Chapter 3: Ready to Die

Tara POV

I was up before the sun. I had packed my bags the night before and had written my mother a letter. The hurt, the anger, and the betrayal.

I didn’t tell her where I was going because I couldn’t risk Tim finding out. I was on my own from now on and that was okay. I was a grown 17 year old girl—well on my way to be a woman if you think about it. I had been planning this since I was 12. I had saved enough money to get me by for at least two months.

The rest I would figure out when I got there.

I placed the letter on my bed and walked out of my bedroom for the last time. It was 4:30 in the morning and everything was quiet.

When I walked out the front door the cool New York chill hit my face. I breathed out a heavy sigh.

“Freedom.”

The New York air was biting and unforgiving. There were no stars in the sky tonight and I could hear the distant echoes of the nightlife. Sirens going off in the background were the constant playlist for Brooklyn.

Not once did I look back. Not once did I consider turning back. I planned to cross the border over into Canada and begin my life again. No one knew me there. I could be whoever I wanted.

Hours later, I was smack bang in the center of the forest. I was still following GPS praying it was sending me the correct way. I had booked a small cabin in the woods to stay in for the night but it was proving difficult to find.

I heard the breaking of a branch nearby. I jumped and looked around. All I could see were trees and the sound of crickets buzzing in the background.

After taking a few deep breaths, I continued my trudge through the dense forest. The moon was full tonight so at least I had some form of light.

That’s when I froze in place. The crickets had stopped. The rustling of the tree leaves had stopped. I looked around the forest terrain bewildered by the eerie silence. It seemed like the entire forest paused.

My heart was racing inside of my chest, my palms were starting to dampen, and fear coursed through my veins like a potent poison—numbing my muscles. I knew this physical feeling all too well. I knew my body wanted to move, to run, to hide. But I stood still.

For as nervous as my body was, my mind itself was calm. For some reason, I had a feeling everything would be alright in the end.

I heard something like a low growl come from my left and I snapped my head in that direction. A few seconds later a large wolf emerged from the thick greenery. Its fur was pitch black and its eyes glowed a yellow I had never seen before.

It snapped its jaws at me, inducing another wave of fear within me. I gulped. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as fear trickled down my spine.

The wolf tilted its head to the side analyzing me. It glared at me but there was something in its expression that made it seem almost human-like.

The wolf pawed the ground, lowering itself slightly. Before I could do anything it lunged for me. Its jaw was parted, panting heavily. The pounding footsteps were the only sound that echoed around us.

I should have moved out of the way. I should have screamed. I should have cowered away. But I did none of that. Instead, I stood frozen. It was too late...

I closed my eyes just before the wolf made contact and waited for the inevitable, but it never came. I opened my eyes and looked to find what I could only describe as a midnight prince. His shoulders were broad and strong, the shoulders of a man.

He wore a tight fitting black shirt that hugged every muscle on his torso. From what I could see his jaw was sharp and angled. It was locked in place as he stared down the large beast that had tried to kill me only seconds ago.

The wolf growled again causing me to whimper in fear. The handsome man looked over his shoulder and I gasped.

He was even more gorgeous than I had anticipated. Everything about him. But the most mesmerizing part was his oceanic eyes that glistened against the moonlight. I had never seen a man so perfect in my life before.

His muscular arms were bulging through his shirt, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me. I wanted him to make me feel safe, and something inside me knew that he could.

His broad chest heaved up and down as he stared down at the wolf. It didn’t seem like he was out of breath, rather asserting his dominance over the creature. From the size of the wolf, I knew that it was a werewolf.

What had my life become? Yesterday my biggest worry was my chemistry test and now it was figuring out who was a wolf and who wasn't.

The wolf cut its eyes to me and then back to the stunning man in front of me and then huffed. It bounced back into the thick of the trees.

Once the wolf was gone the guy turned back to face and my breath hitched. Something I had never felt before stirred within me.

"Mate…” he whispered.

He tilted his face to the side analyzing me. “What are you?”

I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

He took a step toward me. I looked up at him having to crane my neck to meet his eyes. He stared down at me like he could see right through me. His scent was heavenly, almost woody with a hint of spices.

He leaned his head down slowly bringing his face only inches from mine. He took a small sniff and then stepped back.

“What are you?” he snapped. His voice carried a power that had me wanting to concede. It was a feeling I never felt before. “Speak!” His voice boomed through the forest making me cower back a little.

It would have been smarter for me to just speak but I remained silent.

He moved so quickly I didn’t even see it until my back was against the tree and his hand was around my neck. I froze in a state of complete shock and panic as the blood rushed from my head.

He continued staring at me quizzically, his striking blue eyes morphing into the golden color I had seen in my mother’s eyes. His grip tightened a tiny bit and I closed my eyes.

I was about to die. I was sure of it.