Leila of the Prey [Book Six]

Hunt

  The fire was dying with soft glowing embers still lighting the cave. Night insects called from outside with the occasional hoot of an owl. I should be asleep, but I couldn't rest no matter how hard I tried.

  I made myself more comfortable by rolling up the deer pelt to place my head on, and yet I still couldn't sleep. Yes, Fera had been curious about me, but I had assumed that was all it was. Curiosity. I had not thought he would be using me to learn more about humans specifically with hunting in mind.

  I was staring at the opposite side of the cave where Fera was lying with his back facing me. His slow, soft breathing told me that he was asleep.

  My mind refused to stop going over everything that had happened the past few days. Everything was different now that I knew the context of why Fera allowed me to stay with him. I....wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it.

  Freeing me from the trappers had been a whim, no different than freeing a deer with a leg caught in the fence. Saving my life after I fainted in his cave had ulterior motives. Helping me clean up in the river was also an inspection for hidden biological traits that could thwart his hunt. I had no claws, fangs, or venom, and now he knew that for certain.

  I wasn't safe here.

  Quietly getting up, I listened to the beast's soft breathing to ensure that I didn't wake him. Padding toward the mouth of the cave, I made my way outside. Fera didn't stir as I got further and further away.

  Once he was no longer in my line of sight, I turned and went down the mountain toward the river. I was quick but quiet.

  Reaching the river, I glanced back toward the cave and listened to the forest around me. The sounds of nature were the only thing I could hear. Going over the rocks on the bank, I began to strip my clothes before throwing them to the other side of the river.

  The cold water made goosebumps rise on my skin when I stepped into the river, but I needed to wash my scent away before going any further. Fera had no visible nose and yet had a keen sense of smell as if he could scent the world in the same manner a snake would. I didn't know how any of it worked, but I had seen him sniff out and hear all sorts of things that I could not over the past few days.

  Scrubbing my hands over my skin, I tried to mask my scent as much as possible before exiting the water on the other side of the river. Picking up my clothes, I carried them with me as I walked several yards away. The soil soaked up the water dripping from my feet until I was dry. When the shivering from the chill night air became too much, I put my clothes back on.

  I could only hope that was enough to make tracking my scent impossible for the beast.

  Walking through the forest with only the moon providing enough light for me to see, I tried to move about silently. I would keep walking until I could find shelter, rest, then keep moving again. I needed to find people and figure out a way back home.

  Hours passed as the moon crawled across the sky. I ducked under a low branch and came across a clearing in the forest. I stopped along the edge of the trees while looking around.

  Going into the clearing and out in the open this late at night could put me at risk of being surrounded by hungry wolves or gaining the attention of a lion.

  I decided to go around to maintain the cover of the trees. Knowing that my night vision was nowhere near as adept as nocturnal predators, I needed to avoid as many risks as I could. I was grateful that I was no dainty lady born of riches or I would've already been dead out in these wilds. The very things that had made it difficult to find a husband were now keeping me alive.