The Wolf and His Queen

Chapter 6: Beautiful Walk In the Night

Jackson's POV:

This just so happened to be one of the loveliest evenings that I have seen in a very long time. It was remarkable that I considered it to be a very lovely night for a peaceful yet beautiful walk in the night. I often took long walks at night but this one was shaping up to be one of the best that I had taken in a long time. The land outside my little cottage was always a nice one, and by that, I mean one that was not touched by anyone else except by me or by nature. It was a peaceful little cottage that I had come to find long ago on one of my walks. I truly loved this little place as it was surrounded by trees on all sides. Civilization only wished they had it this nice as it was no less than a two-hour walk to any sort of population.

I managed to find this little spot and that was when I made a place here that I have forever since called home. That was, ever since I lost my parents as a youngster. I grew up here, and for the most part, I have learned how to adapt without any assistance from others. I even learned how to hunt here and even live off of what nature provided. I learned how to survive out here, all on my own. I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. I remember what my parents taught and that teaching went a long way in helping me learn how to survive.

I always knew that I was a werewolf, as my parents at least got to teach me how to control myself and my powers before they were taken from me so many years ago. They also taught me how to control my feelings so that I did not shift into my wolf in the presence of non-shifters. After they passed away, I found myself wandering in the woods after their funeral. I was only eleven years old at the time. That is when I came upon this little cottage after I started walking out into the woods, as I did not have any reason to return home as I lost everything the night that they died. This quaint little cottage was found abandoned and had no one to care for it. So here is where I decided to settle down and make this place home. I had no siblings or other relatives to raise me, so I decided that I was better off alone. My parents always kept to themselves, so why did I think there was anyone else out there to care for me otherwise?

I loved the tranquility of it all really. It didn't have anyone else and neither did I at the time. So we just fit together. I also often enjoyed getting an opportunity to go on a walk, especially out by the edge of the water, which was where I found a little stream. It was a short distance away from my little cottage but not all that far. It was my preferred choice for a walk and when I preferred to do that little walk, it was especially at night as you could not hear anything else except the gently bubbling sounds of the water. At that time, even nature itself was asleep, so there was no other sound to drown out the sounds of the water. It was a great place to go and clear the mind, which was often full of an assortment of things.

I often walked but I preferred it more at night. I could walk for hours at a time and it is nice to feel the soft ground and fresh gentle green grass on my bare feet. To be able to feel the cool brisk air run through my toes was ever so relaxing as I did not wear any shoes. When I go for a swim, I can feel the cool, refreshing water running through my thick dark head of hair and I consider it being washed by nature. The area around the cottage was always peaceful, as if it usually had this peaceful aura about it, like nothing in the world could affect my little patch of heaven.

However, on this particular night, something seemed to be a bit different, because of that fact. The atmosphere, in a way, seemed like it was a lot tenser than it usually was at this time of night. To be honest, this something seemed like you knew that there was something about it that was not right but you could not put your finger on what it was. As I was already out and away from the cottage at this point, I began to look around and tried to figure out what was wrong and out of place. Since it was dark, I could not see anything that seemed out of place.

After all my time out here alone, I have never seen anyone in this part of the woods before. So the fact of possibly seeing another person out here did not cross my mind, so I did not expect to find anyone out here. Even that did not help settle my mind or my feelings, as I knew that something was still not right and I needed to find out what it was. That was when I started to listen to what I could hear around me. I stopped moving and closed my eyes and I listened closely to my surroundings. There was not even the sound of crickets chirping. In those wee hours of the morning, I could hear how the birds start to sing their early morning greeting. I could not even hear the birds singing through them. I could not even hear the hooting of the owls from their high-up tree perch posts either.

As I continued to walk through the trees, I neared the location of a gentle brook, which was located just below the waterfall. It was always a peaceful sound anytime I came to walk around this area. However, tonight I could hear the sound of rushing water that was a whole lot louder than I have ever heard it before in the past. Usually, I had to be right up by the waterfall before I could hear its gentle roar. Well, I was nowhere near it and I could hear it practically screaming out into the night. On this particular night, it seemed as if something or someone had truly offended it, which is why it was as loud as I could hear it before I got close to it.

