The Falcon Ridge Series Book 2 Not Just A Girl

(Chapter song ‘Nemesis' by Tom Bergersen, ‘Lost In Love' by Air Supply)

SARAH

Even though Jayson is dead serious about this wolf training thing, I can't help but have fun with it. I guess it's because I'm not actually going to die here.

We sparred for the whole week then redid the wolf battle. The defenders won this time. The invaders didn't stand a chance. We stopped them in their tracks.

Friday morning was agility. Jayson and the other Alphas led us into the woods for a run and get our wolves used to different terrains and perfect our speed. By this time, we were all unstoppable. Our stamina was through the roof. We were actually leaving the Alphas behind. We found ourselves joining as one pack. Moving simultaneously like a flock of birds through the trees.

It was just supposed to be another training exercise, so we weren’t really prepared for what was out here.

Little did we know our run through the trunks would turn out to be a trial run for what's to come.

As we ran through creeks, over rocks and around trees, we had no idea we were being watched.

I was sticking close to Ash, when I caught a scent. My wolf stopped and perked her ears up. She whipped her head behind her as other wolves ran by.

With the pack almost out of sight up ahead, I took a couple of steps toward the scent. The snap of a few twigs as my heart stop.

My eyes focused on a section of trees and the sound of panting hit my ears.

The ground vibrated under my paws and I knew…

Time slowed as the first rogue crested the hill, panting and snarling. His growl, when he saw me, deepened to a point I thought my heart would explode.

‘JAYSON!’ I link out a scream as my wolf dug her claws in and spun around. As I tried to catch up, more rogues breached the trees on the sides of the pack.

‘NO, JAYSON!!’

She barked and howled as she ran. I saw the wolves in the back stop and turn when they heard me. When they saw the rogues close in on all sides, they didn’t know what to do at first, then some went on the attack, allowing the rest to run.

The rogues barreled through the forest after us. My heart raced and my wolf could barely breath as I fought through the pack. I need to get to Jayson.

Jayson's wolf stopped and turned. He let out an Alpha howl and sprung into the air. Clearing half the pack, he landed and charged at the dirty wolves. Dirt flew from his paws and his muscular body hit the leader with a force I felt from where I stood at the back. I watched as the two males snapped and bit at each other like a couple of rabid dogs.

Deacon, Kale, and Wren were close on his tail. They each hit the rogues and some of the bigger kids joined them. They pulled on the wolves and suffered a lot of bites before the rogues escaped their pins.

My wolf jumps on the back of one, but was quickly thrown off. She stands and lunges and the large wolf grabs her scuff and pounds her into the dirt. Pain explodes through my body and I cry out.

Hayden, Sean and Shane jump over me and tackle him into the ground, each wolf grabbed a piece of the wolf and tore through him.

I struggled to get up when Georgia flew over me. She jumps on a rogue that had Kale. They roll into the trees and the rogue pins her on her back. Her wolf snaps furiously and he tries to rip her throat until Kale grabbed him, threw him down and went for the throat with mad fury.

‘You ok?’ Shane links as his wolf stops and gives me a once over.

‘Yeah. I’m fine. Help the guys.’ I pant and he nods. He takes off and I head to Jayson.

Shane was grabbed by a rogue and I bulldozed him off my brother. We rolled across the forest floor and he spun around. I felt his teeth on my throat and he put pressure on my jugular. His scent made me sick and I tried to call out for help, but my wolf couldn't.

‘SHANE!!’ I link as my vision starts to go white.

I could feel the warmth of my blood pour down my neck as I struggled against the rogue's grip.

The next thing I know, the rogue is screaming in pain as Jayson's wolf grabs the rogues face and crushes his muzzle in his jaws. He pins the rogue down and breaks its neck.

I cringe at the sight of the wolves limp body hitting the ground.

‘Baby…’ Jayson whines and sniffs my wound.

‘I-I'm okay… really… I’m good.’ My wolf shakily gets to her paws as he quickly licks the bloody tears to help me heal.

Wren rips the throat out of a rogue she pinned after slamming him against a thick trunk. As she stands to get her bearings, our eyes meet.

