Beauty And Her Beast

Chapter 9

Lydia's POV:

We had been running for a lot longer than we should have.

At this point, I was much farther into the forest than I had ever been.

It looked like this was the furthest that anyone had ever been given the lack of any path whatsoever.

Luckily it was fresh enough in spring that the underbrush hadn't perked into anything that could be too hazardous for Angus.

The branches were mostly just high enough for me to not get smacked, and I'm sure that the presence of a huge wolf would send any wildlife skittering in the opposite direction.

Although if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Luka was maneuvering us through what looked like the safest way through this forest.

He had kept the same distance from me ever since we started, regardless of whether or not I sped up.

His white fur stood out amongst everything around us, aiding me in not losing track of him.

That, and occasionally I swear I would see him turn his head to make sure I was still chasing.

What on earth was he doing?

Riding this long at this speed especially without a saddle was definitely starting to wear me out.

And the overall lack of sleep I got last night really wasn't helping right now.

But there was no way I was going to let him get away.

He had to be getting tired too right?

I hoped that, but something told me that he was doing just fine.

My initial frustration had grown into complete desperation at this point.

I needed him to stop.

My father trusted me to keep track of this wolf until he returned and the last thing I wanted to do was fail him.

Wiping the sweat I could feel on my brow, I pushed Angus to go faster.

I had no idea what I was going to do, or what I even could do once I caught up to Luka.

The more I thought about it the more it seemed hopeless to even try to get him to return.

I couldn't force him physically. I don't think I really wanted to force him at all, but I needed him to come back.

In fact, it physically ached whenever it thought that he wouldn't.

Whether that was my true feelings or an effect of that 'mate' thing I wasn't really sure.

My thoughts got ripped from me the second Angus took an unexpected sharp right, the quick motion and general lack of stirrups that could have aided in catching me causing me to lose my balance and slip off of his back.

The sharp rocks hidden underneath the underbrush stung my skin as I landed and slid a few inches across the ground.

A sharp hiss passed through my clenched teeth before I let out a long groan, just letting myself lay on the ground for a few seconds.

This was really not my day.

After a few more seconds of nothing, I lifted myself up, cursing lowly under my breath as I stood and looked myself over.

Fortunately, the only parts of my body that weren't covered were my face and arms, and only my arms appeared to have a few small cuts on them, a few of which drew some blood.

Simply brushing the dirt and leaves that had gotten onto my body and clothes, I searched the surrounding area

Angus wasn't really the type of horse to scare easily, being around crowds and different animals as often as he was