I was trying to think as to what could have caused all of this to react like this. Even the water's edge along the brook was not making its gentle splash upon the leisure shore as it has done so many times over the past years of leisure that I have been here. The waterfall has even always been this ginger calm and peaceful flow over the edge of the cliff. Tonight, something was seriously wrong. I needed to get over there to see if I could figure out what happened. The only way I could do that is if I was over there. However, that left one issue. I needed to be careful as I did not want to run into any unwanted visitors that might lead them to my little piece of paradise, which was all that I needed at that point in time.

As I got closer to the waterfall, I noticed that something was certainly off, as it seemed to be completely different, though as if it seemed to be in a total uproar. Something was seriously wrong as I was not able to see it with my own eyes other than just hearing that something seemed off for certain. It was not your normal sound of swift water flowing over the edge of the cliff as you were right there looking at it. I watched it and it was as if it had doubled in size and strength. Just as I walked up to the edge of the water where the brook met with the sandy shore, I peered up to the top edge of the waterfall. It was a peaceful night other than the massive roar that was coming from the cliff's edge. I noticed how the full moon almost appeared to make the edge of the water as it fell over the waterfall glow in the clear moonlight.

Just then, I saw something that I did not think was possible nor did I ever think that I would see out here. At first glance, I heard a piercing scream. At the same time, I stared at the very edge of the top of the waterfall to see where the noise came from. That is when I saw it and I certainly was not expecting to see what I had just seen at that moment. For a moment, I believed that I was in shock at what I saw. That is when everything appeared to be moving in slow motion, it was actually as if time almost stood still as I began to watch this horrifying moment unfold before my very eyes. That is when there appeared to be a naked woman that fell over the front edge of the cliff right at the tip of the waterfall. I could not help but watch as this appeared to all be in slow motion as her body tumbled down through the water until she hit the surface of the water table below.

Right then, I knew that I could not just stand there and watch her drown in the horror that awaited her under the base of the waterfall where the current was strongest. Before I could even act, my body sprang into action and reacted to the situation before my very eyes. I jumped up and dove straight into the water before I even had a chance to stop myself. No one knew that I was out there in the woods and I did not want anyone to find me there either. At that moment, I did not take any of that into consideration. My first and only concern was getting to the woman and ensuring that she was indeed going to be okay.

When I reached the spot that was right under the waterfall, I took a deep breath and dove down under the water. It was not long before I felt a lifeless body with my hands. I grabbed onto the arms of the would-be lifeless woman and swam swiftly back to the surface of the water. Once we both surfaced, I gasped for a fresh breath of air. She was still limp and appeared lifeless in my arms. Again, without thinking, I swam as quickly as I could to reach the shoreline. I then hauled her lifeless body up out of the water. After laying her on the shore, I gently placed both of my hands on her shoulders and gently shook her swiftly. All at once, she spits water out of her mouth and nose and started breathing again on her own. I was relieved for a moment, but then, that moment passed and I was left with worry. I was worried about the fact, as she in no way appeared to wake from the traumatic experience she had just endured in taking an unexpected trip over the waterfall.

It was only then that, in the light of the moonlight, I noticed that her hands and feet were bound together. That is when it finally and truly dawned on me. This poor defenseless woman did not come out here into my neck of the woods of her own free will. She had to have been captured and taken here by force. But more so than that, where did she come from before I found her? I knew the areas around here for some ways and some distance up and around above the waterfall. However, there was no apparent place where that much water could have been stored to make all this water rush the way it was doing just now. So it made no sense as to where she could have been taken to prior to all this happening just now.

I have to admit I was certainly confused as to the current state of things. But none of that changed what I was seeing right then and there. All of this was taking place as I was there watching it all happen. I was not sure how she got there, but I knew that I needed to move her before some unwanted party came looking for her. They could assume that she drowned and that would be fine with me. At least at that point, they would not come looking, as no one knew that the cottage was out in the middle of the woods. It was settled. I made an agreement with myself; I would take her back to the cottage with me to where it is safe.

I gathered my bearings and gracefully picked her up as gently as I could possibly manage. I noticed she was clothed in a very thin silk gown that barely hid the beautiful treasures that lay beneath it, and I was shocked by it. To see her breasts, which were nice in size and her n*****s peaked at the edge of her gown, was definitely a sight to see. I suddenly tried to avert my eyes to give her some dignity as she still remained unconscious. She was breathing, however, so knowing this eased my worry about her well-being just a bit.