‘Wren! Look out!’

Shoot, forgot. We can’t link other packs yet. My wolf starts barking and jumping at her, but it’s too late.

Another rogue hits her side with open jaws. Her wolf screams as the rogue tears a chunk out. She hits the ground, kicking and yelping in agony.

Kale, Deacon and Jayson smash the wolf like bullet trains and the ball of angry fur rolls away, leaving Wren crying on the ground.

‘No!!’

The wolf breaks away from the guys and runs.

My wolf runs as fast as her paws would carry her. I chased him down and grabbed him by his neck. I twisted sharply and spun under him. I flip him onto his back, pin his legs and sink my canines into his throat. I plant my paws on his chest and pull back hard. His skin tore and I was covered in blood in seconds.

My first kill.

I spit his throat out and ran to Wren who was shifted and leaning on a tree. I skidded to a stop and shifted as she was trying to stand. Her hand was bloody as she tried to cover the gaping hole in her side.

Jayson slid to his knees beside her and he tried to assess her injury

"Argghhh!..." She grits as she looks to her shaky, blood-soaked hand.

"Let me see! Wren!" Jayson pried her hand away. Her flesh was shredded and she was losing blood fast. I watched it pool and cover the dried leaves on the forest floor. I held myself as worry and fear filled me.

"Fuck. We need help." Jayson says as he places Wrens hand back. “Keep pressure on it.”

I was glued to Wren's wounds. I've seen wounds before, but never this bad. It looked like Wren's organs were threatening to fall out.

"Sarah..." I was so glued to Wren's torn side, I barely heard Jayson.

"SARAH!" His deep, commanding voice snapped me out of my trance.

I shook my head. "Uh...yeah." I say, still in a daze of horror.

Jayson stood in front of me, redirecting my vision. "I need you to shift and run back to the infirmary. Get the doctor with a med kit then find Deacon. We need to find out what the hell just went on."

"Yes, sir." I mutter quietly as my eyes flick back to Wren. "...so much blood..." I whisper.

"GO!" Jayson yells

I turn, shift and tear up the path back to the camp. I bolt across the field to the Alpha building, shift and bust through the doors of the infirmary.

"I… need... help..." I say, huffing my breath.

I stumble to a bed and a nurse met me just before I fell over. She supports me and helps me sit.

“What happened?!” She inspects my wounds and the blood all over me.

I swallow and try not to lose it. "Wren... hurt bad... in the woods. She needs the doctor."

The nurse understood and ran to the back.

A moment later, the doctor comes out with the nurse behind him. He grabs a first aid med kit. "Show me."

We get outside and shift. His wolf picks up the med kit and I lead him to where I left Wren and Jayson.

When we get there, Wren was barely conscious. "The docs here. It’s going to be ok..." Jayson whispers to Wren, stroking her hair.

I stood watching the scene, holding myself, while tears stung my eyes.

The doctor knelt beside her. "Wren. You’ve lost a lot of blood. I'm going to have to do this quick and dirty. Ok?"

Wren nodded weakly.

The doctor pulled out a towel and shoved it in her mouth. "Bite down on this."

He pulled out some alcohol and poured it on her wound.

Wren screamed into the towel, breathing heavy and whining. Jayson held her hand. I cringed at her pain. Jayson stood up and grabbed my arms gently. Turning me away from the scene. "You don't need to see this. Go find Deacon and bring him here."

I slowly nod and run toward where the fight was.

As I get to where the rest of the pack was, I see people injured, scared, and crying. They’re trying to piece together what just happened. I see Ash crying on Hayden's chest. A little farther up, Georgia's tending to Kale's wounds. Kids are pissed off, itching for revenge. Some console distraught friends and my heart breaks as I walk through them. I can’t believe so much pain was caused by 10 rogues.

"Has anyone seen Deacon?" I ask, searching the sea of wolves.

"Here!" He crests a small hill. He’s covered in blood and dirt, but seems alright.

"Hey." He says as he approaches me. "You alright"

I shake my head. "No..." Small tears start to fall and I wipe them away quickly. "Um... Jayson needs you. Wren's hurt bad." My chin quivers as I fight breaking out into sobs.

