THE BEAST

16: The Search Party

I froze when a deep laughter replaced the chirping birds. I looked over to see Grey smiling, his white teeth twinkling in the sunlight passing through the trees. His eyes, a sleight blue, battled with the color of the water rushing down the stream.

"What?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"You are very easily angered," Grey pointed out, laughing once more before turning his attention back to the dish in his large hands.

I scoffed, throwing his shirt down once more. "Says the man who turns into a wolf when someone so much as breathes in his direction."

Grey watched me with such intensity I swore I would fall into the water and drown. But then he laughed again. While nodding his head, he picked up another dish and scrubbed it in the water. "Got me there, Poppy."

It may have just been my imagination but Grey seemed to feel just as content as I did being out here in nature and out of confined limits. His skin looked more golden and his body language was less closed off.

It was easy to smile at him then and for a moment it was like the water stopped moving and the sounds around us silenced. It was just my old friend's eyes locked on mine.

And then the world continued to spin when a loud shout rang through the forest. Grey was on his feet in an instant, the dish shattering to pieces when it fell from his hands and landed on a jagged rock.

He listened for a moment, his ear cocked towards the sound. Grey's eyes darted down to mine with an emotion that could only be described as fear. I felt my heart catch in my throat. Before he could act on his fear, I stood and grabbed his hand. Before he could react to my touch, I pulled him behind the bed of the pond.

His attention never left the side of my face as we both crouched behind the wall of rocks. I tried my hardest not to look back at him because I wasn't sure I could hold up this facade when the voices started to come closer.

This could be it. I could be free. I almost gave up trying to play the victim when the large group of people came into view through the trees.

And then I saw my mother. 

She was carrying a shotgun, swaying the barral this way and that, looking ready to shoot on sight. Her brown eyes were scanning the area like a trained huntress looking for her next kill.

She was looking for me! I never doubted it but it still made tears come to my eyes at the sight of her. A deep yearning to be hugged by my mother flooded my chest to the point that a sob racked through me.

Grey stiffened beside me. The search party froze, their ears cocking just like Grey's had at the sharp intake of my breath. I covered my mouth with both of my hands in panic.

If Grey unleashed his beast he would surely kill them all. Including my mother. I would not be able to live with myself if something happened to her because of my mistake.

"Spread out," A man in a brimmed hat commanded with a twirl of his finger after two very long seconds of listening to every sound the forest had to offer.

Grey began to shake furoshously beside me. With panicked eyes, I turned to him and placed both of my hands on his broad shoulders.

"No," I mouthed, begging him with my eyes that overflowed with scared tears. Please don't kill anyone. Don't touch my mother. Please, Grey, please.

Grey lipped snarled at the view of my tears. He knew who my mother was. He knew she was here. He looked away after he shook off my touch. With the skill of a stealthy wolf, he crouched down further and used his hands to peek around the rock bed.