Into the Woods

Red felt like her heart was collapsing in her chest as she ran through the forest. How could Snow have done this too her? All she had been able to think about was the beautiful man, and of course Snow was the one who had stolen him from her. She heard the footsteps of her friend, but was in no mood to speak to the harlot she thought she could trust. So she sped up, racing into the darkest parts of the forest where she’d never dared to go before.

She ran until her legs felt like they were going to give out, and Snow’s calls of her name had long since vanished. Finally she slowed down, doubling over in exhaustion as she tried to catch her breath. She hadn’t even had a chance to get her bearings before a strong pair of hands grabbed her. She screamed, but one of the hands was latched firmly over her mouth as she and her captor fell into the grass. She wiggled and tried to get away, but whoever these arms belonged to was just as determined as she was, and much stronger. Finally she felt herself flipped onto her back, her wrists pinned to one side as she opened her eyes to see gold.

“Hush Eleanor. This isn’t exactly the best place to draw attention to yourself by running through the trees like a madwoman.” Tyler hissed, giving her the same, hungry gaze as always. “Now, the Hell are you all the way out here?” He hesitantly moved his hand from her mouth, stunned as she began whimpering, curling up against him. He just sat up, pulling her with him as she clung to him for dear life. He was a bit unnerved, seeing her so venerable, but he knew she needed him as he held her close, burying his face in her hair.

A sudden flash of movement caught his eyes as he saw a massive beast, brown fur camouflaging it against the darkness of the woods as Red continued to whimper into Tyler’s neck. Tyler watched the wolf for a long time before the beast nodded it’s head in the direction Red had come from. Tyler couldn’t stop his body from tensing as he simply gripped Red tighter to his chest, kissing the side of her head as the beast vanished. Tyler then pulled his head back, wiping away her tears.

“I should take you home.” He murmured. “It’s far too late for you to be out this far.”

“I can’t go home, she’ll look for me there.” Red whimpered.

“Who?” He asked. She felt her jaw tense, her fingers digging sharply into Tyler’s arm.

“That stupid whore.” Red hissed. Her eyes then moved to Tyler’s once again, letting one of her hands move to his face. “Let me stay with you, just for tonight.”

“I don’t think-”

“Please Tyler.” She whimpered. “I don’t even know where I am, just let me stay with you tonight, please.” He looked at her for a long time, wanting nothing more than to spend an entire night making her forget whoever it was that had broken her so badly. The thought of Red with him, in his bed, was already making his stomach tie up in knots. And he’d be the worst kind of person to ignore her tearful pleas. But the thought of the massive wolf telling him to go back, sat in the front of his mind. But finally, his heart won out.

“On one condition.” He said, holding up a single finger. “Who are you running from?” He watched as her face contorted with rage, her jaw tensed.

“Annabeth.” She growled. He narrowed his eyes at her as she looked back up at him, running her hand up his chest. “Don’t make me face that traitorous best friend.” She whispered, leaning closer to him. He knew exactly what she was doing, but he pretended not to care as she pressed her lips to his jawbone, moving her legs so she sat in his lap. “Just take me with you.” She breathed.

He wondered how she had so easily guessed how to manipulate him so easily, but now he knew there was no way he could walk her all the way back to her house, not without pressing her against every tree he saw and ravaging her. He looked into her eyes, taking her chin in his hand. “I thought you hated me?” He asked, his voice breathy.

“Maybe that kiss persuaded me otherwise.” She whispered. “So… what are those other non-hunting things you can do?”

“Red, you’re upset.” He growled. “We shouldn’t do this.” She stopped, looking at him with her lips pressed together tightly. She knew she needed time, time to think of a way to get back at the girl she thought she could trust, and the man she thought she could have loved. She needed a partner in crime, and Tyler would know exactly how to use these woods to their advantage. Besides, if Snow was going to steal away the only man Red wanted, she wasn’t going to sit alone in the cold. Tyler was handsome, and she needed him. After all, he was the only friend she had left.

So she reached forward, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling his lips to hers. He immediately responded, grabbing a handful of her hair before shooting up, keeping her legs wrapped around his stomach as he walked her even deeper into the woods, their lips only parting for greedy gulps of air until he backed into the door of an old trapping lodge, not bothering to close it behind him as he walked her over to the small bed, dropping her onto it with a smirk. He had his shirt off in record time before pouncing on her, his lips all but melting against hers as he tore off her hood, tossing it across the room to be recovered in the morning.

And as they spent the rest of the night together, Tyler pretended not to see multiple pairs of glowing, golden eyes and low growls giving warnings in the darkness.