Start Living Now

Author's Note: This chapter is in Jael's P.O.V. and is the continuation of the events that occured at in Chapter Four. SLN will continue in Jael's P.O.V. unless stated otherwise.

BANG!

I kept running away from the sounds of the old man’s gunshots. All the while, the scent of the two Shapeshifters became much more clear and strong to me. They were catching up! I sped up, cursing myself for not getting enough rest the night before; every single muscle in my body was screaming, begging for me to stop for a short rest.

I was coming close to another forest now, but I was hesitant about going in there. Thanks to my enhanced sense of smell, I could make out the distinct smell of a small cottage somewhere in the forest. The cottage smelled, well, like a cottage made out of wood; it doesn’t get any simpler than that. It smelled bad there, I mean REALLY bad. My instincts told me to avoid that area at all costs. I quickly ran past the forest, thinking I would be home free once the disgusting smell faded away; I could run into the forest, and hide somewhere. As long as the two Shapeshifters and the crazy old man with the gun couldn’t find me, I’d be okay.

I couldn’t smell one of the Shapeshifters anymore. He could’ve given up? (Don’t ask me how I knew they were male. Male Shapeshifters smell very different from female ones. Let’s just say, female Shapeshifters have a much more appealing scent.) Now I only had that crazy geezer and the other Shapeshifter to deal with. I was more concerned about the old man; I could easily outrun the other Shapeshifter.

Then something bit down on my shoulder, and knocked me to the ground. The bad one with the scar. Why do they always go for that shoulder?!

I quickly shrugged out of the biter’s grasp. It was the first Shapeshifter, the one that reeked of testosterone. How’d he get here?! He was a tall, dark-silver-colored wolf, who had angry dark eyes. He snapped at me again. I quickly dodged him, and jump onto his back, biting his neck in the process. I shook my head. Blood oozed in my mouth, and I heard the male growl underneath me. He shook himself out of my grip, which helped him and hurt him at the same time; the gash on his neck where my teeth used to be was a little bit bigger now, and he was bleeding a bit too much for my comfort.

After that, we went at it, full force. The way we fought each other was brutal, giving the name “dogfight” a whole new meaning. Both of us were bloody and covered in scratch and bite marks. Luckily, I was in better shape than the male Shapeshifter. He had a huge gash on his side. I scratched him so deep there, I could see a bit of muscle underneath all the blood. I was a much better fighter than him, just like I said to myself before all this happened. The male-wolf was bent over now, gasping for breath. I didn’t want to kill him, I really didn’t. But he got up, and ran towards me, fangs bared. If I wanted to live, I would have to.

I felt the presence of the other male Shapeshifter now. He was close. Too close. Now I was worried. If I wasn’t already wounded and bleeding, I could’ve taken both of them out without much trouble, but I wasn’t so sure about that now. I checked my surroundings, using my sense of smell and my peripheral vision, looking for him while keeping my guard up because of the other male Shapeshifter. And there he was! Crouching low in the underbrush, preparing to spring. I had no doubt he was ready to take his pack-mate’s place in the fight. No matter, even if I was in a weakened state, I was ready for him.

I’m glad I have a photographic memory. Otherwise I would never have been able to remember what that Shapeshifter looked like. He was big, but not as big as the Shapeshifter I just fought. You could see the muscles under his fur tense and relax over and over again. If he was this muscular now, I could only imagine what he looked like in his normal (human) Form. His fur was a rich russet color. There was a black band tied on his left hind leg, with a small piece of fabric wedged in between the band and his leg. His eyes were a deep brown, and you could’ve lost yourself looking into them. That is, if they currently weren’t fixed on me, with a look of concentration mixed with hate.

If I wasn’t so distracted already, I would’ve sensed that the worst was about to happen.

A truck came out of nowhere, the old man and his grandson in it. His grandson was in the passenger seat, with a big shotgun at the ready. Oh great, just what I needed. More people out to kill me.

The old man sped his truck up. Honestly, I have to get out of this country; there are too many crazy people here. He was close to me and the wounded Shapeshifter now. I barely managed to jump out of the way as the old man’s truck came in between me and the male-wolf. The male wasn’t so lucky. The side of the truck clipped his shoulder, and sent him flying into a tree nearby.

Then things got really weird. I heard a voice inside my head. “Shit. Leah! Leah, get Embry and Seth! NOW!” It was muffled, as if somebody was yelling at me from far away. I don’t know who said it. All the same, I’ll never forget the words that were spoken. They changed my life forever.

I faltered in running; how could I hear someone’s thoughts in my head? The voice didn’t belong to anyone in my old pack, and it’s not like I joined another pack. So whose voice was it? And who the hell were Leah, Embry and Seth?

BANG!

The sound of the gunshot clipping my shoulder (The good one. Great. Like I need TWO busted shoulders.) brought me back to reality. My shoulder hurt, but I was so focused on getting away, and I didn’t pay much attention to it.

