Assorted Anthologies - A Collection of Short Stories

Adelia

Adelia tightened her backpack over her shoulders. It was getting old now, the threads had begun to fray, but it had been with her for so long - since the beginning - she couldn't bear to change it.

This was the sixth move in this month. They were relentless, angry. But she could never give up even if it meant putting her life at risk. Adelia gripped the tea-stained and pen marked map tightly in her left hand whilst scanning the dark woods in front of her.

She had to take this shortcut. Taking the bus meant that her scent would linger on other people and she knew what he was like. Heartless. She would never stoop to his level of heartlessness and put innocents at risk.

Shoving the map into her backpacks side pocket, she took off, running headfirst into the awaiting woods. The moon was bright but patchy, only managing to infiltrate the thick overhead canopy where the trees thinned. Her eyes managed to pierce through the suffocating darkness and she could see ahead of her in perfect detail.

Her feet slammed into the ground with a rhythmic pad, her breaths calm and measured. This run to the next town was long but easy; Her advanced physique was the only feature of this cursed life she was grateful for.

Adelia glanced at her digital watch quickly. She had been running for an hour and the next town was close. She would rest there for a day at most and then change locations. Maybe she should try somewhere more remote rather than trying to blend in with a populous town. Or maybe she should leave the country. Germany was surrounded by different countries but she was closest to France. If she got to France, she could take the Eurostar to England and then to the Republic of Ireland where there were few wolf packs. He would never look for her there and it should be far enough for him not to sense her either.

It was perfect.

But first, she would have to escape today's hunt.

Suddenly a large bird flew overhead, screeching a warning cry to other animals. Adelia heard as smaller animals went scurrying underground and multiple wings flapped furiously as they flew away.

The wolves were close.

She stopped and cocked her head, facing her ear in the direction the bird flew from. She could hear five faint heartbeats growing closer and closer. The next town was too far to make it before they caught up to her and they were running in their wolf form.

"Dammit", she swore, tossing her backpack into the overhanging tree. She would have to fight, there was no other way out. Sniffing the air deeply, she cursed again. He had sent his personal henchmen. The strongest of the lot. There was no way she could overpower them as a single woman in human form.

She would have to shift. There was no other way.

Adelia tore off her clothes in a frenzy, kicking them to the side and hunched on the ground in agony. It had been so long that the shift was no longer familiar to her body and as the muscle and bones rearranged, she opened her mouth in a wordless scream.

She lay panting on the ground as fur covered her snout and face before standing up on all fours against her unfamiliar protesting muscles.

There was no time to succumb to pain and fear. In her wolf form, she was strong, but she had to be level-headed to tap into that strength.

Adelia trotted over to a thick bush and waited patiently as the five steps grew closer until they finally breached the area where she hid. The biggest of them sniffed the ground, a faint growl resonating from his throat.

Now.

Adelia leapt out from the bush, her jaws open as she aimed her teeth for the throat of the leader. His head shot up in surprise but he was slow, too slow, and Adelia clenched her jaws, her teeth effortlessly sliding through his muscles. She felt the blood gush out, matting her muzzles, and she spat and let him fall to the ground in a lifeless heap.