I had been walking for what felt like hours. The moon was still up, but had moved it's position in the sky. I wouldn't have the night cover much longer. I had also yet to see or hear my captors again, or any roads for that matter, making me wonder if I was actually moving in the right direction.

My limp and the pain in my body was slowly seeping in again, making my footsteps louder than I would have liked. If I didn't make it out of this forest soon then I might not make it at all. Still, death from getting lost in a forest would be better than going back with them.

I stopped walking and leaned against a tree. My body was exhausted. As much as I wanted to take a break, I knew I couldn't, there was no good place to hide and come daylight they would be able to find me easier. I managed to somewhat blend in the dark, thankful my hair was a dark brown and the large shirt I had grabbed was black. My skin wasn't as tan as it used to be, making it shine more in the moonlight, but I was covered in enough dirt from all of my falls that it wasn't as noticeable.

I closed my eyes for a moment, quickly reopening them when I heard a snap in the distance. I quickly glanced around for another bush, but all that surrounded me now were too small to hide in and trees, but none with branches low enough to climb. I could hear a murmur of voices, they were coming this way.

Part of my heart jumped at the fact that I was hopefully heading in the right direction The other part sank, they were getting closer and I had nowhere to hide. I slowly started creeping around the tree, it had a wide trunk I could easily hide behind. Part of my brain started screaming at me, reminding me of all the horror movies I used to watch, but I had no other options.

"See, I told you she wouldn't make it this far out." I could barely make out Jeds words as they headed my way. "She's probably up near the house still, walking in circles."

I heard Brad huff. "How many times do I have to tell you to shut up? She's smart, all that's behind the house is obviously mountains. She would have guessed that this way led to town."

They were almost to the tree, their lights shined on the tree I was hiding behind and the ones around me. I slowed my breathing and looked up, all I had to do was make it past this. Then I would head in the direction they came from, town or not, I was getting away from here. I would rather risk eating berries and sleeping in a cave than going back with them.

"I expect a good bottle of whiskey when we get back and I prove you wrong." Jed huffed out.

"You'll get another black eye if you don't shut your mouth." Brad grumbled back.

"I also claim first dibs on teaching her a lesso....fucker!" Jed yelled out as I heard a thump.

"Shut up a damn minute," Brad hissed. "I thought I heard something." I held my breath. They weren't far from where I was hiding, I could hear their breathing.

A light rustling sound came from a small bush to my left, one that would be almost big enough to have hid under. Right beside me, beside the tree I was hiding behind. They were coming closer.

"You think it's her?" Jed questioned. I could feel my eyes start to sting and my body began to tremble. They were too close, they're going to find me.

"Shut the hell up!" Brad demanded, my body froze and my heart pounded so loud I was sure he could hear it. I could see his shadow on my side of the tree.

He started to bend down to glance under the bush. I kept my gaze on him, waiting to bolt, if he glanced to the right he would see me. As soon as his hand touched the ground, out jumped a rabbit zooming past them and towards another bush.

"Shit!" Jed exclaimed before he started laughing. "You just busted your ass over a tiny bunny."

Brad had fallen backwards, I heard him scrambling up. "Shut up and let's go find the girl. I'm over these woods and ready for a drink."

They started walking back in the direction we had originally come from. I waited until I could barely hear their footsteps before I let out the breath I was holding.

I took a small step and froze, hearing a branch snap under my foot. I glanced in the way they went, straining to hear any sounds that indicated they heard me. I couldn't hear their steps now, they must be far enough away. I took another step, still nothing, then another. My body began to ache again, but I ignored it and started my hike in the direction they had come from. I started out slow, before becoming more confident with my speed and moving into a slight jog, while still keeping my footsteps light.

I could feel my heart pound in excitement that I had seemed to be going the right way, or at least the way they hoped I hadn't went. I had to be close, they wouldn't have come this far if not. It seemed as if the moon agreed, the forest suddenly shone brighter. Making my spirits heighten a little more, I wouldn't get fully excited until I was officially in a town and out of the forest. I froze as I heard a sudden laugh behind me, before I took off in a sprint. I could hear their footsteps pounding behind me.

