The Darkness

Chapter 38

Todd began clicking his tongue and shaking his head still wearing that stupid grin on his face. "Now..now.. you might not want to shift in front of your mate. We both know that Celeste is still a little frighten of us in our true form. It must be hard to have a mate, that can't accept your wolf. Ummmm, did you tell her yet. Allow me, you see Celeste the wolf is who we really are. The human form you see is really just a shell that we wear so that we can live without being hunted. We are more beast than anything else."

I didn't want to hear anymore of his lies. "SHUT UP!"

"Celeste turn around, I don't want you to watch." Colin's voice dropped to a deeper tone and his voice sounded ragged.

"No Colin." I shook my head and a sob was torn from my throat. I wanted him to know that I wasn't afraid to see him turn into a wolf.

"Celeste! Do it! And when I say run, you run!" Colin commanded. I did what he instructed and turned around looking for an escape. Colin's hand grabbed my mine giving it a squeeze. His hand was now much larger and tough. I lightly touched the long harden shell that replaced his fingernails.

Todd laughed, "Don't think she will be getting far." I heard several growls and I took a deep breath ready to flee.

"Run!" I took off for a set of trees that were grouped together like little match sticks. The trees were thin and numerous and I was hoping that they would act as a deterrent and slow down any wolf that would try to follow me. From I what remember at the watering hole, male wolves were very large. The trees grew so close together that it only had small narrow spaces between them, barely enough space for me to manuever between. I tried to block out the noises that were going off behind me. Fear grappled me scared that Colin would not be able to fight off all of them. I used that same fear to fuel my flight as I dove between the narrow trees. I reached out blindly weaving through the trees and running through the thick underbrush that covered the ground. I stumbled a few times in my mad, frantic dash tripping over hidden fallen branches. Several times I quickly caught myself from falling, using the skinny trees as a brace. Pop! Pop! Pop! I stopped dead in my tracks at the sound of gunfire that went off behind me. i had forged so far into the trees that I could no longer see Colin and the others. Oh my god, Colin. Did Todd shoot him? Was he alive? I bent over taking a moment to suck in air in my burning lungs.

The crashing sound and a blur of color took hold of my attention. A large wolf was headed straight from me bulldozing his way through the trees. Trees snapped at his sheer size and force as it charged toward me. Thoughts of Colin fled my mind and my survival jumped to the forefront. Another surge of adrenaline pulsated through my body and I whipped around continuing my mad dash for an escape. The sounds of trees snapping was sounding louder and I frantically scanned ahead of me for a place to hide. The sound of rushing water was to my right and I changed course heading for what I hoped was a river that I could seek refuge.

I spotted the movement of sparkling blue water with white foam spraying at the top. A river. I rushed through the trees keeping my eyes ahead watching as the river became bigger. I emerged from the matchstick trees onto the banks of the raging river. The water swirled angrily and I stopped only a couple of feet from the edge. I gulped wondering if jumping into the rapidly moving water was actually a good idea. I whirled around at the sounds of crashing and growling and I stared in horror at the beast snarling in front of me.

My heart leaped into my throat and I took a step backward towards the river. A scream automatically ripped from my soul not wanting my life to end torn into pieces. The grey wolf bared his teeth crouching down low to the ground. I glanced behind me ready to leap into the water when the grey wolf in front of me went airborne and then was jerked backwards. A brown wolf had clamped on his hind legs flinging him away from me into the trees. I watched in horror as the brown wolf landed on top of the grey wolf ripping out its throat.

The brown wolf rounded on me and I stood transfixed to my spot at the edge of the banks. I stared into the wolf's green eyes and saw the familiarity. The brown wolf took a couple of steps toward me cautiously then dropped his body to the ground lowering his eyes. He crawled towards me submissively.

"Colin?" I reached out my hand as he lowered his head. I pulled my hand back not sure if the hair would prick me like earlier. I took a step closer and lightly skimmed his fur surprised of its soft texture. "Colin!" I cried dropping to my knees plunging my hands into his soft coat.

I felt his body convulsed and I watched as his wolf body started to twist and shrink. It felt freaky and fell backward on my butt. My hands shot behind to prevent me from falling over and I felt the edge of the banks. I shut my eyes quickly not ready to see the painful change back into his human form.

"Celeste." Colin's voice was ragged and I peeked an eye open to see him on all fours, his nude body coated in bloody bites. Pain etched over his face as he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Colin tried to stand up and I leaned forward trying to help him stand.

"Oh my god, Colin." I wrapped my arms around his waist tried to help him on his feet. I had gotten us shakingly to our feet. He leaned his weight on me heavily causing me to lose balance. Colin body fell forward on me and I felt the ground under my foot give way as we fell backwards into the raging waters below.

((((( A/N )))))))

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Nicci