Mate Reclaimed

Chapter 00007

Chapter seven

Scarlett's pov

My lungs squeezed in protest but I ignored them as I sprinted through the woods, uncaring that I had no idea where I was going.

My side still hurt but I had to keep going, I ignored the biting pain and pushed myself further because it was all worth it as long as I didn't get to see Silas.

I chanced a glance behind me and I stopped in my tracks when I noticed I was surrounded by trees all around.

I collapsed beside a tree and tried to calm my racing heart as my breath came out in huffs.

At least I knew they would never find me here, heck they wouldn't even bother to look. I was just a rogue after all...

"What the hell do I do from here?" I asked myself out loud.

An image of Silas flashed through my mind and my heart dropped.

I couldn't bear the thought of seeing him again...it was just too much. What would I tell him? What would he do when he saw me, not that he would recognize me, and more importantly what would I do when I saw him?

My mind was swirling with different thoughts the moment Nora told me she was going to get him and although this wasn't, admittedly, the smartest thing I could have done I panicked and I knew I had to get out of there. I couldn't possibly face him, not now...maybe not ever.

"What the hell am I meant to do now?" I hugged myself as I pushed myself up, using the tree for support.

I was lost in the forest with nowhere to go, in a stranger's body who apparently was an enemy to the rogues...how did my life take a turn for the worse?

What was I meant to do with Scarlett? Technically I was Scarlett now but that made everything more confusing. While I was occupying her body, where was she?

I wandered in the thick foliage, wondering when I would find a way out, and as if to add to my problems, my stomach rumbled loudly and I couldn't recall the last time I had eaten.

Maybe leaving the Nightshade pack wasn't such a good idea after all. At least Nora would have made sure I had food in my stomach and I healed nicely.

I began to rethink my decision and I hated the thought that filled me.

What if this was the moon goddess's doing? What if she were giving me a chance to prove my innocence and expose those really behind the hunter's attack?

I mean what are the odds that I would die and my soul would still live and inhabit the body of another? That could only mean I still had a purpose and this was the only reason I could think of...

"Are you lost?" A voice called out behind me, startling me.

I turned and my eyes immediately landed on the scruffy old man who was staring at me skeptically.

"What are you doing here?" I asked slowly as I tried to calm my racing heart.

"I could ask you the same thing," he countered as he adjusted his arm around my waist and I noticed the gun peeking out.

"So are you lost? You look a bit rough around the edges." He commented as he gave me a once-over and I could hear a hint of an accent but I couldn't place exactly where he was from.

"Yeah, I kind of lost my way," I said cautiously as the man approached me on shaky feet.

"My cabin's just around the corner, would you like some food and a change of clothes?" The man asked and although his eyes seemed honest I knew I still couldn't trust him.

"Honestly you look like you could use both...and a bath," he added after a moment, and as if on cue my stomach rumbled, filling the silence between us.

"That settles it then," he announced as his lips spread revealing several missing teeth. Without waiting for my response he turned on his heels and began walking and after a moment's hesitation, I followed.

"No one knows these woods better than me," the man announced just as we reached a little cottage.

"So then you can show me how to get back to my pack?" I asked and he nodded while he stared at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What?" I asked and he merely shook his head.

"Let's get you those clothes," he muttered as he walked into the cottage.

After I had cleaned up as best as I could and I had changed into clothes that surprisingly fit, I made my way out to the front.

"How do you even have clothes that are my size?" I asked as he handed me a bowl of soup.

"I had a daughter... Lily," he divulged and I could see the sorrow in his eyes and hear the pain in his voice as he mentioned her and I immediately felt bad for bringing her up.

"I didn't mean to make you remember any unpleasant memories," I apologized.

"It's fine, I always think of her. You remind me of her actually," he commented and my brows furrowed.

"In what way?" I inquired.

"Beautiful, young but filled with so much pain and struggles at such a young age. Lily died trying to get revenge on the people who took away her mother and you look like someone who's set on that path." He explained and my heart dropped at how accurately he was able to read me.

"Well unlike Lily, I have no one who cares what happens to me so it won't matter if I die or not," I said playfully as I finished up my soup and handed the bowl back to him.

"Now, could you show me the way back to the nightshade pack?" I asked and his eyes searched my face for a moment before he sighed and rose from his stool.