Soul Lines (Completed)

Chapter Three

Chapter Three
Elle's POV

Dawn's fog swathed the ground in a bleached blush, coppered leaves and weathered trees found behind the mist of winter's breath. Beams of yellow from the rising sun glittered in the shrinking haze, a drape so cold it stole the heat from my bones.

Like a cat waking from a sunny summer sleep, a sound lilted on my tongue, and I felt myself drift off once more.

I had never woken so cold, with hands like ice clinging to my skin. I would have found blankets on the floor, but sleep had rusted my limbs, and they seemed too far away now. I stayed that way for some time, trying to find the comforts of sleep – but consciousness trickled in. First, I wondered how much sleep I could find before my alarm went off, and then the purple flickered behind my lids, sparking an old memory. My thoughts led me down a trail until they looped back, the memory of the woods flashing in my mind. That's strange, I thought, burying my fingers into my pillow. You can't see the woods from my room like this.

I staggered out of sleep, grimacing as ice-stiffened muscles protested, the pounding of my heart propelling me to my feet. The image burned behind my eyelids and played back to me a reality of what had happened.

Startled, I'd awoken the creature beside me. He rose with a thundering growl. His hackles raised as he swung his massive head back and forth, sweeping his stare past the trees. He bumped up against my legs, his chest rumbling without silence.

A feral snarl tore at his lips, spit drenching his snout. I was pushed into the trunk of a paperbark tree, my sweated palms gathering the chalked pieces of bark beneath my hands.

I couldn't breathe. Fear was sticking to my lungs like molten tar, and I watched the shadows darken. They crept between the trees, those shadows, like horrors of the night. There and then gone, shifting around us.

I'd been too naïve! There were things hidden in the forest, things even a werewolf couldn't protect me from. The sense of safety had been stolen from me with just one breath, and I suddenly needed a thousand more to replace its single absence. The air wheezed through my lungs, whistling loudly. They'll hear you, my mind hissed. Be quiet.

Hesitant, he put a distance between us that left me gasping for air, but then he paused. His head cocked to the side, his ears pricked, listening to everything around us. His paw hung in the air as though the silence had stilled him. He realised long before I did that there was nothing in the trees, and he returned to me, nudging my hand with the tip of his nose.

I recoiled my hand, my fingers shaking. I pressed them to my chest above a cacophony played at forte, if I could just stop the thrumming beat.

I felt his assessing gaze, carefully watching me from afar.

You're never safe.

He had just proven that.

What monsters did he think lingered in the dark? What things had he seen that had caused such a frenzy? I'd always trusted the woods, always believing them to be safe. But what if they weren't?

I trembled, squeezing my eyes to rid the poisonous thoughts from my mind. The pinpricks of needled adrenaline faded, and I sunk to my knees.

A sandpapered tongue flicked across my cheek. I cupped a hand to the spot as he buried his nose into my neck. 'I'm okay.' I promised, my voice shaking. Danger had never seemed more real, yet it had been so far away. I clenched his fur between my fingers, clutching desperately to him as my heart skittered. 'I'm fine. It's fine.'

I don't know who I was trying to convince more.

I pulled away, only to lean back and simmer a whispered kiss to where my tears had fallen. I held him until his fur had dried off my tears, ignoring the escaped whimper that trembled in his throat. I pressed another thankful kiss to the tip of his muzzle and pulled myself to my feet.