He grabs me and pulls me into his chest. "Shhh...it's going to be ok. Take me to Jayson."

I break from him and lead him back to the spot where the doctor was mending Wren.

Deacon sees Wren propped up on a tree and runs to her. "Wren. Oh my God..." He skids to his knees in front of her.

She's barely staying awake. "Hey, Dea... Did you invite some new friends to the party..." She lets out a weak giggle and coughs.

Dea strokes her cheek. "I thought they were your friends." He smiles. "You, ok?" He asks, quietly.

"Yeah. I'll be right as rain soon. Just need my blood topped up if I can ever leave this damn forest." She leans into his hand.

Deacon smiles. "Hang in there, princess." Wren smiles as he places his head on hers.

Deacon stands and walks over to Jayson.

Jayson scrubs his face as the kids start to walk back to the camp being lead by Cass and Kale.

"I want security reports on my desk in twelve hours. I want 24hrs of surveillance from every camera on this fucking property analyzed. I want every fucking foot of that perimeter fence inspected and then inspected again for breaches. I want to know how ten fucking rogues got into my goddamn camp!" He was seething, almost foaming at the mouth.

Deacon put his hand on Jayson's shoulder "We will, brother. Don't worry."

Jayson ran his fingers through his hair then held his arm out. “Sarah.” He grumbles.

I scoot under Jayson's arm. Not only for my comfort, but for his. He looks down at my face. He reaches up and wipes some blood off my chin. "God, look at you. You need to get out of here, grab a shower and get some sleep."

I hug him tight. "I'm not leaving you." He hugs me tighter.

"Gather all the kids. Find Cass. I'm going to take Sarah back and send the med teams out to remove those who can't walk out. These kids are on lockdown until we find out how the fuck this happened." Jayson orders and Deacon nods.

He breaks from me and squats beside Wren. "I've got to go. I'm sending med teams to get you out of here."

"Hurry." I could barely hear her as she fights passing out.

Jayson grabs my hand and leads me out of the forest. He grabs our clothes at the entrance to the forest and holds my shoulders as we walk to the dorms.

We stop in the infirmary and tell them to mobilize and get the injured.

After, he took me to the showers.

He starts the shower, waits for it to warm up then places my back under the falling water.

He grabs a cloth and soaps it up. He washes the blood off my cheeks and as I looked into his pained eyes, I broke down. I cried so hard and he wraps his arms around me. He holds my head and rest his head on mine.

"It's over, baby. You were so brave." He whispers and it only makes me cry harder. “Shhh…”

He held me for what felt like a good minute or so, before he gently let me go. He pushes be back and washes me down. I watch the dirt and blood go down the drain as he washes my hair and then himself.

I helped him wash his hard chest and he leans down, giving me a deep, caring kiss that had me feeling like I was safe again. All my fear disappeared as I melted. The reality of it all had me so scared, I didn’t want the kiss to end.

We rinsed off, dried and dressed.

I was about to go to my room when he grabs me and picks me up. My legs wrap around him and he kisses me.

“No. You’re coming with me.” He mumbles on my lips.

He takes me to the elevator and carries me to his room, kissing me the whole way as I try not to break into tears again.

He didn't say anything. We just stared into each other's eyes as he carried me down the hallway.

Once inside his room, he lays me down and climbs in beside me. He pulls the covers up around us and strokes my cheek with his thumb. "I was so scared." He whispered.

"I was, too." I mumble.

He ran his finger across my lip. "I don't want to lose you."

I places my hand on his cheek. "I don't want to lose you either."

"Promise me you won't ever leave me." His eyes were full of worry and I felt his heart at that moment

"I promise." I whisper.

He ran his hand down the side of my face with a half-smile tugging at his lips. "Get some sleep.”

I rolled over and he pulls my back to his chest and held me. The warmth of his body pushed my anxiety down. I feel like I will always be safe in Jayson’s arms.

Sleep quickly found me, but my dreams were filled with sharp teeth, razor sharp claws and screams.

After the horror of today, I’m not so sure I want to go through that again.