and was pulling her towards a deeper part of the lake. She tried to stay afloat and swim upwards to reach the surface of the water, but it was no use. The creature that was pulling her down was ten times stronger than her.

Clara could feel water start to fill her lungs as she fell deeper and deeper into the water. Help. She called in her mind, unable to make a sound under the water. Please.