Leaves crunch under my black boots as I make my slow trek through the forest. I have been walking for hours and by now the sun was rising in the distance. The light provided not only vision, but warmth.

At this point I am not in the SilverMoon pack anymore. I don't know exactly where I am, or where I am going. Liam had told me to come and find him if I ever wanted to see Addison again. I woke from my dream knowing that his house was in the west forest. It was far from the SilverMoon pack. But where exactly? I have no idea what landmarks will tell me where Liam is located. I don't know how far I am supposed to walk through this dense forest.

Maybe Tyler was right. Maybe I shouldn't have knocked him out cold with a frying pan. I mentally slap myself. Why would I do that to my mate?

I walk for another hour, slowly growing hungrier with each step I take. I only have three apples in my bag, so I will have to use them wisely. I finally decide to eat one.

I crunch into the juicy red fruit as I continue my long journey. I wonder if Tyler has woken yet. Just as I take the last bite of the crisp apple, I hear an extra crunch of leaves behind me. Someone is there.

I drop the apple core and whip around to survey the area. It could be Tyler here to drag me back. No, he would make himself known quickly.

Maybe one if his men found me first. Will they be violent when they capture me? I remember the knife I had taken from Tyler's nightstand. I quickly pull it from my backpack and steady the blade in front of me.

The rustling gets louder.

What if it is a rogue? A wolf that has been rejected from their own pack. Any story I have ever heard about rogues has been filled with violence and despair. They were vicious and bloodthirsty. Some rogues would form rogue packs. They would rape lonely women, murder them.

The bush next to me rustles again, causing me to jump into the air. A small rabbit jumps out from behind the bush.

I let out a shaky laugh at the bunny. My heart beats in my chest from the scare. Then I move a few steps towards the brown rabbit. Maybe I can catch it and have something real to eat. Sorry bunny.

I make another step towards the rabbit and it runs away from me. I make a move to chase it and something wraps around my ankles and I am pulled off of my feet in one sudden move.

I open my eyes and immediately feel the blood rush to my head. I look around and see my long hair in my face. I am hanging upside down by a rope that holds my ankles closely together. Another trap. Great.

Luckily you have your trusty dusty knife... er where is it?, my wolf questions

I pat my sides for the knife just to realize that it lays on the ground beneath me. It must have slipped out of my hands as soon as I got trapped in this rope. Now it lays a good three feet below my grasp.

"Ughhh" I groan in agony. I start to swing back and forth from my feet in hopes that I can grab that stupid knife. The swinging just causes rope burn on my ankles. Luckily the bear trap incident has already healed otherwise I would be in much more pain than I currently am.

I take a deep breath. There is nothing for me to do to free myself.

So I just hang there.

.

.

.

It has been hours. The sun has peaked into late afternoon. During my long forced pause in my journey to get Addison back, I have done a lot of thinking. Then I think at some point I fell asleep. I wake from my doze to the chilling sounds of footsteps.

Fear pokes at my heart as my eyes shoot open. I am trapped here with no way to defend myself. It could be anybody. A vampire. Tyler. My mind begins to race as the rustling footsteps grow closer to me.

"Haha! I think we caught something," I hear a feminine voice call out.

Oh shit. She means me.

"Come look at this!" She yells to somebody. I can tell she is behind me now. She walks around to my front. She has blonde straight hair and dainty freckles lightly covering her face. She wears a green flannel and jeans. Is she from the pack that we are in?

More crunchy footsteps come my way as I hear, "Oh my gosh is that a-" a male voice says as he walks into view.

"Oh fuck I'm so sorry!" He lets a small laugh escape his pink lips. He is tall. He has brown shaggy hair and he, too, wears a flannel and jeans.

He rushes to the side of a tree and pulls out a knife. I know what is coming next but I don't think he realizes how much this is going to hurt.

Well shit. He cuts the rope, sending me falling to the forest floor head first. I crash into the solid earth just as soon as he realizes what he has done. Shock covers his face as she rushes to my aid.

"Are you okay? I didn't think that through." He holds my hand to help me sit up. My head spins after the fall. I look into his beautiful hazel eyes and let out a breath.

"I'm okay. Thanks for setting me free." I brush myself off. I start to stand up, I really need to get going. I quickly lose my balance and stumble into his open arms.

"Here." He breathes out, securing me with his strong arms. "That was quite a fall." He looks embarrassed.

"It's okay, I mean it hurt, but I'm okay I mean, I'm sorry I mean your-I'm Alex." I blurt awkwardly.

He chuckles, "I'm Russell".

"So um. What are you doing in this part of the wood?" He asks cautiously, now a little more serious.

"I'm just passing through. What pack are we in?" I reply quickly. Honestly I am a little nervous because his strong arms are still holding me.

"You're not." He chuckles again, "You must not be from here. This land is all the free land. Unowned by any pack."

Oh. My. Gosh. He's a rogue.

"Wait, so are you a rogue?" I question with mild alarm, trying not to show any emotion.

"Well. Yeah." He replies calmly.

My heart accelerates. Rogues are bad. When a wolf goes rogue, it's mostly because they did something bad. Rogues are savages that take what they want and screw people over. I need to go.

"I should. Get going" I chirp, a little too nervous. I turn to grab my bag, but my ankles throb from hanging for so long, therefore I stumble a bit.

"Going? Where?" Russell presses, following closely behind me.

I can't tell him where I'm going. I think on my feet.

"Uh.. my family. Yeah I'm visiting them. They're uh tree farmers." I lie badly. I grab my backpack and turn back to face Russell.

"Tree farmers?" Russell replies dryly. He's not buying my facade.

"Yes. And they are expecting me very soon." I look behind me for an escape.

"Do you also...tree farm?" He raises a brow.

I swallow.

"I didn't know hybrids tree farm." His words drain the blood from my face.

He knows I am a hybrid.

"Hey Russell." The girl whines. I forgot she was even here considering she has been silent this whole time.

"Stop flirting. Let's just grab her and go." Her words stab me with fear. The sentence replays in my head as my mind races on what to do. I glance over at the knife laying on the ground close to me.

I quickly do a ninja roll and grab it, holding it out fiercely. I pray that I don't look as scared as I am inside.

Russell holds both of his hands up in shock.

"Look, Alex. She was kidding," he says with a nervous laugh. "Now put down the knife." His voice drops an octave as his eyes narrow.

He steps slowly closer to me. "Don't test me." I yell out, ready to strike. He comes closer. He is close. I immediately turn and run for my life, totally forgetting about my throbbing ankles. I make it about ten feet before the girl tackles me. We both go plummeting to the ground with a skid and a thud.

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Updated chapter*

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