"You didn't really think you would get away did you?" I heard Jed holler as they started to get closer.

I sped up, as much as my body would let me. I felt fingers graze my hair before they roughly grabbed a handful and jerked down. My body collapsed, rolling to the ground I landed on my back and whimpered.

"Well, that was the plan." I groaned as I quickly started scrambling backwards.

"Aww, you were so close too." Jed mocked as he started to lean down and grab one of my ankles.

"Fuck off." I quickly kicked his hand away, causing him to let out a curse and deliver a kick to my side that had tears gathering in my eyes. He reached down again and grabbed my arm, jerking me up and into his hold. I started to struggle before my head jerked to the left, my right cheek stung as the world spun for a moment.

"I'm impressed, just a little bit further and you would have made it." He taunted, spinning me around to face the direction I had been heading.

"I'm impressed your brain cells managed to form that sentence." I shot back as I blinked my eyes a few times before looking ahead, I could see the lights from the town and hear the noise of people just through the trees. I was so close.

"You little-." Jed started.

"Shut up Jed. We need to get her back before Jacob gets home." Brad grumbled before he started to head in the direction we had come from. My heart sped up. I couldn't go back, I refused to go back.

"Suck my balls." I breathed out before I quickly threw my head backwards into Jed's face, causing him to loosen his grip enough for me to twist out of it. I took off.

"Fucking bitch!" He roared. "I'm gonna have a real good time making you regret that."

Their footsteps sounded like elephants as they chased after me. I pushed harder. I burst through the forest line and kept running. I ran across the road, barely missing the hood of a car and throwing an apologetic wave as they blared their horn. Once I made it to the other side of the street, under some flickering neon lights, I veered to the right and forced my legs to move as quickly as I could.

Some people stopped and stared as I shoved my way through the crowds. Despite my better judgement, I took a quick glance behind me. They were a decent distance behind, but still following. I faced forward at the same time I slammed into someone. Their arms wrapped around my waist, tightening as I tried to pull away.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down. Are you alright there darlin?" I heard a low voice grunt and glanced up to see ocean blue eyes staring down at me in concern, his arms loosening as his eyes widened.

I quickly glanced back to see they were closing in, I panicked and started to pull away feeling his arms tighten again. I looked up to see his eyes narrowed on my cheek, his eyes clashed with mine before looking in the direction I came from. I tried once again to get out of his hold, but froze when I heard their voices.

"Hey man, thanks for grabbing our sister. She gets mad and runs off sometimes, we have to chase her down and take her back home." Jed said with a nervous laugh. "If you could just hand her over, we'll be on our way." My breathing picked up as I imagined having to go back with them.

The man glanced down at me with concern, his eyes zoning in on my cheek again. One of his hands lightly rubbed my back, causing the panic in my chest to calm some.

The mystery man cocked his head to the side. "She's your sister?" He asked as his arms loosened and started to unwind from my waist.

My eyes shot to his in panic as I grabbed his arm with my right hand, pausing as I felt his muscles. He looked down at me, his eyes softening.

"You're alright flower." He reassured before moving my body to stand behind him. My eyes narrowed slightly at the nickname.

"Yeah. Now hand her over so we can take care of her." Brad ground out, his jaw clenched.

I leaned closer to the mystery man, my hands grasping the bottom of his shirt. His body was twice the size of mine, easily hiding my frame.

"Looks like she's been through the ringer a time or two." A new voice sounded to my left. I glanced over to see a tall tan man with long black hair. He was already glancing my way, making me press more into the mystery man, he shot me a soft smile before his face hardened as he glanced at Jed and Brett again.

Jed forced out another laugh. "She tends to pull all the dramatics."

"Just give us the girl." Brad demanded. I glanced around the man in front of me to see Brett shooting daggers at me, Jed was smirking in my direction. I quickly pulled back, my breath coming out a little faster.

The man in front of me tilted his head to the side, before glancing back at me.

