Pack Wars

Chapter 6 - An Alluring Scent

The woods surrounding her were cold as a chilly breeze swept in across her skin, causing her to shudder as she allowed everything to sink in.

She lay breathing heavily on the floor of what she could only have guessed was the Hallow Woods Xandaar had spoken of earlier.

Everything around her was dark and eerie.

And she was all alone.

For the first time in her entire life, she was alone and the unfamiliar thought of it terrified her.

Strange sounds alerted her ears, as she twisted her head from side to side while her body visibly trembled after her terrible ordeal.

Xandaar… was he dead?

Had those wolves killed him?

Did he just sacrifice himself for her, and if so why?

Hundreds of unanswered questions swam around within her head as she used her arms to hoist herself back up onto her feet, dusting off the dirt and dry leaves attached to her arm.

Because she didn’t get the chance to dress in her usual ceremonial robes, as all witches of the Crescent Coven would wear, Zara was currently dressed in her casual wear.

She wore a white singlet and bra underneath, along with a pair of tight-fitting three-quarter length blue jeans and her long black knee-high boots over the top of them.

Clearly not the best shoes to go trekking through the woods…

But she had no idea that something as crazy as this would happen to her as she agreed to follow Xandaar out of her dorm room less than half an hour ago!

Her long chestnut brown hair waved down towards her mid-back, some stray leaves stuck to several strands as her chocolate brown eyes peered around, scanning her surroundings.

She needed to find somewhere safe. Who knows what kinds of creatures were out lurking in the woods, especially this late at night.

Focusing on keeping her breathing steady, Zara began the long walk down the leaf-covered pathway leading right through the centre of the woodlands.

She knew which direction she was headed in, using the stars as her guide. Apparently all those astronomy classes she had taken last year back at the coven would come in handy after all!

-

After around an hour or so of walking her feet were beginning to kill her and Zara made her decision right then and there. As much as she loved her four-hundred dollar Italian boots, she would choose to walk bare-footed the rest of the way.

Bending down to sit herself on the damp ground, she began to unzip her boots, one by one and pull them off with a grunt.

At that very moment a pair of glowing golden eyes watched her every movement as they peered out from the shadows of the darkened woods.

He could smell her scent from his purposeful position downwind of her. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced and it gave him a strangely warm feeling in the pit of his stomach as he continued to watch on from a distance.

Once Zara had her first boot off she went to reach for the next one when she noticed something hard stretching her left jean pocket.

“What the hell?”

Reaching into her pocket her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement as she pulled her mobile out and smiled.

“Yes!”

Her fingers quickly worked to swipe the screen and unlock it… and then her face fell. Her shoulders slumped downwards.

No bars.

“No… come on, you’ve gotta be f*****g kidding me!” she cursed softly, frowning.

She dialled anyway, just in case, then lifting the phone up to rest against her right ear.

‘Beep, Beep, Beep…’

“CRAP!”

This time she almost threw her phone across the ground, but paused just before she released it from her grasp.

It was usual for her anger to get the best of her. She had always been described as highly spirited by her friends and roommates.

But the obvious thought suddenly entered her mind. She may be able to reach somewhere with signal if she continued on. Maybe throwing away her only chance of being found might not be a smart move after all.

With a deep and grounding sigh, she shook her head as she tucked the phone away back into her jeans, in her back pocket this time where it was more comfortable for her.

Pulling off her second boot she grabbed them together in one hand, pulled herself back up onto her feet and continued on with her long trek, unknowing of the presence lurking within the shadows. Still watching her…

-

Several minutes later Zara was surprised as a sudden shadow darted out from the cover of the surrounding trees, moving out the corner of her eye and causing her to gasp and freeze in place.

Zara looked around with wide eyes.

“H…hello?” she called out, unsure of whether she had as the words escaped her lips.

Her blood pulsed loudly in the confinements of her temple as her breathing now came out short and shallow. Fear had taken over all rational thoughts.

But she wasn’t just some helpless damsel in distress.

And she would not act like one.

Narrowing her eyes, Zara scanned the woodlands from one direction to the other, searching for signs of movement or disturbed wildlife.

“Whoever’s out there, I’m not afraid.” She called out, still scanning warily.

“Come out and show yourself!”

But her command was met only with the deafening sound of silence as the entire wood suddenly went quiet. Not one single sound could be heard, not an animal or a cricket.

As she continued to look around cautiously, a dark smoky shadow began to stalk towards her through the trunks of the trees.

Silent and stealthy as its eyes peered out at her. Whatever this thing was, its eyes were as black as night and it appeared to blend in with the shadows, as if it had no solid frame to it.

From his hidden position behind a fallen log, the golden-eyed admirer noticed the shadow creature was beginning to move in on the mysterious woman from behind.

And even worse; it appeared that she hadn’t yet noticed!

His eyes widened as he realised that she may not have enough time to turn and properly defend herself, as the shadowed creature came closer and closer to her from behind.

On pure instinct he quickly stood and shouted as loudly as he could.

“Behind you!”

At that exact moment the shadowed figure lunged at Zara, who surprised everyone when she spun around with both hands out in front of her in an offensive stance and shouted a single word.

“Frei!” (translated as ‘freeze’)

Her normally brown eyes were now glowing a bright purple hue, as were both of her hands!

As it flew mid-air towards Zara with its dark elongated fingers aimed for her, the creature suddenly froze in place, as if time itself had suddenly frozen, although Zara appeared unaffected as she stepped back with wide eyes of terror.

The golden-eyed man’s jaw practically hit the floor as he stood submerged in shock at what she had just managed to do. She possessed powers?

Zara stood staring into the lifeless eyes of the thing frozen above her.

It wasn’t too long before she felt something warm suddenly grasp at her left wrist and try to pull her with it.

“Come on, we gotta get out of here!”

It was the man with the golden eyes.

But instinctively Zara pulled back, digging her feet into the ground in an effort to remain where she was.

“The hell I do! Who are you?” she demanded with a frown as her eyes met his for the first time.

Those warm, liquid-gold eyes glowing brightly in the darkness.

Her expression softened at the sight of them.

“We don’t have time for proper introductions… you must come with me” he reminded her with both his dark brows raised high on his forehead, “Unless you’d rather stay…”

He gestured toward the shadow creature still looming mid-air beside her with a nod of his head and she turned to quickly take one last look.

Making her decision rather quickly, she shook her head as she replied.

“Definitely not!”

With that she reached for his gloved hand and took it, allowing him to lead her away in an entirely new direction, through the maze of tree trunks.