The Lycan Claimed Her Fate

3

Gasping, I came to a stop and pressed my hand against the rough bark of the tree. Exhausted, I leaned against it and looked at the bright point of light that stretched out before me. The end of the forest. Finally. And yet I felt no better than before.

First of all, I didn't know where I was because I had never walked through the forest before. Secondly, I had only bought myself a few hours and the others would surely be looking for me. Something inside me told me that I had disappointed everyone deeply. The funny thing was that I had disappointed myself too.

Just calling off the whole wedding that had cost a lot of money just for some random guy who thought I belonged to him. I didn't even know him at the time. It drove me crazy not knowing exactly why I had suddenly decided against marrying Josh. But something inside me told me that he wasn't the right one for me. Panting, I looked at the narrow path that led out of the forest and swallowed.

Where should I go now?

I couldn't go back to Aunt May. I wouldn't have the heart to look her in the eyes. Especially since she had wanted so much for me to finally get married. I had wanted that myself too. Especially since Josh and I had known each other for ages.

And since we were about to start our last year at university, we thought we could get married during the long semester break. At first I had thought that was a great idea too. But now... now it all seemed so wrong to me. And it felt like I had wasted all the time with Josh. Like I could have had something better and that scared me.

The fear tightened my throat and I didn't even dare to breathe. I would never be able to face Josh again after the holidays. I couldn't even face Aunt May. No one. Our village would find out that I had stormed out of the wedding because of a stranger faster than they would know about the end of the world. Half the village had been invited to the wedding.

Tears gathered in my eyes again and threatened to burst out. I swallowed hard and held them back. No. Not again.

I won't cry again.

Slowly my veiled gaze slid down my spine. My beautiful white dress was no longer white. It was covered in brown and green spots and looked as if I had been to a playground in it. A lump formed in my throat and I raised my head. A crack sounded next to me and made me pause. My pulse quickened as I looked around.

There was nothing to see and yet I felt like I was being watched. Sniffling, I wiped away my tears and walked along the path, always keeping an eye on the end of the forest. There was nothing there, I told myself.

After all, there were many animals in the forest that could make noise. That didn't mean that I could be eaten at any moment. But I thought about before and those big eyes. My heart skipped a beat and I just wanted to get out of here.

But the closer I got to the exit, the slower I became. What if I ran into someone from the village there? I didn't even know where I was exactly, let alone where I could go. Aunt May couldn't hide me forever and I didn't want to do that to her.

I stopped in despair. I stared at the small stretch of road that I could see from here. Suddenly the forest seemed much better. They could find me out there. And I knew Josh would be looking for me. He wasn't the type of guy who would give you up without a fight. My heart clenched. I hadn't wanted to hurt him.

Never. But this was for the best. A deep feeling inside me told me that. Just as I was about to go back, I heard a car drive up. I quickly hid behind a tree. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. "How much longer do we have to look? She's been in this forest for three hours, Josh. There are dangers lurking in this forest and you know it.

You know what they say. She's not going to get out of there safe and sound. Besides, she left you standing there. Stop trying to save her if she doesn't want to be saved," I heard Josh's best man say. My stomach turned. Dangers? They believed these silly stories? I frowned.

"Listen, she's just confused. She loves me. I know it. She's just scared because of this Kane. We have to find her before he does." Josh's voice was deep and serious. But even though I had once found that nice, I now felt sick. I realized what he would do to get me and I didn't like that idea. Especially since he told himself that I was just confused. I had never thought so clearly as I did now. At that moment the car slowly drove past me and I looked straight into Josh's eyes. Something came into his blue eyes and I heard him order Miles to stop the car.

Panic rose in me and I ran away. My heart was beating fast. I didn't even understand why I was running away. I really didn't understand. A day ago I would never have run away from Josh, but from Kane. But now I felt the need to run into his strong arms.

Knowing that Josh would never lay his hands on me again. I was confused. Afraid. Desperate. What was right and what was wrong? I didn't know. I ran on frantically when I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around.

My feet kept running faster, even though roots and small stones and other things were digging into the soles of my feet. I didn't feel the pain, which was probably due to the adrenaline rushing through my veins. Slowly it got darker again, which told me that I was closer to the forest again.

"Jules, stop running away! I'm not mad at you. Just come here!" Josh called. I shook my head wildly. His tone of voice frightened me. So much so that I could feel the coldness spreading through me from his words.

I began to tremble in fear, but I kept running. I didn't want to go back to Josh. Something about his behavior was different than usual and scared me. I had never seen him like this before, which told me that I had never really known him.

A lump formed in my throat. I felt them coming closer, which only frightened me more. I ran as fast as I could, zigzagging now and then. But it didn't shake them off. Then I saw a small rise. Before I could even think about jumping, I was grabbed by the wrist and pulled behind a bush. But there was no scream of fear.

That hand didn't belong to Miles or Josh. I felt hot and the spot where he touched me tingled as if it was burning. I took a deep breath as he pulled me closer to him and put his hand over my mouth.

"Calm down. You're safe, July," Kane whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I felt warm. I breathed calmly and evenly. The fear I had felt earlier didn't appear. Instead, I was completely calm and leaned against his chest as if by itself, which made his breathing stop. Josh and Miles kept running while Kane and I stayed hidden behind the bush.

His breath hit my neck at irregular intervals, which told me that he was at least as excited as I was and that I wasn't the only one feeling that way. But before I could think about it any longer, I felt him burying his nose in my hair.

My heart skipped a beat. And it didn't get any better when I could feel his hot breath on my neck. My heart pounded wildly in my chest and I felt hot.

"Are they gone?" I finally asked quietly. Kane lifted his head a little and looked around for just a moment. Then he seemed to nod and pulled me up. I wondered how he could have been sure so quickly that they were gone. Any other person would have looked for them longer. But not Kane. Well, I guess Kane wasn't like any other person.

No "normal" person would have turned up at a wedding and crashed it just because he thought the bride belonged to him. I looked at Kane more closely for a moment. He had broad shoulders that were strained under his shirt. As was his chest. His thighs were also strained under his pants, which made my mouth water.

He was muscular. Not too muscular - just right. Slowly my gaze slid back up his torso to his face. Kane had masculine, angular features. His cheekbones were prominent and his lips were full and looked inviting to kiss. When I looked into his eyes, however, I was speechless for a moment.

It looked as if his dark eyes were suddenly glowing, although I knew that wasn't possible, it looked like that. As if fire was blazing in them. A lump formed in my throat as he looked at me intensely. "I should... um..." I stammered awkwardly, playing with my tongue. hem of my dress. It had looked beautiful this morning and now I just didn't think it suited me at all.