BOUND: Mates at War | 18+

1 Drowning

A scream echoes through the cave and I shoot out of my cot. In my half awake state I search frantically for my father.

I pull against my bow, ready to loose an arrow as soon as I see a threat. What time is it?

My eyes jerk around the room until they land on my father who is standing at the mouth of the cave shooting arrows out into the darkness. The occasional snarl or yelp lets him know he's hitting his intended targets.

"Ada!" I scream as wolves burst through the mouth of the cave. (Dad)

I feel an arm around my waist, pulling me toward the back of the cave. I thrash and try to free myself but I'm not strong enough.

"Hadar, please!" I beg him to put me down.

"We have to go, Solana, the cave is overrun."

I look over his shoulder just as a wolf pounces, dragging my father to the ground. I shoot an arrow toward the wolf but Hadar pushes me up, toward the crevice in the cave, hindering my aim, I missed.

"Wait, please," I beg him as he pushes me into the small space behind a line of other elves.

My chest aches as I follow the group out of the cave into the open air.

"See you in the mountains," Hadar whispers before sprinting past me to join his evacuation companion.

A light touch to my arm makes me jump. Its Aerin, my travel companion.

"Let's go," she whispers as she grabs me and pulls.

I don't have time to cry, not now. I can't let Aerin get captured or killed because I'm unfocused.

"Im mel cin, adar," I whisper into the frigid darkness. (I love you, father)

We sprint into the treeline and move deftly through the thick shrubbery. My body trembles in shock as I try to quiet my breath. I focus in the darkness as we run, listening for any sound. We can't be caught, no one has ever returned once captured.

They are bigger, stronger and faster than we are. Our only advantage is that we know this forest better than they ever could. My people are connected to this land, to these trees, to this earth.

We stop and hide behind a densely packed area of shrubbery and trees. I push my back further into the rough bark of the tree, willing it to swallow me, to hide me.

Wolves are the perfect predators, they move through the woods in silence. Their sense of smell and perfect vision make it almost impossible to hide from them, almost. I strain to hear even the most imperceptible sounds. My only possible defense is my hearing, these pointy ears aren't just for show.

The nearly silent swish of someone brushing against the thick shrubbery makes my ears twitch. I fight the urge to jump up and run, everything in me wanting to escape, to put more distance between me and the beasts that hunt me.

I was caught off guard by this attack. I've never encountered search teams this far into the forest before, they must be getting desperate to finish us off. How did they find our camp?

"Go," I whisper, they're ahead of us now. The wind is favorable this way.

I pull myself up onto the lowest branch of the tree then walk swiftly, weaving through the branches into the next tree, then the next.
Aerin follows silently behind me.

We move like this until we reach the edge of the forest. The sheer rock face of the mountain looms ahead of us.

My fingers are numb from the cold as I reach for the first jagged rock.

"Solana," Aerin screams loudly from behind me. Four wolves move into the clearing from the treeline.

Shit.

I jump down from the rock and break into a full sprint behind her. She cuts back into the treeline and jumps up into the first tree, scrambling to pull herself up the branches.

Twigs and leaves snap against my face painfully as I climb each limb.

"Glenn- na i nen, athrad," I call to her. (Go to the water, cross)

The river is close by, if we can make it there we have a chance.

I can hear their snarling and the gnashing of their teeth as we put distance between us and them. They are faster but the ground is more difficult to travel over.

My legs ache as I push myself harder, moving faster. I can hear the rush of the water. The current is strong and the icy temperatures will make this difficult but it's our only hope.

I run out over the river on a long, overhanging branch and jump out toward the middle of the water.

My body burns on impact, the arctic water stinging my skin.

The current pushes us down stream quickly and roughly I struggle to come up for air. After several minutes of struggling a fallen tree comes into view downstream.

I use the last of my energy to grab a hold of a limb as I pass by. The water pushes me against the tree trunk, trapping my body.

I feel Aerins body next to mine, pinned to the tree.

I reach for the next branch, pulling my body painfully along the rough bark, over and over again until the ground meets my feet under the water.

The fight feels eternal but eventually I make it to shore, collapsing into the dirt a moment before Aerin. We lay, completely spent and half frozen for several minutes.

"She-elves," a voice says, causing us to jerk up violently, "relax, I won't hurt you."

My mouth drops open in shock.

The sorceress Melora.

I don't feel comforted by her presence, at all. She's dangerous. She has allegiance to no one, she will do anything, no matter how dark or evil, for the right price.

"Come," she says simply before turning and walking away on a small path into the woods.

I want to decline but Aerin stands and follows her without hesitation. I follow slowly behind them, looking for every possible escape in case this goes badly.

I've seen her before, lingering in the forest, foraging, watching. Her fiery red hair almost glows. If I wasn't so uncomfortable around her I would marvel at her beauty. She looks small and humble, a deceptively simple woman in the woods. Beneath her skin lies a power so vast it could raze a kingdom to the ground with the snap of her fingers.
A small stone cottage stands in the middle of a clearing. It looks as old as the forest itself.

"Come in," she calls over her shoulder.