I saw the russet-colored wolf run towards the truck. He jumped onto the bed of the truck, and grabbed the gun out of the grandson’s hand. The russet-colored wolf looked at me. Immediately, I understood what his eyes were asking. I turned to run towards the truck, so that I could distract the old man while the other wolf got rid of the gun.

The kid screamed. I thought the russet-colored wolf had pulled the gun out of the kid’s hand. But he wasn’t fast enough. Just as he was grabbing the barrel of the gun in order to pull it away from the grandson, the kid pulled the trigger.

BANG!

You know when you’re watching a movie, and how the really big fight scene between the hero and the villain seems to go in slow motion at the critical parts of the scene? That’s how it was like for me. I was aware of the scents of three more Shapeshifters. I could see the look of surprise and terror on the face of the russet-colored wolf. I heard the old man and the kid screaming. I saw the bullet coming towards me.

The sheer force of the impact between me and the bullet was so strong it forced me into the air, and sent me crashing back down to the earth. I knew it got me in the area between my shoulder blade and my spine, because it felt like I was on fire there. I was beginning to black out due to the pain. I quickly shook myself up. There was no way I was going down without a fight, even if I was killed in the process. Blame my stubbornness for being so foolish.

By then the russet-colored wolf had shaken off the shock on his face, and was trying to tug the gun away from the teenager. And the kid was putting up a good fight, too. But I knew the russet-colored wolf wasn’t pulling as hard as he could, if he did, he would pull the teenager’s arm right out of its socket. The old man was still driving, spinning around and going in all sorts of directions. He was trying to shake the wolf off the truck.

Somehow I was able to jump onto the bed of the truck. The russet-colored wolf looked at me, as if he was unsure of what my next move would be. He tensed up, fur standing on end. But he immediately relaxed when he saw me nod and move towards the window on the old man’s side. We worked together, balancing out the sides of the truck. And let me tell you, we needed to, because the old man was driving like a lunatic, and the kid was kicking and screaming and waving his arms around, pulling the trigger of the gun, causing bullets to go off in all sorts of directions.

Thank the Ancestors the old man had his window down, because I have no idea what I would’ve down otherwise. I stuck my head in the window, immediately the old man’s scream turned into a girly shriek. The grandson turned towards him, and screamed louder than his grandfather.

With all the high pitched girly screaming, the insane driving, the shooting, the growling and barking it was hard to think. My ears hurt, and so did the russet-colored wolf’s; he let go of the gun and shook his head. I pulled my head back out of the window, and jumped off the truck. This was just too much to handle. I was already in a weakened state; I didn’t need my hearing damaged on top of everything. The russet-colored wolf quickly followed suit.

The truck lurched forward, and made a sharp U-turn. I could hear the old man’s grandson yelling.

“Grandpa, let’s get out of here! Those two wolves are as good as dead, and the brown one will just run off. LET’S GO!!!”

As the truck came towards us, the russet-colored wolf ducked into the brush, and motioned for me to follow him. I started to limp towards him, that last jump really did a number on my shoulder, and the bullet in my side was rubbing up against a piece of bone. I was in serious pain. I stumbled a lot, but I was close to the brush.

“There’s one! Get it before it runs away!” The sound of the old man’s scratchy voice filled the air.

I turned to look at the truck. The kid had the shotgun again, and was hanging out the window. He was aiming right for me. I tried to walk faster, but it was no good. The truck was either going to hit me, or the kid was going to shoot me.

The russet-colored wolf barked at me. His eyes were focused on me, unblinking. He barked again, almost as if he were encouraging me to walk faster.

Unfortunately, I heard the voices in my head again. Muffled shouts and cries filled my thoughts, freezing me in my step.

“Jake! We got Paul out of the way. Sam’s taking him to Carlisle. Hurry up and get out of there!”

“Get out of here Leah! I’m fine. I just gotta-"

“Forget the she-wolf, Jake! You’re more important to us.” This was a new voice. It was a masculine voice, but at the moment it was filled with concern.

“Embry get Leah and Seth and get out of here! I just can’t leave her here!”

“Oh yes you can! Let’s GO!”

“No! I’m not leaving her! GET OUT OF HERE!”

The russet-colored wolf barked at me again. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the protesting voices in my head. The truck was getting closer. I was so close; the russet-colored wolf was reaching for me with his front paw. We were barely touching each other. He was trying to pull me closer to him in order to-

BANG!!!

BANG!!!

BANG!!!

As soon as I heard the sound of the gunshots, I felt the bullets penetrate my skin. I fell to the ground, panting for breath. My lungs were on fire, and it was hard to keep balance. The russet-colored wolf looked at me with wide eyes.

I could hear the sound of howling in the distance. I felt my body being pulled against the ground; the russet-colored wolf was pulling me away from all the commotion.

All of a sudden, five other wolves were in the forest. The sound of their barking began to fade from me. Everything was starting to get blurry.

At first, all I could see were shapes.

Then shadows.

The last thing I heard were the words, “Stay with me, honey. Hold on.”

And finally, my world went black, and I faded away from consciousness.