Thorn (Werewolf) ✔

Chapter Nine

I start to question what Thorn considers as far because we've been walking for at least an hour. I get the feeling that I am slowing him down but he doesn't complain. I stop to rest against a tree which makes him purse his lips with annoyance.

"How can you possibly be tired?" he says. "You haven't changed your speed since we left the cave."

"Walking is exhausting too."

"For you maybe."

"You said the camp wasn't far," I say.

He chuckles. "It's not. I could cover it in a few minutes."

I roll my eyes.

"It's not much further, I promise. It's just up that hill." He flicks his eyes to the steep hill behind him and I groan. "I don't think hills are a fan of you either," he says. "Come on, I'll help you."

I leave the tree and I stop at the bottom of the hill as Thorn just casually scales it like it's not even a problem. He keeps one hand tight around the quilt and extends another to me. I hold his large hand tightly as I use my right one to grab onto strong branches sticking out of the slope. He manages to lift me to the top effortlessly. I didn't have to use any strength or energy to move at all. How can he bear my whole weight with one hand?

He releases my hand slowly, almost like it was difficult for him to do so. I wait patiently as he walks over to a small tree and collects something from underneath it. He drops the quilt to the floor and I swallow as I glimpse his naked frame. His back is arched and muscled, it is a man's body, not a boy's.

He lifts his arms up to pull the shirt over his head and his shoulders get even bigger, the lumps forming down his arms like moving boulders. He bends over to pull up the pants and I get a clear view of his backside. It is firm and clenched, like he is doing it on purpose because he knows that I'm looking. I clear my throat and pretend to be looking elsewhere as he turns back around.

"Like what you saw?" He grins at me.

"Huh?"

"I can hear your pulse racing."

"Oh." I stare after him in confusion. "Huh?"

I jog to catch up to him and we walk along another short path in the meadow that leads towards more woods.

"Why do you keep clothes lying around?" I ask.

"You never know where you might wake up in the morning. I have clothes scattered all over these woods."

He is very strange. I guess living out here by himself has made him like that. He keeps a giant wolf as a pet so it'd be fair to assume that he hasn't had human company in a while. I owe him my life so it'd be rude to judge him. However he lives out here and no matter how crazy it may seem, it helps him to survive. Maybe he could teach me how to do it too.

I start to hear voices through the trees and I keep stopping to listen because I'm not sure if I'm imagining them. Thorn doesn't react, he keeps on walking.

"Do you hear that?" I say.

There are definitely voices and I can see the outline of bodies moving between the trees. I was wrong, he doesn't live alone. Does he have a family?

Thorn suddenly stops so that I am forced to be in front of him. Even from a distance, I can recognize Lyle's red hair. I turn sharply to run back but Thorn blocks my way.

"They've been searching for you all night," he says. "You have people that care about you. Go home, Devon."

I gasp as he uses my real name. He knew it all along. "No," I say, trying to get around him. He restrains me and holds my hands tightly together. I go limp against his hold.