Are we out of the woods?

Chapter Two

Taylor lungs felt as they had been set on fire.

Her uneven breath escaped her throat as she was exhaling blades. She could feel the taste of blood in her mouth, but maybe it was just her imagination.

Her legs were starting to hurt for the effort, especially her calves. Her feet were also hurting, she hadn't had the time to put on shoes before escaping the cave, and now she could feel rocks and blackberry's thorns cutting into her delicate skin.

Tears were sliding down her cheeks as she kept running without a real destination.

It all had happened so fast. A moment she had been barely standing on her feet, searching for help throughout the eyes of the other pack members, the second later the old Liz, a calm and sweet beta, had took a burning log from the small fire near her and threw it at West's feet, setting on fire the deer skins under him.

The alpha had jumped back, screaming in pain and hitting the rest of the fire, scattering other burning logs on the ground around him and on other's people bedding. People had started screaming and the alphas had gotten distracted in getting West back on his feet and trying to extinguish the small fires.

Taylor had taken the opportunity and had flew out of the cave as fast as she could.

Before disappearing into the trees she had looked back, only to see the alphas throwing water on the last little fire and West pushing Liz to the ground in anger before looking towards her.

Without even thinking she had started running towards the hill she had usually gone to rest and to stay alone.

Adrenaline had been pumping through her body, and at the start she hadn't even felt the rocks that were stinging into her feet as she ran.

By the time she had reached the river at the southern border she had already been out of breath and the turmoil still going on in her lower belly didn't help.

Her heat wasn't even starting to reach its peak, but even if she was in life danger part of her brain could still detached from the dream about the stranger alpha. How her arms had felt around her body, how strong she had been in pushing her against that tree and how hard she had felt in her hand.

Taylor had shivered in pleasure as she stopped in the middle of the river, quickly bending down to splash water on her face and drink a bit.

She had just started to relax and to think about a plan when she had heard sounds coming from behind her in the direction of the camp.

She had gotten just the time to raise on her shaky legs that West had appeared from the trees along the river's bank, swiftly followed by the other alphas.

It had already been dark, but there on the stream bank, the light of the moon was easily filtering through the trees, lightening up the men in front of her.

"I really didn't want to hurt that old lady, but you had to run, didn't you?" had said West standing a few meters from on her, his feet barely touching the water.

His tone might have had been of mocked sadness, but Taylor could feel from the pheromones that he had been pumping out that he was excited.

"I guess that at least now she can be with her mate." She had added sniggering, looking back at his friends as it was a joke in between them.

No...

Taylor had started crying, slowly silent tears that slid down her cheeks. It was her fault, Liz was only trying to protect her, to give her a chance. The chance neither her lost mate or Taylor's mother had gotten.