Her Chosen Mate

Chapter 3 - Close Encounter

“I still don’t see why we had to come to the middle of nowhere,” complained Lucy as she swat the mosquito that had landed on her.

The dried twigs snapped loudly under their feet as they trudged through the forest.

“I told you mom needs to be in a stress free environment, you don’t get more stress free than the woods,” replied Derrick, stopping to examine his sister. “Besides I think its peaceful here.”

“Yeah when you're not being bitten to death by bugs. I don’t get why we had to uproot our entire lives though, I mean my life was perfect in Texas.”

“Don’t be selfish Lucy, it doesn’t suit you,” scoffed Derrick

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked irritably.

“I meant what I said. Sometimes you can be a little self-centered.”

“Self-Centered!” she yelled “If I’m so damn self-centered then why am I in the middle of the woods being eaten alive by pests?”

“Well pardon me Princess Lucy for damaging your delicate sensibilities,” he mocked

“You know what Derrick screw you!” She yelled over her shoulder as she stormed back in the direction they had come.

How could he think she was selfish? She had everything going for her and gave it all up to move to this dreadful place with them. He was the one being self-centered. Lucy was seething with anger and in her outrage paid little attention to where she was going, by the time she had calmed down she realized that she was nowhere near where they had started and even worse there was no sign of Derrick anywhere.

“Derrick!” she yelled as she spun around in a circle.

She had no idea where she was, all the trees looked the same. She was suddenly alerted by the sound of twigs breaking behind a nearby bush. "Derrick," she repeated as she cautiously inched closer to the bushes the sound had come from. The brushes shook violently and something large came charging directly at her. Lucy screamed, barely scrambling out of the way as a frightened deer raced from behind and pranced its way to safety.

She picked herself off the ground and brushed the dried leaves from her pants as she looked in the direction the deer went. Lucy heard a menacing snarl and was immediately alerted to the fact that she was not alone. She was not only lost but suddenly she felt like she was in grave danger. She slowly turned to realize that she was staring into large green eyes that belonged to an even larger grey wolf. She was paralyzed with fear for what felt like an eternity; but then, her body started to move of its own accord. Backing away slowly she refused to take her eyes off the beast. The wolf began to advance on her. Lucy panicked and lost her footing, tripping on a root, and landing heavily against a tree; smacking her head in the process. Her hair grew slick with blood and her head throbbed profusely. She resisted the urge to rub the knot that had no doubt began to form on her head, she couldn’t make any sudden movements as it would no doubt provoke the beast. The wolf had closed most of the distance between them, its teeth bared menacingly. She tried to scream but for some reason her voice was caught in her throat.

She suddenly became aware of her brother’s voice in the distance. “Lucy!” Her name echoed through the trees, also catching the wolf’s attention. To her relief it started to retreat, backing away slowly in the direction it had come. She couldn’t be certain but it was as if the wolf refused to take its eyes off her as well. She did not look away from the large eyes of the animal as it slowly retreated into the underbrush. She sat slumped against the tree, refusing to take her eyes off the bushes the wolf had disappeared into.

“There you are,” Derrick’s voice caught her attention again. “Don’t run off like that, these woods are-. What the hell happened to your head?”

“I fell," she replied, still staring at the bushes. "Hey Derrick are there wolves in these woods?”

“Not that I know of,” he replied thoughtfully. “There was nothing on the guide; but we are a ways away from the actual trail.”

“Hmmm. Can you help me up?”

“Why do you ask?” he c****d an eyebrow at her.

"Because I don't think I can get up on my own," she responded irritably.

"Not that silly," replied Derrick as her extended a hand to her. "The wolves."

“Oh. I think I just saw one, and it was huge,” she replied slowly.

“Are you sure you’re alright Lucy? That cut looks pretty nasty,” he looked at her with even more concern.

Lucy knew what he was implying. “I’m not seeing things,” she snapped.

"Well I didn't see any wolf."

"That's because it ran off Sherlock."

“Well in any case, let’s get you home, we need to get that cut cleaned up.” He made an attempt to lift her; but she quickly swatted his hands away.

“My legs work fine,” she quipped, causing him to chuckle.

“Well I would tell you to lead the way but something tells me you’d get us both lost," sniggered Derrick.

“Oh we’ve got jokes huh? Where have you been all this time? At least you have a map."

"Looking for you," he defended. "I went all the way to the car and back. No one told you to run off on your own."

"Well I didn't want to come on this stupid hike in the first place. Just wait until mom finds out you brought me out here and got me hurt.”

His mood suddenly grew solemn “That’s not funny Lucy.” 

She knew he was right. Their mother didn’t need any stressors right now, not in her fragile state. “Hey Derrick I think I do need that piggy back after all,” she lied.

His expression instantly changed. “Climb aboard mam,” he instructed, stooping so she could hop onto his back.