Chapter 9

• Tessa’s POV:
• “Oh my God! Oh my God!!” My eyes widened, seeing the imposing creature just a few feet away from me. The blood in my body drained out, and I suddenly felt a shivering cold run through me.
• Move! Run!!
• My head was telling me to flee, but my feet weren’t listening. It was rooted to the ground with fear.
• More than fear, there was a lack of strength or motivation to save myself. What was the use of saving a wretched life like mine with no real purpose?
• A part of me was telling me I wasn’t worth living.
• It was screaming in my ears that there was nothing of value for me to fight for. Nothing of real meaning for me to hold on to.
• And for a brief minute I believed it.
• The bear drew dangerously closer to me, and my life was flashing right in front of me. Like lightning, it rippled through the darkness, flaring for a brief moment and dimming right back. Returning back to the darkness that conceptualized my life.
• “Tessa, you have to run,” Tyla urged me, her voice laced with alacrity. “I can’t help you transform into your wolf now because you haven’t mastered your powers. For now, all we can do is run.”
• But I didn’t want to run. What was the point? I was nothing of worth, after all.
• “Don’t say that!” Tyla bellowed with frustration but mixed with a sort of sympathy. “You told me I couldn’t fully understand what you felt because I didn’t physically go through it. So do you want all of that to go to waste?”
• “Don’t you want to prove to not just others, but also to yourself that you're worthy of a life in spite of your suffering?”
• Tyla’s words washed over me like waves of an ocean. Washing away all doubt and feelings of lack from my mind.
• She was right. I deserved a life worth living, and I was going to prove that to everyone.
• I tightened my hands by my sides and looked straight at the bear with a fierceness in my eyes. One that held in it all the strength I survived on for the last eighteen years of my life. “You don’t get to end my story!” I roared in a loud voice.
• The bear saw this as a challenge, and it roared back in return. In a heartbeat, it changed from light steps to a sprint and headed straight at me.
• I needed to come up with a plan, fast.
• Then it struck me. The trap hole that was covered with leaves. I could get the bear there and make it fall into it.
• With a plan in mind, I set it in motion. The trap was just some distance away, and I needed to get the bear fully focused on me so this plan could work.
• I took to my heels, with the bear close behind me. Distance I covered in four steps, it covered in two. I doubled my speed in order to maintain the distance.
• I decided to make a small U-turn and come around so the bear would be too focused on chasing me to see the trapped leaves on top.
• As I rounded the last tree, my breath coming out in ragged exasperation, and the bear, a paw swipe away from me, I was now in front of the covered hole. I skidded a curve, missing the covered leaves by an inch, and ran forward, fully expecting the bear to make the mistake of running straight.
• It did…
• It ran head-on, and one of its legs dipped into the covered hole, revealing the deep trap, but before it could fall in, it steadied itself with its hands and pulled out the incriminated leg.
• It almost did…
• My plan seemed to have made it even angrier, and it belted out a loud shout and threw me a stiff stare. The animal wasn’t capable of speech, but that cold stare communicated all the thoughts it had going through its head: YOU’RE FINISHED.
• My heart sprung to my mouth, and a chill ran down my spine. I turned to make a run for it, but in my haste, my feet dashed against a stone, and I fell to the ground.
• “Ouch!!” I winced in pain, feeling something sharp on the floor cut my palm. The sting quickly took a backseat when I saw the bear alarmingly close to me.
• The huge frame cast a thick shadow over me as it raised its paw to the air, ready to strike me down in an instant.
• This was it. This was how I met my demise.
• I close my eyes, ready to accept fate. Ready to leave this world behind and meet the ghost of my dead mother.
• I was expecting to feel the sharp claws tearing my flesh. A painful strike straight to my arm or my leg. But instead I heard a whooshing sound followed by the whimpering of the bear.
• Surprised and confused, I opened my eyes to see what had happened. On the ground lay the bear, lifeless and pierced with a thick arrow.
• “Are you alright?” someone from the shadows asked. “I hope it didn’t hurt you?”
• The figure stepped out into the light. The tall man had a muscular build and a claw mark by the side of his left cheek. He held a crossbow tightly in his arm, and his rough outlook gave you the impression of how tough he was.
• He was still pointing the bow fixed with an arrow straight at the lifeless bear as he neared it cautiously. He faced me for a minute. “Hey, I asked if you were okay.”
• I nodded stiffly and pointed at the bear. “Umm… I think it’s dead.”
• He dropped his arm and relaxed his stance. “Yeah!”
• He eyed me suspiciously. “What are you doing out here at this time?”
• I searched my brain for an excuse. A suitable lie that wouldn’t seem far-fetched. For all I know, he could have a connection to Lucian, and if I told him I escaped from his estate, he might take me back.
• “I lost my way while passing through, and now I can’t find the road that leads out of the woods.” I lied. I thought it wise to use the opportunity to get him to show me the way out.
• Killing two birds with one stone.
• “Oh! I’m so sorry to hear that,” he sympathized. “You must have veered off and walked quite a distance because the main road is some meters down the other side.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
• “Oh! Thank you.” I set out to go in the pointed direction.
• “But I won’t advise you to risk it,” he warned me. “It gets very dangerous out here once it gets dark. I mean, you’ve already encountered a bear, and there are a lot more wild creatures out there.”
• I stopped. He was right; going deeper into the wood with no light or protection was just me putting myself in unnecessary danger.
• But what else could I do? I couldn’t just stay here all night long either.
• “You were not thinking of spending the night here, were you?” He asked in disbelief.
• I went silent.
• “You can stay with me for the night. I have a temporary shed not far from here.”
• I froze, weighing my options in my head. Do I follow this total stranger home, or do I risk it and spend the night here in the woods with a dead bear?