The Chosen

Chapter four

"Remind me again why we decided to explore?" I asked Caleb as I swatted away another nat. They were so annoying.

"Because the lake is beautiful and it's scenery needs to be appreciated." he said with a teasing tone.

I fought back the urge to stick my tongue out at him. That would be too childish.

"Gah!" I gasped as I was attacked by another bush of thorns. These managed to tear a hole in my white fitted tank top.

"Having a hard time?" Caleb asked, stopping. He was ten feet a head of me, obviously better at trekking through the woods than I was. And I'm a werewolf.

'Can't we just shift?" I asked for the millionth time.

"It's too dangerous with the threat of rogues hanging around us."

I sighed. "Stupid rogues."

He coughed to cover his laugh. "Climb on my back."

"That's okay."

"No, seriously. It'll be a lot quicker if you do."

I gave in, realizing that he was right. I jumped on his back and he wrapped his arms under my knees, supporting me easily. "Thank you." I whispered in his ear.

"You're welcome." he whispered back.

I pressed a kiss to his cheek and he stopped walking. He set me on my feet and turned around. Before I could as what he was doing, he had me pressed up against a tree ten feet away from the path we were on, the bark digging into my back. I was surprised by how rough he was being.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"Be quiet." he hissed.

"What?" I was totally confused. "What's going on, Caleb?"

He put his hand over my mouth, effectively cutting of my voice. I struggled against him. I hated being restrained. He cut off my struggles immediately, leaning in to put his lips to my ear.

"Rogues." he whispered.

I froze. Rogues? They were near?

I noticed the odd scent in the air just then. I was too absorbed in Caleb's actions that I didn't notice it before.

I heard the click of a gun behind us. The next thing I knew, I was being thrown on the ground just as the shot rang out. I grunted as my back came in contact with the hard forest floor. Caleb's hands were on my shoulders instantly.

"Get up!" he hissed. "Get back to the cabin." he instructed as he lifted me to my feet.

"But-"

"No! Go!" he shoved me gently. "Stay off the path."

I met his eyes, saw the urgency in them, and took off running in the direction we came from. I tripped a couple of times, but managed to gain my balance before hitting the ground. In no time, I was back at the cabin. Once I was inside, I locked the door. I didn't stand a chance against a rogue by myself. Then a thought popped into my mind.

Caleb's gun.

I bolted upstairs and pulled his duffel back out from under the bed. The bag was empty. Crap. I began going through every drawer, dumping its contents out on the floor. I dumped the last drawer on the floor. No gun. I ran over to the closet and threw the hanged clothes on the ground. I tore everything out of the closet before coming to the conclusion that it wasn't in here either. Caleb!

I threw the pillows off the neatly made bed, as well as the blankets. No gun. I growled before lifting up the mattress. Bingo! I picked up the gun and realized it wasn't loaded. An unloaded gun was just as effective as a spoon against a rogue.