Rejecting Me Was Your Biggest Mistake (Book #1)

N I N E

The Great Escape!

I wasn't sure what had happened back there, and I wasn't about to stop and ask. All I knew was that I - we - had to get out of this territory. We were all in wolf form, the other prisoners that I had broken out were running behind, beside and a couple were in front of me, all of us running from the same thing, the same person. It wasn't long until we heard the furious howls and snarls of Blake's pack chasing behind us, following our scent. But we were close to their borders now, so close, I could smell it, I could see where their territory ended.

Blake's guards would never catch us now. My wolf growled in excitement, at the joy of being free again. The other prisoners streamed by me, as soon as they were over the border splitting off in different directions, heading back to wherever they were from. I was about to cross the border and head...well, wherever I wanted, when I heard a yelp. It wasn't the yelp of an adult though, if it was then I wouldn't have turned around to look. It was the yelp of a pup. Instinctively, I think it's a female thing, I turned around.

A tiny pup had fallen whilst we were running, probably trampled by the thundering paws of the escaping wolves. I remembered seeing her when I was in the cell, staring at me with her large brown eyes. She was impossibly skinny and so weak she could barley stand. I had no idea how she had managed to keep running with us for so long.

"Hey! Are you okay?" I called out to her. My wolf was restless, urging me to just go, we could hear the guards getting closer. She was looking behind her and I wasn't even sure if she had heard me. Then suddenly Blake's guards rounded the corner running at full speed. They were out to kill. The leader of the groups eyes locked into the small pup, and a malicious snarl escaped his jaws.

"RUN!" I screamed at the pup. She attempted to get up, but her paw was badly twisted, possibly broken, and she simply collapsed again with a small cry. I knew what I should do, the thing my wolf was screaming at me to do. But, I chose to ignore her.

It was madness, I knew. I could get recaptured, I knew. Killed, I knew. But I went for it anyway. The leader of the group of chasing wolves was closer to her than I was. I was going to need to be fast.

I sprinted towards the pup at the same time the leading guard leapt for her. Pushing my body to an impossible speed, I also leaped, but not as high as the guard had. I grabbed the pups neck and slid under outstretched claws of the leading guard. Rolling to my paws, and with the pup still in my jaws, I once again took off for the border. I ran with my body low to the ground, giving myself a speed advantage. Although the guards were bigger than me, and not as swift, they were still pretty fast. It did not take us long to get over the border and into the cover of the woods.

I tried to lose them, dogging and weaving through trees, splashing through streams and jumping from rock to rock, but I couldn't shake them. Before I knew it, the guards seemed to have multiplied, some suddenly appeared on either side of us, and there was still some behind us.

We're being herded My wolf realised. I knew she was right. They had us exactly where they wanted us. We can't out run them. Unless...

I took in our surroundings. We were running along the edge of a cliff. Just up ahead I saw a boulder that was hanging out over the edge of the cliff. Below was a rushing river of rapids, the river high from recent rainfall. I saw my chance. I pushed myself faster so that I was ahead of the groups of guards that were on either side of me and, taking them all by surprise, I jumped onto the boulder.

I placed the pup down in front of me.
"Shift" I whispered to her. She did as I asked, looking down and shaking at the sight of the river below us. I shifted too. By now the enemy wolves had surrounded the boulder, but I noticed that none of them dared step off the safety of solid ground and onto the precariously balanced rock.