"You know them flower?" He asked in a soft voice. I quickly shook my head, gripping his shirt tighter.

If I ran now, they could still catch me. If I stayed behind this mountain of a man, I was at least safe for the time being.

He looked forward again, his voice coming out hard. "Looks like she doesn't know you. I would suggest you both get out of here."

"The bitch isn't worth the fight, just hand her over and we'll be on our way." Jed tried again, his voice becoming more sinister.

I started to back up, but my hands couldn't unclench from the mystery man's shirt. He glanced back at me and shot me a soft, reassuring smile.

"Heck yeah! I've been itching for a fight. Please can we fight, pretty please?" another voice sounded from behind us.

I glanced back to see a man with blonde hair pulled into a top knot walking up, his hands making a jabbing motion. He shot me a quick lopsided smile and wink as he walked up beside us, making my head cock slightly to the side. The other two quickly stepped up beside us as well.

"I think you all should leave now." The first man said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Listen man," Brad said, his voice coming out hard. "Just give us the girl and we'll go."

"Aw man, so there's not any fighting?" Top knot man complained, his shoulders slumping down. My head tilted to the side as I glanced at him. He noticed my gaze and stuck his tongue out. My eyes widened slightly before a small smile came over my face.

"She said she doesn't know you. This is your last chance to leave before you're not able to." The man in front of me ground out, his voice harder. I blinked as I remembered what was going on.

"Yes!" The man with the topknot hissed in excitement. "Let's do this. Your face, my fist." He said as he pointed at Brad, causing the latter to take a small step back. I bit my lip to hold in my laughter.

Jed smirked, "Oh we know her alright. Ain't that right girly?" I flinched into the man in front of me. His body tensed and I felt the men surrounding us move in closer.

"We'll be going now." Brad voice came out, sounding amused yet with an edge to it. "We'll be seeing you real soon." He shot at me as they turned to walk away.

Jed stopped and turned to look at me. "Real soon." He repeated Brads words.

"Jacob won't be happy to learn you ran off." He taunted, stopping short and stumbling on his feet as the man with the topknot took a quick step forward. He gave me another glare before he quickly turned and followed after Brad.

The men relaxed a little before turning to one another in a silent question. The man before me turned to look at me, his eyes hard. I flinched back, glancing down and releasing his shirt as I took a couple of steps backwards, his eyes softened.

"Well, um, I appreciate the help but I should be on my way." I said awkwardly as I began to retreat slowly.

His hand came up to my chin making me shuffle back another step and squeeze my eyes shut.

His touch never came. I opened my eyes and glanced up to see him staring down at me, his mouth set in a hard line and his eyes full of concern. He took off his jacket, the same one as the others, making me tense once more.

He bent his knees, leaning down so we were eye level. "I ain't gonna hurt you darlin." He whispered softly, placing the jacket around my shoulders. My eyes closed for a moment as I felt the warmth wrap around me, the scent of leather and wood smoke drifting into my senses.

I glanced up and stared into his blue eyes, my breath caught as I finally noticed the rest of his features. He was beautiful, in a masculine way. He had light brown hair, that I assumed was shoulder length, pulled back into a ponytail. The bottom of his beard, the same color as his hair but with hints of red, brushed against his chest. His eyes were a beautiful deep blue, with touches of green throughout them.

He gave me another soft smile, my heart stopped for a moment. It should be illegal to look that good.

"You look like you could use some help sweetheart." A voice to my left said, making me snap out of my daze. I glanced around to see all the men staring at me with concerned looks.

I quickly shook my head, taking quick steps backwards, getting ready to turn and make my way to the closest police department. "I'm fine." I assured with a small smile.

As I turned, my vision swam, I stumbled a little before my body started to teeter to the side. An arm scooped around my waist before another lifted my legs off the ground. I was grateful for the extra warmth of the chest I was pulled against. My vision faded more.

"Get the truck." The chest rumbled as I heard footsteps quickly fading.

"I got you, flower." I glanced up to see blue eyes staring softly into my green ones right before my vision faded.